Disclaimer: As mentioned before, I am not J.K. Rowling, and thus do not own anything in this story that is not from my own imagination. Those of you who are die-hard Potter fans will know the difference. :)
CHAPTER 3: Harry's Birthday
For Harry the next few days seemed to fly by, and the closer the day of their interview with Luna approached, the more he found himself thinking of what he was going to say, and subsequently he could sometimes be found staring at nothing, until someone woke him from his reverie. This also led Harry to think on those things that haunted his day thoughts, and plagued his nights. Thoughts of the innocent dead, all those that died that he might live, would come to him like ghosts. Harry often wouldn't even realize where his train of thought was taking him, and though he didn't want to, he would find himself dwelling on the past destruction, and wallowing in despair and depression. Each time he did this, he would be found either by Albus, the phoenix; or by Ginny. If by Albus, Harry would be roused from his state of depression by Albus' song, and by the love and affection that the phoenix would give unconditionally upon his master. If by Ginny, she would shake him, and hold him, and cry with him, and then she would wrap her arms around him, until he was ready to respond, and wrap her tightly in his arms. Then together they would talk of all the good that there was, and Harry's spirits would be filled with hope again. With each episode, Harry's heart mended a little more due to the love and care he received from all. However he worried that if the wizarding world knew of his inner strife, that he would never hear the end of it.
The day of July thirty-first dawned bright and sunny, over the fields near Ottery St-Catchpole. Harry awoke to a light shake, and instantly had memories of Dobby shoot through his mind.
Harry moaned and rolled onto his side, but the gentle yet insistent hands took hold of his shoulders and shook again. Harry yawned, and inhaled a scent of flowers that reminded him of someone.
"Harry, wake up." A voice said quietly, and the hands shook him a little harder this time.
"Ginny?" Harry croaked, and cracked an eye open. There was Ginny; her hair was tied back in a ponytail that then hung down her back, and she was dressed in a baby blue t-shirt, and jeans. All this however was a blur, and he reached for his glasses that were on his night table, in order to bring it all in focus Not for the first time, did Harry mentally kick himself for not noticing her before he did. But in the same second would be grateful for the fact that he had her now, and that he was alive to enjoy it.
"Good morning sleep head." She laughed.
"Morning." Harry croaked again, as he blinked his eyes to get the sleep from them.
"Happy birthday." Ginny said, and with that she leaned in and kissed him. Harry almost spluttered, but managed to control the impulse. It had crossed his mind the day before, but he'd been so busy with other things that he'd managed to forget that today was his birthday.
"Now, get dressed, and come down stairs. There are people coming." Ginny said, and with a flirty little wave, she left the room and closed the door. Harry didn't need to be told twice. He was now wide-awake, and as he dressed in a green shirt, and jeans, his thoughts were on his friends who'd be coming, and would be staying until school started. Ron had been the first one, saying that he was coming home because he wanted to be were his things were during the excitement of the next few days. Hermione had then sent an owl, and said that she'd like to come spend the remainder of the time until school with the Weasley's because there were too many things going on between then and now. Harry's mind wandered to all the things he'd be doing in the next month. First there was the interview with Luna Lovegood for the Quibbler. They would meet her at the Leaky Cauldron, and there they would relive for what Harry hoped was the last time the nightmare of the past year. Then in two weeks they were going to France where they would enjoy the Quidditch World Cup, then the Award ceremony where they would be officially awarded the Order of Merlin. And finally at the beginning of September, they would all be going back to school; Harry, Ron and Hermione to Auror School at the Ministry of Magic, and Ginny to Hogwarts for her last year of school, and her NEWTs.
Harry heard distinctly familiar voices, and ran down the stairs. When he came to the bottom, and reached the kitchen, the whole room began a rousing chorus of "For he's a jolly good fellow," and when it was over, there was a cheer. He looked around the room. There was Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Fred and George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Susan Bones.
"Harry, Arthur sends his love, and apologizes for having to be at work this morning." Mrs. Weasley commented, as Ginny motioned for Harry to sit next to her. Mrs. Weasley then waved her wand, and the food appeared on the dishes in a manner that reminded Harry of the house tables at Hogwarts.
"Harry, I wanted to congratulate you on your acceptance for Auror Training." Tonks remarked. Who's hair today was her favourite bubble-gum pink colour.
