Chapter Three - Birthday
"I'm sorry, Har. It's just my rotten luck that the full moon would fall on the thirtieth," Remus apologized to Harry not for the first time that day. He really did feel bad leaving Harry for his birthday. It would be the second he's missed."That's alright," Harry assured him, "And it is not your fault, so stop telling me you're sorry. Until you can control the moon, I don't want to hear another word about it."
"Okay, then," Remus said. He knew Harry was right. There was nothing he could do about it, though he wished there was. When he thought about it, there was something he could have done. Twenty-Five years ago, he could have been more careful. He was only seven, but at seen, he should have been smart enough to stay away from the forest at night. He still remembered that night perfectly. Every detail was etched into his brain forever.
"It's almost time to go, dad," Harry said, drawing him from his reverie. Remus checked his watch. It was almost six o'clock.
"We'd better get going then," he said. Every month, during the full moon, Harry went to stay at Hogwarts while Remus transformed. After the transformation, Remus would use the next day to rest, sometimes longer. The pain and sleep potions given to him by Snape did help a lot, but he still needed that one day to gather himself.
"It's such a hassle going to Hogwarts every month," Harry said, "Maybe I should just stay here an--"
"No," Remus cut him off. He'd never risk having Harry in the same house when he transformed, even if he was confined only to his bedroom with no chance at getting out in his wolf form.
"But, dad. If you have the Wolfsbane and you can't get free of your room--"
"No," Remus said again, this time firmly enough that Harry didn't object, "I just don't want to take even the slightest risk that I'll hurt you or worse."
Harry nodded, "I'll go get my bag now." He disappeared up the stairs, returning a few minutes later with a bag slung over one shoulder and Sly perched atop the other.
"You take that bird everywhere," Remus commented with a grin.
"He won't let me leave without him. You should have seen how he reacted when I said I was going for the next two nights," Harry said.
"Hold him tight when we floo. You don't want him to fly out of the wrong gate, " Remus said, "We'd better get going now."
"Good evening, Remus, Harry," Dumbledore greeted them when they emerged through the headmaster's fireplace."Good evening," both answered.
"It's about time you showed up. Do you think I have all night to waste waiting for you?" came the cold, sarcastic voice of the Hogwarts potions master.
"Good evening to you too, Severus," Remus returned. Snape sent him an icy glare as he handed a goblet of steaming potion to Remus.
"Do have a good night now, Remus," he scoffed.
"Well, thanks to you being kind enough to make this potion for me, I just might," he said. Snape narrowed his eyes at him.
"If it were up to me, I'd let you suffer," he said in a low voice. Before Remus could respond, the headmaster put a stop to their heated banter.
"I believe that is enough," he said softly, though his tone held finality. The two men sent each other a last scowl before turning away. Remus put the steaming goblet to his mouth and drank it quickly, careful not to grimace at the appalling taste Snape was sure to have purposely given it.
"I must be going now," Remus said.
"Let's be thankful for small favors," Remus' wolf hearing picked up the inaudible comment from Snape, but he chose to ignore it.
"I'll see you on Wednesday, Harry," he said, "Good bye."
"Bye, dad," Harry said.
"Bye, Remus," Dumbledore said.
Once back in his home, with no one around, Remus dropped the facade of feeling fine. Since morning he'd felt dead tired and sick, but wouldn't let it show in front of Harry or anyone else. He dragged himself up the stairs and down the hall into his bedroom. A quick wave of his wand magically locked the room securely so he would not get out. He locked his wand in a drawer in his desk. He wouldn't be able to get at it there while he was in his wolf form.
"Harry would you like some tea?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, thanks, sir," Harry said.
"A lemon drop?" he asked. Harry shook his head. "Severus?" he offered. Snape looked like he'd rather eat dirt.
"I'd rather not," he said, obviously resisting the urge to roll his eyes, "I wonder if I could have a word with you, headmaster? Alone?" He shot a quick lance at Harry, who stood to leave.
"I'm sorry, Harry. Could you give us a moment?" Dumbledore asked kindly.
"Yeah. I'm going to go out to visit Hagrid," Harry said.
"Thank you," Dumbledore smiled.
Harry opened he office door and stepped onto the spiral staircase. Down the hall from the headmaster's office, a large hanging tapestry concealed the entrance to a small, simple room that Dumbledore had set up for Harry for his stays at Hogwarts. Harry took his bag to this room and dropped it alongside the bed, before leaving to explore the castle a bit. While school was in, Harry was restricted to a small section of the castle, where students were not allowed, but in the summers, when there were no students at Hogwarts, Harry was free to roam wherever he pleased. His favorite places to go were the Quidditch Pitch, Hagrid's hut, and, a few times, only twice caught, the forbidden forest.
