Just a quick note to everyone; Chapter's 1 to 11 were written by SimplyComplex and chapter 12 helps explain why SimplyComplex had to stop writing this story and why I am the new author. This will be added to all chapters; as I feel it is important that everyone knows she started this story but I am honored to finish it for her…..Froggyy1
Chapter 21 is dedicated to SimplyComplex; with out her, this story would not have been started, and I would not have the honor to finish this story for her.
Chapter 21
Harry's first Birthday Party
July 31st 1996
As they sat and ate Ginny wondered how she was going to bring up her plans for the day; she had three hours to get Harry to agree to it and make their way towards Mrs. Figgs house. Ginny was brought back to the conversation by a tapping on her arm; Harry was trying to get her attention (she blushed at being caught drifting off in her own thoughts) by tapping her forearm.
Turning to look at him she said, "Sorry about that Harry, I was thinking about what we might do today."
"Well if you had stayed here with us you would have heard some of the suggestion that were being made; so what do you think Ginny. We have going to the park, swimming, just getting out and walking around the neighborhood; unless you have something to add."
Ginny blushed again and answered, "Well I was thinking it would be nice to just not make any plans at all; you know just walk around and you show us the neighborhood and then maybe just before lunch we stop by that woman's house that has the cats. I would love to see that kitten again that was in the back yard a few weeks ago; that is if you don't mind."
Harry got a look on his face as if he were thinking real hard about her idea and then said, "Well Ginny, I think that we can do that but (her face fell at the thought of him not wanting to visit Mrs. Figgs) all I ask is that we don't stay long at Mrs. Figgs house. It's not that I don't like her; it's just that her house smells of rotten cabbage and cats. Mrs. Figg is a nice sort but I can only handle that smell for so long."
"That's alright Harry, I just want to check on the kitten and then we can come back here or go to that cafe for lunch," Ginny said.
Draco interrupted the conversation by saying, "Yes, lunch at that café would be great; they do have nice food for muggles (as he winked at Ginny) and professor Dumbledore will be coming to get me soon. It will be my last chance to have muggle food before I leave."
Harry looked between the two and nodded his head, "Ok so that's the plan then; we should dress in something comfortable and cool for the walk. What time do we want to start our walk then?"
"Why don't you two go on up stairs and get ready while I clean the kitchen; when you are finished then I should be done here and then I will get dressed for our day out," Ginny said to the two boys.
"No Ginny, we should help clean," Harry didn't get very far with his rant before Ginny held up her hand for him to stop.
"No, It is your birthday and you will not lift a finger to help with anything today (she had placed her hands on her hips; which reminded Harry of Mrs. Weasley) do I make myself clear," Ginny said with such fire in her voice that Harry just nodded his head, looked at the floor and headed down the hall and up the stairs.
Draco offered to help while Harry was getting ready but Ginny told him no; this was her day to do things for Harry and she would not let anyone help. She knew she was being childish but this was her part for Harry; it was bad enough that her mother had helped her yesterday at Mrs. Figgs house. She finished up the dishes and waited in the lounge for the boys to come down; she didn't have to wait long before they both came down the stairs. Both were dressed in a pair of nice Kaki shorts; Harry wearing a nice tan tee-shirt and Draco had on a black tee-shirt, fitting them both nicely Ginny noticed. She headed up the stairs to get ready for their day; she wondered what kind of reaction Harry would have when she came down the stairs in her dress that Tonks helped her pick out.
Draco and Harry were beginning to wonder if Ginny had changed her mind; she had been up stairs for more then twenty minutes. Draco assured Harry that it was normal; he told a story about his mother taking two hours to get ready to head to Diagon alley in his first year. Harry thinking that it was going to take Ginny two hours had to stop himself from shuddering at that thought. Draco had to laugh at the look on Harry's face; it was priceless to see the great Harry Potter grimace at the thought of it taking Ginny that long to get ready. To Harry's relief it had only taken Ginny thirty minutes to get ready; when she came down the stairs he didn't know what to do. He knew he was blushing at the thoughts that were going through his mind; if Ron knew what he was thinking right at this moment his best friend would punch him right in the nose.
