Hi all! I'm actually updating... the world is comming to an end. Actually, I've been busy with school and junk... and microsoft Word died on my computer and I couldn't get to my story for the longest time, but it came back a few days ago! Wheeeeee! Soooo, anyone see "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"? I will be very dissapointed if you haven't! Anyway, Severus looked very beautiful... (round of applause for Severus.) Oh, by the way, sometime in December, there will be some Harry Potter oriented Christmas song parodies.
Hmmmm, I'm actually going to reply to reviewers now... this just gets better and better!
Coell: Thanks... the dream merging thing was greatly helped along by a friend of mine. Speaking of which, her name is BreetanyaViolet and you should read her fic called "The End of Those Days"
BadBoyLover: Hi. Yes, Severus is in this chapter! Wheeeeeeeee! In fact, he'll be in the next chapter twice as much, muwhahaaa. (Why am I writing this? You've already read it.)
Iggie: Thanks! Cool name, by the way. I've just interuppted myself writing this to read your profile... where did that picture come from, it's really cool? Also, I'm reading "Seeing Gray" ... very, very cool.
Miss. Padfoot: Thank you. You also have a cool name :)
Elven Goddess: Thanks. You have another cool name... I read "Absence of Something" and I really like it! Now update it!
Bumblebee Bucy: Another cool name.Thank you... You're putting me on your favorites? Thats so cool! :) (I feel a squeal comming on.)
Cenra-gal86: Yes, Dudley wanted a cat... I have no idea why I wrote that... in fact, while I was writing chapter 4, I was really wishing Dudley had wanted a dog. (you'll see why in a minute.) Ron and Hermione will visit soon... don't worry.
Sakura Blossom- Look! I updated, now don't turn me into a rat! Hmmmm, If I had to mate with Wormtail, I would force myself to become a lesbian... by the way, I learned the other day that animals can be gay...
Laterose: Here you go, and don't forget to breath!
Kim: Yes, I must torture him because I am a cruel, sadistic person. Sorry I made you cry... (smiles proudly) hopefully you won't cry again... not making any promises though.
Maryanne: Thanks. Can't tell you about the "plan." You'll find out in chapter five.
Chapter 4
Beautiful Day, Bad Night
At precisely 8:00AM, Severus Snape barged into Albus Dumbledore's office. Snape was never one for knocking, or entering a room quietly. Knocking wasted time, and as for entering a room quietly- well, that just wasn't possible.
"Why hello Severus, I've been expecting you." Dumbledore said calmly, clearly used to Snape's abrupt entrances.
Jet-black robes flowing behind him, Snape gracefully settled himself into the high backed chair in front of the headmaster's desk, and turned his sharp gaze on the headmaster himself.
"Things are getting worse." He said without preamble.
Dumbledore nodded, and waited for him to continue.
"I was at the death eater meeting last night, and discovered- while a certain rat was being tortured, that Voldemort has a new plan to get at Potter." Snape explained.
"Well, that's to be expected. Do you know anything about this plan, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
Snape tuned his piecing stare on Fawkes. "I couldn't find out very much. Just that it has something to do with his reletives hurting him, and suicide. He was too clear in his ranting."
Dumbledore looked taken aback for a moment. "That is most intriguing."
"Intriguing? I tell you the goddamn savior of the wizarding world is probably going to commit Voldemort induced suicide, and all you can say is intriguing?" Snape burst out, his hard, uncaring mask falling for just a moment.
"Why Severus, I never knew you cared." Dumbledore said smiling benignly.
"I don't."
"Well." Dumbledore said, crossing the room to pet Fawkes. "All we can do for now is inform Sirius and Remus about the situation. We can't do any thing more until we know more about Voldemort's plans."
"Now today is Harry's birthday, and we don't want to spoil his day-"
At this, Snape's expression seemed to grow even more unpleasant.
"So we will go and talk to them in the evening, so we don't disturb them." He finished. "We could wait until tomorrow, but this is a matter of the utmost importance."
