Harry woke early on his birthday, the sun creeping softly in through the window of Ron's room at the Burrow. He stretched and rolled over, squinting against the growing light as he listened to Ron's snores from the bed.

Harry lay on his mattress on the floor for a few more minutes, listening to the birds outside and the house around him as it slowly woke for the new day. God knows how many people would be swarming the Burrow in a few hours – it was meant to be a secret, but Ron was terrible at keeping quiet, and Harry wasn't exactly stupid, so he knew all about the party Molly and Arthur were planning for him. It was nice – he'd never really had a surprise party before, though he was kind of thankful that Ron was useless at keeping secrets. It meant he could prepare himself for the onslaught that was to come. Harry was still holding out hope that the party wouldn't be too extravagant, but then, he'd never known Molly Weasley to hold back on anything. Biting back a yawn as Ron gave a particularly loud snort, Harry dragged himself up from his makeshift bed on the floor and quietly made his way out of the room and down to the kitchen.

Mrs Weasley was already in full swing, cooking bacon with one hand as she waved her wand to mix a bowl (of what Harry optimistically thought looked like chocolate batter) with the other.

"Oh, Harry! Goodness you're up early! Happy birthday, dear." Said Molly as Harry bent down to accept the kiss on the cheek she fondly gave him.

"Morning Mrs Weasley – can I give you a hand?" Harry smiled warmly, even as the older witch started shooing him away.

"No, of course not, not on your birthday! Why don't you go sit at the table and you and Arthur can have a nice cup of tea – breakfast's nearly ready," she added to her husband as he walked in from the backyard, grinning, what looked to be a muggle fire alarm in his hand.

"It smells wonderful dear," Arthur said, sitting down at the head of the table and wishing Harry a happy birthday as he poured them both a cup of tea. Mr Weasley had placed the muggle fire alarm next to the tea pot and every so often it would yell out a curse word, and the man would chuckle cheerfully into his teacup.

"Arthur, you haven't been charming those blasted muggle contraptions of yours again, have you?" said Mrs Weasley with the exasperation of a woman who had asked a question to which she already knew the answer.

"Course he has," said another voice as George stumbled down the stairs, his hair a mess and eyes bleary. "And he will as long he still has them, Mum, you know that. That's a good curse-charm, Dad, can I have a tinker with that? Oh, Happy birthday Harry."

Mrs Weasley bustled around the kitchen, shooting exasperated looks at her husband and son as they experimented with the alarm, the voice changing every now and then in volume and pitch, but always saying the same unsavoury remarks. Harry sat and watched them as he cut up the bacon Mrs Weasley had piled onto his plate.

George was slowly coming back out of his shell – it would take time, Harry knew, but every so often there were glimpses of who he had been before the death of his twin. It was probably the reason Molly hadn't sent Arthur and his cussing alarm straight back out of the kitchen, Harry thought ruefully. George's smiles were too rare at the moment to get rid of a potential source of amusement.

His musings were interrupted by Ron, Ginny and Hermione coming down stairs - each wishing Harry a good birthday - and the paper being delivered by Hermes, the owl Percy was given by the Ministry when he took a position in the Magical Law Enforcement office. Mr Weasley offered Hermes a rasher of his bacon as he took the paper and unfolded it – his usually amiable face closed off and he frowned.

"They've finally come to a conclusion on the Malfoy case," he said, scanning the paper quickly. Harry looked up from his breakfast – ever since the day when he had spoken at the Ministry, Draco Malfoy's fate had been under intense public scrutiny as the Wizengamot went back and forward, trying to come to a verdict.

The table had gone quiet as Mr Weasley read, and Harry's curiosity finally got the better of him.

"What did they decide?"

Mr Weasley kept reading for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"I almost can't believe it. He's been put under probation, with regular check-ins with the Auror department. Whatever you said that day at the Ministry must have worked Harry," said Arthur, handing Harry the paper. "They've practically let him off scot-free."

Harry stared down at the front page of the Daily Prophet. Two photos of Malfoy framed the article – the first was a picture of him walking away from the photographer, his head down and his face tight with stress. The Malfoy in the photo kept walking briskly even as the picture moved to keep up with him. His entire demeanour was as far from his usual arrogance as Harry had ever seen it.

The second, much larger photo, was one that had been splashed all over the papers since the original case. It showed the moments immediately after Lucius had been taken into the other room – Draco Malfoy sat slumped in his chair, chains tight around his limp body. His head was bowed and every so often his shoulders would heave violently in a silent sob.

Harry frowned at the photo – every time he saw it felt like an invasion, perhaps even more so than it had when he actually witnessed it.

Hermione had started speaking, and Harry pulled his eyes up away from the unsettling image.

"Harry might have a lot of sway at the moment, but surely the Wizengamot wouldn't base their decision only on that? Wouldn't Mr Malfoys'... confession have been the main reason?"

