Chapter One
Harry Potter-Granger awoke with a start, when the door to his new bedroom opened with a soft creak.
Three silhouetted figures were standing in the doorway. Harry slowly reached for his glasses on the bed side table and reached under the pillow for his wand.
Slowly, very slowly, he sat up as the three figures silently made their way to the foot of his bed. They appeared to be cloaked, and were of different heights.
One tripped on a pile of clothing that Harry had left on the floor.
'Shhhhhhh!'
Pointing his wand at the trio, he reached up for his bed side lamp.
'Petrificus Totalus!'
Harry snapped on the light as his newly adopted sister, Hermione Granger, fell to the ground, dropping the parcels she was holding with a crash. Maree and Anthony Granger crouched down next to her in alarm, but sprang away as Harry performed the counter curse.
He put his hands over his ears as a screaming tirade rent the air.
'Harry Jamison Potter! What the hell do you think you were doing? Is cursing a person in the middle of the night normal behaviour for you? You know very well that you are under age and could get expelled. Do you even stop to consider the ramifications of what you are about to do? What if you had got it wrong because you were half asleep? I could be an elephant in the middle of Africa by now.'
She was about to continue, but her father, wrapping his dressing gown tighter around his as he spoke, interrupted.
'Sweet-heart, I don't think Harry meant to hurt you. It was just a reaction. He has been under a lot of pressure recently. There isn't any lasting damage is there? Now, since our surprise is ruined then why don't we all go back to bed and give these to him in the proper way in the morning.'
Harry looked at the pile of parcels in confusion. 'What's all this?'
'We were going to put your birthday presents at the foot of your bed for tomorrow. It was supposed to be a surprise, but you sleep to lightly.'
Harry looked embarrassed. 'Sorry, Aunt Maree. Your dressing gowns looked like cloaks in the dark. I guess I'm kind of paranoid. I forgot that the wards have been put in place.'
'That's fine, sweetie. We'll try to be quieter next time. Good night now. Sleep tight.'
'Good night, sorry Hermione.'
'Night Harry.'
'Good night Harry, it's ok.'
As Harry settled back down in his new bed, the incredulity of his situation struck him for the first time in the few weeks that he had been back from school.
Just this time last year he was living with the Dursley's at number four Privet Drive. So much had happened since then.
Vernon Dursley's firm had gone broke. Aunt Petunia had killed herself. Harry had killed himself and been brought back from the dead by Professor Snape. Harry and his friends had befriended Draco Malfoy. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco had joined the Order of the Phoenix. Harry had discovered that his father had had a younger sister who had been married to Professor Snape, but who, along with her baby son Sean, had been killed by Voldemort. Harry had disowned Professor Snape and has been legally adopted by Hermione's parents.
Harry stared at the scars that covered his arms from elbow to wrist. He knew that if he rolled up his pyjama legs then he would see scars of a similar nature of his thigh.
Although Harry hadn't been able to, and had no intention of, stop cutting himself, he had started cutting his legs, which was less of a danger to his life. His adoptive parents knew of his problem, and although they hadn't been able to convince him to see a counsellor, cared for him by providing him with antiseptic so his wounds wouldn't get infected, and periodically checked his wrists, to make sure he hadn't started cutting them again, and his legs to check that he wasn't cutting to deep.
Harry respected and was grateful for their discretion. He knew that they knew, that they couldn't help him with his emotional scars that he had been accumulating since he was eighteen months, and although they didn't approve of his cutting, that it wasn't their place to jump in and interfere with his past. They asked as little as possible of his life, trusting that he would tell them when he was ready. They did their best to accept him into their lives and treat him as if he had been their his whole life, but at the same time, not trying to take the place of the two people who had laid down their lives for their son.
Tomorrow was Harry's sixteenth birthday, and he would celebrate it, for the first time, in a home where people cared about him. Harry didn't care about presents or a party, although he wouldn't object if they were given to him, he would just be happy to be in a house where people actually acknowledged his presence and the fact that it was his birthday.
Harry turned his light off with a click, and snuggled down, knowing that tomorrow would be one of the best days of his life.
Harry awoke to the sun shining through his bedroom window. This was a miracle in itself. At the Dursley's Harry was either in a cupboard where there were no windows or in a room where the bars on the windows had been fitted so tightly together, that they barely allowed any sunlight into the room. Anyway, he would have been up since before dawn, doing his early morning chores.
