Ginny Weasley could not figure out what to do. Harry's birthday was exactly three days awa, and she hadn't gotten a thing planned. She hadn't gotten a gift, either, and that's what she had intended to do, today. That was, until she realized she had no idea what to get him. So now she was out of ideas for what to do, and out of ideas for what to get. To put it plainly, Ginny was out of ideas.

She knew that Harry would go spare if he knew she was worrying about his birthday in the midst of all the other things she had a hand in. She was still working at the store, but thankfully, she and Angelina had managed to convince Katie to stay on and help, and Harry, with nothing else to do with his days, had even volunteered to help keep the back room stocked and organized some days, or do any closing work that needed to be done after all the people had left. He had made the mistake of coming out to restock the Skiving Snackboxes shelf one day while there were still customers milling about and had nearly been mauled. Ginny was quite amused, and Angelina was astonished by how many love potions and beauty products they'd sold that day, but Harry was just glad to have escaped with his life. Since then, he'd been conspicuously absent during shopping hours.

Today, Harry wasn't at the shop. He'd arranged to visit the park with Andromeda and Teddy, in addition to his upcoming weekly visit, which gave Ginny the perfect opportunity to get his birthday shopping done without having to hide her absence from him. He'd be far enough away that he'd have no idea if she left the shop. So, really, it was now or never.

Ginny would ordinarily say she worked well under pressure, but when it came to gifts and Harry, it didn't seem to be making much difference.

Angelina had popped out for a bit to take yesterday's till money to Gringotts for deposit, leaving Ginny in charge of restocking and minding the store for a bit. It had been a slow day, and now they were in their 2:30 slump, when most everyone was at work, so the store was mostly empty as Ginny went around restocking the shelves. As soon as Angelina came back, Ginny was going to beg off early.

She knew she wanted to do something special for Harry, since his coming-of-age birthday last year was rather overshadowed by Bill and Fleur's wedding and the events that followed. Besides, they had a bit more to celebrate this year, as there was no longer the threat of Voldemort, or the possibility of Harry's death hanging over their heads.

As far as party planning went, she was sure they'd be having the party at the Burrow, and she'd been gathering décor for weeks. She'd been planning on a surprise party, but Harry's new ability to sense her general emotions had developed rather quickly, and he'd guessed what she was up to before she had time to figure out if it was possible to shield herself from him. Now she just had to make sure that the party would be good enough to be memorable without the element of surprise. She thought she'd pretty much worked that out as well as she could just this morning.

There was still the issue of the present, though. What does a poor witch get for the richest wizard in England who already has everything he could ever want or need? She couldn't think of a single thing, but she was hoping a stroll through Diagon Alley would inspire her. When Katie came in fifteen minutes later, Ginny took off her name badge, gathered her small sack of galleons, sickles, and knuts (mostly knuts), and set off through Diagon Alley.

It was at the very first shop she passed that she saw the perfect item. Unfortunately, the beautiful gift was well outside her price range. Her heart fell. She knew that she had finally found what she wanted, but she didn't know how she was going to get it for him.

"See something you like, dear?" said the shopkeeper. She'd seen Ginny through the window, and had come out to offer assistance.

"Yeah, but it's alright. I haven't got the money for it. I'll have to find something else," Ginny replied as she turned to move on down the Alley.

"Well, what's the occasion? Maybe we can find you something else nice. Heading back off to Hogwarts? We've got loads of great things for students that are more affordable, if you'd like to take a look. Come on inside, dear, and we'll find you something."

Reluctantly, Ginny allowed herself to be led inside. There wasn't any harm in looking, after all, though she would have to leave soon; she really needed to find Harry a gift, today.

"So? What is it, then? Back to Hogwarts?"

"Oh! Sorry. No, I'm not going back. And the gift isn't for a student, either. At least, he hasn't told me he's going back. I can't imagine he'd ever want to see the place again after…well, you know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you all this. It's just that I'm rather stressed about finding the perfect gift, you know? His birthday's on Friday, and I just can't think what to get him. When I saw your window display, it seemed perfect, but I know I just can't afford it."

"Ahhhhh, so you're looking to buy for a special someone, then. Well tell me a bit about him, and we'll see if I don't have something else I can recommend."

