Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin

Chapter 5

A Birthday at the Burrow

The days passed very quickly, with Harry and the others playing Quidditch by day, and Wizard Chess or Gobstones by night. Eventually, Harry, Ron and Bill became a better team, and began to beat the Weasley twins, until Ginny started to join the games. Although Ginny would tend to be shy and timid at the start of the game, she soon became as absorbed in the competition as the others. Every time they played, the matches were always close, and never boring.

Wizard Chess, on the other hand, was something Harry simply could not win in the Weasley household. Ron, of course, beat him regularly, and the other Weasleys had clearly picked up some of his skill. Try as he might, Harry simply could not beat any of them, even once. Bill tried to help him improve his game, but no matter how much Harry improved, it never seemed to be enough. Gobstones was a game he had better luck at, but it never had the depth of appeal that Wizard Chess or Quidditch had. Still, the summer days trickled by, happily and without incident.

Eventually it came to the 30th of July. Harry went to sleep that night excited at the thought of his first birthday away from the Dursleys, but he was awoken long before daybreak, by a tapping at the window. Once he had wiped the sleepiness from his eyes, he recognised the snowy-white shape doing the tapping. Hedwig! Hedwig was back, and through the window Harry could see a letter tied to her leg. Harry looked over at Ron, who was still sleeping, and then took great care to open the window gently, so as not to wake him.

As soon as Hedwig came in, he perched on Harry's shoulder, and gave his ear an affectionate nibble. After some kind words from Harry, and a treat from his trunk, Hedwig climbed onto her perch, and allowed Harry to take the letter, before closing her eyes for a well-deserved rest. Harry stroked the beautiful bird gently, and then turned his attention to the letter, which was very long, and gave very little good news.

Harry,
First of all, please make sure that you do not read this in front
of the Weasleys. I am sure you are there by now, so convey my regards to
Molly and Arthur.
Thank you for your letter, which I received this morning. As you
know, I have been away since last term, trying to gather support against
Lord Voldemort, so your letter was the first time I heard of a problem.
I returned to Hogwarts immediately, and made contact with the Ministry of
Magic.
I am afraid to inform you that you were correct. Azkaban has
fallen. A team of Ministry Hit Wizards has been to the scene, but they
found little. The Dementors have left, along with most of the prisoners.
The Ministry are planning to announce this as a revolt by the Dementors,
and still refuse to acknowledge Voldemort's return.
This is of great concern, as some of Voldemort's most powerful
allies have now rejoined him. As to the details you remember, the man
named Tobias is most likely Tobias Lestrange, who I believe you will
recognise as a Death Eater. However, I can shed no light on this 'Legacy
of Slytherin' that was mentioned.
The screams you heard came from another cell, where a man named
Eric Malicant was found. The Dementors had performed their Kiss, so he
was in no position to give information. He had been in Azkaban since
before Voldemort's downfall, and it is not clear why this was done to him.
I told your former professor, Remus Lupin, what you told me. He
sends his regards, and his advice that you try not to worry about this.
He also tells me his dog, Snuffles, is pining for you. Perhaps the
opportunity will arise for them to see you in Hogsmeade after the 1st of
September.
On a happier note, I believe this will reach you on your birthday,
so many happy returns. I have enclosed two pieces of parchment, one of
which is your equipment list for this coming year. The other was found
in Professor Moody's quarters, and I believe belongs to you.
I look forward to seeing you in September, and I recommend that
you not get up to any mischief this year. Take care, and please write
to me if you feel the need.
Albus Dumbledore

After reading the letter, Harry immediately threw it aside and looked at the other pieces of parchment that Hedwig had been carrying. One of them, as the letter suggested, was his list of materials that he would need for next year. The other one, however, was the one that Harry was interested in. The parchment was old, and looked like any other piece of parchment, but Harry recognised it instantly as the Marauder's Map.

The Map had been given to him in his third year by Fred and George, who had stolen it from a drawer in Filch's desk. Since then, he had lost it twice, once to Remus Lupin, who had confiscated it, and once to Barty Crouch Jr, who had taken it while masquerading as Professor Moody. Both times now, the map had been returned to him. The map would show where everyone in Hogwarts was, and also showed how to access many of the castle's secret passages. This and the Invisibility Cloak were all Harry had of his father, who was famous for causing trouble during his time at Hogwarts.

Going back to the letter, Harry read and re-read it several times, but found little comfort from it. The news was forbidding, but at least there was some hope that Harry might see Sirius and Remus soon. He missed them both terribly, even more so now that Voldemort had returned and they were in such great danger. He had been hoping to hear from Sirius for his birthday, but the idea of seeing him in a few short weeks was even better. With that small comfort in mind, Harry turned over, and went back to sleep.

* * * * *

The next thing Harry knew was a loud call, which seemed to fill the room all around him. Opening his eyes to the harsh, unfamiliar light, Harry saw a collection of red-haired, freckled faces crowded around his bed, all of them showing enormous grins. As soon as the Weasleys realised his eyes were open, Harry found a large knitted jumper bundled over his head by the Weasley twins, before he was lifted out of bed and hoisted onto several shoulders.

