Summary: And here's my gift to you
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Harry awoke later than he normally would have the morning of his birthday. As he pushed himself into a sitting position on his bed and reached for his glasses, he took note of the uncharacteristic silence that carried throughout The Burrow.
He was certain he'd slept through breakfast as he reached for the watch that the Weasleys had given him on his last birthday, and was shocked to see that it was nearly noon. Surely the Weasleys hadn't meant to let him sleep so late.
He got up and quickly dressed and went to investigate the cause of the stillness and silence, which was something he was certain had not been part of The Burrow for many years.
Harry noticed as he entered the kitchen that someone was in the living room, grumbling to themselves. He crossed from the kitchen into the living room and saw Ginny with her hair in a ponytail, furiously trying to polish and dust every inch of the room.
"…as soon as I'm allowed to use magic …" she grumbled, unaware of Harry's presence.
Harry grinned and reached into his back pocket for his wand. He gave a quick flick of his wrist, and the cloth Ginny had been holding zoomed out of her hands and began working of its own accord.
Ginny gasped and spun around to see Harry in the doorway. "Harry! You're up!"
"Well, I wasn't going to sleep all day, was I?" He asked as he pocketed his wand. "Why didn't anyone wake me?"
Ginny shrugged. "It's been awhile since you've really been able to get any sort of decent sleep. We didn't think it could hurt to let you wake up when you were rested."
Harry nodded. If truth be told, he was still having trouble sleeping because of nightmares, but they weren't the sort of nightmares that he was used to having. Now they were merely faded flashes of those who had died, and most were of Fred, since Harry had been witness to his death. Ginny was partially right, though. He was having the nightmares less frequently, and some had stopped all together.
"Where is everyone?" Harry asked, casually changing the subject.
"Oh. Dad and Percy are at work, of course. Mum's out getting some last minute things for tonight and is then going to Diagon Alley to pick up our school things, leaving me here to clean the house. Hermione went with her, and Ron and George are at the shop." Ginny answered as she pushed some hair out of her face with the back of her hand.
Harry nodded before crinkling his brow as a sudden thought struck him. It didn't make any sense. Who, besides Ginny, was attending Hogwarts this year?
"Hang on. If you're the only one attending Hogwarts, who else is your mum shopping for?"
"Well, all of us. Ron, Hermione, me. And you, Harry." Ginny answered, as if it were an obvious fact that they would all be returning for the final year in their magical education. "The letters arrived just this morning."
Harry nodded slowly as he glanced down at his feet. Hogwarts had always been home to him, because it was the first place where he had ever felt that he truly belonged. But now everything had changed and he wondered whether or not it ever could feel like home again.
Hagrid would, of course, be there, as would Professor McGonagall, but every hall and corridor held the image of someone who had been killed, Death Eater or ally, and the Great Hall would no longer remind Harry of glorious feasts and festive balls, but instead would remind him of traumas and horrors that no one should ever have to experience.
Ginny seemed to sense the change in him and regarded him carefully. He had been to Hell and back, that was true, but just when did he plan to let the weight and burdens of the world fall from his shoulders? He'd fulfilled the prophecy. Wasn't that enough? Would it ever be enough?
"Well," she started, letting her hair down from the ponytail. "I'm going to go clean up right quick and then we're going out to get your birthday gift."
"Birthday gift?" Harry asked, rather stupidly, having momentarily forgotten what the day actually was.
"Yeah. I know what I'm getting you, but I want you to choose it for yourself." Ginny smiled at him before jogging upstairs.
Harry took a seat in one of the armchairs as he waited. So he was going back to Hogwarts, it seemed, whether he wanted to or not. He wondered who had come to that conclusion, and only two people came to mind. Mrs. Weasley had already seen two sons not fully complete their education in Fred and George, and she wasn't about to let Ron follow in their glorious footsteps.
And Hermione. Harry could just hear her voice in his head. "But you have to take your N.E.W.T.S.! You can't hope to become an Auror without them!"
Regardless, Harry figured it was rather pointless and stupid to save the world, so to speak, and then return to school. He laughed at the thought despite himself.
"What are you laughing at?" Ginny asked when she returned a short time later.
"Oh," Harry grinned to himself. "Nothing."
He pushed himself up out of the chair and followed Ginny to the kitchen. As she wasn't quite seventeen yet, and Harry was still just getting the knack of Apparition and couldn't quite yet Apparate them both without something splinching (Harry didn't much like to think about that possibility), they were forced to travel by Floo powder.
He watched as Ginny tossed the powder into the flames and stepped into them, shouted "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared as the flames engulfed her. Harry followed behind her and watched as dozens of fireplaces whirled past. He felt as he sped along like he was gulping down ash and smoke. He didn't figure Floo travel was something he'd ever really get used to.
