Disclaimer: Harry Potter will never be mine
AN1: well, sorry for the long wait! It's not like that I want to abandon this, as I really have given a lot of thought to it and I think I really sort of have cooked up a plot for it. However, life has been crazily busy ever since the new semester started. I hope I can have more time to work on this as now everything seems to cool down a bit... Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. Please stick with me and I will try my best to update more frequently!
and to answer someone's question: I hope/think/believe that I was not suffering from the WBS (ie writer's block syndrome)...
AN2: there are a lot of necessary but seemingly trivial matters to be covered in this chapter... and somehow it is turning emotional in the middle. Hope it is not too strange!
AN3: words in are said via Harry and Sirius's telephatic link
Chapter 9 A Birthday Gift
The sun was blinding. Harry lifted one hand to wipe off the stream of sweat dripping down his forehead, while the other closed around his trunk and gave it a half-hearted tug. The wooden trunk was so bulky and heavy that it took Harry nearly twenty minutes to haul it out of his bedroom, down the stairs, and out of the door. As soon as he was out of the door, he could hear the cold metallic click of door locking securely behind him.
Harry sighed, lifting his hand again to shield his eyes from the offending midday sunlight.
/hey, give me a hand with this, will you?/ Harry stared at the dog sitting in the barely existent shade given by a short bush.
/Come on, it can't be that heavy. / Sirius, in his dog form, was breathing noisily, at least to Harry, through his month, his tongue slightly out tasting the hot air.
/Why don't you come and try if it is really that heavy?/ Harry couldn't help but gave Sirius the 'dead-glare'.
/You need both a strong body and a strong mind to survive, Harry. How can you defeat anyone if you can't even move your own trunk?/
Harry really longed to wipe the smug expression on Sirius's dog face off. Through their newly strengthened connection, Harry could feel the laziness and irritation at the hot weather radiated from the corner in his mind that was Sirius. He gave another drag in frustration, and his trunk responded by only moving several inches. He regretted forgetting to perform the feather-weight charm on the trunk before he attempted to move that out of his room.
"Need a hand?" Harry's 'savior' finally arrived.
"Remus!" Harry let out a relieved sign.
"Wait a minute," Remus fumbled around in his worn out muggle jeans for a moment before taking out a parchment. He looked at his watch.
"Ok, we have got to go, Harry."
All through the process, Remus had not so much as glanced towards the large black dog that was sitting close to Harry and that was clearly visible to Harry. Harry was really relieved that the concealment charm had worked so well.
Harry touched Padfoot's hairy head and touched the Portkey with the other hand.
12 Grimmauld Place was just as it ever was. The black structure seemed to absorb all the heat that fell on it, and radiated menace and a sense of forbiddance of its own.
"Who will I find inside?" Harry asked.
"The Weasleys are already here. Also Hermione. Several Order members may be here to meet, but I am not sure who... "
"Will Kreacher be there?" If he is, I am not sure what I will do to him. The unsaid part of the message was blatant.
"Professor Dumbledore has already seen to it that Kreacher is moved away. He is adopted into a kind wizard family. Doubtlessly, Kreacher was not at all keen to be removed from his mistress. "
Harry was keen to drive the conversation away from that foul creature. It was enough to know that he wouldn't have to put up with its presence anymore. He knew he wouldn't stand the sight of the traitor.
"Then... what about Buckbeak?" Harry could feel Sirius's fondness towards the hippogriff that helped save his life once. "Is he still inside the house?"
"No... cause no one in the Headquarter is free to feed him now. We have disclosed the secret to Hagrid, who agreed with much enthusiasm to find a place for him... "
"Will Tonks be here? She seemed really busy the last time I saw her. And what about Moody?" Harry hoped that he appeared casual enough in asking about Moody. It was crucial to make sure that he would not be here...
"Tonks... I am afraid you won't be seeing her around a lot these days. All Ministry employees are working overtime these days, in fact. Moody was quite busy with Order business now. So don't expect to see him around a lot either. " Harry thought he saw a moment of doubt on Remus's face on why Harry would ask about Moody in particular. Harry hoped that the suspicion would only be fleeting and would never cross Remus's mind again.
