Disclaimer: No creatures, magical or otherwise, were harmed during the writing of this chapter. Though the cats have been looking a bit emotionally scarred at times.
Birthdays and Nightmares
Harry had been out of the hospital wing at Hogwarts for five days now, the day before his sixteenth birthday. Physically, he was as completely healed as modern magical healing could get him, though he was still much too thin, especially in the eyes of two red-headed women. Between Molly and Ginevra Weasley, he was convinced they were going to try to pack enough weight onto his frame to rival his cousin Dudley. The physical signs of the abuse he'd endured were almost gone now, bones knitted, cuts and abrasions healed, and bruises faded to near invisibility.
His emotional health was another story, however. With the abuse his uncle Vernon had heaped on him after his return from school, both physical and mental, he hadn't had a chance to truly grieve the death of his godfather, Sirius Black. It seemed that, with every corner turned, there was another reminder. Whether it was a prank pulled by the Twins that Sirius would have loved, a chance to tease Ron about his obvious affection for Hermione, or the new closeness between Harry and Ginny, there was always something that made him think of his godfather.
At the moment, the raven-haired young wizard was deeply asleep, in the throes of a nightmare. For once, it wasn't anything inspired by Voldemort, but it was bad, nonetheless. In his dream, his uncle Vernon towered over him, fists swinging down, again and again, in an attempt to beat the 'abnormalities' out of him. Harry had ended up with a broken jaw that time, as well as at least three snapped ribs. They had taken the nine year old to an emergency room, telling the medical personnel that he had been hit by a runaway lorry. Upon being brought home, he had been thrown back into the cupboard under the stairs, to heal on his own.
The scene switched to a much different perspective, a much smaller Harry, a much larger Vernon. This was a scene he remembered all too well. It was shortly after his seventh birthday. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley had gone on an outing to a local driving range, as they were trying to get Dudley interested in golf, as it was supposed to be a sport for 'Gentlemen'. Harry swore he could almost hear the capital letters in the way Vernon said the word. They had been forced to bring 'the boy' along, as Mrs Figg, his usual babysitter, was away visiting a sister or some such. He had been relieved not to go to her house, as it always smelled of overcooked cabbage and her many cats. Watching his uncle drive a ball down-range, he had been struck by the stray thought of how funny it would be to see the ball curve back like a boomerang, and knock his obnoxious cousin in the head. As he was thinking this, it happened. The little white missile flew out past the two-hundred yard marker, then curved back on a paraboloic trajectory, finally coming back to hit his elaphantine cousin on the temple. With a strangled noise, his cousin went down as if poleaxed. Petunia went straight to her fallen son, who was already recovering what limitedwits he posessed, smothering him in kisses. Vernon, on the other hand, fell back to his usual response. His face going purple, he took a couple quick steps over to Harry and backhanded him hard, knocking him down. They had immediately bundled both boys back into the car, and sped back to Privet Drive. Once they had returned, the beating Harry had received had been unusually severe. The dark-haired boy had ended up with a broken leg, two black eyes, and more bruises than could be counted. He also had a cut across one shoulder that had been the result of being thrown back into his cupboard, hard. The cut later became infected, festering until Petunia had given him some old penicillin she had found in the back of the medicine cabinet. She didn't want to take the chance that she would have to take him to the emergency room, thus having to explain how his condition had come about. By the time it finally healed, there was a scar there that almost rivalled the one on his forehead. This scar was the reason he almost never took his shirt off around other people, if he could help it. He just didn't want to answer any questions this could bring.
The worst part about reliving these memories was that, off to the side, was the figure of his godfather. In Harry's nightmares, Sirius stood propped against the wall, cheering Vernon on. He offered suggestions on where to hit the youth, laughing maniacally like the wanted posters that had been Harry's first introduction to him.
As the dream started, Harry had been tossing and turning, but as it progressed, he curled into a ball on the bed, as if to protect himself. He didn't hear the footsteps of the members of the Weasley family, as they rushed to try to help him. Before long, Arthur and Molly were outside his door, along with Ron and Ginny. The three oldest there were at a loss as to how to soothe him.
The youngest, though, seemed to know just what to do. Before anyone could stop her, she shot inside the room and sat down next to him. She laid a hand gently on his forehead, while murmuring soothing words. "Shhh...you're safe now. You're away from those horrible people. They can't hurt you." She took him in her arms as he started to relax. She held him, rocking as he trembled. In a quietly clear, beautiful voice, she sang to him.
Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
If the mockingbird won't sing,
Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring .
If the diamond ring turns into brass,
Momma's gonna buy you a looking glass.
If the looking glass gets broke,
Momma's gonna buy you a billy goat.
If the billy goat runs away,
Momma's gonna buy you another today.
Gradually, as she sang to him, he finally relaxed. He slowlyunfolded, andhis arms went around her, as a small smile came up on his face. Ginny laid down next to her boyfriend, still mumuring soft words of encouragement. She looked back at her family with an expression of entreaty, and Molly understood. She nodded back at her daughter, and quietly ushered her husband and son back to their beds. There would be time enough to discuss this tomorrow.
Inside, Molly was enraged. If she ever got her hands on Vernon Dursley, well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. All she knew was what she had heard Harry yelling in his sleep. He had yelled out to his uncle to please stop, that he would be good, that he would try to be less of a freak. Molly seethed. Freak, indeed! As if anybody with any sense would consider that beautiful boy a freak. The more she learned about his 'family', the more she marvelled at how good he had turned out. How anyone could be as thoughtful, self-sacrificing, and noble as this emerald-eyed young man had, with the upbringing he'd had, was simply incredible. As she settled back under her covers, she reflected that she had finally found somebody she would be willing to turn her twin sons loose on. It could be very interesting indeed to see what they might come up with. With this happy thought, she drifted off to sleep, perchance to dream.
The next morning, Harry woke to see beautiful red hair surrounding an elfin face, with just a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Startled as he was to see her there beside him, he wasn't about to argue. He just lay there a few minutes, drinking in the sight of her. Slightly built she may have been, but to him, Ginny was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He was entranced by the sight of her, from her slightly round cheeks, to her pert nose, to her wonderfully muscled legs, and her round little bum. In short, he had it bad, and he knew it. His salvation lay in the fact that the object of his affections returned his feelings tenfold. He was amazed at that fact, that she would want him, Harry. He rather thought that she could have just about any boy in Hogwarts, but only wanted him. She'd confessed to him the day before that the fling she'd had with Michael Corner had just been something to pass the time until he, Harry, had woken up to what she offered him. As he contemplated this, feeling incredibly lucky, her eyelids fluttered open.
Her eyes opened slowly, drinking in the sight of him laying in front of her. She felt like she was still dreaming, as her chocolate brown eyes locked with his emerald ones. She lay there, taking in the love that was evident there, before it finally sank in where she was. Her eyes went round, and she rolled onto her back, slapping both hands over her face.
"Oh, Merlin! I'm in your room, your bed, and wearing nightclothes." A little moan escaped her throat.
"Rather a nice way to wake up, I think." Harry gave her a little smirk.
She smacked him on the arm. "You prat. Do you have any idea how much teasing we'll get, especially once the Twins hear about it?"
"Who's going to tell?"
"Ron. He may be okay with us dating, but sleeping together?" Head still in her hands, she moaned again. "Argh!"
Harry considered this a moment, then a mischievous smile came over his face. "Come to think of it, we don't have to worry about it."
She spread her fingers, looking at him incredulously. "How do you figure?"
"Hermione's coming today, right? For my party, yeah?"