"Yes Harry, your parents would surely be very proud." Lupin quipped after he'd managed to swallow the enormous hunk of ham he'd managed to fit in his mouth. Harry thought that he'd never seen Lupin looking so good. Ever since Fenrir Greyback had been killed in the final battle, Lupin had felt more comfortable about acknowledging the advances of the love struck Tonks. They'd been dating for the past few months steadily, and Ron had overheard the twins saying that Lupin was bound to pop the big question any time now. Lupin's hair wasn't as messy, and his diet had obviously improved. He'd also been able to get a job working with the Twins on developing gags for the shop, as well as defensive objects to expand that part of their merchandise. Also, he no longer wore the old tattered robes of years gone by, but had recently bought himself new robes, which today were light brown.
Harry then allowed himself to think about what it was that Lupin had just said. Harry had often thought about his parents lately. He was fast approaching the age they were when they were married, and he often wondered what they would say if they could see him now. He was happy that he still had one last connection to them through Lupin.
Harry was awoken from his thoughts, when a beautiful tawny owl flew in though the window and landed in front of Harry, bearing a letter.
"Who's that from?" Ginny asked.
"I don't recognize that owl." Hermione said.
"Nor do I." Harry said, as he took the letter from the owl, and fed it a treat from his pocket. The owl gave a hoot of appreciation for the treat, and then took off back out the window it had come from.
"I guess who ever it is doesn't expect a reply." Ginny mumbled.
"I guess!" Harry said. He opened the parchment to see the scrawling penmanship of Draco Malfoy.
Dear Potter,
Though we are not what most would call 'friends' I would like to invite you and the others to be my guests at the Quidditch World Cup in France. I have managed to secure for us a private box, from which we should be able to see quite well, without being bothered by our friends at the Prophet.
Also, I believe that today is your birthday. Many well wishes –
- D. Malfoy
Harry was stunned by the contents of the letter. Was this the same Draco who'd wanted to kill Harry after his father was thrown into Azkaban? Ginny gave a little gasp as she saw the confident signature at the bottom, which made many of the people around the table look up from their food to hear what the matter was.
"Who's it from Harry?" Ron asked.
"Draco Malfoy." Harry said.
"And what does that git want with you?" Ron snarled.
"He wants us to be his guests at the Quidditch World Cup." Harry said, and then passed the letter over in to Hermione's outstretched hand. She scanned the contents, and then passed it to Ron. Harry meanwhile shrugged his shoulders at Ginny, and then went back to working on his food.
"Well, he is a very powerful young businessman now." Hermione remarked.
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Asked Susan.
"I was reading the Daily Prophet, and in it there was an article about how Malfoy had bought up two other smaller companies to form one big company he's calling Draconis Industries." Hermione responded.
"So now the git is a corporate big wig too. That still doesn't bloody explain why he's trying to be all chummy with the rest of us." Ron said.
"Doesn't it though? He wants publicity. And while he's offering us a box with no reporters, it doesn't mean that we wont all be seen together, and implicated by association as being part of his corporate genius." Neville said. Ron simply gaped at Neville, while Hermione nodded her approval of his words. Not everyone had grown accustomed to the 'new' Neville Longbottom. The old Neville was shy, lacked self-esteem, and due to his constant doubting, had a poor memory. The new Neville was, if not outgoing, than friendly, had developed a sense of self-worth, and had learned to trust his abilities. These newfound qualities were due mostly to his association with Susan, who had been loyal to him, and had built him up. Helping him to see what he could be, by treating him as if he all ready was.
Talk turned eventually to lighter things, and soon the food was done, and everyone was stuffed.
"Well, I think Harry should open his gifts next." Said Mrs. Weasley as she sent them to the living room where a pile of packages awaited him.
The first package Harry laid eyes on was one that worried him the most. It was long, and Harry had twice before seen packages like it. He saw that it was a joint gift from the Twins, Lupin, and Tonks. He tore open the brown paper with which it had been quickly wrapped, and found exactly what he had known it would be.
"Is that…?" Ron trailed off.
"Now Harry, before you object, we have one stipulation with this gift." Tonks said as Harry began to object.
"It's a broom!" Ginny exclaimed.
"What's the stipulation?" Harry asked.
"That you give your old broom to Ginny, so she has a downright good broom with which to captain the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Lupin answered. Harry looked concerned. After all, he'd received that broom as the last gift from his Godfather Sirius before his death.
"We realize that parting with that broom is difficult Harry, and of course we can't force you. However, we also realize that there's probably no one in this world you'd give that broom to other than Ginny. Tonks said. Harry looked pensive for a moment, then his face cleared, and a huge grin broke across his face.
"Done." Harry said. Ginny's eyes went wide at the prospect of owning Harry's beloved Firebolt, and she grabbed him for a big hug, before allowing him to finish unwrapping the new broom. Harry didn't need to read the fine gold lettering that was engraved onto the wood of the handle to know that it was the new Firebolt eX, the fastest broom on the market that wasn't custom crafted.
