So far, Harry had enjoyed his best summer, in some ways, even better than what he'd had at the Burrow. While it was fantastic at the Weasley's home, and Mrs. Weasley was kind and what a mother should be, Harry had also found her a bit smothering at times, though he hadn't said anything to her about it. Sharen, on the other hand, was just as kind as Mrs. Weasley, but without any preconceived notions about what he could and couldn't do. She always encouraged him to try and figure things out first, then if he needed help, to come to her, show her his problem, and go from there. Sharen was an attentive teacher as she'd always been, but now that she was his guardian, she hugged him more, ruffled his hair, seemed to enjoy making meals for him, and would even play with him in the park. While they were out, Sharen had suggested to Harry that Magic wear casual muggle clothes rather than the robe she'd always warn. It was a simple matter for Magic to change her clothes to something that was more suitable, and while Harry and Sharen ran around and climbed on the playground's items, Magic would methodically and systematically examine everything before proceeding, in the most efficient way, to go down the slide, swing across the monkey bars, or build something out of sand. It was her way, though, and Harry loved it.
What he enjoyed most about the park was the swing, though Sharen didn't swing as much as he did. They had made his being in the park an all day event once, and by the end, Harry was happier than he'd been in a long time. As a result of Harry spending so much time outside, he had gained a bit of a tan, from what Sharen had told him. Magic's skin hadn't changed at all, Sharen only putting sunscreen on her for appearances.
Harry woke up on the morning of his birthday content and happy, feeling more confident than ever, and hopeful that his longing for a normal birthday would come to pass. He felt most secure when he was in his house with Sharen, perhaps due to the magic that hid them, which was strong and spoke of being unable to find the hidden property. As with everything else, Harry was fairly certain he could duplicate the magic, even to hide himself and Magic if he wanted, though he didn't know what the result might be. When he'd thought about it and made to experiment, he'd received a warning, as he had with other forms of magic. It wasn't a warning of danger, though, but one of loss, strong loss. He decided not to try that experiment and left it be.
It was strangely quiet in the house, Harry realized. He'd heard movement the previous night, but now, during the morning when he'd usually hear sound, he heard nothing. He checked his watch, realizing it was eight o'clock. After dressing for the day, he left his room and carefully moved toward the kitchen, listening for any sound at all. He heard nothing, but knew he wasn't in any danger. Magic was behind him as he slowly entered the kitchen, turning his head and moving toward the table. When he reached it and had a hand on his chair, Sharen shouted loudly, "Happy thirteenth, Harry!"
Harry jumped and felt his heart pounding as Sharen laughed joyfully. She often did things strange like that, though never anything quite that extreme before. Mostly, it was something as odd as skipping around the table like a child while she sang some song she'd made up about them going to the park together and having fun, fun, fun. Breathing deeply and calming down, Harry sat down, then started to grin.
"What's all this?" He asked.
"All that are your presents from your friends, and me, your family. My parents sent you something as well." Sharen replied. "Oh, and I believe there's a Hogwarts letter in there for you, too."
"Cool." Harry responded, pulling one of the packages toward him.
After opening it, Harry felt two pieces of paper, and another package. Sharen came over to him and took the papers from him, which weren't in braille.
"There's a letter and what looks like a clipping from the Daily Prophet here." She said.
"What's the letter say?" Harry asked.
"Dear Harry, Happy birthday! I heard that you're with a new guardian now that's better than the Dursley's were, so I hope things are going well! It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff. I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year. We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there? Try and come to London. PS. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week." Sharen read.
"And what about that clipping?" Harry asked.
"Ah, yes, I remember reading about this." Sharen responded with a grin. "Okay, it says this. Ministry of Magic Employee Scoops Grand Pries. Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw. A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank." The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend." Sharen paused, then added, "There's a picture, too. It looks like Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and her entire family. In the middle is a boy with a rat on his shoulder."
"Ron, and the rat's name is Scabbers." Harry said with a smile.
"What's that there, then?" Sharen asked as Harry unwrapped it.