"Uh-huh. So how is this..." Really waking up now, the wheels in her head started to turn. "A distraction." Looking back at her boyfriend, she smiled now.
"Exactly. I have a plan." As he explained it to the cute redhead, they both started laughing.
"You know, Mr Potter, you have a devious mind. Just one of the many things I love about you."
Lifting an eyebrow at her, he replied. "One of these days, I'll have to ask you to list all those things, so I know what I'm doing right, and can keep doing them."
Leaning in to give him a quick kiss, Ginny said, "Maybe some day. For now, I have to go change." She kissed him and got up to get ready for the day.
A little while later, Harry came down to sit at the table. Molly looked over when she heard him settle into the chair, obvious concern showing in her face.
"Good morning, Harry dear. How are you feeling this morning?"
"Not bad, actually. Erm, I hope I didn't keep everybody up with..." He trailed off after a moment.
"Not to worry, dear. It's not the first time this house has been woken in the middle of the night. Though usually, it's the Twins behind it." She shook her head, tutting a bit at the thought of all the pranks they had pulled.
"Oh, okay. I just, well, know that my nightmares have a tendency to be a bit loud. At school, I keep wanting to put a silencing charm around my bed, but Ron won't let me."
"Too bloody right I won't, mate." The rejoinder came from behind him, as Ron made his way to the table for breakfast. "I know what those nightmares do to you, when they go on too long."
The youngest Weasley came to the table then, taking a seat next to her boyfriend. Harry squeezed her hand under the table. Once he had her attention, he gave a subtle nod in Ron's direction. Her eyes flickered to her brother, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod as she squeezed his hand back, before releasing it. Ron, concentrating on the pile of blueberry pancakes in front of him, didn't notice the subtle byplay.
Molly, as the mother of seven very active children, missed very little. She saw the interaction between her daughter and the dark-haired boy she'd thought of as a son from the first time she'd met him. The only thing she could think was that this could prove to be an interesting day, indeed. Ron was definitely protective towards his sister, as all the brothers were, but he was at least as circumspect in what he saw as his duty to his best friend.
In addition to this apparent conflict, there was the fact that, having waited so long and patiently to get her man, there was no way Ginny was about to let her brothers, or anyone else for that matter, get between her and Harry.
After breakfast, the three of them headed outside for quidditch practice. It was decided to have Ron guard the makeshift hoop at the far end of the pitch, while Harry helped Ginny practice for the chaser position she was to try out for in the upcoming season. They passed the melon they were using as a quaffle back and forth at lightning speeds, while advancing on the hoop. Ron looked fairly confident when Harry was the one flying towards him, for, though his skills as seeker weren't in dispute, his aim with this method of scoring wasn't quite as accurate. On the other hand, the youngest Weasley male was quite glad he wouldn't have to face off against his sister at school. Her accuracy at getting around him and scoring was downright wicked. She managed to score just enough goals off of him to keep him on his guard, while not quite enough to make him doubt his own skills. After an hour or so of this, Harry called a halt to this, as he felt the need to practice himself. He made a quick trip to the orchard that stood to one side of the pond, and gathered a double handful of green apples. They weren't quite ripe enough for eating yet, but would serve admirably as substitute snitches.
He gave Ron and Ginny each a handful of them, saying, "Alright. I want you two to toss these, one at a time, as hard as you can. I'll try to catch them before they hit the ground." He looked around a moment, considering. "Each of you take an end of the pitch, and let me get a little height before you start."
The two youngest Weasleys nodded, and headed to opposite ends of the pitch, Ginny taking the end nearer the house, her brother at the far end. Once in position, they looked up, waiting for the signal from the raven-haired seeker. Up and up he spiraled, until he was a hundred feet or more in the air. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Oi! Ron! You start!"
Nodding, he drew his arm back and let loose. It was a good throw, and the apple soared a good seventy feet, before describing a downward arc to the grass. Just inches before it would have hit the ground, a dark blur sped by, before swooping back into the sky. Harry slowed a bit as ascended again, holding up the makeshift snitch. Dropping it, he flew back into the sky for the next round. This time, Ginny put a spin on it as she threw it. It tumbled as it fell, and Harry almost missed it as he dove. Somehow, he managed to snag it before it hit the ground, and sped off again. The three of the continued in this fashion until all the apples had been thrown. Afterwards, they stayed in the air, playing a game of tag on their brooms. Ginny was 'It' the longest, riding the oldest, and slowest, broom. When they heard Molly yelling for them to come in for lunch, they put their brooms away in the shed and headed towards the house.
Harry and Ginny walked, hand in hand, towards the house, aware of the looks they were getting from her brother. Harry broke the silence by asking, "So Ron, when are you going to tell Hermione how you feel about her?"
That stopped him in his tracks. The other two stopped as well, watching with amused expressions, as he sputtered. "Wha-huh?" His glance flicked back and forth between the two. Finally, he managed to ask, "What are you talking about?" He had his arms folded across his chest, and a defiant expression on his face, though something else managed to look through. It was a look that said, "Oh, bloody hell! How'd they guess it?"
Almost in unison, they rolled their eyes and said, "Oh, please."
He looked back at the pair and shuddered. "Alright then. That was scary. Almost like the Twins."
Harry looked at his best friend and said, "No changing the subject. It's bloody obvious that you're head over heels for her, mate. There's no way you two would fight the way you do, otherwise."
"Don't be ridiculous. Me? Like Hermione? That way? No. I don't. I can't..." He sat down abruptly, his head in his hands. "Even if I did, she could never like me back. Everything I do or say manages to upset her. You've seen the rows we get into. Besides, she's got Vicky." The name was said almost venomously.
Ginny responded to this. "Ron, now you're being the ridiculous one. I know for a fact that Viktor is engaged now, and hasn't written to Mione since just after the Easter holidays. She hasn't 'got' him. Some girl he met at a quidditch match has him now. Hermione was never interested in him that way, anyway. If you must know, she only went to the Yule Ball with him because she was upset that a certain red-haired, thick headed, totally oblivious, git didn't ask her, first!" She advanced on him now, jabbing him in the chest with her finger. "If you don't get your act together but soon, you run the real risk of losing her." Her expression softened, now. "Personally, I think she's the best thing to ever happen to you. Just make sure you figure it out soon." She gave him a hand up, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I want to see you happy."
Ron had a sort of stunned bunny look on his face, as he contemplated what his sister had just said. A thought struck him, and he turned to Harry. "So mate, what do you think of all of this? You don't mind if 'Mione and I get together?"
"All I ask, Ron, is that you do your best to make her happy. Just as the Burrow is the only place I've ever felt like a part of a real family, Hermione is like the sister I never had. Just know one thing. I know that, if I ever hurt Ginny, you and the rest of the brothers would be after me. Same thing goes for me. You ever hurt my sister, I'll hurt you back, ten times worse. Deal?"
Ron put his hand out with a smile. "Deal." As they shook on it, he replied, "Just remember that. If you hurt Ginny, and she leaves anything of you, we'll finish the job." A little more quietly, he jabbed a thumb in Ginny's direction and said, "Just be careful with this one. She's as smart as Hermione, and trained up by the Twins. Not a good one to cross."
"I sort of had that feeling already." He put his arm around the pretty young witch in question and said, "Why don't we head in, before your mum goes balistic."
As they were sitting down to lunch, they heard a car pull up outside. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. When Molly answered the door, the teens heard her say, "Well, hello dear, We wondered when you were going to get here." As she released the visitor from one of her trademark huge hugs, they saw who it was. Ginny was immediately on her feet to greet the visitor.
