Harry didn't know which he felt more, angry or sick. Attacking a hospital that was already full of sick and injured people brought out both emotions in him, he was still stood in the kitchen out of disbelief. He didn't know how to respond, how to react to this. He had only really gotten to know Neville in the last year, despite the face that he had been room mates with him for five years. He had always thought that he would have traded his life with anyone, because nobody could have suffered as much as he has, but now Harry realised… how selfish that was.
It was one thing to have grown up with no parents, but he thought back to the day he had found out about Neville's parents, theywere tortured until rendered insane, they couldn't communicate with their son, maybe didn't even recognise him. He internally grimaced at the very idea of visiting his parents in that state, and now they were gone. Harry had felt that nobody could relate to his experiences but if anybody could, it would be Neville. Especially now, that they had ben taken from them in such a horrific and ghastly fashion.
"I think I need to sit down." said Remus, his legs giving way as he sat down.
"I…I don't believe it." whispered Harry, unable to think about anything.
"It was awful… I've never seen anything…" Tonks shivered, unable to finish her sentence.
"Dumbledore is talking to Augusta and her grandson, he thinks it is best if they stay here now on. Thinks they might be a target." said Mrs. Weasley, hoarsely.
"Where… where have you been?" asked Ginny, tears in her eyes about what the boy who had taken her to the Yule Ball, was going through.
"It doesn't matter." replied Harry, leaning against the door frame.
"Just tell us…" said Hermione.
"It doesn't matter, especially now." gritted Harry, silencing her with a look. He almost felt guilty, his entire body felt heavy as he thought about the significance of what Tonks had said. Twenty four people had been killed, needlessly, in the most gut wrenching circumstances. They were helpless, innocent people and they had been killed. He felt angry, so angry at how pathetic the entire thing was.
His day had gone from being one of the best of the summer to the worst.
(Scene Break)
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"The confirmed casualties of St Mungos, stands at twenty-four deaths. Seven are on immediate intensive care so the number may rise." said Dumbledore, solemnly.
"Low life scum." spat Mad-Eye.
"Why would they do this? I mean…why?" asked Tonks, unable to think of any logical reasoning behind the attack.
"To show they have no morals? No qualms about killing people who are already sick and injured." replied Bill, bitterly.
"Where is Snape?" asked Arthur Weasley.
"Severus was supposed to report here before the meeting…ah I believe that might be him." said Dumbledore, the Potions Master walked in. His expression was pale and his eyes lacked the usual distaste that they normally held.
"What the hell happened, Snape? Couldn't you have given a warning" snarled Mad-Eye.
"The Dark Lord did not give me any warning because he did not tell me. I only found out when they returned." spat Snape, sitting down.
"You think he mistrusts you?" asked Dumbledore, looking at Snape in wonderment.
"No, if The Dark Lord mistrusted me, he would have me tortured until I told him so." grimaced Snape.
"So why didn't he tell you?" blurted Fred Weasley.
"Because…he holds my position at Hogwarts and closeness to Albus in such a high regard, that he doesn't want me to risk being captured." replied Snape, his answer was missing the usual sneers that accompanied them. His black eyes looked around the room for anyone else who might question what he had to say.
"You spoke to Augusta?" asked McGonagoll.
"I did, and she is considering my suggestion of moving here with her grandson, Neville. She told me she would let me know by the end of the week." sighed Dumbledore, he had expected an attack of some kind but nothing like this. No matter what, he had never thought Voldemort would have sinked this low.
"Well, there is plenty of room here for them." said Mrs. Weasley, as brightly as she could.
"It's just sick." exclaimed McGonagall, nods and murmurs of agreement went around the room.
"We can't do anything about it now, all we can do is pay our respects and move on." repaid Dumbledore sagely, stroking his beard. There was a pause of silence before anyone else talked.
"Amos Diggory is deciding on how to support" said Arthur Weasley.
"Think you could influence him at all?" asked Tonks, grateful at the change of subject.
"I don't think so, he's taking it really seriously as you might expect. Scrimgeour would be more likely to promote him, but I think his preference is Madam Bones. It's just a matter of what wins out, his greed for personal gain or his morals." replied Arthur, ending with a sigh.
"Personal greed every time." muttered Mad-Eye, a few people smiled at the remark.