Harry now ventured across the grounds of Hogwarts, Sly perched atop his left shoulder. As soon as he stepped out the giant oak doors, Sly took flight into the dusky sky. Harry laughed as he watched the raven zoom around the castle towers and along the turrets. She circled back to Harry, landing on his outstretched arm.
"Come on, girl. There's someone I know will love to meet you," Harry said. Sly took flight again, following Harry, sometimes circling him as if to say hurry up. Harry walked up to the lighted cabin alongside the edge of the forest and was greeted by Fang's booming barks when he knocked. Hagrid opened the door, pushing Fang back.
"'Arry! How are yeh? Come in!" he greeted.
"Hello Hagrid," Harry said, entering the little cabin. The raven was once again perched atop his shoulder. "This is my new pet, Sly," Harry said.
"She's beau'ful, 'Arry," Hagrid said, admiring the raven. Sly gave a short trill and flew to Hagrid, who took to stroking her soft feathers.
"I got her at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. I was going to get an owl, but then I saw her. It took a bit to convince Remus to let me have her, but he gave in," Harry said.
"Ravens make very loyal pets. They're really smar', too," Hagrid said. Sly seemed to take a liking to Hagrid as he continued with the compliments. "I'm glad yeh came down. I wanted ter ask yeh if yeh wanted ter come wit' me ter Diagon Alley tomorrow for yer birthday instead o' sittin' round the castle?" Hagrid asked.
"That'd be great!" Harry said. "Great. Meet me here tomorrow round noon," Hagrid said.
Harry was about to answer when Fang's growling and snapping interrupted him. It seemed he was getting a bit jealous of Hagrid petting Sly and chased her to hide atop the cupboards.
"Fang! Now, you cut tha' out!" Hagrid held fang down by his collar while Harry collected Sly. She came to him as soon as he called her name. Harry opened the door and let her fly out to wait for him.
"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then," Harry said.
"I'll walk yeh up ter the castle if yeh want," Hagrid offered.
"No, that's alright. I'll be fine on my own," Harry said.
"Okay then. But yeh stay away from tha' forest this time," Hagrid warned. He had been the one to catch Harry wandering down one of the paths, only a few months ago.
"I will," Harry said, "See you tomorrow." "Bye," Hagrid waved as he left. He stood in the doorway, watching until Harry reached the castle.
The next morning, Harry woke fairly early, at least earlier than normal. He sat up and reached for his glasses on the night table beside his bed and instead of his glasses he felt a bulky package. Once he located his glasses, he grabbed the brown paper package. A small note was attached. He took it and read:
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you.Use it well.
Happy BirthdayHarry looked at the note curiously. There was no name. Whatever was wrapped in the brown paper had once belonged to his father. Perhaps Remus? But he would have put a name on it. Harry picked the package up; it was weightless. He tore the paper off and a silvery liquid fell onto his lap. When he touched it. he realized it wasn't liquid at all, but material. Holding it up in front of him, he could see it was a cloak. He laughed at the idea of wearing a silver cloak like that out in public, but he threw it around his shoulders anyway. He nearly fainted when he saw his body disappear completely. An invisibility cloak! He had an invisibility cloak! He pulled it over his entire body and walked in front of the mirror where he saw only his head floating in mid-air.
"Awesome," he whispered aloud. Harry wanted to use the cloak right then. He pulled the cloak over his head and quietly slipped out of the room. He wandered aimlessly throughout the castle, watching teachers setting up for classes that would begin in only a month. He knew of only of a few teachers, such as Snape and McGonagall, who were regularly at the Headmaster's office.
As he walked along one corridor, he heard a muffled voices coming from in the shadows. As he crept closer, the voices became clearer.
"How w-would I know how the o-other P-P-Professors plan to p-protect it?" a man with a high-pitched voice stuttered.
"You know. I know you do and I will find out how you found out," Harry recognized this voice as Snape's. He made to back away and bumped against one of the coats of amour. The two men turned abruptly to see who was there. Harry stepped away carefully and slowly as Snape stared at the spot of noise. He backed against the wall as close as he possibly could.
"This is where our meeting ends, Quirrell," Snape said. He came within an a few inches of touching bumping Harry as he walked past. The other man also left, in the opposite direction.