"Well, he's extremely brave, and handsome, but he never recognizes any of those things in himself. He's charitable and loving and caring. He's truly the only person I could ever imagine being with."

"Such love in one so young! How old are you, my dear, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I'm sixteen, but he's seventeen, nearly eighteen. And I'm nearly of-age, as well. I would've been going into my seventh year."

"Sixteen! My word! You're so young! And so close to Harry Potter's age, too! Did you know him? Did you ever meet Harry Potter? Heavens, I'd love to meet him. I owe him my life, I do."

Ginny chuckled to herself and hid her smile behind a cleverly timed yawn.

"We all owe him our lives, I'd say. But Harry…he's just a normal student like the rest of us. When you're at Hogwarts you can almost forget he's famous, except for all the excitement that always follows him around. He'd accept your thanks, to be sure, but he'd never ask for them. He did what he did because that's just the kind of person he is, not because he's the famous Harry Potter. But, anyway. I really have to get going. The only thing I could give him would be that one in the window, but I've already told you I can't pay. I'll have to find something somewhere else. Sorry." Ginny turned to leave, but the shopkeeper caught her by the arm, her giddy smile replaced by an intelligent gaze, though there was no malevolence in her face.

"Dearie, don't think I'm as daft as all that. I know what Friday's date is, and I know right well who was born on that day. When you talk about him, you speak with love in your voice. And by your hair, I'd guess you're that young Weasley girl that Rita Skeeter keeps saying he's run off to Turkey with. Oh, don't look so afraid, dear. I don't believe half that rubbish the old tosser prints, but it would seem that she's hit at the truth here with you, at least a bit. I'll take whatever you'll give me for that beauty, and not a knut more. And when you give it to him, do tell him how thankful I am that he did what he did. I can't imagine what life would have been like with You-Know-Who running around mucking things up. I'm a half-blood, I'm not ashamed to say, and I don't think I would've stood much chance of survival under his rule. Now, how much do you want to pay?"

Ginny ended up emptying her purse to the woman, much as the shopkeeper tried to protest. After what seemed like an eternity of negotiations, Ginny finally convinced the woman to take it all, and she left with the promise to return to pick up her gift on Harry's birthday. She went back to the shop and flooed home, a satisfied smile on her face.

It was later than usual on Friday when Harry flooed back from Andromeda's house. She'd been oddly reluctant to let him leave, refusing to do so until he'd consented to learning how to give Teddy a bath. He tumbled from the grate with a horribly un-dignified flop, and groaned as he picked himself back up onto his feet. The Weasley's had quickly learned that Harry was about as coordinated in the floo as a flamingo would be on a broomstick, and they'd covered the floor in front of the fireplace with layers of cushioning charms. Somehow, Harry still managed to get all banged up every time he landed.

"Blimey, Harry. I knew you were clumsy, but this is just bloody ridiculous, mate!"

"Seamus! Watch your mouth! And be nice to poor Harry! He's probably injured himself. Are you alright, Harry? Do you need anything?"

Harry, who had been rubbing his knee where he was certain there would be a nasty bruise later, jerked up his head at the first sound of a familiar voice. With a dumbfounded gaze he took stock of all the people assembled around him. It looked like half of Gryffindor House was there, plus a few from other houses. He shook himself out of his stupor and turned questioning eyes on Ginny. He'd felt that she was planning a surprise, but he thought he'd figured that out. This, though, this was clever. She looked back at him with a smirk and he caught an almost haughty sense of accomplishment coming from her. She turned to the blond girl next to her and answered the question.

"Oh, don't worry about him, Lavender. If he's bruised anything it's just his ego. We've been trying to teach him how to floo properly, but he's just rubbish at it. Best we can do is cushion his fall. Only, I seem to recall George doing a bit of spell work here, earlier, so I can't say how effective the charms are, today."

Harry glanced to the back of the pack to see an innocent looking George dodging his gaze. So it was George who'd made his landing rough, then. Well, at least he's pranking again. Though I wish he'd do it on someone other than me, Harry thought as he rubbed another sore spot on his elbow.

"I'm quite sure I don't know what she's talking about, Harry," George said.