"Looks like a spinning top." Harry said.
"There's another note here." She said, Harry handing it to her. "Looks like it's from your friend. It says this. Harry, this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup. Bye." Sharen got a bit of a chuckle out of that, then said, "Fred and George are pranksters, are they?"
"Yeah, they are." Harry replied as he placed the Pocket Sneakoscope on the table where it remained still and perfectly balanced on its point.
"That's cool!" Sharen said cheerfully and with excitement in her voice. "Now open this one, Harry!"
"Who's more excited about this birthday, you or me?" Harry asked, grinning, and he suspected Sharen was as well.
"Me!" She replied in a resolute voice.
Harry unwrapped the present Hermione had given him, the birthday card in braille. The letter was also in braille as well, and he felt something that looked like a book.
"Read it to me!" Sharen said. "I want to hear what your friend Hermione has to say!"
"Okay." Harry said with a bit of a chuckle. He opened the letter. "Dear Harry and Magic. Hey, it's to you, too, Magic! What do you think of that?"
"You're happy." Magic stated in response.
"Oh, you're hopeless." Sharen stated. "Go on, Harry."
"Okay." Harry said. "I hope you're new guardian's treating you well and that you're having a great time. Ron told me as well, and I'm glad you're away from the tender care of the Dursley's. I guess she meant that sarcastically, their care was anything but tender."
"You've got that right." Sharen said.
"I'm on holiday in France at the moment, and was able to find a postal service to use that would send wizarding items. I was so glad about that and worried that they might open it at customs, finding that was like a gold mine! I bought your present by owl order and I thought you might like it! Did you hear about Ron's family a week ago? He's in Egypt in case you didn't know, and I bet he's learning loads. I'm so jealous and I wish I could be there. The ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating. There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out. I hope it's not too long, it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for. Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? Will your new guardian let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first! Love from, Hermione. P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased. Ron doesn't seem too happy about it." Harry chuckled a bit.
"So, what is it, what did she get you?" Sharen asked.
Harry tore away the paper and read the title of the book that she'd obtained for him. He blinked tears from his eyes and could feel himself about to cry.
"What is it?" Sharen asked.
Trembling, Harry read, "It's a book called, Quidditch for the Disabled, by Richard Jenson. I've always wanted to fly, maybe even play Quidditch, maybe I can now."
"That's fantastic, Harry." Sharen said. "Now, this one, this one!" Sharen pushed a small package into his hands and he opened it, reading the card to himself. It was from Sharen, and it was a globe of some kind. When it was in his hands, Harry's world changed and he felt like he was back in the park ready to jump off the swing.
"Catch me, Magic!" Harry shouted, as if the scene wasn't under his control.
He felt his heart pound as he jumped from the swing, feeling himself land in Magic's strong arms, then was placed on his feet. The view faded and he found himself sitting back in the chair, a wide grin on his face. It had been a little unnerving at first, but he loved it.
"It's better than a picture." Sharen said, sounding quite convinced. "I hope you like it."
"I love it." Harry said. "Thanks." He was almost brought to tears from the strength of his joy again, and Sharen put an arm briefly around him and patted his shoulder.
Harry grabbed another small package and opened it. It was from Angela Turner, he realized, and was a paper a little smaller than the page in a print book.
"What's that?" Sharen asked as Harry opened the card.
"Listen." Harry said. "I expected this earlier, but anyway. Dear Harry, Happy birthday from Angela Turner! I thought you might like this birthday gift, and I'm sorry for not getting this to you sooner, but we had to work out a couple problems with the design. We've included something else as well, that you can put on the bottom of your Brailler. It'll melt into it, but don't worry, it's all part of the new process that should allow you to write and read anything in print using the Brailler. The paper can be used for reading only, and to advance the display when you've reached the end, touch the raised circle in the lower right corner. To move the display back, touch the circle in the lower left hand corner. Both should work very well, and be sure to let me know if there are any problems. Best wishes."
