Disclaimer: All rights to Harry Potter belong to Warner Bros. I make no money from this fanfic, I'm just a fan.
Author notes: Thank you to everyone who has supported me and the story so far by reading, reviewing, favouriting and following it and thank you to any future readers as well. The support is much appreciated.
Special thanks to the following people who are the latest to favourite, follow and review the story; CoffeeAndBook, emilysouza221b, Lewis James Potter, robertroy1 and callmebob79.
Harry Potter-Weasley Chapter Seventeen:
Harry was grinning widely as he, his siblings, Neville and Arthur left the VIP area of the stadium and made their way to the floo point. "That was the best game of Quidditch I have ever seen!", he enthused.
Ron, Neville, Charlie, Fred, George and Percy were equally enthusing about the match while Arthur chatted to each of them about the match, Harry knew his dad had found the game as exciting as the rest of them, especially since he was an Appleby Arrows fan too.
"It was soo cool of the players to give us signed photos of themselves!", Ginny declared. Harry knew she had a bit of a crush on Alfie Quirk. He grinned at her and she grinned back. Harry told her "I'm putting my signed photo of Gregory Cotton, it's going up on the wall, he is the absolute best seeker".
"Galvin Gudgeon is better", Ron interjected to much snorts of derision and much laughter. "He is!" Ron insisted.
"Ron, he has been playing for the Chudley Cannons for four years and he's yet to catch the snitch. Hell he's barely caught a sniff of it!", Fred told him. There were nods of agreement from all of the others except for Neville who looked unsure of what to say or do.
Ron caught Neville's indecision and seized on it. "Neville will back me up, won't you Nev?", he appealed "you didn't think Gregory Cotton was better did you?".
Neville grimaced a bit. "Sorry Ron, I don't want to upset you...but yeah, Gudgeon is pretty bad, sorry".
Ron huffed an annoyed breath. "Well you all believe what you want, at least I know who the superior player is".
The good natured argument about the best Quidditch seekers was still going on as Harry and the others stepped into the living room of the Burrow. "What is all this carry on about Quidditch? It's a silly sport anyway", Molly declared as she heard their argument.
Harry and the rest, even Arthur, goggled at her as if she were mad. "Quidditch a silly sport?", Harry replied in disbelief.
Charlie said "Mum, you must be joking, Quidditch is more than just a sport, Quidditch is a way of life. Quidditch is one of the most important things there is!". Everyone else nodded and Ginny added "Mum, Quidditch is amazing. You should see the way they fly, their agility and their skills, it's incredible!".
Molly kissed her daughters forehead. "Bless you Ginny love, I have seen Quidditch several times and I'm afraid I just can't agree", she smiled fondly "though it's nice to see that you and your brothers have a shared hobby". She hugged her children and then asked Harry "did you have a nice time Harry love?".
Harry grinned and nodded. "It was so fun and I loved getting to meet the players after, this birthday has been amazing!", he said.
Molly smiled and said "don't forget you still have a party and a sleepover". She turned to Neville and informed him "your grandmother went home for a short while and has brought your night things back with you Neville dear".
Neville smiled. He confessed "I've never been to a sleepover before, I'm really looking forward to it".
Harry told him "we're going to have loads of fun Nev, we can have hot chocolate, play exploding snap, try out my gobstones set, you and Ron can play chess since you're both better than most of us at that and we can stay up late talking and swapping funny stories, it's going to be great!".
"If you all want to come outside?", Molly ushered them outside and as she guided Harry outside she told him "everyone else is in the back garden with your presents and cards".
As they stepped out into the back yard, Harry grinned in delight at the sight of the extra people who had come to celebrate his birthday. He hadn't expected anyone extra. Sitting at one end of the long picnic table were his dorm mates Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. Sitting in a specially enlarged chair nearby was the Hogwarts Gamekeeper Hagrid who was like an uncle to him. The last extra guest however was the one that caused Harry to yell in joy. His eldest brother Bill was sat opposite Dean and Seamus and was grinning widely as Harry entered the back yard.
"Bill!", Harry shouted happily. He ran over to where Bill was and laughed as his brother, who was now rather tall, stooped down, scooped him up and hugged him. "Hey there Harry buddy, bet you weren't expecting me eh?".