"With the latest…attack. It's really going to be close, I think Scrimgeour might edge it though." said Kingsley, speaking for the first time.
"What makes you say that, Kingsley?" asked Dumbledore.
"His regimes and sentences for and Death Eater affiliation will come across as much stricter as Madam Bones. And I think after today , everybody wants to see those bastards dead or rotting in a hell hole." muttered Kingsley, his words tasted bitter in his own mouth.
"I think I agree with you Kingsley." sighed Dumbledore.
"I think that's all we've got to talk about." said Snape, standing up.
"It's Harry's birthday tomorrow." remarked Mrs. Weasley.
"Correction, that's all that is important we've got to talk about." giving his usual sneer, Snape walked out of the kitchen.
"I don't think he will feel like celebrating." stated Remus, as a few member left the kitchen.
"How was today, Remus?" asked Dumbledore.
"It was great, I think we were both having fun for the first time all summer. Then, we came back to the news about Frank and Alice." muttered Remus, of all the days for it to happen it was a day where he almost felt as though life had maybe gone back to as normal as it could, at least for him.
"Well, maybe tomorrow might cheer everybody up." sighed Dumbledore.
(Scene Break)
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"Incendio!" said Harry, the candle sparked alight and Harry smiled. He had not bothered unpacking anything and instead, as an attempt to side-track himself had thrown himself into attempting as successfully casting as much wandless magic as possible. His anger still ebbed through at the thought of what had happened at St Mungos, which might have helped him as he repeatedly cast the simple fire spell at the candles around his room.
Now he could consistently cast the 'Lumos' and it's counter 'Nox', Summoning and Banishing Charms, The Severing Charm 'Diffindo', The Repairing Charm 'Reparo and now the Fire Charm 'Incendio'.
Eyeing the clock he saw he still had a few hours until he was due to meet Bill, he flicked through the books he had yet to read. Deciding he wanted to learn something other than what he would be learning at school in the upcoming year. It almost felt like it was homework, and deciding he needed a break and to lighten up his day, found the perfect book. The writing on the spine was hand written and he had difficulty reading it.
"Fun, Practical and Basic Spells - Padfoot and Prongs…" gasped Harry, it was a book from Sirius and his Dad. He grinned to himself, wondering what manner of spells might be inside it. He opened the book and saw a small, handwritten statement on the first page.
The following spells are ones that we Marauders consistently used during our time at Hogwarts, some of them are practical and some of them are for pranking. And some of them are to make a certain greasy gits life miserable. If you are reading this, then it is up to you to begin pranking the hallowed halls of Hogwarts once again. And these spells will help you all the way, whether you want to use an old classic like hit someone in the face with a pie or something more skilful and technical like charm the Slytherin House so they can't talk for a week. This book can help you, it has everything we used to do at school and I'm sure after a week or two you'll here mutterings about Marauders from some of the older professors.
Have fun! Padfoot and Prongs
Harry laughed at the written words from both his father and godfather. He flicked through the book, looking for the easier spells totry to do wandlessly.
Settling on the Pie Flinging Curse as it seemed to be one of the more basic ones. He looked at the pronunciation, checking he had it right and pointing a finger against the wall was ready.
"Cruscae" he said confidently, a small pie appeared from nowhere and hurtled against the wall, thudding on impact it slid down the wall slowly. He was happy that he had got it right but immediately realised he had to clean up, using one of his smaller robes to clean up the mess he looked for a less, messy spell to try out.
Flicking through all manner of spells, he saw some that made him chuckle. The Water Balloon Hex, that would cause a water balloon to appear over the targets head and burst and one he planned to try out, some were slightly more practical. Such as the Diversion Ding Jinx, which described here caused more of a large bang than a ding. They wrote that it was used to divert attention whilst you did something else entirely. Some of the spells were even duel worthy, such as the 'Levicorpus' spell. 'If the opponent is hit, they are dangled upside down from either of their ankles'. A dark shadow crossed his face as he remembered something very similar, Snape's pensive when his father had used it on Snape.
He closed the book and put it on his desk, the memory of that coming back to him. How vindictive his father had seen, and whilstSnape had technically provoked the duel and drawn blood. His father had still tormented and carried on, even after Snape was defeated. Frowning he returned to spells he had learnt in school. Not even smiling when the Levitating Charm he used on his wand worked first time.