/Be a little more tactful next time! It is so awkward to ask for someone like that. /
/Shut up, Sirius. I am the one struggling with getting enough information for your safety here!/
/You don't need to. I have told you this concealment charm is different from other invisibility charm or disillusionment charm. Moody's Mad-eye won't be able to see through it!/
/But it's better safe than sorry.../
"Harry? Harry!"
Remus's worried voice snapped Harry out of his telepathic conversation with Sirius.
"Are you OK? You were spacing out. Let's get inside, it's too hot out here."
"Yeah... " Harry mumbled under his breath.
/Look what you have done! You just gave him the proof that I am mental./
/As if he need further proof.../
/Sirius!/ Harry said indignantly through the link.
The hallway leading to the basement kitchen was empty and as grimy looking as ever. Harry followed Remus in silence, with Sirius trotting right next to him. Looking at the slightly hunched back of Remus, Harry felt guilt of not relieving him of his pain of losing the last close friend rising in his throat.
Harry knew very well that Sirius could feel what he was feeling. But Sirius made no comment.
"Harry's here!" Remus swung the wooden door open and spoke to the inhabitants inside. He moved away from the doorway and let Harry move in and see what was inside.
What greeted him was Hermione, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, who were all sitting around the sole large table in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley however shot up from her chair the moment her eyes settled on Harry. Before his vision was blocked as Mrs. Weasley flung herself at him, he caught a glance of someone dressed in black crunching in front of the large fireplace, apparently talking with somebody.
All coherent thought and breath was squeezed out of Harry's body as Mrs. Weasley gave him her bear hug. Then she clutched him with her iron grip and held him at arm's distance to study him.
"Harry, you are so thin! You really haven't been feeding yourself, have you? I was so worried, especially after I heard about the attack on you. Were you hurt? Are you sleeping well? Are you -"
Harry gently but firmly detached Mrs. Weasley's iron grip from his arms. His resentment towards Mrs. Weasley's prejudice against Sirius last year was quenched a bit after Sirius's return, but it was still there. And he had to remind himself again that he had to act angry and dejected. It would be what people would expect of him as they didn't know the truth about Sirius.
"Enough, Mrs. Weasley. I am as fine as I can be." Harry was surprised at how easily the emotionless voice had come out of his mouth.
Mrs. Weasley froze. The atmosphere of the stone-walled kitchen froze.
"Harry, we – we're just ... " Hermione's hand twisted in her lap.
"Harry, what we have discussed, I thought you understood -"
"Remus, I'd rather not talk about this right now. Have anyone found out anything about the three Death Eaters?" Harry's guilt rose and expanded rapidly. Perhaps he had overdone his act?
The person crunching at the fireplace erected himself. Harry could tell who that person was even before the person turned -- the shoulder length oily black hair was unmistakable.
"We are still not sure how Voldemort could have sent three Death Eaters there. Our source found no indication that Voldemort had." Remus said.
"Perhaps your source isn't as valuable as he wants others believe him to be, after all." said Harry, as he saw with satisfaction that the 'source' had heard every word of it. "I could have died because of this, you know." Harry turned to Snape and said in such an arrogant manner that would definitely remind Snape of James Potter.
"If my information is not incorrect, Potter," Snape spat with a sneer, "if a certain idiot has not chosen to foolishly run outside of the protection ward in the first place, nothing could have happened even if hundreds of Death Eaters had tried. A pity that the idiot hasn't died."
"Who said that I want to live, anyway?"
"Harry! How could you say such a thing? " Hermione squeaked, shooting up from her seat, her face flushed with anger.
Sorry, Hermione, but I have to play along. Harry apologized in silence before speaking. "Well, what's left for me now? I don't see the point of living, anywa- "
SLAP!
Harry's head spin to a side and his face sting horribly. Wide-eyed, Harry stared at his tear-stained attacker, his hand moved to nurse his reddened face.