He met Ginny and dusted himself off as he climbed out of the fireplace he had landed in.
"I still maintain that flying is the only way to travel." Harry said as he coughed the smoke out of his lungs.
"Yes, but everything else is faster." Ginny answered matter-of-factly and took hold of Harry's hand, dragging him out onto the streets of Diagon Alley.
Harry stopped suddenly as he glanced up and down the street. It was bustling with witches and wizards as it hadn't been the last time he had been there. The shops were no longer boarded up, and new tenants had moved into the shops that had been vacated by the continued absence of their owners, either because they had died in the war or had other reasons for not returning. Olivanders had reopened, Harry was pleased to see, as had Quality Quidditch Supplies, Eeylops Owl Emporium, and Madam Malkin's. Flourean Fortescue's ice cream parlour had unfortunately not returned, and in its place Titania's Tantalizing Treats had opened. Harry was pleased to see, by all the cakes, cookies, and candies in the display window that a wizard's sweet tooth would certainly not go unsatisfied.
"Come on, Harry." Ginny laughed and started down the busy street.
Harry followed Ginny down the street, glancing in the windows of each shop they passed. They stopped in front of Eeylops Owl Emporium and Harry admired a lovely Brown owl in the display window who was no bigger than Pigwidgeon and it took him a moment to realize that Ginny was steering him inside the shop.
"Ginny …" he breathed as he looked around. There were Tawny owls in one area, Brown owls in another, and all manner of different owls through the shop, though Harry noticed there were no Snowy owls among them.
"Why don't you choose one?" Ginny suggested pointedly as Harry looked around.
"Oh. Erm … okay." Harry gulped before starting a lap around the store. He looked at each owl, mentally finding something wrong with each one he saw, the most obvious of which was that none of them was Hedwig.
Ginny moved up to his side after a long while of looking and slipped her hand through his arm. "Harry, I know that Hedwig can't be replaced. And I'm not trying to make you replace her. But maybe, Harry, there's an owl here that's just as good as Hedwig was. I just thought it would be a nice gift, if not for now, then certainly for later." she explained as she rested her chin on Harry's shoulder.
Harry looked over at her and nodded. Ginny was right, once again. Nothing that any of them had lost could ever be replaced – nothing about the new would be the same as the old, and in some cases there wasn't a new to replace the old with. But in the instances where there was something new to be had, it would all be completely different. But, in the new was another beginning, fresh and unspoiled, and it reminded Harry that everything had changed; the places he went and would go, the people around him, and that even he himself had changed. That was just how things worked, seemingly to remind everyone to not get comfortable and settled, for in an instant everything could be turned topsy-turvy.
Harry did one last lap around the shop, giving each owl a more contemplative look before choosing a handsome and dignified Tawny owl. Ginny smiled happily as the owl hooted merrily and perched on Harry's outstretched arm.
Once paid for and sleeping in its new cage, Harry followed Ginny out of the shop and into the busy streets, starting out in the direction of the joke shop that had been started by Fred and George.
"What should I call him?" Harry asked as the cage swung gently in his hand with each step he took.
"Something strong and dignified. Something to show pride, because he is a rather proud owl, Harry." Ginny answered and laughed lightly, and Harry couldn't deny it. "What about Aramis?"
Harry turned his head to look at her curiously. Ginny laughed at his crinkled but uplifted brow.
"Honestly, Harry, my dad loves everything about Muggles. He told us the story of the Musketeers when I was little. He was rather fascinated that they could do just as much, if not more damage, without wands as we do with them." she explained. "But that's beside the point. The point is that they had this individual strength about them, just as you do, Harry. And they valued strength in numbers. You know, 'all for one, one for all.' Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna, me … we've all got that mentality about us where you're concerned. And your story, Harry. It's so simple when you get down to it; it's that idea of sacrificing one to protect another. Your mum sacrificing her life to save yours, and you intending to sacrifice yours for all of us … It's just when you aren't directly involved in it, there's a sense of awe and grandeur that surrounds it."
Harry stopped just outside Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and looked at Ginny in complete awe. He'd been trying for years to sum his own life up as eloquently as she just had.
"Aramis …" he said after a moment, his hand sliding into hers. "I rather like that."
"Harry birthday, Harry." She said, leaning up to kiss him lightly.
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Thanks so much for each of your reviews! And sorry for the delay between chapters. School has been hectic with getting projects and exams taken care of in preparation for graduation. Please take the time to leave a review with whether or not you liked the chapter, and what your suggestions are for how I might be able to improve. Thanks so much!
