/
Chapter eight
Harry´s birthday
/
Harry did not wake up in a particularly good mood that morning.
The sun was streaming into his room through the curtains and it was clear that they were in for another beautiful day. The smell of fried bacon, eggs and coffee wafted through the crack under the door, since Hermione got up early to get ahead of Lupin in making breakfast. None of that mattered and Harry´s expression was rather sour, as he crawled out his bed.
He opened the curtains and opened the window wide to let the fresh morning air into the room. He took his glasses from the bedside table and casually glanced at the empty made bed on the other side of the room. Who knew if Ron would at least come to his birthday.
When his best friend left home two days ago, Harry realized how much he missed him here. Hermione was also, of course, an impeccable friend and company, but nobody could replace carefree and at the same time still complaining Ron.
He threw on a T-shirt and shorts and headed to the door in thought. He was also in a bad mood due to another thing. Something strange was happening the whole day before. Twice he thought he heard Angela's voice talking to Hermione. However, before he could reach the hall, only Hermione was there, and when he asked her about it, she brushed him off saying that he must have been mistaken. She was still talking with Lupin and Tonks as well, but when Harry walked in, they paused suspiciously before finding another topic to talk about.
Late in the afternoon, he started to feel like he was really out of it. He heard some suspicious muffled thuds, and then thought he heard Mrs Weasley, and as he headed into the kitchen to check, Lupin emerged from somewhere and almost forcibly took him to the library where he wanted to show him an interesting book. However, then he claimed that he forgot which one it was.
Hermione was constantly flying around the house, one moment there, the next moment somewhere else, and he could hardly see her without wand in her hand. He asked again, but each time she made an excuse. He also saw Tonks carrying things into the house in big boxes all the time and he was getting sick of it. He was sure that everyone was keeping something from him.
In the evening, Hermione sat locked in the salon and wrote something down for a long time. The quick scratching of a quill could be heard all the way down the hall.
He spied the moment when Lupin disappeared into his room and headed for Kreacher. However, when he asked him what was going on here, the elf remained silent as if his tongue was cut off. It was clear to him that he had been ordered to do so.
Harry frowned even more as he remembered all this and stormed out of the room. But then he stopped in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" came Hermione's muffled voice from below.
"I just brought…" he recognized Ron, whispering.
"Okay, put it here," Hermione hissed. "And be gone before Harry wakes up!"
"Yeah, I'm going," Ron muttered, and a moment later the door slammed shut behind him.
Harry ran downstairs as quietly and quickly as possible, but he did not find Hermione in the hall anymore. Therefore, he headed to the kitchen, hummed something to Lupin in response to his greeting, and sat down to the breakfast he had prepared.
Lupin kept looking at him sideways. A moment later, Hermione almost danced into the kitchen.
"Good morning!" she looked at Harry with a bright smile that broke over his stony scowl. He did not even answer her.
The girl sat down at the table with them a little less excited, and she and Lupin looked at each other.
"Did you get up with your left foot today?" asked Remus. "Or for what other reason do you look like you're chewing a lemon?"
Hermione's corners twitched, but Harry continued to grimly dig into his breakfast.
"How do you think I should look when you're all hiding something from me?" he snapped unexpectedly.
Both Remus and Hermione looked surprised and glanced at each other again.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" asked his so-called friend cautiously.
"You know what, Hermione, stop it! Do you think I'm completely stupid or what? But as you wish! Keep it to yourself, I don´t care, but don't make an idiot out of me!" Harry stated sulkily, standing up from the table and proudly striding out of the kitchen.
"But Harry, wait! You don't understand!" Hermione called after him, but Harry did not even stop on the stairs.
When his footsteps died away on the second floor and the door that led to Buckbeak´s attic slammed shut, Hermione rested her elbow on the table and buried a hand in her hair.
"I guess we pissed him off," Lupin remarked.
"It was clear to me that he would notice something, but to get angry like that..." Hermione replied.
"He will handle it until the evening," the werewolf concluded with a wide grin. "At least it will be more of a surprise for him."
"Let's hope so," Hermione said with uncertainty.
/
When Angela left the small gathering at Malfoys for a while to use a toilet, she found out one rather important thing. She wanted to take a closer look at the narrow twisted ring that Draco had put on her right ring finger about an hour ago, but it would not go off.