(Scene Break)
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"Poor Neville, can you imagine?" sighed Hermione.
"Uncle Gideon and Fabian were in the Order with Neville's parents weren't they?" asked Ginny to Ron.
"I think so, poor bloke. I hope he does come here, maybe we can cheer him up." said Ron brightly.
"Maybe Harry might come out more." muttered Hermione.
"Did you see Harry's face when we told him. I thought he was going to explode." stated Ginny. Hermione shivered as she remembered the cold glare that Harry had given her.
"Can imagine Neville having more fun here, than wherever he is now." huffed Ron.
"We've got a month left, there has to be something that we can do…" said Ginny.
"Maybe we can ask Bill to teach us whatever he is teaching Harry." replied Ron, perking up at the thought.
"I think Harry just wants to be alone, I mean he's quite uncomfortable when he's around us as it is. Maybe if we just left him alone, he might come and talk to us." remarked Ginny.
"It's his birthday tomorrow, we can't ignore him then." said Ron.
"Alright, well after tomorrow. We just won't talk to him, see how he likes it." retorted Hermione, maybe Ginny was right. If they didn't talk to Harry then he would eventually have to come and talk to them.
"Fine… but I'm not happy about it. I'm going to bed." yawned Ron, it was still quite early but with nothing else to do He might as well get an early night before what would hopefully a fun day.
"Night" said the girls in unison.
(Scene Break)
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"Damn it!" exclaimed Bill, his head throbbing.
"Sorry Bill." muttered Harry, walking over to the older wizard.
"It's alright, I think I'm going to start bringing a Headache Solution with me." joked Bill, his eyes closed.
"Might be a good idea." laughed Harry.
"Alright, we've done that for half an hour. What do you want to do next, got any more wandless tricks down?" Bill winced as he opened his eyes, slowly getting to his feet.
"A few, here. Wingardium Leviosa!" said Harry, levitating Bill's bag to him.
"Nice!" replied Bill, taking his bag and withdrawing two bottles from it.
"Accio." muttered Harry, holding out his hand as one of the bottles flew in to his hand.
"Show off." mumbled Bill, making Harry laugh.
"I learned something from a book I've got." exclaimed Harry as he opened his bottle, he didn't want to tell Bill it was something that Sirius and his dad had written.
"Cruscae" said Harry, a pie appeared and flew towards an old, worn painting. The occupier of which ran out of the frame.
"Whoa, that's quite advanced Harry. It's a basic conjuring spell but still it's impressive." remarked Bill, impressed at Harry'swandless ability.
"You mind vanishing that for me." asked Harry, taking a mouthful of his drink.
"Sure." said Bill, brandishing his wand and vanishing the pile.
"Harry, why don't you try disarming me?" suggested Bill, looking at the wand in his hand.
"I don't know Bill, it's a second year spell but it's kind of a duelling spell." replied Harry.
"Come on, just try it." Bill stood up and faced Harry.
"Fine." sighed Harry, standing up and walking a few yards away.
"Alright…focus…" whispered Harry, to himself. Taking a breath he reached out his hand.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, Bill jerked slightly, his arm jolting upwards but he managed to keep hold of his wand.
"Expelliarmus." repeated Harry, it drew the same effects.
"Come on Harry, I could cursed you half a dozen times already." mocked Bill, swirling his wand around.
"Expelliarmus!" hissed Harry, Bill's wand span out of his hand, unable to keep a hold of his wand. Harry smiled in victory as he caught the wand.
"Damn!" sighed Bill, smiling at Harry who was personally thrilled that he had learnt a useful spell.
As they talked more about N.E., Harry made sure to avoid the St Mungos incident as it only angered him. He hoped that Neville would come to Grimmauld Place, maybe he could talk to him about it. The shy boy had come out of his shell a bit last year and it made Harry feel quite proud that Dumbledore's Army had helped Neville so much.
As Harry was walking back to his room, he felt a headache coming on. Not surprising as he had worn himself out today with all the wandless magic. Wincing slightly as it pulsed and seemed to hurt more, closing the door of his bedroom he walked over to his bed. His head pounded and he staggered, going down on one knee he went to stand up again when his scar felt like it had been split open. Knowing it was Voldemort he desperately tried to clear his mind and use Occlumency but the pain was becoming too much, biting his tongue he tried with all his might. The pain vanished, and Harry very light-headed got to his feet, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him as suddenly the pain returned threefold. The unexpected onslaught was all too much as he fell over and succumbed to the growing darkness.
