A/N: Hello everyone. Welcome back! This chapter is more fluff than substance, but i do think it's decently important. Hope you all enjoy and remember to review!
Harry's birthday (and by extension Neville's) was usually a happy affair for Harry. His friends would all come together, (even if Padma and Parvati hadn't been able to make it since the first time they'd celebrated together) and they'd play games, eat cake, and generally celebrate the lives of two of their dear friends. Harry usually felt bad about that, he knew that the reason they celebrated his so hard was as a sort of pity for him never having had a birthday before they had met him, a way for them to attempt to make up for lost time. Neville's birthday being a day earlier, and therefore the party being shared, so needing to be 'doubled' was an excuse they made to pay the extra attention, even though Harry thought they'd do it anyway.
He'd done what he could to not let it bother him, he did, genuinely and fully, appreciate the effort they put in. Andy and Nym always pushed that extra little bit harder to make everything perfect, the girls always managed to be that extra little bit more loving on those days. He loved them for it, but it always served as a reminder.
They pushed so hard because they knew he'd never gotten one before they met him. They wanted to try and replace his memories of the cupboard under the stairs with happier ones surrounded by friends and loved ones, not cobwebs and house spiders.
As he sat on the bed in Grimmauld Place, he was a tad put out though. Normally they would have gone somewhere for the party, be it Longbottom Manor like last year, or the park like the year before. That normally was because the Tonks house, while fairly large for a home in Bristol, didn't have the capacity to hold the twenty odd guests who would come for these events. Grimmauld technically DID have enough room, but it was awkward maneuvering around everyone. The London townhouse, even if it had enough rooms to sleep a family of 10, had narrow walkways and only two open areas. Dumbledore had graciously cast an expansion charm on the dining room, which made it comfortable-ish for the twenty or so people who would be attending to stand around in. Andy and Nym had sent him up to his room while they decorated, saying he needed to get ready, and not to come down until they told him to.
Getting ready hadn't taken long, he elected to dress a touch nicer than normal, black slacks and a polo shirt in Ravenclaw blue, and while he'd attempted to tame his wild mane of a head of hair, he hadn't succeeded, so left it how it normally was. A knock at the door caught his attention, and he stood up to open it, revealing a similarly dressed Neville, although he had elected for the Gryffindor crimson for his shirt instead.
"Looks like great minds think alike." Neville said, chuckling a bit at their attire.
"Or it's like the others say and we simply share one brain cell between us." Harry countered, giving them both a laugh.
Neville stepped in and closed the door behind him, although it was caught by Sirius as he stepped in as well. "No kids, James, Remus, and I used to share a brain cell. Unfortunately, Remus hogged it all the time, so James and I couldn't make use of it. Could you imagine the dastardly schemes we could have concocted if we had been allowed custody?" Sirius asked, earning even more chuckles from Harry and Neville.
The three men took seats on chairs in Harry's room, as Harry looked over at Neville and Sirius. "Is this really okay?" Harry asked, looking between them.
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, his gaze questioning as he looked to his honorary brother.
"For us to be celebrating something right now. Voldemort is back, and we're just… sitting around and having a party." Harry said, his voice dejected as he looked to his brother and uncle.
"Of course it's okay." Sirius said, looking to Harry. "Do you think the world revolves around Voldemort?"
"He wishes it did." Harry answered, looking back at Sirius. "It seems like mine has to."
"Wrong answer." Sirius said. "If your world revolves around anyone but you, it should be one of those girls of yours who are downstairs helping your mother with decorations. Voldemort is a threat, yes, but he's a beatable one. You know that better than most anyone, given you've beaten him 3 times."
"But he's still out there! I could be… I don't know, training or studying or helping. Or you guys could be doing something more important than throwing a party!" Harry exclaimed, his tone almost desperate.
"There's nothing more important than this right now. It's not because it's your birthday, but it's because it gives us a reason to fight. Harry, when you were in the graveyard that night, what were you thinking of when you fought Voldemort? What gave you the strength to fight, even when you thought you were going to lose?" Sirius asked, his tone reflecting his name in a way Harry rarely ever heard.
"I thought of the girls, of my family, of my friends. Everyone who stood by me, who would be killed if I died that night." Harry said, his voice nearly hollow with the memory.
"Exactly. You didn't fight because you wanted to win. You fought because what you had was too precious to lose. This is just a party, but it's not actually your birthday we're celebrating. It has nothing to do with the cake or the streamers. It's the people who are here, the bonds we form. It's the act of holding onto this moment, and making sure that we don't let Voldemort take that happiness from us. We have this party now, effectively to spite Voldemort. If we let him remove this, remove our opportunities for happiness, it doesn't matter if we beat him, because he ALREADY won." Sirius said. "Even during the first war, we made sure to take time to enjoy ourselves. You had a little birthday party when you turned one, even though they were still in hiding. Remus… Peter, and I all came by the house, dropped off our gifts for you and just smiled and laughed. James teased me about finding a girl of my own so that way you'd have a friend at Hogwarts, even if they'd be two years behind you at that point. Lily smacked him around saying there was no way she'd allow me to knock up some woman, that I wasn't ready to be a father."
