Chapter Two, Sweet Sixteen.
Harry went to bed late that night, the spontaneous party that had erupted when Harry had rejoined his loved ones took them all into the early hours of the morning. Everyone seemed to show up. At a certain moment, it even seemed like the entire Order of the Phoenix was crammed into the living room at Grimmauld place.
In the far-left corner of the room, Professor Dumbledore was quietly talking to Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George were playing Exploding Snap at the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Hermione had arrived shortly after Harry, when her parents were finally done saying their goodbyes for another year.
Remus Lupin was talking with Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks in front of the large windows. At eleven, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arabella Figg walked in, shortly after followed by Mundungus Fletcher. Apparently, they had just finished their shift. Mundungus looked around and when he couldn't find Dedalus Diggle, he went to talk to Professor Dumbledore to see if he knew his location.
In addition, of course, there was also a vast delegation of Weasleys present. Arthur and Molly were talking to Percy in the far right corner when Charlie and Bill came in they joined them. Apparently, Percy still had a lot to do before his family would forgive him.
When Mrs. Weasley finally sent them to bed it was two thirty in the morning, what she called an 'ungodly hour', after which the trio reluctantly retired. Harry lay awake for a while, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, listening to the deep rumbling breath of Ron sleeping in the next bed. He was a bit overwhelmed by the welcome he had received and feeling at home had brought back a boatload of memories. Sirius had lived here up until his last day. Sirius had hated it here being trapped in the one place you had hoped never to return. Even though his mind was churning away dealing with a lot of repressed feelings Harry slipped into a deep sleep without noticing.
When Harry opened his eyes the next morning, Ron wasn't in his bed anymore. Harry looked at the clock and realised that it was almost noon. Harry quickly got dressed after taking a shower and went downstairs to find the Weasleys and Hermione eating lunch.
"Why didn't you guys wake me up this morning?" Harry asked.
To which Ron, who almost choked on a piece of sausage after hearing the question, answered, "But I did try and wake you up, I tried just about everything except setting off a few Dung Bombs next to your ears. Didn't help though so mum thought it best to let you wake up on your own time."
Harry blushed and thanked everyone, "I haven't been sleeping well, tonight's been the first time I slept a whole night without waking every so often bathed in sweat because of some nightmare."
Mrs. Weasley took that as her cue to give Harry another hug, after which she ushered him to the table and started heaping food onto Harry's plate. After everyone had eaten their fill, Mrs. Weasley started to clear the table. Harry offered to help but she wouldn't hear of it.
"You've been working too much already this summer," she said.
She then pushed Harry into the direction of the kitchen door. Mrs. Weasley really disliked the Dursleys for everything they put Harry through.
Harry was practically at the kitchen door when Mrs. Weasley said, "Oh, I almost forgot. A letter came for you this morning. Here, now go into the living room and have a nice sit down dear." While she gave him the letter in question.
Harry went into the living room, where he sat down in an armchair close to the window and looked at the letter. It was written on very thick, expensive parchment with a pleasing creamy colour and Harry's address beautifully printed in royal blue ink. When Harry turned it over, he saw a very official looking wax seal, depicting a set of scales and a sword. Harry wondered where this letter came from. He opened the letter trying not to damage the wax seal too much.
From the offices of Prouse, Hiatt and WilberforceAttorneys at law
30th of July
Diagon Alley n° two, London
To the highly regarded Mr Harry James Potter:
We send this word of notice, to enable Sir, to be present at the reading of the last will and testament of Mr Sirius Black, who regrettably passed away recently. The reading will take place at our offices on the Fifth of August, at three in the afternoon. If you for any reason do not wish to attend, but would however like to know the contents of the reading, a transcript can be delivered to you some time after that date, for you to peruse through in private. If so, please respond by return owl.
