Chapter Four - The Happiest Birthday
When Harry returned to his Aunt's house, he was surprised to see that the door was unlocked. Uncle Vernon had a habit of locking him out at every opportunity, but tonight he didn't have to spend an hour waiting for his Uncle to decide to let him in.
Harry immediately went up to his room where he found Hedwig sitting on his bed. Wondering why she was not in her cage, Harry turned to look and was startled by the tiny owl fluttering around in the cage. Hedwig had obviously moved out of the cage as soon as the tiny bird entered. Harry tried to calm the overexcited bird down, to little avail, but he did manage to untie the letter attached to its leg. Quickly opening the letter he saw it was from Ron.
Dear Harry:
I still can't believe everything that happened yesterday. Sirius was
a generous guy, and I'm amazed at what he did for our family. We
didn't get much chance to talk about it, but not only did he give all
those galleons (and my own Firebolt!) but he was spectacular to Mum
and Dad as well.
He gave them enough money to pay for the Burrow, pay for Hogwarts for
Ginny and me for the rest of our schooling, and gave them a huge
amount of gold. They won't tell me how much, so it's got to be a lot.
Mum keeps telling Dad that he can quit the Ministry if Fudge
continues to be an idiot.
Harry smiled at that, please that Sirius had helped this wonderful family. And Harry was glad because it made part of his plan easier.
Ginny won't tell me what Sirius gave her, or what he said in his
letter. She just smiles at me and tells me to mind my own business.
Girls!
Fred and George got some gold as well, but more importantly to them,
Sirius gave him a journal that detailed all of the pranks and tricks
the Marauders played while at school, and some pranks they played
right after school. They are getting a copy made so that you can get
the original back, they figure you'd want something of his like that
and they just need the ideas anyway.
I tell you, it's amazing.
Mum and Dad want me to tell you how touched they are that Sirius was
so generous to them. They know he did it because of you, and Mum,
well, she's just been blithering all day long about you. She was very
happy that you snapped out of your funk, she's been so worried that
she didn't know what to do.
Accordingly, we're inviting you over to the Burrow for your birthday.
We know that you can't leave the muggles permanently yet, but we
figure you can escape for a dinner party in your honor. Check with
Dumbledore, but we plan on picking you up on Monday at 6 pm. One way
or the other.
Hermione will be there, of course, and all of us Weasley's. Lupin,
Tonks, and a few others as well. Mum wanted to try to make it bigger,
but Dad convinced her to keep it quiet.
See you Monday!
Ron
Harry was genuinely excited about his birthday for the first time he could remember. He'd never had an actual birthday celebration and was very touched that the Weasley's wanted to do this for him. He didn't think that Dumbledore would have any objection, especially after their dinner conversation, but Harry knew he would have to owl him just to make sure. He sat down to respond to Ron's letter, telling him he'd be ready at 6 on the 31st and then wrote a quick note to Dumbledore asking if it was okay.
Tying the letter to Ron on Pig's leg took several minutes because the tiny little bird kept flitting around the room. Finally successful, he threw the tiny owl out the window and watched with amusement as it almost dropped straight to the ground before flapping its wings. He then turned to Hedwig and tied his note to Dumbledore on her leg.
"Bring this to school, girl, and then come back as soon as you can. I don't want you gone too long." He gently stroked her head, gave her an owl treat, and held her aloft so she could silently float out the window.
With a content sigh he slipped into bed and fell into a peaceful sleep.
---
The next few days went by in a slow blur as Harry spent every waking moment either working at the park with Mr. Smith or holed up in his room plotting out his plans for his meeting with the shareholders. Having received an owl from Dumbledore allowing him to go to the Weasley's for dinner, Harry was eagerly anticipating his birthday for the first time.
As his birthday arrived he was not surprised that his Aunt and Uncle didn't recognize the day, but he was surprised by that realization that he still hadn't seen his cousin Dudley once this summer. When Harry was up in the morning, Dudley was still sleeping. When Harry returned after work Dudley was either out with friends or taking a nap. Harry couldn't quite believe his good fortune, but certainly wasn't going to second guess it.
As he entered the house, he was relieved to find it quiet. His Aunt was still out and his Uncle hadn't come home from work. Dudley too was no where to be found. Rushing through a quick shower, Harry changed into one of his more fashionable new outfits and returned to the living room, waiting for the Weasley's to come get him.
As the clock struck 6 Harry heard a low roar outside accompanied by a sudden loud bang. And then the sound of hundreds of cars honking blasted through the neighborhood. Rushing outside to see what the commotion was, he grinned when he saw the flamboyantly colored car zooming down the street towards his house.
It was a beautiful car, sleek, elegant, and very shiny. The only problem was that it was painted many different colors. The trunk, the hood, the doors, the bumpers, everything was painted differently in loud, antagonizing colors. Polka dots, stripes, bizarre designs were scattered here and there around the car. As it came to a screeching halt, the driver honked again and Harry was certain that he had gone permanently deaf. The sound was thunderous. Birds flew rapidly away, dogs were howling, and cats were wailing in agony at the sound.
As he expected, the doors flew open and Fred and George came bounding out, dressed in their dragon hide suits that made Harry think they had to be more than a little insane. The twins rushed up to him, grabbed him on either side and frogmarched him to the car.
"Happy Birthday Harry!" they exclaimed in unison. "We're your ride! Don't you just love the car? We bought it for the company, need to make an impression you know."
Harry wasn't sure what impression they intended, but he knew it certainly made an impression. As he found himself forced into the front seat he saw that the exotic color scheme on the outside paled in comparison to the colors on the inside. There was a veritable rainbow of shimmering colors throughout the interior. As Fred turned the vehicle back on, Harry's eyes bulged when he saw the interior colors start shifting. Each move of the wheel that Fred made caused shimmering reflections to wash across the interior. The effect, along with Fred's somewhat erratic driving, made Harry a little nauseous.
George grinned as he saw Harry's face pale a little. "We put the latest enchantments on this Harry, it's spectacular. No matter how the roads twist and curve, the car feels like we're just going on a straight path. Plus we've put invisibility charms, anti-detection jinxes, and anti-theft curses to keep it safe. Muggles think it is just a brightly painted vehicle and ignore it as we race by. Plus we added traffic evasion charms, and speed boosters to allow us to exceed normally safe speeds. We can get up to 150 miles per hour without a sweat. Of course at 151 it starts to shake and rattle so much that Fred passed out yesterday when I was driving. Need to work on that I guess. Want to see?"
Harry weakly shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to try. He was overwhelmed by the view of curvy roads seeming to straighten themselves out for the twins car, muggle vehicles seemed to jump out of the way, and traffic lights went haywire as they approached busy intersections.
