The next few weeks passed without incident. Harry spent his time with
Sirius and Remus listening stories from when they were in school. The
amount of pranks that they had pulled would have shamed the Weasley twins.
Snape had simply disappeared one night. Arabella assured them that he was
fine, and Harry had to admit he was rather relieved when Snape left.
One night Harry was playing another game of chess with Mrs. Figg when Arabella came and sat down by them. She was smiling so broadly Harry thought it must hurt.
"Harry, we have a special surprise for you."
Harry looked up from the game. Remus and Sirius were standing with big grins on their faces as well.
"What do you have planned?" He asked suspiciously.
"Harry, tomorrow is your birthday,"
It startled Harry to hear Arabella say that, he was not used to having people remember.
"and we are going to take you, Ron and Hermione on a little trip tomorrow, so we are celebrating here tonight. Happy birthday Harry."
As she said it Sirius and Remus grabbed Harry and led him into the dining room. It was decorated rather ineffectually with streamers and balloons. There was also a banner on one of the walls that was flashing 'Happy Birthday Harry' a big pile of presents on the table along with a huge chocolate cake.
"Well?" his godfather said, "which first, gifts or cake?"
Harry couldn't speak. He answered by turning around and giving his godfather a fierce hug. This was the most wonderful birthday he had ever had.
Harry's curiosity got the better of him, and he started unwrapping the presents. This was more fun than Harry had ever had. Everyone was chatting and laughing while Mrs. Figg kept taking pictures of Harry at awkward moments. When he protested about this Arabella grinned and told him to keep unwrapping. The amount of gifts was amazing to Harry, he got a mound full of candy and treats, a new quill, a set of checkers from Mrs. Figg, and a new bottle of broomstick polish, among other things. Finally there were only two packages left. Harry reached for the bigger of the two, there was no card so he ripped through the paper.
It was a copy of Quidditch through the ages.
"Thanks." Harry said. "Who is it from?"
"It's from all of us Harry." Sirius said eagerly "but it's not just the book, open up the cover."
Harry opened the cover. A small envelope and a note fell out. Harry picked up the note first.
Happy Birthday Harry, This should make your day tomorrow a little bit better. Love from, Sirius, Remus, Arabella and Mrs. Figg
Harry opened the envelope excitedly. Inside were four tickets to the English national quidditch team practice tomorrow.
"Thanks!" Harry said with much more enthusiasm this time.
"Ron, Hermione and Arabella will be going with you tomorrow." Sirius explained. "We were really lucky to get permission to go, they usually don't allow people to watch them practice, but Arabella has got some connections, and they decided to make an exception."
Harry looked sadly at his godfather.
"I wish you could come with"
"I know" Sirius whispered. "I do too, next time."
Remus came over and put a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Open your last package Harry."
The last gift was the same shape as the previous one, but a little bit smaller. Harry was not surprised as he tore away the paper to find another book.
It was an old book of poems. Harry opened it up, there were notes written in the margins, passages that were highlighted and words that were underlined. Remus had come to stand by Harry, who looked up at him questioningly.
"I forgot I had this until I found it while looking for a book this summer. It was your mother's"
Harry flipped through the book. That was his mother's writing, her notes, it was the closest he could come to knowing her thoughts.
"She loved poetry, she never went anywhere without that book. She was constantly reading out of it, I think you will probably find some of her own poetry written in there."
This was the first thing Harry had of his mother's. Although he had never read poetry before he could not wait to read all the notes his mother had written. Lupin looked down at him and smiled. Harry didn't know what to say.
"How about some cake now?" It seemed like an inadequate thanks but Harry knew Lupin understood what this meant to him.
Arabella tore her eyes away from the book, which she had been staring at.
"Cake it is!"
***
The dark figure eased into the room. If they were not expecting him they would have never noticed him enter. With poorly hidden nervousness a short man with a pointy noise and a bald spot on the back of his head stepped forward. The dark figure might have let out a quick gasp, but the small man didn't seem to notice.
"We've been waiting for you." He said in a squeaky voice. "You were supposed to have been here an hour ago. The Dark Lord does not like to be kept waiting."