'Happy Birthday, Harry Potter' hissed voice in his head, in a cackling, all to familiar voice.
(Scene Break)
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"I was surprised at your sudden agreement, Augusta." said Dumbledore, as they walked into the main entrance. Neville followed behind, nervously walking in the wake of his grandmother, his headmaster and two of his old Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers, Mad-Eye Moody and Remus Lupin.
"My grandsons safety is my priority, Albus. I won't pretend your cause doesn't peak my interest however." drawled the elderlylady.
"Professor Lupin…isn't it Harry's birthday today?" asked Neville, wary of the green painted walls that he was used to seeing onSlytherin robes.
"It is Neville, and I said that you could call me Remus." replied Remus, soothingly. Offering the boy a smile. They walked in to the kitchen, where quite a few people had collected in the kitchen.
"Hi, Neville." said Ron meekly.
"Hi guys, where's Harry?" asked Neville, it was unusual to see Ron and Hermione without Harry.
"He's not up yet." responded Hermione, a slight frown on her face.
"Or maybe he is, we don't really know." joked Ron, earning him a disapproving look from his sister and Hermione.
"Oh…" said Neville, drifting off.
"Remus, could you go get Harry. It is his birthday after all." smiled Dumbledore.
"Sure, Albus." muttered Remus, walking out of the kitchen. He walked to Harry's room, wondering how today might actually sit with Harry.
"Harry." said Remus, knocking on the door. There was no answer.
"Harry!" Remus said it a bit louder, knocking on the door with more force. Again, no answer.
"Harry!" shouted Remus, banging on the door loudly.
"Alright, I'm coming in. Hope your decent!" laughed Remus, opening the door. The curtains were closed and it was quite dark in the room.
"Come on, Harry. It's your birthday." said Remus, walking over to the curtains, he wrenched them open. His eyes darted to the bed, it was empty. He looked around and his puzzled look immediately became one of concern, as he saw Harry was laid, face down on the floor.
"Harry!" cried Remus, rushing over to Harry, turning him over. He noticed he was quite pale, sweating slightly and breathing lightly.
"Harry, can you hear me?" yelled Remus. Harry began to stir slightly as Remus went over to his bathroom and filled up a glass of water. Running back over to a now slowly moving Harry, he poured the cup of cold water over him.
"Argh! Dammit!" cursed Harry, spluttering slightly as he rubbed the water of his face. His head ached slightly and he felt quite tired.
"Idiot, I thought you were sick!" scolded Remus.
"Urgh, I feel sick." coughed Harry, holding his head. He closed his eyes again as the light caused him to wince and his headache to flare.
"Why were you on the floor?" asked Remus, still quite nervous. Harry stirred, shaking his head slightly. Trying to remember what happened, then it came to him. The headache, his scar, Voldemort's message.
"I…It was Voldemort." replied Harry, abruptly. Leaving Remus in a stunned silence.
"I think he attacked me, through my link. I tried to hold him off and I thought that I had fought him off at one point but then he tried again. And it was harder and I couldn't do anything, then I fainted." explained Harry, recalling the previous nights events.
"Are you alright, I mean… well do you feel alright?" asked Remus, as he handed Harry a glass of water.
"I feel fine, headache and a bit tired but more or less alright." surmised Harry, gulping down the water.
"Did he try to send you another vision or anything?" queried Remus.
"He said….Happy Birthday, Harry Potter." muttered Harry, clenching his jaw in anger at the message. Remus shuddered involuntary.
"Harry, I think you have to tell Dumbledore. He needs to know what happened." urged Remus.
(Scene Break)
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"Albus, can I talk to you." mumbled Snape, Dumbledore hadn't seen him come in never mind walk over to him.
"Is it important Severus, we're expecting Harry any moment." whispered Dumbledore.
"Yes, this is more important that the Golden Boys birthday." growled Snape, his voice maintained sincere.
"Alright." replied Dumbledore, following Snape out of the kitchen. Nobody noticed as they were all chattering among themselves and making Neville feel welcome. Snape and Dumbledore walked for a few seconds before stopping, Snape casting Privacy Charms to make sure the conversation stayed private.