Aurelius Prouse
Head of the Board
Notary
It was a good thing that Harry was already sitting down, because the letter caught him completely of guard. Last will and testament... Sirius... not attending... transcripts. Everything he had been suppressing for the last month and a half came rushing back. He felt so lonely, without Sirius to talk to about things that mattered. Without the loving arms that he missed so dearly...
Harry didn't really know what to make of the letter so he walked up to the fireplace and looked for the jar of floo powder that should be on the mantle. He wasn't entirely sure whom he should call, Remus, who was researching a spell at Hogwarts for the Order at the moment, or Arthur Weasley, who had returned to work after lunch. Harry decided to call Arthur, because he was living with the Weasleys and since Arthur Weasley worked at the Ministry, he would probably know more about things like Wizardry law and stuff.
By now Harry had found the Floo powder, it was hidden in a snuffbox at the back. Harry threw some into the fire, said Arthur Weasley's office, and got down on all fours to stick his head into the now green flames.
"Harry," said a surprised Mr. Weasley when Harry's head suddenly popped up in the fireplace in his office, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes Mr. Weasley, but I got a letter this morning, and I was just reading it but I don't completely understand what it means," Harry said.
"Well let me see," Mr. Weasley said. Harry gave him the letter.
After reading the letter he thoughtfully answered, "Harry, you should go to this reading, but not alone. A will reading for a wizard is quite different from a Muggle's. The Muggles simply read the actual paperwork out loud and be done with it. Wizards record their last will on something a little more authoritative than just paper. Which makes a Wizarding will reading a very powerful ceremony."
"What does a Wizard record his will on then?" Harry asked.
"Well, it's a very difficult enchantment, but the essence is that a piece of the actual will of the person is recorded onto a clear crystal. When that happens the crystal is no longer clear and translucent because it adopts the colour and some of the substance of the casters aura," Mr. Weasley explained. "During the reading that part of the will is enough, to show an image of the person in question and impart the content of the testament to those people near and dear to them. There is only one downside to a Wizard's will once the reading is done, the crystal has done its duty and releases its contents. Which is why they always make transcripts during the reading, just in case there is a dispute."
Harry considered all this and then asked, "Mr Weasley, would you and Mrs. Weasley come with me, because I really don't want to go alone to something this important. I don't want to do anything wrong."
"Harry of course we'll come. Even Voldemort himself could not stop us and you could never do anything-wrong son. Who-ever gave you that idea?"
Harry, who was a bit embarrassed by this obvious display of affection turned a bit red and quickly blurted, "See you tonight Mr. Weasley, I think I hear people coming into the living room," out in a hurry.
"Later Harry," replied Mr. Weasley, while Harry's head disappeared from his fireplace.
Harry was just getting up from the floor when Ron and Hermione came into the living room.
When Hermione saw the letter in Harry's hand she said, "Ah, I see it finally came. I got mine about a week and a half ago." The sentence came out in an almost giddy voice.
Harry took this news badly and promptly sat down on one of the armchairs near the fireplace, "You guys knew before me about this will reading thingy, and didn't see fit to tell me about it?"
Ron said, "Well, euhm... yes. I got my letter a little over a week ago, I knew. But, well I've been to lots of those readings, not really much ado about some old crony muttering about who should get the kitchen sink."
Harry couldn't believe his ears, Ron couldn't care less and Hermione almost looked excited to experience the event. For a moment there, Harry thought he would be sick, but instead he got up out of his armchair and dashed out of the room.
Harry ran up five flights of stairs before he ran out of stairs to climb. There were only two rooms on this floor, as Harry could see. He had never been up here before. Last summer when Sirius, Harry and the Weasleys were trying to make the house liveable again for humans, the upper two floors had been assigned to Sirius.
Harry walked up to the room on his right and slowly opened the door, just a crack at first, to take a peek inside. What Harry saw first was a huge four-poster bed with blue velvet drapes, a midnight blue canopy and royal blue silk bedcovers. Harry even noticed that the canopy looked surprisingly real, like someone had conjured a dark blue, starless midnight sky onto the fabric.