Ginny noticing the look on Harry's face was in heaven; she knew right then that he was not as thick as her dunce of a brother Ron. She watched as the expressions changed on Harry's face; it went from shock, to pleasure, wonderment and if she wasn't mistaken desire. She knew right then and there that she had made the day of Harry Potter; deep inside she was giggling that he was pleased at what he saw. Tonks had been right; she had gone on and on about how any boy would be taken with a girl in this dress. She couldn't wait to talk to Tonks at the party; it was time to get a move on so that they could arrive at Mrs. Figgs house by noon.
They all made sure they had their wands with them; after the attack they had decided not to go any where with out them. They walked around the neighborhood for quite a while before Ginny said that it was time to go see the kitten at Mrs. Figgs house. Harry made a face but obliged her request; the sooner they got that over with the sooner they could go to the café for lunch. It took the three over twenty minutes to make it to Mrs. Figgs house; Harry stopped short before making it to the door. Draco couldn't figure out why he was acting so weird but he decided to just stand there until someone made their way to the door. Ginny on the other hand was getting frustrated at his hesitance to enter the house.
"Um Harry, are you going to just stand there all day or are we going to go inside?"
"Oh, sorry Ginny"
"What are you waiting for Harry, Christmas or something?"
"I was just getting the last bit of fresh air for a while; her house always smells like cats and cabbage"
"You would think there were trolls on the other side of that door or something; come on let's get inside it is too hot to be just standing here."
I'm sorry, let's get this over with and then we will go to the café for lunch," Harry said with a bit a grimace on his face.
Mrs. Figgs House that morning
Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Molly Weasley arrived at Mrs. Figgs house at a quarter till ten the morning of the 23rd of July; it was good that she could appreciate into the Mrs. Figgs back yard. It took Molly four trips and an hour and a half to get all the food from Grimmauld Place to Mrs. Figgs house; the last thirty minutes before noon she made sure everything was perfect for the party. Mrs. Figg did her best to help Molly get things ready; before Molly had arrived Mrs. Figg had pulled out her card tables and set up paper plates, cups, napkins and the plastic silverware on one and left the other one for food.
After retrieving the food, Molly went to work and transfigured Mrs. Figgs couch into a long buffet table and magically transferred the utensils, plates, napkins and cups onto the transfigured table. The next thing she did was to move all the food onto the transfigured table; making sure the heating charms and cooling charms were in place. Mrs. Figg and the boys helped carry what they could; after what happened last year Molly wouldn't let the twins use their wands. Between the manual labor from those who could use magic and Molly using her wand it didn't take long to place everything on the table.
Ginny had decided to have the house decorated with a Quidditch theme; Molly had enchanted the ceiling to look like a Quidditch game from one of Ron's poster that hung in his room; with out sound of course, so that Harry (being the birthday boy) and guests could enjoy the party. Remus had even found party favors that looked like Quaffle's (red) beater bats (brown), bludgers (black), brooms (red and gold) and snitches (golden ball with silver wings) and Molly had decorated his cake to look like a Quidditch field with three golden hoops at each end of the cake. Ginny wanted it to be something he liked and for it to be personal so she had owled Colin Creevey and asked him to send her pictures from the many Gryffindor games Harry had played in. There was Gryffindor Quidditch banners hung all around the house and over the table in emerald green lettering hung a banner that had the words scrolling continuously.
"HAPPY SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVORITE GRYFFINDOR SEEKER HARRY POTTER"
Bill and Charlie Weasley showed up at a quarter to eleven in time to take over for Fred and George; the twins were leaving to head over to the Burrow to meet and bring Neville over for the party. Molly warned them to be careful and to not forget to add the Phoenix feather to the fire after putting in the floo powder; they were apparating over but since Neville was under age they had to floo back. With two more wands to help with the preparations it didn't take long to have everything ready for the party. At five after eleven Mrs. Figgs fire place flared green and Neville Longbottom came out; coughing, brushing off soot, while trying to hold on to the present that was under his left arm. Bill was the closest to him and preformed the cleaning charm to help the boy out; Neville thanked him as the others greeted the shy boy.