"How dare you say such a thing! Sirius died to save you! He would have wanted you to live properly!"
Anger flared up. Harry was so tired of people telling him who would have wanted him to do what.
"Well, Sirius is all sane and cares about my well-being all of a sudden now that he's gone! Who was the one who said that Sirius was irrational and tried to egg me up last year? "
Tears split down Hermione's face and she ran out of the room. Everyone was left in stunned silence.
SLAP!
It was only after Harry felt the other side of his face stinging that he realized he was slapped again. This time it was Ginny, her eyes shooting daggers, her fists clenched at her waist. "This is for being a selfish fool! It is not only you who grieve for his death!" She spat, and rushed off after Hermione.
"Fine friends you've got, Potter." Snape threw the words at Harry with a smirk before gliding out of the room.
Harry felt a hand at his shoulder and turned his stunned head. Ron was standing beside him.
"What do you want now? Slap me too?" Harry snapped in annoyance, hoping that Ron could just leave him alone. However, Ron just looked at him with a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. Then it was replaced by sadness.
"Hermione regrets about her attitude towards Sirius, as my mother also does." He turned to leave Harry alone.
Harry threw himself dejectedly down a battered armchair nearby. /See what trouble you have gotten me into, Sirius./
/Sorry. I didn't know that I was the source of so many rows before. You do deserve what they have done to you, though./
Harry groaned in exasperation.
After knocking, Snape swept into Dumbledore's office without waiting for approval. He decided that he was definitely in a foul mood and settled his face into a slight scowl.
Dumbledore was at his usual place behind his desk. The fancy silver apparatus on the headmaster's desk could no longer divert his attention. Snape had always suspected that the silvery apparatus, rather than having a real function of their own, were merely put there so as to distract and impress. Fawkes the phoenix somehow bared a similar function, in Snape's opinion, but the phoenix in question was nowhere to be seen.
As usual, Dumbledore fixed the intruder into the office with his famous piercing blue gaze. The amusement in his gaze was no doubt due to Snape's obvious foul mood.
"Severus, have a seat." The voice was more light-hearted than it had been since the end of the last term. The slight stiffness in his posture was gone too. Snape wouldn't admit to anyone, but he was relieved to see that the headmaster was slowly returning to his old collected demeanor.
With a wave of his hand, the mountain of paper work on the desk aligned themselves to a neat pile and flow aside, clearing a space for the cup of steaming tea that was slowing landing in front of Snape.
"Potter just arrived at the Headquarter."
The stiffness slipped back. Snape was sure no one else could have discerned the subtle soberness that slipped into the ancient face. Snape really did hate Potter. The insufferable brat that sought to drag everybody down with him...
"How was he?"
"Apparently he was still in a state of mental instability. He claimed that he didn't find living meaningful anymore, which agitated our brainy Miss Granger so much that she slapped him. Then our brilliant Mr Potter retorted tactlessly, which lead to Miss Granger's apparent emotional trauma. "
"Remus told me he has been doing better... "
"Which he certainly is not. He is a danger to those around him. "
"Severus." Dumbledore shook his head. "Do be more forgiving every now and then, even if you can't show it. Harry has lost his family. "
Snape had been avoiding thinking of the man that had died out of foolishness. It was not the feeling of triumph or satisfaction he had anticipated. And he was not about to start wasting his time to figure out how he really felt about his long time enemy's death.
"That is no excuse for blowing up at everyone. That is no excuse for running out of the protection ward, risking everything that we have done to ensure his safety. He was ungrateful, but now it has turned into another level of self-centreness which cannot be allowed any further. I really doubt your decision in giving him permission to use magic outside Hogwarts."
"You know I have my reasons. I need him to be able to protect himself." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "I cannot afford to make another mistake. I will not make another mistake as I did last year. I will not."
Snape loathed the way Dumbledore just could direct the conversation towards the way he wanted so easily. But he was not to be distracted this time.
