This story is the sequal to the story A Tragic Loss. If you haven't already read it, I suggest you do so, before reading this one. Here's the story ID:1671322
:-)
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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
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Harry woke up from a deep, comforting sleep. He lay there in bed for a few minutes, happy for the ray of sunshine that fell across him, and waited to hear Aunt PetuniaÕs voice calling up the stairs for him to hurry up and get dressed so that he could fix breakfast for everyone. Reluctantly, Harry opened his eyes, and instead of finding himself inside his bedroom at 4 Privet Drive, he found himself staring at a ceiling covered with posters of the Chudley Cannons quidditch team.
Suddenly, everything came back to him. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were all dead, for they had been killed by VoldemortÕs Death Eaters. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape had been killed by Voldemort himself because they had attempted to rescue the Dursleys and the EvansÕ (MarkÕs parents, who were now also dead). Luna, who had been HarryÕs girlfriend for a short while, was dead. She and her father had been killed also by VoldemortÕs Death Eaters. And Ron... Harry had never completely gotten over that. His best friend, dead. Harry remembered holding Ron in his arms while he drew his last breath, and remembered, afterwards, cradling Ron, crying, and not wanting to believe that his best friend was gone forever. The loss of his godfather, Sirius, made everything ten times worse.
Why, though? Harry wondered to himself. Why couldnÕt he stop feeling sad about this? Then something that Dumbledore had said to him on the day of RonÕs funeral came drifting back. 'Death is just another path, Harry. A path that we all must take during our lifetime, sometime or another.' Having remembered this, Harry felt relaxed. He didnÕt know why, but Dumbledore always managed to make Harry feel better about something that had happened, and even now, six month after RonÕs death, what Dumbledore said still comforted him.
Harry got up out of RonÕs (or rather, his) bed, walked across the room to the wardrobe which now held all of his clothes (both Wizard and Muggle), and opened it. He picked out a pair of jeans and a green, short sleeved shirt and put them on. Then he walked over to his bed, after putting his pyjammas away inside the wardrobe, and made it up. Harry looked at the alarm clock, which always told the date and the time, and felt a funny kind of jolt.
The clock said that it was 10:30 in the morning, on the 31st of July. It was his birthday. His seventeenth birthday, to be exact. Harry heard a tapping on the window, and turned around, only to see Hedwig outside of it, with a letter attached to her leg. He went over to the window and opened it, and Hedwig flew over to the desk and held her leg out. Quickly, Harry untied the letter, and as Hedwig flew over to her cage, he opened it.
'Dear Harry,Õ said the letter.
'I hope you have a very good birthday today. I havenÕt sent you your present with your owl, because I want to give it to in person.
Happy Birthday!
Love from, HermioneÕ.
Harry stared at it for a couple of seconds, and then threw it down onto his desk. He was a little miffed that Hermione hadnÕt sent his present with Hedwig. Then Harry felt disgusted with himself. Why was he making such a deal of not getting a present right away? Oh well, Harry thought to himself.
Knock knock.
Harry turned towards the door.
"Come in," he said.
The door to HarryÕs room opened, and in came RonÕs younger sister, Ginny Weasley.
"Morning, Gin," Harry grinned.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Ginny threw herself onto Harry in a hug.
"Thanks," said Harry. Ginny stepped back to look at him.
"My, my," she said, looking at Harry. "You certainly look refreshed."
"And I feel refreshed," said Harry. "ThatÕs what nine and a half hours of sleep will do to you."
Ginny smiled. "Come on, letÕs go down stairs. Everyone arrived here ten minutes ago, and mum just sent me up to see if youÕre awake."
"Everyone?"
"TodayÕs your birthday, remember? You didnÕt think that you wouldnÕt get a party, did you?"
"No...I-"
"Well, come on, then," Ginny cut across him. She grabbed his wrist and led him out of the room.
"Aah, let go! YouÕre cutting off the circulation!"
"Oh- sorry," said Ginny, immediatley letting go.
"Er...whoÕs here for the party?"
"Well, HermioneÕs here-"
"Ah, so thatÕs why..."
"What?"
"Nothing...nothing," said Harry. "Go on."