Once the sound of Snape's and the other man's footfalls died, Harry hurried away as quick as was possible without making any noise. He wondered who 'Quirrell' was and what he and Snape were talking about. It was obviously something of importance that the Professors planned to protect and Snape wanted to know how they planned to do so, from what Harry heard.
He slipped back into his room and wrapped the invisibility cloak back up in the brown paper, stuffing it into the bottom of his bag. He didn't want anyone to know about the cloak. He knew it would come in useful sometime, especially once school started. After a quick shower, Harry left the castle and crossed the grounds to Hagrid's cabin, completely forgetting the conversation he had heard earlier.
"Happy birthday, Harry!" Hagrid greeted."Thanks Hagrid," Harry said.
"Ready to go, then?" Hagrid asked.
"How are we getting there?" Harry asked. He was sure Hagrid was too big to use floo powder and the train would take all day.
"Portkey. Dumbledore set it up for us this morning," he said, taking an empty lemon drop box out of his pocket.
"I've never used a portkey before," Harry said.
"Just put a finger to it and we'll be taken wherever it takes us," Hagrid explained, "Go ahead. Take hold."
Harry touched an end of the box. He felt a tug behind his navel. Instantly Hagrid's cabin disappeared and he was standing in the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid put the empty box back into his pocket.
"Not too, bad, eh?" Hagrid said. "No," Harry answered.
"Listen, I've got ter go ter Gringotts ter pick somethin' up first 'fore we go anywhere. Official Hogwarts business," Hagrid said importantly.
"What do you need?" Harry asked.
"Can' tell yeh. Very important, though," Hagrid said, "We'll go somewhere fer lunch after. Why don' yeh take a look at some o' the shops while I go there?" "Sure. I'll be in the Quidditch shop," Harry said.
"I'll mee' yeh there when I'm done," Hagrid said. Harry nodded.
They split up at the Quidditch shop, Harry going in, and Hagrid continuing up the cobbled street. Harry made his way through the shop, looking at the latest equipment, and skimming through some of the new magazines. He finally made his way over to the broom in display in the window.
A small, blond boy of Harry's age stood looking at it also. He turned to Harry, "Best broom there is I'd say." "Yeah," Harry agreed.
"I'm going to bully father into buying one for me. First years at Hogwarts aren't allowed them, but I'll find a way to smuggle it in," he said.
"Oh," Harry said shortly. He wasn't really sure if he liked the boy or not.
"Name's Draco Malfoy, by the way," the boy said.
"Harry," he said simply.
"Surname?" asked the boy.
"Er- Lupin," Harry half-lied. He didn't like to draw attention to who he really was. It could be quite annoying at times.
"The name sounds familiar. I think I've heard it before," Draco said. "Common name," Harry said, though he new it wasn't.
"Oh. Are you starting at Hogwarts, too?" Draco asked. Harry nodded.
"I'll probably be in Slytherin. My family's been in it for many generations," he said, "To be honest, though, I'd rather be in the other two than Hufflepuff. Bunch of mudbloods and muggle-lovers in that house."
Harry now was positive he didn't like the boy. He didn't know what a mudblood was, but he was sure it was nothing nice, the way Draco said it. He continued talking, not noticing the glare Harry sent at him.
"I don't think they should let the muggle-borns in at all. Pure blood is all that should be worthy of learning," he continued. Harry clenched his fists. He was getting very angry with the boy.
"I think all witches and wizards are worthy," he said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, so you're a bloody muggle lover, then? Let me guess. You're probably a filthy muggle-born, too," he sneered. Harry raised a fist, ready to hit Draco but his fist was grasped by a hand the size of a trash can lid.
"Harry!" came Hagrid's voice. He put his other hand on Harry's shoulder and led him out into the street. Harry went willingly, though if he saw the nasty looks being thrown at him by Draco, he might not have been so passive.
"Yeh shouldn' be doin' tha'! What happened in there?" Hagrid asked. Harry told Hagrid exactly what the boy had said, changing his mind about what he should be doing.
"I should o' let yeh knock him a good one upside the head," he muttered when Harry finished.
"Hagrid, what is a mudblood, anyway?" Harry asked.
"Foul thing ter say. It jus' shows how low a person is when they say it. It means dirty blood. People tha' say it mean it towards muggle-borns and half-bloods," Hagrid explained, "Did yeh get his name?" "Malfoy, I think. Draco Malfoy," Harry said.
