7
Saving the Saviour
Chapter 7: It's Party Time
Ginny got up extra early on Harry's birthday. She had a lot to get accomplished before she could get to St. Mungo's and she knew she had to be there for Harry's therapy session.
After a quick shower she dressed quickly, though not for the day. She had some chores to do and she didn't want to get her good clothes dirty.
She first headed out to the chicken coop and gathered the eggs. There was quite a good haul and her mum would probably be able to take some into Ottery St. Catchpole and sell them. The extra Galleons were always welcome.
Next she hurried off to the garden and harvested some of the ripe vegetables. It had finally been hot enough for the tomatoes to begin ripening and in a week or so they would begin to come in in droves. Right now it was a much more manageable amount so that she wasn't out there too long.
Her final chore for the morning was getting a load of wash going, an almost daily occurrence when everyone had still been at home. It was still a four or five day thing with the Twins and Ron seeming to go through a mountain of clothing each and every day.
Fortunately the boys had actually remembered to bring their dirty clothing down to the wash-room so that Ginny didn't have to make multiple trips up and down the stairs to collect it. That alone would save her a bunch of time.
Laundry started, she made her way into the kitchen and sat down to have breakfast.
Her mother and father were the only ones there, lingering over their breakfasts and enjoying a second cup of tea. Her mother smiled at her, though her father had his head buried in the Sunday Prophet and didn't notice her come in.
"You're up bright and early," Molly said, rising to get her daughter's breakfast.
"I wanted to get an early start because they're starting Harry's therapy this morning," Ginny said as she poured herself some juice.
Molly looked surprised. "Do they always work on a Sunday?" she asked in confusion.
"No, but Miss Ashworth said she would come in today to start Harry," Ginny replied, grabbing a piece of toast.
Molly set Ginny's plate before her and sat back down. "Well whatever," she said thoughtfully. "What time is his session?" she asked inquisitively.
Ginny paused to swallow, not wanting to be like Ron and speak with her mouth full, earning her a smile from her mother. "At ten," she replied.
Both glanced at the clock; it was just after nine so Ginny had plenty of time to change and get to St. Mungo's.
Ginny finished her breakfast quickly but unhurriedly and took her dishes to the sink. Her father finally popped his head up from behind his paper. "What? No good morning for your dear old dad" he asked pleasantly.
"Well, you were rather ignoring me," Ginny replied cheekily, as she came over and gave her dad a hug and a kiss.
"I'd never ignore my little sprite," Arthur replied with a grin.
"Right," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "All there has to be is some muggle thing around and you don't see anyone or anything else."
"Yes, well," he replied, blushing slightly causing Molly and Ginny to laugh.
Ginny hurried up and got changed and grabbed Harry's present to give to her mum to bring along.
As she exited her room she almost got run over by the Twins headed down to breakfast.
"Hey there Ginny. What have you got?" asked Fred.
"Could it be your present for Harry?" George asked looking at the small gift wrapped up for Harry.
"You could leave it with us to bring along," Fred said with a smile.
"Yeah, you can trust us," George added, smiling too.
Ginny looked at her brothers dubiously, eyebrows arched. "Yeah, like that's going to happen."
The Twins feigned looking hurt.
"I don't think she trusts us, George," Fred said.
"I do believe you are correct," George replied, wiping a fake tear from his eye.
"I think with good reason," Ginny replied, smiling at their antics.
George shrugged. "She does have a point," he said with a smile.
"Too right," agreed Fred, his smile identical to his twin's. "But this is Harry we're talking about and because of circumstances, we promise we wouldn't do anything."
George was nodding his head in agreement.
Ginny smiled at them. They could be really sweet when they wanted to. "That being what it may, I still think I'll give it to Mum to make sure you don't forget it. You two have been known to get distracted."
"Too true, brother," George said with a shrug with Fred nodding in agreement.
The trio entered the kitchen and Fred and George sat down at the table, joining their mother.
"Where did dad get to?" Ginny asked.
Molly gave her a condescending smile. "He's out in his shed with his muggle things," she said, causing everyone to laugh.
Ginny handed her present to her mother. "Could you make sure to bring this along?" she asked.
