A/N) My sincere apologies for not updating sooner. This chapter was not finished by the time I went away on holiday and I couldn't post as I couldn't get an internet connection where I was based which was unfortunate. The next chapter is almost complete though. And I have planned so far up until Chapter 44, though I do know how this story ends, its just getting there and working out the rest of the details...
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Birthday Celebrations
In the lead up to Harry's birthday, Professor Dumbledore took Harry to the Department of Mysteries where he successfully retrieved the Prophecy from the shelves. As a precaution, Sirius and Tonks went along as rear-guard, just in case any Death Eaters were prowling around and decided to attack. Dumbledore did not say where he was hiding the Prophecy, but he explained his reasons to Sirius, informing him that Voldemort could possibly access Harry's mind and get the location from him. The Headmaster was assuming that Harry did not know the contents of the Prophecy so would not go looking for that information if he chose to go for a rummage.
Hard at work with the Auror's Sirius spent his free time trying to arrange Harry's birthday for him. He was elated that Dumbledore had given them permission to use Hogwarts grounds to play Quidditch in the afternoon after Harry's birthday party which was being held at Grimmauld Place. Harry knew Sirius was up to something regarding his birthday: but the only thing he knew for definite was that on the 31st July, the Weasley family and Hermione would officially be moving into number 12 for their own protection.
As the morning of 31st July dawned, Harry awoke in the early hours of the morning, excited at the prospect at what Sirius had planned for him. Today he was fifteen years old and it would be the second birthday he shared with his godfather. When he emerged from his bedroom and trooped down the stairs towards the kitchen, Harry came across Kreacher, the resident house-elf that belonged to Sirius. He hadn't seen much of the elf since moving into Grimmauld Place, but from what he had seen of him had not endeavoured Harry to liking him. The elf seemed to disrespect Sirius and went out of his way to actively annoy him. Harry was certain that Sirius would have freed him if he could have done, however the headmaster had expressively forbidden Sirius to do so due to the fact that the elf would have overheard the Order of the Phoenix meetings and if dismissed, could end up spilling all their secrets to Voldemort or one of his many followers.
And that was something they didn't want to happen.
"Morning, Harry!" grinned Sirius. "Happy birthday!"
Laid out on the table in front of him was an exquisite feast – toast, cereal, bacon and eggs, pancakes – enough for him that he did not even know where to begin. Sirius was already tucking into a plateful of pancakes topped with scrambled egg and chopped pieces of bacon.
"You're going to get fat," teased Harry.
"Me, fat? I run around most of the day chasing Dark Wizards who are attempting to kill me. Doubt I'll get fat..." replied Sirius, good-humouredly. "Of course when I'm old, I might just get fat..."
"And I suppose I'll be paying for your retirement home?" laughed Harry.
Sirius looked at him quizzically. "What's a retirement home?"
"A place where some old Muggles go when their family can no longer look after them," explained Harry. "Do they not have those in the Wizarding World?"
"Not really..." said Sirius. "Most pure-blood families look after their own from the day they are born to the day they die. It's ingrained in us from birth to do that – well it was for me anyway. James, on the other-hand, wasn't. But then his parents were quite old when they had him. They died shortly after he left Hogwarts..." He fell silent, his mind wandering back into the past, remembering when James' parents had taken him as their own son when he had run away from home.
"Gran and Granddad were very special to you, weren't they Sirius?"
"Perceptive as usual," replied Sirius sadly. "They were the parents that I wanted to have... who didn't care what I chose to do in life as long as I was doing what I wanted to do... that I was happy. My mother wanted me to follow the Black family code... marry a Pure-blood and continue the family name. Being sorted into Gryffindor was a blessing... Your grandparents supported me when my own did not. It was either hate half-bloods and muggle-borns or be disowned. Thankfully, my dear old mother never managed to officially disinherit me. Your grandparents would have adopted me if I'd let them. They became my family from the age of eleven. Great people the Potters. They'd be proud to have a grandson like you, Harry."
Harry felt his lips twitching. He had never known his family, yet through Sirius he could learn so much about them. Despite it being his birthday, Harry felt sadness well up inside him and they finished their breakfast in silence.
That afternoon Sirius had taken Harry to Hogwarts where an elaborate feast had been lined out on the Gryffindor table. Joining him were the entire Weasley family (save for Arthur and Percy – both of whom had important work at the Ministry), Hermione Granger and Tonks. Remus would have attended if he had still not been an inpatient at St Mungo's, however he had sent Harry a full set of Defence books to make up for his lack of absence.
After the meal, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Sirius, Bill, Charlie and Ginny went to the Quidditch Stadium to play three-aside Quidditch. They didn't use the Snitch, nor the Bludgers, but just used the Quaffle. The first side to reach two hundred points would win. Harry chose Ginny and Sirius for his team, leaving Ron, Fred and George as the opposing team. Bill and Charlie were the goal-keepers.
Molly Weasley and Tonks stayed in the stands, watching as they played, cheering them on.
But it was around mid-afternoon that everything began to change quite abruptly.
Harry passed the Quaffle to Sirius who caught it, and as he sped forward as his godfather threw it to Ginny, he felt a sudden coldness ripple up his skin. He looked around and saw to his horror black shapes flying towards them...
Screaming...
"Lily! Take Harry and run!"
Blackness was threatening to close in even as his father's final words echoed in his ears...
"HARRY!"
He pulled himself from the darkness pulling at his vision and concentrated hard on Sirius' voice. He was speeding towards the ground, shouting at him to follow suit. Harry urged his Firebolt downward trying to ignore the screaming in his head. He reached the earth and clambered off. Molly and Tonks had joined them, their own wands out, but neither of them looked confident.