"But the boy is unstable. He is acting quite strangely, if you ask me. For all we know, the enemy might be feeding him false information again. It could explain what drove the boy into the night street in the first place! He might have thought that he need to play hero again and -"
"Enough, Severus. I am sure Harry is as determined as me in not committing the same mistake. He will not be manipulated again as easily. Sooner or later, he will come around. I have faith in him."
Snape clutched his fists under the table top. Then released them. And then clutched them again. "If you say so. You know that I trust your judgment, Albus." And I just hope that those judgments would not doom us.
"I know, Severus... I know."
The atmosphere at the dining table was dreadful. Mrs. Weasley wore a forced smile. She tried very hard to look cheerful, and kept piling food to all the other's plates except her own. Every now and then, one could hear her shriek of apologies at missing the plate and dirtying another person's clothes.
Harry was starting to regret acting so cold towards her when he arrived. The quality of Mrs. Weasley's food had always been supreme. However, this time her mind clearly had not been on her cooking. If a dish was not too salty, it was too sweet, or too sour, or one could tell that no flavouring had not been added at all. Harry could tell from the other people's grimy face to know that they were as wary of the food as he was, yet none dared to voice his or her opinion over the food, and none dared to ask Mrs. Weasley stop piling food to them with a painfully forced smile or suggest that she should eat something herself – because that would make her realize how bad her food had been.
Harry noticed several absentees from the Weasleys. Percy's absence Harry had already expected, but Mr. Weasley, Bill and Charlie were nowhere to be seen also. Harry presumed that they must be working overtime, whether for the Ministry or for the Order, Harry had no idea.
Harry continued his silent study of the people sitting around the table. Hermione, with her eyes still a bit swollen and red, Harry noticed with guilt, was poking at her plate and stirring the food around mindlessly. Harry hoped her lack of appetite was all because of the questionable quality of the food, but not because she was still mad at him... Every now and then, Ginny would lean over to Hermione and speak to her with lowered voice. Gradually Hermione's expression start to loosen up, no doubt thanks to Ginny's effort to lift her spirit.
Ron, on the other hand, sat next to him and was incidentally also playing the food in his plate around with his fork. Harry was quite sure it was because Ron had had enough of the food. He was uncharacteristically quiet.
Fred and George, who had just returned before dinner, had long stopped attempting to consume their food.
"Hey, don't you think the smashed potato taste a bit funny?" after his first bite of food, Fred said to George in a hushed voice that carried easily over the whole table.
"Be quiet about it, Fred! Mum will hear us!" George said in a voice that was louder than that of Fred's.
Afterwards there had been several half-hearted attempts at jokes from the twins. But at the lack of response, the jokes soon died down.
Remus tried to make conversation with Mrs. Weasley, though with little success. He just couldn't carry the conversation on a topic with her further than three sentences. Mrs. Weasley's mind simply failed to focus on a topic.
Padfoot, who was crunching under the table besides his legs, was also silent. From their link, Harry could only discern that he was in a thoughtful mode, but no other emotion seeped through.
To escape from the dreadful situation, Harry excused himself from the table with what he hoped a suitably mournful voice. He tried to walk around the house, but found the atmosphere too dreadful. He fled to his own room in the second floor and flung himself down the bed.
Harry just lied down and let himself loose in thoughts.
He was roused back to the world of the living when he felt Sirius's approach towards the room. He looked at his watch and was startled to see that it was nearly midnight.
/Sirius, I hate doing this./
Padfoot jumped up the bed and lay his head down on his paws. He studied Harry with his light blue gaze.
/I know. I know you don't want to deceive your friends, but it is for their own good as well as ours. /
Harry sighed and ran his hand through his wild black hair.
/Harry, could you open up your trunk? I want to show you something./
/What?/ Harry asked, though he was already on his feet, making his way towards the trunk near the door. He opened the trunk, and Padfoot started to rummage the stuff inside trunk with his snout. After a minute, he raised his head with a little bag between his jaws.