"We, Headmaster?" Severus asked.
"Yes, Severus, we. You will come too, since you were actually at the death eater meeting. Also, it would be a wonderful opportunity for you and Sirius to work on your newly formed truce." Dumbledore was positively smirking now.
Snape stormed out of the room, glowering all the way.
*************
Meanwhile, over at Remus's house, Sirius was staggering around the kitchen, peering into an empty coffee cup, deep in thought. He was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice when Remus walked in, and filled his coffee cup with coffee.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" The coffee was now on Sirius's shirt.
"I just wanted to help you out, since you had a coffee mug in your hand." Remus said smirking.
Sirius just shrugged, and glared half heartedly, then slumped into a chair.
Remus immediately sobered up. "What's wrong Sirius, you never were a morning person, but isn't this a bit extreme?"
"I'm going to kill that monster." Sirius growled. "Then I'll kill the Dursley's."
"Sirius, what are you talking about? Take it slowly and from the beginning, because these short, incoherent sentences really aren't working."
"Well, remember last night? Harry had a dream." Sirius began.
Remus nodded.
"It was a vision from Voldemort." Sirius began twirling the coffee cup around, while Remus raised his eyebrows and waited for him to continue.
"It really took a lot out of him" I knew those dreams were bad, I just never knew what they were really like until last night. Harry always downplayed them of course." Sirius sighed. "He was in so much pain, but that was partly the Dursley's fault. I just I would have known, I should have been there for him." Sirius sighed again, and massaged his forehead, like he knew a great headache was coming.
"Sirius, you know you couldn't be there for him before, but now that you can be, you're doing everything you can to be there for him and love him- which is something he really needs." Remus said. "Don't worry, everything will be ok now, that Harry is away from the Dursley's."
"Ever the voice of optimism, aren't you, Moony?"
"Someone around here has to be."
*************
Upstairs, Harry had woken up, and was trying to listen to the muffled voices downstairs. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to risk moving, by getting out of bed yet. Last night had not been fun, and it had just reaffirmed his feelings that he was becoming even more of a bother to Sirius.
Shaking his head as if trying to clear his thoughts, Harry finally sat up and swung himself out of bed. Quickly he changed his mind and sat back down. His head throbbed and his muscles were on fire. He let out a small moan and decided to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, there was a knock at the door, and Sirius barged in, while Harry pulled the blankets over his head, and burrowed his face in his pillow.
"Harry?" Sirius asked, concern evident in his voice.
Harry tightened his grip on the blankets. However, Sirius, being bigger and stronger than Harry, pulled the blankets off his head.
"Come on Harry, you'll smother like that." Sirius said, trying to sound cheerful.
Reluctantly, Harry rolled over, so he was facing Sirius.
Sirius groaned inwardly. Harry looked horrible. His skin was pale, almost gray, and he had dark purple circles under his eyes.
"Come on Harry." Sirius said again. "Time to get up and eat breakfast."
Harry still didn't feel like getting up, but decided he might as well, since Sirius was being so insistent about it. Seeing that Harry was finally getting out of bed, Sirius walked over to the door, and then looked back at Harry.
"By the way," He said casually. "Don't think I've forgotten your birthday, Harry." Then bounded out the door.
It was his birthday? Harry thought in surprise. With everything that had happened so far this summer, Harry had completely forgotten about his birthday. With a brighter outlook on the day, and some of the pain diminishing from his limbs, Harry walked over to his closet to get dressed.
*****************
Meanwhile, downstairs, Sirius and Remus were busy finishing up their birthday decorations for Harry. So far they had let off a few Filibuster Fireworks that had covered the room with red and silver stars and sparkles, and had pinned a few gold streamers up. Sirius was trying to convince Remus to hang broomsticks from the ceiling, when Harry walked in.
"Whoa... is all this for me?" He asked timidly.
Sirius grinned. "Of course it is! You're the only one with a birthday today, now sit down over here and eat breakfast. Don't worry, Moony cooked it."