Harry opened the door further and stepped into the room to continue his exploration. He realised the room had been Sirius'. It also looked like this was the only room in the house Sirius had taken a liking to because it was beautifully furnished. Not only the bed, but also the armoires in both corners next to the door were beautiful and hand carved with a pattern that Harry thought was the Black family crest.
Harry also noticed a delicate desk and bookcase in the corner next to the window. Even the window was special. It was huge to start with and was made up in an intricate pattern of stained glass-in-lead, depicting the true Marauders: Prongs, Moony and Padfoot preserved for eternity. It looked like a fourth animal had been present, but Harry considered that Sirius would have definitely had Wormtail removed, being a traitorous little rat didn't earn you the right to be remembered for eternity.
Harry sat down at the foot of the bed and started to cry. The emotional walls he had built up, so he wouldn't have to think about his Godfather's death, crumbled. He missed his Godfather so. What was even worse, was that his friends didn't even seem to notice anything was wrong. Harry pulled the bedcovers around him. Being in this room made him feel closer to Sirius, the only person close to a father he had ever known. Harry fell asleep when the sheer emotion overwhelmed him.
When Harry woke a few hours later, he saw Remus looking at him from the window seat.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Kind of, I know men aren't supposed to cry and all..." Harry uttered before Remus cut him off.
"Nonsense, who told you that, of course men can cry. It's an outlet Mother Nature gave us. You should cry, when you need it most. Crying is what separates humans from animals. You shouldn't feel bad about crying Harry, never!"
Remus got up from his seat and started walking towards the door, "Now on a lighter note, would you like to help feed Buckbeak? I have some special treats for him, he earned them after the huge favour he did us a week ago." And walked into the room on the other side of the stairs.
Harry was confused, but followed shortly. What did Remus mean when he said huge favour? "Remus, what kind of favour?"
"Our beloved Buckbeak here, ate Kreacher," said a glowing Remus, who was by now feeding white ferrets to the Hippogriff, "He must have remembered it was Kreacher who had injured him, so he decided he needed an early lunch. We think Kreacher came in here looking for more of his Mistresses trinkets and was a little careless around Buckbeak. Too careless as a matter of fact, Kreacher was, yes indeed.
"Normally a Hippogriff wouldn't need a feeding so soon after he has eaten, but I highly doubt that Kreacher was very nutritious. That Elf was barely more than skin and bones. Come one grab a ferret and give it to him, he's earned it."
Harry saw one pure white ferret left in the sack that Remus had brought up with him, and relished the thought of feeding ferret boy Malfoy to Buckbeak even if only for one moment, as he fed the dead animal to the beloved Hippogriff.
At dinner that evening, Harry took a chair in between Mr Weasley and Remus. The whole time he adamantly ignored Ron and Hermione, who were trying to talk to him. He talked to Remus about Sirius' room, Buckbeak and about why no one had done anything about Kreacher after he had betrayed Sirius. All and all, it was a very quiet dinner that evening.
After dinner Harry walked into the library of the Black family and looked for an interesting book to read. Most of the books he saw were about Potions. "What is it about dark wizards and potions?" Harry thought to himself. He even saw dissertations on it in different languages. He even recognised a few French texts, an Italian one and even the odd Japanese text. Harry finally chose a book on all sorts of transformations and went into the living room.
Harry was very intently reading when Ron and Hermione disturbed him. Harry got up out of his chair and wanted to leave the room but they wouldn't let him.
"Harry hear us out will you. We don't understand why you're avoiding us. What did we do wrong?" said a very emotional Hermione.
"Yeah mate, what gives?" asked an equally puzzled Ron.
"I really have to explain?" growled Harry, "I have to explain to a know-it-all and a ginger prat, that I care a great deal about a man who was the only father I ever knew? Who passed away recently and apparently you two couldn't care less about it. You heard about the reading of his will before me and didn't even see fit to inform me. To you this reading may be a trivial fact. But not to me, it is the last thing my Godfather has to say to me and I take it very seriously, unlike you." Harry spat, "I have to explain that that makes me sick by even looking at the two of you right now. No I don't!" At that point, Harry stormed out leaving behind a very pained pair of people.