Before Harry had a chance to reply, Ginny spoke.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. I'm sure you'll be fine, Harry, dear. And what we were all here to tell you, before you so thoroughly embarrassed yourself falling out of the floo, was Happy Birthday!"

A chorus of "Happy Birthday" rang throughout the room, and Harry smiled.

"Thanks, guys. It's really great to see you all, again. You've no idea how strange it is to think that we're done with Hogwarts, now."

"Well, Harry, we aren't all done with Hogwarts. Neville and I will be going back, won't we Neville?"

Neville looked curiously at the big-eyed blonde. "Er…yeah. I was planning on going back, actually. How did you know?"

"Oh, it's very easy to tell, you see. You've got to go back and get your NEWT's or Professor Sprout will never let you teach Herbology. It's all very clear. Your aura is quite revealing."

Everyone looked curiously between Luna and Neville, but Neville just shrugged and asked, "Well, that's two. Anyone else going back?"

"Hermione is," Ginny said. "She told me before she left. I'm supposed to get her books for her when the letters come in."

"Really? She never told me about it," Harry stated, a questioning look on his face.

"Well, she wouldn't, would she, Harry? She knows you aren't going, and we can all bet Ron won't go. He's never liked school, and as connected as the two of them have been, lately, I'm not sure even she could drag him back there. But she's got to go back. She wants to join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but she hasn't got the NEWT's. They offered to take her without them, but she felt it was too dishonest and unfair. Besides, when have you known Hermione to pass on school?"

"That's true, I suppose. And it does make sense, given all those law books she's been carrying everywhere. She's not even here, and I still keep finding one every time I sit down somewhere different."

"Oh, yeah! Is that what this is?" Dean asked, as he pulled a large volume from the chair he was sitting in. "It was wedged under the cushion. This thing is enormous!"

"Yeah, they keep turning up in odd places. She must have fifty or more of them, and I swear they're spelled to be a nuisance. They used to lay around on tables, but now they're always in the way!"

Harry's eyes met George's and the two smiled behind Ginny's back. It seemed George wasn't just pranking Harry after all. The look in his eye told Harry that he knew exactly how the books were getting into all those strange places. Seeing George pranking again, even if it was just little things, was a major milestone.

Harry turned back to his friends, and began the party in earnest. Mrs. Weasley truly outdid herself with the food she prepared for the occasion. Like Ginny, Mrs. Weasley felt that Harry's seventeenth birthday had been overshadowed, and was attempting to make up for it. For his part, Harry was just enjoying seeing all his friends, again. His last memories of them were colored by the battle, and he was glad to be able to replace those memories with these happy ones. The teens were all lounging in the living room, watching Harry and Seamus finish a game of Exploding Snap when, suddenly and quite unexpectedly, the fireplace behind them roared to life with bright green flames. This startled Neville, who had been leaning on the mantle, and caused him to fall into the floor on top of the Exploding Snap cards, which promptly exploded, singeing poor Neville's backside. While Luna, Lavender, and Seamus tended to Neville, Harry and Ginny moved to look into the fire, and were surprised at the face they saw there.

"Oh, good. We aren't too late, then," Hermione's face said. She turned and called over her shoulder, "See, Ron! I told you we'd be fine. They're 11 hours behind us. It's still his birthday, there!" She turned back to face them. "Happy Birthday, Harry! It looks like you're having quite the party. I wish Ron and I were able to be there. Oh, for heaven's sake, Ron! Okay, here!"

Hermione's face disappeared from the flames to be replaced by Ron's.

"Hey, mate! Happy Birthday! Hey, guys! Oi! Neville! Your pants are smoking."

Neville nodded as he continued patting out his smoking pants, though he did so with a smile on his face.

"Anyway, Harry. How are things at home? Bored out of your mind yet? Is the house done?"

"Finished the house ages ago. Since then it's been pretty quiet."

"Don't let him fool you, Ron," Ginny said from his side. "Things are still moving along pretty well. I've been working in the shop a lot, and Harry helps out some, too. George stops by every now and then, for a couple minutes at least. Andromeda and Teddy were around last week, and Harry just got back from visiting there before the party started. Everyone's keeping busy. Things are almost normal, here, actually. Or as close to normal as they can be, given the circumstances. And before you ask, no, we don't miss you at all. Just Hermione," she continued, as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oi!" Ron crowed indignantly. Then he sighed, "Wish I could say the same for things here. It's not going as well as we'd hoped."