Harry grinned. "Good. I didn't want to get food poisoning today."
While Harry and Remus laughed, Sirius pretended to look hurt, and muttered something about cooking not being the most important thing in life, and then mentioned how he had cooked dinner the night before, under his breath.
When they finished eating breakfast, Sirius and Remus took Harry into the front room to give him his birthday presents. After the initial gifts of clothes and candy, Remus and Sirius surprised Harry with their "special" gifts.
"Here." Said Sirius, handing Harry a box wrapped in shiny blue paper. It's not much… but I think you'll like it. At least I hope you do…" He added under his breath.
Harry took the box and shook it gingerly. Inside came a faint rattling noise. Anxious to find out what the present was, he quickly tore off the paper, and opened up the box. Inside the box was a scuffed up quaffle with black markings on it. Upon closer inspection, Harry saw that the markings were actually names.
"Phoebe Caulfield." He read out loud. "Robert Ackley, Ward Stradlater, Sirius Black- You played quidditch, Sirius?"
Sirius grinned proudly. "I was a beater." He said.
Harry grinned back. Somehow he wasn't very surprised that Sirius had been a beater. He turned back to the quaffle and continued reading names.
"Jane Gallagher, D.B. Caulfield, Captain James Potter…" Harry's voice trailed off. "This was my dad's?" He asked.
Sirius nodded. "The team gave it to him after the quidditch final in our seventh year. He was captain that year, and scored about a hundred points in that game, so everyone signed the quaffle and decided to give it to James."
"T-thanks Sirius." Harry said looking a bit stunned.
"You're welcome kid." Sirius said, looking back at Harry, a bit sadly.
A moment later, Remus cleared his throat. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get your last present Harry." He said, and then left the room.
"You shouldn't have done that Sirius."
"Done what?" Sirius asked.
"Given me my dad's quaffle. I mean, I have his invisibility cloak and some pictures of him, but you don't have anything." Harry explained.
Sirius smiled sadly. "But I do, Harry. I have ten years of memories, and experiences with them. Unfortunately, you didn't have much of a chance to get to know your parents, so you not only deserve to have their things, but you need them."---
Harry looked down and played with an invisible thread on his pants. His vision was getting strangely blurry, and there was a lump in his throat.
Sirius cleared his throat, his expression a mirror of Harry's. "Besides, I have lots of pictures of them, that I'll show you later, okay?"
Harry nodded. All of a sudden, Remus came striding back into the room carrying a box with mesh wiring on the front.
"What's that?" Harry and Sirius asked at the same time.
"He didn't tell you?" Harry asked Sirius.
Remus laughed. "Of course not! Every time I get someone a birthday present Sirius blabs it, so this year, I didn't say a word.
"Yeah, yeah, I can't keep a secret, now what did you get Harry?" Sirius said dismissively.
Remus set the box down on the floor, and opened the mesh wiring. Out of the box came a fluffy, black, white and gray kitten.
"Whoa, it's a cat!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Really Sirius, how ever did you figure that out?"
Oblivious to Remus and his godfather's bickering; Harry carefully crawled down to the floor and held his hand out to the kitten. The kitten turned it's intelligent yellow eyes on Harry, sniffed his hand for a few seconds, then strutted over to him and placed it's head on his knee.
A slow, genuine smile spread across Harry's face as he petted the kitten's head. He then turned to look at Remus and Sirius, who had stopped arguing and were smiling at he and the kitten.
"How did you know I wanted a pet?" Harry asked
Remus shrugged. "I didn't really. But I was watching you with Buckbeak yesterday, and the idea of getting you a pet hit me… you seem like more of a dog person, though, but of course you already have Sirius…"
"Hey!" Sirius yelped.
Harry laughed. "I love it. Thank you. By the way, is it a girl or a boy? I can never tell."
"Girl." Remus answered. "And now that you know that, what are you going to name her?"
Harry thought for a minute. "I dunno," he said. Then a thought struck him. Back at the Dursley's, he had found a book on Greek mythology, and the name Athena stuck out in his mind. Athena had been a goddess, but for what, he couldn't remember.