After half an hour Harry decided he couldn't take it any more and climbed in to the back seat to lay down, hoping that if he wasn't able to see the roads, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He patiently put up with Fred and George's teasing, but resolved to find another way home after the party, even if it meant walking.
When they arrived to a screeching halt at the Burrow, Harry gratefully flopped out of the car and gingerly tried to stand up. When the world finally stopped spinning he took a few cautious steps towards the oddly proportioned house that Harry always associated with warm feelings and pleasant times.
Hermione and Ron came running out of the house to grab Harry in a big group hug, both wishing him a happy birthday at the same time.
"Thanks, I think. Who thought it was a good idea to let the twins pick me up? They're more dangerous than a squad of death eaters. That car is, er, overwhelming." Harry still wasn't too sure of his footing and allowed his friends to grasp him on either side and walk him through the front door.
Harry was pleased to see that Ron was nodding his head in agreement. "Bloody hell Harry, they're insane. I mean, they're my brothers and all, but they're certifiable. They took me on a short ride and I couldn't eat for a day."
"That doesn't happen often does it?" Hermione asked archly. Ron pointedly ignored that comment.
"They went so fast Fred and I passed out and George almost crashed. And they laughed at it. Mum was so mad, but they managed to calm her down, somehow."
Harry weakly shook his head with laughter, but felt revived as he walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was obviously determined to outdo herself for his party and the smells almost made him swoon. He could smell various foods that were his favorites, and the mountain of sweets on the table, surrounding a massive sixteen layered birthday cake would have sent Hermione's parents into fits. Grinning, he took in the whole room, realizing that he would indeed have a happy birthday.
He was pulled away from his thoughts by a loud scream of "Harry!" from Mrs. Weasley as she enveloped him in a massive hug.
"Oh, happy birthday you dear boy, happy birthday! I'm so glad we could do this, though I know you would have wanted more of your friends to come, well, we just thought to keep it small. I hope you don't mind. Now we're just about ready for dinner, and Bill and Charlie are out back finishing the last preparations, so why don't you three go out and see what they've done."
Bustling them out into the back yard, Harry murmured his thanks to Mrs. Weasley. When he walked in to the yard his jaw dropped. The Weasley's had converted the back yard into a large pavilion with thousands of lights. It was a professional Quidditch pitch. Harry was stunned. He turned to Ron who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Happy birthday mate," he said. "Watch this. Oi, Charlie, Harry's here, cast that charm now."
Charlie was high up in the air on his broom, and Harry saw Bill up there as well. They waved their greetings to Harry and Charlie pulled out his wand, made a few curious gestures and cast an enchantment Harry had never seen before. As Charlie finished there appeared small blurs of light on two sides of the pitch that gradually grew larger and more distinct. Finally, as if wiping clear a dirty mirror, two opposing Quidditch teams took shape. One was the Chudley Cannons and the other Puddlemere United. Harry recognized several of the players, including his old Quidditch Captain Oliver Wood.
A referee materialized out of nowhere and released the Snitch, signaling the start of the game. Harry stared in awe as the players rapidly performed intricate maneuvers over the pitch. Suddenly he saw the two Seekers dive toward him and he threw himself to the ground, trying to get out of the way. When they flew immediately over him, Harry was surprised that he didn't feel the wind rustle at all. He turned when he heard Ron's raucous laughter burst out, accompanied by Hermione's soft giggle.
"Honestly Harry, they're not real," said Hermione. "It's an illusion. They're replaying the last game they played together. Charlie's controlling it with his wand. He can control individual players, or let others control them. It's the latest game that Fred and George invented, they think it will be a smash. We can even do it, since it isn't enough to trigger the Ministry's sensors on underage magic."
His cheeks flashing red, Harry picked himself up off the ground with the air of dignity, pointedly ignoring Ron's muffled laughter and the catcalls from Bill and Charlie. He turned his attention back to the game that was taking place above him, amazed at the clarity of the illusion, and the mastery the players exhibited in their match. Hogwarts Quidditch was quick, but this was FAST. Harry was reminded of the last World Cup that had amazed him, and the players above were almost as good. He watched as the Chudley Beaters smacked both Bludgers at the unsuspecting Puddlemere Seeker. They clobbered him in midair and he fell rapidly. As Harry sucked in his breath he saw the Puddlemere Chaser drop into a steep and fast dive zooming straight for his falling Seeker. Time seemed to slow for Harry as he watched intently at the impending disaster. There was no way the Seeker would be caught. As if the Chaser had the same thought at the same time, Harry watched as the Chaser jumped from his broom, throwing himself at the falling Seeker. Catching him in an awkward embrace, they flipped in the air. Miraculously, the broom he had jumped off of came plummeting towards them. The Chaser grasped the handle with one hand and angled the broom in a way so that it leveled off, dragging the two players on the ground for several yards before finally stopping.
Letting out an explosive breath, Harry was stunned by the audacity of the play. He watched in amazement as the Seeker's broom finally caught up with him, and the Seeker, after dazedly staring back up at the movement of the other players, jumped on his broom and shot up into the air, looking determinedly for the Snitch.
"Wow," he said. "That was AWESOME. Did that really happen?" He looked at Ron who was also staring with amazement at the players. Ron had paled a bit at the maneuverings of the players and looked earnestly at Harry.
"Please, please don't think of assuming that I'll catch you if you fall like that. I don't know if I'm that fast, and I'd hate to see my best friend splattered all over the Hogwart's pitch."
Nodding his head in agreement, Harry laughed. But it did make a few stray thoughts about how to use that maneuver sometime in a desperate game.
"Yeah, Harry, this is all based on a real game." Fred said from behind him.
"We've got it set up to replicate about six games, we chose this one for that particular stunt," added George.
"Now, this version of the game, is wicked. See, since Charlie's controlling it, he can cast a spell on you, and you can go up and play. It stops being an exact replica of the game since you wouldn't make the same moves as their Seeker, or whatever position you wanted to play. So it becomes an entirely new game. You can add as many players as you want, on either team. It's bloody wicked."
Fred chimed in. "Yeah, we're going to sell it first just to Quidditch teams, we figure it will help with their practices and stuff. Imagine playing against the top teams while practicing? It's bound to be a smash."
George laughed. "We don't think we want to sell it to the public yet. The spells are pretty complex. This version took us about 2 months of solid work, so its going to be very expensive. But, partner, why don't you get up there and give it a whirl?"
Harry's grin faltered a bit. "Erm, I don't have my broom. It's still at Hogwarts. I never got it back from Umbridge and I forgot to ask Dumbledore for it." His eyes flashed at the memory of Dolores Umbridge banning him from Quidditch. He was pleased that Dumbledore had lifted his ban, but missed his broom.