Molly smiled as she set it on the table. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it gets there," she said.
Ginny headed for the floo while her mother got up to make the twins there breakfast.
As soon as her back was turned, Fred reached over to grab Ginny's gift. Without turning around, Molly growled, "Don't even think about it."
Fred looked at George and whispered "How does she do that?"
George could only shrug, he had no idea.
Harry and Ginny
Harry sat in his bed, idly paging through one of the Quidditch magazines though he was not really concentrating on it. He glanced at the clock which read just a few minutes past where it had been when he had looked at it before. He'd then look at the doorway and sigh, before doing the same thing a couple of moments later.
April gave him a low laugh. "She'll be here," she said kindly.
Harry gave her a wan, sheepish smile, thinking "Am I being that obvious?" Then with a small laugh, "Yeah, I must be," he chided himself.
April gave him a small smile before going back to what she was doing. He was just so cute.
Ginny arrived shortly thereafter much to Harry's relief. Even Ginny could tell how relieved he was.
Ginny helped Harry rise and put on his dressing gown, glad that he was more at ease now that he was wearing his own pyjamas. She had to help him put on his slippers as he couldn't bend over. April strictly forbid it, not wanting to put any strain on his head wound.
Harry didn't complain, just looking down at his feet made him feel a little dizzy and he didn't want to risk falling.
As ten o'clock approached an intern showed up with a levitation chair to take Harry to meet with Elizabeth Ashworth.
As they made their way through the corridors Ginny and the intern chatted happily. The intern's name turned out to Mary-Beth and she was just out of Hogwarts and hoped to be a Medi-Witch someday.
Ginny asked about what it was like being an intern and Mary-Beth told her everything she could think of, the good and the bad. Overall you could tell the girl enjoyed what she was doing.
The whole time Harry just listened, smiling at Ginny and wondered if maybe she was thinking about becoming a Medi-Witch or Healer once she graduated.
They finally arrived at their destination and Harry looked around in awe. The room looked like a combination of a gymnasium, ballet studio and a medieval torture chamber.
As Elizabeth came over, Mary-Beth said goodbye and said she'd be back when Harry's session was over.
Elizabeth took them back to a small room off the main physical therapy area. Harry looked around taking in the small room.
There was a small table with a couple of chairs at the far end, along one wall was a set of low bookshelves fill with all manner of things, from children's books to strange looking devices that he had no idea what they did.
There was also a basket filled with stuffed animals, another with a set of blocks and all manner of other toys.
When Elizabeth saw where he was looking she said "We often work with children in here."
"So how are you doing?" she asked with a smile.
Harry looked aghast. Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled, handing him his notepad and pen which she had grabbed on the way out.
Harry gave her a grateful look and wrote ~Pretty good. Though still get dizzy a little, but feeling stronger~
"That's good to hear," the therapist said with a smile.
With Ginny's help they got him seated at the table, where they all sat down.
"In one sense what we need to do is teach you to talk all over again, rewiring the pathways in your brain."
When Harry looked a bit shocked, she went on. "It will be easier than when you first learned to speak, because you already know how to. It's all up here," she said, gently tapping Harry's head. We just need to get it out."
Harry relaxed some but still looked a little apprehensive.
Ginny was watching Harry closely and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Harry gave her an appreciative smile and turned his attention back to Elizabeth.
She grabbed a set of cards that were on the table and turned over the top one. On it was a large A. "We'll start with some simple things and progress from there," she said kindly.
"As you know A has a couple of different sounds. We'll start with the Ah sound," she said drawing out the Ah.
They work for quite a while till Harry was finally making a Ah, though to Ginny it sounded a bit forced and a little unnatural.
Harry was looking a bit frustrated so Ginny leaned close and said softly, "Don't try to force it, try to relax some."
Harry sighed and nodded his head. Wondering how making a simple sound could be such hard work.
Elizabeth smiled at them. "Listen to her Harry. What she said is true and remember I told you it would be hard work."
Harry nodded and glanced at Ginny, blushing slightly.
They then worked on the other A sound. Ay like in hay. Again it took some doing but he did get it a little faster than the Ah.