Hermione showed him where to place the present and then she and Ron introduced him to the rest of the Weasley's that he didn't already know. Molly Weasley greeted him in her true fashion; she grabbed a hold of Neville and gave him a big hug. She asked how his grandmother was doing and inquired how his parents were at his last visit. Neville knew that a lot of people knew his parents but it always surprised him when people would ask how they were doing. At eleven-forty-five Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks arrived and at five minute till twelve Mrs. Figgs fire place became alive with green flames again; this time it was Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore coming out of the fire. Both were dressed in muggle clothes for the party; Ginny had warned he mother that everyone should dress this way; that was before the party had been changed to Mrs. Figgs house.
Ron received a smack to each side of his head from Molly Weasley and Hermione at the same time; when he saw how Dumbledore was dress it was hard not to snicker at the old man. Dumbledore was dress in Bermuda shorts that were made out of a flowery pattern material, bright orange shirt, white socks and a pair of brown beach sandals. Hermione explained to the others that this was how older men dressed in the United States when they visited the beaches in Florida; the male members of the Weasley family had moved out of the reach of their mother and were openly sniggering at their headmaster and ex-headmaster in some of their cases.
Minerva McGonagall had dressed in a very conservative but summery manner; she was a beach hat, and a nice formal looking summer dress. The dress seemed like it was cool to the skin but not revealing too much of the stern transfiguration professor. The dress was a nice beige color, fitting her in a nice fashion and made the woman look a few years younger then her actual age. Next to Albus Dumbledore she looked normal but a bit over dressed for the party; the headmaster acted as if the way he was dressed was normal every day ware. The transfiguration teacher placed her gift with the others but the headmaster made himself comfortable in Mrs. Figgs Lazy boy chair. Bill Weasley had moved from the corner he had been in to the front window and was staring out the window; it wasn't long before most of the members of the house were looking to see what had caught his attention.
Standing in the front yard were Harry, Ginny and Draco Malfoy; Draco looked like he was board with what ever was going on between Ginny and Harry. To the on lookers in the house it appeared that the two were having a discussion; Harry seemed to be talking as if he were ashamed and Ginny had her hands on her hips and looked to be giving Harry an earful. Tonks was smiling; she knew what Ginny's brothers were gawking at and it wasn't the fact that it looked like the two were arguing. The dress was a cream color with tiny Lilacs and Lillie's with in the pattern of the material; the white and yellow from the Lillie's, and a pale purple color from the Lilacs mixed with the clingy fit of the dress showed everyone how well the youngest Weasley had grown up over the past few years. The dress that she had helped the young girl pick out looked fantastic on her; the dress as Tonks was sure everyone noticed accentuated Ginny's red hair in a glamorous way. It was apparent to all the people in the house that Harry; when he got the nerve to look up at the young woman would blush.
"Would you look how Harry is blushing; he has finally noticed our little Ginny is a girl," came from Fred.
"Yes Forge, I do believe we will need to have "the talk" with our birthday boy before the party is over," said George
"Not only that Gred, she is staying with him in that house and even though Malfoy is there they could sneak off some where," said Fred.
"Boy's that is enough," came from their mother.
"Hermione, I thought you said she was over him," Said Ron with a bit of a laugh in his voice.
"No Ronald, I said she had given up on him; there is a difference you know. Just don't make a big deal about him blushing ok," Hermione said to Ron with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face; she was doing a good impression of Ron's mother right at that moment.
Remus was looking at Tonks with pride in his eyes; he was glad that she had helped Ginny choose a dress that would get the attention of his best friend's son. He looked at the crowed of people looking out the window and said, "Well Fred, George, and I guess I can say this to all of the Weasley boys not to worry; I will make the time to have "The Talk" with Harry soon. But as I see it they have been living together all summer and nothing has happened so far; so no worries boys. I am sure your parents have taken precautions so that nothing happens in that way but I will be the one to talk to him FRED, GEORGE; it's only right since he is James and Lily's son."
"Shouldn't we open the door and invite them in or are we going to just let them stand out there all day," Bill said.
"Heavens no Bill; this is supposed to be a surprise party, so that means get away from that window all of you. When they knock, who ever knocks on the door Arabella will answer it; now get away from that window," Molly said as she glared at them all.