Harry stretched in his bed, before leaping up and running to the shower in his en suite bathroom. The Grangers were at the top of their profession, and they were extremely well off. They didn't flaunt it on expensive unnecessary items, but they did have many modern conveniences, one of these being each bedroom having en suite facilities.
He turned the water pressure up slightly and enjoyed another forbidden luxury at the Dursley's: long, hot showers.
Harry pulled on Dudley's old jeans and his Weasley jumper and went to the top of the stairs. Suddenly he stopped.
How did one act on their birthday? Harry had never had his acknowledged so he didn't know what to do. Was there a special way of entering the room? How did he greet the Grangers? What did he say when they gave him presents? Was he supposed to hug them? What if they didn't give him any? What if he had dreamt the previous night and they didn't even know that today was his birthday? Should he tell them? Shouldn't he say anything? Should he drop a hint? What would he say if they got embarrassed at forgetting? What if.
Harry's train of thought was broken when Hermione crept up behind and grabbed him by the shoulders. 'Fucking Merlin!'
'Shhhhhh. You know my parents hate swearing. Why were you looking so scared? It's your birthday silly, you are supposed to be happy.'
Harry went red and his eyes fell on his feet. 'I didn't know, if you would remember. I don't know how to act.'
Pity crept into Hermione's eyes but Harry didn't see it. She gave him a hug.
'Come on little brother, I'll show you what to do.'
Harry looked at her gratefully, but the look died as Hermione continued wickedly.
'First, we put our right foot in front of our left foot, then our left in front of our right, this is called walking, Harry. Now, we hold on to the stair rail and we move our back foot onto the stair in front of us by bending our knee and lowering our selves onto the stair. Now we repeat thaauggghhh.'
Hermione screamed and tore down the stairs with Harry chasing furiously after her. They skidded to a halt in the kitchen as Hermione's father looked up from his paper and raised an eyebrow.
'Harry needed coaching on how to walk down to a breakfast table.' Harry went red and kicked her.
Anthony shook his head and returned to his paper.
'You would think that turning sixteen would mean a rise in maturity levels, but apparently not in this family.'
Harry went red at being included in 'family'. He awkwardly returned the hug that Maree gave him.
'Happy Birthday, Harry.'
'Thank-you Aunt Maree.'
'Sit down Harry. It's our custom on birthdays to have a special breakfast, then presents.'
Harry blushed again, but sat obediently. A plate of blueberry pancakes was placed in front of him. He ate them ravenously. Two plates later, he drained the last of his coffee and looked around at the three watching him.
'Yum.'
They looked at each other and then with a little shrug, as if to say 'boys will be boys' Maree got up to take his plate. Harry beat her to it, and had taken it to the sink before she was halfway around the table.
'No, Harry. You children will go and brush your teeth before Harry can get any presents.'
Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, who grinned back.
'Now!'
The two took to their heels as six owls flew in the window, four bearing odd looking parcels and the other two with letters.
When they returned downstairs the parcels had disappeared, but two letters were sitting at Harry's place at the table and one at Hermione's.
Harry picked them up and glanced at the seals.
'Hogwarts and the ministry. It must be about last night. I'll sent a letter of explanation back with the owl.'
Hermione glanced up from her Hogwarts letter. 'We need to have chosen the subjects that we will be taking by this Friday. Harry, you had better hurry up, I've had mine chosen since halfway through last year.'
Harry glared at her as Anthony looked at him.
'Do you have a rough idea what subjects you will be taking?'
Harry shook his head.
'I've only got two picked out and we need a minimum of six.'
Hermione looked as if she was about to say something, but Maree who was foreseeing an argument hurriedly changed the subject. She hadn't had to be around her newest member of the family very long to know that he and her daughter didn't see eye to eye on the subject of school.
'How about we get Harry to open his presents.'
Harry looked up eagerly. It tore Maree's heart to see the innocent excitement on his face. She had noticed, as soon as she had seen him, how old his eyes were and it filled her with grief to see them. The anger she felt at his relatives for having treated him so badly that on his sixteenth birthday he was behaving like a five year old was boundless.
She led the way into the sitting room, where there was an odd assortment of strangely wrapped parcels sitting on the floor.
Harry hovered awkwardly to the side of the room as the other three plonked themselves down on the lounge.