"When are you coming back?"

"I thought you didn't miss me," Ron answered cheekily.

"Shut up. Just answer the question."

He sighed a heavy sigh, "I don't know, Ginny." Ron shook his head with what looked like resigned frustration mixed with extreme exhaustion, before appearing to glance back over his shoulder. "Oh, er…Hermoine wants back in. She says we're nearly out of time. I guess I'll see you guys later. I hope we'll be back soon. Bye!"

Harry and Ginny said goodbye, and took a look around the room while Hermione and Ron switched places. It seems that most of the guests had retreated to the porch to give the Harry and Ginny some privacy for their conversation. They seemed to be having just as much fun out there as they were in here, so neither felt all that guilty about taking over the living room. Hermione's face appeared in the fire, and the two turned back towards her glowing green gaze.

"Sorry. I couldn't get Ron out of the way. I've only got a couple minutes left, so I wanted to tell you a few things. It's going slower here than we thought it would. I knew they'd be resistant and a little angry, but I never thought it would be this bad. It's my fault really. I never told them what was really going on, and now that they know, they're absolutely furious. Wouldn't even let us in the house for a few days. We're making progress now, though. I'm reintroducing some of the good memories, too. Ron told me I should've done that first, but I got ahead of myself a bit. The real trouble is that they like living here. They've got a dental practice and everything. Now I've got to convince them to give all that up and come back to England and start all over, again. I'm not sure if we'll finish before…er…"

"Don't worry about it, Hermoine. He knows you're going back to school. What will you do if you aren't finished by September?"

"Well, we'll just have to leave them here, and hope they decide to come home on their own. If we haven't convinced them by then, there isn't much more I'll be able to do, is there? But I can't talk anymore. Ron tells me they're giving us the one minute warning. I'm afraid I had to tell the Ministry I was calling to wish Harry Potter a happy birthday. Had a terribly hard time getting them to believe me, and they only gave us a few minutes. It's not like it's that busy at three in the morning, but they're real sticklers over here, strangely enough. We won't be able to floo again, so I probably won't see you until we get back. Stay safe and keep out of trouble, won't you? I'll try to keep sending messages along through the Ministries, but even that's a hassle. Oh! I've got to go! Tell the Weasley's we say 'hello', and Happy Birthday, Harry!"

And with a flash, she was gone. Harry sighed. He'd enjoyed seeing all his friends, today, but he'd especially enjoyed seeing Ron and Hermione. A part of him envied the fact that they were traveling around the world. Harry had never been out of the country before, as the Dursley's had believed England was the only place in the world worth seeing. They had rarely traveled outside their little Surrey suburb, even. Harry had only ever seen other countries in geography class in primary school.

Well, and there was that bit when they were living in a tent. He's pretty sure Hermione mentioned them being in France, once, but seeing the middle of a dreary forest while fighting starvation wasn't exactly Harry's idea of "international travel."

Still, he couldn't envy them too much. While they were undoubtedly enjoying their travels, Harry recalled from his geography lessons that the seasons there were opposite what they were here. Ron and Hermione were stuck in the middle of the Australian winter, with the seemingly impossible task of convincing Hermione's parents to return home. From the sounds of it, they wouldn't get back to England until it was nearly winter, here. It seemed that his friends would have almost an entire year of winter ahead of them.

Ginny's tug on Harry's arm pulled him from his thoughts. She smiled up at him.

"Come on, love. Let's go open some presents."

Harry followed her into the backyard, where Mrs. Weasley had set up the picnic table and covered it with Harry's gifts. He was surprised to see a veritable mountain of presents stacked before him.

"Gin, where did all these come from? I don't even know that many people."

"Well, all of your friends brought at least one. Some are from the family. And some are from friends who couldn't be here. We have more, but we can't verify who exactly they're from, so Dad thought it would be best if we didn't open those. He sent them to the ministry to be examined. Anything deemed safe will be returned to you. You have no idea how many admirers sent in cards. We sent all those to the ministry to be looked over, too."

