Chapter Seven

Birthday Boy

Harry laughed.

His eyes narrowed with anunnatural laughter, his laughter was saturated by an inhuman glee. He tried to stop the merriment that didn't belong to him but couldn't. Part of him enjoyed what he had just seen as much as the other part despised it. He felt sick and content allat the same time.

He was still laughing ten minutes later when Ron stuffed him forcefully into his bed.

"And that's what happened, Sir," said Hermione anxiously. "He was listening to us at first but then his expressions became – sort of distant."

Ron nodded grimly next to her. "Yeah, and then he started laughing non-stop for twenty minutes. He wasn't holding his scar in pain of anything, but the scar was burning red. And he was choking before Hermione stunned him."

Albus Dumbledore silenced them with a gentleshake of his head. He looked at Harry's unconscious form before him. His breathing was still too deep to be normal and his face was pale with a slight shade of purple. The boy looked so frail, so helpless, and so alone.

"I understand. I believe he was having a another vision concerning Voldemort, and he laughed because Voldemort was happy," said Dumbledore in a coarse whisper. "But I dothink he will be fine after a deep sleep. We should leave him alone."

Ginny made no movement to move. She was staring at Harry's face, which was marked by a slight frown. The other two gestured her to get up.

"Ah. I believe a person should stay with him in case he wakes up," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.Somelife returned to his features."Would you care to do that, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny nodded her head absently, her eyes never leaving Harry's face. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and whispered, "let's go" and followed Dumbledore out of the room.

The bedroom was quiet except for Harry's breathing, which had returned to normal. Golden sunlight cast a shadow upon histroubled face. Ginny shifted slightly in her chair.

This wasn't the Harry Pottershe remembered. This wasn't the brave, selfless, gentle, understanding Harry Potter she knew and heard so much about. He'd been cold and distant lately, and now he looked so vulnerable, so tired.

Maybe, she then thought, maybe this is Harry lying on the bed, instead Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. May this this was who he was beneath all the pressure that was put on him.

He's so like Tom. She realized. This was how Tom looked like when he was ill in the orphanage. Both orphans, and in some ways, both had never been loved.

And both powerful wizards, too, She thought. Both have extraordinary potentials, except that Tom Riddle chose toabuse his.

She could only hope that Harry would choose the right path in the days ahead.

The rest of the holidays passed like a blur to Harry.

He woke up the day after the vision feeling physically refreshed but still mentally drained.

"It's nothing to worry about, Harry," Dumbledore said when Harry told him what he saw. "I understand that you have been trained well in the ancient Chinese art of Shadow Boxing, which also helps to keep your mind at peace. You can block out Voldemort now, but he couldn't block out you. That explains why you were able to look through his eyes without much pain. Please understand Harry, nothing can stop the link between your scar and Voldemort, but the important thing is that Voldemort can no longer sense your presence in his mind."

Dumbledore studied his thumbs as he continued to speak.

"After being forced out of you by a force he resents so much last year, I doubt whether Voldemort will attempt to enter your mind again. So don't worry, Harry."

But Harry was sure that behind the veneeroptimistic words there was concealment if not deception. He respected the old man, yes, but he could no longer trust Dumbledore like he used to. Not after being kept in the dark for a whole summer last year, not after the death of Sirius.

For the rest of the holiday, he avoided talking to his friends about the vision. In fact, he avoided talking to his friends about anything if possible. When they were together he listened rather than spoke. After the vision he was even more convinced that Voldemort would take pleasure in torturing his friends. Then there was that spell he used in the vision - how could Harry be sure that Voldemort wouldn't use the samehorrid curseon Hermione or Ron or Ginny? They might be prepared to follow him into fire or water, but he was not, and the only solution to that is distance, not physical, but mental aloofness, so Voldemort could never sense how much they meant to him.

Ron was not pleased with this development, he often looked as if he wanted to talk, but Hermione silenced him with a glance. She gave Harry this I-know-how-you-feel act that would have normally made him feel irritated, but he was beyond caring now. She didn't know how he felt, or she wouldn't have put on that pitying face. In fact, the only person who seemed to understand was Ginny.

Ginny hasn't spoken to him very much since the Snape incident. She ignored him as much as he distanced himself from her. This made it so much easier for Harry not to think of her hair, her eyes, her freckled nose, and the scent of lily around her. He still remembered waking up after the vision to see Ginny's face buried in her hands next to his bed.

So Harry passed day after day practicing mind magic and sleeping. When he wasn't doing these two things he sat in the attic and read the books Silvia left him. Silvia visited once a week to check on his progress, but even shewas coldlydistant. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were usually with him. Some times when Ron and Hermione were off making out, Ginny stayed with him because she "wanted to be with Buckbeak". The two of them would sit silently on either side of the Hippogriff, not speaking much. The silence became most taxing after awhile, but it suited his vow of solitude just fine.