The young men all looked at it with wonder, as Harry caressed the handle. After a moment though, Harry's curiosity over the contents of the other few packages won out, and he placed his new broom to the side.
The next package was a book from Hermione. Harry opened it up, and found that it was an Auror Training Manual written by a wizard named Merlin J. Moody. Harry suspected that this Moody was probably an ancestor of Mad Eye Moody.
The next package was from Neville, Harry opened the little box to find what looked like a tiny polished mirror set inside a glass ball.
"Neville, what is it?" Harry asked.
"It's a mini foe glass. I found it in a new shop on Diagon Alley. They told me that the glass ball had spells placed that made it virtually indestructible, and that if you could see a person's face so clearly that you could see the colour of his eyes, then you were in danger." Neville explained.
"Thank you Neville." Harry said.
Next Harry grabbed the package from Susan. As he opened it, he found that there were actually two gifts in one. There was a box of wand care supplies, and a shoulder holster for his wand.
"My aunt told me that those were essential to any wizard or witch in the Law Enforcement, so I thought it would be handy for you Harry." Susan said.
The next package was a rather large box that was marked from Ron. Harry opened it up to find an assortment of things. There was an owl care kit; a phoenix care kit; a jar of some grey substance that had the logo of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and was marked 'Invisi-paste'; a silver wristband; and what looked like a block of wood that had been hollowed out.
"I understand the care kits, and the invisi-paste. And the wristband is nice, but what's with the block of wood, and should I perform revealing charms on these things to make sure they're safe?" Harry asked. Ron laughed.
"Well mate, the wristband is like the shield hat, only actually more powerful, and less conspicuous. The invisi-paste obviously makes things transparent and invisible. And the block of wood, is actually only holding what the actual object is." And Ron reached out and took the block of wood from Harry.
"Let me demonstrate." Ron said. And he stuck his hand into the hole in the wood block, then it seemed as if he took hold of the edge of the hole in the wood itself, and peeled it away!
"This is a Portable Hole! The latest in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes gag merchandise. They only agreed to let me give it to you Harry because they knew you'd find great ways of testing it for them. One thing however, it will not put holes in anything that's alive, only inanimate objects. Also, it won't put a hole through anything unless you tell it to." Ron explained.
"And how do you tell it?" Ginny asked.
Ron placed the hole carefully back on it's block of wood, and suddenly the wood the surface of the wood where the hole had been placed seemed to sink down until the wood was hollow. Next he took out his wand, tapped the hole and said: "Aperio!" And the bottom of the hole simply opened up.
"And to close it back up?" Luna asked.
Ron tapped the hole again with his wand and said: "Claudo!" And then it closed back up the bottom of the hole.
"Also, the twins were careful. You can't use the open hole on the ground; it won't work unless it can open up within one meter." Ron said.
"What if I want to deepen the hole?" Harry asked.
"Accedo!" Ron cried as he tapped the hole again, and the bottom of the hole came up as long as his wand touched the rim. Then "Abcedo!" And the hole deepened again as long as his wand was touching the hole.
"Not to be confused with accio, the summoning spell." Ron said.
"Well that's brilliant!" Ginny said.
"And it won't damage what it's used on either! Once you remove the hole, you'll never know it was there." Ron said, with a big grin on his face. And with that he handed the block of wood with the portable hole back to Harry.
Next he took the package from Luna, and opened it to find a brand new Wizard's Chess set, and a year's subscription to the Quibbler.
"Thank you Luna." Harry said.
"No problem, seeing as how Ronald is always beating you at chess I figured you'd be able to practise more if you had your own set." Luna said.
Harry then took the parcel marked from Ginny. Inside there was a watch that had nine hands on it sitting on a pile of fabric that glistened like liquid silver. He took the watch, and gave Ginny a look as he strapped it on.
"I'll explain later." She said to his unvoiced question. Next he examined the material, and found that it was extremely familiar. He pulled it out, and suddenly he knew what it was.
"My invisibility cloak!" Harry said. And he pulled it over his shoulders allowing it to make everything lower than his neck disappear.
"But it was damaged in the battle!" Ron exclaimed.
Ginny's face turned red. She bowed her head, and mumbled something.
"What's that Dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Yes, it had a burn and rip, but I was able to fix it." Ginny said quietly.
"You fixed invisibility fabric?" Hermione gasped.
"Is that difficult?" Ron asked.
"Quite." Susan said.
"Look, I've kept it a surprise, though it wasn't easy. To tell you the truth, Neville helped me quite a bit." Ginny said.
