Disclaimer: IHAVE NO MONEY LEFT TO BRIBE JK ROWLING WITH! I spent it all . . . what a complete bummer! Now I have to admit to not owning anything except Ebony. Oh well.

Thank you all for being so wonderfully patient with me. Because of your absolute wonderful-ness I am going to thank you all. Beware . . . this may take a while.

GravitDrop: Hmmm . . . are Harry and Ebony going to get together? I really don't know ;) well I do . . . but I can't tell you. Thanks!

Alex20: No overshadowing from Ebony I promise! Cross my heart and hope to die! Thanks for the review! Keep reading!

Nelinde1: Very sorry for not updating in centuries! Kill me now for being a slack-o! Thanks for the great review!

fanpotter: Awfully sorry about the lack of Ron and Hermione . . . they were keeping a low profile. I promise there will be more of them. Thanks for the groovtastical review and thanks SO much for putting me on your favourites!

Little House Girl: Lovely review! Thanks heaps! I'm so sorry for not updating quickly! I shall from now on! I was being a bum.

Arya1: I'm very glad you are excepting Ebony! I am not big on Mary-sues either but I just felt like making my own character. I hope she's not too bad. Thanks for reviewing again . . . You rock!

LittleEar BigEar's sis: Thanks! I'm making this story happier now . . . false sense of security I tell you! Sorry for taking so long with this!

SaphireAngel6: You'll just have to wait and see now won't you! I'm not giving anything away . . . just keep reading. I also love Harry/OC! Thanks for the review!

Elle: Big boo-boo! I haven't updated this story for more than a month! EEE! Kill me now! Oh well . . . it's updated now so you dot have to chuck me off a cliff. Hope you like it and review!

Ganymade: I swear there will be more Ron and Hermione! I promise! Just not in the last few chapters and not much in this one. Thanks for the review though!

Amiria: Thank you very much! I hope you stick with me for this story! It's great that you think it's well written! Keep reading!

CurlyloxTN: I am completely honoured that you stayed awake just to review my ickle story. I am so very happy that you like it so much . . . I'm honestly touched! I hope to goodness you keep reading and reviewing, its people like you who can make peoples days!

Jimmy: Hahaha! Nope, Ebony is NOT Voldemort! Thanks for the review James!

Charliegirl2: Groovy in-depth review! Love it! Ok, where to start? How she knows shall be explained . . . and it doesn't say anywhere exactly where Sirius went the summer before Harry's 4th year . . . it just says he went south . . . Australia – South. Well that's what I thought anyways. Also the Dumbledore protection thing shall be explained. And the eye glow. And as for Harry's speech, that's just how I want him to talk, he's getting older now, and it's around Dumbledore so he wants to sound good. Right! That's done! Thanks for reviewing my equal number 1 fan!

Kento: Thanks! Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Keep reading!

Mella deRanged: Oh there will be more prophecy stuff . . . you mark my words there will be more. As I have said before; I'm making these chapters happy for a reason, false sense of security. Thanks for the review! Keep those comments rolling!

dancer891234567789: Thank you very much! You shall be seeing what happens at Hogwarts very soon! Keep reading and reviewing!

Sheesh! Now that took a while! I love it though; it makes me so happy to answer all my reviews. You guys really rock! Ok I'm going to type up this chapter already!

Chapter 6: The boy who lived . . . to party?

The night before his birthday Harry couldn't sleep. Horrible thoughts on just what the Weasley twins had planned for him kept circling around his tired mind. He didn't think it'd be anything too bad but knowing Fred and George it was likely to be either very shocking or rather dangerous. Most likely the latter he thought wryly. Yet even though he was thinking about the disastrous results of tomorrows celebrations his stomach still gave little hops of excitement at the thought. Deep inside Harry was overjoyed that for once he was going to have a proper celebration of his birthday. For once he would spend it in the company of friends. However, the empty space inside of him where Sirius used to be panged with sadness. The thought of having his first proper birthday party without his godfather made his stomach churn with grief.

Harry pushed those thoughts aside. He knew that Sirius would have wanted him to be happy, not moping. And as long as Sirius' memory lived on inside of him then he wasn't really gone. He was still with Harry in the sense that no matter where he was he still loved him. Harry smiled up at the ceiling; as long as he kept thinking like that he wouldn't lose himself in a meaningless swamp of depression. As long as he let his friends help him through it he'd come out sharing his smile with the rest of the world. Sirius would be proud. He would be proud that he had a godson who was strong. Having finally sorted out his thoughts and feelings Harry allowed his mind to slip off into a blissful nothingness.

Harry awoke the next morning to a stream of bright light coming from the crack in his curtains. He was happy to realise that for once he had not had to open his presents and cards in the dead of night. Instead he would be opening them with the people he cared for. He rose quickly and was just making his way back from the bathroom when something living collided with his chest.

"Oomph!" Harry exclaimed "Ebony! Why the heck are you running so fast?"

"Err . . . well it's just that . . . err . . . Happy Birthday!"

She was looking rather frazzled

"Right, umm thanks" Harry replied confused

"I'll err; I'll just be off now. Cheerio!" Ebony stuttered whilst rushing back down the stairs.