"Hermione!" The bushy-haired witch was caught up in a hug that almost rivaled Molly's, and she gave back as good as she got.
Once she was released from the embrace, she went straight to Harry, catching him up in a hug that threatened to rebreak his ribs. "How are you, Harry? Were they horrible to you? How long have you been here? Have you gotten your O.W.L.s yet? Have you heard about the ban being lifted, yet?" All of these questions were delivered without a pause.
The emerald-eyed young wizard regarded his friend with an amused expression as he replied. "You know, you might want to take the occasional breath, Mione, or you'll do yourself some damage. To answer your questions, fine, yes they were but I'll never have to go back there, five days, no, and yes, it's being lifted. In fact, we were outside practicing earlier." He saw the look that started to cross her face as she processed the answers, and knew what she was about to say. "Before you say anything, I really am doing well now. Not great, but I'm getting there." He put his arm around Ginny's waist, pulling her close, and finished. "If you don't believe me, ask Ginny."
Hermione's brown eyes went wide as she realized the implications of what she was hearing and seeing. "Does this mean you two are together?" As they confirmed it, she pulled them both into another hug. "It's about time. I'm so happy for you both." Suddenly, she realized there was somebody she hadn't said hello to, yet. She saw Ron standing off to one side, and threw her arms around him. Awkwardly, he returned the embrace, obviously not knowing where to put his hands. He settled for patting her back, as she moved away.
Molly chose that moment to call for the two boys. "Harry and Ron! Come bring Hermione's things inside and take them to Ginny's room, please."
The two of them made their way to the the car outside. They were taking the trunk out of the boot when they were approached by the parents of their other best friend. Mrs Granger spoke up first. Once introductions had been made, she said, "It's so nice to finally meet you two. Hermione has told us so much about you both, we feel like we already know you two. So, tomorrow is your birthday, Harry?" At his nod, she continued. "Well, happy birthday. We wish we could stay for the party tomorrow, but we have to catch the train tonight for a dental convention." She seemed to hesitate a bit, then said, "We'd just like to thank you two for watching out for her. We know she doesn't tell us everything, as she doesn't want us to worry. We're pretty good at reading between the lines, though. As much as we'd like to protect our little girl from all the awful things that happen in your world, we know that you're already taking care of that for us. Thank you so much."
Harry and Ron shared a look as she was saying this, and the redhead gave his friend a nod, as if yielding the floor. Harry considered his words for a moment, then spoke.
"Mr and Mrs Granger, to tell the truth, your daughter hasn't needed protecting for quite some time now. In case nobody has told you this, Hermione is quite possibly the smartest, most brilliant witch to come out of Hogwarts in a very long time. She's certainly the smartest currently attending. She's the best, most loyal friend either Ron or I has ever had. Aside from being incredibly brave on her own, standing up to a lot of rubbish from people who have tried to push her around for not having a magical family, she's pulled the fat out of the fire for both of us, more times than I like to count. She's probably the only reason the two of us have passed any of our tests the past couple years, she figured out which potion I had to take to get to the Philosopher's Stone our first year, as well as providing the vital clue as to what was living in the Chamber of Secrets our second year, which allowed me to be able to save the life of the girl I'm now in love with. Our third year, she kept me from killing my own godfather, and fourth year, she helped me work my way through the spells I needed for the maze in the final challenge in the Tri-Wizard Tournament." A look of anguish crossed his face as he thought about what he would say next. He closed his eyes as he finished. "Last year, if I'd only listened to her, my godfather might still be alive." This last was said in a much quieter voice. After a moment, he said, "If anybody deserves thanks, it's her. She's been there for me, for both of us really, through everything." His expression was wry as he said, "Even when Ron and I were complete prats, and probably didn't deserve it." The bushy-haired young witch had come out during this speech, and was amazed at what she was hearing. Harry looked steadily at her and said, "I don't think I've ever told you this before, 'Mione, but I consider you the sister I never had. Thank you."
The Grangers stared at Harry in complete shock, including Hermione. The dark haired young wizard turned to go back into the house, but didn't make it more than a couple of steps, before being tackled from behind. For the third time in less than an hour, his best female friend was squeezing all the air from his lungs. All the while, she was saying things he couldn't quite make out, as she was talking straight into his chest. After a couple of minutes of this, Ron came up to her, saying, "Um, 'Mione, I'm pretty sure Harry would like to actually hear what you're saying, not to mention the whole breathing thing. He can't, you know, when you're squeezing him like that."
Flushing, she finally let Harry go, allowing him to reclaim a bit of oxygen into his lungs. As he gingerly drew breath once more, she shyly looked at him. "Do you really consider me a sister?"
He gave a small smirk as he replied. "Of course I do. Why else would I let you get away with being so bossy to me, any time I want to have a little fun, instead of writing out some dreadful History of Magic essay?"
She smacked him lightly on the arm, murmuring, "Prat." Her smile turned wistful. "I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother." Now it was her turn to smirk. "Just don't let me catch you being as over-protective as him." She jerked her thumb over at Ron. "I'd have to learn that Bat-Bogey Hex from Ginny."
Over her shoulder, Harry could see her dad glancing at his watch. It was a perfect time to change the subject. "I think your parents want to say goodbye, so they can get going."
Hermione's eyes shot open, as she realized she'd forgotten they were standing behind her. She turned to say her goodbyes to them, as the two boys brought her trunk into the house and up the stairs to Ginny's room.
A while later, all four teens were sprawled around the sitting room. Harry was laying on the sofa, his head in Ginny's lap, her fingers working their way through his hair. Hermione was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, giving the appearance of reading the latest issue of Witch Weekly. Ron was sitting on an armchair next to the couch, leafing idly through last month's Which Broom. Both Harry and Ginny caught the furtive glances the other two continuously shot at the other. It was getting quite maddening, really. Hermione hadn't turned more than a couple of pages in the past half hour, while in the same time, Ron had flipped through the same magazine at least a dozen times Harry had seen. Finally, he covered his face with his hands, groaning. That got both of their attention.
Hermione looked up sharply, a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright Harry? Is it your scar?"
Just as quickly, Ron asked, "Something wrong, mate?"
Harry looked up at Ginny. Having watched the same thing her boyfriend had, when she wasn't looking at him, she rolled her eyes. Thinking quickly, he said, "I just realized I have to finish my Transfiguration essay. I promised I'd have it done before the weekend."
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Would you like a hand with it? Mine's been done for ages, now."
"Erm, well, sure. I wasn't going to ask you, though. I know how you usually feel about that kind of stuff."
"Well, I probably shouldn't, but how could I let my brother get behind in his homework? Is everything in your room?"
He nodded at her, and she headed upstairs to get the books and everything he would need for his essay. Once she was out of the room, Ron spoke up. "Whaddya want to bet she doesn't act that way if I ask her for help? Hmph!" He went back to his magazine, looking a bit miffed.
Ginny bent down to whisper in Harry's ear. "That's it. Tonight, they get locked in the broom shed out by the paddock."
Hermione came back down before Harry could reply, and hauled him up off the sofa. "Come on, you. It looks like you have it mostly done, so it shouldn't take long to finish up." He got a quick kiss from Ginny before being pulled out to the kitchen table.
A while later, she was looking something up in the textbook for him, while he finished writing the sentence he was currently on. Looking to make sure that Ron was still out in the sitting room, Harry turned back to the girl he considered a sister. He sat back, folding his arms, just watching her. Finally, he couldn't resist any longer. He quietly said, "Mione, I've been wanting to ask you something. How do you really feel about Ron?"