Harry took out a small, flat piece of plastic that he put on top of the paper for now, then grabbed another package from Daphne. Pulling it open, he read the short card.
"Well, she got me some chocolate frogs, I guess she wasn't quite sure what to get me this year and sent me this as a sign of her friendship." Harry said.
"I love those things." Sharen said.
"So do I." Harry responded.
"You'd better be careful with this last one." Sharen said. "It almost looks like it's struggling to get out."
"Here, Magic, you unwrap it." Harry said.
Magic took hold of the wrapping paper and ripped it off, then Harry heard a loud snapping sound, and could hear pages being turned along with it. It only lasted moments, though, before Magic somehow stopped it.
"What was that?" Harry asked.
"A book." Magic responded. "I'm holding it shut and it's unable to move."
"Let me feel that a sec." Harry said as he reached out, touching the book and curiously running his fingers down the spine, though it felt like any other book he'd had before. Clearly, however, it wasn't.
"It has gone still." Magic stated.
Harry opened the book, but couldn't read it at all.
"I'm going to need this one translated." Harry said. "Magic, can you copy the book, make a translated version of it?"
"Yes." Magic stated, then Harry felt something heavy in his lap and lifted it up, feeling the same type of book, but in braille this time.
"The Monster Book of Monsters." Harry said. "We'll have to bind the print copy shut somehow."
"I have." Magic replied as Harry heard it close. "The animation is not in your copy."
"Good." Harry said. "I'm glad about that. So, anything else here?"
"That's all. Oh, except this." Sharen said, then he heard her walk across the kitchen, pick something up, then put it down in front of him. Harry could feel heat coming from it, smelling something burning.
"What's this?" Harry asked.
"Haven't you ever blown out candles on a cake?" Sharen asked, then quickly said, "Never mind, you haven't. Well, it's a cake with candles in it. A chocolate cake. I thought you might like it. There's thirteen candles on the cake, and traditionally, one silently wishes for something and blows out the candles. Go on, Magic, go on, next to Harry." Sharen sounded excited, and Harry felt Magic stand next to him before she put the Monster Book of Monsters down on a chair.
"I don't have anything to wish for, I have everything I could want." Harry said, then took a deep breath. Together, Harry and Magic blew out the candles, Harry smelling smoke that he guessed came from the candles a few seconds after he finished. Harry heard Sharen taking some pictures, then heard her put down the camera.
"Ready to try some of your cake?" She asked cheerfully. "I know I am."
"Yeah." He replied.
"Okay, then." Sharen said. "I know how you have trouble cutting things up, so would you like me to cut the cake for you?"
"Yes, please." Harry replied.
"Today's your day, Harry." Sharen replied as he heard her cutting the cake and tossing the candles.
"And it's the best birthday I've ever had." Harry said, then heard a soft ping from one of the mail boxes.
"That'll be mine." Sharen said, going over to it. "Looks like it's the Daily Prophet."
"Anything interesting?" Harry asked.
"Yes, it seems so." Sharen responded thoughtfully.
"What is it?" Harry asked as he heard Magic continuing to finish cutting the cake.
"It'll put a dampener on things if I read it." Sharen warned.
"Nothing could do that." Harry responded.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Sharen replied. "This just might."
"Tell me." Harry said. "Please."
"Mass Murderer Breaks Out From Azkaban Prison. For the first time in the history of Azkaban, one of the most infamous murderers in the wizarding world, Sirius Black, has escaped from Azkaban early this morning. Black, responsible for the murder of thirteen people thirteen years ago, is now suspected to be at large. Twelve Muggles and one magical, named Peter Pettigrew, were killed in the single curse that Black fired from his wand. Black, known to be Harry Potter's godfather, not only betrayed the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but is also known to be one of his most devout supporters. Suspicions that Black is out to kill Harry Potter this year at Hogwarts school have arisen due to his mad mumblings of, "He's at Hogwarts." The reports of his mutterings in his sleep came from the Dementors patrolling the prison, and it is believed that Black's goal for killing Potter is to bring He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named back to life. For more information on Black's involvement with the potters, turn to page three. For Black's history, turn to page five." Sharen paused as Harry felt a vague sort of shock, and a tight ball of fury within him. "There's a picture of him, too, white, waxy skin stretched over his bones, gray eyes blinking slowly, and no expression. He's got long, matted hair, and looks generally unkempt."