By then Harry was sweating a little and looked tired. They had been working for a little over an hour.
Elizabeth looked up and smiled. "I think that is enough for today and I see Mary-Beth is here to take you back to your room. Get some rest before lunch and I'll see you tomorrow."
With Ginny's help they got him back in his levitation chair and they headed back to Harry's room. Harry was grateful when he was back in bed, feeling quite tired and a little shaky.
Luckily once he was back in bed he recovered quickly and felt much better by the time lunch arrived.
Harry ate his lunch with gusto again and found it further revived him and the low energy he had been feeling when he got back to his room was banished.
Ginny was happy to see Harry looking so much better, she had been afraid it would effect him so much that he wouldn't be able to enjoy his party.
He was feeling so much better he and Ginny worked a little on his speech therapy and made some more progress.
Ginny took the time to concentrate on healing Harry some more. This time things were a little different, as before Ginny held his hand and concentrated on healing Harry's head injury but this time they locked eyes and it was as if they could feel the love and energy flowing between them.
April looked at them and wondered what was going on. Harry and Ginny were just staring at one another with small smiles on their faces.
They had been just sitting there for about twenty minutes when it became time for Harry to receive his next round of potions. April hated to interrupt but had no choice.
She approached Harry's bed and actually had to call his name before he or Ginny noticed her. They both blushed but smiled at the Medi-Witch as she administered the potions.
Instead of going back to what they were doing, Harry and Ginny looked through the latest Quidditch Today magazine. They both were very amused by the dire prediction for the Chudley Cannons' up coming season. It looked like they were destined for another winless year.
Ginny got a bit concerned when the clock slipped past 2:30 without anyone showing up. It wasn't till 2:45 when a Patronus came into the room and went to April.
She took the message and smiled at Ginny, relieving her anxiety some. "Harry, do you feel up to taking a little trip?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.
Harry nodded his head vigorously, anything that allowed him to spend more time out of his bed was okay with him.
April summoned a levitation chair and once Harry was ensconced in it they headed out. When Ginny looked at her questioningly, she mouthed "You'll see."
Harry and Ginny
Molly hustled to get everything together so that they wouldn't be late. Of course her biggest trial was getting the Twins to cooperate.
Finally everything was packed up and ready to go. She even checked twice to make sure she had Ginny's gift securely packed where Fred and George couldn't get to it.
Everyone was ready. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, Percy and Arthur stood in line to floo to St. Mungo's. Bill had flooed to let her know that he would meet them there.
One by one they entered the floo until Molly was the only one left. She breathed a sigh of relief and she joined the others at St. Mungo's.
As she exited the floo she stopped in surprise. "Oh dear," she said lowly.
The lobby was filled with people, all of which she recognized to some degree. She saw Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, Hagrid (who could miss him) Professors Flitwick, Sprout and several other Hogwarts professors.
Off to one side were a contingent of St. Mungo's staff who appeared to be off duty due to the manner of their dress, all who had helped treat Harry when he was brought in.
Neville Longbottom was standing with his grandmother and they were talking to Luna Lovegood and her father.
Healer Payne, who was talking to Healer Dankworth and Elizabeth Ashworth noticed her and came over. He saw the distressed look on Molly's face and smiled. "It appears things have escalated a tad. I've made arrangement to have the use of the Solarium on the fifth floor. Once we get everybody up there we can have Medi-Witch Johnson bring Harry there.
Molly sighed in relief though she was a bit mortified that Harry's small family party had gotten so out of control.
"Thank you, Healer Payne," she said gratefully.
Instruction were given and slowly people began to head off. Some taking the stairs instead of waiting in line for the lifts.
Finally everyone was there. Tonks and Remus coming in right on the heels of the others. Molly was surprised to see them talking to Bill who was accompanied by a familiar looking beautiful witch. It wasn't till they moved into the room that she saw Tonks had a large black dog on a leash with her.
Her eyes widened in surprise but she was interrupted by Bill coming over bringing the witch with him.
"Hey Mum. You remember Fleur Delacour. She was a Champion with Harry in the Tri-Wizard Tournament and when she heard what had happened to Harry and we were having a birthday party for him she asked if she couldn't come along. I said yes figuring one more wouldn't be a problem."