A blush worthy of a Weasley came up on her cheeks. She wouldn't look at him as she said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Apart from being a bit of a prat at times, he's a good friend."
Harry wasn't to be deflected this easily, though. "Hermione, look at me, please." When she did, a moment later, he asked, "Can you honestly tell me that you feel nothing but friendship for Ron?"
The bushy-haired young witch did her best to try to deny the feelings she had, but couldn't manage to say anything. Every time she opened her mouth to say something, her voice just seemed to leave her. This gave her the appearance of a guppy after a few minutes, and she finally sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. After engaging in a staring contest with him for a bit, she asked, a bit grumpily, "When did you get to be the expert on feelings, anyway?"
After thinking a bit, he replied. "I've spent the past weeks since end of term thinking of nothing but feelings. I thought about the dead-end thing with Cho, my feelings about Sirius and what happened to him, how much of a prat I was with everybody around me, and last but not least, Ginny. It took me a long time to finally figure out what I feel for her, but now that I know, I'm not letting her get away from me. Ever."
At this point, Hermione's jaw was hanging open. She'd had no idea what deep currents ran through her emerald-eyed best friend. He had never opened up to her this way before, and she wasn't going to take the chance that he'd stop now. When she didn't say anything Harry continued.
"Knowing what I know now, it's kind of hard to miss what's going on between you and Ron. There's a kind of electricity between you two. It's almost like you fight because you can't find any other way to deal with the attraction between you." He got a bit of a twinkle in his eyes then, almost reminiscent of professor Dumbledore. "Watch Ron's face, the next time you two row. I've noticed that he gets kind of a grin, like he's enjoying it. It's not really that obvious, unless you're watching for it. Come to that, I've seen the same thing on your face as well." There was a mischievous smile on his face now. "Just a warning, sister of mine. If you two don't do something about it soon, you may find yourselves locked in a broom cupboard somewhere." Now the look was an all-out grin. "A nice spacious one, with soft surfaces and lots of pillows."
Her face was now turning a red to beat any two Weasley's combined. "Harry James Potter!" she hissed. "If you think that..." She was silenced by a kiss on the cheek from the one she considered a brother, as he got up.
"Hermione, I just want to see you two happy. You've been there for me through everything, and I happen to think that you two belong together. Think on it. I'm a bit tired at the moment, and I think I'll go upstairs for a bit." Gathering everything up neatly, he went out to the sitting room to get a kiss from Ginny before heading upstairs.
The bushy-haired witch looked a bit shell-shocked as she sat down on the sofa next to Ginny. This much talk about feelings from Harry was unprecedented. Ginny saw the look on her face, and wondered what could have happened to produce this kind of reaction, but she had a bit of an idea. Harry had been surprising her in various ways for the past four years now. The past couple of weeks had just been the topping on the cake, so to speak. She also saw the speculative way her friend was looking at Ron. This, to her mind, only confirmed her suspicions. She grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her up.
"Come on. Let's go down by the pond. We haven't had a chance to really catch up yet."
As they headed outside, Ron's eyes followed them. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to know what they were discussing at this point. It was hard to tell with those two, but he knew he was right when the sound of giggles and the occasional squeal came drifting back through the open window. For some reason, any time he heard sounds like that, he got a bit nervous. The looks he got from both girls when they came back inside later didn't help, either.
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The next morning dawned entirely too early. Harry was the first one up, though not because of nightmares, for once. He realized that this was the first morning in a while where that was the case. He lay there for a bit, trying to figure out what had woken him. He had a feeling of anticipation, though for what, he wasn't sure. He knew it was a while before their return to school, and he couldn't think of anything else that he would be dreading. He realized that it was more like the feeling he'd had in the days before Christmas since starting at Hogwarts. It was a feeling of looking forward to something, rather than dreading it. After a few minutes, it hit him. Today was his birthday. It was the first one he'd ever looked forward to, the first time it would ever really be celebrated, rather than glossed over as just another day.
With this happy thought in mind, he clambered out of bed, grabbed a pair of sweatpants and his trainers, and got dressed. He headed outside for his morning run around the paddock. Once he was outside, he did a few stretches, and started jogging. This was something that Madame Pomfrey had reccomended to help speed his recovery, as he'd lost quite a bit of weight during his weeks with the Dursleys, as well as a lot of conditioning. She'd set him a program of light physical training, to help him get back in shape. Every morning since being at the Burrow, he'd gotten up early to exercise. The first day, he'd barely made two laps around the paddock before collapsing. Now though, he was able to make a steady ten laps, before doing the rest of his exercises. After he was done running, he stretched out, then proceeded to the other exercises, push-ups for upper body strength, sit-ups for abdominal strength, pull-ups for his arms, and jumping-jacks for endurance. When all of that was done, he went back inside to shower and get dressed. So far, he didn't think anyone in the house knew how he was pushing himself every morning to get back in shape.
Any time he started to wonder why he was doing all of this, he remembered the running duel at the Department of Mysteries, and swore that there was no way he would allow anyone to get hurt because of him again. In that same vein, he made a mental note to himself to speak with the headmaster about continuing his lessons in Occlumency, to prevent the Wanker from getting inside his head again. While he had finally come to accept that Sirius' death wasn't entirely his fault, he knew that he carried more than a bit of the blame for it, and didn't want any more deaths on his conscience, that he could prevent. The only condition he would set, if possible, would be that he would not be taking lessons from professor Snape. He didn't want to have to deal with the obvious enmity the potions master had for his father, and by extension, Harry. He knew that it just wouldn't work. There had to be someone else who could teach him. He'd also ask about continuing with the DA. It had been fairly obvious that the people who'd been part of that organization had seemed to be much more confident when taking the DADA OWL. It couldn't hurt to reinforce that, and who knew what would be taught in DADA this year. Come to that, he wondered who would be the professor for that class this year.
Stepping out of the shower, he looked in the mirror and looked himself over critically. To his own eye, he could see the difference in himself from the way he'd looked just a scant couple of weeks ago. Between the morning workout and Molly's excellent, and abundant, cooking, he was in much better shape than he had been. The scars decorating his body, with the exception of the infamous curse-scar, were actually starting to fade. That was the reason he never wore a shirt when he did his morning routine. He knew that the tan he was starting to finally get was helping to dull most of the scars. The one on his forehead was bad enough, and he didn't need to hear people gasp every time he took his shirt off, due to all the marks his uncle had given him, along with the ones he'd picked up in all of the encounters with Voldemort and his minions. Combing his hair back, he noticed that it was actually behaving somewhat decently, for a wonder. Looking at it, he realized that it was longer than it had ever been, just past his shoulders. Looking through drawers, he found a black hair tie with a silver celtic trinity symbol affixed to it. Pulling his hair into a pony-tail, he tied it back. He decided that, no matter how exposed it left his scar, he liked the look of it, and left it.
Back in his room a moment later, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He noticed that it was a bit too tight, and made a note to ask about seeing what could be done about the state of his wardrobe. Everything he had was either three sizes too big, or much too small. There was no happy medium in his choice of clothes.
Heading down to the kitchen, he realized that nobody else was out of bed yet. Feeling a bit peckish, he decided to start making breakfast himself. It was something he knew he could do well, and it would be a nice idea to give Molly a break from at least one of the many chores she took on for her family. Twenty minutes later, as everybody else started to drift downstairs, he had a tableful of food already plated up. There were chocolate-chip pancakes, rashers of bacon, bangers, kippers, scrambled eggs with peppers, fried potatoes, and toast ready for everybody. Molly was in shock, as she surveyed the spread he had laid out.