The dark figure did not move.
"Well, what do you had to report" The man with the squeaky voice was trying very hard to be cross, but it would have been more convincing if had not been shaking.
"I do not report to you Peter Petigrew." The dark figure said in a low rumble.
Peter jumped at the use of his full name, he had been avoiding using it since most people thought he was dead.
"Well" he said desperately trying to act more confident than he felt. "Our master trusts me, he is occupied at the moment-"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure he is." The dark figure laughed cruelly. "But you tell your master if he thinks I will speak to anyone but him he will be very disappointed. I would be very offended to hear that he values hunting down muggles more than my-- service."
Peter was shaking very hard now, the dark figure had not moved, but his mere presence was menacing.
"You tell your master that next time he requests to meet that he have the courtesy to show up. Next time I will not be so understanding."
With that the dark figure swept out of the room. Walking quickly down the street he looked over his shoulder. No one had followed him. Just in case he took a turn down a deserted alleyway and jumped lightly onto a roof. He watched as Peter and the rest of the death eaters filed into the street looking around, and then disapperated.
***
The next morning Harry got up early. He was restless. It wasn't until he had paced his room for a quarter hour before he remembered his mom's book. sitting down on his bed he opened to a page somewhere close to the middle.
The love of my beloved is upon yonder side
A stretch of water is between
And a crocodile waits upon the sandbank
The notes on this one were scarce, the whole poem was circled but only one word was written Tonight.
Harry didn't have much time to ponder this when there was a knock at his door. It was Mrs. Figg.
"I thought you might be up, too excited to sleep?"
"Yes," Harry admitted "I can't wait to go."
"Well come downstairs dear, Arabella has made breakfast."
Harry followed her downstairs. The smell of bacon wafted in the air and cheerful chattering was coming from the kitchen. Apparently Harry was not the only one who had gotten up early. Sirius and Arabella were sitting at the table talking animatedly. Harry was glad they had made up.
When Arabella saw Harry she jumped up
"The bacon!" she jumped up and ran over to the stove. "Who likes their bacon a bit crispy?" she asked sheepishly.
Sirius laughed "don't worry, if anyone has a problem they can blame me! I shouldn't have gotten you started on chaser tactics."
Arabella served up the slightly burnt bacon and toast.
"Well, if I burnt the bacon I will make it up with the drinks!" She went to the fridge and pulled out some oranges. Then she grabbed something plastic out of the cupboard, set it over a pitcher and cut an orange in half.
"Homemade orange juice!" She said cheerfully. "One of my American friends sent me a crate of oranges as a thank you, and there is nothing better than home squeezed orange juice in the morning."
Harry enjoyed the juice. Aunt Petunia had never squeezed orange juice, and watching Arabella he understood why. By the time she had made a glass for everyone she was sticky and there was pulp all over the counter and floor. It didn't seem to bother her though, she was laughing at her own antics.
"You can tell I don't do this very often, I'm not very graceful."
Everyone was assuring her when Lupin walked in the kitchen. His hair was ruffled and he still looked half asleep.
"Why didn't anyone wake me up? I obviously missed all the fun." His eyes went from the floor, to each of their smiling faces.
"Oh Remus, we wouldn't want you to lose any beauty sleep, you need it." Arabella said, with a mischievous smile.
He was looking at Arabella with mock hurt when a ball of orange pulp hit him full in the force in the face. At the look on Lupin's face Harry nearly fell out of his chair laughing. Lupin recovered though, grabbed more pulp and pushed it into Arabella's face.
"Truce!" she choked out through laughter and orange pulp.
Harry had never seen them all so happy. It made him laugh and cry at the same time that these people had suffered so much, and they were facing more head on. Their families and friends had been taken away from them, things you normally base your life on had been stolen and yet here they were laughing. As much as it saddened Harry it also amazed him. It amazed him that after so much pain they could still laugh, still smile, still get up every morning and keep going. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he thought this. He wiped it away quickly, before anyone could see. If they thought he was sad they would stop their fun. For some reason they all seemed to love him very much, even Arabella and Mrs. Figg, who he didn't know very well. Their love was evident in the sacrifices they had made for him, made them without him even knowing. Harry couldn't help but to be excited for the day, but there was a nagging in the back of his mind. It wasn't right. Something wasn't right.
