Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Harry Potter and the Dream Come True
Chapter Nine - The Party at Grimmauld Place
"Well, this is just great," Harry declared as he gazed mournfully at his closet of Dudley's hand-me-downs. "Remus said to wear something nice. I am so screwed." Spotting a tuft of lace peeking out from behind a heavily stained shirt, Harry grabbed the offending material and pulled it out to reveal a women's cocktail dress, complete with plunging neckline and fuchsia bows.
Sirius bounded into the room. "Are you dressed yet? Is it something nice? It's almost time to go!"
Then he noticed the hideous dress his godson was currently studying with apparent interest.
He blinked. "On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have vetoed James's idea of having Missy dress you."
Harry scowled and thrust the dress back into the closet where it belonged. "Time to go where?" he asked airily, pretending nothing had happened.
Sirius smiled mysteriously. "Oh, nowhere. Well, actually… James'll explain downstairs." He checked his watch. "You'd really better get dressed, you know. James will throw a hissy fit if we're late."
A low growl emanated from Harry's throat. "Late for what? And in terms of clothing… if you can call this clothing… which do you prefer? The sickly puce-green t-shirt or the ragged pink blouse? Wait a minute, that's Aunt Petunia's as well. Why does Dudley have so much of his mother's clothing?" Harry asked rhetorically as he tossed the disgustingly frilly blouse over his shoulder. Sirius looked on in amusement.
"You didn't consider checking the other closet, did you?"
"What other closet?" Harry asked absentmindedly as he attempted to brush a clod of dirt off a halfway decent purple shirt. "This is the only closet in the room."
Sirius simply grinned, reached out a hand, and pressed down a lion carving on the nearby wall. The wall swung open to reveal an extensive walk-in closet, filled with expensive robes of varying size and color. Harry gaped in astonishment.
"Oh come on, Harry. You're in the frickin' Potter manor. Remember the Potters? Filthy rich family? Did you seriously think your father would let you even go near this room unless it was fully stocked with everything you could possibly need?"
Harry flushed. "Right." Hurrying into the closet, Harry grabbed a dark green robe and sped into the attached bathroom. A few minutes later he emerged with robes in place and hair coiffed, looking fairly decent, and perhaps even a little bit handsome.
Sirius beamed. "Looking great, kid. Let's get going, or James is gonna have my hide."
Grabbing his wand as he went, Harry stuffed the rod into his pocket and followed Sirius as he sauntered out of the room, prattling on about the most random subject he could think of. Today's topic was chicken farming in space. And Sirius said he was weird.
.:Downstairs:.
"About time you got here," James said crossly from his armchair, which Missy, who was spiking his hair with massive amounts of gel, had tied him to. "Could we leave now? No offense Missy, but I'd rather not look like Snivellus."
"Snivellus?" Harry asked in interest as he and Sirius strolled over to their bound friend. Remus, sitting across from James, looked up from the magazine he was reading (The Quibbler), sighed, and tossed it onto a nearby end table.
"Yes, Snivellus. Our nickname for Professor Snape," Remus explained.
Sirius snorted. "I still can't believe that git ever became a professor."
"You and me both," Harry laughed.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt," James snapped sarcastically, "but would one of you mind helping me get away from this scissor-wielding psycho!"
Missy, who was completely ignoring her master as usual, gave a final tug to his hair (causing James to yelp), snapped her fingers to vanish the ropes, and disappeared with a pop.
James vainly attempted to muss his hair, but discovered that Missy had used some sort of magically strong, super-hold gel. Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably when James was on the verge of whimpering in distress.
"Sorry to interrupt your… uh… grooming, Dad, but… where are we going, exactly?"
James abandoned his fussing and leveled a death glare at Sirius, who raised his hands in mock innocence and backed away. "Hey! It wasn't my fault! It just slipped out! You know I don't have any self-control! Don't kill me!"
"Fine," James sighed. "Since our resident genius here tipped you off early, the surprise is kind of ruined, so I suppose you can know. We're going to number 12, Grimmauld Place."
The Marauders waited in anticipation for Harry's elated response to James's declaration. Harry, of course, had no idea what they were talking about.
"Number who, what?"
Sirius cleared his throat importantly. "Just as the Potters have the Potter Manor, the Blacks have Grimmauld Place."