"Harry, did you cook all of this?"
He nodded. "Sure did, Molly-Mum."
"You know, you shouldn't have to do all of this. It is your birthday, after all. You should have let me do it."
He waved off the objection. "You have enough to do. Besides, at least I picked up one useful skill, living with the Dursleys. Even they don't complain about my cooking, so I must've got it right." He saw the stormclouds gathering on her face at the mention of his blood family, and wanted to head anything off. He headed over to Molly and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He said, "Don't worry about it, Mum. It's something I actually enjoy doing once in a while, especially when it's for people I love. Alright?"
Her eyes moistened at this. "Alright then, Harry dear. As long as it's something you enjoy doing. Just remember, you won't be doing this all the time. It is still my job."
Harry laughed. "Of course. Far be it from me to take your job from you. Not to mention the fact that you're the best cook on the planet."
She swatted him and shooed him towards the table. "Alright, you. Now sit down and get yourself some breakfast, before this lot devours it all on you." As he sat down next to Ginny, she continued. "Now then. As Harry did the cooking this morning, that means that Ron and Hermione will do the clean-up." The two in question agreed, reluctantly in one case, and eagerly in the other.
Fred spoke up now. "Never knew you were such a good cook, Harrykins."
George was next. "No kidding, mate. You'll make somebody a good wife someday."
Both of them shot a significant glance at Ginny.
"Not like that one knows anything about cooking."
"That's the truth. Mum's the only one in this house that can cook."
"How'd you know what her favorite food is?"
Harry asked, "The pancakes?"
"Yep. Why do you think they've disappeared so quick?"
"It's not all down to Ronniekins. Though he did make a bit of a dent in them."
Ginny sat with her arms crossed, glaring at the Twins. "That's enough, you two. Or did you forget the letter we got when we brought Harry home, about being able to use magic at home this summer."
Harry said, "Yeah. I know you two have been on the receiving end of her Bat-Bogey a fair few times, and don't fancy a repeat, right?"
Fred looked at George. "You know, I'm not sure how much I like these two working together so well."
"Right. It could get a bit scary."
Harry leaned over to Ginny, put an arm around her, and gave her a kiss. Turning back to Gred and Forge, he fixed them both with a look of determination. "You lot had better just get used to it. Now that I've found who I want, I'm not letting go of her." He recognized the look the two traded, and continued. "And if you two have any idea of pranking me, just give a bit of thought to the fact that, in front of you, sits the only remaining heir to the Marauders."
The jaws of two ginger-haired twins dropped now. In chorus, they asked, "What? The Marauders? What are you on about?"
Harry grinned a slightly evil grin now, his eyes showing the same twinkle Hermione had seen the day before. "You know. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs?"
"What about Wormtail?"
Emerald eyes darkened now, to a deep jade, almost flinty. His voice went hard. "We don't mention that name. That is the name of the traitor." He brought one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose under his glasses. He felt Ginny's hand lightly squeeze his leg under the table, reaffirming her support. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks.
Looking around, he continued. "I see that a little history lesson is in order. I'll say this once, and we won't mention his name again."
Gathering himself, he started. "The Marauders, Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail, were, as you probably know, the most prolific pranksters to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. They were best friends, for a long time. Moony and Padfoot you already know. Si-Siruis was Padfoot, Moony was Remus Lupin, Prongs was my dad, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew was Wormtail. Peter, Dad and Sirius were all unregistered Animagi. Dad was a stag, Siruis was a grimm, and Peter was a rat. Sometimes, I wonder if that shouldn't have told them something." He went quiet for a moment as he contemplated this. Feeling the support from Ginny on one side, and now a hand on his shoulder from Hermione, he was able to continue.
"All through school, they were inseparable. They pranked everything and everyone, in ways even you two never thought of. To put it in a bit of perspective, they apparently created the map you two gave me in their second year. They were that smart and that good. They became Animagi to keep Remus company, on the full moon. They were self-taught, and very few people knew about it.
"During the first war with Voldemort (oh, stop flinching, Ron), there was a prophecy made, one of many, actually. This one was a bit more significant than most, though. I'll come to that in a bit. Believe me, it's relevant. As a result of this prophecy, my parents went into hiding. As part of this, they went under the Fidelius charm. It seemed obvious to most that the natural secret-keeper for them would have been Sirius, as he had been Dad's best friend forever. Sirius had another idea, however. He thought that it would seem less obvious to use Peter. Nobody would ever think of that, and they would focus all of their attention on Sirius, leaving Peter free to go into hiding on his own." He was lost in thought for a few moments. "Come to that, it was actually a brilliant idea. It was the last thing anybody would suspect. What they didn't know, though, was the fact that Peter had already been compromised by Voldemort. Nobody but the two of them knows how, to this day.
"As seemingly everybody in the wizarding world knows, my parents were attacked and killed by the Wanker on Halloween 1981. Peter betrayed them, leading them to their deaths, leaving me an orphan and in the oh so loving care of the Dursleys." He tried to keep the bitterness from his voice, but wasn't entirely successful. He forced the impending tears back, taking a moment to compose himself. "That's why we don't speak that name. As far as Remus and I are concerned, Peter is no longer worthy to be called a Marauder."
Ginny quietly asked, "Harry, was that prophecy the one the fight at the Ministry was over?"
He nodded. "Mum, could you put up a silencing charm?"
After that was done, he said, "Professor Dumbledore told me that he was the one who heard the prophecy, originally. He showed me, in his pensieve, what it was."
Once he told them what it said, the Twins were dumbstruck, as was Molly. The only surprises were Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Harry looked at the three of them and said, "You three don't seem to be surprised at all. Why not?"
Ron spoke up now. "Well, it's obvious, isn't it? We always knew there had to be a reason why he was after you. I mean really, why else would a dark lord target an infant? Especially when you figure that, number one, you've had a confrontation with him almost every year since school started, and number two, you've come out on top in every encounter you've had? It only makes sense."
Put that way, it was hard to argue with. Harry took a deep breath before he made the next statement. Looking around the room, he said, "I'd understand if you guys wanted to distance yourselves from me, now. I just thought, that with everything that went on at the end of last term, you deserved to know the truth."
He got a response he hadn't quite expected. Each of the two girls slugged him on a shoulder and Ron fixed him with a steely glare. "Don't make me come over this table, Potter. Do you honestly think that we'd let you go it alone?"
Fred said, "Too right, mate. Weasleys don't back down."
George added, "Especially from some snake-faced dark wanker."
Molly came around the table. "Harry, if you hadn't noticed it by now, our family is already in danger from our support of Albus Dumbledore. We would never do anything that would lend support and aid to He-Who...Voldemort." She fairly spat the name. "I can't think of anything that would support him more than to not support you. As much as I hate the thought of my family in mortal peril, I hate even worse the thought that he would possibly win. All of us will support you, and I know that I speak for Arthur, Bill and Charlie, as well."
Hermione added, "That goes for me, too. I'd be in danger any way you look at it, being muggle-born. I'll stand with you, any time, any place." She hung her head as she said, "I also want to apologize for the comment I made before we went. The one about you having a hero-complex. I was wrong. Forgive me?"
Harry nodded, and moved to give her a hug. "Of course, 'Mione. Already forgotten, alright?" At her nod, he released her. He was about to say something, but was interrupted by Ginny.
"Face it, Harry. You're stuck with us, the lot of us."
He saw nods all around the table, as all there agreed.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you. So this is what it feels like to have a family."