"This really is serious." said Dumbledore, wondering what on earth it could be.
"Albus, he tried to attack Potter last night. Through… this link that they have." stated Snape.
"Are you sure? Was he successful?" asked Dumbledore, his mind whirring. It would account for Harry's absent if he wasn't always locking himself away in his room.
"Not as successful as he would have liked, his aim was to torment the boy. Showcase him through his parents death, the Diggoryboys death in fourth year and Black's death. But Potter must actually be learning something from Bill Weasley as he couldn't initially break through the Occlumency defences. He was actually pushed out, which I think hurt him more than he let on. Then he just tried to break in to Potter's mind which I think might have been successful otherwise we would have all been cursed afterwards." shuddered Snape.
"What do you think he did when he broke in to Harry's mind?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes urgent for information.
"He wished Potter, Happy Birthday." said Snape.
(Scene Break)
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"Just help me up, and we'll talk about it." grumbled Harry, offering his hand.
"Harry, you said that you would tell Dumbledore if Voldemort did anything." replied Remus, helping Harry up.
"Well, I lied." quipped Harry, making it sound more dramatic than he meant.
"He needs to know." urged Remus.
"Well I don't want him to know. I don't want to have to rely on going to Dumbledore because a day will come when he isn't there and you won't know what to do because you spent your life, going to Dumbledore and letting him tell you what to do." shouted Harry.
"Just because he wasn't there about Sirius…" started Remus.
"This is nothing to do with Sirius, this is about me not needing or wanting Dumbledores help. He's a headmaster at my school, that's it." retorted Harry.
"We both know, that he is more than that Harry." argued Remus.
"Well I don't want him to be!" roared Harry, Remus was shocked by the outburst. He wasn't expecting Harry to be so hostile atDumbledore, he knew that they had been at odds lately but he had no idea why Harry, who had held Dumbledore in such high esteem in the past was so reluctant to even talk to Dumbledore about it.
"What happened between you and Dumbledore?" asked Remus, wanting to know what had caused this rift.
"Nothing, look… I know I can't stay up here today of all days so just let me shower and I'll be down to see whoever is here in a few minutes." replied Harry, calming down.
"Alright…Neville is here by the way." said Remus.
"I thought they were going to take longer to decide whether they wanted to move than that," replied Harry, walking over to the bathroom.
"Neville's grandmother said she just wanted him to be safe, that's probably why." suggested Remus. Harry merely nodded as he went to shower.
He looked at himself in the mirror, visible stubble on his cheeks, chin and neck. It looked quite rough but he kind of like it. He was quite tall now, and although his irregular sleep pattern didn't help his weight issues, he at least looked to be at a healthy weight, a bit on the thin side perhaps but not as bad as he used to be. Ruffling his now, rather long hair he noticed that his scar appeared to be slightly brighter. Stepping in the shower, the hot water felt good on his skin, closing his eyes and letting the waterhis body as he breathed in slowly, knowing that this was probably the most alone and relaxed he would feel today.
Opening his trunk, he picked out one of his new tops, a zip up jacket to go over the top and a pair of chinos. Finally having clothes that actually fit him he walked downstairs, preparing himself for all the needless interactions that would come. He wasn't disappointed as he entered the kitchen.
"Happy birthday, Harry." stated Mrs. Weasley, as she was the first one to see him. Everyone else turned and announced their birthday greetings.
"Thanks everyone." smiled Harry, noticing Neville he walked over to him straight away.
"Alright, Neville." said Harry tentatively.
"Hi, Harry. Happy birthday." replied Neville.
"Happy birthday to you, it was yesterday wasn't it?" queried Harry, putting some toast on his plate.
"It was, how did you know?" asked Neville. Harry was stopped from answering as Dumbledore came over.
"Hello, Harry. Can we talk?" asked Dumbledore.
"Actually, Professor. I'm talking to Nev…" but Dumbledore cut him off.
"I'm sure Mr. Longbottom won't mind." said Dumbledore, steering Harry out of the room.
"Harry, Professor Snape has just told me about what happened last night, are you alright?" asked Dumbledore.
"Wh…How did he know?" replied Harry, angry at what had just happened.
"He was present whilst Voldemort attacked." answered Dumbledore.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking Professor." answered Harry, gritting his teeth.