"That was mean of mom." Harry whispered.
"What are you talking about? She's right, I wasn't. Probably not ready now either, even though part of that choice was taken away. I won't blame Lily for being spot on." Sirius said with a chuckle. "But we talked and reminisced and just… took a moment to remember what we were fighting for. It's all well and good to say you fight for truth or justice or whatever, but at the end of the day those are vague concepts and ideas it's hard to hold onto them. Fighting for someone you love though? Fighting to see their smile and their future? That's easy. That's tangible. Especially for someone like you Harry. Normal children don't square off against trolls for girls they met only a month before, or fight a hundred foot Basilisk for a girl they like. You're possibly needlessly self-sacrificing, but I'm going to read that more as you caring so deeply for others rather than you just being an idiot."
"Are they exclusive?" Neville asked, looking to Sirius.
"Not at all." Sirius said.
"Then he's an idiot who just cares deeply for everyone. Especially the girls." Neville said, rolling his eyes.
"Alas, murdered by my own best friend." Harry said, feigning a bullet wound. Sirius and Neville laughed at his display.
The three men chatted for a few minutes more, before there was another knock at the door. Padma entered, stepping over to Harry and kissing him on the cheek. "Your mom told me to come and get you, the party is pretty much ready, and we need the birthday boys."
"Thanks so much, Mrs. Potter." Neville teased, shooting a smile to Padma.
"Mrs. Black actually." Padma answered unashamedly.
"Padma…" Harry groaned, as she just kissed him again to silence him.
"He's going to be the best man at our wedding dear, he can tease me all he wants about what will be my name, it just makes me happy." Padma said with a smile. "Even if it sounds like I'm marrying Sirius, which is gross."
"Hey! What's wrong with me?" Sirius asked, in faux hurt.
"You look like a vagabond and are old enough to be my father." Padma said, giving him a glare.
"She has you there." Harry said, smirking at his godfather.
"I like my women older and more shapely anyway." Sirius defended, putting on a tone of fake annoyance.
"I think Padma's plenty shapely, and I have a suspicion she'll only grow more beautiful." Harry said, smiling at his betrothed.
"Good boy." Padma said, kissing him again. "We do need to go downstairs though. Everyone is waiting."
The quartet made their way downstairs, with the gathered attendees screaming a loud "Happy Birthday!" to the pair of boys as they entered the decorated and expanded dining room. Harry couldn't help but gawk a little at the decorations, as gold and bronze streamers and tinsel filled the space while a selection of multicolored mylar balloons spelled out "Happy Birthday" as they were attached to the wall. Harry smiled as he entered, moving to hug his mother while the room chattered amiably. His attention was taken away though, when the telltale fwoomsh of the floo sounded through the room, and Harry turned to see who had arrived.
Dusting her dress off from the floo travel, and dragging a rolling suitcase behind her, was the vision of beauty that was Fleur Delacour. She gave Harry a wide smile, one filled with love and compassion that struck him deep within his heart. "'Appy Birthday, 'Arry. I 'ope I am not too late." She spoke, he accent thicker than it had been when they said goodbye, likely from being back in France for two months.
"Not at all Fleur." Harry said, returning her smile with one full of equal affection. His eyes couldn't help but roam over her. The sundress she wore was rather effective at showing off her curves, and he could tell by the way she was looking at him, that she was rather glad he noticed.
Perhaps he should be more ashamed of so openly ogling her, but Daphne and Padma had drilled one lesson into his mind, over and over again: if your girlfriend made herself oglable in your presence, you should ogle a little bit, just to let them know it's working.
"What's with the suitcase?" Harry asked as he looked at it. It was rather large, a bit too big for a short vacation.
"Why, I shall be staying 'ere with you for ze rest of ze summer, mon amour." Fleur said with a twinkle in her eyes as she closed the space between them. "It would not do for me to be so far from my beloved for so long. These two months have been so lonely for me. As a Veela, it is important for me to stay close to my beloved, it is possible for me to become depressed if we are separated for too long, even more so than normal lovers." She added, her accent becoming less noticeable as she continued. Harry imagined she mostly just needed to start speaking some English again to ease it out.
"Far be it from me to deny you." Harry said with a chuckle as he moved to embrace her. "I missed you too, Fleur."
Fleur met his lips in a kiss, humming to herself as she allowed him to hold her. "This is my place. Right 'ere."
Harry couldn't agree more.