"I think I can rectify that," a familiar voice said from behind them. "Harry, you can consider this one of my presents to you on your birthday."
Harry whirled around to see Professor Dumbledore holding his precious Firebolt. The Headmaster had an enormous smile on his face and his eyes were shooting sparks of mirth.
"Misters Weasley stopped by Hogwarts a few weeks ago to seek Madame Hooch's opinion on their new game, and Professor Flitwick's. I naturally made the assumption that they would perhaps share this new invention with you today, so I thought you might want this."
His hands trembling just a bit, Harry fondly grasped his broom. "Thanks Professor, this means a lot."
Jumping upon his broom he kicked off into the air and shot up towards Charlie and Bill. As the evening breeze whirled around him Harry felt a sensation of peace and relaxation that had eluded him for months. Ever since that evil hag had taken away his broom, Harry felt something missing. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew that he was denied something.
As he raced around the field, dodging the illusionary players who were shaking their fists angrily at him for interrupting their game, Harry's heart raced with glee. He was free! He performed flips, dives, and raced back and forth across the pitch. He made quick accelerations and sudden stops, shaking off any kinks that months of inability to fly had cropped up in to his technique. After about ten minutes passed he realized that his friends below were cheering and clapping. As he returned his attention to them, he blushed, realizing that he had completely forgotten that they were there. He was pleased, however, to see that even Professor Dumbledore was modestly clapping for Harry.
As he dove down and made a perfect landing in front of his friends, Hermione raced up and gave him a great big hug. "Oh Harry, you looked so happy. What a perfect day!"
Smiling, Harry agreed. "That was perfect. Just what I needed. I felt like me again. Thanks Professor," he said, nodding to the headmaster. Dumbledore nodded sagely in return, and offered Harry another smile.
"I'm pleased to see that your abilities remain undiminished. I expect that you will help your friend Ronald maintain the Cup this year, of course not that I should have an opinion on that matter." As he said that a mischievous smile cropped up on his face, and he let out a hearty laugh. Harry and his friends joined in his laughter.
Just then Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the kitchen to announce that dinner was ready. Fred, George, and Ron darted towards the house, pushing each other out of the way as they tried to make it first to the table. Bill and Charlie flew their brooms down and landed right in front of them, forcing the three younger brothers to contend with them for access to the house. Harry and Hermione quietly walked behind them with Professor Dumbledore, wisely avoiding the mad rush of the Weasley boys. Harry and Hermione knew from long experience with Ron to avoid getting in between him and the table when food was served. Apparently Dumbledore had learned this lesson as well after years of watching all of the boys at Hogwarts as well.
"All six boys are like this," he said with merriment. "I would watch with amazement as each of them, William, Charles, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron would start their first year at school trying to consume as much as possible. At first I was worried that they thought we only ate once a day, but then I realized that they eat like this at every meal. Quite extraordinary." He continued to chuckle as he watched the five boys struggling at the door. Grinning, he pulled out his wand and muttered a soft spell under his breath.
The five boys disappeared and the entrance was free to walk through. Harry and Hermione followed Dumbledore through, turning around when they heard yells of indignation. Startled, they broke out in laughter as they saw each Weasley was back in the yard, cement blocks encasing their feet. Instead of hampering their attempt to swarm the house, it seemed only to add fuel to each boys desire to be first. Slowly, but surely, they all strenuously lifted their legs with tremendous effort, making steady progress back toward the door. Harry and Hermione quickly entered the house, not wanting to get in the way.
Laughing, they sat down at the expanded table while Mrs. Weasley stared in consternation out the window. When Professor Dumbledore urged her to sit down, she hesitantly did.
With a loud pop, Dumbledore's spell was broken and the yells of glee from the backyard caused everyone at the table to laugh. They listened with interest as the boys struggled to push themselves through the door.
Charlie emerged victorious, making his way through the door first. Then Ron managed to get through, followed by Bill. Finally Fred and George walked through together with tremendous dignity, as if they had intended to be last all along.
Giving each of her boys a scolding look, she thanked Professor Dumbledore for providing some entertainment. Then she told everyone to dig in and start eating.
As if unleashed, the serving dishes started floating around the table, quickly offering their dishes to the guests. Mrs. Weasley had obviously outdone herself, and the food was spectacular. A pleasant silence settled on the room as the guests were obviously enjoying the meal. Fred and George seemed in a contest to eat the most, with Ron already leagues ahead of them. Hermione looked somewhat nauseated at the amount of food they were shoveling into their mouths, so turned to have a quiet conversation with Ginny who seemed somewhat subdued that evening.
Harry soaked up the atmosphere, thrilled to finally have an actual birthday party. He looked across the table to Mrs. Weasley who was watching him with slightly watery eyes, he mouthed his thanks, and she nodded her head as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
Finishing his meal, Harry turned to Mr. Weasley and asked if they could step outside for a few minutes. Not bothering to cover his surprise, Mr. Weasley nodded his agreement and they quietly stepped out into the back yard. Harry noticed that the Quidditch players were no longer playing their game, and laughed when he saw that they were lounging around the pitch, obviously bored.
Walking a bit away from the house, to prevent being overheard, Harry looked up at Mr. Weasley.
"Mr. Weasley, I wanted to talk with you about a few things. I don't know what Professor Dumbledore may have told you, or what you've heard at the office, but I am going to testify at the trials this week."
"I understand that Harry. I'm very proud of you. That's not going to be easy, but you are doing the right thing."
"Erm, thanks. But I really wanted to talk about something else. Have you heard about my position with the Daily Prophet? The meeting next week?"
"Actually, Harry, I have. You see, Sirius was a generous man. Not only did he help us pay the mortgage on the Burrow, and leave us a vault of money, well he gave me a few shares of stock in the Prophet as well. His letter indicated that you got most of his stock, but he also seemed to think that you'd need my help. I got the letter calling for a shareholder meeting, and I fully intend to be there."
"Excellent. Do you think you can help? The only reason we have to have this meeting is because of Fudge. He's interfering again. I would have thought that he might have changed his attitude a bit after everything that happened, but apparently not."
Sighing, Mr. Weasley patted Harry's shoulder. "No, if anything he seems a bit worse. Now that he believes Dumbledore, Fudge wants to make it look like the Ministry is fully in charge. He's still watching obsessively to make sure that no one gives information to Dumbledore, and he's not really doing anything effective to defeat You-Know-Who."
"Voldemort, Mr. Weasley. Voldemort. You have to say his name. You have to help detract from the fear."