Harry went to bed early that night. He pulled the curtains of the four-poster shut. When Ron came in, he silently changed into a pair of pyjamas and went to sleep as well. Ron hoped that he and Hermione would be able to make it up to Harry in the morning.
They had been talking about what Harry said and had come to the conclusion that Harry had been right. They obviously didn't have any idea what the reading meant to Harry, and as his friends they should have told him and at least supported him. After all, they hadn't seen him for almost a month. After the ordeal at the Department of Mysteries they had only been together for a couple of weeks and Harry was the type to bottle things up and not talk about it to his friends. He probably had a lot to work through still and his friends should help him do that.
When Harry woke up the next morning, on the day of this sixteenth birthday, the whole room had been decorated with streamers and banners saying 'Happy Birthday Harry' and 'Sweet Sixteen'. It was impossible to keep a bad mood in al this excitement. Harry took a shower and put on his best clothes. A pair of jeans that didn't fall of his hips, that wasn't to worn around the edges and lastly which had a mostly even blue colour. Paired up with a T-shirt and a sweater that Mrs. Weasley had made him last year as his Christmas present.
When he arrived in the kitchen, everyone started singing. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Harry Potter, Happy Birthday to you." It was very beautiful hearing everyone sing together, all except the twins who thought that the 'Death March' was the appropriate music to sing just about every song to.
In the commotion, Ron and Hermione caught Harry and made their sincerest apologies. They explained they really should have been more careful with Harry's feelings and that it was inexcusable that they didn't tell him about the reading when they had heard about it. Harry considered that he had shaken their feelings enough and accepted their apologies. He did, after all, need his friends as much as they needed him.
After an immense breakfast, Mrs Weasley had really gone all out, Remus declared it time to unwrap presents, "Here Harry, I know you got a photo album from Hagrid your first year but it wasn't really complete, I worked very hard on this one and I hope you'll enjoy it."
"Thanks Remus, I love it," Harry was trying to hold back tears. He didn't think it was appropriate to cry on your own birthday when you were getting presents.
Harry got a book from Hermione, 'Wizard Bloodlines Through the Ages, An Illustrated Genealogy'; Harry wondered why she gave him this book and made a mental note to ask her about it later. Ron gave him a yearlong subscription to Quidditch Weekly. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had bought Harry a new wristwatch, one that would actually tell time. They said it had a few more perks but that Harry would have to find out on his own. Bill and Charlie surprised Harry with a pair of wicked boots in Dragon skin. The Twins gave Harry a large selection of their inventions. Some old ones and some new ones, some even still in their testing stages.
Even Ginny had a present to hand over. Harry opened the package gently, to find a model Snitch inside with a note attached 'Welcome back to the Quidditch team. I hope it helps to keep you focused'. Harry loved the model and placed it proudly on the table.
"Thanks Gin, it is gorgeous." Harry grinned.
"My turn," piped up a slightly shy Percy from the door to the hall causing everyone to turn around.
Harry walked over to Percy to receive a rather large package. When he unwrapped it, it revealed a few books Harry was dying to read about 'Aurors' and 'How to Become an Auror'. Harry smiled at Percy, who in turn received a hug from his mum.
After everyone present had given Harry their presents, three remained on the table. Harry read the cards; the first one was from Dobby, that funny little House Elf had probably made him another pair of socks; the next one seemed to be from Professor Dumbledore and the last one was from ... Sirius. Harry sat down on his chair and stared dumbfounded into space. Sirius had got him a birthday present. He had thought about it even more then months beforehand. Harry couldn't stop the tears from coming now.