"You're right." Harry said with a sigh. "Guess there are some things that can put a dampener on fun."
"Yes, but remember, we're quite safe here." Sharen said. "And, with Magic, you've proven yourself capable of keeping yourself safe very effectively at Hogwarts."
"Killing changes the soul forever." Magic stated. "It's unwise to kill Sirius Black. I recommend you avoid killing Sirius Black. Bring him to the authorities, you are capable of this."
"Harry, were you really thinking about that?" Sharen asked.
"He betrayed my parents, got them killed!" Harry shouted furiously. "He told Voldemort about me, where my parents were!"
"It says here that the Potters came to know about you from Black, and Peter Pettigrew is considered a hero for alerting the public to Black's betrayal." Sharen said.
"I want to be alone with Magic." Harry stated angrily, yanked his cane from his cane holder, and stormed toward the front door. Sharen didn't stop him, and Harry stormed down the driveway after slamming the door behind he and Magic.
He was glad Magic couldn't feel pain, and couldn't be physically injured as he moved quickly down the sidewalk, Magic on his left, he clutching her hand so tightly that any human probably would have been in a great deal of pain, but that wasn't on his mind. Sirius Black's betrayal was, that he sold his parents out to Voldemort, and if he hadn't, he would still have a family. It was because of Black that he'd lost his parents, and because of Black that his mother had to sacrifice herself in the first place. His grip on Magic's hand tightened in his anger and he heard his own pulse as his heart pounded hard. Storming around looking angry didn't do anything to resolve his anger, though, and as he thought about killing Black and getting revenge, he knew that was the only way to get justice. He stormed toward the park as he thought about how satisfying it would be to make him pay for everything he did, but realized that it wouldn't bring back his parents. He sat down on a bench, still clutching Magic's hand, and thought, trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to do, how he wanted to proceed. It was about ten minutes later when he finally realized he was actually considering ending a person's life, and that in doing so, he wasn't going to bring back his parents or change anything that had happened. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he released Magic's hand, and quiet sobs escaped his throat. His head was down as he cried, but someone noticed him. He didn't take notice of the quick footsteps coming toward him, but he noticed when he felt small hands on his knees.
"Are you sad too?" Harry swallowed when he heard the voice of the child who had approached him bravely. He put his hands on the child's smaller ones and rose his head.
"Yeah." He said. "Yeah, I'm sad too."
"Why?" The child asked.
"Because... The man that betrayed my... He told a very bad man about my parents, and that's why they're dead. And I didn't know about it until... Well, about a half hour ago." Harry's voice trembled with his sadness and grief.
"My daddy died a month ago." The child said. "And I was angry for a while, now I'm sad because he won't ever come back."
"Yeah." Harry said. "You can't bring back anyone who's been killed, dead, they're never going to come back."
"Were you mad too?" The child asked.
"For a bit, but then I realized that nothing I did would change anything at all." Harry responded. "I... I don't know what to do."
"The very bad man's the one who got rid of your parents?" The child asked.
"Yeah. And the other one, who escaped from prison, just told the bad man where to find them." Harry said. "He betrayed them."
"I think you need a hug." The child said, and Harry didn't do anything to stop the small person when they climbed on him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around the child in return, then heard her say, "I'm Stacey. Who are you?"
"Harry." He responded.
"Want to play?" Stacey asked.
"Sure." Harry replied, sniffing. "Yeah, sure."