Harry laughed and shook his head, joy written all over his face and in his green eyes. "In your card you said that you couldn't make it due to work".
Bill smirked. "Like I was going to miss my younger brothers birthday, you know I always try to get back for my siblings' birthdays if I can, I asked Gringott's for permission months ago. I was pretending so I could come by while you were out so I could help get everything set up, including your present".
Charlie and the others came over and Charlie shook Bill's hand. "You're bloody crafty you know Bill, even had me fooled with that birthday card", he smiled. Bill grinned in response and shrugged "who do you think Fred and George learned from?".
When Bill put Harry down he ran on over to Hagrid and hugged him too. "Hagrid, I'm so glad you were able to come!".
Hagrid smiled in response, the smile causing his whole face to brighten up. "Good ter see ya Harry, Happy Birthday. I hear you went ter a Quidditch game". Harry nodded and grinned "it was great fun", he showed Hagrid the signed photo he'd been given and told him "it's the Appleby Arrows seeker, he was really cool".
Hagrid grinned. "Wish I could've come along, always enjoy a good game o' Quidditch".
Harry next went over and greeted Dean and Seamus, grinning at them widely. "Hi guys, awesome to see you both, thanks for coming".
"Happy Birthday Harry", Dean replied with a grin and added "your house is awesome, looks so cool from the outside".
"Yeah, looks like only magic is holding it up, I can't wait to see inside", Seamus agreed and then said "Happy Birthday Harry, got anything good planned for the sleepover?".
"Can't wait to show you both the inside, especially the family ghoul and yeah I've got lots of great things planned, I think my dad has planned out a few things too though he said he's only going to tell me once the main party is finished", Harry replied.
"That's great...wait you have a family ghoul?", Seamus asked.
Harry nodded. "He's been here ever since I can remember. From what dad has told me he's been here since even before the house was built", he grinned "he's mostly harmless though, apart from creating a lot of noise when he wants attention".
"Time to open presents!", Molly declared as she guided Harry over to the pile of presents. Everyone else followed them, some eagerly, others at a more sedate pace. Harry was amused to note that Ginny appeared even more excited than he was for the presents to be opened.
As Harry sat down on the blanket upon which the presents were stacked, he marvelled at the amount of presents that were there. Even with having already opened the presents from Neville, Hermione and Bill he could tell that each of his other family members had bought him a present and he was pretty certain both Seamus and Dean had done so as well.
Harry picked up the present nearest to him and began to unwrap it. "Let me help!", Ginny reached out excitedly, only for their mum to pull her back and tell her firmly but calmly "no Ginny love, this is Harry's birthday".
"I'll let him open some of mine too on my birthday!", Ginny tried but their mum merely shook her head. Ginny sighed and shrugged "can't blame me for trying". She settled down then to watch the present opening.
Harry, who had been distracted with bemusement, by Ginny's attempt to open his presents now turned back to opening the one he was holding. He grinned at the sight before him as he pulled out a pack containing stink bombs, itching powder, whoopee cushions, a fake sweet tin which obviously held some kind of joke within and a buzzer that gave a mild shock if someone shook hands with the wearer. He looked over at the Twins and they winked. He grinned and winked back.
Molly caught the exchange between Harry on one side and Fred and George on the other and fixed the Twins with a stern look but they just smile innocently. "This is going to come in handy at Hog...err I mean at home", Harry changed his words at the last minute causing his mum to give him a steely glare which swiftly melted as she just shook her head fondly.
"You're going to use those at Hogwarts...aren't you?", Ginny leaned in and whispered to him.
Harry grinned and whispered back to Ginny "you bet I am. Want in with any pranks?". She nodded and gave him a grin of her own. He turned to Ron who was nearby and asked him to come over. When he did Harry asked in a whisper "what about you Ron? Down for pranking some people at Hogwarts?". Ron nodded with a grin "count me in brother, as long as I can prank that git Malfoy".
"Malfoy is top of my list for pranking", Harry assured Ron with a smirk.
Harry turned to the other presents. From Dean he received a football and a pair of what muggles called goalkeeper gloves. He noticed that said gloves were rather different from the ones worn by Quidditch keepers and actually appeared to offer more protection. He grinned at Dean "thanks mate. I can't wait to have a, how do you say, kick about. Can't wait to see your skills".
