Harry woke up slowly. He was lying on his back on what felt like a sofa. He cracked open his eyes to see that he was still in the drawing room. He noticed Ben was sitting quietly reading in a chair. The trunks were no longer in the room, although a cup and locket that Harry thought was in them were beside Ben.

"How long was I out?" Harry asked, startling Ben.

"Oh, um …" Ben stammered. "I dunno? About an hour, I think. I wasn't paying that close of attention after Sirius determined you were alright."

Ben proceeded to get up and walk over to Harry's side. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Harry replied. "Very good. My head feels clearer and I, well, I remember talking to my parents."

Ben went very still for a moment. He hoarsely croaked, "What? Where did you meet them?"

Harry frowned. "I dunno. It looked like Kings Cross, except empty and cleaner."

"An intermediary place," Ben whispered, voice still choked with emotion. He cleared his throat.

"A what?" Harry asked.

"An intermediary place," Ben stated, his voice stronger and clearer. "A place between. I think, thanks to the destruction of the … thing in your head - "

"My parents said it was a fragment of Voldemort's soul," Harry interrupted.

Ben nodded. "That's what Sirius speculated. He left to … inform Dumbledore while Remus and yourself were recovering. Anyway, to get back to my point, I think you were transported to that place by something inside of you fully dying while most of you was alive."

Harry nodded before asking, "What happened to Remus?"

"He was a werewolf," Ben said, smirking at Harry's expression. "I know, he doesn't act like any of the tales. Well, I should say he's still a werewolf, but, as far as Sirius could tell, he'll be more in control of his wolf."

Harry thought that was a brilliant thing to happen to a werewolf, particularly one as nice as Remus. He noticed he still felt tired.

Ben noticed as well, "Get some more rest, Harry. Sirius isn't expecting you or Remus to be up and moving for a while."

Harry nodded as he walked up the stairs to the room Sirius put him in. He barely looked around as he fell onto the bed, passing out almost the instant his head hit the pillow.

-Break-

The next month was a whirlwind of activity for Harry. He and Ben talk frequently with Sirius and Remus, asking about stories of their parents. Ben got to hear about Regulus's younger years and Harry heard many stories about his father and the pranks he pulled.

Harry was frequently at the Burrow as well, playing Quidditch and otherwise hanging out with Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley still fussed over whether he was getting enough food. Ginny was still unbelievably shy toward him, although something seems to have change. She still blushed heavily, but instead of racing out of the room or being clumsy, she just sat in the same room as Harry. The first time he had seen her, Harry had made sure to explain to her that it wasn't her fault and that he didn't blame her or think less of her.

He was still sorting out why he was paying so much attention to her. At first, he thought it was because he wanted to be her friend. As he tried to get her to open up more around him, which was difficult as she still didn't talk much to him, too embarrassed to say anything, he realized that he seemed to want Ginny to be something more than his friend. When he made the mistake of asking Sirius, he got teased mercilessly by Sirius, Remus, and Ben.

Sirius, Remus, and Ben were working with the twins on something over the summer, making the twins frequent visitors to Grimmauld Place. Harry didn't know what they were working on, as whenever he asked one of them about it, they said it was a surprise. Harry noted that whenever they were working, it was with scraps of parchment and ink.

-Break-

Harry arrived at the Burrow over a week before his birthday. Mr. Weasley had won a ton of galleons recently and was planning on taking his family on vacation to visit his eldest, Bill. Because of this, Harry was spending as much time with the Weasleys as he could. Sirius, Ben, and Remus were already over for some reason.

As he stepped out of the fireplace, he noticed no one was in the room. He called out, "Mrs. Weasley?"

"I'm in the kitchen, dear!" Was the response.

Harry moved to the kitchen, wondering where everybody was. As he entered the kitchen, there was a thunderous chorus of "SURPRISE!"

Harry's eyes widened, turning to look at the people here. Sirius, Remus, Fred, George, and Ben were laughing slightly at his startled expression. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were smiling kindly at him. Ron was smirking at him, although Harry noticed great warmth in his eyes. Ginny was blushing terribly, but she had shouted with the rest. When Harry caught her eye, she blushed more heavily. Percy stood, clearly not wanting to be here, although he liked Harry well enough, they just weren't that close, but still making an effort.

"What's all this about?" Harry asked.

"Well, since most of us will be gone on your birthday, Ben suggested that we have a party for you a bit early," Ron replied.

Harry turned to look at Ben, who nodded. "Since it would only be Sirius and Remus with you on your birthday, I thought it would be a good idea for some of the people you're closest to to gather and celebrate your birthday, even if it's a bit early."

Harry smiled warmly at Ben. "Thanks."

Harry received smiles back from everybody here. It was the best day that of Harry's life.

AN: One of, hopefully, two today. An explanation as to why I missed an upload in the next chapter.

Uploaded Oct. 16th, 2020, Edited Jan 10th, 2025