Next nanosecond, a girl flooed in.
The girl had black hair and brown eyes. Harry recognized the girl by sight but had never spoken to her.
"Harry, " said Sirius cheerfully, "I believe that an introduction is in order."
"Hello, Harry, " said the girl politely, "My name is Tracey Davis. I am in your year but in Slytherin."
Had this introduction occurred the previous night, Harry's reaction to meeting Tracey would have been something along the lines of, "Get the hell out of here you slimy snake," or something to that effect. His positive experience with Dr. Eye, however, had taught Harry to be more open minded.
Harry offered Tracey a handshake and said, "Nice to meet you, Tracey, but is there any reason why you are here?"
"Yes, " answered Sirius matter of factly, "The long and the short of it is, today is Tracey's fourteenth birthday. Usually Tracey goes out on her birthday with her two besties, Daphne Greengrass and Lily Moon. However, the Greengrass family is on vacation in the Bahamas and the Moon family is on vacation in Australia. One time when I was at Hogwarts these past few months, I spotted Tracey in tears one day. It turned out she was feeling sad about having to spend her birthday lonely. She is happy for Daphne and Lily to have the opportunity to go on those vacations with their families, but she was feeling sad thinking about having a lonely birthday. That's where I come in."
"How? asked Harry simply.
"Well, " replied Sirius, "I invited her for the day with her arrival to be timed with our return from your eye exam. We will be going out shortly. I thought it would be nice if Tracey could spend her birthday having fun in the company of a child about her age. Since I also knew that Tracey was a decent person, it had the added benefit of making you even more aware of the existence of decent Slytherin people."
"You're going all in on that, Sirius, aren't you? First Dr. Eye. Now Tracey."
"You've got to give people a fair chance, Harry, " said Sirius calmly, "So before we leave, Harry, would you please sing Happy Birthday to Tracey."
"If only Ginny were here, " mused Harry, "We know how great her singing is. My singing, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired."
"Sing Happy birthday to Tracey, Harry, " prodded Sirius, "I'm sure you'll do a great job at it."
So, Harry began to sing.
"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Tracey Davis, happy birthday to you!"
"Thanks, Harry, " said Tracey in appreciation, "That was beautiful."
"It really was, " smiled Sirius, "No, it wasn't as good as Ginny's singing, but that's such an incredibly high standard. I mean, Michael Irvin isn't as great a Wide Receiver as Jerry Rice because no one is, but he's still a great Wide Receiver in his own right. Just because you can't sing as well as Ginny doesn't mean your singing sucks. I know Tracey appreciated it."
"Just having Happy Birthday sung to me at all meant something, " said Tracey meaningfully, "It's the thought and the effort that counts."
Sirius raised his wand and cried, "Accio cake!
A large chocolate cake with the words Happy Birthday Tracey displayed in mint green icing on top of white frosting appeared before them as did three extra pieces of cake on the side.
"The big cake is yours to take home at the end of the day, " Sirius told Tracey warmly, "The three slices on the side are for the three of us to enjoy now."
"Thank you, Sirius, " said Tracey gratefully, "It is beautiful, and it looks really yummy!"
So, for a few minutes, Sirius, Harry, and Tracey just took their time to savor the delicious elf made cake as of each of them enjoyed the individual slices that had been set aside. It was the best cake Harry had ever tasted and amongst the best for Sirius and Tracey.
"What now?" asked Harry when the cake slices were gone, "I didn't know about this. I haven't bought Tracey a present-"
"I've never been big on birthday presents, " interjected Tracey, "For me, the thing that always made my birthdays special was going out for the day with Daphne and Lily to fun places. After a while I asked people to stop buying me birthday presents because ninety five percent of them ended up stashed away or never used. I value and enjoy doing things more than having things or getting things. The experience of going out to fun places with my friends on my birthday always meant more to me than any presents, even those few I ended up liking. Experiences are more meaningful to me than things and even today when my friends are on vacation, going out somewhere really fun for the day will mean more to me than presents would have. Even on a daily basis, the types of things I value most are things like tasty food, beautiful music, hot showers and nice weather."
"Decidedly unmaterialistic, " observed Sirius.
"Smart girl, " said Harry approvingly, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, the world would be a merrier place!"
"Wise words from a wise wizard, " said Tracey approvingly.
Just then, a barn owl turned up, dropped a letter on Harry's lap, and went off again.
Harry unfurled the letter to read.
"Dear Mr. Potter, I must inform you that your Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia have passed away in Azkaban. It appears that both Vernon and Petunia were incapable of coping with the dementors. Vernon went totally mad and was a raging lunatic in the last days of his life. Both Vernon and Petunia had stopped eating. Given your history with them, I know you will not grieve for them. This letter is strictly for informational purposes.
- Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Amelia Bones."
"I'm not surprised Vernon and Petunia didn't survive Azkaban, " said Harry coldly, "They always seemed a bit on the weak side to me. No, I will not grieve for them because they don't deserve it. Ladies and gentlemen deserve to be mourned. Assholes and bitches do not."
"Love the bluntness, " said Tracey approvingly, "No hiding behind the "It's always a tragedy when a person dies cliché."
"Vernon and Petunia got what they had coming to them, " said Harry ruthlessly.
"Few people have ever been more deserving of such comeuppance, " growled Sirius.
"Well, the asshole and the bitch are by the by now so." said Harry frostily.
"Back to the day at hand, " said Sirius, "We are going to...…."