"How about Athena." Harry said out loud.
Remus and Sirius nodded their agreement.
"Wasn't she some kind of goddess in Greek mythology?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "I can't remember which one though."
Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "I have a book on that somewhere. I'll look it up then."
Harry turned to the kitten. "How do you like the name Athena?" He asked her.
The kitten purred and rubbed against his knee some more.
Harry laughed. "Guess she likes it."
***********************************************************
Later that day, Harry was in his room petting Athena, who had already grown attached to him, when Hedwig and two other owls flew through the open window. Hedwig dropped a package and a letter on to his bed, and then flew into her cage to drink some water. The other two owls had settled themselves on his bed, staring at him. Harry quickly untied their bundles, and they flew off.
Harry sat down on his bed next to Athena and opened the first letter, which bore the Hogwarts crest, and had the usual letter telling him school would begin September 1st, and also his list of books.
The next letter was in Ron's messy scrawl:
Harry,
How are you? Mum and dad told me what happened, and I hope you're all right. If I ever meet those bloody Dursley's, I'll curse them into oblivion! Anyway, how are things going with Snuffles and Professor Lupin? It must be fun living with them. Things are the same around here, except Fred and George got some anonymous benefactor for the joke shop. (When we get back to school, don't eat ANYTHING they give you.) Mum keeps talking about you, and saying things about how she hopes you're gaining weight, because 'that boy is much to skinny!' Hopefully you'll be able to come over one of these days, because Bill and Charlie are home and they (and Fred) challenged you, me, George and Ginny to a quidditch match. Write back soon, and happy birthday!
-Ron
Along with Ron's letter, there was a box containing a practice snitch to "practice for the Weasley/Potter vs. Weasley quidditch extraordinaire.
Next Harry opened a letter from Hermione.
Dear Harry,
How are you? I've been so worried since you haven't been writing back, and then Ron sent and owl telling me what happened to you at the Dursley's. Those people are horrid! I'm so glad you're living with Snuffles and Professor Lupin now. I've been very busy this summer, studying for O.W.Ls of course. They're coming up very fast you know. Happy birthday!
Love,
Hermione
With Hermione's letter came a book called The Most Interesting and Obscure Quidditch Facts You will Ever Read. Harry smiled. Hermione always found interesting birthday presents for him.
Harry set the cards and presents on his dresser, then laid down on his bed, thinking about his birthday. So far, it had been incredible. He hadn't gotten yelled at, beaten, or been forced to complete ridiculously long chore lists. His birthday had been acknowledged, and later that day he was going to have a birthday cake. Best of all, he had spent the day with his godfather and favorite professor- people who seemed to care about him.
Even with these happy secure thoughts in his head, Harry drifted into sleep with a voice in the back of his mind whispering that he didn't deserve any of this.
*************************************
About an hour later, Harry woke up to the sound of Sirius calling his name from downstairs. Apparently it was time to eat dinner. Harry sat up, absently petting Athena. Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly.
Suddenly, a flash of pain danced across his scar and a wave of dizziness engulfed him. Harry swayed for a seconded, but almost as soon as it had come, the pain was gone. By his feet, Athena meowed, sounding almost worried- if that was possible for a cat.
"I'm okay." Harry reassured her, then made is way downstairs, puzzling over what had just happened.
When he got to the kitchen, Harry saw Sirius and Remus already at the table, arguing good-naturedly about quidditch.
"Harry!" Sirius called, "help this old man and I settle a little dispute we're having- are you ok? You don't look so good." He said, interrupting himself.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry said. Then without further explanation, asked what they were having to eat.
"Chicken and chocolate."
"Er?"
"Well, Sirius is having chicken with chocolate cake on it, but the sane people at this table are having fried chicken and vegetables and chocolate cake. Separately." Remus explained.
Harry laughed. Only Sirius would be eating chicken with chocolate cake on top.
"Here Harry." Remus said passing him the plate of chicken.