Dean smiled. "Can't wait to show you either".
Seamus snorted. "Football is a waste of time, Quidditch is where it's really at, mind you I bet I'll be better than all of you", he stated confidently. Harry, Ron, Neville and Dean all rolled their eyes used to Seamus' good natured boasting by now.
Seamus' gift was the latest Appleby Arrows annual and a voucher for Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. "Can't wait to read this, thanks Seamus!", he said enthusiastically and had to stop himself from opening up the book then and there and spending the rest of the day reading. "And thanks for the voucher as well, I love ice cream".
"Don't I know it from the amount you put away during Hogwarts feasts and for regular dinner dessert at Hogwarts", Seamus replied with a smirk.
"I'll have you know Ron eats way more ice cream than I do", Harry declared with a laugh.
"Do not!", Ron retorted and fired back with a smirk "anyway, you eat far too much sticky toffee cheesecake!".
"Hey, I can't help it if cheesecake tastes amazing, now can I?", Harry laughed.
"Fair point", Ron conceded. Everyone laughed at the exchange.
Harry opened the present from Ron which contained a selection of sweets and chocolates from Sugarplum Sweets in Diagon Alley and he licked his lips at the sight of the various magical and muggle sweets and chocolates included. He thanked Ron and clapped him on the shoulder, promising to share them with him and everyone else.
The present from Ginny consisted of an orange scarf and an orange and black pair of gloves and an orange and black patterned hat. The three items had lions on them. "I figured you might want a new set for winter given how cold mum and dad said it gets at Hogwarts from December onwards", she told him.
Harry pulled Ginny into a hug. "Thanks Gin Gin, I definitely need a new set of these for winter so I appreciate it".
When Harry let go of the hug he opened the remaining presents. Hagrid had given him a broomstick servicing kit which he really appreciated and told Hagrid so. "Think nothing of it Harry, I know how much ya love yer flying".
From his Aunt Muriel, who was too unwell to come, he had received a smart but formal robe set in orange. He grimaced. He loved the colour orange but what use was he ever going to have for formal robes? He decided he'd thank her in a letter just to be polite anyway.
Percy had given him a new set of quills, ink and parchment. "Could you come up with a more boring present Perce?", Fred enquired. George teased "you should have completed the set with a diary as well". Ron and Ginny sniggered. Harry could see Percy getting red in the face with anger and felt his siblings were being unfair. True, the present might seem boring to some people, but with the amount of homework Harry knew the professors would give them he felt the parchment, quill and ink set would come in handy. In particular he was grateful as it meant he wouldn't have to buy as much on his trip to Diagon Alley in August. "Thanks Percy", he said sincerely "with the amount of coursework and homework we're bound to get this stuff is going to come in handy".
Percy seemed unsure for a moment whether or not Harry was teasing him as well. Eventually, he must have decided that he wasn't being teased since he smiled and replied "not a problem Harry, good to know they'll come in handy". Harry smiled back at him and nodded.
Molly looked on at the exchange between Harry and Percy approvingly. She whispered to Arthur "Harry is always so kind".
"Yes Molls, he really is. It's lovely to see that as much as he enjoys pranks he also likes academia too. The amount of fights he manages to break up between the Twins and Percy or Ron and Percy is...well I've lost count how many times he's done it now".
Molly smiled fondly and agreed. "It saves me having to do it all the time, bless him, he's such a sweet boy".
Harry opened his last present which was so tall it stood up on it's own. He was surprised to find what looked like a stone basin mounted upon a stone base. Molly and Arthur walked over to their son and stood either side of him. "What is it?", Harry asked them, feeling confused.
Arthur and Molly smiled at him and Arthur explained "it's what's known as a pensieve son. It allows you to view memories from the past".
"Whose memories Dad?", he asked curiously.
"Your memories, my memories, essentially any memory that is provided to you. What happens is that a wand is used to extract memories from a persons head", he tapped his ear to show from where the memories were extracted.
"Does it hurt?", he asked. His dad smiled. "No Harry, extracting memories is completely painless".