'Come on, Harry. Don't be shy. Come and unwrap them.'
Harry sat down awkwardly, but his eyes lit up as bright as the gaudy wrapping paper as he grabbed the closest gift to him.
He read the card, that bore the Weasley Twins hand and carefully began to unwrap it.
After showing the card to Hermione, she stood and beckoned her parents over into the corner.
'The Weasley twins play a lot of practical jokes. We don't know what's in the gift.' Maree and Anthony said nothing, but exchanged a worried glance. When the gift was unwrapped and it appeared that nothing was going to explode, Hermione came back over to see what Harry had received.
It appeared to be a box of sweets, but Hermione knew better. Harry threw the order list to her.
'It's there whole new range. There are fifty new sweets and six new trick wands.'
'What does it mean, 'thanks for becoming our silent partner we'll split profits one third with you'?'
'Oh, well no one is supposed to know, but I gave them my tri-wizard winnings and they're setting up shop with it.'
Hermione stared at him for a moment. 'I assume the rest of the Weasleys don't know.'
Harry looked at her unabashed. 'It's up to the twins if they tell, I'm not going to.'
He reached for his next present which was the traditional rock cakes from Hagrid.
Hermione shuddered and took them into the kitchen.
The next present was from Hermione and Ron. A foe glass reflected Harry's reflection for a moment, before it was replaced with many shadowy figures. Harry shuddered at the amount of them, but put it down and looked at the large amount of sweets also in the box.
Both children avoided the gaze of the two dentists in their midst.
The next present was from Sirius and Remus, a box which shuddered and rattled.
Harry tore the wrapping from it and lifted the lid to reveal a tiny, bright green snake. The card attached told him that it was a harmless green snake, although it could be charmed to poison enemies.
Harry eagerly lifted the snake out and hissed to it.
^^Hello.^^
The snake looked mildly surprised. ^^It is long since we have encountered a brother vernacular. Pray, brother, what is your name?^^
^^Harry, what's yours?^^
^^I have none as yet, I have been purchased for you, and so it is your task to name me.^^
Harry thought for a moment.
^^What about Lucifer?^^
^^Is that not the name of the devil?^^
^^Well, yes, but that's before he turned evil. That was his name when he was good.^^
^^In that case, master, I would be happy to bear that name.^^
^^Hey, cut out the master. I'm Harry. Plain and simple Harry.^^
^^But, you are my master, master.^^
Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes in frustration. The snake physically leaped into the air.
^^If my eyes are not deceived, then you are Harry Potter.^^
Harry sighed.
'Even snakes know who I am.'
Hermione looked up. 'This snake knows who you are?'
Harry jumped. He had forgotten the others were in the room. Maree and Anthony had retreated to the corner and looked quite terrified.
'Sorry, I wont speak parseltongue when you are around. I forgot it scares some people.'
^^I cannot speak your language in front of these humans for a while. Until they understand, it will scare them. I'll talk later.^^
The snake looked at the other three and nodded, an odd movement that made Maree squeak in astonishment, before slithering up his sleeve and settling around his neck.
Harry smiled at the others.
'Sorry about that.'
Anthony looked shaken but he smiled back.
'It's fine, Harry. It will take a while to get used to. Please don't do it in public though.'
Harry grinned and turned back to his presents.
There were two cards and one present left.
Harry picked up the present.
'There isn't a card. Is this from you?'
He slid it out of the packaging. A picture of his parents, and a person who he recognised as his aunt holding a baby smiled up at him.
Harry looked at it for a moment before pulling out a sheet of paper that contained a single word.
Sorry.
Harry stuffed both the photo and the paper back into the wrapping and called Hedwig.
'Hey, girl. Could you take this to Snape's office for me?'
She nodded her snowy head and he stroked it, before she picked up the parcel and flew out the window.
With a false smile Harry turned back to the last card.
He opened it and a check for five hundred pounds fluttered out. He stared in amazement before reading the card.
Dear Harry,
As we have not know you very long, and wouldn't know what to get an average sixteen year old boy, much less a wizard we have decided that a check will have to suffice.
We are aware that you have money of your own, please do not be offended. We are not trying to buy your love. We know that love can only be earned, but please know that we love you as we would a son.
Please feel free to spend it on what ever you would like.
Love Maree and Anthony
Harry stared the card for a moment before flinging his arms around the couple who looked surprised, but not displeased.
'Thank you.'