Wincing, Mr. Weasley nodded. "Fine, fine. We aren't recruiting more Aurors, we aren't changing any laws. All Fudge is doing is telling people he's back, to report suspicious activity, and that the Ministry has everything under control. Fortunately when you and Dumbledore thwarted You- Know-" a glare from Harry made Mr. Weasley falter. Paling, he continued. "V-Voldemort's plans, well, he seems to have avoided any displays of power. We think he's trying to come up with some masterful plan, maybe a direct attack on the Ministry or Hogwarts. Dumbledore seems particularly concerned about the train, but we just don't know. But still Fudge is not really doing anything."
"That's my point. Fudge seems more concerned about my getting a seat on the board of the Prophet than he is about stopping Voldemort. I have a plan, but I need your help. I realized that things need to change, and change quite a bit if we are going to win. We need to make sacrifices so that we don't lose more people, we need to disrupt our lives so that those that won't or can't help us can be safe. Can you help me?"
"Of course Harry. Sirius left me enough money that I can quit the Ministry. What do you want me to do?"
"Don't quit. We need you there. Trust me. I have a plan, and Dumbledore thinks it will work. We have to keep some of it secret, even from you, but it will work. If you trust me."
"Harry, I'm used to trusting Dumbledore with anything. I've learned that I can trust you with the lives of my children, you've saved them both. I think I can trust you with my life as well. Tell mw what you need, and I'll do it to the best of my ability."
Harry had hoped that the conversation would lead to this conclusion, but had feared that an adult might not be able to trust him so implicitly. Although he was shocked by Mr. Weasley's statement, he knew he could not afford to show it at this point in time.
"Mr. Weasley, I just need you to state your support for me at the meeting. And if it comes up, you should point out that you have been part of the Order for a long time. Professor Dumbledore is going to make the Order's existence more public this week. At the trial of Malfoy. I just need you to make it clear that you belong to the Order, despite working for the Ministry, and that you believe me and Dumbledore. We'll decimate Fudge's arguments against my serving on the board, and I think the meeting will lead to some important changes."
Nodding his agreement, Mr. Weasley pondered the implications of Dumbledore's planned disclosure of the Order.
"I'm afraid if the Order is made public, Fudge will fire me immediately. But I'll do what you two ask. We need your plan to work, whatever it is, so if you think this is best I'll do it. Now, if we're done plotting the takeover of the wizarding world, let's get to the important part: birthday cake and presents."
Grinning, Mr. Weasley turned Harry back towards the Burrow just as Mrs. Weasley had stepped out to call them back in. Seeing the serious looks on both their faces she stopped just short of lecturing them for skipping part of Harry's party. Instead she waited for them to get up to the house, grabbed Harry in another firm hug, and informed him that it was his obligation to open presents, eat some sweets, and have a good time.
Smiling, he hugged her back, and walked into the kitchen where he was greeted with another round of cheers. The table had been cleared, and in the center of the table stood a veritable mountain of presents. Harry was surprised at the sheer number of presents and fleetingly wished his cousin Dudley could have seen how many gifts there were for him. Smiling at that thought he sat down at the table and looked expectantly up at Mrs. Weasley.
"Before you open the presents, we'll have the cake first." She summoned the sixteen layer cake that threatened to topple over at any moment. Harry was convinced that it stayed together solely by the sheer will of Mrs. Weasley. As the cake landed with a soft thud in front of Harry, sixteen candles on each layer magically lit up, bathing the room in a soft glow that illuminated every corner of the room. Smiling, Harry sat bemusedly as the group entered into the most disparate versions of the birthday song he had ever heard, with every person singing it to a different tune. True to form the twins picked the slowest version, chanting in an obscure dialect of some language that Harry thought was distantly related to Gobbledegook. Laughing as they struggled to finish without taking another breath, the whole crowd burst into applause and cheered Harry on as he blew out all of the candles.
Mrs. Weasley pushed the cake aside to serve it and motioned to Harry to start opening the presents. Hagrid shoved his forward, and asked Harry to open his first. With trepidation Harry gingerly pulled at the wrapping paper, fully expecting it to be a dangerous books or otherwise unpredictable gift from his unusual friend. Instead, he was surprised to discover that it seemed entirely safe and almost normal. That is, for Hagrid.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Eh, yeh don' know what it is, do yeh?" Hagrid replied, smiling. "Easy Harry, it's a whistle that only dragons, griffins, chimeras, and phoenixes kin hear. If yeh blow on it, it's like a distress signal, and a friendly animal will come help yeh."
"Blimey," muttered Ron to Hermione. "Who ever heard of a friendly dragon or chimera? He's absolutely nutters at times." Ron gulped when Hermione pointedly stepped on his foot and kept any other thoughts to himself.
Harry started opening other presents, thanking those there for gifts they had given him. All in all he had quite an excellent pile of gifts. Some practical, like Hagrid's whistle, others strictly silly like Ron's Chudley Cannons poster and box of chocolate frogs. "I have to follow Sirius' will, you know," he had said when Harry opened it. Hermione had given him a book, Dueling Tactics of Famous Dark Wizards, that she said would be good to learn from as an insight into the mind of Deatheaters. Lupin gave him an amulet that he said would change Harry's voice if he wore it, and Moody suggested that would come in handy as an Auror, and Harry blushed at the intended compliment. Ginny had given him a small wooden box, decorated with various handpainted flowers. It was lovely, though a trifle feminine for Harry. Looking at her questioningly, he asked her what it was.
"Erm," she started, blushing furiously. "It's a Secret Box. Once you cast the charm inside only you will be able to open the box up. You can keep stuff in there that you don't want others to see. If you press on the sides it can expand inside, so you can even keep bigger things in there if you want."
Harry thanked her, blushing a bit at the catcalls from the twins when Mrs. Weasley interrupted them by pulling out the last present from her and Mr. Weasley. It was a tiny, thin package, smaller than the rest of the gifts he had already opened. When everyone in the room quickly silenced themselves, Harry looked up with wonderment. All the Weasley's were looking at him expectedly as he turned the package over in his hands. Shrugging, he tore open the package and it revealed a tiny wooden box. Opening the box he saw that it was a piece of well crafted, highly shined wood that bore his name and a small picture of his head on it. Looking up, he saw tears in Mrs. Weasley's eyes and he realized what it was.
"It's, erm, it's. . ." his eyes misted up and he found his throat going a bit dry. "It's for your clock. You've given me a hand for your clock."
He stood up, bewildered by this precious gift, and quietly walked over to Mrs. Weasley. For the first time Harry recalled he initiated the hug and hugged this wonderful woman with all his might. Her arms reached around him, pulling him close, and she planted a great big kiss on his head. Mr. Weasley was sniffling just a bit as he reached over and patted Harry on the shoulder. Suddenly all the Weasley boys, and Ginny, rushed up from their seats and grabbed Harry into a massive family hug.
Harry's head was spinning and his heart was overflowing with the love that he felt. Looking across the room, he smiled at the other guests and whispered "Happy Birthday to me."