Albus Dumbledore sat in the Lazy Boy and watched the looks on everyone's faces as they looked out the window and couldn't help chuckle (awe to be young again he thought) at the sight before him. It was good to hear the comments about how Harry was reacting to one Ginny Weasley; he know that the boy needed someone who could handle his mood swings and be able to be there for him no matter what. Minerva McGonagall stood beside him and watched as he did; she wondered how Harry would react to the present that Albus had brought him. The gift that Albus carried with him was not a normal gift but one that would forever change Harry Potter; the young man that she had grown to love as much as the Weasley's. Everyone in the room was brought back to reality by the knock on the door; before anyone could move Albus Dumbledore stood and whispered something under his breath and everyone flickered for a moment (except Arabella Figg) into nothingness and retook his seat. Mrs. Figg opened the door; Draco Malfoy was standing there laughing at the stunned look not only on her face but the face of Ginny and Harry; who were still standing out in the yard talking.
"How do you do, I am Draco Malfoy; they were to busy to knock so I took it upon my self to do so." In a loud voice he said, "We are here to see the kitten that Ginny found a few weeks ago if that is all right ma'am"
"Oh yes, how do you do Draco was it; come in dear and Harry, Ginny are you going to come in?" Mrs. Figg asked.
Harry blushed and started moving towards the door and said, "Sorry Mrs. Figg, yes we will; Ginny are you coming?"
Ginny glared at him but moved towards the door and said, "Watch yourself Potter, this is not over and we will finish this later."
Harry stood to the side and bowed to Ginny and motioned for her to enter before he did; Ginny knowing that she should have never gotten mad at him decided to forget about it and not bring it up again as she entered Mrs. Figgs house. Draco was standing by what looked like an old hat rack; she looked around but didn't see anyone in the room but him, Mrs. Figg and herself. Once Harry was through the door Ginny played along with the story about the kitten and asked Mrs. Figg about the cat.
"Oh dear, all my cats are out in the back yard; I had to dust the house for fleas," she said loud enough for Harry to hear and at the moment Harry heard a whisper and then everyone in the room reappeared and yelled together.
"SURPRISE"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY"
Harry stood there with his mouth going open then closed like a fish out of water; he didn't know what to say to all these people, whom most of them he considered his family. Looking around the room he noticed the old smirk on Draco's face and he knew the prat knew about the party; turning to look at Ginny he knew right then she was the one who had planned this for him. He gave her a shy smile and then turned to see who else was there. Mrs. Weasley stood by the door with a huge smile on her face; if he didn't know better (which he did) she was holding back from attacking him with one of her famous hugs. As he noticed the banners all around the room; he had to smile it was perfect. Ron, Hermione, Neville (even Neville is here he thought), Fred and George were standing by the bottom of the staircase; all had huge smiles on their faces. It surprised him to see Bill and Charlie there and to add more to his surprise was that not only was his transfiguration professor there but so was the headmaster of his school.
Mrs. Figg stood at the entrance to her kitchen smiling at the young man before her; she didn't wait for anyone else to approach him. Mrs. Figg walked up to Harry and hugged him close to her and whispered in his ear, "Happy birthday Harry, your parents would be so proud of you and don't ever let anyone tell you different. I am so proud of the young man you have become and you did it with out the help of the Dursley's." She kissed him on the cheek (he blushed) and moved back for the rest of his guest to great him. Molly Weasley was standing there waiting her turn to hug Harry.
Molly wrapped Harry in her arms and hugged him to her; he could feel the shudders going through her body. He didn't know if he should fill guilty for her crying or if this was one of those happy cries that Ginny had tried to explain to him, if that was a happy cry then he should fill happy too.
Molly released him just enough to look up into his face and said through her tears, "Happy birthday Harry dear, we are so proud of you dear. Just know you will be home with us soon, so do not worry yourself too much and just enjoy your party." Molly released him so that the others could take their turn; they all stood patiently in a crooked line for their turn.
Hermione stood waiting for her turn to wish Harry a happy birthday; Molly released him so that the others could take their turn. They all stood in crooked line; Hermione being the third female to greet him and hug him until he could hardly breathe and then she wished him a happy birthday and then moved aside so the others could greet him. Ron followed Hermione, then Neville, Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. Professor McGonagall Harry noticed was trying to look stern but in the end she walked over to him and gave him a slight hug and wished him a happy birthday. Professor Dumbledore sat back and watched as each person took their turn giving Harry hugs and giving happy wishes to the young man. He waited patiently for everyone to finish; after Professor McGonagall Dumbledore stood from his chair and made his way over to the young man; he stood there for a few seconds and took in how the boy had changed in the few weeks since his return to Privet drive.