"Why didn't you tell me about the attack?" queried Dumbledore, looking at Harry.
"Because I did't think it was necessary, nothing happened." said Harry, defensively.
"I'm sorry, Harry. But Voldemort attacking your mind is hardly 'nothing'" joked Dumbledore.
"It is when all he accomplished was causing me to have a rough night sleep on the floor." argued Harry.
"This is just like Privet Drive, Harry. You can't honestly think a Legilimency attack that was severe enough to make you faint is not worth mentioning." replied Dumbledore.
"This is like Privet Drive, because I am fine. I didn't die then, and I'm not dead now." retorted Harry.
"What do you mean?" came a voice from behind Dumbledore, Harry peered around the Headmaster and saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny peering around the doorway.
"Oh, crap…" muttered Harry, he was furious with himself for saying what he had but even more so at Ron, Hermione and Ginny for eavesdropping in on his conversation to Dumbledore.
"Nothing, I was just talking to Professor Dumbledore." said Harry, trying to think of a way to pass it off.
"No, you were talking about Privet Drive and how you didn't die then. What are you talking about?" asked Hermione.
"It's nothing, honestly…" replied Harry.
"Earlier in the summer, Death Eaters managed to find out the information about Harry's location and due to a technicality in the protections, they found him and attempted to capture him." said Dumbledore, simply. Harry's eyes intensified at the betrayal ofDumbledore.
"You duelled Death Eaters!" shrieked Hermione, causing a few people to drift out of the kitchen as they wondered what was going on.
"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Ginny, looking hurt.
"Yes, Potter. Why didn't you tell them, thought you would have loved the chance to be in the spotlight, as if you haven't been in itenough already." sneered Snape. Harry seethed with anger at Snape's remarks.
"Shut up, Snape." it was Remus who had snapped at the Potions Master, earning him a glare and saving Harry from telling him to shut up himself.
"Is that why you came here, were you hurt?" asked Ron, wondering why Harry hadn't told him about this.
"He was dead." spat Snape, before Harry could answer. Ron was in shock at what to say, whereas Hermione and Ginny screamed.
"That's enough, Severus." said Dumbledore, with authority.
"Git." muttered Harry, earning him a hateful gaze from the Potions Master which he met. He felt Snape trying to use break his mind, in anger he raised his shields with all his might. Causing the Potions Master to wince as he was thrown out with such force, it gave him a headache.
"What do you mean, he was dead. Harry did you die?" asked Hermione, tearfully.
"Alright, fine. I was duelling some Death Eaters with Tonks, we had just beaten whoever we were fighting. One was Bellatrix and the other was some masked guy, and somebody cast a Killing Curse at Tonks. I jumped in the way and it hit me. Happy?" said Harry sarcastically.
"You got hit with the Killing Curse?" gasped Hermione.
"But your…alive." stated Ron, unable to compute what Harry had said.
"Which is why it's not a big deal." replied Harry, trying to re-iterate what had been his point all along.
"Right, because surviving the Killing Curse is happens everyday." joked Fred.
"I think Harry thought that once isn't enough of a statement, he had to do it twice just to show You-Know-Who 'it's no big deal'" laughed George, making a few Order member smile.
"You know if we manufactured miniature Harry Potter dolls, could we record you saying 'It's not a big deal' laughed Fred.
"Oh, that and 'I'm fine'" gasped George, laughing so hard he was getting red in the face.
"This isn't funny!" snapped Hermione.
"Hermione, just drop it. You wanted to find out what happened, well congratulations you have. Regardless of how you actually did it, now can we just move on?" asked Harry, looking around at everyone. His eyes settling on Snape who was looking at him intently.
"Fine." huffed Hermione, walking back in to the kitchen. Everyone slowly walked back into the kitchen as things settled down.
"So, happy birthday again." remarked Bill, making a few people laugh.
"Thanks." muttered Harry, in reply.
"No birthday is complete without a cake, here." said Mrs. Weasley, putting a large, chocolate cake in front of him.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. You didn't have to go through any trouble." mumbled Harry, taking a deep breath he blew out all the candles.
"Here, Harry. This is from us." said Fred and George, handing over a small, wrapped box.
"Is it safe?" asked Harry, eyeing the package suspiciously.
"Of course." replied Fred, a perfectly straight look on his face. Tentatively, Harry unwrapped the box, it expanded as he put his hands on the box and opened the lid.