He then looked around. "I guess I wasn't the only one who invited someone," he said with a laugh.
Molly greeted the part Veela warmly. "It's nice to see you again Miss Delacour."
"Pleaze, it'z Fleur. I thank you for allowing me to join you. When Villiam told me what 'ad 'appened, I just knew I needed to be 'ere."
Molly noticed the glance she gave Bill when she said his name and knew there was something going on between the two, though she decided to leave that till later, she had a party to set up.
There were a few tables off to one side and she unpacked the cake and presents, making sure to leave Arthur watching over them so the Twins couldn't do anything to them.
A banner proclaiming "Happy Birthday Harry" was strung up and with a sigh, Molly saw that everything was ready.
Harry and Ginny
Harry looked at April questioningly, wondering where they were headed.
To alleviate his anxiety April said "You've been doing so well, I thought as a little reward I'd take you up to the Solarium on the fifth floor. The view from there is rather spectacular."
Harry nodded, wondering what could be seen considering where in London St. Mungo's was located.
They arrived at the lifts and in moments they were headed upward. Once on board, with Harry facing towards the door and Ginny and April behind him, April whispered something to Ginny.
Harry wasn't paying any attention, just concentrating on where they were going.
Soon the lift reached its destination and as they headed down the short hallway Ginny came up close behind Harry. As they reached a set of double doors Ginny placed her hands over Harry's eyes and whispered "April wants you to get the full effect of the view."
Harry relaxed and waited. It didn't take long before they made a small turn and came to a halt. What surprised him the most was the small gasp that Ginny made and he thought the view must be really spectacular.
Then Ginny uncovered his eyes and it was him who looked wide-eyed in shock. If there was any sort of view, Harry didn't notice because before him stood a room full of people.
"Happy Birthday!" everyone yelled.
Harry felt tears spring into his eyes as he looked at everyone who was there. Right in the front stood Mrs. Weasley with her sons and Hermione. Molly rushed forward and took him into a big hug. Not as fierce as her normal ones, but pretty strong just the same.
"Happy Birthday, dear," she whispered into his ear before letting him go.
Harry beamed at her, hastily brushing the tears from his eyes.
Hermione started to approach next but was cut off by the twins who each grabbed a hand and shook it vigorously, though again, they kept their exuberance under control.
"Happy Birthday, mate," they said together. Then Fred leaned in and whispered "Just wait till you see what we got you for your birthday."
As they stepped aside, Hermione glared at them and huffed in displeasure, she then turned back to Harry and came forward giving him a hug and wishing him a happy birthday too.
Ron was right behind her and clapped Harry gently on the back. "Hey mate, Happy Birthday," he said with a small smile. He thought about making some sort of crack about the situation, but decided against it, seeing his mother eyeing him closely.
Percy came forward after Ron and pumped Harry's hand a couple of times. "Best wishes on your day," he said rather pompously.
Bill was next and Harry was surprised who he was with. He smiled as Fleur came up and kissed him on both cheeks. "'Appy Birthday," she said with a smile. "It iz good to zee you again."
Harry nodded happily, though surprised to see her, he was glad she could be there.
Bill was right behind her and he grabbed Harry hand. "Happy Birthday, Harry," he said genially. "It's good seeing you look so much better."
Harry remembered seeing Bill visit as he had watched with his parents and in a move that surprised Bill, he pulled him in for a hug.
As Bill stood upright, he gave Harry a questioning look. Harry tried to convey with his eyes what he was feeling and he smiled shyly at the older man.
Bill could see the look in Harry's eyes and though he didn't understand it fully, he felt that Harry was somehow thanking him. Bill gave Harry a nod before stepping back.
On and on it went as everyone there came up and wished him a personal Happy Birthday. The only time he and Ginny got concerned was when Hagrid came forward. The man just didn't know his own strength, especially when he was being emotional.
Their fears proved to be unfounded but it may have been the look that Molly shot at the half-giant that reigned him in.
It was toward the end when Tonks and Remus came over but Harry barely saw them, his eyes fastened on the dog that Tonks had in tow.