She frowned and tried again. She pulled, tugged, smeared her finger with soap, but the ring was stuck on its spot.
That cannot be true, she thought, anger bubbling up inside her.
She stormed out of the bathroom, forcefully controlled herself in front of the living room door, and walked in calmly, but briskly toward her new fiancé. Taking his elbow, she said in a low voice and with a faked smile: "Honey, can I take you for a moment?"
Draco allowed her to drag him into the corridor in amazement. Angela slammed the door behind them and turned to face him.
"What is it?" he asked when he saw her suddenly sharpened expression.
"Didn´t you forget to tell me something? How come this damn ring can't be taken off?!" Angela snapped, trying to control the volume of her voice.
"I see, this… Didn't I tell you?" Draco wondered.
"No," she growled dangerously. "What were you supposed to tell me?"
"It just works that way in our family. You will be able to take it off after the wedding," he explained as if it were the brightest thing under the sun.
"What?!" Angela´s face reddened, a hint of hysteria resonating in her voice.
"Or after the engagement is called off, of course," Draco added quickly.
"And you couldn't have told me earlier?"
"I guess I forgot, sorry," her awesome fiancé shrugged.
"So, I am supposed to walk with this," she shook with her right hand in disgust, "in front of everyone?"
"Who cares what ring you wear on your hand?" Draco sneered. "You liked it so much before..." he added sarcastically.
Angela clenched her fists and turned back to the door, grabbing the handle, but before she opened it, she muttered quietly: "Sometimes, I'd like to strangle you, Dracoie."
It was just lucky for Draco that she did not see the smug smile that spread across his face after her words.
/
Angela closed the door to her room behind her and locked it just to be safe, and with relief, she kicked off her high-heeled shoes. Outside, the sun had long since set and it was slowly getting dark. However, Angela did not notice it in thought.
Both Malfoys and mother were in a suspiciously good mood today, she thought grimly, pulling her dress over her head as she did so. They're up to something, I know it. But to what?
She ignored the somewhat dishevelled bun from her hair and headed straight for the wardrobe.
And Lucius had some weird comments… Like it's a shame I'm not of age yet.
Angela opened the wardrobe, with a worried wrinkle on her forehead.
I should have tried to sniff out what they were up to. Mother didn't even say anything when I told her I was going to sleep so early.
She pulled out her favourite tank top from one of the shelves and black jeans from the hanger. While getting dressed, her eyes finally fell on the clock.
Hell, I can't even make it on time! I wanted to be there from the beginning!
She slipped on her sneakers, grabbed the hoodie, and freed her hair from its tight bun. She hastily combed them, put the wand into the pocket, turned off the light in the room and opened the balcony door. She left them ajar to let air flow into her room and turned to the railing.
I´m lucky we don't have more floors, she thought with relief and swung over the railing to the other side. From a height of three meters, she gracefully landed on the grass like a cat, using her hands to soften the fall. There was no light in any of the lower rooms.
She straightened up and trotted off toward the corner of the garden to apparate.
/
"We're not going to wait for her any longer!" insisted impatient Ron.
"But she promised me she'd come!" Hermione countered.
"It does not matter! Everyone has been waiting for quarter of an hour! Go get him."
Hermione sighed, giving up. "Okay…" and headed for the stairs.
Meanwhile, Ron had disappeared somewhere in the corner of the entrance hall.
/
Harry lay dressed on the bed, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. The clock was ticking toward seven in the evening.
No one wished me, no one. They didn't have to make an event out of it; they could just indicate that they know what kind of day it is. Instead, everyone is running around the house looking mysterious.
Harry snorted.
When they need something, it's Harry here, Harry there, but when I finally come of age, they don't even remember! After all, Hermione and Ron used to send me something to the Dursleys every year. Mrs Weasley too, and Hagrid!
He had been thinking like this all day, and he was sick of himself.
He turned on his side and pulled out a hidden photograph from under the pillow.
Angela didn't come either… he thought gloomily.
There was a soft knock on the door and Harry quickly tucked the photo back.
"Yeah," he hummed as he returned to the position with his hands behind his head.
Hermione's lately always carefully combed head peeked into the room.