"Um, Hello professor Dumbledore thanks you for coming sir."
"It is not every day that a young man turns sixteen and I do have a special gift for you."
"You didn't have to do that sir; I never expected a gift from you."
"I must confess Harry that only part of the gift is from me."
"What do you mean sir?"
"Part of what I have brought is in deed from me but there is a part that was instructed to be given to you on your sixteenth birthday. It was much simpler for me to retrieve it from where it has been for the past fifteen years; Sirius would have been the one to give it to you but alas," he trailed off there not sure what else to say to the young man.
"Oh"
"Happy birthday Harry; I do hope that you will have a long and happy life."
"Thank you sir"
Ginny taking her role as hostess interrupted the conversation between Harry and their headmaster, "Alright now everyone, now that everyone has wished Harry a happy birthday, it is time for fun, food and most of all presents for our birthday boy."
"Ginny, why didn't you wish our little Harrykins a happy birthday yet," said Fred.
"Yes dear Gin…Gin, doesn't he deserve any wishes from you as well," said George.
"You know you best leave her alone boys," said Hermione. "You know she will make you pay in the end," she added.
"Yes dear boys, you better listen to our dear Hermione, I can make your life difficult in the end. Now as I was saying it is time to eat the food mum has prepared and then we can try out some of the party favors that Remus picked up for me. Harry you first and then everyone else line up behind him; mum can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"
Molly followed Ginny into the kitchen; Ginny was already looking over the cake that her mum had made. She could help but smile at how perfect it was and knew that Harry would be happy with how it turned out. Molly watched her daughter standing at the counter looking at the cake; she had followed her wishes as well as she could and just hoped Harry would like how it had turned out.
"Is everything alright Ginny?" Her mother asked as she walked up behind her.
"Oh, yes mum; everything is great. The cake looks wonderful and the house looks lovely mum; thank you so much for helping me make this happen. I just wanted your opinion on how we should do the presents; you know who's he gets to open first; I gather that either what professor Dumbledore brought it either from Sirius or maybe something to do with his parents."
"Ginny, shouldn't you be asking Harry that question; they are his presents but if what Dumbledore brought is from Sirius or his parents then Harry should decide when he opens them," her mother said with a sadden smile on her face.
"I…I just want it all to be perfect for him mum; he has never…I just want it to be perfect," Ginny said at a loss for words.
"I know dear and by the look on his face I would say he already thinks it is perfect. Come and join the party dear; enjoy what you have done for him and just ask him how he wants to do his presents ok," Molly said as she hugged her daughter to her.
They both went back into Mrs. Figgs living room and joined the line for food; to their surprise someone had transfigured some of Mrs. Figgs furniture into a long table for everyone to sit and eat. Harry sat at one end of the table and at the other end was professor Dumbledore; Ron, Hermione, and Neville sat to the left; with Fred, George, Tonks and an empty space for another person (her mother took that space). On Harry's right was the open space for Ginny (he saved me a seat Ginny thought) and then came Draco, Bill, Charlie, Remus, professor McGonagall; between Remus and professor McGonagall was another empty space (must be for her father) she had noticed.
They sat and ate their lunch and enjoyed talking about things that had been going on at Weasley Wizard Wheezes, simple things going on with everyone else and Ginny being very bold ask about Harry's ban on Quidditch. Professor McGonagall informed him that all the decrees that Umbridge had enforced at the school and the Quidditch ban had been canceled. She informed him that later on that evening that Dobby would be bringing him his broom (his smile got bigger with that news) and apologized for it not being returned at the end of term. With everything that had happened at the end of term, he himself had forgotten about it being chained up and didn't hold it against anyone else for forgetting about it.
Once everyone was finished with their food Ginny, Hermione and her mother stood to retrieve the cake from the kitchen. While they were gone Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said in his office that night; Neville would be having a birthday at this time but he didn't know if his birthday was today or a few days before. Harry leaned over to and asked Neville if his birthday was today to; Neville gave Harry a surprised and confused look before answering.