Harry thought that she looked very flustered and shifty. He was starting to get suspicious that no one else had come to give him birthday greetings. Where was Lupin? It was probably part of Fred and George's plans; he was supposed to get worried that everyone had forgotten his birthday. He decided to go down stairs to the kitchen to get some breakfast, when he arrived there only Lupin was present. As Harry walked through the door he lowered his news paper and smiled at him.

"Happy Birthday Harry, I would give you your gift now but I'm being made to give it to you later" he said still smiling

"Alright then, that's fine. Just out of curiosity though; it wouldn't happen to be Fred and George who're making you wait till later would it?'

"You'll just have to wait and see now won't you" Lupin grinned at him knowingly

"S'pose I will" Harry grinned back

After Harry had finished his breakfast he looked up to see Lupin staring at him.

"So, how does it feel to be sixteen?" Lupin asked

"Not too different from how it felt to be fifteen really. I s'pose I feel a bit less of a kid and a bit more of an adult" Harry replied thoughtfully

"Yes, that makes sense. I remember when your father turned sixteen. He had his birthday before the rest of us so he was prancing around preaching about the responsibilities that came with being a near adult. Of course then Sirius put a silencing charm on him. That was a very amusing day"

"I'm sure it was. I just hope no one puts a silencing charm on me! I'd hate to be shut up on my birthday" Harry replied cheekily

"Well you'll just have to wait your step" Lupin smiled as he rolled up his paper "I'll just head on up to the drawing room now. I'll come and get you when everything's ready. Just make sure you stay in your room. Oh and by the way, I would strongly advise looking in the daily prophet, there might be something of interest in there for you"

With a parting wink Lupin left a bewildered Harry sitting at the dining table. He lent across to where Lupin had left the daily prophet and unrolled the thick wad of parchment. His eyes widened at the heading on the front page.

The Boy Who Lived . . . to party?

Harry Potter, a raging partier at 16?

Today young Mr Potter celebrates his sixteenth birthday. Inside sources have informed 'the prophet' that the boy who lived is planning on having a raging rave to celebrate this momentous event. It has been alleged that Potter will be hiring out an entire Wizarding club to hold his birthday bash and according to a close friend of Mr Potter the guest list is to be extensive. Unfortunately 'the prophet' was unable to get a hold of just who was going to be at the party of the summer but when we asked around we received some very interesting answers.

"Oh Harry will have everyone at his party, he's such a great guy, a little last minute but still one great partier" Dean Thomas 16 stated when asked about Mr Potter. Dean currently attends Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the same year and house as our birthday boy.

We also asked Lavender Brown 15, just what she thought about the boy who lived. "Harry's a wonderful person. He's very funny and one wild partier. You should see him after Quidditch matches in Gryffindor tower! It he was going to have a rave then all his Gryffindor friends would be invited. Maybe some celebrities too; I've heard him say he likes the weird sisters so they'd probably be playing"

If what these sources say is true then 'the prophet's' image of the one innocent boy who lived has certainly changed. His peers view him as one wild child and 'the prophet' has reason to believe this is true.

  Founders of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Misters Fred and George Weasley have both confirmed Miss Brown and Mr Thomas's views on Mr Potter. According to one of the twins (we weren't sure which) Harry is "the original bad boy". Both the Weasley twins are closely connected to Mr Potter as their younger brother Ronald is Mr Potter best friend. The other twin (we still couldn't tell) agreed wholeheartedly with his brother and added that he had "never met such a great bloke" and that Mr Potter was "usually the heart of the party"

And so 'the prophet' has come to the conclusion that Harry Potter can no longer be called just 'the boy who lived' but instead 'the boy who lived to party'

Happy sixteenth Mr Potter, party hard!

Harry snorted with mirth after finishing the ridiculous article. He found it rather ironic that just two months ago the same paper had been making him out to be a crazed liar then when his stories were proved to be true they portrayed him as a tragic hero and now he was a wild child, a raging party goer.  Of course he'd congratulate Fred and George for their amusing comments on what a bad boy he was. The Wizarding world was sure to have a blast with this article.

He put down the paper and went back upstairs to his room to wait until he was allowed out. Occasionally he heard loud bangs and scraping noises like furniture being moved. Finally after being stuck in his room for about two hours or so he heard a knock at the door. Harry quickly got to his feet and rushed to open it. Lupin was standing there grinning like Harry had never seen him do before.

"So . . . "Harry started

"So, I'm going to have to blindfold you now. Yes, yes I know you already know you're having a party but that wasn't the surprise. Now come here"

He grabbed Harry by the shoulders and spun him around so that his back was facing Lupin. Harry felt a scarf sized piece of black material slip over his eyes and the world went black. He could feel Lupin tying a knot at the back of his head then tugging at it to check that it was secure.

"Can you see anything? No? Good! Well we'll be off then, and no peeking!"

Harry felt himself being led down a corridor, down some stairs, around a corner, down another corridor and finally he came to a halt around halfway down the last corridor. He heard Lupin knock three times on a door then he felt himself being pushed inside. He heard the door shut and a few pairs of feet shuffling around from inside the room. Suddenly someone removed his blindfold. Harry blinked a few times but was surprised to find that he still could not see anything.