Molly replied, "You've had one since your first year, I guess we just never said it before." She stood back up now, looking like she meant business. "Now, if everybody's done eating this wonderful breakfast, it's time for clean-up. Ron, Hermione, if you would get started on the dishes, I'll get everything put away. Harry, why don't you go outside for a while and relax."
Once he was outside, work in the kitchen started in earnest. While this was going on, Fred and George approached Molly to ask, "Mum, is it true he doesn't have to go back to them?"
"Yes. He will never go back there, and I have Albus' word on that. This is his home now, for as long as he wants."
The Twins had slightly shifty looks on their faces as they continued. "So...does this mean that there wouldn't be much in the way , should we decide to try some..."
"Product testing?"
As much as she hated to admit it, the idea did have some merit.
"All I'll say about that subject is that I don't want to know about it...until well afterward." As she turned away, she stopped, looking back over her shoulder. "Just make sure the pictures are good and clear." She winked and headed into the kitchen. The Twins traded a look and headed upstairs, already rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Ginny had followed Harry outside, and was now sitting next to him, stroking his back. She knew that talking about everything had been very hard on him. She wanted to make sure he knew the support she, and the rest were there to give him.
After a bit, he laid down, head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, just enjoying the time they spent together. Running her fingertips over the hair-keeper, she asked, "Where did you get this, Harry?"
"It was in one of the drawer upstairs. I hope it's ok that I'm using it."
"It's alright, love. I haven't used it since we got back from school. Just so you know, it was a gift from Michael. It looks better on you, anyway." She gave him an impish grin.
He got a smile on his face as he contemplated this. "Should be interesting, to see his reaction, when he notices me using it."
"Oh Merlin! I never thought of that aspect of it." Now she was laughing hard. "Talk about confused. He won't know what end is up."
The two of them stayed like this by the edge of the pond for the rest of the morning, until they were called in for lunch.
Hand in hand, they walked up to the house. They were so absorbed in each other that they didn't notice the flury of activity near the door. Harry opened the door, and was shocked by the loud cry, from many voices, of "Surprise!"
If it hadn't been for the fact that his girlfriend had hold of both of his hands, he would've drawn his wand at the loud noise. As it was, it took him a moment to see the flashing banner that hung from the ceiling in Gryffindor red and gold, reading "Happy Birthday Harry". Looking down from this, he saw a huge crowd of people. All of the Weasleys, save Percy, were right up front, along with Hermione, Luna, and Neville. Shifting his stunned gaze from them, he looked around. He now saw Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Remus, professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, and most of the members of DA from the previous term. Harry had the look of a deer caught in the headlights, as Ginny lead him over. He was in shock.
Hermione was right there. "Harry? Alright, there?"
He shook his head in wonder. "Yeah." he replied. "It's just, when you guys said a party, I never imagined..."
"Well, you've had birthday parties before, haven't you?"
Blushing a bit, the guest of honor shook his head. "No. I mean, Dudley had them, but..."
She threw her arms around him. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I never knew."
Ron was there in an instant. "Mione, let go of him. He might want to breathe sometime this afternoon."
Chargrined, she let go in a hurry. Harry sent her a grin, letting her know not to worry. "It's ok Hermione. You can't miss what you've never had, right?" He saw that Ron had his arm around the bushy-haired witch's waist, supporting her. Supressing an even larger grin, he traded a look with Ginny.
She bent in close and said, "Guess we won't need the broom cupboard after all, eh?"
"Pity."
Laughing, they went around the room, greeting everybody. Mostly unseen by the happy couple, many looks were exchanged around the room at the sight of them walking blissfully hand in hand. It was obvious to all who saw them, how happy the two of them were, together. Quite a few jealous looks were shot at one or the other, but it was even more obvious that the two shared a bond that they wouldn't allow anyone to interfere with. Nothing was said, as it wasn't neccessary.
When the two of them saw Remus, he beamed at them. "Well, Harry, you look much better than when I saw you last time." He mused, "What is it about Potters and gorgeous redheads?"
Harry laughed and wrapped his arm around Ginny. "I don't know. Maybe they're the only ones who can keep us in line."
As they laughed at this, the redheaded girl in question looked at her boyfriend. "Don't you forget it either, Mr Potter."
Remus chuckled. "You've got your hands full with this one."
"She says I'm stuck with her, but I rather think it's the other way round. I'm the one who got the good end of the deal." With that, he planted a kiss on her lips.
A voice came from the other end of the room. "Oi! Potter! People are going to want to eat here, soon. You wanna quit molesting my sister?"
Ginny got an evil glint in her eyes at this, and grabbed Harry, pulling him into a kiss that stopped all speech in the room. Some time later, they came up for air, to catcalls from all around. She glared around at her brothers and asked, "Now. Who's molesting whom?" No more comments like that were directed at Harry for the rest of the day. Apparently, all in attendance were amazed at her breath control, as well as Harry's. It had been an impressive display.
They spotted Neville sitting on one of the armchairs, Luna in his lap. This was a new development. They made their way over to the other couple.
"So Neville. Got something to tell us, mate?"
"You could say that. Of course, I could ask you the same. You finally managed to snag him, eh Ginny?"
Luna joined in now. "That was quite impressive before. Are you sure the two of you aren't partly mer-people? They're able to hold their breath for hours at a time. They store oxygen in their bodies. Extra set of lungs, you know."
Neither was quite sure whether she was joking or not. The bug-eyed girl was wont to make pronouncements that sounded quite ridiculous on the face of it, but were quite serious to her. When it came to Luna, Harry was always reminded of a quote from an author, he wasn't quite sure who. The quote was about him believing five impossible things before breakfast. Whoever it was, he would've gotten along just fine with Luna Lovegood. The only difference was that she didn't see them as impossible.
After lunch, a quick game of quidditch was put together. On one team were Remus as the keeper and captain, Ginny, Angelina and Katie as chasers, Harry as seeker (naturally), and Seamus and Dean as Beaters. The other team was Ron as keeper, Charlie as seeker, the Twins as the beaters, and Bill, Fleur (his new fiance) and Alicia as chasers. Charlie had heard a lot about Harry's ability as seeker, and wanted to test himself against the newest Hogwarts legend.
As they were scavenging things to use as the various balls for the game, George yelled out, "Harry! Go get the present from Fred and me from the table! That'll save us some time out here."
He wasn't quite sure what they could be referring to, but went to get it anyway. It was easily the largest box in the stack. Lifting it, he brought it back to the paddock. The young wizard had his suspicions about what was in there, but wasn't going to make any assumptions, especially when it came to those two.
Depositing the heavy box on the ground, he shouted to the Twins, "Any pranks on the wrapping or the box?"
They tried to look innocent, an attempt in which they failed quite miserably. Seeing this, Harry took out his wand, and murmured a quick finite incantatem. A faint purple spark fizzled over the box. Harry shot Fred and George a glare, and pulled the wrapping off. As he opened it, he saw that the box was a complete set of quidditch balls. The glare quickly turned to a look of awe, as he realized how expensive a gift like this would have been. He was speechless, as he looked it all over.
After a moment, he got his voice back. "Alright, you gits. You're forgiven for trying to prank me." As he saw the looks of relief on their faces, he smirked. "Of course, my lovely girlfriend might not be as forgiving." The expressions on their faces were priceless, as they went paler than he had ever seen them. The problem, of course, was the fact that they had been the ones to teach her about pranking. Ginny tended to have a vindictive streak to her, especially when it came to anything done against Harry. Now that they were officially a couple, who knew what she might do?