But when Harry reached out to take the plate, a flash of pain jolted his scar again and he promptly passed out.
Review I say, Review!
And 1,000 points to the house of your choice if you know where the names of the quidditch players came from!
Hmmmm, I'm actually going to reply to reviewers now... this just gets better and better!
Coell: Thanks... the dream merging thing was greatly helped along by a friend of mine. Speaking of which, her name is BreetanyaViolet and you should read her fic called "The End of Those Days"
BadBoyLover: Hi. Yes, Severus is in this chapter! Wheeeeeeeee! In fact, he'll be in the next chapter twice as much, muwhahaaa. (Why am I writing this? You've already read it.)
Iggie: Thanks! Cool name, by the way. I've just interuppted myself writing this to read your profile... where did that picture come from, it's really cool? Also, I'm reading "Seeing Gray" ... very, very cool.
Miss. Padfoot: Thank you. You also have a cool name :)
Elven Goddess: Thanks. You have another cool name... I read "Absence of Something" and I really like it! Now update it!
Bumblebee Bucy: Another cool name.Thank you... You're putting me on your favorites? Thats so cool! :) (I feel a squeal comming on.)
Cenra-gal86: Yes, Dudley wanted a cat... I have no idea why I wrote that... in fact, while I was writing chapter 4, I was really wishing Dudley had wanted a dog. (you'll see why in a minute.) Ron and Hermione will visit soon... don't worry.
Sakura Blossom- Look! I updated, now don't turn me into a rat! Hmmmm, If I had to mate with Wormtail, I would force myself to become a lesbian... by the way, I learned the other day that animals can be gay...
Laterose: Here you go, and don't forget to breath!
Kim: Yes, I must torture him because I am a cruel, sadistic person. Sorry I made you cry... (smiles proudly) hopefully you won't cry again... not making any promises though.
Maryanne: Thanks. Can't tell you about the "plan." You'll find out in chapter five.
Chapter 4
Beautiful Day, Bad Night
At precisely 8:00AM, Severus Snape barged into Albus Dumbledore's office. Snape was never one for knocking, or entering a room quietly. Knocking wasted time, and as for entering a room quietly- well, that just wasn't possible.
"Why hello Severus, I've been expecting you." Dumbledore said calmly, clearly used to Snape's abrupt entrances.
Jet-black robes flowing behind him, Snape gracefully settled himself into the high backed chair in front of the headmaster's desk, and turned his sharp gaze on the headmaster himself.
"Things are getting worse." He said without preamble.
Dumbledore nodded, and waited for him to continue.
"I was at the death eater meeting last night, and discovered- while a certain rat was being tortured, that Voldemort has a new plan to get at Potter." Snape explained.
"Well, that's to be expected. Do you know anything about this plan, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
Snape tuned his piecing stare on Fawkes. "I couldn't find out very much. Just that it has something to do with his reletives hurting him, and suicide. He was too clear in his ranting."
Dumbledore looked taken aback for a moment. "That is most intriguing."
"Intriguing? I tell you the goddamn savior of the wizarding world is probably going to commit Voldemort induced suicide, and all you can say is intriguing?" Snape burst out, his hard, uncaring mask falling for just a moment.
"Why Severus, I never knew you cared." Dumbledore said smiling benignly.
"I don't."
"Well." Dumbledore said, crossing the room to pet Fawkes. "All we can do for now is inform Sirius and Remus about the situation. We can't do any thing more until we know more about Voldemort's plans."
"Now today is Harry's birthday, and we don't want to spoil his day-"
At this, Snape's expression seemed to grow even more unpleasant.
"So we will go and talk to them in the evening, so we don't disturb them." He finished. "We could wait until tomorrow, but this is a matter of the utmost importance."
"We, Headmaster?" Severus asked.
"Yes, Severus, we. You will come too, since you were actually at the death eater meeting. Also, it would be a wonderful opportunity for you and Sirius to work on your newly formed truce." Dumbledore was positively smirking now.
