Chapter 14- Belated Birthday

The first thing Anaka did when she woke up was grab the piece of paper with the rune on it from her trunk. Before going to breakfast she went to see Madame Pomfry.
"You're lucky that you pulled your hand out of the flames quickly," Pomfry said unwrapping her hand bandages. Remus had told her that Anaka had burnt herself while using a caldron.
"I'll be more careful next time," Anaka promised when Pomfry was done, "thank you."
She quickly rushed to the Great Hall. She stopped outside the door. I hate being late, she thought. Taking a deep breath she entered.
"SURPRISE!!!!!"
Anaka stopped short and stared at the Gryffindor table. It was decorated with balloons, and presents were in front of an empty seat. Smiling she went over to the table and sat down.
"Happy belated birthday!!!" George cried.
"How'd you all find out?" Anaka asked amazed. Her birthday had been almost a month ago while Voldemort was holding them.
"We know everything!" Ron replied.
"Your dad reminded us too." Harry added.
"You missed out on your birthday because of everything," Hermione exclaimed, "so we decided it would only be fair to let you have one now!"
"Thanks everyone!!" Anaka said looking at all the gifts.
"Well let's eat!!" Fred said looking longingly at the plates of food.
"Then you can open your presents!!" Ginny cried.
The whole table ate without a word. Once they were done the rest of the school went to their first class.
"Don't we have to leave too?" Anaka asked as the Slytherins gave them dirty looks as they passed.
"Nope," Harry said smiling, "Dumbledore said we could all miss our first class so you could get your presents."
"We should have birthdays more often!!" Fred whispered to George.
"So open one already!!" Hermione exclaimed.
Anaka went through the presents rather quickly. George gave her a set of Dung bombs, Ron gave her an Appleby Arrows jersey, Hermione gave her a book on Unicorn Care, and Harry gave her a broom cleaning set.
"Open this one from Hagrid!!" George said suddenly.
The gift was in a brown box. There was strong tape on it and holes were all around it.
"I wonder if it's dangerous." Ginny said curiously.
"I bet it's something to soften the blow." Ron whispered to Harry. But he didn't whisper soft enough. Anaka looked at Ron.
"What blow?"
"Oh no!!" Hermione groaned, "I forgot!! I guess my gift is useless."
"What happened?" Anaka asked.
"We let your unicorn free." George said quietly. The room was silent for a moment. The box shuddered in her hands and Anaka smiled.
"It's ok. It wasn't mine anyway. I guess we had to let it free sometime." Anaka said shrugging.
"Open your present already!" Fred said, looking at the now moving box.
Anaka smiled and ripped the tape off the box. As the top became loose, a small furry head popped out.
"A kneazle!!!" Ron cried in surprise.
The kneazle sniffed the air and looked around. It looked at Anaka quietly.
"Awww." Said the whole table. Anaka laughed.
"It's adorable!!" she exclaimed.
The kneazle had yellow fur, speckled with orange spots. Its ears were longer then ordinary cat's ears but seemed to fit on the small creature. Its tail was like a lion's with brown fur on the end. Anaka took it out of the box and cradled it. The kneazle yawned and licked her hand. Its tongue was rough and wet. Inside the box was the license needed to own the kneazle.
"It's the cutest thing ever." Ginny gasped.
"What will you name it?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure….maybe Sunfire!!!" Anaka said suddenly.
"Sunfire." George said smiling, "It fits."
Sunfire closed his eyes and went to sleep. As Anaka laid him in her lap, Hermione picked up a stray card on the table.
"I think this is for you." Hermione replied.
Anaka took the card and opened it. Inside was a small piece of paper. The writing on it was gold. It said:
Anaka,
Meet me in my parent's garden tonight at 9:00. I promise to make your birthday a special night.
John Miffugan

"A special night?" Ron said frowning. Anaka smiled as she put the note back into the envelope.
"That's so sweet!!" Hermione squeaked.
"How romantic!!" Ginny cried.
"Girls." mumbled Fred.
"Are you going to go?" Harry asked. Anaka beamed at Harry. She really likes him, Harry thought sadly. He felt bad for Ron and frankly he was just starting to trust Miffugan again.
"Of course!!" she cried. Then she turned to Hermione.
"What should I wear?!"
"Oh we have to find something after dinner!!" Hermione answered.
"Come on. We have to go to our classes." George said getting up.
"Yeah. We better get to Hagrid's." Harry pointed out.
"Ok. I can't wait to thank him for Sunfire." Anaka said picking up her gifts. She dropped them off at the Gryffindor girl's dorm but kept Sunfire with her. Then she headed for Hagrid's.
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Mr. Miffugan sat at his son's desk as the Gryffindor and Slytherin 5 years entered.
"Why hello Anaka. What a cute kneazle!" he said happily, glad to see a familiar face.
"Hello Mr. Miffugan," Anaka said stopping at his desk, "I named him Sunfire."