When Harry returned to his Aunt's house, he was surprised to see that the door was unlocked. Uncle Vernon had a habit of locking him out at every opportunity, but tonight he didn't have to spend an hour waiting for his Uncle to decide to let him in.
Harry immediately went up to his room where he found Hedwig sitting on his bed. Wondering why she was not in her cage, Harry turned to look and was startled by the tiny owl fluttering around in the cage. Hedwig had obviously moved out of the cage as soon as the tiny bird entered. Harry tried to calm the overexcited bird down, to little avail, but he did manage to untie the letter attached to its leg. Quickly opening the letter he saw it was from Ron.
Dear Harry:
I still can't believe everything that happened yesterday. Sirius was
a generous guy, and I'm amazed at what he did for our family. We
didn't get much chance to talk about it, but not only did he give all
those galleons (and my own Firebolt!) but he was spectacular to Mum
and Dad as well.
He gave them enough money to pay for the Burrow, pay for Hogwarts for
Ginny and me for the rest of our schooling, and gave them a huge
amount of gold. They won't tell me how much, so it's got to be a lot.
Mum keeps telling Dad that he can quit the Ministry if Fudge
continues to be an idiot.
Harry smiled at that, please that Sirius had helped this wonderful family. And Harry was glad because it made part of his plan easier.
Ginny won't tell me what Sirius gave her, or what he said in his
letter. She just smiles at me and tells me to mind my own business.
Girls!
Fred and George got some gold as well, but more importantly to them,
Sirius gave him a journal that detailed all of the pranks and tricks
the Marauders played while at school, and some pranks they played
right after school. They are getting a copy made so that you can get
the original back, they figure you'd want something of his like that
and they just need the ideas anyway.
I tell you, it's amazing.
Mum and Dad want me to tell you how touched they are that Sirius was
so generous to them. They know he did it because of you, and Mum,
well, she's just been blithering all day long about you. She was very
happy that you snapped out of your funk, she's been so worried that
she didn't know what to do.
Accordingly, we're inviting you over to the Burrow for your birthday.
We know that you can't leave the muggles permanently yet, but we
figure you can escape for a dinner party in your honor. Check with
Dumbledore, but we plan on picking you up on Monday at 6 pm. One way
or the other.
Hermione will be there, of course, and all of us Weasley's. Lupin,
Tonks, and a few others as well. Mum wanted to try to make it bigger,
but Dad convinced her to keep it quiet.
See you Monday!
Ron
Harry was genuinely excited about his birthday for the first time he could remember. He'd never had an actual birthday celebration and was very touched that the Weasley's wanted to do this for him. He didn't think that Dumbledore would have any objection, especially after their dinner conversation, but Harry knew he would have to owl him just to make sure. He sat down to respond to Ron's letter, telling him he'd be ready at 6 on the 31st and then wrote a quick note to Dumbledore asking if it was okay.
Tying the letter to Ron on Pig's leg took several minutes because the tiny little bird kept flitting around the room. Finally successful, he threw the tiny owl out the window and watched with amusement as it almost dropped straight to the ground before flapping its wings. He then turned to Hedwig and tied his note to Dumbledore on her leg.
"Bring this to school, girl, and then come back as soon as you can. I don't want you gone too long." He gently stroked her head, gave her an owl treat, and held her aloft so she could silently float out the window.
With a content sigh he slipped into bed and fell into a peaceful sleep.
---
The next few days went by in a slow blur as Harry spent every waking moment either working at the park with Mr. Smith or holed up in his room plotting out his plans for his meeting with the shareholders. Having received an owl from Dumbledore allowing him to go to the Weasley's for dinner, Harry was eagerly anticipating his birthday for the first time.
As his birthday arrived he was not surprised that his Aunt and Uncle didn't recognize the day, but he was surprised by that realization that he still hadn't seen his cousin Dudley once this summer. When Harry was up in the morning, Dudley was still sleeping. When Harry returned after work Dudley was either out with friends or taking a nap. Harry couldn't quite believe his good fortune, but certainly wasn't going to second guess it.
As he entered the house, he was relieved to find it quiet. His Aunt was still out and his Uncle hadn't come home from work. Dudley too was no where to be found. Rushing through a quick shower, Harry changed into one of his more fashionable new outfits and returned to the living room, waiting for the Weasley's to come get him.
As the clock struck 6 Harry heard a low roar outside accompanied by a sudden loud bang. And then the sound of hundreds of cars honking blasted through the neighborhood. Rushing outside to see what the commotion was, he grinned when he saw the flamboyantly colored car zooming down the street towards his house.
It was a beautiful car, sleek, elegant, and very shiny. The only problem was that it was painted many different colors. The trunk, the hood, the doors, the bumpers, everything was painted differently in loud, antagonizing colors. Polka dots, stripes, bizarre designs were scattered here and there around the car. As it came to a screeching halt, the driver honked again and Harry was certain that he had gone permanently deaf. The sound was thunderous. Birds flew rapidly away, dogs were howling, and cats were wailing in agony at the sound.
As he expected, the doors flew open and Fred and George came bounding out, dressed in their dragon hide suits that made Harry think they had to be more than a little insane. The twins rushed up to him, grabbed him on either side and frogmarched him to the car.
"Happy Birthday Harry!" they exclaimed in unison. "We're your ride! Don't you just love the car? We bought it for the company, need to make an impression you know."
Harry wasn't sure what impression they intended, but he knew it certainly made an impression. As he found himself forced into the front seat he saw that the exotic color scheme on the outside paled in comparison to the colors on the inside. There was a veritable rainbow of shimmering colors throughout the interior. As Fred turned the vehicle back on, Harry's eyes bulged when he saw the interior colors start shifting. Each move of the wheel that Fred made caused shimmering reflections to wash across the interior. The effect, along with Fred's somewhat erratic driving, made Harry a little nauseous.
George grinned as he saw Harry's face pale a little. "We put the latest enchantments on this Harry, it's spectacular. No matter how the roads twist and curve, the car feels like we're just going on a straight path. Plus we've put invisibility charms, anti-detection jinxes, and anti-theft curses to keep it safe. Muggles think it is just a brightly painted vehicle and ignore it as we race by. Plus we added traffic evasion charms, and speed boosters to allow us to exceed normally safe speeds. We can get up to 150 miles per hour without a sweat. Of course at 151 it starts to shake and rattle so much that Fred passed out yesterday when I was driving. Need to work on that I guess. Want to see?"
Harry weakly shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to try. He was overwhelmed by the view of curvy roads seeming to straighten themselves out for the twins car, muggle vehicles seemed to jump out of the way, and traffic lights went haywire as they approached busy intersections.
