The next two weeks dragged by painfully slowly for Harry. Ron and Hermione visited when they could, but even Professor McGonagall's threats couldn't convince Uncle Vernon to keep a lid on his temper. While he never came close to striking Harry again, the tension while his friends visited was palpable, and this put somewhat of a dampener on their visits. Harry also stayed at the Burrow every now and then, but the anger of Ginny, on top of the nagging worry that he might not be upholding his end of the blood protection deal, meant he didn't like to stay there too often either. So, he spent a good chunk of his time alone.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry's 17th birthday had arrived. Plans had been made to transport Harry to the Burrow. Because the wards protecting the Dursleys' house would disappear once he had turned 17, it was imperative that he leave without being seen. Not trusting the Ministry to allow the Dursleys' fireplace to be temporarily connected to the Floo network, they had decided to sneak Harry out the back of the house under cover of the Invisibility Cloak. Arthur and Bill Weasley, Remus, Tonks, McGonagall, Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt would be Apparating into the clearing behind the house, under cover of a disillusionment charm, aside from Remus, who would be dressed as a Muggle so that Harry would know where to find them. Harry would meet them under the Invisibility Cloak, and they would then Apparate to the Burrow. Moody had insisted every precaution be taken, given that Snape had known the address of Privet Drive, and knew that they would be trying to transport Harry on his 17th birthday.

With all his bags packed, Harry magically shrunk them, and grabbed his Cloak. He'd said his goodbyes to the Dursleys earlier, which was as awkward as he'd expected. Vernon had grunted, and Petunia had merely pursed her lips and nodded. Dudley had remained stubbornly unresponsive. Now, however, Harry looked back up the stairs and saw Dudley watching him at the top of the stairs.

Harry's cousin seemed to be struggling to say something, and Harry took pity on him by starting him off.

"Come to say goodbye, then?" he asked.

"Err, something like that," replied Dudley nervously, casting a glance at his parents' bedroom door.

"Well, I'm right here. I'm kind of in a hurry, so make it quick." Harry was half-annoyed his departure from this hell-hole was being delayed, but also half-amused at Dudley's embarrassment.

"Well, er, goodbye, I guess. I guess I probably won't see you again, eh?"

"No, probably not," replied Harry honestly.

"Well, OK, good. Goodnight, I guess."

"Night, Dudley," said Harry, turning away to hide his smile. I guess Dudley would miss having his younger cousin to torment, he thought.

He walked down, turning into the kitchen and exiting the back door. He checked his watch. 12:04. Happy Birthday, he thought to himself. He was meant to meet Remus at exactly 12 though, so he hurried. He crossed the small backyard quickly, and tossed the Invisibility Cloak over his head. Scaling the fence quickly, he jumped down, and saw a man sitting on some swings in a playground. The same playground, in fact, in which he and Dudley had encountered the Dementors two years ago. Guessing it was Remus, he headed towards it.

The playground was about two hundred metres away. He walked quickly across, nervously shifting his eyes. He looked back over his shoulder, and through the gap between the Dursleys' house and the house next door, he saw a group of four or five men, dressed in muggle clothing, but all with one hand in their pockets, seemingly gripping something. And he wasn't sure, since they were quite a way away, but he thought he could make out the Dark Mark on the inside of one of the men's arms. He turned back, shuddering, and kept walking.

When he was about half-way there he was able to recognise the man sitting on the swings as Remus. Relieved, he quickened his pace further.

The playground was surrounded by a fence, and a gap in the fence served as a gate. When he reached it, he noticed some human shape blurs, and guessed that they were the rest of the party, but he was unable to distinguish who was who.

He decided to play a prank on Remus. Being as quiet as possible, Harry snuck behind his old Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He was just about to grab him from behind and yell "Boo!" when, in a flash, Remus drew his wand, pointed it over his shoulder and cast a full body-bind curse on Harry.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, don't ever try to prank a prankster," said Remus, grinning. There was muffled laughter and a thump, and Harry guessed that Tonks had probably stubbed her toe.

"Geez, Remus, you scared the shit out of me!" said Harry as he was released from the body bind. "How'd you know I was there?"

"Firstly, mind your language," replied Remus, though there was laughter in his voice. "Secondly, your feet made imprints in the grass. Also, being a werewolf, I happen to have a superior sense of hearing and smell. I knew exactly where you were from the moment you entered the playground."

"I did too," laughed Bill from the shadows, "but I thought I'd leave you to Remus." Bill had developed some interesting side-effects from his brush with Fenrir Greyback, not least a heightened sense of smell, hearing, and a rather sudden love of rare steaks.

"Thirdly, Happy Birthday," finished Remus, smiling. This was followed by a quiet but heartfelt chorus of happy birthdays from the not-quite-unseen others.

"Thanks," said Harry as he lifted himself up. "And sorry, Remus. I couldn't resist having a go, though!"

"Ah, you wouldn't be the son of a Marauder if you hadn't tried, Harry. Besides, I'm the one who got you in the end, so it's even."

"Alright, enough of that," came Moody's disembodied voice. "It's time to go. There are Death Eaters around, and some are looking right at us. As far as they're concerned Remus is just a Muggle sitting here alone, but if we don't hurry they'll get impatient and come check it out. Harry, you won't be able to Apparate with that cloak on, so I'm going to reach under and cast a Disillusionment charm on you. You'd do best to learn this one for yourself sometime too."

Harry felt Moody's wand touch his leg, and he felt the Disillusionment charm spread from the point he had been touched, across his body. When the charm was complete, he removed his Invisibility cloak and stuffed it in his coat pocket.

"All set, Harry?" asked Remus. Harry whispered his reply, Remus grabbed his arm, and with a series of cracks, the party was on its way to the Burrow. Just before he felt that familiar squeezing sensation, however, he noticed a single black figure appear about twenty metres in front of him. Even though he felt he was being pulled through a long, tight tube, nothing could make him forget that face.