Harry awoke early on the rain-soaked day before his birthday. He heard the all too familiar loud snores coming from Ron’s bed and he tried to block them out. He rolled over in an attempt to fall back to sleep, but there was too much going through his head. For the past week and a half, he had been spending much of the free time that he was lucky enough to have with Ginny. He wished there was some other way to get around it but there wasn’t. He had to leave Ginny behind while he, Ron and Hermione went off into the face of danger.
While he hadn’t admitted it to either Ron or Hermione, Harry did not think that he would make it out of this final adventure alive. He had imagined what a final confrontation with Voldemort would look like, and each time he imagined that he had to sacrifice himself in order to destroy Voldemort.
He roused himself from these dark thoughts and quietly crept out of his and Ron’s room and down the stairs. He figured he could at least get breakfast going before everyone else woke up.
He entered the kitchen, however, to find that he was not the only one who had woken up early. A fully-clothed and tired-looking Remus Lupin was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. Lupin glanced up from the Prophet once he saw Harry enter.
“Up a bit early aren’t you, Harry?” he said, smiling warmly.
“So are you,” said Harry, returning the smile and taking a seat across from Lupin.
“One of the many inconveniences of lycanthropy, I’m afraid,” he answered, a hint of bitterness in his voice. He may have realized this because he smiled again and added, “What’s your excuse?”
“Er “ would you believe me if I said it was because if lycanthropy, too?”
Lupin looked up from the Prophet and into Harry’s eyes, a knowing glance plastered across his face. Harry felt as if Lupin were reading his mind.
“It’s natural to be worried, Harry,” Lupin began, pouring Harry a cup of coffee.
Harry nodded but didn’t say anything. He really didn’t want to think about it or talk about it. Lupin seemed to have gotten the point and he didn’t press the issue.
“Is there anything interesting in there?” Harry asked, pointing at the Prophet in an attempt to change the subject.
“There’s a small snippet in here about the attack on the Burrow,” answered Lupin, handing Harry the paper. Harry took the Prophet and laid it out across the table.
“The Fawcetts?” asked Harry after he finished reading the article. “Isn’t that Davey’s family?”
“Yes,” replied Lupin. “They were attacked in much the same way you were attacked at Privet Drive. From what we learned, a small group of Death Eaters attacked the Fawcetts’ home and demolished much of their living room, but, surprisingly, no one was harmed.”
“Why didn’t the Prophet report the attack on the Burrow when it happened?” Harry asked, now backtracking and trying to figure out how long ago the attack was. “It’s been what, eleven weeks?”
“Arthur tried to keep it quiet, but the Prophet finally got wind of the attack. He was afraid that it would be reported that you were involved in the attack but obviously, it wasn’t.”
Harry nodded in response. He figured that he might as well continue asking questions if he was going to continue to get answers.
“Do we have any idea who tipped off the Death Eaters?” he asked.
“Not a clue,” replied Lupin frowning slightly. “The only people who knew you were at the Burrow were all in the Order. Arthur made a point to tell everyone at the wedding that you were only at the Burrow for the wedding and that you would be leaving afterwards. Voldemort must have found out that you were there another way.”
Harry let this bit of information settle for a moment before taking a sip of his coffee. He opened his mouth to ask another question but Lupin cut him off before he could ask.
“Sorry, Harry, but your question will have to wait. I have to get going,” he said, checking his watch and then standing up.
“Where are you going?” Harry asked, somewhat shocked.
“Order business,” he answered and then quickly swept out of the kitchen towards the front door.
Harry sat alone again and mulled over his thoughts. He looked out of the window and saw that the sun had not yet risen. He looked at his watch… 5:45. He had no sooner decided to make breakfast for himself when heard footsteps and a voice coming down the stairs. He turned to see who it was and saw a thick mane of bushy hair turn the corner.
“Honestly, he’s worse than a six year old with… ah, Harry!” yelped Hermione, looking up and noticing Harry standing there. “Uh… why… why are you up so early?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” replied Harry pouring her a cup of coffee.
“Oh… yes, me neither,” she said rather lamely. Harry could see that her face had a slight pinkish hue to it. He raised his eyebrows at her but she said nothing. He’d be willing to bet most of his gold that there was more going on than she was letting on.