"Harry, have you been rolling around here all day?" she wondered.
He did not reply.
"Are you still not angry?"
Silence. Hermione sighed even more deeply than she did downstairs a moment ago.
"Get up and come with me, Harry. I want to show you something."
"I'm not interested," she heard the murmured reply.
"Harry, don't be silly. I'll show you what we didn't want to tell you… You weren't supposed to know. Come on now!"
Hermione did not even wait for his response and made her way down the hall and then down the stairs. Harry struggled for a moment, but then jumped out of bed and rushed after Hermione.
"Wait, I'm coming!"
Hermione smiled at the bottom of the stairs and quietly made her way to the back entrance leading to the garden as Ron had done before. Harry ran down the stairs and looked around the hall.
"Hermione?" he called uncertainly. "Where did she go again?" he muttered to himself.
There was a suspicious silence everywhere. The gloom in the hall slowly thickened. Harry almost jumped out of his skin when two candlesticks lit up on the walls. Suddenly something screeched.
Harry glanced to the corner of the hall where the sound had come from. He noticed that the back door was ajar. He swallowed hard.
"Hermione? Remus! Where are you?"
This cannot be true! Aren't they supposed to watch over me? After all, it almost seems as if there is no living soul!
"Stop making fun of me!"
Harry flinched in fright when there was a crash of broken porcelain behind him, followed by a shrill giggle. However, it was just Kreacher, who was happily thrilled that he managed to scare Harry off. The gleeful house elf presciently disappeared downstairs into the kitchen; otherwise, he would have taken a real kick.
Harry turned to the back door again and slowly made his way toward it. From outside, only a stifling silence reached him. No crickets, no evening birds, nothing.
He took the handle and slowly opened the door. Within sight of the house lay the desolate garden that belonged to the Black mansion, and Harry couldn't see much in the shadows of its tall trees.
Suddenly, the lights of many, many candles hanging in the air began to shine at him from somewhere, causing Harry to wince as a mighty cry came from several throats: "Surprise!"
Harry could not stop staring. The garden was not only cleaned up, but also colourfully decorated. There were tables that bent with food and drinks, and candles in the air, similar to the ones in Hogwarts, were lightening up all the lovely faces he thought of that day.
Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Mr Weasley, Remus, Tonks and Hagrid were all singing the old familiar birthday song at the top of their lungs, while Mrs Weasley was walking toward Harry who was still standing in the doorway in shock with a large walnut cake in hands, with seventeen candles buried in its surface. Above it all, a few green balloons with the number seventeen were floating in the air under the candles. Everybody was holding champagne glasses and smiling.
Harry stared wide-eyed at them, even as they finished singing, mentally cursing himself to the idiots. He should have realized…
Fred and George then dragged him away from the door and made him stand in front of Mrs Weasley with the cake. The others clustered around them.
"Come on, Harry, do it," Ron elbowed him.
Harry looked gratefully at the beaming faces around him.
"I… I…" he suddenly did not know what to say.
"Harry, darling, blow out the candles and make a wish! You're having your day!" Mrs Weasley prodded him.
"Thank you," Harry said quietly.
The vast majority of people around were embarrassed.
"It was Hermione's idea, Harry," Lupin broke the sudden silence. "She's been organizing it here all day."
"That's not true," the girl protested with a pleased smile as Ron took her by the shoulders.
"Don't be so modest," he grinned at her.
"Also, she pretty much charmed the surroundings all by herself so that no one but us could hear anything," Mr Weasley informed Harry, glancing at the young witch approvingly. "She's very clever."
Hermione blushed and prayed they would stop with the praise. Ron grinned and granted her wish.
"So, Harry, what about the candles? We will all stand a hole here!"
"Our Ronald can't wait to stuff himself with cake, you know?" remarked George aloud.
Everyone but insulted Ron burst out laughing. Harry closed his eyes and finally blew out the candles. He thought of the one person he did not find here during it…
After that, everyone rushed to him one by one, hugging him and patting him on the back with congratulations. When Hagrid did this, Harry would have fallen if Fred had not caught him readily. Finally, Mrs Weasley also approached him, placed the cake on an empty table and kissed him on the cheek with a smile.
