Harry finished bathing and dried off, dressed in a nice outfit that consisted of a shirt and dress pants. He left off the tie, since he was going to have to change into his new robes later and that came with a school colored tie. He picked up his dirty clothes and used the Alohamora spell to unlock the bathroom door. He peeked out and saw that no one was around and he didn't hear anyone, so he carefully stepped out and looked around.

Dudley's door was open and he was nowhere to be found, so Harry went down the stairs and tossed the dirty clothes into his trunk. Thankfully, the trunk sorted them into a different pile than his other clothes and he tucked his wand up his sleeve to keep it hidden. He grabbed several owl treats and walked down the hallway. He saw that his family were still in the kitchen, so he relaxed and went into the living room to wait for Hedwig.

Hedwig wasn't the first owl to arrive, however. Harry opened the window as a grey spotted owl flapped into view and landed on the window sill. It had a package in its beak and Harry saw the address was for Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, which meant it was the watch he had asked for.

“Thanks.” Harry whispered and gave the owl a treat. It let out the same pleased twitter that the other owl had at receiving such an expensive treat. He opened the package and inside was a timepiece on a golden chain. It looked like something a train conductor would use and he almost laughed at it. It was only five galleons and it had a thick book of directions. Harry gave it a quick flip through and the thing even timed the movements of the planets!

He let out a chuckle under his breath and took five galleons out of his money bag and added them to the little pouch on the owl's leg. “Thanks.”

The owl gave him a beseeching look and eyed his pocket.

“All right. One more for delivering the money.” Harry whispered and gave it another treat.

It hooted softly and took the treat, kept it in its beak, and flew off.

He's probably saving it for when he goes home. Harry thought with a smile and was about to close the window when another owl appeared. It was black with white stripes, which was really odd for an owl, and it landed on his window sill with a small package in its beak. “What have you got for me?” He asked the new arrival and took the package.

The owl lifted a leg and Harry took out a small note.

Harry! I hope you like cauldron cakes! - Mrs. Freedman. Harry read. “Huh?” He looked at the package and at the owl. “What... hold on.” He opened the package and inside were a dozen small round cakes that looked absolutely delicious. “Wow.”

The owl gave a short hoot to get his attention.

“Oh! Yes, just a second.” Harry said and left the living room to grab his writing things and a piece of paper and dropped off the cakes in his trunk. He went back to the living room and wrote out a thank you note, rolled it up, and slipped it into the owl's leg pouch. “Thanks.” He said and gave the owl a treat.

The owl shivered slightly and hooted happily, then took off.

Is it just me, or do the owls seem to really like the owl treats? Harry asked himself and thought about Hedwig. She hadn't reacted like that and she had gotten several treats already. Maybe she's used to them?

After that, two more owls came with deliveries. Harry accepted the packages and gave them treats in return, read the notes attached, then wrote thank you notes and gave them to the owls. Of course, that started a chain of them and more owls arrived with even more packages of food.

Harry wasn't sure what was going on until Hedwig showed up in the middle of the latest group. She actually swooped into the living room and landed on the back of the chair. She had a large package and Harry accepted it and carefully set it down on the chair. He read the attached note and almost laughed.

Dearest Harry, I made my plea to the head of the hospital and she nearly exploded as she tried to personally come to you to deliver the food you desperately need. I convinced her that your owl was trustworthy and would be by to take the delivery, and she said that you might need a bit more than the standard meal plan.

Of course, she had intentionally broadcast my plea to the entire hospital and all of the healers heard about what you said. I suspect that you're going to receive much more food than even we as healers can recommend you eat for meals, so please eat responsibly and don't try to eat it all at once. - Healer Ela.

Harry folded the note up and put it in his pocket. I wonder how long the deliveries are going to take? Harry asked himself as he gave Hedwig one of the last treats he had in his pocket. He went back to his cupboard and grabbed the large bag of treats, considering how many he had already given out, and instead of continuously making trips to drop off the food, he brought the trunk out to the living room. He dropped the packages into the trunk without opening them.

Harry started something like an assembly line and wrote out thank you notes as each new owl landed and handed over the package they had, gave them an owl treat, and they took off. Hedwig gave a soft hoot to get his attention and he nodded.

“I know I need to eat.” Harry said and waited until there was a lull in the deliveries. When no owl showed up for almost thirty seconds, he opened the official package from the healer and inside was the best smelling and looking breakfast he had ever seen.

It had two sausages, a pile of scrambled eggs so fluffy that they were nearly six inches thick and eight inches around (it looked like a cake, except it was eggs), a quarter pound of cooked bacon, four toast, and a large bottle of juice and a carton of milk.

How the heck am I going to eat all of that? Harry asked himself and just stared at the huge meal. Even Dudley would have a hard time eating it all! He looked at the pile of food packages in his trunk and smiled. I guess I don't have to worry about food for a while.

Three more owls showed up and he looked at the window.

A long while. Harry thought and took the packages, gave the owls thank you notes and treats, then started eating breakfast.

*

Vernon and Petunia had stared at the scene with wide eyes. Tens of owls were assaulting their home. Even though there were people clearly walking by on the street outside, either going to work or out for an early morning stroll, not a single one looked at their house or mentioned the pile of owls swooping by.

Dudley was too busy eating his and his father's breakfasts to bother looking at his cousin. He had been ravenous all night and didn't know why he was still hungry after eating his midnight snack. Of course, neither he nor his father noticed that they were a little bit thinner than they had been the day before. Their clothes were only slightly baggy and they didn't clue in about what the healer had done to them.

*

Harry had just finished eating when he saw the oddest thing he had ever seen out through the window. A triple decker bus popped into existence down the end of the street, swerved into the neighbour's hedge rows that miraculously jumped out of the way, then it swerved to a stop in the front yard. He saw a woman's surprised face on the other side of the living room window and gave her a little wave.

Madam Malkin waved back, gave him a huge smile, then she quickly walked over to the front end of the bus and stepped off and onto the front step of Number Four, Privet Drive. The Knight Bus always delivered their passengers exactly where they needed to go.

Harry closed his trunk and picked it up after giving Hedwig a treat and a thank you note for the healer. “Hedwig, deliver this for me, please.” He said and gave her another treat, then he stuck a note on the window to just drop off the packages and the notes and he would get back to them as soon as he could. He left the living room and walked down the hallway and opened the door, just as Madam Malkin knocked.

“You look exceptional, Harry.” Madam Malkin said with another huge smile. “Are you ready to go?”

Harry nodded and stepped out of the house and onto the Knight Bus.

Vernon and Petunia stood at the end of the hallway and watched their nephew be whisked away on a magic bus. They both wondered why he didn't tell them that he was going anywhere, let alone asked them for their permission.

Little did they realize that those thoughts had never crossed Harry's mind.