“Are you sure it had nothing to do with a certain heavily snoring redhead?” Harry asked innocently, not looking Hermione in the eyes.
He would not have ordinarily asked Hermione, but he was almost sure that she knew he had heard what she said.
“I couldn’t sleep through it,” Hermione finally replied, looking annoyed and taking the coffee that Harry offered, “I don’t know how you manage. I mean, honestly, Harry, he has got to be one of the “”
“Look, if you two are going to bicker the whole time, then neither of you are coming with me,” Harry said irritably. He really was getting tired of listening to his two best friends snipe at each other constantly. A small grin suddenly crossed Harry’s face as a thought appeared in his mind. He looked up at Hermione and, with a wink, said, “Or better yet, I’ll make you two sleep in the same bed.”
Hermione choked on her coffee and sprayed it all down her front. Ironically enough, however, she came up for air with a look on her face that made her resemble a bushy-haired, freckle-less Ron. She quickly regained her composure and gave him a disapproving glare before responding.
“That won’t be necessary, Harry.”
Harry gave her another small wink, basking in the satisfaction that he had incited her, before he remembered what he had been thinking about before she came down.
“Here, take a look at this,” Harry said, showing her the article in the Prophet. “Lupin was reading it before you came down.”
She read through in quickly and then asked, with a frown, the same question that Harry had asked Lupin.
“Did Lupin have any idea who tipped off the Death Eaters?”
“Could’ve been Krum,” said Ron, startling Harry and Hermione as he walked into the kitchen, furiously rubbing his eyes.
“What? How does that make any sense at all?” said Hermione vehemently, glaring daggers at Ron.
“Now wait, just hear me out. Krum went to Durmstrang where Karkaroff was Headmaster, right? How do we know that the Death Eaters, no, Snape, how do we know that Snape didn’t “”
“Why are you up so early?” asked Harry, trying to divert another argument as. He poured Ron a cup of coffee.
“Couldn’t sleep,” he replied, sitting down on Harry’s other side and taking the coffee that Harry offered him. “Thanks, mate. Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. Ginny was making funny noises.”
Harry was quite sure that steam would soon start pouring out of Hermione’s ears.
“Ginny!” she said angrily, “You think it was Ginny who was making funny noises?”
“Well yeah, she was snoring a bit loudly; it woke me up. Why are you awake this early, Hermione? Er, Hermione?”
But it was no use, she had already got up from the table, absolutely fuming, and stormed off into another part of the house.
Ron turned to Harry, utterly perplexed.
“What did I say?”
* * *
The day passed quietly enough, except for the fact that Ron and Hermione bickered endlessly. All through lunch and partly through dinner, they went at each other, until, finally, Harry had had enough and was forced to put a stop to it.
“Look, Ron, I honestly don’t think that Crookshanks would have eaten the last chocolate frog that you were saving,” he said angrily, as the three of them, and Ginny, cleared the dirty dishes from table. “Are you sure you didn’t eat it?”
“How thick would I have to be to have forgotten something like that?” Ron replied scathingly, rounding on Harry.
“Well…” Hermione said slowly, raising her eyebrows.
Ron turned back around quickly and opened his mouth to say something but Harry’s attention was refocused on a small redhead at his side.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” said Ginny, grabbing Harry’s arm and leading him out of the kitchen.
She led him away from the loud voices of Ron and Hermione, which were now ringing throughout the house, and up the stairs. Ginny pulled Harry into the library and shut the door behind him.
“Colloportus!” she said, tapping the doorknob with her wand and turning back to Harry with a twinkle in her eye. “There, that’s better, now come here, Potter.”
Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, her eyes glistening in the candlelight. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes, biting her lower lip, before she pushed him down onto the sofa. They engaged in some very serious snogging for a long while, but Harry was finally forced to stop when his hands began to explore more than they should. He looked at Ginny, who was now lying on top of him, scared that he had gone too far.
Ginny looked down at him, panting slightly, and then burst into a fit of giggles.
“That wasn’t exactly the reaction I was hoping for,” Harry said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
“You should have seen your face,” Ginny replied, once she had controlled her laughter.