"It's filled with our products." smiled George, ignoring the disapproving looks from his mother and McGonagall.
"Thanks guys, obviously I can't use them at Hogwarts though." winked Harry, earning him a scowl from his Head Of House.
"Here, Harry. This is from me and Arthur." smiled Mrs. Weasley. He opened the small box and inside was an expensive looking razor set, the entire thing was made from brushed aluminium.
"You do need a shave, dear." laughed Mrs. Weasley, looking at his stubble.
"The small bottle has an Everlasting Charm so it doesn't run out of shaving foam. The heads have an Self-Sharpening charm on them so they don't go blunt, and it has interchangeable heads on it so you can shave at different lengths." explained Arthur.
"It's brilliant." replied Harry, in genuine awe at the gift, much to the pleasure of Mrs. Weasley.
"Here, I didn't really know what to get you and I was going to give it you later. But seeing as everyone knows now…" laughedTonks, taking out a book titled 'Seventy Different Shields - G. Weld' this too earned her several scolding looks from around the table.
"Thanks, Tonks." replied Harry, appreciating both the humour and practicality in the gift.
"Here, Harry. I said earlier in the summer you might need one." said Dumbledore, pulling out an extravagantly wrapped item.
"Thank you, Headmaster." replied Harry, politely. Guessing what it was from Dumbledore's hints and the general shape of the item. Unwrapping it revealed a holster for his wand that would go around his wrist.
"It cannot be summoned whilst in the holster, also it can flick into your hand if your practice it enough." smiled Dumbledore.
"Here, Mr. Potter. You were going to get it at Hogwarts but I guess there is no harm in giving it you now." said Professor McGonagall, handing him a small shiny gold badge.
"What is it?" asked Ron, trying to steal a glance. Harry was saved from answering as his Head of House did so for him.
"Mr. Potter has been re-instated in to the Quidditch team, he is the captain. Your captain, might I add." said McGonagall, Harry didn't miss the angry glance on Ron's face as it quickly melded into disbelief. Everyone else was too busy cheering to really notice.
"I want that cup next year, Potter. I have a special place for it in my office, it would be a shame to move it." teased McGonagall, pointedly looking at Snape, who in return sneered back at her.
"Well that really is a call for a celebration, let's cut the cake and see what we can do in here." said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully, everyone began talking to one another but Harry noticed Ron excuse himself to go to the toilet. Knowing he was lying Harry went to follow him.
"Ron…Ron… RON!" shouted Harry, following him out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
"What?" replied Ron, angrily. Turning around to look at Harry.
"Are you upset that I was made captain?" asked Harry, already knowing the answer.
"Of course not, I mean… it's just… alright I am!" argued Ron.
"Why? I mean you were only on the team for a year. Did you really expect to be made captain?" asked Harry, almost incredulously.
"The Captain is normally a Keeper, and I didn't even know you were back on the team. I thought I had a good chance." retorted Ron, his face tingeing red.
"No offence Ron, but the way you let pressure get to you last year didn't exactly show you were ready to lead the team. Maybe next year you can be Captain." offered Harry.
"No thanks." snarled Ron.
"Your jealous!" stated Harry.
"I'm not, well I am but it's not that… Look don't tell anyone but I'm not going to be Prefect next year… I haven't told anyone, I got it in my letter from McGonagall and kept quiet. Mum would just be disappointed and Hermione would just talk me to death about it… I don't suppose you got the job?" asked Ron, hesitantly. Harry shook his head.
"Hmmm, wonder who did?" asked Ron, trying to change the topic.
"Are you going to be alright Ron?" asked Harry, finding he wasn't particularly bothered if Ron did have a problem with him beingQuidditch Captain.
"I will, it's just… I thought it might have been me you know. I just want to be on my own for a while." replied Ron.
"Alright then." said Harry, letting Ron walk away, he turned around and walked back in to the kitchen.
(End Of Chapter)
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A/N - Hope you all enjoyed that, I like writing the dark, dreary things. But I have to remind myself that everything at this stage isn't all bad, and I wanted this to have a bit of humour. I have a few plot twists and turns coming up, the next chapter is more or lessdone on paper. It's just a matter of typing it up, I'll upload it tomorrow or the day after. Depending whether I want to spoil you all.
