A/N: I got impatient waiting. Enjoy! As a side note, I fixed Harry's incorrect birthday.

Harry was lying on his bed, paging through his dark blue notebook, as he had been doing a lot more frequently in the past week He didn't know quite what to think about magic being explained to him. He read through the pages, trying to find a connection between them. It had already been months since he'd figured out that the events in his dark blue book only happened under times of extreme duress. Other than that fact, he could find nothing significant. He sighed and stowed away the notebook, knowing Vernon would be furious with him if he discovered it.

Ever since that letter had arrived and Harry had read it, things had been tense in the Dursley household. Vernon had taken to pretending that the letter never came at all. He went about his business as usual, though he occasionally looked at Harry with a little more contempt than usual. Harry, upon reflection, thought that perhaps he would forget about the whole thing all together. Dudley hadn't changed at all, since he wasn't even aware that Harry had received the letter. Harry noted in his Dudley notebook that the most likely truth was that Dudley couldn't figure out there was tension.

Petunia had really done nothing new as well. Although Harry caught her staring out the window more and more often, perhaps thinking back to her sister, Harry's mother. It was at this time that Harry felt a little ashamed of himself. He'd always been too wrapped up in his science and the odd occurrences around him to even spare a thought for his parents. Though given the latest event related to them, Harry knew that right now was definitely not the time to ask his aunt and uncle about it. All he could do was wait for the visitor to arrive and explain everything.

He took a moment one day to dig deep and try to recall something, anything about his parents. After several minutes all he came up with was a flash of green light and a burning sensation on his forehead. He reached up, touching the scar on his forehead. He hadn't even realized that he'd forgotten about it. Not once in ten years had it ever pained him as it did then. He gingerly traced the lightning-bolt shape on his forehead. He pulled out his dark blue notebook and made a quick note to ask whoever was coming about it.

It was on July 29 that Harry was beginning to get really worried. He had really been hoping to talk to someone about the strange things that had happened to him. At the same time, there'd been a noticeable shift in Vernon as the two week deadline drew closer and closer. He became slightly happier, thinking that whoever it was that was supposed to show up would never show up. But it was on this day that Vernon and Petunia actually surprised him. He had walked downstairs to get breakfast as usual when Vernon talked to him for the first time in a number of days.

"Err- Harry, about your birthday. We want to know what you want…"

Vernon wasn't quite talking to Harry but rather talking to the floor. Harry reasoned that if they did something a little more for his birthday, he wouldn't be so keen on learning about magic. But for the moment, Harry was confused that his uncle even would suggest that they would give him any choice in his birthday. Most years he was given a small cake and a pair of wooly socks, which were always too big. Harry suspected they were a hand-me-down from Vernon.

"Harry dear, answer your uncle."

Apparently his racing thoughts had taken up more time than he'd thought, for Petunia had joined the conversation. She seemed timid, as if she'd been forced into this by Vernon. It was quite odd that they were both paying attention to him at this very moment. Unlike Dudley, he did not exist for the sole purpose to be catered on by his aunt and uncle. Perhaps that was a bit harsh, they had been taking care of him without too much complaint. Vernon had been about to speak when Harry cut him off.

"I think I'd like a chocolate cake…"

It was something to behold to Harry. Whenever Dudley had a birthday, it involved weeks of planning and many consultations with Dudley. In fact, his most recent one had been shortly before he had gotten his letter. Dudley had received no less than thirty-nine presents from his parents and his various relatives. The whole day's scheduled events had been ingrained into Harry's brain from the sheer volume of meetings with it as the subject. It was a day at the zoo with the entire route planned out.

That by itself wasn't overly exciting so he just walked up to his room, still in a state of shock. He pulled the black notebook to the far right of the others, the one that he was working on and opened it to the appropriate page. It was where he wrote down noteable things that happened between him and his aunt and uncle. Thumbing through the last couple pages, he concluded that nothing of real interest had ever taken place between them. Looking at the date of the last entry, he noted that it had been quite some time since something had happened, on account of his aunt and uncle ignoring him as of late.

"July 30, 1991:

Today a most odd incident occurred. As it is almost my birthday, which is tomorrow, Petunia and Vernon have just today asked me what kind of cake I would like. While it may seem like something all parents should do, it is something they have never once done before. I suspect that it has something to do with the letter I received approximately two weeks ago regarding magic. I believe this is their way of saying that they want me to forget about it."