Harry Potter-Granger awoke with a start, when the door to his new bedroom opened with a soft creak.
Three silhouetted figures were standing in the doorway. Harry slowly reached for his glasses on the bed side table and reached under the pillow for his wand.
Slowly, very slowly, he sat up as the three figures silently made their way to the foot of his bed. They appeared to be cloaked, and were of different heights.
One tripped on a pile of clothing that Harry had left on the floor.
'Shhhhhhh!'
Pointing his wand at the trio, he reached up for his bed side lamp.
'Petrificus Totalus!'
Harry snapped on the light as his newly adopted sister, Hermione Granger, fell to the ground, dropping the parcels she was holding with a crash. Maree and Anthony Granger crouched down next to her in alarm, but sprang away as Harry performed the counter curse.
He put his hands over his ears as a screaming tirade rent the air.
'Harry Jamison Potter! What the hell do you think you were doing? Is cursing a person in the middle of the night normal behaviour for you? You know very well that you are under age and could get expelled. Do you even stop to consider the ramifications of what you are about to do? What if you had got it wrong because you were half asleep? I could be an elephant in the middle of Africa by now.'
She was about to continue, but her father, wrapping his dressing gown tighter around his as he spoke, interrupted.
'Sweet-heart, I don't think Harry meant to hurt you. It was just a reaction. He has been under a lot of pressure recently. There isn't any lasting damage is there? Now, since our surprise is ruined then why don't we all go back to bed and give these to him in the proper way in the morning.'
Harry looked at the pile of parcels in confusion. 'What's all this?'
'We were going to put your birthday presents at the foot of your bed for tomorrow. It was supposed to be a surprise, but you sleep to lightly.'
Harry looked embarrassed. 'Sorry, Aunt Maree. Your dressing gowns looked like cloaks in the dark. I guess I'm kind of paranoid. I forgot that the wards have been put in place.'
'That's fine, sweetie. We'll try to be quieter next time. Good night now. Sleep tight.'
'Good night, sorry Hermione.'
'Night Harry.'
'Good night Harry, it's ok.'
As Harry settled back down in his new bed, the incredulity of his situation struck him for the first time in the few weeks that he had been back from school.
Just this time last year he was living with the Dursley's at number four Privet Drive. So much had happened since then.
Vernon Dursley's firm had gone broke. Aunt Petunia had killed herself. Harry had killed himself and been brought back from the dead by Professor Snape. Harry and his friends had befriended Draco Malfoy. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco had joined the Order of the Phoenix. Harry had discovered that his father had had a younger sister who had been married to Professor Snape, but who, along with her baby son Sean, had been killed by Voldemort. Harry had disowned Professor Snape and has been legally adopted by Hermione's parents.
Harry stared at the scars that covered his arms from elbow to wrist. He knew that if he rolled up his pyjama legs then he would see scars of a similar nature of his thigh.
Although Harry hadn't been able to, and had no intention of, stop cutting himself, he had started cutting his legs, which was less of a danger to his life. His adoptive parents knew of his problem, and although they hadn't been able to convince him to see a counsellor, cared for him by providing him with antiseptic so his wounds wouldn't get infected, and periodically checked his wrists, to make sure he hadn't started cutting them again, and his legs to check that he wasn't cutting to deep.
Harry respected and was grateful for their discretion. He knew that they knew, that they couldn't help him with his emotional scars that he had been accumulating since he was eighteen months, and although they didn't approve of his cutting, that it wasn't their place to jump in and interfere with his past. They asked as little as possible of his life, trusting that he would tell them when he was ready. They did their best to accept him into their lives and treat him as if he had been their his whole life, but at the same time, not trying to take the place of the two people who had laid down their lives for their son.
Tomorrow was Harry's sixteenth birthday, and he would celebrate it, for the first time, in a home where people cared about him. Harry didn't care about presents or a party, although he wouldn't object if they were given to him, he would just be happy to be in a house where people actually acknowledged his presence and the fact that it was his birthday.
Harry turned his light off with a click, and snuggled down, knowing that tomorrow would be one of the best days of his life.
Harry awoke to the sun shining through his bedroom window. This was a miracle in itself. At the Dursley's Harry was either in a cupboard where there were no windows or in a room where the bars on the windows had been fitted so tightly together, that they barely allowed any sunlight into the room. Anyway, he would have been up since before dawn, doing his early morning chores.