Professor McGonagall volunteered to referee, and the game was on. Harry quickly took to the sky, assuming his station, searching for the elusive snitch. From this position, he had a very good view of Ginny and the other chasers passing the quaffle back and forth, making their way up to the hoops. Ginny had it back by the time they got there, and shot straight past Ron for the first score of the game. Scanning the area for the snitch, Harry almost missed seeing a bludger coming his way, but quickly went into a sloth-roll grip, barrel-rolling to avoid the heavy ball.
He thought Charlie looked just a bit too confident in his abilities, and decided to take him down a peg or two. Faking having seen the snitch, he took off in a high-speed dive, almost straight towards the ground. Sure enough, Charlie was right there with him, diving for the ground. Harry pulled out of the dive at the last moment, and Charlie almost didn't pull out in time. When he did manage to pull out, he overcorrected, and shot back into the air like a cork in a tub. Harry slowly made his way back up, circling the pitch. The other seeker came in close, matching his speed.
"Nice feint, Harry. You won't get me like that again, though."
Harry shot him back a grin that seemed to say, "Won't I?" and the chase was on again.
By the time he spotted the snitch for real, the score was seventy to forty, in favor of Harry's team. He took off at top speed after the elusive little winged ball, with Charlie almost on top of him. They caught up to it at the base of the middle goalpost, and pursued it all the way to the other end of the pitch. Harry laid himself flat along his broom, reaching for the snitch, Charlie doing the same alongside him. Harry beat him to it by just a fingerlength, winning the game. He flew back into the air, holding it out in his hand, hearing the cheers of his team. Slowly, he spiraled down to the ground, before he relinquished his hold of the small sphere. After putting it back in the box, he turned to Charlie, offering his hand.
"Nicely played. I can see why they always compare me to you."
Taking the proferred hand, the second oldest son shook his head, replying, "Now I know what all the fuss is about. That Wronski Feint ought to be changed to Potter Feint."
In high spirits, the whole group headed back to the house. It had been a good game for all, but now everybody just wanted to sit and relax for a while. As they neared the door, Molly came outside with a pitcher of lemonade and a tray of glasses following her. As she set the tray down, she adressed the group.
"Once all of you manage to get some breath back in your bodies, I think it's time that Harry opens his gifts." As she made her way back inside, the birthday boy could have sworn he heard her muttering something about the presents opening themselves, but couldn't be sure.
Once everybody felt like moving again, they made their way inside. Harry was steered towards the sofa, and Ginny and Hermione sat on either side of him, with Ron on the floor in front of the bushy-haired witch. Once this particular seating arrangement was worked out, everyone else found seats, or stood around the outside of the room. It took a few minutes (as well as a subtly cast expansion charm from a certain twinkle-eyed headmaster), but everybody eventually found a place. Molly took a fairly large box, very carefully, from in front of the table, and gingerly handed it to Harry.
"If you don't open this one soon, I believe it may well open itself." she said with a barely supressed smile.
He was a bit nervous, as the box seemed to move on it's own as he took it. The Twins looked as curious as everybody else, so he was fairly sure it wasn't something from them, that might explode. He plucked the card from the top, surprised to see that it was from Hermione. He looked over at her, and she was fairly bouncing on the sofa. Grinning at the sight of one of his two best friends acting like a small child at Christmas (and not the one you'd expect, either), he turned back to the box. Lifting the top off, he looked inside. Curled up next to each other in the box were two feline forms. One was jet black, with dark green eyes, a white blaze on his chest, and ears and tail tipped in gold. The other was ginger colored, with white splotches all over, eyes the color of chocolate, and silver on the tips of the ears and tail. The ears on both were a bit larger than you'd normally expect, and the tails looked remarkably like that of a lion. They also seemed to have vestigial wings sprouting from behind their shoulder blades. Both woke at the same time, and yawned, almost in unison, mouths wide and little pink tongues curling out. The ginger colored one looked up at Harry and meowed, standing for a moment on her hind legs, as if reaching for him. He couldn't resist then, and pulled her from the box. The darker one, meanwhile, saw Ginny's face peeking over the edge of the box and cocked his head to one side, and gave her a plaintive mew. She pulled him from the box, stroking him reassuringly. Within moments, each creature was curled up on the shoulder of it's new adopted owner.
Harry turned to Hermione. "Are these what I think they are?"
"Yes, they're knealins. I was in Diagon Alley a few days ago, trying all day to find you the perfect birthday gift. I stopped in Magical Menagerie to pick up a new brush for Crookshanks, as he'd eaten the last one." Ignoring Ron's snickers, she continued. "On the way to the counter, I saw the black one. He's rather distinctive, but I didn't think you'd want a familiar that looked so much like yourself. But, when I saw the other one in the cage, I just knew it was perfect, especially when the shop owner told me he'd only sell them as a pair. Apparently, any time they tried to separate them, they'd yowl until they were back in the same cage."
Ron piped up now. "Sounds a bit like you and Ginny, mate." Though he got a slap across the back of his head from Hermione, the comment did get a few people in the room chuckling, even Arthur and Molly.
Hermione asked, "Any ideas for names, yet?"
He peered at the kneazle a moment, before shrugging his other shoulder. "Dunno. I'll have to think on it a bit."
"By the way, I also have a book for you, all about their care and feeding, as well as special abilities."
With that, Molly started bringing more presents over. From her and Arthur, he received a muggle CD player, charmed to work in a magical environment. Along with this was an assortment of CDs of all types. It seemed that everybody had picked out one or two, so he got a wide variety of music, and looked forward to hearing them all. The only one he wasn't very sure about was the one of highland bagpipe tunes, though he later expressed the opinion they might come in handy if Mrs Norris came too close to the dorm. Ron gave him a tabletop quidditch game, to be used for helping to plan out new manuevers or in replaying games.
Tonks, Moody, and Kingsley had heard from professor McGonagall about his ambitions towards becoming an auror, and had gone in together to get him presents reflecting this. Tonks had given him a copy of the auror training handbook, Moody gave him twin dragon-hide wand holsters, and from Kingsley, he received a vest made from Ukrainian Ironbelly hide. The three of them had also gone in together, to get him a set of battle robes, with protection charms woven through the fabric. They promised to let him know later what was all involved and how it worked.
There were quite a few other gifts, but the one that stood out the most was from Remus. It was a low stone bowl, with sygils and runes all around the outside rim. Harry had used a pensieve before, though not quite with the foreknowledge of the owner. In the box with the bowl were three sealed metal tubes. One looked quite a bit older than the others, and had two sets of initials on the lid, J.P., and L.P. The initials on the others were R.L. and S.B.
"Remus? Where did you get a pensieve, and what are these tubes?"
"It belonged to Sirius' family, and the tubes contain, well, memories. How about if we talk more about all of this tomorrow, alright? It'll take a little time to prepare it."
Harry nodded, while contemplating what might be in there. The possibilities were overwhelming.
Not too long after the presents were opened, people started to drift into different groups around the house and yard. Harry walked around, visiting with his friends, both from school, as well as from the Order. Dean was chatting up Lavender on one side of the room, and looked as if he'd be successful, from the way she was repaying his attention. Harry gave him a nod and made his way to the next group. It looked like Seamus and Parvati had gotten together, and both were spying somewhat covertly on their friends. Parvati giggled a bit as she watched them. Harry joined the two of them.
"So, Seamus, does your mum still think I'm a nutter?" He gave a little smile to take the sting from the question.
The other boy shook Harry's outstretched hand, while shaking his head. "No, mate. She knows what's going on now. Just to clear the air, I never thought you were, either, but..." His words trailed off here.