High above them, Dementors swooped down upon them. Coldness descended once more and the memories continued to assault him. Harry pulled out his wand, remembering the incantation he had been taught by Professor Lupin in his third year. He had never mastered the charm... but maybe... just maybe...
He raised his wand, summoning up the happiest memory he would muster: the day he had moved into Godric's Hollow with Sirius, and he yelled: "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A burst of silver light extended from his wand but it faltered as it reached the Dementors.
Strong hands wrapped around him and he felt his knees buckling beneath him. He blinked rapidly. He could see Sirius standing in a line with Bill and Charlie and Tonks, and then together they yelled the same incantation. A dog leapt from Sirius' wand, charging the Dementors, but he could not define the shapes of Tonk's, Bill or Charlie. Someone slumped beside him: it was Hermione. Ginny was already on the ground, her body curled up in a ball. His mother's voice was still screaming in her ears.
"GET THEM AWAY FROM HERE!" yelled Sirius, his wand still aloft, even as his Patronus faltered.
"But what about you?" returned Tonks.
"JUST DO IT! AND THAT'S AN ORDER!" said Sirius, even as he summoned the happiest memory he could muster: the day he had been officially granted custody of Harry and cast another Patronus, directing the silver dog towards the army of Dementors. Bill and Charlie stood beside him, yet memories from his past welled up inside him...
James and Lily's bodies in the ruins of Godric's Hallow...
Closing James' eyes...
Losing Harry to Hagrid...
The Dementors sucking his soul beside the Hogwart's Lake...
And as the memories assaulted him, he slumped to the earth unconscious, his wand falling from his fingertips as darkness closed around him. His last cohesive thought was of Harry and how much he had failed in his duty to protect him.
Harry watched as his Godfather's body was levitated into the hospital wing, his gut twisted in fear. Hermione clutched his arm, knowing what price Harry would have to pay if Sirius' soul had been sucked out. Molly had sent a warning to Dumbledore who had quickly arrived on the school grounds and he had driven the Dementors away, but by the time he had succeeded, Bill, Charlie and Sirius had been out cold amongst the circle of enemies.
"He is alright, Potter," said Minerva McGonagall, who had accompanied the Headmaster to the school when she had heard of the Dementor attack. "He is just drained. The Dementors did not succeed in taking his soul."
"But they nearly did," he replied sadly, now sitting beside his godfather's bed. "They all seemed to converge upon him more than me..." He had noticed that though some had gone for him, the majority of the army of Dementors had descended upon Sirius' location. "It was an attack on him, wasn't it?"
Professor McGonagall seemed to waver, wondering whether she could – and should – say.
"I'm not a child, Professor. I've done more than any student in this school combined. Don't I deserve to know the truth?" he said quietly, eyes firmly held on his Transfiguration Professor.
"Of course you are, Potter, however I am not your legal guardian, nor can I say what you should or should not know. I'm sorry, Potter, but you'll have to wait for Professor Dumbledore. He is at the Ministry of Magic. It appears the Dementors are out of our control, judging by the attack. This was not an authorised action on the part of the Ministry. And now I must leave you, Potter. I am sure the Headmaster will be waiting to give me a report when he returns."
Swishing her robes around her, Professor McGonagall departed the hospital wing, leaving Harry sitting beside the prone form of his godfather. Further down the ward, the Weasley family were bustled around Bill and Charlie, both of whom had just woken.
And so Harry waited: his birthday having been ruined by Voldemort's timely attack. Oh, he didn't need to be told that he was behind it. It was that obvious. The question was, was that only a select few had known what was happening at Hogwarts today. Someone had betrayed them and that came down to a narrow few.
Harry was startled awake by the yells of 'James! Lily! Harry!' He blinked rapidly, adjusting his glasses as they had become dislodged during his brief sleep awkwardly on his chair. He reached out reassuringly towards Sirius who was thrashing wildly on the bed. "Sirius, it's me, it's Harry. You are safe."
His godfather stopped, his breathing slowing as reality came crashing back and his godfather turned his once-sunken face towards him, his eyes filled with fear. "I thought they had killed you."
"Who?" swallowed Harry, feeling worried.
"The Dementors," rasped Sirius.
Harry shook his head. "No, I got away. Tonks and Mrs Weasley had to literally drag me away... You were left with Bill and Charlie... They nearly got you though, but Dumbledore saved you..."
"I just crumbled..." whispered Sirius, "...all of those Dementors overwhelmed me... All the bad memories I had managed to press back in my Animagus form during my time in Azkaban came flooding back... I couldn't..."
"Do not feel bad for your weakness, Sirius."
Harry whirled round to find Professor Dumbledore standing behind him, a slight smile on his face. "Professor."
"Hello, Harry. I will not excuse you, what I am about to tell you will come out in the papers soon enough."
Sirius' face paled. "What's happened?"
Dumbledore raised his hand. "First I must stress Sirius that you did not fail in protecting Harry. He got away... but Dementors are your weakness. You've spent far too many years in their keeping for them not to be. They will affect you more than they would Harry here, which is why you have been unconscious longer then both Bill and Charlie and why chocolate did not rouse you. Voldemort knows this and will seek to get to you through them. You have to work hard on your Patronus as I am certain he will use them against you again."
"They've joined him, haven't they?" asked Harry.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "The Dementors have joined Lord Voldemort. However that is not all that has happened. Ten high security prisoners have escaped Azkaban. The Aurors are on watch on Azkaban, trying to maintain order amongst the prisoners. The prisoners that have escaped are Voldemort's most loyal servants. The war that we fight has only just got worse."
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
So, not exactly one of Harry's best birthday's... and there is a lot more heartbreak and danger to come as Voldemort moves further out into the open, plots are made, and Harry's fifth year at Hogwart's rapidly approaches...
More soon,
the-writer1988