After half an hour Harry decided he couldn't take it any more and climbed in to the back seat to lay down, hoping that if he wasn't able to see the roads, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He patiently put up with Fred and George's teasing, but resolved to find another way home after the party, even if it meant walking.
When they arrived to a screeching halt at the Burrow, Harry gratefully flopped out of the car and gingerly tried to stand up. When the world finally stopped spinning he took a few cautious steps towards the oddly proportioned house that Harry always associated with warm feelings and pleasant times.
Hermione and Ron came running out of the house to grab Harry in a big group hug, both wishing him a happy birthday at the same time.
"Thanks, I think. Who thought it was a good idea to let the twins pick me up? They're more dangerous than a squad of death eaters. That car is, er, overwhelming." Harry still wasn't too sure of his footing and allowed his friends to grasp him on either side and walk him through the front door.
Harry was pleased to see that Ron was nodding his head in agreement. "Bloody hell Harry, they're insane. I mean, they're my brothers and all, but they're certifiable. They took me on a short ride and I couldn't eat for a day."
"That doesn't happen often does it?" Hermione asked archly. Ron pointedly ignored that comment.
"They went so fast Fred and I passed out and George almost crashed. And they laughed at it. Mum was so mad, but they managed to calm her down, somehow."
Harry weakly shook his head with laughter, but felt revived as he walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was obviously determined to outdo herself for his party and the smells almost made him swoon. He could smell various foods that were his favorites, and the mountain of sweets on the table, surrounding a massive sixteen layered birthday cake would have sent Hermione's parents into fits. Grinning, he took in the whole room, realizing that he would indeed have a happy birthday.
He was pulled away from his thoughts by a loud scream of "Harry!" from Mrs. Weasley as she enveloped him in a massive hug.
"Oh, happy birthday you dear boy, happy birthday! I'm so glad we could do this, though I know you would have wanted more of your friends to come, well, we just thought to keep it small. I hope you don't mind. Now we're just about ready for dinner, and Bill and Charlie are out back finishing the last preparations, so why don't you three go out and see what they've done."
Bustling them out into the back yard, Harry murmured his thanks to Mrs. Weasley. When he walked in to the yard his jaw dropped. The Weasley's had converted the back yard into a large pavilion with thousands of lights. It was a professional Quidditch pitch. Harry was stunned. He turned to Ron who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Happy birthday mate," he said. "Watch this. Oi, Charlie, Harry's here, cast that charm now."
Charlie was high up in the air on his broom, and Harry saw Bill up there as well. They waved their greetings to Harry and Charlie pulled out his wand, made a few curious gestures and cast an enchantment Harry had never seen before. As Charlie finished there appeared small blurs of light on two sides of the pitch that gradually grew larger and more distinct. Finally, as if wiping clear a dirty mirror, two opposing Quidditch teams took shape. One was the Chudley Cannons and the other Puddlemere United. Harry recognized several of the players, including his old Quidditch Captain Oliver Wood.
A referee materialized out of nowhere and released the Snitch, signaling the start of the game. Harry stared in awe as the players rapidly performed intricate maneuvers over the pitch. Suddenly he saw the two Seekers dive toward him and he threw himself to the ground, trying to get out of the way. When they flew immediately over him, Harry was surprised that he didn't feel the wind rustle at all. He turned when he heard Ron's raucous laughter burst out, accompanied by Hermione's soft giggle.
"Honestly Harry, they're not real," said Hermione. "It's an illusion. They're replaying the last game they played together. Charlie's controlling it with his wand. He can control individual players, or let others control them. It's the latest game that Fred and George invented, they think it will be a smash. We can even do it, since it isn't enough to trigger the Ministry's sensors on underage magic."
His cheeks flashing red, Harry picked himself up off the ground with the air of dignity, pointedly ignoring Ron's muffled laughter and the catcalls from Bill and Charlie. He turned his attention back to the game that was taking place above him, amazed at the clarity of the illusion, and the mastery the players exhibited in their match. Hogwarts Quidditch was quick, but this was FAST. Harry was reminded of the last World Cup that had amazed him, and the players above were almost as good. He watched as the Chudley Beaters smacked both Bludgers at the unsuspecting Puddlemere Seeker. They clobbered him in midair and he fell rapidly. As Harry sucked in his breath he saw the Puddlemere Chaser drop into a steep and fast dive zooming straight for his falling Seeker. Time seemed to slow for Harry as he watched intently at the impending disaster. There was no way the Seeker would be caught. As if the Chaser had the same thought at the same time, Harry watched as the Chaser jumped from his broom, throwing himself at the falling Seeker. Catching him in an awkward embrace, they flipped in the air. Miraculously, the broom he had jumped off of came plummeting towards them. The Chaser grasped the handle with one hand and angled the broom in a way so that it leveled off, dragging the two players on the ground for several yards before finally stopping.
Letting out an explosive breath, Harry was stunned by the audacity of the play. He watched in amazement as the Seeker's broom finally caught up with him, and the Seeker, after dazedly staring back up at the movement of the other players, jumped on his broom and shot up into the air, looking determinedly for the Snitch.
"Wow," he said. "That was AWESOME. Did that really happen?" He looked at Ron who was also staring with amazement at the players. Ron had paled a bit at the maneuverings of the players and looked earnestly at Harry.
"Please, please don't think of assuming that I'll catch you if you fall like that. I don't know if I'm that fast, and I'd hate to see my best friend splattered all over the Hogwart's pitch."
Nodding his head in agreement, Harry laughed. But it did make a few stray thoughts about how to use that maneuver sometime in a desperate game.
"Yeah, Harry, this is all based on a real game." Fred said from behind him.
"We've got it set up to replicate about six games, we chose this one for that particular stunt," added George.
"Now, this version of the game, is wicked. See, since Charlie's controlling it, he can cast a spell on you, and you can go up and play. It stops being an exact replica of the game since you wouldn't make the same moves as their Seeker, or whatever position you wanted to play. So it becomes an entirely new game. You can add as many players as you want, on either team. It's bloody wicked."
Fred chimed in. "Yeah, we're going to sell it first just to Quidditch teams, we figure it will help with their practices and stuff. Imagine playing against the top teams while practicing? It's bound to be a smash."
George laughed. "We don't think we want to sell it to the public yet. The spells are pretty complex. This version took us about 2 months of solid work, so its going to be very expensive. But, partner, why don't you get up there and give it a whirl?"
Harry's grin faltered a bit. "Erm, I don't have my broom. It's still at Hogwarts. I never got it back from Umbridge and I forgot to ask Dumbledore for it." His eyes flashed at the memory of Dolores Umbridge banning him from Quidditch. He was pleased that Dumbledore had lifted his ban, but missed his broom.
"I think I can rectify that," a familiar voice said from behind them. "Harry, you can consider this one of my presents to you on your birthday."