"Er…"
"It's the Black house! The ancestral home that has belonged to my family for generations! I used to live there when I was a kid – then I was arrested, imprisoned, and escaped, so I gave it to the Order to use as headquarters."
"The place where you grew up?" Harry said excitedly. "This I want to see!"
"Just one word of advice?" Remus cut in. "Don't be surprised by what you see there, Harry. The Blacks are traditionally a very dark-magic oriented family. Sirius here is an exception to the Black norm, but his house is exactly what you'd expect of a dark wizard."
Harry gulped. "So… what? The house is going to attack me or something?"
Sirius grimaced. "No, but let's just say it's not the most pleasant of places. And keep your voice down once we get there, alright?"
Harry frowned in puzzlement. "Alright…"
Understanding sparked in James's eyes. "Your mum's portrait's still there, then?" Sirius nodded glumly. "Shit. Forget what Sirius said Harry. Don't make any noise at all. You do not want to hear his mum when she's disturbed."
"Er… okay…"
"Great!" Sirius exclaimed cheerfully. "Let's go! Take some floo powder, Harry. The address is 12, Grimmauld Place. Go on!"
Harry sighed unhappily, grabbed a handful of floo powder out of the official floo powder bucket, and jumped into the ornate marble fireplace set into the sidewall of the entrance hall.
"Ten sickles says he gets lost," Sirius snickered to James as Harry leapt into the flames while shouting his destination.
"Fifteen says he ends up exactly where he meant to go," Remus countered with a twinkle in his eye. James gaped at his old friend in astonishment. Remus never bet on anything that wasn't completely assured.
"I see age has thrown your caution to the wind," he proclaimed happily. "Good on you, Moony!"
Remus snorted. "Have more faith in your son, James."
James shook his head. "Never assume anything when it comes to Potters and floo powder, my friend. When mortal enemies work in tandem, there can be no knowing what the result will be."
.:Grimmauld Place:.
Harry tumbled out of a large, stone fireplace, and promptly banged his head on the hard flagstone floor. While Sirius, James, and Remus rolled out after him, Harry took the opportunity to examine his surroundings. He was in a fairly large kitchen, with a large wooden table and chairs set directly in front of him, and what looked suspiciously like bloodstains pooled around the base of the stove.
"Home sweet home," Sirius muttered darkly, but quickly plastered a smile on his face when James glared at him in warning. "Right! Well, this way, Harry. We're going to go down the hall to your right, all the way to the double doors at the end of the hall. Try not to make any noise."
With Sirius in the lead, the four tiptoed their way out of the kitchen, down the dark, gloomy hall, and past various evil looking paintings, as well as a large set of curtains that Harry figured must be covering a window. As they passed the curtains, Sirius mouthed the words, "My mum". That must be his mum's portrait, Harry realized.
When they finally reached the double doors at the end of the hall, Sirius guided Harry to the front of the group, and urged him to open the doors. Harry, shrugging, did as he was told. The room beyond was pitch black, so dark that he couldn't see anything at all. Behind him, he heard the three men shuffle inside and shut the door quietly. James's voice whispered Silencio, and Harry suddenly found himself very worried over what they were planning.
Suddenly, the lights flared into existence, and Harry was shocked to find himself starring out at over thirty people, all sporting brightly colored clothing and beaming widely. He spotted among the crowd Hermione, the Weasleys, Mad-Eye Moody, and quite a few adults he didn't recognize. Having not seen Hermione or the Weasleys in two weeks, Harry was delighted to see them, and almost missed the huge cake lying on a table in front of him, with the words "Happy Birthday, Harry" written in sparkly green icing.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" the occupants of the room chorused, and Harry whirled around to find his father, godfather, and Remus grinning triumphantly. Harry felt his face hurting, and realized that he was grinning just as happily. Then a thought struck him.
"Thanks very much everyone, I really appreciate all this," Harry began, waving his arm to take in the multitude of happy faces smiling at him, and the humungous chocolate cake. "But I feel it necessary to point out that my birthday isn't for another two weeks."
Ron grinned. "Excellent point, that. Hermione, care to explain?"