"Oh. Well, Lupin and Tonks are here, as well as Bill and Charlie, and Fred and George," Ginny paused for a second, and then went on. ÒAnd Dumbledore arrived five minutes before I was sent up to wake you.Ó
By now, Harry and Ginny had reached the first floor, and then proceeded down the stairs to the ground floor in silence.When they reached the family room, Harry was greeted by a 'Happy Birthday!Õ from everyone in the room.
"Harry, Harry!" said a voice. Harry looked around to see who it was, and saw none other than his other best friend (now just best friend) Hermione Granger.
"Hermione!" Harry went over to her and gave her a hug.
"Harry, how are you? I hope youÕve been well! IÕve missed you so much over the summer!"
"Yeah, IÕve missed you, too," said Harry, as he gave his friend another hug.
"Hey, Happy Birthday, Harry," said Fred and George.
"Thanks, you two." Harry turned to Tonks, Lupin, and Dumbledore. "Hey, itÕs so good you three!"
Lupin smiled, and DumbledoreÕs eyes twinkled, and Tonks pulled Harry into a hug.
"How have you been, Harry?" said Tonks.
"Pretty good, you?"
"Well enough, considering that I get to hunt down Death Eaters everyday."
"But youÕll still teach Transfiguration, wonÕt you?"
"Of course!"
"And," Harry turned to Lupin, "youÕd better still be the DADA professor."
"DonÕt worry, Harry," said Lupin, grinning.
After Harry was done greeting everyone, Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time to open presents.
"Come along, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, revealing a small table packed with presents.
"Harry, open mine first!" said Ginny, thrusting a pretty good sized package into his hands.
Harry took the wrapping paper off, and found that he was now holding a cardboard box.
"Thanks, Gin! IÕve always wanted a cardboard box!"
Everyone sniggered, except for Ginny, who just rolled her eyes.
"As wonderful as the cardboard box is, Harry, what I got you is inside of it."
"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry, grinning. He opened the box, and pulled out a miniature version of a quidditch field, complete with fourteen miniature people on broomsticks, now stationary, and the four quidditch balls, also currently stationary.
"Wow, Gin!"
"ItÕs a game, for two people. Each person has control of their own team, and they control their team with their wands. The balls are controlled by the field itÕs self."
"Thanks a lot!"
"YouÕre welcome," said Ginny. Harry put aside this extrodinary gift, and picked up another present.
"That oneÕs from me," said Dumbledore. Harry opened the gift from the HogwartsÕ headmaster.
Dumbledore had given Harry an actual model of the galaxy, which meant that he would never again have to take another Astronomy lesson.
"Thanks, Professor!"
"Not a problem, not a problem."
By the time Harry was done opening his presents, he had recieved the best birthday gifts that he had ever had. Hermione had given him a new and revised edition of Quidditch Through the Ages, Lupin had given him a book all about the latest defense methods, and Tonks had given him a book on metamorphagi. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given him a new sweater, blue with a red phoenix kitted on it, along with some chocolate frogs; from Bill and Charlie he recieved a model of Hogwarts, which was exactly like the real thing, complete with ghosts and Hagrid moving about (and it was silent), only it was much smaller; and from Fred and George, Harry recieved...a small, wooden box with a Gryffindor lion on it. He made to open it.
"Uh, Harry, open that later," said Fred hurriedly.
"WeÕd like to explain about whatÕs in it before you actually open it," said George.
"Ok..." said Harry. He put the box on the table.
"Like what you got for your birthday, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said.
"Of course!" said Harry, smiling broadly.
Mr. Weasley, too, smiled.
"Well everyone, letÕs go out front for the birthday lunch," he said.
"And afterwards," said Fred, "cake-"
"-and ice-cream," finished George.
Everyone went outside, and sat down at a table filled with all of HarryÕs favorite foods. Lunch was a very enjoyable affair, which was followed afterwards by a magnificent chocolate cake, and strawberry ice-cream. Afterwards, Harry sat back in his chair and relaxed. He very happy. Happy that all the people he cared about were here, celebrating his birthday with him, and happy because for the first time in his life he had had a birthday party.