Harry whirled around to see Professor Dumbledore holding his precious Firebolt. The Headmaster had an enormous smile on his face and his eyes were shooting sparks of mirth.
"Misters Weasley stopped by Hogwarts a few weeks ago to seek Madame Hooch's opinion on their new game, and Professor Flitwick's. I naturally made the assumption that they would perhaps share this new invention with you today, so I thought you might want this."
His hands trembling just a bit, Harry fondly grasped his broom. "Thanks Professor, this means a lot."
Jumping upon his broom he kicked off into the air and shot up towards Charlie and Bill. As the evening breeze whirled around him Harry felt a sensation of peace and relaxation that had eluded him for months. Ever since that evil hag had taken away his broom, Harry felt something missing. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew that he was denied something.
As he raced around the field, dodging the illusionary players who were shaking their fists angrily at him for interrupting their game, Harry's heart raced with glee. He was free! He performed flips, dives, and raced back and forth across the pitch. He made quick accelerations and sudden stops, shaking off any kinks that months of inability to fly had cropped up in to his technique. After about ten minutes passed he realized that his friends below were cheering and clapping. As he returned his attention to them, he blushed, realizing that he had completely forgotten that they were there. He was pleased, however, to see that even Professor Dumbledore was modestly clapping for Harry.
As he dove down and made a perfect landing in front of his friends, Hermione raced up and gave him a great big hug. "Oh Harry, you looked so happy. What a perfect day!"
Smiling, Harry agreed. "That was perfect. Just what I needed. I felt like me again. Thanks Professor," he said, nodding to the headmaster. Dumbledore nodded sagely in return, and offered Harry another smile.
"I'm pleased to see that your abilities remain undiminished. I expect that you will help your friend Ronald maintain the Cup this year, of course not that I should have an opinion on that matter." As he said that a mischievous smile cropped up on his face, and he let out a hearty laugh. Harry and his friends joined in his laughter.
Just then Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the kitchen to announce that dinner was ready. Fred, George, and Ron darted towards the house, pushing each other out of the way as they tried to make it first to the table. Bill and Charlie flew their brooms down and landed right in front of them, forcing the three younger brothers to contend with them for access to the house. Harry and Hermione quietly walked behind them with Professor Dumbledore, wisely avoiding the mad rush of the Weasley boys. Harry and Hermione knew from long experience with Ron to avoid getting in between him and the table when food was served. Apparently Dumbledore had learned this lesson as well after years of watching all of the boys at Hogwarts as well.
"All six boys are like this," he said with merriment. "I would watch with amazement as each of them, William, Charles, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron would start their first year at school trying to consume as much as possible. At first I was worried that they thought we only ate once a day, but then I realized that they eat like this at every meal. Quite extraordinary." He continued to chuckle as he watched the five boys struggling at the door. Grinning, he pulled out his wand and muttered a soft spell under his breath.
The five boys disappeared and the entrance was free to walk through. Harry and Hermione followed Dumbledore through, turning around when they heard yells of indignation. Startled, they broke out in laughter as they saw each Weasley was back in the yard, cement blocks encasing their feet. Instead of hampering their attempt to swarm the house, it seemed only to add fuel to each boys desire to be first. Slowly, but surely, they all strenuously lifted their legs with tremendous effort, making steady progress back toward the door. Harry and Hermione quickly entered the house, not wanting to get in the way.
Laughing, they sat down at the expanded table while Mrs. Weasley stared in consternation out the window. When Professor Dumbledore urged her to sit down, she hesitantly did.
With a loud pop, Dumbledore's spell was broken and the yells of glee from the backyard caused everyone at the table to laugh. They listened with interest as the boys struggled to push themselves through the door.
Charlie emerged victorious, making his way through the door first. Then Ron managed to get through, followed by Bill. Finally Fred and George walked through together with tremendous dignity, as if they had intended to be last all along.
Giving each of her boys a scolding look, she thanked Professor Dumbledore for providing some entertainment. Then she told everyone to dig in and start eating.
As if unleashed, the serving dishes started floating around the table, quickly offering their dishes to the guests. Mrs. Weasley had obviously outdone herself, and the food was spectacular. A pleasant silence settled on the room as the guests were obviously enjoying the meal. Fred and George seemed in a contest to eat the most, with Ron already leagues ahead of them. Hermione looked somewhat nauseated at the amount of food they were shoveling into their mouths, so turned to have a quiet conversation with Ginny who seemed somewhat subdued that evening.
Harry soaked up the atmosphere, thrilled to finally have an actual birthday party. He looked across the table to Mrs. Weasley who was watching him with slightly watery eyes, he mouthed his thanks, and she nodded her head as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
Finishing his meal, Harry turned to Mr. Weasley and asked if they could step outside for a few minutes. Not bothering to cover his surprise, Mr. Weasley nodded his agreement and they quietly stepped out into the back yard. Harry noticed that the Quidditch players were no longer playing their game, and laughed when he saw that they were lounging around the pitch, obviously bored.
Walking a bit away from the house, to prevent being overheard, Harry looked up at Mr. Weasley.
"Mr. Weasley, I wanted to talk with you about a few things. I don't know what Professor Dumbledore may have told you, or what you've heard at the office, but I am going to testify at the trials this week."
"I understand that Harry. I'm very proud of you. That's not going to be easy, but you are doing the right thing."
"Erm, thanks. But I really wanted to talk about something else. Have you heard about my position with the Daily Prophet? The meeting next week?"
"Actually, Harry, I have. You see, Sirius was a generous man. Not only did he help us pay the mortgage on the Burrow, and leave us a vault of money, well he gave me a few shares of stock in the Prophet as well. His letter indicated that you got most of his stock, but he also seemed to think that you'd need my help. I got the letter calling for a shareholder meeting, and I fully intend to be there."
"Excellent. Do you think you can help? The only reason we have to have this meeting is because of Fudge. He's interfering again. I would have thought that he might have changed his attitude a bit after everything that happened, but apparently not."
Sighing, Mr. Weasley patted Harry's shoulder. "No, if anything he seems a bit worse. Now that he believes Dumbledore, Fudge wants to make it look like the Ministry is fully in charge. He's still watching obsessively to make sure that no one gives information to Dumbledore, and he's not really doing anything effective to defeat You-Know-Who."
"Voldemort, Mr. Weasley. Voldemort. You have to say his name. You have to help detract from the fear."