Hermione, her puffy hair tied back in a loose braid, said hastily, "Well, you see, Harry, you've never exactly had a birthday party before, and since Dumbledore said you'd be coming over soon, we figured we could throw you one. But then Mr. Potter came back to life, and Sirius was freed, and I figured, why wait? I mean, they've already missed - well, actually, we've all missed - all your birthdays prior to this, so I owled Sirius and asked him if he wanted to have a make-up party of sorts for all the parties you've missed, and he said yes, so Mr. Potter and a group of us organized the party, and now here we are." Hermione said all this very quickly, making it rather hard for Harry to take in everything.
"And the greatest thing is, we can have another party in two weeks on your actual birthday!" Ron laughed. "Two parties in two weeks; sounds like a good deal to me, mate!"
Harry was overwhelmed. "But, you didn't have to do all this! I mean, I've been fine without any parties…"
"Harry, what have I been telling you about self-deprecating thoughts?" James said pointedly. Harry winced.
"Well, I suppose that's… I mean… well… thanks," he concluded uncomfortably. Apparently touched by Harry's stammering, Sirius helped draw attention away from the flushing boy by seizing James in a gigantic bear hug.
"Isn't he adorable?" Sirius sobbed, soaking James's shoulder with fake-tears as James wrinkled his nose and attempted in vain to shove him away.
"Could we start this party already?" James demanded in agitation. "And someone get this lug off of me!"
The crowd laughed and someone flicked on the wizarding wireless, allowing the party to finally get under way. Harry punched Sirius on the arm and laughed. "Thanks for the save, Godfather mine, but you can really let go of my father now. He's looking rather… delicate."
As Sirius snickered and released the scarred-for-life James, Molly Weasley bustled forward, enveloping Harry in her own hug, and was pleased to see that he didn't stiffen up like he used to do when she hugged him. "It's so lovely to see you again, Harry dear! But do eat up, the cake will get stale! Surely you're hungry?"
"Er… sure…" Harry replied in distraction as he scanned the crowd for his best friends. Mrs. Weasley dragged him towards the buffet table.
"Eat something, dear," she advised him, "I don't doubt your father - bless his soul - has been filling you right up, but I can still do my part, can't I?" She piled a gigantic piece of cake onto Harry's tiny plate and waited expectantly as his eyes took in the monstrous slice. Luckily, Alastor Moody called the Weasley matriarch over to speak with him a second later, allowing Harry to escape unscathed.
He made his way as stealthily as he could over to the corner where Hermione and the Weasley children were arraigned. Ron scooted over to make space for his friend, babbling all the while about how happy he was to see him, how pleased he was that James was alive, etc. etc.
"Alright Ron, I get the picture," Harry grinned, happy to once again be among his friends. "So how are you guys? Keeping busy?"
Hermione glared sternly at Ron, who was attempting to inhale his slice of cake. "Busy? I suppose so. I mean, we're in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, aren't we?"
"Um, we are?"
Hermione scoffed. "Of course we are! Didn't Sirius or your father tell you about it yet?"
"Er… judging by my previous question…"
"Alright, I get the picture. I just expected that since your dad and Sirius are in the Order. . ."
Harry threw his hands up in frustration. "Would someone explain what's going on!"
Fred and George grinned. "The Order of the Phoenix is a group put together by Dumbledore to fight What's-his-face," Fred explained.
"Its members consist of those dating from the original Order started in the 70's-" George added.
"-and those from our generation. For example, us," Fred finished.
"You two aren't in the Order! You aren't finished school yet. Don't lie!" Hermione scolded. "And what exactly did you call V-V-Voldemort?"
Ginny, Ron, Fred and George all flinched. Fred waved his arm in a broad arc. "Because of reactions like this. By calling him something mildly amusing, such as What's His Face, we are adding a degree of humor to an otherwise depressing subject."
"Yeah, Hermione, after all, fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself. Or something like that," Ron added in somewhat helpfully. "What do you think, Harry?"
Harry frowned. "Well, it would be better of course if you called Voldemort by his true name, but if you can't manage that, I suppose joking is the next best thing. Just make sure you don't call him that to his face, or Voldemort will pulverize you. Follow Hermione's example - call him by his name."
Hermione blushed. "Well, I just thought that it would be a good idea to get over my fear of his name sooner or later…"
"That's fine, Hermione." Harry assured her. A pitiful whine caught his attention, and he looked over his shoulder to see Sirius in dog form being attacked by a comb (wielded by Mrs. Weasley). Padfoot rolled on the floor, madly attempting to escape the grooming device. Harry laughed aloud. "Back in a sec, guys. I have to go save Sirius."