While being carried on the shoulders of the Weasley family, Harry started to wake up a little more, and could hear everyone wishing him Happy Birthday in the midst of the general excited chattering that surrounded him. Harry could see all the Weasleys in the house were with him, including Mr and Mrs Weasley. The jumper that had been pulled onto him was another of Mrs Weasley's knitted jumpers, coloured green.

After coming downstairs, Harry was dropped into a chair at the head of the kitchen table, where Mrs Weasley had laid out breakfast, which was filled with everything Harry could imagine wanting to eat. As usual, Ron had already sat down, and was attacking the food with gusto. Before long, everyone was sitting at the table, eating happily, and talking about what was going to happen over the rest of the day. Before long, Harry was more excited about his birthday than he had ever been before.

Once everyone had finished breakfast, Mr Weasley and Percy had to leave and go to their jobs at the Ministry, but not before wishing Harry a happy birthday again. Once they were gone, it didn't take long for Fred, George and Ron to drag Harry into the front room, where a large pile of presents was stacked in one corner. The heap was bigger than Harry had ever seen, and was certainly larger than he was expecting. For a moment, he wondered if someone else had a birthday on the same day, but the others pushed Harry toward the pile, telling him to start opening the presents.

Harry picked up the package on top of the pile, and looked for a name written on the wrapping paper. Unsurprisingly, the first present was from Ron, as Harry could have guessed from the Chudley Cannon wrapping paper. Harry gleefully ripped off the wrapping paper, and found a box containing a set of Quidditch robes. The robes were in bright orange, with the Chudley Cannons' emblem on the front, and a large 'S' on the back, for the seeker.

As soon as the box was open, Harry pulled the robes out of the box and tried them on, much to Ron's delight. The robes felt heavier than his usual Quidditch robes, and Harry got the impression it had some kind of charm on it to cushion the wearer from any sudden impact. The robes were very comfortable, and judging from the reaction on Ron's face, they suited him. But there was no time to check how they looked, because everyone was waiting for Harry to open another one of the parcels.

The next present was a very small box, which was wrapped in bright green wrapping paper. There was no name on the tiny box, but Harry looked up, and saw Ginny blushing a bright red, which suggested that it came from her. Harry smiled at her, which made her blush even more, and then pulled the wrapping off the box. Inside, Harry found a slim necklace, made from a silver coloured metal, with a large tooth fixed in the setting. Harry put the necklace on, and touched the tip of the tooth, surprised at how sharp it was.

"It's from me and Charlie... He got the tooth for it... It's from a Hungarian Horntail..." Ginny mumbled, with her face still lit up like a beacon.

"Well, I'll have to write a letter to Charlie to thank him. And thank you, Ginny." Harry replied, still fingering the tooth absently.

Ginny was spared from blushing even brighter by Fred and George, who started nudging Harry toward a large box, which was next to the pile of presents. The names Fred and George were clearly written on top of it, which was why Harry had been hesitant to open this box, fearing some kind of prank. Now, he nervously approached the box, and poked it timidly, half expecting it to explode in a spectacular display of Weasley ingenuity. After some laughter from the Weasleys, and an assurance from the twins that the box was not a trick, Harry opened the box.

Inside, he found a variety of different tricks and jokes, some of which he recognised, and most of which he did not. Mrs Weasley seemed to be looking at the twins with a queer glint in her eye, but she still seemed to be happy with the twins' present, and the twins were soon crowding around, showing Harry some of the more unusual items.

"You see that, Harry-"

"That's a Freezing Fruit Drop. And that's some-"

"Popping Parchment. Now-"

"There's probably some tricks in here even Filch hasn't got around to banning yet, Harry-"

"So we're relying on you-"

"To make use of these in the best way possible!"

Harry started laughing, and soon the entire family was laughing with him, even Mrs Weasley. Ron was eyeing the collection with a truly inspired look on his face, which gave Harry the impression that four years worth of pent-up frustration with Severus Snape, the potions master, and Argus Filch, the school caretaker, would soon be released. Harry couldn't help feeling that if Hermione were here, the look on her face would be more similar to the apprehensiveness on Mrs Weasley's face.

The next parcel wasn't wrapped, but a messy scrawl on the box indicated that it came from Hagrid. After opening the box, Harry found a selection of Hagrid's Rock Cakes, which felt almost as hard as the rocks they were named after. There was no note, but Harry didn't expect one; Hagrid was busy meeting the giants for Dumbledore, and he was surprised Hagrid had enough time to get him a present at all.

The next present Harry plucked from the pile felt like a book, so Harry looked for the name, expecting to find Hermione's tidy script. However, when he found the name, Harry discovered that it was Percy who had given him the book. Percy had left with Mr Weasley, so Harry didn't have a chance to thank him for the present, and proceeded to tear of the wrapping. As he expected, the paper covered a book, which was simply entitled 'Useful Spells', and was written by Alita Farrell.