After she cleared his field of vision, he caught a glimpse of the still open back door of the house and made out the outline of the desired person.
That was fast, Harry thought.
When the others realized his look, they followed it and also noticed Angela. A gentle smile spread across her face as she observed at the scene before her. Except for Ginny and Mrs Weasley, everyone looked at her kindly. Then she slowly walked up to Harry and after a tense moment of looking straight into his eyes, she hugged him tight.
"Happy birthday, Harry," she whispered in his ear..
Then she quickly pulled away from him.
"Hey, you two – do you have that audio player?" she turned to the twins.
"Sure!" replied George. "On my way for it!" and disappeared into the house.
"Angela was helping me set up the party," Hermione said unexpectedly from beside Harry.
"So, she was the one I heard yesterday," he remarked.
"Yeah," his friend nodded. "She was somewhat afraid to come, but I managed to persuade her that you´d like to see her…"
Harry flinched and turned to her, but Hermione did not give him a chance to speak.
"Angela?"
The one in question turned back to them.
"Where have you been for so long? We had to begin without you."
"I´m so sorry, but I'm glad I'm here at all. I almost thought I wouldn't make it," she replied apologetically.
"You missed blowing the cake," Ginny pointed out in a strange tone, causing everyone to look at her in surprise.
"What did you wish for anyway?" Ron turned to Harry.
"But Ron," Hermione protested. "That's not what you're supposed to be asking!"
"Why not?"
"Because if Harry tells you, it won't come true! You've never heard of it?"
"Since when you believe in superstitions?" wondered Ron.
"Stop it or you won't get the cake!" snapped Hermione.
"And now, you will decide what I´m allowed to eat or not?" Ron raised an eyebrow.
His girlfriend rolled her eyes: "Don't you get the joke?" and proudly walked over to Mrs Weasley who was already removing the candles from the cake for Harry to cut it.
"Since when did Hermione become a joker?" scowled Ron and followed her shaking his head.
Harry just shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching with laughter. Even when they were dating for so long, it was still the same. They were like fire and water.
Ginny walked off behind Ron after giving the latest incomer a really nasty look. Harry looked at Angela, but she averted her eyes. Lupin and Tonks approached them.
"So, how do you feel about being of age?" Remus asked, finishing his glass.
"Still the same," Harry shrugged.
Quite unexpectedly, a terrible screeching pierced their ears, making them all moan, and it was followed by vague crackling. Angela frowned as she walked over to the twins, who were standing over the audio player uncomprehendingly. After a while, the crackling and screeching stopped, and everyone present heard Angela scolding the twins for almost destroying her player. She sent them away and bent down to the device alone.
Offended, the twins left in the direction of the cake, and the company laughed again in amusement. In a moment, pleasant music was reaching them from all sides.
"Harry, come to cut it!" Mrs Weasley called to Harry.
"Yeah, do it Harry! I'm hungry!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry walked toward them with a smile. His mood turned one hundred and eighty degrees. He had not felt as good in the past month as he did that night. And he hadn't yet unwrapped the pile of presents that were waiting for him hanging from the branches of one tree. That was Fred and George's idea for a change. This evening was just perfect.
/
As the night progressed, the celebration gathered pace. After everyone had stuffed themselves full of delicious treats, the older generation sat on chairs and happily sipped their coffee, while the younger one tried to dance off their extra kilos. The twins, who were quite drunk from the Firewhiskey, even performed a 'macarena' for them on one of the tables, breaking half the plates during it.
Their mother properly scolded them first and then watched with a mischievous expression, as they could not stick the right plates even when using magic to do it. They kept getting the wrong pieces together, and Harry and Ron as well as Hermione, Angela and Ginny could not even breathe how hard they laught.
When Fred finally swung his wand in anger to put them together all at once, he somehow overdid it and a forgotten birthday present from the tree fell on his head. While he was confusedly picking himself up from the ground, everyone was already laughing again. Mrs Weasley took pity on them after half an hour and repaired the plates herself.
Hagrid was the first to leave at half past eleven. He still had 'some work to do', as he put it himself, and almost broke Harry's ribs when saying goodbye. Harry massaged them with a pained expression after he left, which of course amused Ron enough to sprinkle Hermione with crumbs from the last piece of cake, and then kept apologizing to her for ten minutes in a row.