Mr Weasley shrugged.

"Honestly Hermione, it was probably a combination. Lucius Malfoy might have given them a base to stand on, but his word didn't mean much – the only reason it holds any value is because no one can prove that he wasn't lying, and – well. No one takes the Dementor's Kiss lightly. I'm sure that Harry's words certainly helped, but no one could deny that Malfoy's case is being taken more seriously because of his father's sacrifice."

Harry turned back to the paper, ignoring the continuing conversation around him as he started to read.

Wizengamot pardons Junior Death Eater!

The long awaited decision on the case of Draco Lucius Malfoy (18) has finally been released this morning by Percy Weasley, the Undersecretary to Chief Warlock, Fernian Josture, and chosen spokesperson for the Wizengamot.

"The Wizengamot has deliberated over the case of Mr Malfoy," Weasley spoke at the Ministry this morning, "and has decided that Azkaban would be too harsh of a punishment for crimes that were committed not only as a minor, but under extreme duress. Though Mr Malfoy himself admitted to his crimes, further evidence suggests that he may not have been acting of his own violation. As the matter stands, the Wizengamot cannot in good conscience hold Malfoy to the original sentence of thirty years' imprisonment. To reflect the new evidence that has come to light, we instead have settled on the following verdict; Mr Malfoy will be placed under an ongoing probation, with monthly consultations with an as yet nominated member of the Auror Department. Mr Malfoy, as required in the terms of his probation, will be returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September first-"

Harry stopped reading the article and handed the paper to Hermione, who had been reaching across the table for it impatiently.

"He's going back to Hogwarts."

Ron snorted and leaned back in his chair, chewing his bacon as he spoke.

"Well, that settles it – I'm not going back."

Hermione and Mrs Weasley both frowned, but Hermione didn't say anything as she took a stiff bite from her toast.

"Ron, don't be ridiculous, of course you're going back," Mrs Weasley snapped as she helped herself to a cup of tea, stirring in some sugar absentmindedly with her wand.

"Why? What's the point? Kingsley said that we'd have spots in the next class for Auror training if we wanted it. If I don't do that, I could work with George, he's-" Ron faulted, his eyes flicking briefly towards his brother before he continued. "He'll need a hand around the shop. There's no real reason for me to go back to Hogwarts, so why should I?"

Surprisingly, it was George who answered him.

"Ron… I know you don't feel like you need to go back, but I think it'd be good for you. Your education isn't really that important," ("George!" Mrs Weasley scolded weakly, but he ignored her) "But you'll regret it if you don't take all the time you can there. Hogwarts is… it's like home. You might feel ready to leave, but once you do, you'll just want to go back. And you can move back here if you ever want to, but you'll never be able to return to Hogwarts. Not without it being different."

Everyone was silent as George rose carefully from the table, grabbing his bacon butty and heading for the stairs. "And besides; Hermione won't say anything, but she wants you there. Harry, too." He called over his shoulder, and left the room in silence.

Eventually, Mrs Weasley sighed. "When did he get so wise?" she murmured sadly, and no one answered her – they didn't need to.

Ron cleared his throat and turned to Hermione. "So, you really think I should go back?"

Hermione nodded emphatically.

"I really do. Your education isimportant, and if you finish it then you'll have a lot more options when you graduate. Not to mention, you shouldn't be riding off of public opinion to get you into programs – you need to earn them properly, just like everyone else."

"Look," Hermione said, taking a breath. "It's your decision, obviously. But - I'd really love it if you came back with me. The both of you," she added, looking at Harry sternly. "Everything is going to be so different as it is," she said, her voice wavering ever so slightly, "And honestly, it just… it wouldn't be Hogwarts without you."

Ron stared at her seriously for a few seconds, his blue eyes tracking over Hermione's face as he deliberated - his expression was similar to the one he wore while playing chess. "Oh dammit, fine. Yeah, all right then," Ron shrugged exasperatedly and turned to Harry. "What do you reckon? Do you want to go back?"

For the past few weeks Harry had done his absolute best to avoid thinking about the future, so when he answered immediately, it surprised him just as much as it did the others.

"Yeah, of course I do."

Hermione beamed at them both, and immediately started babbling about what changes in the curriculum would be made to accommodate the 'Eighth Years', as the public had started calling them. Molly had returned to the bowl of chocolate batter as she made what Harry had pretended not to notice was most certainly his 'surprise' birthday cake. Mr Weasley was prodding at his swearing alarm, and Ginny was suggesting other hexes and charms for some of his other curios.

Harry sipped at his refilled cup of tea and listened to Hermione chatting away at Ron. He hadn't even known he'd made a decision until Hermione had asked him, but really – what was there to think about? George was right. Hogwarts was his home, and if the option for him to be there was available, he would always take it.

Even, Harry thought darkly, if it meant another year of school alongside Draco Malfoy.