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Read & review, please! I'd really like to know what you think! :-)
:-)
~*~
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
~*~
Harry woke up from a deep, comforting sleep. He lay there in bed for a few minutes, happy for the ray of sunshine that fell across him, and waited to hear Aunt PetuniaÕs voice calling up the stairs for him to hurry up and get dressed so that he could fix breakfast for everyone. Reluctantly, Harry opened his eyes, and instead of finding himself inside his bedroom at 4 Privet Drive, he found himself staring at a ceiling covered with posters of the Chudley Cannons quidditch team.
Suddenly, everything came back to him. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were all dead, for they had been killed by VoldemortÕs Death Eaters. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape had been killed by Voldemort himself because they had attempted to rescue the Dursleys and the EvansÕ (MarkÕs parents, who were now also dead). Luna, who had been HarryÕs girlfriend for a short while, was dead. She and her father had been killed also by VoldemortÕs Death Eaters. And Ron... Harry had never completely gotten over that. His best friend, dead. Harry remembered holding Ron in his arms while he drew his last breath, and remembered, afterwards, cradling Ron, crying, and not wanting to believe that his best friend was gone forever. The loss of his godfather, Sirius, made everything ten times worse.
Why, though? Harry wondered to himself. Why couldnÕt he stop feeling sad about this? Then something that Dumbledore had said to him on the day of RonÕs funeral came drifting back. 'Death is just another path, Harry. A path that we all must take during our lifetime, sometime or another.' Having remembered this, Harry felt relaxed. He didnÕt know why, but Dumbledore always managed to make Harry feel better about something that had happened, and even now, six month after RonÕs death, what Dumbledore said still comforted him.
Harry got up out of RonÕs (or rather, his) bed, walked across the room to the wardrobe which now held all of his clothes (both Wizard and Muggle), and opened it. He picked out a pair of jeans and a green, short sleeved shirt and put them on. Then he walked over to his bed, after putting his pyjammas away inside the wardrobe, and made it up. Harry looked at the alarm clock, which always told the date and the time, and felt a funny kind of jolt.
The clock said that it was 10:30 in the morning, on the 31st of July. It was his birthday. His seventeenth birthday, to be exact. Harry heard a tapping on the window, and turned around, only to see Hedwig outside of it, with a letter attached to her leg. He went over to the window and opened it, and Hedwig flew over to the desk and held her leg out. Quickly, Harry untied the letter, and as Hedwig flew over to her cage, he opened it.
'Dear Harry,Õ said the letter.
'I hope you have a very good birthday today. I havenÕt sent you your present with your owl, because I want to give it to in person.
Happy Birthday!
Love from, HermioneÕ.
Harry stared at it for a couple of seconds, and then threw it down onto his desk. He was a little miffed that Hermione hadnÕt sent his present with Hedwig. Then Harry felt disgusted with himself. Why was he making such a deal of not getting a present right away? Oh well, Harry thought to himself.
Knock knock.
Harry turned towards the door.
"Come in," he said.
The door to HarryÕs room opened, and in came RonÕs younger sister, Ginny Weasley.
"Morning, Gin," Harry grinned.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Ginny threw herself onto Harry in a hug.
"Thanks," said Harry. Ginny stepped back to look at him.
"My, my," she said, looking at Harry. "You certainly look refreshed."
"And I feel refreshed," said Harry. "ThatÕs what nine and a half hours of sleep will do to you."
Ginny smiled. "Come on, letÕs go down stairs. Everyone arrived here ten minutes ago, and mum just sent me up to see if youÕre awake."
"Everyone?"
"TodayÕs your birthday, remember? You didnÕt think that you wouldnÕt get a party, did you?"
"No...I-"
"Well, come on, then," Ginny cut across him. She grabbed his wrist and led him out of the room.
"Aah, let go! YouÕre cutting off the circulation!"
"Oh- sorry," said Ginny, immediatley letting go.
"Er...whoÕs here for the party?"
"Well, HermioneÕs here-"
"Ah, so thatÕs why..."
"What?"
"Nothing...nothing," said Harry. "Go on."