“Ho ho,” Harry replied, regaining his confidence, “and what exactly did I look like?”
“Well, you kind of looked like Hedwig.”
Harry considered this for a moment, looked up at Ginny, who was evidently highly amused, and then burst into a fit of laughter.
Once they had both calmed down, Ginny wiggled up closer to Harry and rested her head on his chest.
She lay there for a moment, allowing her head to rise and fall with Harry’s breathing, before she spoke again.
“I’ll miss you, Harry.”
He waited a moment before he answered.
“Me too,” he said, twirling a strand of her long, red hair around his forefinger.
“When will you visit?”
Harry waited another moment, still twirling her hair around his finger.
“Whenever we have time we’ll visit; holidays, Hogsmeade weekends, whenever we can.”
Ginny raised her head slightly and spoke softly in his ear.
“I know,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He smiled at her and she smiled back before lying back her head back down on Harry’s chest.
“I’ll be expecting a present every time you visit, though,” she said teasingly, “just thought I’d let you know.
“I’ll try to remember that,” Harry replied softly, rubbing her back.
He wrapped his arms around her and, within minutes, he could hear her soft breathing that indicated she had fallen asleep.
Harry stayed awake, however, and mulled over his thoughts. The only concrete thing that he concluded, however, was that Ginny did not make loud noises when she slept “ he made a mental note to tell Ron.
Harry soon fell asleep himself but was awoken, what seemed like only a few minutes later, by a noise at the door.
“Alohomora!” said the voice, and Harry looked up to see Ron peer around the door.
“Mum’s about to come check on you two,” he said softly, “just thought I’d give you fair warning.”
He made to withdraw his head but then looked back up.
“Oh and uh… I found the chocolate frog I’d been saving. Turns out I put it in my pocket this morning… it’s not really fit for eating anymore, though. Hermione wasn’t too pleased about it “ tried to get me apologize to Crookshanks “ absolutely mental.”
With that, Ron ducked his head out of the doorway and Harry heard his footsteps fading away as he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom.
Harry woke Ginny up just as Mrs. Weasley came in to check on them. She looked down at them and smiled warmly at them both.
“Goodnight, dears,” she said and she continued on to her bedroom.
Harry helped Ginny up and steered her to her bedroom where he kissed her goodnight before walking down to his room, lying down on his bed and falling straight to sleep.
* * *
“Wake up, mate!” yelled Ron, waking Harry up.
Harry rolled over in his bed, furiously rubbing his eyes.
“Harry, wake up!” yelled Ginny, jumping onto his bed and shaking him awake.
“I’m up, I’m up.”
Harry opened his eyes and looked around to see Ron and Hermione smiling at him while Ginny bounced up and down, happily, on his bed.
“Happy birthday, sleepy head,” said Ginny, kissing up on the forehead.
“How does it feel to be an adult, like me?” said Ron, coming over and punching Harry on the shoulder.
At that, Ginny snorted.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs,” said Harry, trying to divert an early morning duel between brother and sister.
The four of them made their way downstairs and into the kitchen only to find Draco and Narcissa Malfoy sitting at the table, both of them with unmistakable Malfoy scowls plastered across their faces.
“Potter,” drawled Malfoy, “they tell me it’s your birthday today. How old are you now, twelve?”
“If that’s the best you can up with, Malfoy, then…” Ron began, but Malfoy cut him off.
“Then what, Weaselbee, what are you going to do to me? I have more magical talent in my ring finger than you have in your entire body. I could make you feel more pain than you could possibly-”
“And you’d be dead before you muttered a single word, Malfoy,” spat Hermione, stepping in front of Ron.
“Oh ho, would you look at this,” Malfoy drawled, mocking excitement, “Weaselbee’s gone and got himself a girlfriend.”
Ron’s ears reddened and Harry reached for his wand but was distracted by Malfoy’s mother, who spoke for the first time.
“Come, Draco, there is no need for us to associate ourselves with…” she gave Hermione a contemptuous smirk, “people like this.”
Malfoy nodded, and he and his mother swept out of the room.
“Let’s go,” said Ginny irritably, “I’m not about to let him ruin your birthday, Harry.”
