Harry paced by his window anxiously on his birthday, waiting for the arrival of Hedwig from the Weasleys'. Hermione's present had already arrived, as had Sirius's and Hagrid's. Hermione had picked out a protective case for his Firebolt with help from Viktor Krum and he had unwrapped a Truth Orb from Sirius. He wasn't quite sure what that was, but figured Hermione would explain it to him. Hagrid had sent him the usual treacle fudge, though it had a happy face of icing on the top.
The youth was more concerned about Ron though. Hedwig hadn't come back yet from the Weasley's and Harry couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He was effectively cut off from the wizarding world at the Dursleys'. Having no idea of what might have happened, a sigh of relief was taken as the emerald orbs spotted his snow white owl winging towards the house in the night sky.
Hedwig swooped in and dropped her parcel neatly on the bed, hopping to the young man's arm in order for a treat. He gave it to her, in form of a grape, and put her gently onto her perch, where more fruits awaited her. Turning to the gift, Harry opened first the letter, too preoccupied with relief to notice that the name on the envelope wasn't written in Ron's usual scrawl.
Dear Harry,
Your letter arrived...too late, we are afraid. Ron has been taken, by who or what, we do not know for sure, but must assume from your letter that it is You-Know-Who. It happened yesterday, when he was in Diagon Alley, purchasing your birthday gift. The gift was discovered abandoned near Knockturn Alley. How we knew it was for you was obvious, as you soon will see, but we double checked and the shop owner had indeed sold it to Ron. The authorities confiscated the original as a possible source for leads, but we decided that you simply must have it, and so purchased a second copy.
Love, The Weasley Family
Harry read the letter twice, hoping that this was just a dream, that he would wake up and everything was fine. But it wasn't. Ron was gone, and it was his fault. He began to shake uncontrollably, hand clenching the letter tightly, knuckles gone white.
Slumping onto the bed, the youth choked back tears, rubbing his eyes under the black wire rims of his glasses. 'It is what Voldemort will want me to do. It is what I must not do.' Straightening, he turned to the gift, tears still burning at the back of his eyes. Ripping open the paper, he stared unbelievingly at the title of the book, troubles momentarily forgotten.
'James and Lily Potter: The People Behind the Boy Who Lived.'
Opening it slowly, Harry discovered a goldmine of information and photos on his parents, though a few details weren't mentioned, such as James's illegal Animagi form and why he did so. Most of the rest was there, from details on the Marauders and the entirety of the romance between the two. Even his nickname was there, though the reason for such an odd one wasn't provided. Wondering who could possibly know so much about his parents to write a book, trembling hands turned to the title page.
'By Remus Lupin'
The tears began to fall now, for his parent's deaths, for Sirius's wrongful imprisonment, for Remus's loss of everyone in one night, for his own mistreatment at the hands of the Dursleys. But most of all, he cried for Ron, for the kidnapping and who knows what else of a person whose only fault was being friends with the Boy Who Lived.