"Oh. Well, Lupin and Tonks are here, as well as Bill and Charlie, and Fred and George," Ginny paused for a second, and then went on. ÒAnd Dumbledore arrived five minutes before I was sent up to wake you.Ó
By now, Harry and Ginny had reached the first floor, and then proceeded down the stairs to the ground floor in silence.When they reached the family room, Harry was greeted by a 'Happy Birthday!Õ from everyone in the room.
"Harry, Harry!" said a voice. Harry looked around to see who it was, and saw none other than his other best friend (now just best friend) Hermione Granger.
"Hermione!" Harry went over to her and gave her a hug.
"Harry, how are you? I hope youÕve been well! IÕve missed you so much over the summer!"
"Yeah, IÕve missed you, too," said Harry, as he gave his friend another hug.
"Hey, Happy Birthday, Harry," said Fred and George.
"Thanks, you two." Harry turned to Tonks, Lupin, and Dumbledore. "Hey, itÕs so good you three!"
Lupin smiled, and DumbledoreÕs eyes twinkled, and Tonks pulled Harry into a hug.
"How have you been, Harry?" said Tonks.
"Pretty good, you?"
"Well enough, considering that I get to hunt down Death Eaters everyday."
"But youÕll still teach Transfiguration, wonÕt you?"
"Of course!"
"And," Harry turned to Lupin, "youÕd better still be the DADA professor."
"DonÕt worry, Harry," said Lupin, grinning.
After Harry was done greeting everyone, Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time to open presents.
"Come along, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, revealing a small table packed with presents.
"Harry, open mine first!" said Ginny, thrusting a pretty good sized package into his hands.
Harry took the wrapping paper off, and found that he was now holding a cardboard box.
"Thanks, Gin! IÕve always wanted a cardboard box!"
Everyone sniggered, except for Ginny, who just rolled her eyes.
"As wonderful as the cardboard box is, Harry, what I got you is inside of it."
"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry, grinning. He opened the box, and pulled out a miniature version of a quidditch field, complete with fourteen miniature people on broomsticks, now stationary, and the four quidditch balls, also currently stationary.
"Wow, Gin!"
"ItÕs a game, for two people. Each person has control of their own team, and they control their team with their wands. The balls are controlled by the field itÕs self."
"Thanks a lot!"
"YouÕre welcome," said Ginny. Harry put aside this extrodinary gift, and picked up another present.
"That oneÕs from me," said Dumbledore. Harry opened the gift from the HogwartsÕ headmaster.
Dumbledore had given Harry an actual model of the galaxy, which meant that he would never again have to take another Astronomy lesson.
"Thanks, Professor!"
"Not a problem, not a problem."
By the time Harry was done opening his presents, he had recieved the best birthday gifts that he had ever had. Hermione had given him a new and revised edition of Quidditch Through the Ages, Lupin had given him a book all about the latest defense methods, and Tonks had given him a book on metamorphagi. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given him a new sweater, blue with a red phoenix kitted on it, along with some chocolate frogs; from Bill and Charlie he recieved a model of Hogwarts, which was exactly like the real thing, complete with ghosts and Hagrid moving about (and it was silent), only it was much smaller; and from Fred and George, Harry recieved...a small, wooden box with a Gryffindor lion on it. He made to open it.
"Uh, Harry, open that later," said Fred hurriedly.
"WeÕd like to explain about whatÕs in it before you actually open it," said George.
"Ok..." said Harry. He put the box on the table.
"Like what you got for your birthday, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley said.
"Of course!" said Harry, smiling broadly.
Mr. Weasley, too, smiled.
"Well everyone, letÕs go out front for the birthday lunch," he said.
"And afterwards," said Fred, "cake-"
"-and ice-cream," finished George.
Everyone went outside, and sat down at a table filled with all of HarryÕs favorite foods. Lunch was a very enjoyable affair, which was followed afterwards by a magnificent chocolate cake, and strawberry ice-cream. Afterwards, Harry sat back in his chair and relaxed. He very happy. Happy that all the people he cared about were here, celebrating his birthday with him, and happy because for the first time in his life he had had a birthday party.
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Read & review, please! I'd really like to know what you think! :-)