As Percy wasn't there to thank, Harry moved on to the next present, which appeared to be the last. A fairly heavy parcel was at the bottom of the pile, and Harry knew before opening it that it would be another book. An envelope was spellotaped to the front of the package, with 'Love from Hermione' written on it in neat handwriting. The envelope contained a short letter for Harry, which he read out to everybody present.

Dear Harry,
I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but my parents didn't
want me to leave again so soon into the holiday. Mrs
Weasley has invited me to stay for a week or so before we go
back to Hogwarts, so I will be joining you at the Burrow
soon.
I hope you like your present, I think you might find
it useful. Harry, please take care of yourself, and I will
see you soon.

Love,
Hermione

PS. Tell Ron not to read over your shoulder.

Harry looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, Ron was looking slightly embarrassed, knowing he had been impatiently reading the letter over Harry's shoulder. All the other Weasleys were laughing, and Harry soon joined in with the laughter, but not before marvelling at how well Hermione knew Ron. After the laughter subsided, Harry wondered if Ron knew Hermione half as well. One look at his face suggested otherwise, but then his train of thought was interrupted by the Weasleys urging him to open the parcel.

After tearing the wrapping off the book, Harry saw that the book was a new copy of 'Curses & Hexes: How to Protect Yourself', by Algernon Robotham. Harry started to flick through the book, and saw counter-curses and protective charms to help defend against almost every curse he knew, and advice on how to resist certain curses. One subject that was notably missing was the three Unforgivable Curses, but Harry already knew all he needed to know about them.

Suddenly, the lights went out in the room, and Harry found himself lifted from the floor and back into the chair at the table. Mrs Weasley went into the kitchen, coming back with the hugest birthday cake Harry had ever seen. The Weasleys were all singing Happy Birthday to Harry, although Fred and George were singing a slightly different version. Harry couldn't make out the words, but Mrs Weasley's glare suggested that might be a good thing.

Eventually, the singing died down, and Harry just sat and stared at the cake. There were fifteen candles on top of the cake, and the candles were clearly magical ones, as the candles burnt almost like small fireworks on top of the cake, lighting up the whole room. Harry made to blow out the candles, but before he had a chance to, someone interrupted him.

"Make a wish, Harry..." Ginny blurted out, almost too quietly to hear.

Harry nodded to her, and then silently made a wish before blowing out the candles. The Weasleys applauded Harry, and the lights were turned back on.

"And now... For the party!" cried Fred and George. Mrs Weasley started cutting the cake, and putting big, thick slices of it onto plates. Before long, the children were happily munching on slices of cake, and chattering, admiring Harry's presents.

Music from the Wizarding Wireless was playing, and before long, the music was used to play Musical Chairs. Harry was surprised at how different the Wizard version of the game was; the chairs were enchanted to run away, which meant the players had to catch a chair and sit on it before the music stopped. Harry found he was very good at this game, as his quick, Quidditch-born reflexes helped him to keep up with the chairs.

There were many games played that day, and after several hours, Mr Weasley and Percy came home, and then introduced Harry to another Weasley family tradition; the family game of Quidditch. Everyone, including Mr and Mrs Weasley, took part, which meant that the teams were large enough for Mr Weasley to enchant a ball to act like a snitch. Harry, Fred, George and Mr Weasley played on one side, with Bill, Ron, Ginny and Mrs Weasley playing on the other side, which left Percy to act as the referee.

It didn't take long for Harry to catch the substitute snitch, so the teams were switched to allow Percy to play, and another game was started. The games were not very competitive, and only a passing thought was given to the rules, making it clear that fun was the only goal for each of the teams. This idea was made very clear when Fred and George brought one of their pranks onto the pitch, which resulted in both Percy and Ginny turning into doves as they were reaching for the snitch.

When the sun had finally come down, everyone came inside, and ate a supper prepared by Mrs Weasley, before everyone started playing more simple games again. More games followed, and when everyone started to get tired, more sedate games, like Gobstones. Eventually, everyone was too tired to carry on, and it was time for the party to end. After helping to clear the mess made by the party, Harry picked up his presents, and walked upstairs, with Ron not far behind him.

Both boys walked into Ron's room, with very few words, and smiles on their faces. Between the two of them, they piled Harry's presents into his trunk, and then each of them flopped onto their beds. As soon as their heads hit the pillow, each of them fell asleep, still with a happy grin on their faces.


Disclaimer: Were you not listening last time? I don't own Harry Potter, so please don't try to sue me. It probably isn't worth your while anyway.


Now, wasn't that better? Now that things have started to happen, I'm enjoying this a bit more. How about you? Anyway, Hermione will be appearing in the next chapter, and we'll be off to Diagon Alley!

Now it's time to thank the reviewers once again... :) Thank you to Ariel_undersea, Chantelli and The Jolly Dollar, who all reviewed since last time... Virtual cookies and gold stars will be given to all those who review this chapter, so please review! XD