"Someone hit the lights!" he heard a nearby voice cry out and then the room was bathed in light.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"

Staring back at him was a room full of people with short messy jet black hair and glasses wearing Gryffindor Quidditch robes.

One of the shorter ones waved to him from the crowd and spoke to him.

"Hi ya Harry! Happy Birthday! D'you like the new look?" He recognised the voice to be Ginny Weasley's

Harry was completely lost for words. Everyone in the room was dressed up just like him at a Quidditch match. They all varied in height and body shape but there was no mistaking the imitation Harry Potters. He gave a snort of laughter which soon developed into full blown chuckles.

"It's fantastic! I can't believe you guys did this!" He managed to choke out through his giggles.

A pair of stocky sized twin Harry's stepped forward to shake his hand.

"Glad you like it Harry old chap!" One of them exclaimed

"Sure are Fred! Certainly took us bloody ages to get these made!" the other replied

Harry laughed at the expressions on the twin's faces

"You two did this? It's just . . . wow! I mean, I was expecting something completely different! I'd never ever have imagined something like this . . . it's just amazing!"

"Yeah but it'll wear off in . . . "He checked his watch "err, about ten minutes. Until then Harry Potter really will be the life of the party!"

The room exploded with laughter

During the remaining ten minutes that the costumes were on for Harry spent his time trying to guess who each 'Harry' really was. He got Ron, Hermione, Charlie, Bill, Ebony, Ginny and Mrs Weasley but lucked out on Mr Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, Mundungus and Dumbledore. He was pleased to see that all the fake Harry's had little lightning bolt scars on their foreheads.

Finally after the ten minutes were up there was a series of loud 'snapping' noises and all of his friends reappeared as themselves,

Ron slapped Harry on the back and said "so now I know now it feels to be you mate. What can I say, it's bloody awful!"

Harry gave Ron a playful punch on the arm, "you're telling me! Anyway, what's for eating?" He asked with a huge grin gracing his be-speckled face.

"Food Harry! What did ya think?" Tonks shouted from the back of the room.

Ebony tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the side of the room. There was a table pushed up against the wall groaning under the weight of bowls and bowls of Mrs Weasley's delicious cooking.

"Oh wonderful!" Harry grinned.

The birthday party continued into the evening with o signs of slowing down. Most of the food was gone by the time Lupin called everyone's attention together to say that is was preset opening time. Harry was shocked, he had thought that the party was the present but apparently that wasn't the case. He was shoved down onto a couch in the centre of the room with everyone else crowded around him. On a table in front of him there was a large pile of brightly wrapped gifts from everyone in the room.

"Open mine first mate!" Ron yelled to pointing at a messily wrapped present in bright orange paper.

Harry picked it up and tore of the wrappers. Ron had given him a book called 'the seekers guide to the Snitch' and a huge bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans.

After Ron's present he opened Hermione's which was a large leather bound book on famous Aurors and a new red leather journal.

"Who is this?" he asked picking up a neatly wrapped present in gold paper with a scarlet ribbon

"That would be mine" Ebony piped up

"Righto" Harry smiled as he carefully removed the paper. She had given him a huge new sketch book and a tin case of graphic sketching pencils.

"Wow! Thanks Ebony! No ones ever given me something like this" he exclaimed joyfully

"No problem" she replied

Next Harry opened Mr and Mrs Weasley's gift which turned out to be a new bottle green jumper, jeans and an enormous tin of fudge. After that it was Bill's, which was a miniature Canopic jar with the head of a pharaoh that had emerald eyes. The Charlie's, which was a Hungarian Horntails tooth on a thin silver chain. Next was the twins who had given him an enormous box of products from their shop and a contract saying he was a co-owner. After that he opened Tonks gift which was a book entitled 'The Art of Disguise' and Kingsley's which was a book on Auror tips. The he opened Moody's which was a brand new sneak-o-scope and Mundungus' which was a pair of imported dragon hide boots and a jacket. Harry suspected he had acquired them illegally but was happy all the same. After that was Ginny's who had given him a snitch alarm clock. That left him with two presents remaining. He picked up the first which was wrapped in shiny gold paper and was about the size of a jewellery box. Inside was just that; a small black velvet ring box. He opened the lid to find two beautiful gold wedding rings, one slightly smaller than the other was studded with tiny diamonds and emeralds; the other was just a plain gold band. Harry looked up at the people surrounding him, is eyes came to rest on Lupin.

"They were your parents' wedding rings. James told Sirius and me to give them to you on your sixteenth birthday if he and Lily died. So here they are"

Thankyou" Harry whispered as he put the closed box away into his pocket

That left the last present on the table. It was wrapped in a bluey silver shiny paper. He peeled back the wrapping to reveal a golden plague set in mahogany wood. He read the engraved letters; face lighting up at each one.

Harry James Potter

Member of

The Order of the Phoenix

1996 –

TBC . . .

A/N: Well! I hope you all enjoyed that! It certainly took me bloody ages to post; I am such a lazy bum. Ah well, hopefully the next chapter will be up ASAP. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! I love you all!