The four friends spent the rest of the morning relaxing around the house. Harry left the other three after just before dinner under the ruse of taking a shower, but what he really wanted to do was be by himself for a few while. He, Ron and Hermione would leave early the following morning for Godric’s Hollow, and, to put it delicately, Harry wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of being out on his own, even with Ron and Hermione.
He went up into his and Ron’s bedroom, sat down on his bed and reached down into his trunk. He rummaged around for a few seconds before he pulled out a small velvet pouch. He opened the pouch and pulled out the fake locket that he and Dumbledore had taken from the seaside cave at the end of the previous year.
He opened the locket and unfolded the note he had found inside, left by the mysterious R.A.B. Harry sat on his bed for what seemed like hours, staring at the note and the locket, and was finally jostled from his musings by Ron’s voice.
“Are you coming down, mate?” he asked, “Dinner’s almost ready and I could use some help setting the table.”
Harry nodded, quickly stuffed the locket and note inside his jeans pocket and hurried down the stairs after Ron. Together, he and Ron set the table, while Mrs. Weasley cooked.
When Harry asked Ron where Hermione and Ginny had gone, he shrugged and replied with a grimace, “Girl stuff”.
Harry and Ron finished setting the table and passed the time until dinner by playing chess (Ron won twice, in spectacular fashion). Hermione and Ginny returned home just after the sun had set, followed closely by Tonks. Ginny rushed over to Harry and gave him a kiss on the cheek that seemed to cause his lips to tingle.
“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks yelled from across the hall as she and Hermione entered the house. Sadly, that yell was enough noise to set off Mrs. Black.
“Filthy, nasty, blood traitors!” she bellowed, before Harry and Ron could get the curtains around her closed again.
“Sorry,” said Tonks sheepishly, walking through the entrance hall and tripping magnificently over her own feet. Harry moved forward and helped Tonks up on her feet as Mrs. Weasley poked her head around the corner.
“Come on, you lot, dinner’s ready,” she said.
At the mention of dinner, Ron pushed past Harry to get to the kitchen first, while Hermione rolled her eyes. They all moved into the kitchen and sat down at the table where Mr. Weasley, Charlie, the twins, and Lupin were already gathered.
After they all took the time to congratulate Harry on 'making it this far', as George so delicately put it, they started on the feast that Mrs. Weasley had prepared.
“We’ve got some good news, Harry,” said Charlie, passing the bread across the table to Hermione, “It seems it’s going to take Snape even longer to brew the Draught of Life than we originally thought.”
“How did you manage to find that out?” Harry asked, somewhat stunned at the news.
“A team of Aurors captured four Death Eaters who were caught breaking into one of the Ministry’s warehouses,” Charlie replied, an unmistakable smile growing across his face.
“It turns out that the warehouse held some very rare potion ingredients that Snape would need to brew the potion,” Lupin continued.
“Is that the only place where Snape can get the ingredients?” Harry asked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.
“No, but this will slow down the process considerably,” Lupin answered, taking a bite out of his meal.
“This may buy you some more time, Harry,” Mr. Weasley said.
Harry nodded and was about to ask another question, but Ginny spoke first.
“We don’t have to talk about this do we? I mean, its Harry’s birthday.”
Harry smiled at her and, thankfully, no one mentioned Voldemort, Snape or the Draught of Life for the rest of dinner.
* * *
“It’s time for presents!” squeaked Ginny excitedly once she had cleared her plate from the table.
“All right, all right,” placated Mrs. Weasley. “Take Harry into the living room. We’ll be there shortly.”
Harry and Ginny did as they were told and went to wait in the living room while everyone finished cleaning up. They both took a seat on the sofa and one wicked smile from Ginny was all Harry needed to engage in some serious snogging.
“Wait, I think I hear someone coming,” said Harry quickly, looking around Ginny, who was perched on his lap, and towards the kitchen door.
“No one’s coming, Harry,” she replied, and grabbed him with both hands and kissed him deeply again.
“All right, I believe you,” Harry said, breathless and panting heavily.
“I thought you might,” Ginny replied teasingly, now trailing kisses down Harry’s neck. She pulled back once again and looked into his eyes.