Tears began to pour down Harry's face but he was smiling widely. He glanced at Ginny in disbelief, who gave him a reassuring smile.
He quickly turned his attention back to Padfoot who lunged forward, looking like he was going to bowl Harry over. Tonks gave a hard tug on his leash, arresting his forward momentum.
Padfoot turned and glared at the metamorph but when he turned back to Harry he approached much more sedately. He placed his front paws and legs in Harry lap and proceeded to give him a gentle lick.
Harry threw his arms around the dog, hugging him hard. "Oh, Sirius. If I could only tell you how much this means to me," he thought.
When Harry finally let go, Padfoot stared him in his eyes and he was sure that Sirius understood just how much it meant to him.
Remus hugged Harry emotionally and wished him a happy birthday.
Then Tonks came forward, her eyes misting heavily. As she hugged him she whispered "When I found out about the party I arranged it so I could bring Padfoot in to see you."
Harry looked at her intently, tears forming in his eyes and he hugged her hard. Letting her know just how much it meant to him.
Tonks understood and began to cry softly. "Damn it Harry, you are turning me into a human hosepipe," she growled grinning through her tears.
Ginny pushed Harry's chair over by the cake where Molly lit the candles with her wand. It was a monstrous affair, six layers high and covered in thick chocolate frosting with yellow icing flowers and letters spelling out Happy Birthday Harry with a 15 below.
After a few moments everybody sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. Some loudly and off key. Ginny was sure the Twins did it on purpose, but everybody knew Hagrid couldn't sing on key to save his life, though he did put his heart into it.
Harry closed his eyes and thought hard about what he wanted to wish for. At first he considered wishing to get better but then decided not to. He was getting better and he had Ginny's help along with everyone else who was working on getting him better.
Then he smiled, knowing just what he wanted. Taking a huge breath, he wished "I wish my life could be as happy as I am right now," and he blew out the candles.
As everybody cheered he looked at Ginny who smiled at him and said softly "I hope you get what you wished for."
Harry nodded his head in agreement, he'd give just about anything to be really happy for a change.
Molly cut the cake giving Harry the first piece, a very large slice and he hoped he could eat the whole thing as he hadn't been on real solid food for that long. He was happy to see the cake itself was chocolate too. He, like Ginny, thought there could never be enough chocolate.
Ginny received the second piece, one just as large as Harry's, earning her a frown from Ron, but Harry could tell he was faking it by the look in his eyes. Hermione didn't catch on and huffed in displeasure at Ron that had the twins snickering behind their backs.
Ginny moved Harry's chair over to a table by the wall of windows and sat down with him. Harry did take a moment to admire the view. Yeah, he thought, it was pretty nice, giving a fine view of the city's skyline but he would have preferred if it was trees and forests instead of buildings, thinking that a nature scene would be more conducive to healing.
Ginny nudged him and gave him a questioning look. Harry just shrugged and made a motion with his head at the view. Ginny shook her head as she gave him a smile, pulling out his notepad and pen.
"I thought you might like having these," she said kindly.
Harry nodded his head vigorously, not believing he had forgotten to bring them along. He promised himself to never leave his room without them again.
~Thanks~ Harry wrote appreciatively. ~Just admiring view~
Ginny glanced out the windows and Harry could tell she agreed with him about it being an okay view.
~I think it would be better as nature~ he wrote.
Ginny smiled. "I agree" she said enthusiastically. Then her eyes really lit up. "I should talk to Healer Payne or someone."
Harry cocked his head in question.
"They charm the windows at the Ministry to show the outdoors because most of it is underground," Ginny explained. "Maybe they could do something similar here."
~That sounds like good idea~ Harry replied, looking proudly at Ginny, who blushed prettily but smiled just the same. Pleased that Harry had given her a compliment.
Harry ploughed through about half of his piece of cake before he slowed down appreciatively. Ginny looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"Don't force yourself," she chided softly. "You don't want to make yourself sick."
Harry nodded, though he was loving eating the marvellous cake, he knew Ginny was right.
As he set his fork down he noticed that somewhere drinks had appeared from. Ginny noticed where he was looking and quickly went and got them both some pumpkin juice. She then began to attack the remains of her cake. When she finished she eyed the rest of Harry's longingly so with a chuckle he slid the plate over in front of her.