"Um, no it's not today; my birthday was yesterday; Um, how did you know about my birthday Harry?"
"Oh, um I heard it some where; happy birthday then mate. Sorry for not getting you anything Neville."
"Um, it's ok Harry; I didn't expect anything for anyone."
"Don't worry too much Neville; I'll make sure you get something soon."
"You don't have to"
"No I don't but I want to so no arguments ok."
"Alright Harry but you know you don't have to mate."
"Yes" but right at that moment the Ginny and Hermione came out of the kitchen with the cake came floating right behind them and Molly Weasley right behind the cake. Sixteen candles burned all around the cake; Harry couldn't help but feel giddy all over (wow, Harry thought) it was like he was five years old and experiencing all the love from a family he had wished he had back then. Ginny and Hermione took their seats and Molly floated the cake right to Harry and placed it on the table. With a nod from Ginny everyone at the table started singing the birthday song; Fred and George sang it to their own tune and finished a few seconds after the others. Dumbledore smiled at the two; think how this next school year was going to be so quite with out them.
Someone yelled for him to make a wish and to blow out his candles; Harry closed his eyes and made his silent wish (please let me live through this) and then blew out the candles. Ginny handed him the knife to make the first cut into the cake and from there Molly Weasley cut pieces (the first going to Harry) and then passed other around to the other guests. Harry between bites thanked Ginny and Molly Weasley for such a great party and the best food he remembered having in a while. Remus had summoned the party favors to the table and everyone enjoyed seeing what they could get them to do. Bill, Charlie and to most of their surprise Dumbledore joined in on a miniature game of Quidditch; after three minutes the Quaffle's (red) beater bats (brown), bludgers (black), brooms (red and gold) and snitches (golden ball with silver wings all burst with red and gold sparks. When the sparks cleared there were candies, slips of paper (certificate for a free ice cream from Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour, free owl treats from the Owl Emporium), a few had sickles, a few Knuts and two golden Galleons.
With the left over favors being given to Harry; Harry decided to let the others at the table take what they wanted from what had come out of the party favors. Ginny taking over once more announced that it was time for the birthday boy to open his presents; Molly, Remus, Bill and Charlie cleaned the dishes off the table to make room for the "Presentation of Gifts" as Fred and George put it. It only took about five minutes to get everything cleaned up, dishes set to wash, rinse, dry and put them selves away. Chairs were set up so that everyone could watch Harry open his presents; Dumbledore conjured another Lazy Boy for Harry to set in while he opened the gifts right next to him. After everyone was seated Ginny stood to address the group of people gathered in the living room of Mrs. Figgs home.
"Harry, before we start giving you your presents; in what order do you want them or does it matter?"
"What," he said meekly.
"Who's present do you want to open first or do you want me to grab one and hand it to you?"
"Oh, um…just grab one I guess; isn't that the way it's supposed to be any way?"
"You are the birthday boy so it is your choice; mum said I should ask you how you want to do the present opening."
Harry looked at Ginny as if she were going to start laughing at him for being such a dunce; he just looked at her and said, "I can get them myself if you like; I don't want anyone making a fuss."
"Harry, no one is making a fuss; it's your birthday and you will sit there while I hand you your presents and there will be no argument."
"Ok" Harry said as the Weasley boys sniggered at him.
Ginny walked over to the table with all the presents; she looked over everyone in the room and then turned back to the presents. She picked up a small package and walked over to Harry.
"Now this one is from Bill," Ginny said with a smile.
Harry took the present and started opening it slowly; it was unnerving to have everyone watching him. It might have been different if he had grown up with having birthday parties with all his friends and family around. With the present being small it was taking him a long time to open it; from the crowed he heard Bill called out "Just tear it open for Merlin's sake Harry" and he let the nerves he was filling fall away and tore into the paper to open it. In side the package was a leather wand holder with H.J.P. done in gold lettering; Harry looked at Bill with awe.
"Thanks Bill; this is great, this will come in handy."
"Your welcome Harry; it's nothing really," Bill said with a bit of a blush.