Harry stretched in his bed, before leaping up and running to the shower in his en suite bathroom. The Grangers were at the top of their profession, and they were extremely well off. They didn't flaunt it on expensive unnecessary items, but they did have many modern conveniences, one of these being each bedroom having en suite facilities.
He turned the water pressure up slightly and enjoyed another forbidden luxury at the Dursley's: long, hot showers.
Harry pulled on Dudley's old jeans and his Weasley jumper and went to the top of the stairs. Suddenly he stopped.
How did one act on their birthday? Harry had never had his acknowledged so he didn't know what to do. Was there a special way of entering the room? How did he greet the Grangers? What did he say when they gave him presents? Was he supposed to hug them? What if they didn't give him any? What if he had dreamt the previous night and they didn't even know that today was his birthday? Should he tell them? Shouldn't he say anything? Should he drop a hint? What would he say if they got embarrassed at forgetting? What if.
Harry's train of thought was broken when Hermione crept up behind and grabbed him by the shoulders. 'Fucking Merlin!'
'Shhhhhh. You know my parents hate swearing. Why were you looking so scared? It's your birthday silly, you are supposed to be happy.'
Harry went red and his eyes fell on his feet. 'I didn't know, if you would remember. I don't know how to act.'
Pity crept into Hermione's eyes but Harry didn't see it. She gave him a hug.
'Come on little brother, I'll show you what to do.'
Harry looked at her gratefully, but the look died as Hermione continued wickedly.
'First, we put our right foot in front of our left foot, then our left in front of our right, this is called walking, Harry. Now, we hold on to the stair rail and we move our back foot onto the stair in front of us by bending our knee and lowering our selves onto the stair. Now we repeat thaauggghhh.'
Hermione screamed and tore down the stairs with Harry chasing furiously after her. They skidded to a halt in the kitchen as Hermione's father looked up from his paper and raised an eyebrow.
'Harry needed coaching on how to walk down to a breakfast table.' Harry went red and kicked her.
Anthony shook his head and returned to his paper.
'You would think that turning sixteen would mean a rise in maturity levels, but apparently not in this family.'
Harry went red at being included in 'family'. He awkwardly returned the hug that Maree gave him.
'Happy Birthday, Harry.'
'Thank-you Aunt Maree.'
'Sit down Harry. It's our custom on birthdays to have a special breakfast, then presents.'
Harry blushed again, but sat obediently. A plate of blueberry pancakes was placed in front of him. He ate them ravenously. Two plates later, he drained the last of his coffee and looked around at the three watching him.
'Yum.'
They looked at each other and then with a little shrug, as if to say 'boys will be boys' Maree got up to take his plate. Harry beat her to it, and had taken it to the sink before she was halfway around the table.
'No, Harry. You children will go and brush your teeth before Harry can get any presents.'
Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, who grinned back.
'Now!'
The two took to their heels as six owls flew in the window, four bearing odd looking parcels and the other two with letters.
When they returned downstairs the parcels had disappeared, but two letters were sitting at Harry's place at the table and one at Hermione's.
Harry picked them up and glanced at the seals.
'Hogwarts and the ministry. It must be about last night. I'll sent a letter of explanation back with the owl.'
Hermione glanced up from her Hogwarts letter. 'We need to have chosen the subjects that we will be taking by this Friday. Harry, you had better hurry up, I've had mine chosen since halfway through last year.'
Harry glared at her as Anthony looked at him.
'Do you have a rough idea what subjects you will be taking?'
Harry shook his head.
'I've only got two picked out and we need a minimum of six.'
Hermione looked as if she was about to say something, but Maree who was foreseeing an argument hurriedly changed the subject. She hadn't had to be around her newest member of the family very long to know that he and her daughter didn't see eye to eye on the subject of school.
'How about we get Harry to open his presents.'
Harry looked up eagerly. It tore Maree's heart to see the innocent excitement on his face. She had noticed, as soon as she had seen him, how old his eyes were and it filled her with grief to see them. The anger she felt at his relatives for having treated him so badly that on his sixteenth birthday he was behaving like a five year old was boundless.
She led the way into the sitting room, where there was an odd assortment of strangely wrapped parcels sitting on the floor.
Harry hovered awkwardly to the side of the room as the other three plonked themselves down on the lounge.
'Come on, Harry. Don't be shy. Come and unwrap them.'