One night Harry was playing another game of chess with Mrs. Figg when Arabella came and sat down by them. She was smiling so broadly Harry thought it must hurt.
"Harry, we have a special surprise for you."
Harry looked up from the game. Remus and Sirius were standing with big grins on their faces as well.
"What do you have planned?" He asked suspiciously.
"Harry, tomorrow is your birthday,"
It startled Harry to hear Arabella say that, he was not used to having people remember.
"and we are going to take you, Ron and Hermione on a little trip tomorrow, so we are celebrating here tonight. Happy birthday Harry."
As she said it Sirius and Remus grabbed Harry and led him into the dining room. It was decorated rather ineffectually with streamers and balloons. There was also a banner on one of the walls that was flashing 'Happy Birthday Harry' a big pile of presents on the table along with a huge chocolate cake.
"Well?" his godfather said, "which first, gifts or cake?"
Harry couldn't speak. He answered by turning around and giving his godfather a fierce hug. This was the most wonderful birthday he had ever had.
Harry's curiosity got the better of him, and he started unwrapping the presents. This was more fun than Harry had ever had. Everyone was chatting and laughing while Mrs. Figg kept taking pictures of Harry at awkward moments. When he protested about this Arabella grinned and told him to keep unwrapping. The amount of gifts was amazing to Harry, he got a mound full of candy and treats, a new quill, a set of checkers from Mrs. Figg, and a new bottle of broomstick polish, among other things. Finally there were only two packages left. Harry reached for the bigger of the two, there was no card so he ripped through the paper.
It was a copy of Quidditch through the ages.
"Thanks." Harry said. "Who is it from?"
"It's from all of us Harry." Sirius said eagerly "but it's not just the book, open up the cover."
Harry opened the cover. A small envelope and a note fell out. Harry picked up the note first.
Happy Birthday Harry, This should make your day tomorrow a little bit better. Love from, Sirius, Remus, Arabella and Mrs. Figg
Harry opened the envelope excitedly. Inside were four tickets to the English national quidditch team practice tomorrow.
"Thanks!" Harry said with much more enthusiasm this time.
"Ron, Hermione and Arabella will be going with you tomorrow." Sirius explained. "We were really lucky to get permission to go, they usually don't allow people to watch them practice, but Arabella has got some connections, and they decided to make an exception."
Harry looked sadly at his godfather.
"I wish you could come with"
"I know" Sirius whispered. "I do too, next time."
Remus came over and put a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Open your last package Harry."
The last gift was the same shape as the previous one, but a little bit smaller. Harry was not surprised as he tore away the paper to find another book.
It was an old book of poems. Harry opened it up, there were notes written in the margins, passages that were highlighted and words that were underlined. Remus had come to stand by Harry, who looked up at him questioningly.
"I forgot I had this until I found it while looking for a book this summer. It was your mother's"
Harry flipped through the book. That was his mother's writing, her notes, it was the closest he could come to knowing her thoughts.
"She loved poetry, she never went anywhere without that book. She was constantly reading out of it, I think you will probably find some of her own poetry written in there."
This was the first thing Harry had of his mother's. Although he had never read poetry before he could not wait to read all the notes his mother had written. Lupin looked down at him and smiled. Harry didn't know what to say.
"How about some cake now?" It seemed like an inadequate thanks but Harry knew Lupin understood what this meant to him.
Arabella tore her eyes away from the book, which she had been staring at.
"Cake it is!"
***
The dark figure eased into the room. If they were not expecting him they would have never noticed him enter. With poorly hidden nervousness a short man with a pointy noise and a bald spot on the back of his head stepped forward. The dark figure might have let out a quick gasp, but the small man didn't seem to notice.
"We've been waiting for you." He said in a squeaky voice. "You were supposed to have been here an hour ago. The Dark Lord does not like to be kept waiting."
The dark figure did not move.
"Well, what do you had to report" The man with the squeaky voice was trying very hard to be cross, but it would have been more convincing if had not been shaking.