It was then that he noticed he and Ginny were alone and he wondered why. He glanced around the room and saw Hermione and Ron standing with the Twins and Arthur, who by the looks of it were keeping them from coming over.
Just then Hermione looked over at him and he smiled and made a motion of his head, calling her over.
She said something to Ron and the others. Arthur and the twins looked at Harry questioningly as if to see Hermione had told them the truth so he nodded with a smile.
Harry could see the relieved look on Hermione's face as she joined him and Ginny.
"Happy Birthday again," Hermione said looking a bit nervous.
Ron was right behind her and said "Hey mate, nice party." He then looked around and actually smiled for the first time anyone could remember while he was at St. Mungo's. "If I could attend more things like this here, maybe I wouldn't mind coming."
Harry's eyes lit up and he glanced at Ginny who was just finishing up the remains of his piece of cake and wasn't paying close attention to them.
Harry quickly grabbed his notepad and angling himself so Ginny couldn't see, scribbling ~Ginny's party! Talk to Molly!~
Hermione's eyes lit up too at reading Harry's note and nodded at him.
Harry's eyes danced merrily, hoping they could surprise Ginny. Giving her one more glance to make sure she was still not paying attention, he wrote hastily ~Surprise!~
Hermione nodded her head in understanding. Luckily they were done as Ginny then turned her attention to everyone. She smiled at seeing Ron looking much more relaxed, hoping it meant that maybe he'd be spending a bit more time visiting.
Seeing Hermione and Ron over talking to Harry it seemed like someone had opened a gate and people began to trickle over and visit with him.
Many Harry didn't recognize as they introduced themselves to him and Ginny explained that they were medical personnel who had helped treat him when he was brought in.
Surprising everyone, Harry hugged them all thankfully. They could see his eyes glistening with unshed tears but his smile let them now just how much it meant to him.
As the numbers coming over dwindled Minerva McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey came over and sat down.
Harry was surprised to see how emotional his Professor looked.
"Mister Potter," she choked out. Then with a sigh, "Harry, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you doing so much better."
Harry was really surprised when he saw tears begin to leak out of his normally stoic Professor.
She pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve where she had it tucked away and dabbed at her eyes.
Harry reached out and gently tugged on her arm, pulling her to him where he hugged her hard.
At that gesture, even the unflappable Poppy had tears in her eyes.
Minerva returned his hug with equal vigour, even kissing him on the cheek as they parted. Everyone there had tears in their eyes but were smiling at the uncharacteristic gesture.
Minerva gave him a sad smile after dabbing her eyes once more. "I understand that there is some doubt as to if you'll be able to return to school on time. I want you to know we will work with you so that you don't fall to far behind."
Everyone saw the look of relief that passed over Harry.
Poppy then came over and gave Harry a hug, her eyes shining with her emotions. She gently ran her hand down his unbruised cheek, locking eyes with him.
It looked like she was trying to find the right words to say, but Harry just nodded at her, letting her know he understood. Poppy nodded in return, tears in her eyes but smiling just the same, letting Harry know she had gotten his message.
Molly then announced it was time for Harry to open his presents. Ginny pushed Harry's chair over to a table that was groaning under the weight of the packages piled there.
Harry looked in wonder, having a hard time believing that they were all for him. It took quite a while to work through the mountain of presents.
Harry took the first present and looking at Ginny, he tapped the name of the giver. Ginny understood and called out the person's name and had them acknowledge themselves so that Harry knew who had given it to him.
He received quite an assortment of gifts. There were quite a few books on Quidditch along with various Quidditch related clothing. Hats, scarfs, shirts, jerseys and other team paraphernalia from a number of different teams.
There were also a number of books on Defence Against the Dark Arts along with books on Charms and other branches of magic.
Harry knew that he'd have plenty to keep himself occupied when he was alone and he smiled at the thought.
Whether by chance or design, Harry left the presents from those closest to him till last.