Snape stormed out of the room, glowering all the way.
*************
Meanwhile, over at Remus's house, Sirius was staggering around the kitchen, peering into an empty coffee cup, deep in thought. He was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice when Remus walked in, and filled his coffee cup with coffee.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" The coffee was now on Sirius's shirt.
"I just wanted to help you out, since you had a coffee mug in your hand." Remus said smirking.
Sirius just shrugged, and glared half heartedly, then slumped into a chair.
Remus immediately sobered up. "What's wrong Sirius, you never were a morning person, but isn't this a bit extreme?"
"I'm going to kill that monster." Sirius growled. "Then I'll kill the Dursley's."
"Sirius, what are you talking about? Take it slowly and from the beginning, because these short, incoherent sentences really aren't working."
"Well, remember last night? Harry had a dream." Sirius began.
Remus nodded.
"It was a vision from Voldemort." Sirius began twirling the coffee cup around, while Remus raised his eyebrows and waited for him to continue.
"It really took a lot out of him" I knew those dreams were bad, I just never knew what they were really like until last night. Harry always downplayed them of course." Sirius sighed. "He was in so much pain, but that was partly the Dursley's fault. I just I would have known, I should have been there for him." Sirius sighed again, and massaged his forehead, like he knew a great headache was coming.
"Sirius, you know you couldn't be there for him before, but now that you can be, you're doing everything you can to be there for him and love him- which is something he really needs." Remus said. "Don't worry, everything will be ok now, that Harry is away from the Dursley's."
"Ever the voice of optimism, aren't you, Moony?"
"Someone around here has to be."
*************
Upstairs, Harry had woken up, and was trying to listen to the muffled voices downstairs. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to risk moving, by getting out of bed yet. Last night had not been fun, and it had just reaffirmed his feelings that he was becoming even more of a bother to Sirius.
Shaking his head as if trying to clear his thoughts, Harry finally sat up and swung himself out of bed. Quickly he changed his mind and sat back down. His head throbbed and his muscles were on fire. He let out a small moan and decided to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, there was a knock at the door, and Sirius barged in, while Harry pulled the blankets over his head, and burrowed his face in his pillow.
"Harry?" Sirius asked, concern evident in his voice.
Harry tightened his grip on the blankets. However, Sirius, being bigger and stronger than Harry, pulled the blankets off his head.
"Come on Harry, you'll smother like that." Sirius said, trying to sound cheerful.
Reluctantly, Harry rolled over, so he was facing Sirius.
Sirius groaned inwardly. Harry looked horrible. His skin was pale, almost gray, and he had dark purple circles under his eyes.
"Come on Harry." Sirius said again. "Time to get up and eat breakfast."
Harry still didn't feel like getting up, but decided he might as well, since Sirius was being so insistent about it. Seeing that Harry was finally getting out of bed, Sirius walked over to the door, and then looked back at Harry.
"By the way," He said casually. "Don't think I've forgotten your birthday, Harry." Then bounded out the door.
It was his birthday? Harry thought in surprise. With everything that had happened so far this summer, Harry had completely forgotten about his birthday. With a brighter outlook on the day, and some of the pain diminishing from his limbs, Harry walked over to his closet to get dressed.
*****************
Meanwhile, downstairs, Sirius and Remus were busy finishing up their birthday decorations for Harry. So far they had let off a few Filibuster Fireworks that had covered the room with red and silver stars and sparkles, and had pinned a few gold streamers up. Sirius was trying to convince Remus to hang broomsticks from the ceiling, when Harry walked in.
"Whoa... is all this for me?" He asked timidly.
Sirius grinned. "Of course it is! You're the only one with a birthday today, now sit down over here and eat breakfast. Don't worry, Moony cooked it."
Harry grinned. "Good. I didn't want to get food poisoning today."
While Harry and Remus laughed, Sirius pretended to look hurt, and muttered something about cooking not being the most important thing in life, and then mentioned how he had cooked dinner the night before, under his breath.