"All I did was get the materials she asked for, I had no idea she was going to fix it." Neville said.
"Ah, a girl after my own heart." Lupin said with a smile. "Harry, that's exactly the kind of thing your mother would have done. She was forever making surprises for your father, or the lot of us for that matter." he continued.
"And Luna helped a lot too. Please, as much as I'd love to take the credit, Harry really never left me time to work on something so complicated, not that I minded terribly." Ginny said.
"Yes, after what I witnessed the other day out by the Quidditch hoops, I don't doubt it." Bill said, a chuckle in his voice as the couple in question glanced at each other, blushed, and then smiled.
Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat, and handed Harry the last gift. "Here Harry, this is from Arthur and I. I know it's not much…"
Harry opened the envelope, and found a gift certificate for Madame Malkin's Robe shop. He read the amount, and found there was enough for a new set of robes.
"It should solve the problem of those tattered dress robes." Mrs. Weasley commented.
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Harry said, as he slipped the certificate into his pocket.
"Harry, Fleur and I have a gift, but it will have to wait until the World Cup." Bill said.
"Oui 'Arry, we wou'd tell you, but zen it would not be a suprise." Fleur said.
"Well, I look forward to it then." Harry said. There was a quiet moment. It could have been awkward, everyone sitting there, not talking, but it wasn't. Too much had happened in their lives in the past year, and for a few of them, they'd never believed they would live to see the day when they could sit like this, and not worry that tomorrow, one of them could be killed. It lasted a moment, everyone looking at everyone else, until…
"Aaargh!" Ron cried, as Crookshanks bounded over the back of the sofa and landed on Ron's back, the large cat digging it's claws for purchase into his back as it then launched itself into the pile of gifts, then out towards the kitchen door.
"Crookshanks! You bad kitty!" Hermione scolded as her cat could be heard chasing a sniggering garden gnome who'd ventured up to the door of the house.
The rest of that day was like a blur to Harry, as they ate large meals, enjoyed a rousing game of Quidditch, and otherwise kept entertained. Eventually the guests said their good-byes, and of the young people who had come for the festivities, most would be staying the night. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Susan, and Ginny had all been involved in the fight over the past year in one way or another. All were original members of Dumbledore's Army, the Defence Against the Dark Arts 'club' that they had formed in their fifth year at Hogwarts, and all fast friends. All they lacked to finish the group was Draco Malfoy.
Harry believed that Draco had always leaned towards the dark side of magic, and had been an utter git at school, but after the terrors of Voldemort, and the confrontation with Dumbledore on the Astronomy tower, Draco had been changed. The life Draco led after that was one he'd never dreamed of, caught in a web of intrigue he'd only imagined in fairy tales, and buffeted by the terror of what he was fast realizing Voldemort to be, rather than breaking down as so many would, and as all but the strongest of the Death Eaters had, Draco was galvanized by it. He began to learn about survival, about strength, and about looking out for the most important person in the world, himself. Harry didn't like Draco, he was still arrogant, and his Death Eater days had only served to make his ability to make real friends worse. However, Harry also recognized what Draco had done when he turned on Voldemort and gave crucial information to the would-be heroes. For that, Harry gave him a grudging respect.
While these things were swimming through his mind, Harry sat in one of the squashy old couches that sat about the fireplace in the Weasley's living room. In his lap lay Ginny's head, her eyes were closed, but Harry could tell she wasn't asleep yet. Below on the floor were sprawled Luna, Neville and Susan playing a game of exploding snap, while Ron and Hermione played a game of wizard chess quietly on the other couch.
Harry looked over at his two greatest friends, Ron's face was seldom as serious as it was during a good chess game, and Hermione was nervously tugging at a strand of her bushy brown hair, while trying to see what her next move should be. Wizard chess they had discovered was one of the few things that Hermione and Ron could always agree on, other than worrying for Harry's welfare. And Harry found it pleasant to see them getting along. Harry watched as Ron made his move, and relaxed his stance, signalling his belief that he had the game in the bag. Hermione then commanded one of her pieces in a move that forced Ron to do a double take, and Harry saw the look of triumph on Hermione's face.
"Check mate." Hermione declared. And Harry watched the little king on Ron's side get pummelled until it was forced off the board.
"Bloody Hell." Ron quietly exclaimed.
"There, there. You can't win them all Ron." Hermione said, and she placed her hand atop Ron's in what was meant to appear as a consoling manner.
"Ginny!" Harry whispered.
"What?" she whispered back.
"Look at Ron and Hermione." Harry answered.
