Chapter 9: Birthday Celebrations
"Happy Birthday, Edward!" Sam's mother said cheerfully.
"Blow out the candles! Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Sam chanted excitedly, pushing an oversized cupcake with a candle in it over to me.
Today was April 1st, 1990, and I was now 14 years old. Though, 'officially,' I was 16, thanks to my altered transcripts and paperwork. Still, regardless of my actual age, I smiled widely in genuine happiness as I blew out the single candle Sam had jabbed into the large Red Velvet cupcake with vanilla icing he and his mom had baked for me.
It was a Sunday today, and I was spending lunch at Sam's place. Later in the evening, I'd celebrate with my mother with a nice dinner, and then with the Weasleys for dessert, but until then, I was at my second home.
In the three years since I'd entered the Muggle world and met Sam Parson at Woolingsby, we'd become inseparable friends. The revelation Sam liked dressed in drag had surprised me, but I didn't care, and I'd helped him get back at Donny for being a jerk about Sam's preferences. Of course, this was still the eighties, and being 'different' just wasn't done, so I helped Sam figure out ways to cope with his feelings. Baking had been one of them. It was the sort of thing anybody could do, regardless of gender stereotypes in this day and age, and he was getting good at it after nearly two years of practice.
His parents adored me as well. I'm pretty sure they thought I was an orphan, and that my mother was actually some sort of foster care or social worker or something along those lines. They invited me over a lot as a result.
Then there was Kate Parson, Sam's sister. She grinned at me from the opposite side of the table with her mom and brother. She was also my real age, 14, and I was pretty sure she had a crush on me. The way she blushed whenever I glanced in her direction made me assume that was the case.
I pushed the thoughts out of my head and instead focused on blowing out the candle. I huffed and puffed, and the tiny flame was extinguished.
Sam and his family clapped politely, and I gave a stage bow which earned some chuckles.
"I don't think I can eat the whole thing on my own," I said, still somewhat full from the delicious BBQ Sam's father had cooked up for lunch.
"Let's split it, then," Sam's mother offered, and I grinned at that. We divided the giant cupcake into five slices, and we all enjoyed it.
"Here you go, Edward," Sam said cheerfully when we were done, passing over a rectangular gift wrapped in brown paper.
"Hmm? I wonder what it could be," I mused aloud, picking it up and tapping it. "Looks like a book… sounds like a book… so obviously it must be… a sweater!"
"Nope, guess again," Sam said with a grin.
I removed the wrapping paper, and my own smile matched Sam's.
"Awesome!" I exclaimed as I saw it was a limited edition copy of the Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition rule book. The system had come out last year in 1989, and was basically unplayable by any standard, but it was still a great addition to my collection.
As for the rest of the family, Kate got me bunch of neon colored dice, his mom gave me a hug, and his dad slipped me fifty quid, covering it up as a stern handshake.
After spending some more time chatting and hanging out with Sam and his family I had to leave, sadly. As fun as it was, I needed to prepare for the second part of the day with my mother.
Back in the apartment, I got dressed in a nice wizarding outfit. I didn't have to dress up, as we were only going to be having dinner together at home, but it wasn't often I got to look spic and span in wizarding garb (which was just fancy robes) so I took the chance.
Eventually, six o'clock rolled around, and the doorbell rang.
"Hi, mom," I said in greeting as I opened the door, smiling at her fondly. Wisteria Hunch smiled back, and she reached down and rustled my hair.
"You're growing up so fast!" she chuckled while I spluttered.
"Agh! Not the hair, mom!" I protested. "It took forever to comb it and get it ready for tonight!"
"Yes, your father had similar problems with unruly hair," Wisteria said with a nostalgic sigh. "He used to use so much Sleek Easy!"
"Is that so?" I hummed, not liking the comparison to my rat of a father. Mother seemed to noticed this, and she immediately got depressed, which made me upset.
"Come on, mom," I said, holding out my arm for her to take. "Don't want the food getting cold, right?"
"Right, right," Wisteria Hunch said, nodding rapidly, and she took my arm. A second later there was a squeezing sensation around my waist and every limb, and the surroundings blurred. Then, we arrived in the living room of Lumpkin's Patch. I wobbled woozily from the side-along apparation, and mother giggled at the sight of me acting like I was drunk.
"Oh dear," Wisteria laughed. "When will you get the hang of traveling by apparation?"
"Oof," I grunted. "At least I don't feel queasy every time. Only took me nine trips before that happened, but I'm so glad I no longer feel the need to toss my cookies!"