Stacey climbed off of him and ran through the sand. Harry stood with a sigh and followed, thinking that no amount of playing would ever put an end to the pain he was feeling at Sirius Black's betrayal. His death at his hands would only replace the pain he felt with that of ending a life, becoming a murderer. Magic didn't recommend him killing Sirius Black, Harry remembered as Stacey climbed up a tunnel and called, "Bet you can't catch me!" No, Harry thought. He wouldn't kill Sirius Black. He felt his flame of magic touch him, grow closer to him, seem to wrap around him in a soothing way, not unlike the manner in which hearing phoenix song had. That must be from his magic merging with Athis, he thought to himself, feeling more content as he followed Stacey.
He enjoyed playing with Stacey in the park for about a half hour before her mother called her to go back home. Harry then got on one of the swings and enjoyed the soothing motion, thought about Sirius Black, and decided it wouldn't be worth it to even try and find him. After he leapt off the swing, he went back to his house with Magic. After he closed the door and entered the kitchen, Sharen asked with a calm he was surprised about, "Have you decided what you're going to do about Sirius Black?"
"Nothing." Harry responded with a sigh. "I'm not even going to try and find him."
"I'm glad to hear that." Sharen said. "So. Are you ready to try this cake of yours, then?"
"Sure." Harry replied.
The chocolate cake, being the only cake that he'd ever had, was the best he'd ever tasted. Sharen seemed to enjoy watching him go through it, and once he finished what he wanted, Sharen also having some, and Magic finishing off the rest, they went shopping in Diagon Alley. The first place Harry went after Gringotts was Specialty Magical Needs. As usual, the bell rang when he entered, and Sharen gazed around the shop with wonder.
"I didn't know the wizarding world had all this for people like you, or people with other disabilities." She said.
Harry heard a strange humming sound that was coming from the back of the store and getting closer, then heard Turner's familiar voice.
"I hope this will work for you, Vance."
"It should do nicely, if it navigates stairs and other obstacles as well as it did in your little demo." The man named Vance replied, his voice sounding a little gruff.
"I'm glad to hear that." Turner sounded happy to help, then Harry heard the humming sound pass him. Once the door closed, Turner said, "Harry! How can I help you?"
"I was curious about my trunk, here." He said, placing it on the counter. "I wondered if there are other security features than just using a lock."
"Ah." Turner replied. "I thought you'd ask about something like that. We can upgrade its security, yes. We'll need a drop of your blood, and your magical signature."
"Magical signature?" Harry asked.
"Yes." She replied. "It's like a fingerprint, but it identifies only you."
"Oh." He said. "Well, it might identify Magic here, too."
"Why?" Turner asked.
"She's my magic." Harry replied.
"Well, that'll be perfect, then." She said. "Just one moment while I get Anastasia to perform the charms."
As Harry heard Turner heading into the back room of the shop, Sharen asked, "You seemed to know Anastasia."
"If it's the same person that read me my exams for the last school year, I know her." Harry replied.
It didn't take them long to come back, and Harry heard Anastasia's familiar voice as she said, "So, you just can't have enough of me."
"I had to find you and see where you were working, Anny." Harry grinned.
"I get enough of being called Anny by my sister, thanks." Anastasia responded. "So, upgrading your trunk's security, are you?"
"Yeah." Harry said.
"Okay, then, that should be easy. It can be shrunk for this, it doesn't matter."
"Okay." Harry replied.
"Do you have the keys with you?" Anastasia asked.
"Yeah." Harry said.
"Okay." She replied as he put them on the counter. "Put out your hand. This may hurt a bit."
Harry put out his hand and felt something prick his finger. He flinched a little, then felt Anastasia's healing magic wash over his finger, healing it. He next felt an unfamiliar type of magic as she tapped his hand, then he heard her wand tap the keys, then the lock of the trunk. He felt the magic connect them all together, then settle into a stable pattern.
"There you are." She said. "Would you like to test this, young lady? I assume you're with Harry."
"Sure." Sharen said. "And I'm Sharen, I'm actually Harry's guardian."
"Oh, yes, I remember reading about that." Anastasia replied. "The Dursley's weren't good guardians, I take it?"
"No." Harry responded.
"So, the lock's a little small." Sharen said.