"I know. Things were a bit crazy last year, to tell the truth. How 'bout we start over?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Parvati, what's so funny about those two getting together?" He pointed over toward Seamus' best friend and hers. "You do know his reputation as a ladies man, right?"
Giggling again, she replied. "Yes, I do, and so does Lavender. She's going to make sure she gets some of him, and see if she can't keep him, too. If I know her, she'll manage it." Eyeing Harry speculatively, she continued. "You should just be glad you and Ginny are a couple, now. Until she found out about that, she had her sights set on you."
The raven-haired wizard happened to be taking a drink of butterbeer at the moment, and he found out what it was like for that particular beverage to shoot out of his nose. Not exactly a pleasant experience.
As he was recovering from this, he heard an amused sounding voice behind him. "I believe butterbeer, as with most drinks, is usually consumed through the mouth, in an inward manner. But, to each his own."
Turning, Harry saw twinkling blue eyes peering out from a lined face, surrounded by silver-white hair, with a similarly colored beard down to the owner's waist.
"Hello, professor. I'll try to keep that in mind in future. I just hope Parvati manages to improve her timing." This was delivered with a bit of a grimace. He really didn't want to think about the implications of what she had said. Lavender was a nice enough girl, but a bit too giggly for his taste, as well as a bit shallow at times.
By now, Ginny and Hermione had come up to either side of him, in flanking positions. As each girl took one of his arms, Dumbledore spoke again.
"Harry, I wonder if I might trouble you with a couple of questions." At the questioning, slightly guarded look in the emerald eyes, he continued. "First of all, have you given any thought to continuing with the DA?"
"Well, I guess that would depend on who we get stuck with as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I mean, if it's somebody who knows what they're doing, it wouldn't be needed, would it?"
"Actually, my boy, given the perilous times we live in, I believe that for our students to have a practical knowledge of the kind you instructed your members in will be absolutely essential. As you and your friends so ably demonstrated, not so long ago. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the practical instruction you gave, they very likely wouldn't have succeeded."
"Professor, I know that, if I hadn't been such an idiot..."
Hermione interrupted now. "Harry, what he's saying is that your lessons saved our lives. Even if we hadn't had the DA, we would have gone. What do you think our chances would have been without that?"
That stopped him cold. "I hadn't thought about it in that light."
The headmaster's next words really made him think. "We received the O.W.L. scores last week. Letters should be reaching you in the next few days. I've compared the Defense scores DA members received against the rest of your year. Only three students who weren't part of that organization received an O in that particular subject. All of your members scored high." The twinkle in his eyes went into high gear now. "As a matter of fact, you scored the only Oin school history. Even your father only received an O, and he completed auror training in less than a quarter of the regular time."
"When you put it that way, how can I refuse? Once we get back to school, I'll talk to the DADA teacher, so we can coordinate what's being taught where, and so I can get some suggestions."
If the twinkle had been in high gear a moment ago, it was hitting the afterburners and heading to the stratosphere now. "Actually, you won't have to wait long at all, if you don't want to. The new, or should I say returning, Defense instructor is standing right behind you." He gestured for someone to come forward. Following his gaze, Harry looked to his right and saw Remus coming to stand beside Dumbledore. Harry's eyes brightened as he saw this.
"Remus? You're coming back to Hogwarts? That's great!" He had one question. "Wait, though. During the full moon, does this mean that Sna-Professor Snape will be taking over your classes?"
The look that the professors traded made the younger wizard a bit uneasy. That was explained when Dumbledore next spoke.
"Actually, Harry, that leads me to my next request. Over the past few years, as you may have noticed, findingcompetent Defenseinstructors has been problematic, to say the least. Professor Lupin, while easily the best instructor we've had in at least the past ten years, has his own somewhat unique limitations. I thought it might be be easier on him, if you could take the first through fourth years, leaving him free to work with the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students."
"Take the...wait...you want me to... No. Even you aren't that nuts..." His eyes flew wide, and if it hadn't been for the two girls holding onto his arms, he might have fallen. Quickly, they guided him to a seat on the sofa. Looking between the two older men, he realized they were quite serious. "You're nutters, the both of you! Gone right round the bend. Bloody crazy." He buried his head in his hands for a moment.
"Harry, I'd like you to seriously think about this. There really aren't very many options open to us. We haven't been able to find anybody trustworthy, who would be willing to work part-time, even those who aren't worried about Remus' condition. If you would, please think about it and give me an answer by the end of the week. If you decide to accept, let professor McGonagall know which texts you wish to use. She'll need to include that with the letters, which go out soon." He gave a wink. "Despite your doubts, I am quite sure of the stability of my faculty. In all senses of the word."
With that, he and Remus walked away, to mingle with the rest of the guests.
"They're both nuts. Bonkers. Both of them. And people say Luna's loony." He rambled on in this vein for a bit, before Hermione intruded on his reflections.
"I, for one, think he's absolutely right."
"It's contagious. Now you're the one going nuts. Of course, you have fallen for Ron..." He smirked at her, as she hit him on the arm. There would be bruises on that arm before the day was out, he was quite sure. Deep ones.
"I am quite sane, thank you very much." She was obviously choosing to ignore the other part of his statement. "I don't think they're crazy, either. Think about it. Who else has as much practical experience in Defense? I mean, you've faced Voldemort almost every year since school started, and lived." She hesitated a moment before her next quiet statement. "I know you hate your fame, but maybe you can get it to work for you, this time. You have the chance to ensure that, even if they don't sign up for DA, even the younger students will have at least some knowledge of how to protect themselves, if, no when, they need it." An intent look came into her eyes now, as something else came to her. "This also means that, as a member of staff, you'll be able to deal with all of the professors on an even footing. Including Professor Snape."
Harry dropped his head back into his hands. "Argh!" He ran his fingers through his hair as he threw himself against the back of the couch. "I don't know, 'Mione. I really don't. I'm a student, for Merlin's sake. I have to admit, though, that as crazy as it sounds, you've made some good points."
As she got up, she dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Just think about it." He nodded as she walked away.
He turned to Ginny. "What do you think?"
"I think you're both right. He's nuts, but it's a good idea, for the reasons Mione mentioned. Kids in the wizarding world have grown up knowing about you ever since your parents died. Much as you might hate that, it can be used to your advantage." A slightly evil grin came over her face now. "Just imagine how peeved Snape would be to have to acknowledge you as a colleague."
That thought had a certain appeal, he had to admit.
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A/N: Both of us apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. We were struck by the dreaded RLS (Real Life Syndrome). Trust me. You really, really, really don't want to know. We've been looking for a competent obliviator recently, so that we can forget the past month or so. Urgh. Hopefully, the chapter was worth the wait. All that remains is to reply to a couple of things brought up by our lovely reviewers.
GiGiFanFic: Voldie and his Death-Monkeys won't get a chance at the Dursleys. The Twins have the capability to be much more capable and entertaining, don't you think? insert evil giggle here And yes, unfluffy can definitely be a word. We said so. (Note from Bill: Perspective will be finished soon (really!) and LC&S will be the next thing after that to be continued, as well as a couple others he has plans for.)
Korrd: Near the end of chapter one, the wall was pulled away from where it met the floor. It was basically only one wall that was transformed. Remus didn't want to permanently entomb the fat git, just teach him a lesson.
Jaquelyne: Thanks for the kind comment. Bill and I both look forward to the next installment in Bedtime Stories. We still want to see what happens when our favorite couple talk to Hermione the next morning. Should be fun.
Thanks to all who reviewed, for your support and kind comments.