/Though it is a bit early, but Happy Birthday, Harry./ Sirius said via the telepathic link while carefully placing the small bag made of rough brown cloth down onto Harry's outstretched hand.
Staring at the little brown bag that was not larger than half of his palm, Harry was bewildered. For one thing, it totally slipped his mind that tomorrow was his birthday in the excitement accompanying Sirius's return. For another, he wondered when Sirius had the time to get him a present. It was not like that there was Crookshank to help him order things via owl mail.
/What's it? It's not some kind of joke, is it?/ Harry asked while studying the feather-light bag with some apprehension.
/Of course not! / There was clear indignation in the Sirius's voice in his head. /I thought... as this is the first time I can be with you in person to celebrate your birthday since your first, I thought I would give you something special... or rather, I would help a certain someone to help to give you something special. /
/What do you mean? /
/Just open it. I will explain afterwards. /
Harry pulled loose the string that held the opening of the bag together. He turned it upside down in hope of shaking the content inside out. He waited. And waited. Yet nothing fell out of the bag.
/Sirius, what -/
Something akin to electric shock spread from the hand holding the bag to the whole of Harry's body. Harry would have dropped the bag if he could, but the hand holding the bag was rigid as stone. He wanted to shiver, but the control of his body was lost to him. His awareness of the surrounding was shut down.
Panic should have been rising, but strangely there was calmness in him. And slowly warmth spread. The feeling of something so distantly familiar... the feeling of being enveloped in the supple and secure arms of a mother ... the feeling of safety so alien yet Harry knew he once possessed... so long ago...
Harry. Are you surprised?
It was a voice Harry recognized. First he heard it in a scream that could freeze his very soul, the second he heard it in a memory of someone else.
Where are you now? Where am I and where is your dad? Are we together, perhaps celebrating your sixteenth birthday? Or did we fail to survive the reign of terror, now lying cold underground in a tomb? For this particular possibility, I couldn't help but want to leave something behind for my beloved son, you. You are special, Harry. You are my treasure. Could you imagine my pride and my joy the first time I saw my emerald green eyes upon another human being? You brought happiness and especially hope to both your father and me, you are the strength for us to go on in this time of craziness and darkness. Your father and I knew the road ahead for you will not be smooth. We were grieved to have such a cruel faith installed for you even before the first ray of light of this world fell upon your innocent face. We cannot guarantee that we will be there for you physically forever. But our heart will always be with you. Remember this whenever life's harshness becomes too much. Remember this.
Happy Birthday, Harry. I love you, my son.
Harry tried very hard to suppress the sob that threatened to break out. Waves of sadness and happiness drowned him. Dimly, he was aware of the old bed beneath him and the dark surrounding again.
/How, Sirius. How? /
/I found this when we were at Godric's Hollow. This was done at the day of your first birthday, Harry. Lily wanted to leave something behind for you. As you probably knew, she excelled at charm. Therefore she played this little trick of recording her voice and preserving it for 15 years, so that the voice can't be retrieved until the day of your 16th birthday. And that no one can open and activate the charm save you. /
Harry stared at the bag in his hand. He clutched it tightly and brought it close to his chest.
/Sirius, I just can't thank you enough. Do you know how much this means to me...?/
/You are welcome, Harry. As long as you are happy, I will do anything for you. You know I will. /
/Thank you./ Harry gave Padfoot a long bear hug. Padfoot kept wagging his tail, apparently proud of what he has done.
Harry woke to someone's knocking on the door.
"Harry, it's time to wake up. Harry!" The grogginess in Ron's voice betrayed how tired Ron was. He must have just been roused from bed.
Groggily, Harry grabbed for his glasses on the bedside table and dragged himself up.
After washing up, Harry checked that his gift from Sirius and his mother was placed securely in his trunk. Then he made his way down to the kitchen, with Padfoot tailing at his side.
Harry immediately spotted Hermione sitting beside the table. He had already made up his mind after listening to his mother's voice countless times last night.
"Hermione."
"Harry."