"Very good. I guess I better start class."
Anaka nodded and took her seat next to Hermione.
"Hello class. I am Richard Miffugan or Professor Miffugan to you. I'm John's father. He's feeling ill today so I decided to step in."
"Great. We have an old guy for a teacher." Malfoy sneered.
"Old?" Rich said in surprise, "why I'm younger then most of your parents. John is only 17 going on 18. But enough about age. What do you want to do today?"
Hermione's hand shot up as the rest of the class started whispering about this new teacher.
"What do you want to do, Miss?" Mr. Miffugan asked.
"Well, we've been reviewing for our finals and we were up to…" the whole class groaned, interrupting her.
"You're Hermione, right?" she nodded, "Today I think we will skip the regular stuff and go right to something fun!!"
"Like what?" Lavender asked.
"What do you want to know about?"
"How about runes?" Anaka said quietly, sketching the rune in her book.
"Runes huh?" Hermione said suddenly. Anaka looked up surprised. Hermione had her hand in the air and was waving it anxiously.
"No!" Anaka hissed as Professor Miffugan called on her. Hermione gave her a strange look before speaking.
"Can you teach us to read certain runes?" she asked. Rich watched Anaka's face go pale. Curious, he said yes.
"It'll be fun!" he replied, "What runes do you know or want to learn?"
Even the Slytherins were interested in this. The class spent a few minutes going over some runes. During this time, Anaka got up the courage to ask a question.
"What does this rune mean?"
Anaka took out the piece of paper with the rune on it. Miffugan stared at the rune for a moment. Then he looked at Anaka.
"He showed you the book?" he whispered. Anaka didn't say a word but continued to hold up the paper.
"Well?" Hermione pressed. Richard's face brightened.
"That is the rune of Abaron. It literally means Abaron."
"What's Abaron?" one of the Slytherin's asked. A far off look came into Miffugan's eyes as he smiled.
"Abaron. The most beautiful place on the planet. As the legend goes, Abaron is a hidden community of elfin folk. They have beautiful wings and special powers. They live in peace, protecting their land."
"Have you ever been there?" one of the students asked. The professor's eyes grew clouded and held a protected look. He seemed almost sad.
"Of course not," he said, "it's just a story I used to tell my son." He glanced at Anaka.
Anaka looked down at her book. Over the past few days, she thought, I've come to learn that some stories are true.
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Anaka went through the rest of the day thinking. The keys to everything were the runes. I should probably check out Abaron too, she thought. When dinner was over she drew Hermione aside.
"Need help getting changed?" Hermione asked smiling. Anaka blushed.
"Yeah I guess. But I need you to go to the library and check out some books on runes for me."
"Runes?" Hermione said puzzled.
"Yes. I'll explain later." She glanced at her watch, "I need to get ready!"
They ran up to the dormitory and Anaka quickly picked out her dress. It was black with silver flowers on it. She wore her Moony necklace and put on her favorite bracelet. Hermione curled Anaka's hair and put it into a bun.
"You look great!!" Hermione cried as Anaka put on her shoes.
"I hate heels." She murmured as they walked into the common room.
The common room grew silent as she entered and Anaka tried to smile.
"You look nice." George said walking up to her with a smile.
"Thanks." Anaka said rolling her eyes.
"What?" George said defensively as she pushed pass him.
"I know you and Ron and probably everyone don't like John."
Ron and Harry came up behind them.
"That's not true." Harry said slowly.
"Yes it is." Ron countered.
"Shut up." Hermione said glaring at Ron.
"We're just worried that's all." George said.
"Well don't be. Hermione watch Sunfire for me, ok?" Anaka huffed and walked out of the room.
"I'm going after her." Ron said walking after her.
"No Ron." Harry said stopping him.
"I'll make sure she's fine." George said and followed Anaka.
"You've done it now." Hermione sighed.
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Anaka walked down the halls slowly, fiddling with her bracelet. Why'd I blow up like that? She wondered as she turned a corner.
"Anaka!!"
She turned to find George running towards her.
"What?" she said annoyed.
"Well," he said catching his breath, "I thought you might like someone to walk you down there." He took her arm and they started walking.
"I'm sorry I blew up at you. Tell everyone I'm sorry."
"It's ok."
Anaka smiled and they walked silently the rest of the way.
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When they reached John's parent's room George stopped.
"Well, have fun. But no later then 10!!" he said smiling. He turned and started to walk away.
"Don't wait up for me!!" Anaka called after him. He laughed with a wave of his hand and turned a corner.
Anaka sighed and opened the door. The room was dark and quiet. She walked towards the garden. As she walked through, she smiled. All around the garden lights were lit. She came to the table and was shocked by the change. A tablecloth covered the table and fine china was set. There were candles on the table and a bunch of roses in the center. John was nowhere in sight. Anaka walked up to the table and saw a card in the flowers. She opened it and gasped as a bunch of butterflies flew out.