"Our gift is two fold", Molly informed Harry and further explained "we're giving you this pensieve and we've managed to obtain memories of Lily and James Potter, your birth parents as well as memories from others who knew them and from ourselves of course. We thought it would be a nice idea for you to be able to see what they were like and get to know them somewhat using the memories, to show you how much they loved you and are still watching over you wishing they were here".
Harry threw himself at his parents sobbing uncontrollably. He felt so touched and grateful to his parents for this gift. He loved them, of course he did, and he always would. But being able to see what his birth parents Lily and James had been like and view how much they had loved him meant everything to him.
"Thank you so much, Mum, Dad, this gift is...it's incredible. I can't believe I'll finally be able to see what my birth parents were for myself".
"You're welcome Harry son, you deserve a chance to get to know them", Arthur patted Harry's back and kissed his forehead.
Molly kissed Harry's forehead and wiped some of the tears away. "We hope you enjoy the present love, Lily and James loved you so much you know and they're no doubt looking down at you, proud of what a kind and caring boy you've become". Harry smiled at his parents and blinked away his tears. He loved hearing about his birth parents.
With the presents all opened, save for Charlies which he was going to give Harry later, everyone sat down to enjoy the wonderful spread of food and drink provided. There were sandwiches containing cheese and ham, cheese and pickle, chicken, beef and egg salad. There were bowls of various crisp flavours, cheesecakes, chocolate and strawberry trifles, orange, strawberry and blackcurrant jelly and many different flavours of ice cream. To drink there was pumpkin juice and orange juice for the children plus several pitchers of lemonade or water while for the adults there was beer and wine.
Once the food had been consumed amid much happy chatter, Harry's parents stood up and headed inside. a short time later, Arthur and Molly re-emerged levitating a large cake that caused Harry to lick his lips in appreciation.
The cake that Arthur and Molly were levitating was large and in the shape of a golden snitch. It contained caramel and chocolate within the sponge and in between layers and as they set it down on the table Harry could see that it was decorated on top with edible snitches, broomsticks and Quidditch players. It looked absolutely delicious, not that Harry was surprised, his mum was wonderful at cooking and baking. "This cake looks wonderful Molly", Hagrid said, expressing the feelings of the assembled guests who were looking on the cake appreciatively.
Molly smiled at the compliment and blushed a little. "Just my own humble effort".
"Come off it Mum", Bill said, kissing Molly's cheek. "You're the best cook and baker we know, right guys?", he looked around at his siblings. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Percy and Charlie all nodded in agreement. Arthur kissed her cheek and smiled "they're rights Molls, this cake looks wonderful as does the rest of the food. You and Augusta have excellent culinary skills". Augusta, sitting next to Neville at the table, said "thank you Arthur, I am sure I speak for both Molly and myself when I say it is nice to have our efforts appreciated".
"On three everybody", Arthur instructed "one, two three. Happy Birthday to you...".
Harry was grinning from ear to ear as everyone finished singing Happy Birthday. He blew out the candles and made a wish, his wish being for Ginny to be in Gryffindor. "Would you please cut the cake, Molly love?", Arthur requested.
Molly cut the cake and handed the first slice to Harry. "Here you are dear, tuck in". He accepted the slice of cake with a smile and thanked his mother. She kissed his cheek and then went about cutting slices for everyone else as he tucked in to his slice.
Harry savoured the taste of the combined chocolate and caramel in his mouth and loved how moist the sponge was. It was very good cake and very much worthy of a birthday celebration.
Once the cake had been largely finished off, Harry asked "is it alright if we go off to the orchard to play on the brooms Mum?". Molly nodded and waved him off towards the broom shed. "Of course Harry, you all have fun but don't forget to come back by six as we're having a firework display, courtesy of your Father".
Harry grinned. "Don't worry Mum, we wouldn't miss that for the world". He, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Fred and George took off towards the broom shed. Brooms were chosen, plus the quaffle that Harry had earlier been given as a present. He also dashed into the house and changed into the Appleby Arrows robes and goggles that Bill had given him as a present and together the children trooped off up the hill. "Coming Percy?", Harry asked his older brother.
Percy smiled and nodded. "Why not".