Harry sat down awkwardly, but his eyes lit up as bright as the gaudy wrapping paper as he grabbed the closest gift to him.
He read the card, that bore the Weasley Twins hand and carefully began to unwrap it.
After showing the card to Hermione, she stood and beckoned her parents over into the corner.
'The Weasley twins play a lot of practical jokes. We don't know what's in the gift.' Maree and Anthony said nothing, but exchanged a worried glance. When the gift was unwrapped and it appeared that nothing was going to explode, Hermione came back over to see what Harry had received.
It appeared to be a box of sweets, but Hermione knew better. Harry threw the order list to her.
'It's there whole new range. There are fifty new sweets and six new trick wands.'
'What does it mean, 'thanks for becoming our silent partner we'll split profits one third with you'?'
'Oh, well no one is supposed to know, but I gave them my tri-wizard winnings and they're setting up shop with it.'
Hermione stared at him for a moment. 'I assume the rest of the Weasleys don't know.'
Harry looked at her unabashed. 'It's up to the twins if they tell, I'm not going to.'
He reached for his next present which was the traditional rock cakes from Hagrid.
Hermione shuddered and took them into the kitchen.
The next present was from Hermione and Ron. A foe glass reflected Harry's reflection for a moment, before it was replaced with many shadowy figures. Harry shuddered at the amount of them, but put it down and looked at the large amount of sweets also in the box.
Both children avoided the gaze of the two dentists in their midst.
The next present was from Sirius and Remus, a box which shuddered and rattled.
Harry tore the wrapping from it and lifted the lid to reveal a tiny, bright green snake. The card attached told him that it was a harmless green snake, although it could be charmed to poison enemies.
Harry eagerly lifted the snake out and hissed to it.
^^Hello.^^
The snake looked mildly surprised. ^^It is long since we have encountered a brother vernacular. Pray, brother, what is your name?^^
^^Harry, what's yours?^^
^^I have none as yet, I have been purchased for you, and so it is your task to name me.^^
Harry thought for a moment.
^^What about Lucifer?^^
^^Is that not the name of the devil?^^
^^Well, yes, but that's before he turned evil. That was his name when he was good.^^
^^In that case, master, I would be happy to bear that name.^^
^^Hey, cut out the master. I'm Harry. Plain and simple Harry.^^
^^But, you are my master, master.^^
Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes in frustration. The snake physically leaped into the air.
^^If my eyes are not deceived, then you are Harry Potter.^^
Harry sighed.
'Even snakes know who I am.'
Hermione looked up. 'This snake knows who you are?'
Harry jumped. He had forgotten the others were in the room. Maree and Anthony had retreated to the corner and looked quite terrified.
'Sorry, I wont speak parseltongue when you are around. I forgot it scares some people.'
^^I cannot speak your language in front of these humans for a while. Until they understand, it will scare them. I'll talk later.^^
The snake looked at the other three and nodded, an odd movement that made Maree squeak in astonishment, before slithering up his sleeve and settling around his neck.
Harry smiled at the others.
'Sorry about that.'
Anthony looked shaken but he smiled back.
'It's fine, Harry. It will take a while to get used to. Please don't do it in public though.'
Harry grinned and turned back to his presents.
There were two cards and one present left.
Harry picked up the present.
'There isn't a card. Is this from you?'
He slid it out of the packaging. A picture of his parents, and a person who he recognised as his aunt holding a baby smiled up at him.
Harry looked at it for a moment before pulling out a sheet of paper that contained a single word.
Sorry.
Harry stuffed both the photo and the paper back into the wrapping and called Hedwig.
'Hey, girl. Could you take this to Snape's office for me?'
She nodded her snowy head and he stroked it, before she picked up the parcel and flew out the window.
With a false smile Harry turned back to the last card.
He opened it and a check for five hundred pounds fluttered out. He stared in amazement before reading the card.
Dear Harry,
As we have not know you very long, and wouldn't know what to get an average sixteen year old boy, much less a wizard we have decided that a check will have to suffice.
We are aware that you have money of your own, please do not be offended. We are not trying to buy your love. We know that love can only be earned, but please know that we love you as we would a son.
Please feel free to spend it on what ever you would like.
Love Maree and Anthony
Harry stared the card for a moment before flinging his arms around the couple who looked surprised, but not displeased.
'Thank you.'