Ginny was back with another package; It was from Charlie. Harry tore into this package and had it open with in seconds; there were two things with in the box. The first thing that Harry pulled out was a small book on Hungarian Horn Tail Dragons; "The History of Hungarian Horn Tail Dragons by Alabaster Trinkle" and a new pair of Dragon hide gloves.
"Thanks Charlie"
"Your Welcome Harry"
It did take long before Harry had almost all of his presents open; From Hermione he received a book (which was normal for her) "The Greatest Wizards to ever Live and the Evil Wizards they Defeated by Hanna and Eugene Bastel", from Ron he had received some chocolate frogs, peppermint Imps and to his surprise two Mars Bars (Mr. Weasley must have helped him get those), Fred and George had given Harry a few of their inventions from Weasley Wizard Wheezes and a note (it said "Do not open until you get home") and hid it from sight before anyone noticed. Tonks had given him a gift box of underwear (boxers with different wizarding designs on them) and had said "You can never have enough underwear" and had made Harry blush to the ends of his hair. Remus had given him a new satchel to carry his books; Remus had explained that it had belonged to Sirius. Remus also told him that it was charmed to never brake and that he could put all of his books in it and it would always be light as a feather.
Neville had given Harry a book on magical plants and how to us them, professor McGonagall had given him a book called "So you want to be an Auror" which made him smile. Molly and Arthur Weasley (he had arrived as the others were cleaning up after the cake) had given him his own hand for the Weasley clock (a picture was included to show it being added to the clock); Harry had gotten up out of his chair and hugged them both like his life had depended on it. All that was left for Harry to open was the presents from Draco and professor Dumbledore; Harry wasn't so sure about these gifts. Draco's present (Ron had a look of utter disgust and shock on his face) was nothing more then an envelope that contained a gift certificate for any magical snake from the pet store in Diagon Alley. After what had happened in Dumbledore's office at the end of term; Harry never expected to get anything from his headmaster.
Ginny brought over the two packages and handed them to Dumbledore (since he was sitting next to Harry) so that he could explain about the mysterious part of the present that he was supposed to receive on his sixteenth birthday. Dumbledore acted as he always did; aloft and evasive when he explained things.
"Harry, now I do hope that you will accept my gift to you; it is not much my boy but I do hope you will enjoy it for a long time."
"Thank you sir; I'm sure I will sir"
"Good, good; now this one is from me and after you open the gift I will enlarge the other one. You may decide to examine it here or wait until you return home tonight."
"Yes sir"
Harry took the first package and opened it with enmity but was surprised to find a clear globe; with in the globe was the solar system (wow I'll never have trouble in Astronomy again, he thought) and the instructions were lying in the bottom of the box.
"Sir, thank you so much but sir this is just too much."
"Harry, it is your sixteenth birthday and I do believe this will help you in your studies; so it is an appropriate gift for you or anyone else. Now my boy, the other part of your gift is not from me but from your parents. They would have been the one to give it to you today but alas that was not to be my boy and I am truly sorry for that. All I can tell you what about this trunk; it is a family trunk which holds things from members of the Potter family and things your parents added to it after they were married. Remus may be able to tell you more about what's in it and he can do that when he walks you all back to the Dursley's home; he will enlarge it for you there."
"Sir, um…thanks (Harry was having trouble breathing) so much; I…don't know…Sirius was to…for me…from my parents," Harry sat there with wide eyes and was not able to finish any thought that was going through his head.
"I know this will be hard for you since you know very little about them or their lives but I know it will be treasured by you and what you can learn about your father's family from what lies with in this trunk. I wish that this could have been brought to you better but it was most specific that you receive it on your sixteenth birthday; not before or not after but today."
"I understand sir, it's was just a bit of a surprise is all; thank you so much for making sure I got it on time sir."
"You are most welcome young man but alas it is time that I must be returning to Hogwarts; we are still in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I must return to interview the candidate that will arrive shortly; once again Harry happy birthday and I do hope you enjoy the rest of your evening," Dumbledore rose out of his chair and shook Harry's hand before going and saying his good-byes to the others.