A short distance away, at the table Hagrid stood up and told the other adults "don't worry, I'll go on up with them and keep an eye out". As he stood up the whole table moved upwards before settling once again.
"That's very kind of you Hagrid", Molly said warmly "thank you".
"Don't mention it. Always glad to help if I can", Hagrid then winked and told her "plus I hate to miss out on seeing a game of Quidditch". The other adults all laughed and Charlie stood up saying "I'll come too Hagrid, been far too long since I've been involved in a Quidditch game, even just an amateur one".
Hagrid clapped Charlie's shoulder causing the red head to nearly fall over and everyone else to snort with laughter. The two of them proceeded across the yard and up the hill after Harry and the others, chatting away about various subjects but as they got out of sight Molly heard Hagrid ask "how's Norbert?".
Bill stood up and followed them. "I'm not missing playing some Quidditch. I'll see you all in a bit", he told the remaining adults.
"Right you lot, gather around me and Charlie", Bill instructed. Harry, his friends and the rest of his siblings went over to Bill and Charlie to hear their instructions.
"Since there isn't enough of us to have two full Quidditch teams we'll be splitting into teams of five", Bill explained.
"I'll be captain of one team and Bill will captain the other one", Charlie added.
"To make it fair, Fred and George, you'll be on separate teams", Bill told their twin brothers. Harry grinned at the crestfallen look they both gave. He knew it would be good though to have one of them on whichever team he was chosen for.
"To make things fair, Bill and I will put eight piece of parchment into this old bucket", Charlie gestured to an old wooden bucket near the orchard fence. "Four pieces will have bear the number one and four will bear the number two".
"Thanks for clearing that up Charlie", Fred grinned. While George said "yeah, we thought you were going to put three's, fours and fives in there".
"Shut up you prats", Charlie replied with an equal grin. Bill just smiled and shook his head.
Bill and Charlie put the numbers into the bucket and got everyone who was playing to choose one. Hagrid settled himself down while Hermione and Neville agreed to act as referee's since they enjoyed Quidditch but hated flying. It was decided to have four chasers and a goalkeeper on each team as using a bludger was considered too dangerous.
Harry took out his number at smiled. He was on team one, Bill's team. He knew Charlie was the better player but he thought it was awesome to be on his favourite older brothers team. "Right, so team one is me, Fred, Harry, Dean and Percy", Bill recapped.
"And team two is me, George, Ron, Seamus and Ginny", Charlie said, though he gave a dubious look at Ginny which caused her to scowl and declare "I'm as good at flying as any of you, I've been doing it in secret for years!".
Her siblings, except Harry, goggled at her. Harry merely grinned at Ginny who grinned back. He had been the only one to help her learn how to fly, taking her out early in the morning so she could practise. "You helped her didn't you?", Bill said as they prepared to unleash the quaffle.
Harry shrugged and smiled. "She wanted to fly, why shouldn't I have helped her?".
Bill ruffled his hair. "You know mum is going to go mad if she ever finds out, right?".
Harry winked. "I'm not going to tell her, Ginny isn't and I doubt you are either".
Bill shook his head. "I should really but...well it's not my secret to tell, though I'll deny I knew if mum does find out and tears your head off over it".
Harry just laughed. They kicked off from the ground and up into the air. The teams swiftly decided the players positions. Percy would be in goal for Bill's team with the rest of them acting as chasers, attempting to score as many goals as possible. It was odd for Harry, after a whole year of being seeker on the Gryffindor team to be a chaser but he felt he could handle it.
Charlie's team gave the goalkeeping position to Ron who much preferred that position when he played.
The whistle blew and the game began. Harry laughed in joy at the feeling of being back in the air again after so many days of being stuck inside working. He loved the feel of the wind in his face and running through his hair.
Both sides marvelled at the surprising skill shown by Percy who pulled off some phenomenal saves, who had always been seen as very bookish and not shown much interesting in playing Quidditch before, and even more so with Ginny. Other than Harry who had seen her flying many times, none of the others could believe it as she swooped down, looped and raced through the sky towards Percy's goal repeatedly.
Down below, Hagrid cheered on both teams while Hermione and Neville admired the skill that was shown and only stepped in to award a penalty once or to award goals.