Blimey, she looks beautiful, Harry thought.
“I thought you might like to try “” but sadly, Ginny was unable to finish the sentence because, with two sharp cracks, Fred and George had Apparated onto either side of Harry and Ginny.
“Would you two stop that?” Ginny said irritably, adjusting her shirt and moving off Harry’s lap.
“We were just looking out for you,” said Fred, resting his arm on Ginny’s shoulder.
“Exactly,” continued George, putting his arm around Harry’s shoulder, “we wouldn’t want Mum to find you and Harry in that, er “ position.”
“Well,” replied Ginny, a look of triumph crossing her face, “if you don’t watch it, George, I’ll tell Mum exactly what position I found you and Elizabeth in on this very couch last weekend.”
“You wouldn’t,” George said, withdrawing his hand from behind Harry’s head.
“Oh, she would,” Fred said, clapping his brother on the back.
“Oh, and you, Fred,” Ginny said, rounding on the other twin, “how would you feel if I let Mum know that it was not my bra that she found in the wash last night?”
Harry could not contain the smile that was crossing his face, while Fred and George both looked scandalized.
“You wouldn’t,” Fred said, echoing his twin perfectly and withdrawing his hand from behind Ginny’s head.
“Oh, she would,” replied George, and with one look at his brother, they both burst into laughter.
“You’re good,” Harry said, kissing Ginny on the top of her head and wrapping his arm around her, allowing her to rest on his shoulder.
“She was taught by the best,” Ron said ominously, motioning to the twins as he took a seat in a nearby chair.
Soon, everyone had made their way into the living room and had gathered around Harry.
“All right, Harry,” said Ginny, smiling at him and sounding very much like her mother, “time for you to open your presents.”
Harry opened Ron’s first, which was a large box of sweets, containing Chocolate Frogs, Pepper Imps, Sugar Quills and assorted Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. From Hermione he received (what else) a massive spell book that, according to her, had many ‘fun and fascinating’ spells to learn. At this, Ron snorted but was able to pass it off as a violent cough.
The twins gave Harry a massive case from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes that contained nearly everything that Harry might need in his search for Horcruxes. Tonks gave Harry a small vial of Felix Felicis that she had been saving for ‘special occasions’. Mr. Weasley gave Harry a tent, much like the one that Harry and the Weasleys had stayed in during the Quidditch World Cup in Harry’s fourth year; that would certainly come in handy.
Mrs. Weasley gave Harry, with tears in her eyes, a new sweater that she had knitted herself. Hagrid had left Harry a box of sweets that Hagrid had made himself, which worried Harry immensely. Lupin then handed Harry his present and Harry unwrapped it, feeling instantly guilty when he did.
“I took the liberty of repairing the two-way mirror that Sirius gave you. I hope you don’t mind,” said Lupin, sounding somewhat uncertain.
Harry gazed at the mirror in his hands that he wished he had thought of using in his fifth year. Maybe if he had, Harry thought, Sirius would still be alive. Harry pushed this thought aside and thanked Lupin sincerely for repairing it.
“I’ll have the other mirror with me at all times. If you ever need me I’ll be there. Oh, and this is also for you.”
Lupin reached inside his pocket and pulled out what looked like a very old piece of parchment. He unfolded it carefully and showed it to Harry. It seemed to be a diary entry, written by Harry’s mother.
“I found this in an old box of James’ and Lily’s personal items. I’d never seen it before, but as you can tell it was obviously written by Lily “ about James. They started dating shortly after the date of the entry,” said Lupin, smiling at Harry. “I thought you might like it.”
Both Ginny and Hermione had stood up and moved behind Harry so that they could read the entry as well.
October 13, 1976
I can’t believe he asked me out. I didn’t give him an answer, but I’ve adored him for ages. Yet still there’s a little bit of me that’s slightly apprehensive. He is rather gorgeous, the way his black hair....
“Now that’s private,” said Harry teasingly, covering the parchment so that Ginny and Hermione couldn’t read any more, and sliding it carefully into his pocket.
“Spoil-sport,” retorted Ginny, poking him in the ribs. “Okay, now open my present.”