Professor McGonagall hugged Harry slightly and moved to say good-bye to the others; Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and the twins moved over to where Harry was standing. Harry looked around the room again at all of his friends and the people that he thought of as family; he noticed that Draco stayed where he was when the others came over to him. It had been a great day for the Harry and really didn't want it to end; he wanted to stay with his friends and not have to return to the Dursley's home but knew he didn't have a choice at this time. The twins informed Harry that he would never have to pay for anything that came from their shop; all he would have to do is send an owl and he would have it.
Before they left Arthur offered to walk back to the Dursley's with Remus; he wanted to make sure everything (the charms he had set when he brought Ginny there) was still in order. Ginny knowing what he was talking about blushed but didn't say a word to anyone. Thanks were given to Mrs. Figg for the use of her home by everyone of the Weasley's and Harry. Hermione hugged Harry tight and told him she would see him soon; Ron and the rest of the Weasley males shook his hand and told him not to worry to much that they would all see him soon. Molly Weasley grabbed a hold of Harry and hugged him so tight he thought his eyes would pop out before she let him go.
"Harry dear, not to worry you will be home with us soon; you three be good and if you need anything at all just send an owl," she said with a large smile.
While Harry was saying good-bye to his friends Remus and Arthur shrunk all his gifts and got everything ready to head back to Privet drive. Molly had gathered all the left over food and had it ready for Harry and the others to take home with them; she would make sure they had food and would be eating properly. With reluctance Harry, Ginny, and Draco followed the two adults out the door for their walk back. Arthur and Remus let the three walk ahead of them and talked a bit about Order business. Once they arrived back at the Dursley home, Mr. Weasley made his way to Harry's room, checked over the charms he had put into place and enlarged the items he had carried. Remus was in the kitchen enlarging the food that Molly had sent with them; he let out a chuckle as he enlarged the inside of the refrigerator.
Looking at the three sitting at the table he said, "Molly sent you enough food to last a week; I just hope you can get it all eaten before your relatives get back."
Ginny giggled and said, "Don't worry about the food being wasted; we all will make sure it gets eaten. We don't want the muggles to get mad at Harry for any reason."
"They are supposed to be home in two days and there is a weeks worth of food here Ginny; how in the world are you going to eat all this food before then?"
"These (pointing at Harry and Draco with her thumb) two eat as much as Ron does, so that won't be a problem. I do have a bit of the Weasley apatite and can put a big enough dent in that food; you know that Ron could eat all that food in one day so no worries."
"If you say so, oh Arthur you're done; I just have to take Harry up to his room to enlarge the trunk Dumbledore gave. We shouldn't be long so why don't you sit down and chat with your lovely daughter before we head back to Mrs. Figgs house."
"Take your time Remus; Molly and the others have already left and I will catch up with them when we are done here."
Remus followed Harry up to his room; they talked a bit about what might be in the trunk and Remus promised that he would be there for him to answer any questions he had. Harry thanked him for the offer and told him that he would be sure to contact him with any questions he had. Thirty minutes later Remus and Harry joined the others in the kitchen. It surprised Remus to see all three of the sitting there snacking on the food that Molly had sent. He and Harry joined them at the table and talked for another thirty minutes before Mr. Weasley said it was time to leave; Molly would get worried if he was any later getting home.
By the time the three occupants of Privet drive went to bed that night over half of the food had been eaten. Harry fell asleep dreaming about his party and what a wonderful day he had had; Draco had a fitful night that night. Draco dreamed that his father and a few other deatheater's showed up at Privet drive to take him back to the dark lord; killing Ginny Weasley and taking Harry Potter with them. The dream had last most of the night; by morning he was soaked with sweat and was more tired then he had been yesterday. Someone would be to pick him up tomorrow and to a point he couldn't wait but he would also miss being here; Merlin if people knew he wanted to spend the rest of his summer with the Potter boy and the Weasley girl they would have his head on a silver platter.
The first of August was spent lounging around the house and watching TV shows and movies; Draco had kept his nightmare to himself and would do so unless something happened. By that night the mood around Privet drive was a somber one; Harry knew that he and Draco were by no means friends but they had come to an understanding. It had been a learning experience for the three and though he would not admit it to anyone, it was going to be hard to say good-bye to his old enemy.
I am not going to let anything slip from the sixth book but for anyone that has not read the book; well you need to get up and head to the store and by your copy. It gives a lot of info about many things and you will not believe the ending…..Froggyy1