Wincing, Mr. Weasley nodded. "Fine, fine. We aren't recruiting more Aurors, we aren't changing any laws. All Fudge is doing is telling people he's back, to report suspicious activity, and that the Ministry has everything under control. Fortunately when you and Dumbledore thwarted You- Know-" a glare from Harry made Mr. Weasley falter. Paling, he continued. "V-Voldemort's plans, well, he seems to have avoided any displays of power. We think he's trying to come up with some masterful plan, maybe a direct attack on the Ministry or Hogwarts. Dumbledore seems particularly concerned about the train, but we just don't know. But still Fudge is not really doing anything."
"That's my point. Fudge seems more concerned about my getting a seat on the board of the Prophet than he is about stopping Voldemort. I have a plan, but I need your help. I realized that things need to change, and change quite a bit if we are going to win. We need to make sacrifices so that we don't lose more people, we need to disrupt our lives so that those that won't or can't help us can be safe. Can you help me?"
"Of course Harry. Sirius left me enough money that I can quit the Ministry. What do you want me to do?"
"Don't quit. We need you there. Trust me. I have a plan, and Dumbledore thinks it will work. We have to keep some of it secret, even from you, but it will work. If you trust me."
"Harry, I'm used to trusting Dumbledore with anything. I've learned that I can trust you with the lives of my children, you've saved them both. I think I can trust you with my life as well. Tell mw what you need, and I'll do it to the best of my ability."
Harry had hoped that the conversation would lead to this conclusion, but had feared that an adult might not be able to trust him so implicitly. Although he was shocked by Mr. Weasley's statement, he knew he could not afford to show it at this point in time.
"Mr. Weasley, I just need you to state your support for me at the meeting. And if it comes up, you should point out that you have been part of the Order for a long time. Professor Dumbledore is going to make the Order's existence more public this week. At the trial of Malfoy. I just need you to make it clear that you belong to the Order, despite working for the Ministry, and that you believe me and Dumbledore. We'll decimate Fudge's arguments against my serving on the board, and I think the meeting will lead to some important changes."
Nodding his agreement, Mr. Weasley pondered the implications of Dumbledore's planned disclosure of the Order.
"I'm afraid if the Order is made public, Fudge will fire me immediately. But I'll do what you two ask. We need your plan to work, whatever it is, so if you think this is best I'll do it. Now, if we're done plotting the takeover of the wizarding world, let's get to the important part: birthday cake and presents."
Grinning, Mr. Weasley turned Harry back towards the Burrow just as Mrs. Weasley had stepped out to call them back in. Seeing the serious looks on both their faces she stopped just short of lecturing them for skipping part of Harry's party. Instead she waited for them to get up to the house, grabbed Harry in another firm hug, and informed him that it was his obligation to open presents, eat some sweets, and have a good time.
Smiling, he hugged her back, and walked into the kitchen where he was greeted with another round of cheers. The table had been cleared, and in the center of the table stood a veritable mountain of presents. Harry was surprised at the sheer number of presents and fleetingly wished his cousin Dudley could have seen how many gifts there were for him. Smiling at that thought he sat down at the table and looked expectantly up at Mrs. Weasley.
"Before you open the presents, we'll have the cake first." She summoned the sixteen layer cake that threatened to topple over at any moment. Harry was convinced that it stayed together solely by the sheer will of Mrs. Weasley. As the cake landed with a soft thud in front of Harry, sixteen candles on each layer magically lit up, bathing the room in a soft glow that illuminated every corner of the room. Smiling, Harry sat bemusedly as the group entered into the most disparate versions of the birthday song he had ever heard, with every person singing it to a different tune. True to form the twins picked the slowest version, chanting in an obscure dialect of some language that Harry thought was distantly related to Gobbledegook. Laughing as they struggled to finish without taking another breath, the whole crowd burst into applause and cheered Harry on as he blew out all of the candles.
Mrs. Weasley pushed the cake aside to serve it and motioned to Harry to start opening the presents. Hagrid shoved his forward, and asked Harry to open his first. With trepidation Harry gingerly pulled at the wrapping paper, fully expecting it to be a dangerous books or otherwise unpredictable gift from his unusual friend. Instead, he was surprised to discover that it seemed entirely safe and almost normal. That is, for Hagrid.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Eh, yeh don' know what it is, do yeh?" Hagrid replied, smiling. "Easy Harry, it's a whistle that only dragons, griffins, chimeras, and phoenixes kin hear. If yeh blow on it, it's like a distress signal, and a friendly animal will come help yeh."
"Blimey," muttered Ron to Hermione. "Who ever heard of a friendly dragon or chimera? He's absolutely nutters at times." Ron gulped when Hermione pointedly stepped on his foot and kept any other thoughts to himself.
Harry started opening other presents, thanking those there for gifts they had given him. All in all he had quite an excellent pile of gifts. Some practical, like Hagrid's whistle, others strictly silly like Ron's Chudley Cannons poster and box of chocolate frogs. "I have to follow Sirius' will, you know," he had said when Harry opened it. Hermione had given him a book, Dueling Tactics of Famous Dark Wizards, that she said would be good to learn from as an insight into the mind of Deatheaters. Lupin gave him an amulet that he said would change Harry's voice if he wore it, and Moody suggested that would come in handy as an Auror, and Harry blushed at the intended compliment. Ginny had given him a small wooden box, decorated with various handpainted flowers. It was lovely, though a trifle feminine for Harry. Looking at her questioningly, he asked her what it was.
"Erm," she started, blushing furiously. "It's a Secret Box. Once you cast the charm inside only you will be able to open the box up. You can keep stuff in there that you don't want others to see. If you press on the sides it can expand inside, so you can even keep bigger things in there if you want."
Harry thanked her, blushing a bit at the catcalls from the twins when Mrs. Weasley interrupted them by pulling out the last present from her and Mr. Weasley. It was a tiny, thin package, smaller than the rest of the gifts he had already opened. When everyone in the room quickly silenced themselves, Harry looked up with wonderment. All the Weasley's were looking at him expectedly as he turned the package over in his hands. Shrugging, he tore open the package and it revealed a tiny wooden box. Opening the box he saw that it was a piece of well crafted, highly shined wood that bore his name and a small picture of his head on it. Looking up, he saw tears in Mrs. Weasley's eyes and he realized what it was.
"It's, erm, it's. . ." his eyes misted up and he found his throat going a bit dry. "It's for your clock. You've given me a hand for your clock."
He stood up, bewildered by this precious gift, and quietly walked over to Mrs. Weasley. For the first time Harry recalled he initiated the hug and hugged this wonderful woman with all his might. Her arms reached around him, pulling him close, and she planted a great big kiss on his head. Mr. Weasley was sniffling just a bit as he reached over and patted Harry on the shoulder. Suddenly all the Weasley boys, and Ginny, rushed up from their seats and grabbed Harry into a massive family hug.
Harry's head was spinning and his heart was overflowing with the love that he felt. Looking across the room, he smiled at the other guests and whispered "Happy Birthday to me."