Ginny handed him a small package that Harry carefully opened. He removed all of the wrappings and pulled out a picture of Ginny, carefully set in a leather frame.
“Watch this,” she squeaked excitedly and walked to the other side of the living room, while speaking into what looked like her hand. All of a sudden the picture vibrated and Ginny’s real face replaced the picture of her.
“Do you like it?” Ginny asked nervously, through the picture.
“Oh, Ginny, I love it,” said Harry excitedly looking up from the picture and staring at his girlfriend across the room. This was exactly what he needed, a way to feel like he was still seeing Ginny without really seeing her. The real Ginny quickly ran back over to him and encased him in a bone-breaking hug worthy of Mrs. Weasley.
“Now we can talk to each other when you’re away,” she said, kissing him furiously.
Harry’s face reddened; he didn’t like to kiss Ginny in front of her parents, but they weren’t complaining and neither was he. Everyone enjoyed each other’s company for a little while longer before Harry could feel himself beginning to tire.
“All right, off to bed with the lot of you,” said Mrs. Weasley, after seeing Harry stifle a yawn.
She ushered Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny up the stairs after they had bade goodnight to everyone in the living room. Mrs. Weasley said goodnight to the three others and then gave Harry an extra long hug.
“I’ll see you in the morning before you leave, won’t I?” she asked uncertainly.
“Of course, Mrs. Weasley,” said Harry giving her a peck on the cheek. She looked happily at him for a moment and then said,
“Goodnight.”
Harry and Ron walked Hermione and Ginny to their room, where Harry bade them each goodnight, giving Ginny an extra long kiss, and then turned to go back to his room. He stopped, however, when Ron spoke.
“Hermione,” said Ron quietly, “can I say something to you?”
Hermione looked at him quizzically but nodded her head.
“I just… well… I wanted to say sorry for being a git before and to say thanks for what you said to Malfoy, it was really -”
“Aww, how very touching,” said a cold drawl from behind where they were standing. “Do you want a hanky, Weaselbee?”
Ron glared at Malfoy and quickly drew his wand and Harry followed suit.
“Draco!” said Narcissa Malfoy, coming around the corner of the hall. “What have I told you about mingling with such filth?”
She looked at Hermione loathingly.
“I would have thought… why do you have my cousin’s locket?”
Narcissa Malfoy was glaring at Harry’s pocket. Harry looked down and saw that the locket, which he had shoved in his pocket earlier, was sticking out.
“Your cousin’s?” asked Harry.
“Yes, of course. Regulus carried that stupid thing around for the last year of his life. He wouldn’t let it out of his sight. I was under the impression that he left it here before he died.”
Harry’s eyes glazed over for a moment and then he finally understood. R.A.B. was Regulus. The locket that he, Ron and Hermione found in their purge of Grimmauld Place during their fifth year was a Horcrux.
“What was Regulus’ middle name?” said Harry hurriedly.
“Arcturus “ why?” replied Narcissa warily.
Harry rushed from the hallway, dragging Ron, Hermione and Ginny with him all the way into the drawing room, where Harry last remembered seeing the heavy locket.
“Harry, what are you on about?” asked Ginny, utterly perplexed.
Harry started to explain but was cut off by a gasp by Hermione.
“Oh, why didn’t I realize it?” she said. “R.A.B, Regulus Arcturus Black. That was his locket that we found in here wasn’t it Harry? That was a Horcrux.”
“Yeah, now if I could only find it,” said Harry, rummaging around in boxes and in drawers.
“But, Harry, oh, Harry, don’t you remember?” Hermione said, looking thoroughly worried.
“What?” asked Harry, now thoroughly annoyed.
“Mundungus Fletcher, don’t you remember?” she asked, her voice quivering slightly.
Harry thought for a second until he finally did remember. That day felt like so long ago, like it had happened in another life. All of the air in his stomach left him as he felt as if he had been hit in the gut by a Bludger.
“You caught him in Hogsmeade with those artefacts that he stole from here, didn’t you?” Hermione asked softly. “I mean, that locket was heavy and it probably seemed fairly valuable to him. I’d “ I’d be willing to bet that the Horcrux is no longer here, Harry.”