Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry thought his date with Ginny on Friday had gone well. Not as good as it could have been, but good enough. They did, however, come to the conclusion that dinner dates were rather boring, and they'd much rather just go down to the Quidditch Pitch or wander through Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, or, if they wanted to go less noticed by Witch Weekly, take walks through Muggle London.

Waking up on Saturday, Harry had lost no time in reading his next letter. What might his parents say to him after he had finished Hogwarts? And what about the baby story?

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! You've finished Hogwarts. I have no idea what job you're trying to get, but good luck! I really hope the war has stopped. If not, stay as safe as you can. We don't really have much to say, so let's just tell the story. I better tell this one.

This happened before we went into hiding, and shortly after you started accidental magic. Sirius, Remus, and Peter had come for dinner. You were still taking your nap, but would be waking up soon anyway, so Lily went to go get you. You were not still asleep. You were lying awake in your bed, giggling at absolutely nothing. And as I bent down to pick you up - pop, my hair got turned into feathers. She looked ridiculous. I looked like a bird. Sirius thought it was the funniest thing. He was being extremely annoying about it.

I had to stay like that for two days, because - surprise! - most people choose not to Transfigure hair into feathers. We actually had to owl Professor McGonagall. I would have loved to see the look on her face when she read that one.

Good luck in the outside world!

Love, Mum & Dad

There was a p.s. written, but the ink had been smeared, and Harry couldn't quite make it out. Dih goo find if yst? Or perhaps, Dld qou timb lt gat? Either way, Harry couldn't make out any words, and the p.s.'s of earlier letters hadn't been important, just added for a bit of fun.

Harry reread bits of the letter, laughing. He finally closed it back up into its envelope and set it in the pile of read letters some time later. He glanced back at the unread pile. There was only one left. He would have to read that one tomorrow.

Harry picked up the envelope, turning it over in his hands. He read the date. December 25, 1998. He paused. December 25, 1998 hadn't happened yet. He had one last chance to read the letter when his parents had meant him to read it. A chance to follow through with the letters. True, it would mean waiting, and he wasn't sure if he could do that, but he would at least try. Maybe hide the letter in some books so he had to think when he was getting it. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

"What do you think, Eri?"

The owl hooted in excitement. He'd started flying yesterday, though was quite wobbly, much like a baby learning to walk.

"Want to help me hide it?"

He hooted again. Harry took this for a yes, and opened the cage. Eri hopped onto Harry's shoulder with a flap of his good wing, and settled into a peaceful pose. He was much lighter than Hedwig, and would only grow a little bit more before reaching adulthood. He was almost finished molting, for which Harry was grateful, as it meant he would soon stop finding fluffy down feathers everywhere.

Harry picked one of the light tan feathers out of his hair, sighing. At least he didn't have a full head of feathers.

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"I just don't think they could have possibly known," said Hermione. Their lunch at the Leaky Cauldron had once again moved to the topic of "How could Lily and James have known to write the letters?"

"Hermione, they obviously knew that I'd be able to survive, and I think Lucy has something to do with that," Harry argued.

"I agree. But it's very unlikely that Dumbledore ever tols them 'Oh, and by the way, if one of you dies for Harry he'll live.' Dumbledore didn't like to tell people things."

"Well, maybe he accidentally let it slip in conversation."

"And how exactly-"

"How's your owl doing?" asked Ron, changing the subject. He'd been trying to since Hermione brought this up, and had finally reverted to less subtle tactics.

"Eri's fine. He's started relearning to fly, and then it won't be long before he can send letters," said Harry, glad of the change.

"Isn't he still molting?" asked Hermione.

"He's almost finished."

Thank you for reading! I'm sorry for the wait, I've been on a family trip, and finding time to write is hard. ragsweas, Cassandra30, Desires of Autumn Leaves, and Gime'SS, thanks for the reviews. delia, this chapter should have made it clear that the last two letters will follow the Christmas/birthday pattern. and gabrieljuarezl, I'm glad you're enjoying my story.

The next chapter should be a long one, so if it takes me a while to write, that's why. We've got two more chapters to go, for those of you wondering. Thanks for reading, and please review!