"O' course. The Malfoys are one of the biggest supporters of 'pure-blood only' in the magical world," Hagrid said, "Don' let Draco get ter yeh, tho'. He won' be the firs' yeh meet like tha'." "Did you get what you needed from Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. got it righ' here," Hagrid patted a small lump in his pocket. Harry wondered curiously what it was that Hagrid had.
-----------------------------Remus stumbled unsteadily down the hall to the bathroom. He held the sink with one hand to keep from swaying as he opened the medicine cabinet in search of the dreamless sleep potion kept inside there. He took it out, opened it, and drank it quickly. He dropped the empty bottle into the garbage and shut the medicine cabinet. He needed to get back to his bedroom before the dreamless sleep potion could take effect. He flopped onto his bed and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.When Remus woke, it was the next morning. He'd gotten a fully welcome twenty four hours of uninterrupted sleep. He crawled out of the bed, yawning. If it weren't for the sleeping potions, he'd never have gotten any sleep at all, with the pain that coursed through his body for those first few hours after he transformed back.He looked down to his arms. There were teeth marks in his upper left forearm. The Wolfsbane potion wasn't perfect after all, he knew. He went into the bathroom and used some bandages to wrap it up. He was used to this. He was constantly in need of some healing after full moons and it was just his rotten luck that self-inflicted wounds could not be healed magically. So he had to suffer it out the muggle way.
After a long, hot shower, letting the water pour over his sore body, he felt much better. He got dressed and went down to the kitchen to get something to eat before going for Harry. He took some floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Dumbledore greeted him happily as ever when he emerged.
"Good morning, Remus. How are you feeling today?" he asked.
"Rather good, thanks to the potions you gave me," he said, "Thank you." "Do not thank me. It was Severus that had made them for you," Dumbledore said.
"Yes. Well, tell him thanks, then," Remus muttered.
"I shall," Dumbledore said, "Harry is still asleep, I presume. He had a long day yesterday with Hagrid at Diagon Alley."
"Oh, did Hagrid take him out? Good, I'm glad he went somewhere," Remus said.
"From what I've heard of his day, not all was pleasant, though. Hagrid told me Harry had a bit of a run in with Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said.
"Lucius?" Remus asked.
"No. His son, Draco. At one of the shops. It seems Mr. Malfoy said a few things that got Harry incensed," Dumbledore continued.
"Not accidental magic again, was it?" Remus asked apprehensively.
"Again, no. It was more like intentional physics," Dumbledore said, "But Hagrid stopped him before he hit Mr. Malfoy. I do hope when school starts--" "There will be nothing of the sort," Remus assured him.
"Thank you, Remus," Dumbledore said.
"I'll go wake him to go now," Remus said, leaving Dumbledore's office. He walked down the corridor to where Harry stayed. He knocked a few times before opening the door. Harry lay sprawled across the bed.
"Hey, Harry. Get up," he said to the sleeping boy. Harry didn't stir.
"Harry! Wake up!" he called. Harry slowly opened his eyes. Remus handed him his glasses.
"M-m-morning," he said through a yawn.
"Good Morning. And it may be a little late, but Happy Birthday," Remus said.
"Thanks," Harry said.
"Why don't you get dressed so we can go?" Remus said. Harry nodded. He grabbed his bag and went into the bathroom to change while Remus waited. It didn't take very long for Harry to get ready.
"So how was your day yesterday?" Remus asked when he came out.
"Er- good," Harry answered.
"What'd you do?" Remus asked.
"I went to Diagon Alley with Hagrid and we went for lunch," Harry shrugged.
"Nothing else?" Remus pressed.
"Not really," Harry said.
"What about that little incident with Draco Malfoy?" Remus asked. Harry suddenly found his shoes very interesting, dropping his gaze to them.
"We'll talk about this later. Right now, we have somewhere to be," Remus said.
"Where?" Harry asked.
"You'll see. Come on," Remus grinned. They went up to Dumbledore's office and bid him goodbye before flooing back to their house.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked.
"You'll see. Let's go," Remus said. He opened the front door, went outside, and began down the dirt road. Harry followed. All the way, Harry pestered him about where they were going, but Remus didn't drop even the subtlest hint. He led Harry to the small train station in town and bought two tickets to Appleby. Both he and Harry climbed aboard the train.
The train ride lasted an hour with Harry endlessly guessing about where they were going. Finally, the train came to a stop and they got off. 'Where are we now?" Harry asked.
"Appleby," Remus answered.
"I know that,. What's so special about it, though?" Harry asked.
"When will you stop asking me?" Remus asked.