They avoided each other's eyes in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry." They both blurted. Somehow it made the whole apologizing deal more difficult.
"I am the one who need to apologize." They said at the same time again. Both couldn't help but grinned sheepishly at each other. Harry could tell from the sullen expression afterwards that he was not in fact entirely forgiven, but a temporary truce was better than none.
The breakfast went in silence.
In fact, the day went in relative silence too.
Remus left the Headquarter after breakfast was finished. Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, returned briefly to grab lunch and promised that he and Bill and Charles would be back for dinner.
Mrs. Weasley could be seen bustling from room to room the whole day. Said she was determined to clean every room every tiles and transform the house into a more user-friendly place to live and work in. Harry just couldn't get a hold of her to apologize.
Hermione and Ginny were busy gossiping, though they insisted they had important matter to discuss, in the room they shared, and couldn't be seen except during meal time.
Harry had attempted to play chess with Ron several times. Since his mind was not at all on the game, he gave up trying after being slaughtered a few times. Ron soon retreated to his room to read books on Quidditch.
Even Sirius decided to lose himself in memories of his past, roaming the large family house on his own nearly the whole day.
Harry sat quite moodily at the dining table, waiting for someone to enter. Dinner should be starting in an hour.
After last night, Harry was reminded that today was his birthday. It was the first time ever that his birthday was spent in the presence of the people that he cared and loved, perhaps with the exception of his first birthday. One couldn't help but expect a somewhat more enthusiastic approach to his birthday. However, no one seemed to remember. Which Harry decided was really strange, as Hermione, Ron and Hagrid had never forgotten his birthday since they had known each other.
It was not that his birthday was such a big deal, Harry kept telling himself. There were enough matters on people's mind nowadays as it was without having to think about how to celebrate someone's birthday. Harry couldn't blame them. He shouldn't brood on such trivial matter. More importantly, he should already be contented. Yes, he really was, to receive such a great gift from his mother. Who would have thought it possible to hear one deceased mother to speak to you? Harry was really grateful for that gift...
"Harry dear, could you please help me to set up the table?" Mrs. Weasley's voice interrupted Harry's string of thought.
"Oh... Sure. "
Harry set up the dishes and utensils as Mrs. Weasley instructed. Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, was busy over the stove and several pots at once. Since the dreadful dinner last night, food had returned to a somehow more normal standard, yet from the food, one could tell that there was something amiss.
The sudden stop of Mrs. Weasley's movement over the pot startled Harry. She just all of a sudden stood rigidly over one pot, her hands slowly rubbing over her old but clean apron. Then she turned and sat down next to Harry. Harry only stared, unsure what to make of the situation.
"Harry, I'm sorry."
"What?" Harry was very much aware of what she was referring to, but emotionally he couldn't accept it was really happening.
"I'm sorry for how I treated Sirius. I was just jealous of him, Harry. I knew you when you were just into Hogwarts. Sirius had known you just two years then, but you trust him. You love him like a father. You told him everything. I don't know why I did it, I just don't know. But I knew I have been wrong the moment I knew of his ... his death," tears were welling in those kind motherly eyes, "how could I have treated someone, a tortured soul like his, someone who cared about you above his own life, like that? I was wrong. Will you forgive me? Will you forgive a fool woman's mistakes?"
Padfoot was already in the room. Harry didn't notice him entering.
"Of course I'll forgive you, Mrs. Weasley. Frankly, I was mad at you, mad at how coldly you have treated Sirius. But Mrs. Weasley, as far as I remember, you were the first woman to give me a motherly hug. I thank you for that, letting me know how it feels to have a mother..."Harry was quite embarrassed to have to put his feeling into words, but he knew he had to do that for Mrs. Weasley's sake.
/Yea, I agree, Harry. And tell her from me that I have been insufferable last year. And rude to her sometimes, so it was only natural that she didn't exhibit a lot of hospitality towards me. Of course I can blame my inappropriate behaviour on being trapped in this damn house and always habouring bad mood. No matter how, if she thinks she was at fault, I definitely was too. /
"Oh, Harry, I'm glad to hear that..." Mrs. Weasley rubbed her eyes with the cloth of her apron. She was crying and smiling at the same time.