The Quidditch game went on for several hours until Ginny scored the winning goal for her team after Percy dived the right way but was just about unable to stop the quaffle.
"That was the closest game of Quidditch I've seen...well ever!", Neville exclaimed.
"Ruddy wonderful flying!", Hagrid declared.
Hermione informed them of the points total. "Charlie's team wins, just about. The final score was one hundred points to ninety, great flying everyone".
The eleven wizards and witches descended from the hill chattering away about the match and the various skill moves everyone had pulled off. More than one person complimented Percy for the quality of his goalkeeping and Ginny for her flying skills.
"That was some top quality save work Perce", Harry told his older brother as he drew level with him and Ginny.
"It wasn't that good...was it?", Percy asked.
"You were fantastic Percy!", Ginny backed Harry up.
Percy smiled. "Thanks you two". He looked at Ginny and told her "your flying skills were great too Ginny, that final goal was brilliant too".
Ginny blushed. "Thank you Percy".
"He's just being honest Gin Gin", Harry said. "That flying was so good that you'll be a shoo in for the Gryffindor team. You should definitely try out in September".
Ginny shook her head. "No, they wouldn't pick me, you said that there's three older girls as chasers, they're bound to be retained considering how good you've told me they are".
Harry gave Ginny a sympathetic look. "Well they won't be at Hogwarts forever, I'm sure when a position becomes vacant you'll get chosen".
"You'd absolutely deserve it Ginny", Percy told her with a smile.
As Harry and the others reached the back yard of the Burrow, he grinned at the sight before him. There was a long line of magical fireworks set out. The fireworks were of all shapes and sizes and he couldn't wait to see what they could do.
"Everyone get ready, Arthur is going to light the fireworks any moment now", Molly told them all in an excited tone and with a beaming smile.
The fireworks were lit and, one by one, flew up into the air, exploding in a variety of colours and creating many shapes from dogs to cats to people on broomsticks. The sound of the explosions was terrific and Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, Neville, Hermione, Dean and Seamus clapped, laughed and talked excitedly of the different shapes and noises while everyone else watched the explosions happily.
Later that night, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville finished their hot chocolate with everyone else and said goodnight as they all retired upstairs to Harry's room while Hermione and Ginny headed to Ginny's room.
Ginny had demanded to be allowed to stay in Harry's room for the night but was told that it wasn't proper for he and Hermione to be in there given the rest were all boys. "It's not bloody fair!", had been her annoyed words as she and Hermione had headed to her room.
Contrary to what the adults might have thought, Harry, Ron and the others were not fast asleep in their beds or sleeping bags but were in fact sitting up and chatting, exchanging stories of how their summer had been.
"Gran was upset that I went to the third floor corridor but she said that I was very brave and sensible to go off and get help, so she bought me several other new plants and told me she was proud of me", he grinned "she's even getting me a new wand when we go to get my school supplies next week!".
"You lucky git!", Ron exclaimed and gestured between himself and Harry telling them all "we were grounded for a month, mum only lifted the grounding yesterday!".
Harry grimaced. "It was awful. We've been stuck inside for a whole month, no flying, no exploding snap, no hikes off to interesting places, just never ending homework", he then said "that's why we couldn't celebrate your birthday with you Neville, our grounding was only lifted late yesterday morning and we still weren't allowed to leave the house boundary".
"Sorry to hear it Harry mate that's hard luck", Neville commiserated.
"What have you been up to?", Harry asked Neville.
Neville told them all "I've mainly spent the summer pottering about with my plants, might sound dull but I've had lots of fun tending to them. It's certainly been the weather to be outside".
"Me and Dean have been spending a fair bit of time together", Seamus informed them all and elaborated "he's been trying to change my mind about football and I must admit...well football is quite fun...not as good as Quidditch though!".
Dean rolled his eyes. "We've visited each others houses quite a lot and explored the local area by each of our houses more", he laughed "last week we watched as the muggle council dredge the river near my house and pulled out loads of stuff. There was even a bicycle in there!". Everyone had a good laugh at this.
When Harry fell to sleep that night, he felt that it had been the best birthday yet. He'd loved having his friends over and was looking forward to taking Dean and Seamus up on their offers to visit their homes in August.