First came a large set of books on Magical Duelling and Combat from Sirius, Remus and Tonks. There was also a small separate one from Tonks, a small framed picture. At first Harry looked at it in wonder and then he noticed it was a Tonks he had never seen before and he realized it was what she really looked like without the pink hair and metamorph modifications. Across the bottom was engraved "Brother in my Heart."
With tears in his eyes, he motioned to Tonks to come over. He hugged her so hard it took her breath away but she understood just how much it meant to him.
Percy had of course given him a book but Harry was surprised to see it was a magical historical fiction story and with a quick glance at the synopsis on the back he thought it looked really interesting and he nodded his thanks to the boy.
The next one was from Bill and surprisingly, Fleur. It garnered glances from Ginny and Molly wondering what was up with the two of them. It too was a book. The Fundamentals of Curse Breaking and it also looked very interesting.
The Twins box was next. It was rather large and on opening it Harry found a rather brightly coloured jacket, looking rather garish. When he lifted it out he saw a bunch of other things in the bottom with a note on top. "Best not show Mum the rest of these. They're a bunch of our prototypes."
He shared a glance with Ginny who had leaned in and read the note with him. Ginny placed the jacket back in the box and set it aside so that her Mum couldn't get to it.
Hermione's turned out to be a book, what else. Ginny grimaced when she read the title and saw the pained look on Harry's face. Acing Your Owls and it was only the conversation with McGonagall that kept her from hexing the girl then and there. Though she still planned on having a little conversation with the girl later.
Ron's gift was his usual selection of candies, some chocolate frogs, pepper imps and ice mice. At least he had refrained from giving him some Chudley Cannon's paraphernalia.
Molly and Arthur had giving him another Weasley Jumper, a tin of home-made fudge and a new pair of slippers. His current pair were quite ratty looking, being tattered and frayed along with being several sizes too large to the point that Harry had to stuff tissue paper in the toes to make them fit. They were another one of the hand-me-downs that were forced on him at the Dursley's.
Last came the small gift from Ginny. When he glanced at her she smiled but blushed.
Harry slowly opened it and he looked in awe at what he found. The bracelet woven with her own hair struck him deeply. With a shy smile he handed it to Ginny before extending his wrist for her to put it on him.
So wrapped up in each other they didn't notice the looks they were receiving from Molly, Arthur, Remus, Tonks and a grinning Padfoot.
As Ginny placed the bracelet on Harry's wrist the both felt something pass between them, it was a flash of warmth and a feeling of contentment, plus a little more but undefined felling.
To Harry and Ginny it was if the rest of the world stopped, though when they looked back on it later they weren't sure if it had actually happened or if it was just their perception.
Their eyes locked and they smiled at one another, unspoken words flowing between them. Harry reached out and tenderly caressed Ginny's cheek and she mirrored his action.
Both sighed contentedly and then things returned to normal, though they continued to smile at one another.
Molly looked on in wonder, wondering if her daughter knew the significance of her gift. She was torn between being happy and concerned by what she had seen. As Ginny placed the bracelet on Harry she swore she saw a flash of magic. She knew she'd have to think hard about what she wanted to talk to her daughter about. Could things not get any more complicated?
With the gifts out of the way, Harry looked around and was surprised to see that from somewhere plates of various foods had appeared. Most were finger type foods that could easily be eaten without having to sit down.
People were digging in and Harry and Ginny joined them.
It was a little later when most people were done eating that things took a turn for the worse.
Someone bumped Tonks, who stumbled back a step where her foot landed on Padfoot's tail. He jumped away in surprise with a yelp, slamming right into Hagrid. Now normally hitting Hagrid would be like running into a stone wall, but unfortunately he was off balance, leaning over to grab something from one of the tables of food.
With a surprised look he crashed onto the table, sending its contents flying. A large platter flew across the room, striking Fred in the back. He and George were off in a corner showing something to a couple of the young female interns.
As he fell forward into George and the interns, the thing in his hand took off. It was some kind of firework and it ricocheted off the ceiling before heading off crazily around the room. People were diving out of the way, some covered in the remains of the food that Hagrid had scattered.
Padfoot seemed to take great delight in trying to catch the wayward firework, dragging Tonks around the room, knocking people and things every-which-way.