"Later." Ron waved his hand dismissingly at Harry, and started in on another piece of cake. As Harry made his way through the crowd, he could vaguely hear Hermione's "urgh" of disgust.
After a few handshakes and wishes for him to have a happy birthday by various people, Harry made his way over to Sirius and Mrs. Weasley. "Mrs. Weasley? Sorry to interrupt, but I kind of wanted to spend some time with my godfather."
She smiled as she attempted to tie a ribbon in Sirius's freshly brushed fur. Sirius let out a loud whimper. "Of course, Harry dear, give me a second." Sirius sent Harry a "save-me" look.
Harry cleared his throat again. "That's alright, Mrs. Weasley. I can wait. I mean, I've grown up without any guardian who gave a damn about me, without a house to call my own, without people who love me… I don't see why I can't wait a few minutes longer to talk to the man who endured the horrors of Azkaban for twelve years and still bears deep emotional scars from his time of imprisonment." He sniffed for effect, and pretended to wipe back a tear. Mrs. Weasley immediately shoved Sirius towards Harry, pulled both of them into a huge hug, and rushed off in tears.
Sirius popped back into human form, and gave his Godson an admiring look. "That was some performance, kid. Do you always have that effect on the ladies?" He ruffled Harry's hair proudly.
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, swatting Sirius's hand away from his hair.
Sirius gave him an innocent smile. "What? You seem to be quite the ladies man. With your talent, it should be easy to pick up a pretty girl. What about that Ginny girl? She's pretty cute."
Harry shuddered. "Please do not ever mention your possible attraction to any of my friends again."
"Possible attraction! It was just an observation!"
"Right."
The party wound down by mid afternoon, and the majority of guests packed up and departed for their respective homes. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys spent the rest of the evening roaming the house with Sirius and James, who happily related many fascinating stories of their adventures in the Black Manor when they were younger.
"-yeah, we had a lot of great times, but I couldn't take it any longer, so I moved out summer before our sixth year."
"You're kidding! Where'd you go?" Ginny asked in astonishment.
"My house." James explained. "Ah, we had a blast. Good times, my friends, good times."
"You aren't giving them any dangerous ideas, are you?" Remus asked James as he entered the room, with Moody in tow. Moody, whom Harry had already greeted at the party, glared around suspiciously, magical eyeball swiveling madly. Moody suddenly stopped, twitched his ear as if having heard something, signaled to Remus, and swept out the door.
"I hate to say it, but it's almost ten o'clock, and Molly's coming up to send you all to bed." Remus explained apologetically. "I think Alastor's going to delay her, but he can't hold her off forever. So you'll have to say your goodbyes, I'm afraid."
"But Remus, aren't we staying over?" Harry asked anxiously, not wishing to be separated from his friends. Remus shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. Voldemort is very eager to get his hands on you and your father, Harry, and at the moment, the safest place for you is the Potter manor. It's a matter of safety."
Harry sighed. "Well, when can I see them again?"
"In two weeks at your birthday party." James volunteered. Ginny gasped in shock.
"Two weeks! Are you insane? Harry'll go batty without us there to keep him sane!"
"It's for the best." Harry told her. "I wouldn't want to put anyone in danger…"
Ginny sighed, and pretended to smack him. "You git, you aren't putting anyone in danger. Get that through your head!"
James gave the fuming redhead a gentle smile. "I'm afraid that isn't true, Ginny, but I do thank you for your concern. Harry? Sirius? Shall we?"
"What about Moony?" Sirius enquired.
"I will return to my cottage. It is my home, you know, and I do like it there." Fortunately, Sirius overcame his base instinct to voice his disapproval of the plan, thus preventing the inevitable fight from occurring.
James clapped his hands. "Well then, it's been a great party, thank you all for attending, and thank you Hermione for the idea in the first place. We'll be going now, so goodbye!"
"Yes, bye," Harry tacked on. "See you in two weeks, I s'pose." He stepped towards the door.
"Don't come crying to us when you go insane from being stuck with only those two for company for two entire weeks," Ron muttered, and Sirius and James affected a hurt air while Ginny and the twins sniggered quietly.
Harry just laughed.