The Weasleys were leaving a little before midnight and Ron and Ginny successfully talked them into staying at the house for the night and not coming home until the next day by the fireplace. Fred and George, being of age, just said goodbye to them and informed their mother with an innocent smile that they were coming for lunch to the Burrow.
Then Angela switched music to the slow songs and left somewhere, so Ron danced with Hermione, Lupin with Tonks, and Harry asked Ginny to dance.
The twins looked at Remus with amused expressions, since he was looking at Nymphadora as if seeing her for the first time. After a while, Kreacher walked past them and began to pick up the dirty dishes from the tables, chattering.
Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder and even though he wanted to move away at first, he let her stay like that in the end. Ron and Hermione disappeared into the shadows under the trees and Tonks cuddled up to Lupin. Harry noticed Angela in the doorway as she looked at him and Ginny before returning into the house.
At the end of the song, Harry apologized to Ginny and went after her. He found her only after a good while, at the top floor with Buckbeak. Harry was extremely surprised that Hippogriff was just calmly watching her, as she stood by the open dormer window, but then he remembered that she was Sirius' daughter after all. Maybe Buckbeak could somehow feel it.
He walked quietly up to stand behind her and looked up at the sky sprinkled with a thousand stars just like her.
"A beautiful night," he remarked softly.
Her stance stiffened, but she did not turn around or answer.
"I'm so glad you came," he told her gently.
"Really? Aren't you just saying that?" Angela spoke up.
Harry grabbed her arms and turned her around in surprise: "Why do you think that?"
Angela shrugged and looked somewhere behind him at the Hippogriff.
Then Harry realized why she seemed so hurt: "You're jealous, aren't you?" he asked with a smile.
Angela pulled away from his touch. "You wish," she blurted out upset, only confirming Harry's assumption.
"Ginny's just a friend, Angela," he said, still smiling, foolishly happy to know that she still cared.
She turned her back to him again. "Hmm. I don´t care about it anyway."
"And I'm supposed to believe you?" he responded amused.
She remained silent. Harry raised his hand and gently stroked her hair. Angela shivered, yet did not say anything against it. Encouraged, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind like he used to do and she… she didn't fight back. Angela just calmly leaned back against him.
They stood like that for a while, looking at the stars not daring to disrupt the moment. Angela could not get enough of it. She felt as safe and good as she had not in a long time.
Then Harry happened to catch a glimpse of her right hand, which she was successfully hiding from him all evening, but now she had it resting on top of his. He grabbed it sharply and brought it close to his eyes to see if he could really see well. Angela pulled back and looked at him strangely.
"Isn't this the Malfoy´s clan ring?" Harry raised his voice. "I have already seen this once. At Draco Malfoy´s hand."
"Um, it is," she nodded slowly with a nervous expression.
"And what is it doing on your right hand of all places?" he asked baffled.
"Harry, I… I must tell you something… I was forced to wear it, because…"
Angela was saved from explanation by a sudden noise, both from outside the garden and from the ground floor of the house. They heard many voices and stomping feet.
They exchange a single look and both moved. Angela dashed for the door, with Harry following her. They ran down the stairs to the hall and were surprised to watch over a dozen members of the Order enter the main entrance, walk through the hall and head down the stairs to the kitchen. A good number of them were sleepy and on the way fiddling with the bracelets on their right hand.
Lupin and Tonks rushed toward them from the back entrance, followed by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was pale and grim. Fred and George were following them as well.
"What's going on?" Harry asked Remus.
"Death Eaters have attacked the Ministry," Lupin breathed out, pausing for a moment with Harry as Tonks and Shacklebolt headed down the stairs to the kitchen as did the twins. "Dumbledore is urgently summoning all members of the Order. We have to go to help. There are very few people at the Ministry at night. It looks like Voldemort wants to take over it."
Ron, Hermione and Ginny also joined them at that moment.
"What is it?" asked Ron. "Suddenly, Shacklebolt ran into the garden and started blabbering something there in a panic..."
Instead of a reply, Lupin looked to the main door where the majestic figure of Albus Dumbledore appeared and rushed toward him. "Headmaster!"