"Try pressing the circle on the top to unshrink it. You shouldn't be able to." Anastasia said.
"Nothing." Sharen replied after a moment.
"Good." Anastasia responded. "Harry?"
Harry unshrunk the trunk successfully, Sharen attempted to unlock it without success, and Harry managed to unlock the trunk without a problem. Just as he thought, Magic was able to shrink the trunk, and Turner said, "Perfect. That'll be four galleons, Harry."
"Okay, here you are." Harry said after he retrieved the appropriate amount. "There's one other thing, too."
"And what's that?" Turner asked.
"I wondered if there are any accommodations for playing Quidditch." Harry said.
"There are, and accommodations for flying in general on a broom." Turner responded. "We've been able to make flying fully accessible to the blind, and believe me, it wasn't easy, but we were able to make significant modifications. There are spells to tell you your altitude using vibrations, pinging sounds for objects around you, a bumper spell to prevent you from slamming into objects or the ground, spells that will stop you from sliding or falling from the broom, and a host of spells for Quidditch players, including ones that will alert you of the various different balls with different tones. We'll even add a braille compass that can clip to the broom so you know what direction you're going, and if you want to continue in a specific direction, you can activate that with the compass and the broom will stay flying in a straight line."
"Really?" Harry asked with a wide grin. "I'd love to fly! When can I get a broom that's got all that?"
"We've done some preliminary work on some brooms, but we haven't done anything for the Firebolt just yet. I'd say you can get it by tomorrow." Turner responded. "It's two-hundred galleons for the Nimbus Two Thousand and One if that's the one you'd like."
"I would." Harry said, still grinning. He announced the amount and poured it on to the counter, where Harry heard Turner sweeping the coins into a drawer.
"And, your usual boxes of paper, you'll need, I suppose?" She asked.
"Yep." He responded.
"I'll throw those in for free this time, since it's your birthday." She said, and Harry heard someone else place them on the counter.
"Magic, go ahead and put those where they need to go." Harry said, and he heard the sound reflecting off of them stop, indicating that they'd vanished.
"Wow." Anastasia said. "I didn't know she was that good at performing magic. Wait a minute, how'd she bypass the security spells?"
"She's my magic." Harry explained. "She registers as me."
"Strange." Anastasia responded. "Well, if that's the case, I've done my job right."
"Yeah, you have. Don't worry." Harry said, grinning. "Well, I'll be back to pick up the broom and its accessories tomorrow, then."
"I'll expect you." Turner said. "Good day, Harry, Sharen, and Magic."
"To you as well." Sharen responded.
"See you tomorrow, Harry." Anastasia said. "And possibly both of you as well."
"I'll be with him, so will Magic." Sharen said.
"Good, then." Anastasia responded, Harry hearing her heading into the back of the shop with Turner, the three of them leaving.
Harry could hardly wait to try out his new broom when he picked it up the next day. Unfortunately, he was limited to reading its instruction manual, memorizing it as he read it over and over again. Sharen, at his request, was allowing him to go to Diagon Alley to see his friends near the end of August, and from there, he was going to Hogwarts. After he confirmed the date with his friends, Harry and Sharen exchanged their goodbyes and a hug that lasted a few minutes on the last day of August.
"You be careful, Harry. And I want to hear about what you're up to, so write me." Sharen said.
"I will." Harry responded as he walked over to his post box, disabling it before he left.
"Good." She said. "You have a good day, then, and a good school year unless you want to come back for Christmas."
"Why don't you come see me for Christmas." Harry said. "I'd like that."
"I might just do that." Sharen responded. "I'd love to see your second home."
"And I'd like you to see it." Harry responded as he headed for the door. "I'll write you, Sharen, miss me."
"I will." She said. "Magic, keep Harry safe."
"Harry wishes that. I'll do so." Magic responded.
"Good." She said, and Harry heard her briefly hug Magic. "See you around, Harry and Magic."
"See you." Harry said, and after leaving the house, appeared in the Leaky Cauldron with his shrunken trunk in his pocket and Magic next to him.