"Like my new trick?"
Anaka turned to see John smiling behind her.
"It's very nice." She replied. John pulled out her chair and Anaka sat.
"So how are you feeling?" she asked as he sat. John shrugged.
"Fine. I'm going to teach tomorrow hopefully."
They sat there talking and eating for a while. When they were done John stood up and walked to a certain part of the garden. Anaka followed and saw that between the bushes was a path.
"Someplace special." John whispered pulling the branches aside.
Anaka walked through and John followed. They walked through flower gardens and a beautiful orchard before they stopped. Anaka stared at the site before her. There was a small fountain in the middle of a beautiful rose garden. The roses were all different colors and a carved stone bench was on the side.
"It's beautiful." Anaka said walking towards the bench.
"Yeah." John said smiling.
Anaka touched a nearby flower, in awe.
"Anaka watch out for the…" before John had finished Anaka fell. Grabbing her ankle she looked at the ground. There was a small stone step. I'm so stupid, she thought as John helped her up.
"I'm fine really." Anaka said as John stared at her worriedly. John helped her limp towards the bench.
"Never fall in heels." Anaka said frowning. Her ankle was turning purple.
John sighed and took her foot. He gently took off her shoe and inspected the injury.
"So how is it?" Anaka said wincing as John moved her ankle.
"Well you should definitely go to Madame Pomfry later."
Anaka sighed and angrily took her other shoe off.
"Stupid shoes." She mumbled putting them on the ground. John laughed. Anaka sent him an annoyed glance.
"What's so funny?"
"You look great when you're mad." Anaka blushed and John laughed again.
"I guess my idea is ruined now."
"What idea?" Anaka asked curiously.
"I was going to ask you to dance." He stood up and pointed his wand at something under the bench. Anaka glanced down and saw a stereo.
"We can still try right?" John asked.
Anaka looked up and found John standing with his hand out to her. She sighed as the song started. The same song they had danced to at the Christmas Dance. Anaka took his hand and stood up shakily. Anaka leaned on John heavily as they danced. Her ankle throbbed.
"This is wonderful. Thanks for going to so much trouble for me." Anaka said looking at John.
"It wasn't any trouble. It was all worth it. You know I'm…um… fond of you." Anaka smiled.
"You look great when you're nervous." She said laughing.
"I guess I shouldn't be nervous." John replied.
"You shouldn't." Anaka agreed. John stopped dancing and Anaka stumbled. He caught her and they stood there as the song ended.
"I have to give you something. I cleared it with you're dad so don't worry about the type of gems."
Out of his pocket he pulled a small heart locket. It was different from the other one and had green gems on the outside. Anaka opened it and found a picture of her and John in it.
"This is the picture from the dance." She said slowly.
"Yeah." John said quietly.
Anaka closed it and put it around her neck.
"That's not all." He said smiling. He pulled a small square box out of his pocket.
"What else is in there?" Anaka said smiling. John laughed and opened the box.
Inside was a gold ring. There was a sea-green gem on it.
"It was once my mom's. She calls it the key to Abaron." Anaka started at this but smiled as he slipped the ring on her finger.
"I'll always love you." He whispered as they hugged. Anaka blushed as they pulled apart and gently kissed him on the check. John smiled. He pulled her close and then kissed her, right on the lips.
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Remus walked through the garden slowly. He didn't want to interrupt their dinner but he just had to give Anaka her birthday present. It was a photo album. The album was composed of pictures of when Remus and Molly had just met at Hogwarts, their wedding, honeymoon, and when Anaka was born. John would probably like to see it anyway.
"Hello?" he said as he approached the table. The table was full of dirty dishes and the candles were low. Puzzled, Remus looked around.
Then he noticed the bushes parted slightly at one side. He passed through and saw a path. He looked back but then followed it. He passed amazing flowers and walked through a beautiful orchard until finally he came to a clearing. He stepped back in surprise at what he saw. Anaka and John were standing in the courtyard kissing. Remus watched with anger and his parental instincts kicked in. A million thoughts went through his mind. Anaka was too young for this, she was just 15, John is dangerous, and she's not ready. Remus waited for them to move apart but they never did and he could wait no more.
"Get your hands off my daughter you biatch!!!" he cried angrily. The couple parted in surprise and for a moment Anaka forgot the pain in her leg.
"Dad!?" she gasped.
"Professor!" John stammered. Remus jumped down the step and grabbed Anaka's hand. He pulled her towards him. He saw her wince in pain and he looked at her ankle. Glowering at Miffugan he picked up her shoes.
"We're leaving. I think it's best if you don't see my daughter again." He said dangerously.
"But dad…" Anaka struggled as they walked away.
"No buts!!" Remus sneered. Anaka looked back at John with tears streaming down her face. John was standing there sadly, holding the empty ring box in his hand.