They discussed something urgently for a while, as more and more members of the Order hurried to the underground, where just recently, a large room next to the kitchen was altered for Order´s meetings. Hogwarts students by the stairs looked at each other. Angela paled visibly, as did Hermione and Ginny. Harry quickly told Ron and the girls what had happened. Meanwhile, the Weasleys rushed into the house. They just looked warningly at the group of young people and also disappeared down the stairs.
An urgent and excited conversation was already reaching the hall from below. They probably did not even close the door. The stream of wizards and witches had weakened until it stopped quite a bit and it was now humming like a beehive below. Angela was the first to sit on the stairs to the first floor, and everyone else followed her example.
They did not wait long, barely two minutes, and already a stream of people, led by Dumbledore, poured out from below and immediately headed out of the house. Harry got up, walked right next to the stream that was rolling around him and waited. Lupin was among the last to walk alongside Tonks.
"Remus! Can we somehow…"
However, Remus Lupin cut him off as he walked: "No, Harry! Stay here! All of you! If anyone else comes, send them to the Ministry!"
"Take care of yourself!" Harry urged.
Lupin just nodded his head and was gone. The main door slammed shut behind the last wizard and the house fell into a stifling silence. Harry turned worriedly to his friends who were also looking at him. They were all thinking the same thing. How could things suddenly turn so bad? Only a mocking screeching voice broke the silence in the hall.
"Excellent, excellent. The Dark Lord increases his power. My lady would be happy, yes, yes," muttered Kreacher, giggling between sentences. They looked at him with hostility.
"All Muggle scums get what they deserve. All to the last one. Even these bastards, yes. All who defy our Lord. They will die, they will die horribly."
Angela stood up and Kreacher raised his head to her.
"Oh, lady knows I'm right, yes she does and that's why she's looking like that, yes," the house elf continued rasping.
"Aren't you supposed to clean up the dishes from the garden?" Angela asked so icily that Hermione gave her a disapproving look.
The elf lowered his ears and backed toward the back door with a bow: "Yes, lady, yes, sure, I'm going."
"And you are forbidden to speak a single word for the next twenty-four hours!" snapped the young Rosier. "One more insult and I'll lock you in a hot oven for an hour, got it?"
Hermione was now looking very offended, but Kreacher seemed almost pleased that Angela was threatening him. He just bowed and walked out. Angela let out a heavy breath and folded her arms over her chest.
"Anyone wants something to drink?" she asked quietly.
The others just shook their heads in silence.
"Fine, but I'll have a shot," she said and headed after Kreacher.
She went out into the quiet garden, sat down on one of the chairs, and reached for the bottle, which still had a good half left in it. She did not bother with any glass and took a deep drink directly from the bottle.
In the end, the others came there as well anyway, pulled up their chairs, and the bottle of Firewhiskey began to circulate among them. Ron broke the silence.
"How did they get to the Ministry, what do you think?" he asked a question that was surely bothering more people at this moment.
"Hard to say," Hermione replied. "The whole building is very well protected. Not as carefully as Hogwarts, but it must have been quite difficult to get there now."
"But why does he want to take over the Ministry?" wondered Ginny.
"I guess I know why," Angela said quietly. "So far, wizards and witches have relied on the Ministry to at least protect them from the Dark Lord and his henchmen."
"But when Voldemort has control over it, they won't have anyone to turn to," Harry finished for her.
"Yes, that makes perfect sense," Hermione agreed. "Then everyone will be even more afraid."
"Exactly," Harry nodded. "When even the Ministry of Magic can't defend against him, what are ordinary wizarding families supposed to do?"
After his words, there was silence again.
"Do you think they'll make it?" Ginny asked extremely quietly.
"We have to trust the Order of the Phoenix to stop them," Harry responded.
"I do hope so," said Hermione.
"I… I hope nothing happens to our parents and the twins," Ginny remarked in a little shaken voice.
Ron grabbed his sister's hand: "Don't worry; I'm sure they'll be fine."
Harry was silent. He thought of the last person who remained very close to him from his father's generation.
For a change, Angela wondered if her mother, who was definitely there, would hurt anyone.
Then, from no particular reason, she looked toward the distant outline of the forest. Only after a moment did she register the swiftly moving shadows with red, glowing eyes.
"Damn it," she whispered in horror.