As Ginny promised, they had a birthday party for Harry on the eve of September the first. It was a boisterous but slightly emptyoccasion, but Harry wasn't enjoying him as much as he could. Every now and then he glanced cautiously at the windows and doors of the kitchen, as if waiting to be attacked. Everything seemed ethereal, as ifthey would disappear within moments.Silvia seemed to know what he was thinking, because after twenty minutes of Harry's brooding she pulled him into a corner.

"We doubled the security. Now the house is protected by Dumbledore's spells as well as Order guards, so enjoy the party," She told him quietly and then smiled, "if that doesn't satisfy you, I can tell you that I've also added another of my favorite shield charm. Don't tell me you don't even trust my shield charms. Dumbledore has been trying for months but he still can't take his favorite teacup out of the box I locked it in."

"Thanks." Harry smiled at her. "Let's get back to the party."

The dinner table was split into smaller ones that scattered around in the corners of the room where people drifted around holding their drinks like in a cocktail party. On the ceiling Mrs Weasley hanged scarlet posters read read:

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY, HARRY

Occasionally other Order members, including Professor McGonagall,waltzed intothe room for drinks and to shake Harry's hand. Remus, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley and Mrs Weasley were the only adults who stayed until the party finished. Harry barely noticed them though. The teenagers sat in a corner, absorbed in a world of their own.

"Ron, let' s have a dance." Hermione said, giggling.

"No way. My mum is here!" Said Ron, slightly alarmed as he took a gulp of his Butterbeer.

"Ron, let us have a dance," Hermione said more firmly, tilting her head towards Harry and Ginny, a gesture ofsome apparent secret significance.

"OOOOh, of course. Let's dance, Mione."

"Yes, so very subtle, Hermy... let Ronny and Hermy have their dancy," Fred teased, "George and I have more creative ways to spend our time. There is a letter we need to send, so excuse us for half an hour during which you'll be free to do whatever you want without you noble chaperons."

Fred dragged George towards the stairs as Hermione dragged Ron to the dance floor. Harry and Ginny looked at each other awkwardly for a minute, then both laughed.

"This is stupid," Ginny said, while Harry nodded in agreement, "we've know each other for 6 years, we can spent ten minutes alone together."

Harry still had no clue what he could say to Ginny, so he took a large gulp of Butterbeer instead and ended up choking on it.

"Looking forwards to school Harry?" Ginny made the first attempt to begin a conversation as she knocked on his back lightly.

"Yeah, I miss Hogwarts," said Harry quietly. "But I miss Quidditch even more."

Suddenly a question that had beentroubling him for weeks burst out before he could control it.

"Why did you run out of the kitchen the day I scared off Snape?" Harry blurted out.

Ginny looked surprised.

"Well. That day ...let's just say when you scared the piss out of old Snape, your expression reminded me of someone I don't want to remember." Ginny frowned lightly, but not out of annoyance.

"Oh ..." Harry mummered, lost.

The two fell silent again as they looked at each other. A slow song was playing in the Wireless. Music swirled around them like magic. Finally, Ginny stood up to face Harry.

"Shall we have a dance then?" She said with a wicked grin and a faint blush.

"I suck at dancing," Harry panicked for some reason, "you saw me with Parvati during the Yule Ball and…"

"I'm not Parvati, Harry." Ginny's voice was sweetly serious as she held out her hand. "Come on. It's your party, let me help you to enjoy it."

"Alright then." Harry stood up, feeling nervous.

It was a slow dance. Harry held himself at a decent distance from Ginny, staring uncertainly at a point over her shoulder. He felt awkward as if his shoes are too big for his feet. But Ginny was right about one thing, dancing with her was different to dancing with Parvati. Parvati never had the faint smell of lily; Parvati never made his heart swell and pace up with nervousnesseach time theirbodies brushed againsteach other; Parvati never made his throat dry when her hair tickled his face ... Finally, Harry gathered enough courage to look into her eyes.

Ginny's eyes held a mixture of confusion, shyness and joy. A faint blush hung on to her cheeks, and her breathing was shallow and fast.

From another corner, Hermione surveyed the dancing figures of Harry and Ginny.

"You are a genius planner, Ronald Weasley." She breathed, making Ron blush.

"It's so obvious. They are completely lost in each other." Said Ron in a matter of fact way. "Why she's still going out with that Dean is just beyond me."

Hermione sighed in resignation.

"Ronald ... this whole plan is amazing, but you still have a lot to learn. It's her self-esteem, but girls' mentality is obviously too complicated for you, so I will leave it like that. Just remember: She did have a silly crush on him years ago, a fact your lovely brothers didn't really miss."

Ron gave her a lop-sided grin.

"Alright then, girls' mentality is beyond me, and now's as good a time as any to learn." He looked into her eyes with open affection. "Shall I start with thissexy woman before me then?"