When they finished eating breakfast, Sirius and Remus took Harry into the front room to give him his birthday presents. After the initial gifts of clothes and candy, Remus and Sirius surprised Harry with their "special" gifts.
"Here." Said Sirius, handing Harry a box wrapped in shiny blue paper. It's not much… but I think you'll like it. At least I hope you do…" He added under his breath.
Harry took the box and shook it gingerly. Inside came a faint rattling noise. Anxious to find out what the present was, he quickly tore off the paper, and opened up the box. Inside the box was a scuffed up quaffle with black markings on it. Upon closer inspection, Harry saw that the markings were actually names.
"Phoebe Caulfield." He read out loud. "Robert Ackley, Ward Stradlater, Sirius Black- You played quidditch, Sirius?"
Sirius grinned proudly. "I was a beater." He said.
Harry grinned back. Somehow he wasn't very surprised that Sirius had been a beater. He turned back to the quaffle and continued reading names.
"Jane Gallagher, D.B. Caulfield, Captain James Potter…" Harry's voice trailed off. "This was my dad's?" He asked.
Sirius nodded. "The team gave it to him after the quidditch final in our seventh year. He was captain that year, and scored about a hundred points in that game, so everyone signed the quaffle and decided to give it to James."
"T-thanks Sirius." Harry said looking a bit stunned.
"You're welcome kid." Sirius said, looking back at Harry, a bit sadly.
A moment later, Remus cleared his throat. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get your last present Harry." He said, and then left the room.
"You shouldn't have done that Sirius."
"Done what?" Sirius asked.
"Given me my dad's quaffle. I mean, I have his invisibility cloak and some pictures of him, but you don't have anything." Harry explained.
Sirius smiled sadly. "But I do, Harry. I have ten years of memories, and experiences with them. Unfortunately, you didn't have much of a chance to get to know your parents, so you not only deserve to have their things, but you need them."---
Harry looked down and played with an invisible thread on his pants. His vision was getting strangely blurry, and there was a lump in his throat.
Sirius cleared his throat, his expression a mirror of Harry's. "Besides, I have lots of pictures of them, that I'll show you later, okay?"
Harry nodded. All of a sudden, Remus came striding back into the room carrying a box with mesh wiring on the front.
"What's that?" Harry and Sirius asked at the same time.
"He didn't tell you?" Harry asked Sirius.
Remus laughed. "Of course not! Every time I get someone a birthday present Sirius blabs it, so this year, I didn't say a word.
"Yeah, yeah, I can't keep a secret, now what did you get Harry?" Sirius said dismissively.
Remus set the box down on the floor, and opened the mesh wiring. Out of the box came a fluffy, black, white and gray kitten.
"Whoa, it's a cat!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Really Sirius, how ever did you figure that out?"
Oblivious to Remus and his godfather's bickering; Harry carefully crawled down to the floor and held his hand out to the kitten. The kitten turned it's intelligent yellow eyes on Harry, sniffed his hand for a few seconds, then strutted over to him and placed it's head on his knee.
A slow, genuine smile spread across Harry's face as he petted the kitten's head. He then turned to look at Remus and Sirius, who had stopped arguing and were smiling at he and the kitten.
"How did you know I wanted a pet?" Harry asked
Remus shrugged. "I didn't really. But I was watching you with Buckbeak yesterday, and the idea of getting you a pet hit me… you seem like more of a dog person, though, but of course you already have Sirius…"
"Hey!" Sirius yelped.
Harry laughed. "I love it. Thank you. By the way, is it a girl or a boy? I can never tell."
"Girl." Remus answered. "And now that you know that, what are you going to name her?"
Harry thought for a minute. "I dunno," he said. Then a thought struck him. Back at the Dursley's, he had found a book on Greek mythology, and the name Athena stuck out in his mind. Athena had been a goddess, but for what, he couldn't remember.
"How about Athena." Harry said out loud.
Remus and Sirius nodded their agreement.
"Wasn't she some kind of goddess in Greek mythology?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "I can't remember which one though."
Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "I have a book on that somewhere. I'll look it up then."
Harry turned to the kitten. "How do you like the name Athena?" He asked her.
The kitten purred and rubbed against his knee some more.
Harry laughed. "Guess she likes it."
***********************************************************
Later that day, Harry was in his room petting Athena, who had already grown attached to him, when Hedwig and two other owls flew through the open window. Hedwig dropped a package and a letter on to his bed, and then flew into her cage to drink some water. The other two owls had settled themselves on his bed, staring at him. Harry quickly untied their bundles, and they flew off.
Harry sat down on his bed next to Athena and opened the first letter, which bore the Hogwarts crest, and had the usual letter telling him school would begin September 1st, and also his list of books.
The next letter was in Ron's messy scrawl:
Harry,
How are you? Mum and dad told me what happened, and I hope you're all right. If I ever meet those bloody Dursley's, I'll curse them into oblivion! Anyway, how are things going with Snuffles and Professor Lupin? It must be fun living with them. Things are the same around here, except Fred and George got some anonymous benefactor for the joke shop. (When we get back to school, don't eat ANYTHING they give you.) Mum keeps talking about you, and saying things about how she hopes you're gaining weight, because 'that boy is much to skinny!' Hopefully you'll be able to come over one of these days, because Bill and Charlie are home and they (and Fred) challenged you, me, George and Ginny to a quidditch match. Write back soon, and happy birthday!
-Ron
Along with Ron's letter, there was a box containing a practice snitch to "practice for the Weasley/Potter vs. Weasley quidditch extraordinaire.
Next Harry opened a letter from Hermione.
Dear Harry,
How are you? I've been so worried since you haven't been writing back, and then Ron sent and owl telling me what happened to you at the Dursley's. Those people are horrid! I'm so glad you're living with Snuffles and Professor Lupin now. I've been very busy this summer, studying for O.W.Ls of course. They're coming up very fast you know. Happy birthday!
Love,
Hermione
With Hermione's letter came a book called The Most Interesting and Obscure Quidditch Facts You will Ever Read. Harry smiled. Hermione always found interesting birthday presents for him.
Harry set the cards and presents on his dresser, then laid down on his bed, thinking about his birthday. So far, it had been incredible. He hadn't gotten yelled at, beaten, or been forced to complete ridiculously long chore lists. His birthday had been acknowledged, and later that day he was going to have a birthday cake. Best of all, he had spent the day with his godfather and favorite professor- people who seemed to care about him.
Even with these happy secure thoughts in his head, Harry drifted into sleep with a voice in the back of his mind whispering that he didn't deserve any of this.
*************************************
About an hour later, Harry woke up to the sound of Sirius calling his name from downstairs. Apparently it was time to eat dinner. Harry sat up, absently petting Athena. Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly.
Suddenly, a flash of pain danced across his scar and a wave of dizziness engulfed him. Harry swayed for a seconded, but almost as soon as it had come, the pain was gone. By his feet, Athena meowed, sounding almost worried- if that was possible for a cat.
"I'm okay." Harry reassured her, then made is way downstairs, puzzling over what had just happened.
When he got to the kitchen, Harry saw Sirius and Remus already at the table, arguing good-naturedly about quidditch.
"Harry!" Sirius called, "help this old man and I settle a little dispute we're having- are you ok? You don't look so good." He said, interrupting himself.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry said. Then without further explanation, asked what they were having to eat.
"Chicken and chocolate."
"Er?"
"Well, Sirius is having chicken with chocolate cake on it, but the sane people at this table are having fried chicken and vegetables and chocolate cake. Separately." Remus explained.
Harry laughed. Only Sirius would be eating chicken with chocolate cake on top.
"Here Harry." Remus said passing him the plate of chicken.
But when Harry reached out to take the plate, a flash of pain jolted his scar again and he promptly passed out.
Review I say, Review!
And 1,000 points to the house of your choice if you know where the names of the quidditch players came from!