"Well, I'm happy to see you're improving," Wisteria said.
"Where's Rudy?" I asked as I glanced around the room, trying to sound polite, but a note of bitterness still entered my voice.
"He's at school," she replied, failing to hide the hurt look that flashed through her eyes when I sighed in relief at not having to deal with him.
"He's currently a Second Year at Hogwarts, right?" I asked, trying to be conversational as we entered the dining room.
"Yes. He will be a Third-Year next year. He plans on taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," his mother revealed.
"Oh? Good for him," I said insincerely.
Although I'd done my best to avoid speaking with my younger brother, I'd unfortunately been forced to run into him a couple times. He wasn't much fun, and his distaste for me hadn't faded in the years since father's death.
I did my best to pretend I missed the brat, though, and sat down to a nice, home cooked meal.
"Pork chops and garlic mashed potatoes," I said happily as I saw what Wisteria Hunch had made for me.
"Your favorites," she said softly with a small smile.
Conversation was limited to small talk during dinner, and we mostly just chatted about minor things, such as changes in price in potion ingredients, what sort of blunders the Ministry had done recently, and other issues, letting me stay up to date with the Wizarding World.
"Here," she said, passing me a book when dinner was done and Inky teleported the dirty dishes away. "I know you've been doing self-study with Runes, Arithmancy and Potions, so I thought you might like this."
"'A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy?'" I said, reading aloud the title of the book. "By… Nicholas Flamel?!"
"Yes, it used to belong to the Kettlepokes. Consider it a gift from Nana and myself," she said with a grin, seeing my stunned expression.
I looked at it in awe. It was over a hundred years old, and the knowledge within was priceless. Alchemy was something that was like a more advanced form of Potions, like how Transmutation was an advanced version of Transfiguration, and Enchanting was the superior branch of Charms.
Alchemy was incredible, as it didn't just create liquid substances. Solids and gases were also possible to be synthesized. Like the legendary Philosopher's Stone, although that was an extreme example. Unique metal alloys, magically charged crystals, as well as a method to turn potions into pills were all included in what was known to magical folk as Alchemy.
"It's incredible, thank you, mom," I said with genuine cheer in my voice.
After a bit more time hanging around my old home, I gave my mother a hug, and tucked her gift under my arm. Then, instead of being apparated out, I left Lumpkin's Patch and went out into Ottery St. Catchpole. A couple minutes later, and I was at the Burrow's front door.
I'd only knocked on it once before it was flung open and two pairs of hands reached out and yanked me inside.
"Woah, there! Watch where you're grabbing, Fred, George!" I scolded as the twins dragged me through the house and into the kitchen.
"Heh, sorry for messing up your fancy suit and tie," Fred said in a sing-song manner.
"But that's what you get for not visiting for nearly a whole year!" George replied, and I flinched, feeling a bit guilty.
I'd done my best to keep up with the Weasley's over the years, but it was hard. We lived too far away, now, and owls were not exactly inconspicuous. Nor cheap. And, as a Squib, I couldn't own one anyways. Another incredibly stupid rule from the wizarding world. The owl the Weasley's owned was a wizened old thing, and the Muggle mailmen didn't deliver to houses that they couldn't see. That meant letters were infrequent, and I only really got to see the red-headed family during holidays and birthdays.
'The last time I saw them was at New Years,' I thought to myself, feeling a bit morose at that fact.
As I was brought into the dining room by the twins, I hid my thoughts behind a smile upon seeing the rest of the Weasleys. They all greeted me with a barrage of smiles, and Ron and Ginny both shouted "Happy Birthday!" as loud as they could.
I looked around at all of them, smiling widely as I did so. All of the red-heads looked hale and healthy, which was a load off my mind. There were a few missing from the house at the moment, though. Percy and Charlie were at Hogwarts, while Bill had graduated last year and was busy working with Gringotts already.
Ron and Ginny looked excited, though I had to wonder how much was because of me and how much was due to the giant cake on the table. The twins had mischievous grins like always, though this time their smirks were likely due to the fact they'd snuck out of school using the floo to attend the party, and a moment after entering Mrs. Weasley crushed me in a hug. And last but not least was Arthur Weasley who was wearing a pastel green Hawaiian shirt that had yellow and orange ducks on it.
The reason for that was simple. I'd given Arthur Weasley a wind-up duck as a gift a couple Christmas' ago, and he adored the little toy. He played with it in his shed a lot according to his children. Ever since, I'd gotten him duck-themed muggle things like ties, socks, and shirts with duck shapes and patterns on them for Christmas. He seemed to like them, which was nice.