"When you tell me," Harry said. Remus led Harry out of the station and down the main road. Harry gave him a confused look when they entered a dingy side alley.
When they reached the end, Remus pulled out his wand and tapped the brick wall before them twice. It opened like the one in the Leaky Cauldron. Remus watched Harry's face turn to delight when he saw the entrance to the Appleby Arrows Quidditch Stadium before them.
"Happy Birthday," Remus said.
"Oh, this is great! Thanks!" Harry said happily.
They were ushered along by a guard to the entrance. Remus handed two tickets to the woman at the booth. He and Harry found their seats. Remus had went all out and got the best seats available for the game.
"Who are they playing?" Harry asked.
"First is the amateur game. Two junior league teams from Appleby are playing. The Dragons and Griffins. Then it's the Appleby Arrows and Wimbourne Wasps," Remus said.
"Arrows are going to win, for sure," Harry said.
"I'm going with the Wasps," Remus said.
"Appleby's got that new seeker that's really good. All the Wasps have are their beaters. Their chasers don't work together very well and the keeper isn't up to par. The Arrows, though, have it all together," Harry said, confusing Remus, who only knew the basics of Quidditch. Remus just nodded.
"Why are you going with the Wasps?" Harry asked.
"Yellow and Black are better than --- and ---," Remus said, making Harry laugh.
"And what about the amateur league?" Harry asked.
"Griffins. Blue and White over Red and Yellow, any day," he grinned.
"It says there on the stat board that the Dragons are six and o. Griffins are two and three. You can't go against those odds. Look at the size of the Dragons compared to the Griffins, too," Harry said.
After the game, Harry had endure Remus' slight taunting of how the Griffins had managed to slam the Dragons and how the wasps had stolen the game.
"Three-fifty to one-eighty. What a win," Remus said, "And then how the Wasps' seeker stole the snitch from under the Arrows' seeker's nose. That was great." "I guess I'd better switch to the 'who has better team color' system, too," Harry said.
"Yes. That's the secret to winning. You've got to have the best team colors," Remus said.
"Oh, I see now. It's all about fashion. So that's why I always beat you when we play," Harry joked.
"Hey, I take offense to that," Remus faked a hurt look.
"I suppose I should be thankful you don't dress like that," Harry whispered. He nodded towards an older man with a dress on.
"Archie, why must you always wear that when we go out!" a woman beside him screeched.
"I like it. It's what muggles wear," he said resolutely. The woman threw her hands in the air in exasperation.
"Whatever you say, Archie. Whatever you say," she muttered. Harry and Remus tried to hide their fits of laughter as they exited the stadium. They went through the barrier and back to train station, where Remus purchased two tickets back. It was nearly Five o'clock when they finally got home.
"Thanks, dad. Today was great," Harry said.
"Well, there is still one more small thing," Remus said. He pointed to a box wrapped in blue paper on the kitchen table. Harry picked it up and pulled the paper off. It was a broom polishing kit.
"Thanks, dad," Harry said.
"Let's go get your broom and try it," Remus said. He followed Harry upstairs and into his room. He stood and watched from the doorway as Harry opened his closet.
"Wow! You actually got it for me!" Harry exclaimed when he saw what was inside. He pulled out the new Nimbus 2000, "This is awesome. I can't believe you got it!" He set the broom back down and hugged Remus.
"Thanks! This is the best!" he said excitedly, "When can I try it out?"
Remus was about to say 'Now' but thought better of it, instead saying, "I'm not sure."
Harry looked at him confusedly, "You're not sure? What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm not sure," Remus said, "We still have that Draco Malfoy matter to discuss."
-----------------------------
"Oh," Harry said. He had forgotten about that.
"Sit and tell me what happened," Remus said. Harry sat on his bed and launched into the story of what happened at the Quidditch store without leaving anything out.
"And so I was going to hit him, but Hagrid came and he stopped me," Harry finished and waited for the response.
"You know better than to fight," Remus said disappointedly.
"But after what he said, I couldn't let it go. He deserved it," Harry said.
"And what would hitting him prove?" Remus asked.
To shut his fat mouth in front of me, Harry thought, but had more sense to say so.
"Nothing, I guess," he answered.
"You can't go hitting people every time you're angry," Remus said.
As long as you don't find out about it, I can, he thought.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," was what he said out loud, though.
"Good," Remus said, "You can have your broom back on Sunday." "Sunday? That's four days.
And I didn't even hit him," Harry argued.
"I know," Remus smirked, "So imagine if you did."