He shelved it back where it belonged amongst the others and leaned back in his chair, frowning. For whatever reason he couldn't quite believed the events had happened as they did, it wasn't like them to talk to him about his birthday. But he dismissed it, thinking back to that letter. It had been thrown away by Vernon and he had gone the extra mile to make sure Harry didn't read it again. It was already at the dump, conceivably buried, as Vernon made a special trip just for that purpose. On top of that, it became taboo to even reference it, also courtesy of Vernon.

But what was it that made him hate and fear magic? Had he not been raising him to forget it and focus on science? Harry didn't have that hatred of magic like his uncle and aunt, now that he thought about it. There was something alluring about it, something that made him willing to accept its existence. Perhaps it could be that it was a link to his parents. Petunia had only ever mentioned once that Harry's parents were magical and even that wasn't said to him directly.

He laughed to himself, not wanting to disturb his adopted parents. He had been raised to be a scientist, a rational person, yet it was this reason that he wanted to know about magic. His mind had been molded to be curious about the world around him, and this was a chance to explain much of the indeed it was real, it could provide a wide array of experiments, not like the boring caterpillars he kept in his room. To know that it was real, to know that there were some things science couldn't answer but magic could!

He got up and began pacing excitedly. His mind raced with the infinite paths this would lead to, the things he could do! Not once had he ever been this excited by the mere prospect of something. The closest was when Vernon had announced that he'd be purchasing a set of encyclopedias for the family. They'd given him so much knowledge at his disposal. Though Vernon claimed it was for the family, no one but Harry had even acknowledged them. Vernon would never openly admit that he had done something for Harry alone.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, none of that would ever matter or even be mentioned again if the visitor didn't show up. He hated having so much rest on something so uncertain. Harry had always liked to have things concrete, things that were certain. Then again, if magic was real, Harry might have to find himself leaving the solid behind as he ventured into the realm of magic, which was unknown to him. He went down to face the day. After all, why shouldn't he be happy? It was his birthday tomorrow.

After a long day of taking care of chores and the usual things, he collapsed into his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wanted to sleep, to see the next day sooner, but his mind wouldn't rest on the subject of magic. Harry thought it would be quite rude if the visitor waited to come until the last possible moment. He knew there was still a day after that, but he was hoping that it was indeed the next day that he would get answers. That was what he wanted for his birthday. That and maybe some chocolate cake.

The next morning, Harry walked down to the dining room in the early hours. He hadn't been able to conquer his apprehension and in the end, he fell into a shallow sleep. He sat at the table, staring out the window, watching the sun rise over his street. It was quite pleasant, but he wanted those answers. Within a few minutes of the sun rising, Vernon and Petunia came downstairs, both of them looking quite tired. They barely acknowledged his existence as Petunia got some tea, toast, and eggs ready. Vernon found his voice after some tea.

"Happy birthday Harry…"

Vernon wasn't quite so enthusiastic about the date. He had wished Harry a happy birthday in a tone that made it seem like he was talking about the least extraordinary thing he'd ever discussed.

"Thanks…"

The word didn't feel right coming out of Harry's mouth, for it was a word he'd seldom used in all his years there. They sat quietly at the table for quite some time, Petunia and Vernon doing their best to not say a word to Harry. Dudley came down and mumbled a quick, "Happy birthday," before sitting down with a plate full of eggs and toast. It was something Dudley had never done before and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that Vernon and Petunia had talked him into it.

It was an awkward day as Petunia and Vernon tried their hardest to make the day both special and not special at all for Harry. It was a day filled with terse, stilted conversation, no one quite sure what exactly to say or do. It was treated as an average day, except Harry's adopted parents were struggling to treat Harry as their child. Harry felt equally awkward as he struggled to find the right actions or even words to respond to his aunt and uncle.

Just after lunch, Petunia brought out Harry's cake. Petunia, it seemed, had gone out of her way to find the smallest, least adequate cake she could. Harry couldn't help but wonder how much trouble she'd gone through to find such a small cake. Vernon silently handed Harry a knife and he took it. He automatically cut off a decent piece of the tiny cake and put it on a plate. He offered it to Dudley as he didn't dare break the tradition of Dudley having the largest piece of cake regardless of whose birthday it was.

Their celebration was cut short by a knock on the door. Vernon went to the door and Harry followed. He couldn't help but hope that it was the person he'd been wanting to meet for the past two weeks. Vernon opened the door and jumped back, for a man who didn't look like he could fit inside the door was standing just outside.

"Hello 'Arry, it's been a while."