"Sirius told me once... before he fell... that he wanted to apologize to you too. He thought he had been rude, insufferable at times, and he wouldn't blame anyone for being hostile to him, really... "
"No, I shouldn't have acted like that. I regretted so much on something that I shouldn't have said... I'm really sorry..."
Harry's resentment towards Mrs. Weasley's treatment of Sirius vanished without a trace now that he saw how much Mrs. Weasley blamed herself for it.
"Mrs. Weasley, please don't. Sirius is gone. Let it drop..."
"Harry, I think it is better late than never. We all have performed terrible mistakes in the past year. But we shouldn't wait until we are given a chance at redemption. We should fight for it. That's why it is really important for me that you understand how sorry I am. "
"I understand. I will forgive and I will forget, as will Sirius." Harry said in a steady voice, his hand reaching out to take Mrs. Weasley's callused hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks, Harry." The steadiness of her voice was precariously maintained. "I am relieved. Thank you. "
"Really, you don't need to!" Harry tried to give his best reassuring smile.
Mrs. Weasley stood and continued bustling over the pots that were starting to give out strange smell, as if protesting for the lack of attention for such a long period of time. Seemingly with spring in her steps, Mrs. Weasley gave several simple wave of her wand, and the strange smell was gone, replaced by the more familiar aroma of home-cooked food. Harry inhaled deeply and sighed in contentment. He could tell that Sirius was doing the same too.
"Harry, sometimes when I think really hard on why I treated Sirius like that," Mrs. Weasley said, her wand still moving to direct the food and flavouring to their proper places, "I guess to certain extent I was afraid of him."
"Afraid of him? You thought he really was a murderer? "
"No, it's not that! It's because... you see, he was so much like Fred and George. Troublemakers that wouldn't settle down for anything. I was afraid someday Fred and George would somehow follow a path similar... always looking for trouble... someday it would backfire on them. It must be what I was thinking..."
"Are you still mad that they ran out of school? I'm sorry I just gave them the money without telling you, but it's their dream, and I didn't need the money... "
"No, dear, you don't be sorry. I have thought it over this summer... it was in their nature to invent, to joke, to make other people laugh. It would be wiser to let them be. It would be better then forcing them into an office and paperwork and let them rake havoc there because they don't like it. I trust that they will find a way to help in this harsh world. They are bright, but they just don't know how to use their strength. "
Harry's eyes could be any wider. "You really think that? I thought you would be so against their opening their joke job. Have you told them? They'd be-"
"Of course not! I'd sooner die than admit that to them! " Mrs. Weasley yelled quite crossly. "Well, maybe I'd admit it to them, eventually, but not now, not so soon. I'd not give them the false idea that I approve of the things they have done! Quitting school like that... "
Harry tried very hard not to snort.
Muttering fervently under her breath, Mrs. Weasley started to move the pots from the stove to the wooden. The food smelled positively delicious.
"Harry dear, could you tell the kids to come? Dinner is ready. "
"Ok." Harry stood to leave.
"Wait."
Harry turned back towards Mrs. Weasley.
"Happy Birthday, Harry."
Harry's mind couldn't catch up with what was being said for a moment.
"Oh. Thanks. I thought – I thought..."
"You thought we'd forget? That's impossible for so many people to forget your birthday at once! We just thought... we agreed that we shouldn't throw a large birthday party now... cause he's just gone, we thought you wouldn't be happy if we celebrate... "
"Yes. Thank you for being so thoughtful." Harry smiled sadly at Mrs. Weasley and then turned to leave the kitchen.
Harry vowed to himself that he would never forget how thoughtful his friends had been... he would not forget how much they cared about him, how they always consider his feeling. He was really touched.
Please Review! in the next chapter, they would finally get back to Hogwarts, and hopefully there would be some action!