"You arepretty sexyourself, Ronald."

The party went on until midnight. When the clock struck midnight, Harry was pushed towards a mass of package piled on a table.

Harry stared at the pile of presents before him open-mouthed.

"All these – these are my presents?" He asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, open them, mate." Encouraged Ron while Harry reached out a trembling hand.

Ron had given him a book called"The SeekerThat MadeHistory." Hermione surprised him by not giving him a book, instead, he found in her package a pair of grayish-purple gloves.

"What are these?" Asked Ron in a disgusted voice. "It's summer, Hermione!"

"Duh…" Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "These are not normal gloves, if certain people could just open their eyes and look. I found them in a muggle junk shop, if you could believe that! The old muggle obvious didn't realize what it was, because he could have sold that for ten thousands times more than the price he offered."

She took out the gloves and pulled Harry's hand towards her.

"It's made of Graphorn hide, I read about it." Hermione explained as she forced the gloves onto Harry's hands. "Graphorn hide is tougher than dragon skin and repel most known aggressive spells. It also intensifies magic, so I thought it would be suitable for Harry, given what he's been learning. Theoretically speaking, these should replace your wands."

The gloves stuck to Harry's hand like a layer of thick, dead skin. For a while it remained there looking out of place in his summer shirt and shorts. Then, they shimmered and disappeared as if he never wore it.

"Any material made from Graphorn hide becomes almost as an extension of the skin when you wear it." Hermione said, seeing the perplexed expression on other people's face. "It allows water and air through but if someone uses an axe to chop at your hand, it won't even leave a mark. The gloves also absorb spells, so you can charge it with spells and shoot them off anytime you want without saying the incantations, but I don't know how it's done."

Harry studied his hands carefully. He felt only the faintest pressure on his hands and got used to that feeling very quickly.

"Thanks Hermione." He smiled at her gratefully.

Silvia's presents were even stranger. Her box contained a pair of tiny, transparent glasses that dangled dangerously on the ridge of his nose.

"They are magical glasses. I made them myself." She blushed. "I don't really have money to buy anything like that glove. Anyway, you put the glasses on and they will adjust themselves to suit your eyesight, then they will attach to your eyes so that you can't even see them. A bit like magical contact lens, but safer because they never break."

Harry took off his old pair of glasses and put on the new one. The world remained blurred for a moment and immediately focused. It felt a little strange without the usual weight on his nose.

"Wow, you look nice without glasses Harry," said Silvia, her voice a little high pitched.

Harry smiled and gave her a hug: "thanks."

The twins gave him their newest product from their joke shop.

"The first pair." Said Fred.

"We made." Finished George.

"It's an animated toy spider." Said Fred, holding out a hairy ball about the size of his thumb.

"And you can animate it by voice. The present password is: Go Bug Ron. Like this," chimed George, receiving a glare from his younger brother. He placed the little spider on Harry's shoulder where it uncurled itself and crouched there.

"It does loads of things: eavesdrop, steal small things, scare Ronny, carry messages,scare Ronny alitte more.Anyway even Gred and I haven't discovered the full extent of its ability, so write a report to us when you manage to put into mischief."

"And you can see through its eyes with this," said George, handing Harry a pair of equally hairy glasses. "Sorry about the fur, but we really didn't have time to come up with something stylish."

Harry grinned at them. He didn't need polyjuice potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room now. The twins were right, therewas a lot of thing this little cutie could do.

The rest of his presents were mostly books from order members. Most of them were Defense Against the Dark Arts books, but Dumbledore gave him a book of ancient spells and an "Ancient Rune Translator" to help him understand the ancient spells better. Harry raised an eyebrow. He had a roughidea of what kind of spells were recorded in this book, andhe was sure the headmaster did too. He was grateful, but very surprised that Dumbledore would give him a bookwhich potentially recorded the most dangerous dark spells in existence.

Finally, after an hour of handshaks and hugs, there was only one little package left on the table. Harry opened it and inside there was an amulet. The amulet was shaped like a basilisk with its mouth open. In its open mouth the basilisk held a perfectly oval shaped quartz. Not difficult to guess whom it was from.

"Thanks Ginny." Harry whispered as he put it on. "It's beautiful."

"It's supposed to protect you." Ginny gave him a small smile. "I don't know how it works, but the seller told me that it's supposed to protect whoever wearing it."

Mrs Weasley yawned.

"Oh, it's one o'clock." She said, looking at a clock. "Harry, take your presents. You people should go to bed. Tomorrow you are going back to school."

Harry picked up an armload of books, the little spider resting on his shoulder like a model pet. For some reason, Hermione's glove made his arm feel more powerful.

"And boys," called Mrs. Weasley after them in exasperation. "Could you please pack your trunks before you sleep?"


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