Harry was speechless. In all the sadness at the Burrow, followed by the normalcy and routine of things, lately, he'd nearly forgotten about the outside world. He was dodging the Prophet, of course, but he'd been doing that for a few years, now. He'd forgotten he even had admirers. He looked over at his friends.

"Look, Harry, before you say anything, just listen. We didn't give you any gifts because you saved the Wizarding World. The way we figure it, you owe us for saving your arse out there. Without us in the fight, you know it would've gone differently. I'm not saying we're not thankful you did it, but don't think that means we're gonna start buying you presents and falling at your feet or anything. We got you gifts because you're our friend, so don't go getting your ego all puffed up, okay?"

Neville's voice rang through the Weasley's backyard, and his speech was peppered with nods from the assembled friends. Harry looked at them hard before he broke into a laugh. He grabbed Neville around the shoulders and hugged him in a very un-Harry-like fashion before looking him in the eye.

"I think you're right. I do owe you. If you hadn't killed that snake when you did, things would've been a lot different. You're a hero too, Neville, but you'll always be the clumsy kid who lost his toad on the train, to me. Thanks."

Harry sat down with a smile beside the mountain of gifts. Neville rejoined the cluster of friends, a radiant smile running from ear to ear on his face, too. Though Harry didn't usually like accepting gifts, today he decided he would enjoy it. If the war had taught him anything, it was that happy moments were to be treasured. Opening gifts while surrounded by your friends and family was certainly one of those happy moments.

His gifts were so numerous that Ginny had to go inside and get a quill and parchment to write them all down. The inner child in him was secretly delighted, and before he could stop it, the image of a huffing, fat, jealous Dudley popped into his head. The thought made him smile a little wider.

He was given nearly everything from Quidditch supplies to an ornamental box to keep his quills in on his desk, if he ever had one. The Weasley's surprised him by installing his hand on the family clock, and Seamus and Dean teamed up to get him a set of shrinkable practice dummies like those that the Room of Requirement had provided for them during DA lessons. Andromeda sent him several photos of Teddy, showing the boy with a different color of hair and eyes in each picture, including one that must have been taken shortly after his first visit. Teddy was sporting a messy tangle of black hair and radiant green eyes.

He was opening what seemed to be the last gift (a new set of self-inking quills from Professor McGonagal) when Ginny mysteriously disappeared into the Burrow. She re-emerged moments later with a largeish grey owl in a silver cage. The owl had its head tucked under its wing, but as Ginny set it on the table, it lifted its face and opened its eyes to reveal a piercing orange gaze. The owl looked Harry in the eye, let out a small hoot, then proceeded to narrowly investigate the other partygoers. Harry looked at Ginny in wonder.

"He's called a Great Grey Owl, though the shopkeeper said he's rare because he's smaller than most, and has orange eyes, which is extremely uncommon. He must be some sort of cross-breed or something. It's also really strange to find one this far south, but the woman at the owlery said he's been living here contentedly for several months, now. When I saw him, I had to get him for you. I thought the rings around his eyes were a bit like your glasses, and I knew you'd need a new owl. I'm not trying to replace Hedwig, but this owl seemed to look right at me, as if he knew you needed him. I haven't given him a name, yet. I thought I'd leave that to you."

Harry could feel the tension radiating off Ginny, even though she appeared calm. To any onlooker, they'd think she was totally confident in her actions. Harry could feel the uncertainty inside her, though. He smiled at her, and pulled her in for a hug.

"Thank you, Gin. It's the perfect gift. I still miss Hedwig, but you're right, I do need a new owl, and this one is really interesting. I don't have a name for him, yet, but you can help me think of one, later."

Ginny smiled, and Harry laughed at the feeling of her joy. She took the owl, who had tucked his regal head back under a great grey wing, back up to her room, so he wouldn't be disturbed by the last minutes of sunlight. As the sun began to sink behind the trees around the Burrow and the darkness grew, the guests began to drift away until only the Weasley's remained. After a few (or several) minutes in a quiet corner of the house with Ginny, Harry trudged up the stairs to his room, and collapsed on his cot. He was asleep before his head touched the pillow.