He opened Dobby's present trying to mask his emotions, he had been right. Dobby had made him socks; one sock depicted 'the Fountain of Magical Brethren' in gold and the other one a 'Prophecy-container' in silver. The rest knew how Harry felt, but everyone pretended not to notice and let Harry regain his peace and calm without being disturbed.
After lunch, which had included a 'huge delicious chocolate fudge double whipped cream' birthday cake, everyone started to leave. Harry asked if he could be excused and went up to Sirius' bedroom taking his two last presents with him. Harry needed to be alone to open these last presents. Knowing professor Dumbledore, his present would be very valuable, and should most likely not be public knowledge.
Harry was right, when he opened the package from Professor Dumbledore; he found a 'Pensieve', a book, 'Store Your Memories For All to See and Hear, an Instruction Guide', and a letter from Professor Dumbledore himself inside.
Dearest Harry,
By now you have opened your present and found the ¨Pensieve" I sent you. You must be wondering why I sent you such a priceless item. Well I sent it to you, because you I fear are in need of one. Pensieves store all kinds of memories, including the more unappealing ones. Use the Pensieve before you to lift the burden of your past meetings with 'Voldemort' from your mind.
I am not saying you will forget about them, but placing them in the Pensieve will make your burden lighter and easier to deal with. While inside a Pensieve it is also sometimes easier to make connections, solve clues and other problems. And an added bonus is that you can show your friends what you have been through. Beware, though, a Pensieve will not accept lies. Only true memories can be stored within.
The Pensieve will also be helpful when next year you will continue your study of Occlumency, this time I myself will be your instructor, I blame myself for not accepting this role last year and will thus strive to rectify the problem and help you clear your mind of 'Voldemort'.
Happy Birthday Harry and enjoy the rest of your summer.
Yours Truly,
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Harry set the Pensieve, the book and the letter down on the bed and took the present from Sirius in his hands; he could feel the warmth coming off it. Warmth? But presents weren't supposed to be warm, were they? Harry quickly ripped off the wrapping paper and looked at the carved wooden box. It had some writing on the top: "Say your true name, and the contents of this box will be awakened. Lie and the contents will be forever lost."
Harry said his name, "Harry James Potter," and the box opened. Inside Harry found a small creature. Harry took the little animal out of the box, it fit on Harry's palm, it was that small.
When Harry went to throw away the wrapping paper a small booklet and a note fell out. Harry picked up both and read the front of the booklet 'How to Care for "Royal Marmosets", and How They Care For You'. Harry then started to read the note. It was hand written by Sirius and said:
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday. Do you like the little thing? It is a 'Royal Marmoset'; they are magical creatures that originate in the dense jungles of South America. Their most important power is that they make sure that their owners have nice dreams (by barring nightmares), and get good nights rest.
This is a baby still, so he might not be that effective yet. However, you need to bond with them early on, because they will only serve one person in their life. I ordered him a few months ago, because they are very rare and sought after. I dearly hope he will help you deal with your nightmares and visions. Harry never forget that your Mother, your Father and I love you.
Forever yours, your Godfather
Sirius Black
Ps. Don't throw the box you found the little tyke in away. It's a stasis box, and you could use it again some day.
Harry sat in Sirius' room for a few hours playing with the little thing trying to give it a name, and getting to know it. Harry knew it was a male Royal Marmoset because that was mentioned in the booklet Harry had received with it. The booklet also detailed what the charming animal ate and how it needed to be treated; all in all, it was a very interesting read. Sirius had said that its main power was the capability to safeguard ones sleep from nightmares. However, when you say main, you also imply there are other powers.
Just before going downstairs, Harry decided on a name. The young Marmoset's name was going to be Sirius, after his godfather and the 'Dog Star', so that it could guide him through day and night.
The days after his birthday went by very quickly. They always seem to when you are having fun. Harry didn't go anywhere without Sirius on his shoulder and he didn't have nightmares anymore. Even from the beyond, the grave his Godfather was still protecting him.
Chapter Three, Roommates.