She turned her head slightly so she could see her friend and her brother better. The couple in question were whispering softly to each other, oblivious to the rest of the room. Hermione had a half grin on her face, and Harry would have bet galleons that she was deliberately flirting with Ron. Then when it seemed Ron was about to cotton on, and flirt back…
Suddenly a loud blast signalled the end of the intense game of exploding snap, and sent the three friends on the floor into fits of roaring laughter. The noise seemed to snap Hermione back to her senses and she jumped back as if Ron had somehow burned her. Ron looked confused for merely a fraction of a second, but then shook it off.
"Well, I'm done for the night. Harry, happy birthday, and see you in the morning all." Hermione said as she got up, gathered her book that had lain unread the whole evening, and headed for her room. This seemed the signal for nearly everyone to begin yawning and saying their goodnights. Luna got up, deliberately gave Ron a kiss on the cheek, said her goodnights and headed for the stairs. Ron seemed a little stunned and embarrassed by Luna's gesture, but he didn't say anything. He simply said goodnights to everyone and followed up the stairs to his room. Then Neville and Susan left to their rooms as well, leaving Harry and Ginny on the couch alone.
"Well, that was interesting." Ginny said.
"Which part?" Harry asked.
"What do you mean?" Ginny responded back.
"Well, the part where Hermione seemed to be flirting with Ron, or the part where Luna kissed Ron on the cheek." Harry explained.
"Both really, but Luna doesn't worry me." Ginny said.
"Why not? Don't you find her manners towards him a little odd?" Harry asked.
"Because I know Ron doesn't like her, and because I know that at the very least out of fear of Hermione's wrath that's the most Luna will ever do." Ginny said with an evil grin.
"I see, so Luna was told about what happened the last time Ron had a girlfriend I presume?" Harry asked, a grin on his face now, as he looked down into Ginny's eyes. As they were talking Harry had taken to running his fingers through her hair, and now and then a few strands would be pushed over her face making Ginny have to either wipe them away, or blow them out of her mouth.
"After tonight, I wonder if they'll ever get together, or if they'll be just friends forever, because they're too stubborn to ask the other if their feelings are mutual." Harry said.
"Oh, I think they will, but I wonder if it wouldn't be nice if we gave them a little encouragement. You know, a little push in the right direction." Ginny said.
"Well, you can think of ways to get those two together, right now I just want the next few weeks of madness over." Harry said with a groan.
"After tomorrow the world will know the truth, and rather than try to interview you again, they'll just steal the story from the Quibbler." Ginny said. "Then we'll enjoy the Quidditch World Cup, and we'll get to see some of France, and then there will be the Order of Merlin Presentation ceremony." She continued as she counted the events off on her hands.
"Don't remind me right now." Harry moaned.
"And you know what will make it all okay?" She said.
"What?" Harry asked, a look that said he couldn't believe that the word 'okay' would ever in a thousand years describe the events of the next few weeks.
"I'll be right there with you, and we'll be able to handle it all together." She said. Harry laughed.
"True." Was all he said, as he scooped her head up, and enjoyed the next few moments showing her his appreciation with actions, rather than words.
The next day, the friends gathered together, and Luna began assembling all her things that she declared not only were essential to her being able to copy their words exactly, but would also ensure that no Niggle-floxes were eavesdropping in order to bring the information back to ex-minister Fudge and his army of vampires.
Each person was interviewed separately. Susan, Neville, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and then Harry. Then she brought the whole group together.
"Well, now that I have your separate stories, I'd like to get one of us as a group." She said.
"What will you do with all this? Surely you won't be putting it all in the Quibbler." Susan said.
"Oh no, I'm going to use quotes from each of you to supplement the information I'll get from this session. It's this one I really want." She said.
"Then I guess we should get started." Harry said.
"Where to start?" Ron said.
"Well, why not the summer after sixth year?" Hermione said.
"Yes, I think that's a good place. After all it was then that Harry decided to hunt for the Horcruxes, and we discovered that there was a way to defeat Voldemort after all." Neville said.
"Well, in that case, I'll start on this day, exactly a year ago. I had then just turned seventeen…"
Author's Note: Okay, I'll keep this short. Thanks to AlphaMech, HogwartsHoney, and OonaMay, for the reviews. In the future I may not mention reviewers by name, but I'll always express my deepest gratitude. After all, it's for you guys I'm writing this, (And my own personal satisfaction of course!) I'm not going to write about Harry's interview because I'd simply have to write a whole other story just on that. So instead we'll leave him there for now, and where the next chapter takes us? Tune in next time!
Please Read and Review! -Leonardo-Potter