"Fred, George, I didn't expect to see either of you," I said, giving the twins grins.
"We decided-"
"That a party was a better use of our time-"
"Then sitting around in a stuffy castle doing homework," the twins replied, speaking in sync.
"You're doing better with that speaking in tandem thing," I said, giving the duo a thumbs up in approval.
"Don't encourage them!" Mrs. Weasley harrumphed good naturedly. "I have no idea how they snuck out of the castle and into Hogsmeade like that to use the floo in the Three Broomsticks!"
'They must have already found the Marauder's Map, then,' I mused with interest. 'I knew it happened in their first year, but they've done it quite fast already. How many times have they gotten detention in just a couple months?'
Dinner was amazing, as usual. No matter my opinion on Mrs. Weasley's personality, there was no denying she was an excellent cook. Of course, I ended up eating too much and getting stuffed. I would regret it, I knew I would, because this always happened, but I couldn't help it! The food was just too tasty and there were always mountains of leftovers.
As I sat and chatted with the Weasleys after dessert, I couldn't help but think about the ridiculous blood purity stuff that'd been brought up earlier by Hurricane Molly.
Up until about a century ago, you were considered a 'Pureblood' if both your parents were magical. Half-Bloods were those who had one magical and one muggle parent, and Muggleborn were, obviously, witches or wizards who had no magical parents and came from the magical world.
Then Grindalwald came, and that damned wretch who started World War 2 from the shadows made up the whole 'Blood Purity' movement. Mostly by accident. See, old Grindy believed that magicals should rule Muggles. Simple as that.
But some of his followers in the Knights of Walpurgis, those of older lineages, went further, and drew up entire charts and diagrams on 'how pure' a person had to be in order to call themselves magical. Muggleborns were better than Muggles, obviously, but they were below Halfbloods. And Purebloods with long lineages would, naturally, dominate the new society Grindelwald envisoned.
The Knights of Walpurgis wanted to create a magical caste system based on how 'pure' their magical lineage was. And from there it spiraled out of control into the hideous ideology Voldemort had used to bring the wealthy elite of Wizarding Britain under his banner less than half a century later.
Joke was on them, though. Most so-called Pureblood families had a lot of Halfbloods and Muggleborn who'd married into them in the past. If they didn't, they'd cause the lines to Squib out due to inbreeding. And yes, being a Squib was due to witches and wizards intermarrying too often and too closely.
My parents were first cousins. Just as both of their parents had been, thanks to my great-grandparents being idiots and buying into Grindelwald's Blood Purity nonsense.
So, yeah, all my problems could be laid at the feet of my ancestors. I'd made a vow to desecrate their graves when I discovered that fact, and even considered hunting down Gaunt's Ring just to summon their spirits using the Deathly Hallow attached to it and torture them, since being summoned to the living world apparently caused the souls of the dead great distress. According to the tales, at least.
But no, I wasn't going to touch that hot mess with a ten-foot pole. No way in heck was I getting involved with the chaos that was Harry Potter's life. Well, maybe a little. Just a smidge. Enough to get what I wanted.
I'd be staying away from the Horcruxes and Deathly Hallows, though, unless I felt it was absolutely necessary to intervene. Which I hoped wouldn't come to be.
"You alright there?"
I was shaken out of my thoughts of murder, revenge, and inbreeding by Mr. Weasley, who was looking at me in concern.
"Mmm, just a bit tired," I said. It wasn't even a lie! I was feeling tired and a bit bloated from the rich dinner and dessert I'd stuffed myself with. Mr. Weasley noticed and gave me a small, knowing smile and wink.
"Too much excitement, eh?" he chuckled.
"Sounds about right," I replied, and then fought back a yawn.
"Perhaps we should start wrapping things up, then," Arthur said, raising his voice a little so he could be heard over the hubbub of his family.
That earned him a chorus of groans and protestations from the red-headed children, but the patriarch of the Weasley family held up his hands to silence them.
"Now, now, everyone, I know you don't like it, but that's just how it works," he said apologetically.
When I got back home (thanks to a certain helpful House Elf popping me back to the flat), I put my presents down and got ready for bed.
"That was fun," I murmured to myself, yawning all the while as I snuggled deep under the sheets.
I would have to repay the Weasleys somehow. That was something to think about for later, though. Right now I had to slip into a food coma.
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Author's Notes:
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