"I do not report to you Peter Petigrew." The dark figure said in a low rumble.
Peter jumped at the use of his full name, he had been avoiding using it since most people thought he was dead.
"Well" he said desperately trying to act more confident than he felt. "Our master trusts me, he is occupied at the moment-"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure he is." The dark figure laughed cruelly. "But you tell your master if he thinks I will speak to anyone but him he will be very disappointed. I would be very offended to hear that he values hunting down muggles more than my-- service."
Peter was shaking very hard now, the dark figure had not moved, but his mere presence was menacing.
"You tell your master that next time he requests to meet that he have the courtesy to show up. Next time I will not be so understanding."
With that the dark figure swept out of the room. Walking quickly down the street he looked over his shoulder. No one had followed him. Just in case he took a turn down a deserted alleyway and jumped lightly onto a roof. He watched as Peter and the rest of the death eaters filed into the street looking around, and then disapperated.
***
The next morning Harry got up early. He was restless. It wasn't until he had paced his room for a quarter hour before he remembered his mom's book. sitting down on his bed he opened to a page somewhere close to the middle.
The love of my beloved is upon yonder side
A stretch of water is between
And a crocodile waits upon the sandbank
The notes on this one were scarce, the whole poem was circled but only one word was written Tonight.
Harry didn't have much time to ponder this when there was a knock at his door. It was Mrs. Figg.
"I thought you might be up, too excited to sleep?"
"Yes," Harry admitted "I can't wait to go."
"Well come downstairs dear, Arabella has made breakfast."
Harry followed her downstairs. The smell of bacon wafted in the air and cheerful chattering was coming from the kitchen. Apparently Harry was not the only one who had gotten up early. Sirius and Arabella were sitting at the table talking animatedly. Harry was glad they had made up.
When Arabella saw Harry she jumped up
"The bacon!" she jumped up and ran over to the stove. "Who likes their bacon a bit crispy?" she asked sheepishly.
Sirius laughed "don't worry, if anyone has a problem they can blame me! I shouldn't have gotten you started on chaser tactics."
Arabella served up the slightly burnt bacon and toast.
"Well, if I burnt the bacon I will make it up with the drinks!" She went to the fridge and pulled out some oranges. Then she grabbed something plastic out of the cupboard, set it over a pitcher and cut an orange in half.
"Homemade orange juice!" She said cheerfully. "One of my American friends sent me a crate of oranges as a thank you, and there is nothing better than home squeezed orange juice in the morning."
Harry enjoyed the juice. Aunt Petunia had never squeezed orange juice, and watching Arabella he understood why. By the time she had made a glass for everyone she was sticky and there was pulp all over the counter and floor. It didn't seem to bother her though, she was laughing at her own antics.
"You can tell I don't do this very often, I'm not very graceful."
Everyone was assuring her when Lupin walked in the kitchen. His hair was ruffled and he still looked half asleep.
"Why didn't anyone wake me up? I obviously missed all the fun." His eyes went from the floor, to each of their smiling faces.
"Oh Remus, we wouldn't want you to lose any beauty sleep, you need it." Arabella said, with a mischievous smile.
He was looking at Arabella with mock hurt when a ball of orange pulp hit him full in the force in the face. At the look on Lupin's face Harry nearly fell out of his chair laughing. Lupin recovered though, grabbed more pulp and pushed it into Arabella's face.
"Truce!" she choked out through laughter and orange pulp.
Harry had never seen them all so happy. It made him laugh and cry at the same time that these people had suffered so much, and they were facing more head on. Their families and friends had been taken away from them, things you normally base your life on had been stolen and yet here they were laughing. As much as it saddened Harry it also amazed him. It amazed him that after so much pain they could still laugh, still smile, still get up every morning and keep going. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he thought this. He wiped it away quickly, before anyone could see. If they thought he was sad they would stop their fun. For some reason they all seemed to love him very much, even Arabella and Mrs. Figg, who he didn't know very well. Their love was evident in the sacrifices they had made for him, made them without him even knowing. Harry couldn't help but to be excited for the day, but there was a nagging in the back of his mind. It wasn't right. Something wasn't right.