Remus was going to help Tonks but then a rather large custard hit him in the face and he was busy trying to clean himself off enough to actually see.
In one word, it was chaos.
Finally things wound down and you could have heard the proverbial wand drop in the silence.
Surprisingly enough, Harry and Ginny were the only ones not affected by the event.
They were staring wide-eyed at the chaos around them, suddenly they looked at one another, both smiling widely and Harry roared out in laughter.
Ginny laughed too, but more in reaction to Harry than the room around her. She had never seen him laughing so hard. He had tears streaming down his face and he was clutching his sides that hurt from laughing so hard.
Molly stood, plucking string beans from her hair while Arthur began to help people get back on their feet.
Surprisingly the twins seemed to be in no hurry to get up from where they lay entangled with the female interns, it didn't look like they minded either.
Slowly some semblance of order was returned to the room. All the while Harry continued to laugh, albeit a bit more sedately.
Healer Payne came over, smiling at Harry. "You sure know how to have a party," he said with a laugh.
Harry blushed slightly but couldn't stop smiling.
The Healer patted him on the shoulder. "Well I've got rounds so I'll see you later," he said in parting.
Healer Dankworth and Elizabeth Ashworth came over too. The healer giving him a slightly concerned look. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked softly.
Harry nodded, in fact he couldn't remember feeling so good.
The healer relaxed and smiled. "Okay, I'll be in a bit later to check you out." Then with a glance around he said "And thanks for the entertainment. Though a bit unorthodox it's always nice to see something funny here in a place that doesn't see much laughter."
Harry blushed but smiled and shrugged. He didn't think he had anything to do with the events but then realized without them having his party none of this would have happened.
The healer left, smiling and chuckling as he shook his head, having really enjoyed himself regardless of the reason.
Elizabeth came up right after Healer Dankworth left. She was smiling at Harry widely. "I want to thank you too," she said with a laugh. "Best of all was hearing you laugh."
When Harry looked at her questioningly, she smiled kindly. "You rarely make any sounds and I know that even if you can't speak, you need to keep your vocal cords loose and working. Laughing will help with that."
Harry nodded at her, while Ginny giggled. "I'll work on that with him," she said, smiling mischievously.
Elizabeth smiled at her. "You do that, just don't forget to work on his vocalizations too."
Ginny nodded, anything to help Harry was fine by her.
Slowly people began to leave but many stayed long enough to try and straighten up the room.
Remus, Tonks, with Padfoot in tow came over to say their goodbyes. Tonks needed to go get cleaned up before starting her shift and Remus needed to get to his muggle job.
Their goodbyes were very emotional, with Tonks crying once again as Harry hugged her for all he was worth. "I'll see you soon," she whispered as she parted from him.
Sirius was last and he crawled partway into Harry's lap like before. Harry wrapped his arms around him and hugged him like he never wanted to let go.
It looked like he'd get his wish as Padfoot didn't want to leave as much as Harry wanted him to stay. It took a small tug on his leash and a quiet, "We've got to go," before they reluctantly parted.
Harry watched them go, his eyes misting, a sad look on his face.
Ginny gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and whispered "At least you got to see him."
Harry nodded and smiled wanly. As much as it hurt to see them go, he knew Ginny was right and he should be happy because he did get to see Sirius.
Finally it was just most of the Weasleys, Hermione and Fleur who remained. Fred and George were missing, having snuck off with the interns.
Molly looked around forlornly, taking in the remaining mess. Arthur, Bill and Percy were packing up most of Harry's presents to take back to the Burrow. There was to much to leave it all with Harry.
Molly looked at Harry sadly. "I'm so sorry about your party," she said softly.
Harry shook his head, smiling as he grabbed his notepad. ~BEST PARTY EVER!~ he wrote enthusiastically, causing everyone but Molly to laugh.
Harry and Ginny
A/N: Sometimes it funny how things turn out. Early in writing this chapter it looked like it was going to be the shortest one yet but then it took on a life of its own and grew, becoming the longest one.
Well Harry's party turned out rather well, don't you think? How could he have a normal one with Tonks, Padfoot, Hagrid and the Twins involved?
As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated.