Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything

Harry Potter and the Year that Changed Everything (3)

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Chapter Three: Farewell to Youth

Harry stood there aghast. What was he supposed to do now? He had never been confronted with a naked Luna in his bed, or any other naked girl for that matter. A small section of his mind wanted to get under the blankets and join her, but a larger part was screaming at him to run for his life. Before he was able to come to a unanimous decision, Luna moved to throw off the covers completely, causing Harry to slap his hands over his eyes in fear of the unknown. Just as he did so, a yawn was heard from directly behind him.

"Hey, there you are, Harry. We must have fallen asleep waiting on you and Hermione. What are you just standing there like a lemon for? Did you forget which bed is yours or something?"

Harry suddenly felt greatly relieved to hear his best male friend's voice. With Ron there, Luna would have to leave...wouldn't she? He had to act fast.

"Ron! Buddy! There you are, in your room, here where we both sleep. Uh, could you turn away for a second so Luna can leave? She got a little...turned around."

Ron's sleepy voice sounded confused.

"Luna? When did she get here? Why do I have to turn around? What's going on?"

Harry's voice was continuing to rise as his level of hysteria also grew.

"She came in while you guys were asleep, and you have to turn around because she's...well...naked."

Harry could hear Ron's sharp intake of breath behind him and then him felt rush to his side. Trust Ron to want a peek at a naked girl. Harry's mental admonishment of Ron's character was interrupted by his friend's still confused voice.

"Naked? What do you mean...oh, yeah, so she is. Wow, I can see what you mean about her now mate. Blimey, she does have a nice little pair of..."

Ron's words were cut short by Harry quickly moving his hands from his eyes to cover Ron's own.

"Ron! How dare you look at Luna's naked body like...that?"

Once Harry had cleared his hands away from his eyes and finally took a look at her, he quickly discovered that Luna was, in fact, entirely covered. As he stood there with his mouth opened in shock mingled with more than a little disappointment, both of the other teens in the room cracked up laughing. Luna was now lying back on the bed holding her stomach while Ron was slapping him on the back repeatedly.

"By Jove, you should have seen your face, Harry. I figured something was up when you were standing there with your hands over your eyes. What the bloody hell made you think that Luna would be naked? Oh, and great joke there, Luna."

Ron went over to sit on his bed as his laughter turned into giggles at Harry's continued sputtering. Luna regained her composure and after wiping the tears of mirth from her cheeks pulled Harry into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I couldn't help it. I've been waiting outside all night for you to show up and when I saw you were with Hermione I wanted to wait until I could get you alone. When I saw that you were still in the bathroom getting ready for bed, well, I knew that I had to do something. Who would have known that the savior of the wizarding world, the one man to fight the greatest dark wizard in history to a draw over and over, would be so frightened at the prospect of a naked girl in his bed."

Harry was starting to calm down now that he wasn't being confronted with a naked Luna anymore and suddenly realized something.

"Luna, I thought that you were incapable of lying."

Luna released Harry from the hug and stood up to go to Ginny's room.

"I still can't, Harry. I wasn't lying. I don't have any clothes on under this robe. Well, goodnight boys. I'll see you at breakfast, Harry."

Luna then left the boy's room with the two of them both staring openly after her. Harry thought about yelling at Ron now for going along with Luna's little joke on him. He also thought about yelling at him for making lewd comments about her, even if he was joking. In the end, there was only one thing that seemed important enough to say at that moment.

"Hey, Ron?"

"Yeah, Harry?"

"Do you really think Luna was naked under her robe?"

"Well, she doesn't lie. I hope she was. That would be pretty hot, you know?"

"Hell yeah it would."

"Good to have you back mate. Goodnight, Harry."

"Good to be back, Ron. Goodnight."

And, with the images of naked girls dancing in their heads, both boys fell off into a deep restful sleep.

Breakfast that morning was a very subdued affair. The only two members of the group that seemed awake and alert was Ginny and Neville, both of whom had spent the entire night on the couch and had both been up for hours by the time the rest of them had stumbled down for breakfast. Mrs. Weasley supplied them with the usual army's worth of food and drink, and Ron did his best to eat as such. Ginny couldn't help but giggle when Harry missed his mouth with his spoon and Hermione nearly put marmalade on her eggs and salt and pepper on her toast.

"Wow, you two sure are with it this morning. I hope you weren't that sleepy while you were driving here. What time did you two get in anyway? We were all waiting up for you downstairs and must have fallen asleep before you got in. I got up this morning to change clothes and take a shower and found both Hermione and Luna had arrived. So, what all did you guys get into last night, eh?"

Ginny's twinkling eyes bounced around between Harry, Hermione, and Luna until Ron decided to intervene in order to get the spotlight off them, seeing as he knew how Ginny could get when she was digging for information.

"Gin, Harry doesn't want to talk about that stuff right now, he's got the whole summer to talk about. So, how was your summer, Harry? What's this about your uncle and cousin moving out? I bet you were happy about that one!"

Harry welcomed the change of topic and went on to explain the events of the summer, including the reconciliation of him and his aunt. He didn't make any mention of his rather intense fitness regiment and since he was wearing baggy pajamas it wasn't obvious at present. He also failed to mention any of the conversation he and Hermione had during the drive there and noticed she looked grateful for it. When he was done, Ron smiled and buttered himself a third sticky bun.

"Wild, Harry. You sure do live some crazy life. As for things around here, well, as I've told you in my letters, it's been pretty boring really. Mum and dad are always either doing something for the Order, or planning Percy's wedding. Oh, and I've been helping Fred and George at the shop on weekends. Ginny does too, when she's not too busy 'studying' with Nevy here."

Ron's eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at Neville, only to be in turn stared down by the much more imposing glare of his "baby" sister.

"Oh yes, Ron. If you count going by she shop to load your pockets and cleaning out Honeyduke's of their free samples then, yes, you are quite the help to them. And, need I remind you that I told you already to stop with the snarky remarks about Neville and I? Or maybe you'd like a bat bogey hex to star the morning? You know, I don't have to cast it on your nose. Any body cavity will do."

Ron's face went from the slight red color of anger to the stark white of fear. He didn't much fancy bats flying out of his Y-fronts at any time of the day. Assured that she had shut him up for the time being at least, Ginny cut into her baked tomato and turned her eyes to a very tired looking Hermione.

"So, Hermione, how are things on the Isle of Man? Any cute ones there, or did you have to wait until you picked Harry up to see one? By the way Harry, could I use your stomach later to grate some cheese on it?"

Hermione nearly shot orange juice out of her nose as Harry choked slightly on his porridge. Trust Ginny to say something perverted like that out of the blue. Hermione wiped her face with her napkin and found herself now entirely awake.

"Well, uh, you know. I mostly just relaxed and did some walking and reading. We were staying at a working farm, so there was always something to do. What about you, Luna? Harry tells me you were back in Scandinavia again this summer. Find any...interesting creatures?"

Luna's jewel-like eyes widened slightly as she grew excited at the memory of her summer travels.

"Oh, yes! It was a very successful trip! Daddy and I searched for ancient magical Viking ruins, and we also searched for the legendary Jabberwocky! Daddies going to do a special color supplement in the next issue of the Quibbler about it all and everything that we found while we were over there. I had a good time, but I made sure that I was back before Harry's birthday. I wouldn't miss that for anything in the world."

Luna then locked eyes with Harry, making the boy blush deeply and lower is face to look at the kitchen table. He could hear Ron chuckling lightly and heard both Ginny and Hermione swat him on each arm. Just as Ron opened his mouth to offer a retort, the sound of several screeching owls heralded the arrival of the post. When it was seen that the post included six large official looking envelopes with the Hogwarts crest on them, Hermione and Ginny both jumped up and nearly beat each other to death in their enthusiasm to get to their own first.

"They're here! They're here! The exam results are finally here!"

The post owls that arrived at the Burrow that day would need several weeks off after their traumatic experience. One manic girl snatching wildly for their results was one thing, but the combination of Hermione and Ginny both clamoring for them was just too much for them. After the hail of feathers cleared, letters were all over the floor with the two of them grabbing them up as if they were winning tickets from the bookies. The rest of the group made their own more leisurely way to the living room and grabbed up their own envelopes. By the time they got there, Hermione was already reading her results aloud.

Dear Miss Granger:

The following is the results of your sixth year exams.

Arithmancy:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Ancient Runes:

Practical: O

Applied: E

Potions:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Transfiguration:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Herbology:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Total O's: 11 out of 12

Class Rank: 1/80

School Rank: 2/560

Based on your scores, you have been accepted into all your course selections for the coming year. Congratulations on maintaining your rank as number one for your year. Your proposed career as an Auror is well suited for you.

Best of luck in the coming year!

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

P.S. Congratulations Miss Granger on another superior year of academics. The last female to lead hr year all seven years was none other than Lily Potter. You will find another thing you have in common enclosed within. I expect all three of you to study hard for NEWTS this year. Please inform Mr. Weasley that this includes him as well.

As was the case the previous year, everyone congratulated Hermione on her marks. Harry, however, remembered what had also happened directly after read her previous marks, including the same "E" in Ancient Runes, and backed away slowly, taking Luna with him. Hermione finally threw the letter down with a clunk of metal made by something that was still in the envelope.

"An E! An E? How could I possibly mess up again? I was even able to study more since I had fewer classes this year! What the hell really makes the difference if it's Maximus or Maximmus? Any damn fool knows that it means the same thing! It's that bitch that teaches it! She just can't handle the simple fact that I'm already smarter than she is! She shouldn't be allowed to teach swimming to a goldfish. You just wait until the welcome feast this year! I'm going to go up there and give her a piece of my mind. I don't care if she is a descendant of the pharaohs. I'll transfigure her nose onto the bleeding sphinx when I'm done with her!"

Ron and Neville were speechless next to her. Trying to defuse the situation, Ron picked up her discarded envelope and took out the remaining item inside.

"Hermione, look! You've got the badge! You're Head Girl! Wow, you really do deserve it!"

Ron may have thought that showing her the Head Girl badge would make her feel better, much in the same way that a large trifle always made him feel better, but he was sorely mistaken.

"Head Girl? What the flaming hell does that matter? What good is it being Head Girl if I can't even translate runes correctly? And what is this? I'm not even number one in the school anymore? How the hell could that be? Somebody would have to ace all of their exams to beat me! Who in the fu...wait...where did Luna and Harry go? Oh my god...LUNA!!!"

Harry had been slowly but steadily backing Luna up and out to the front porch. Luna, not understanding the danger she was in, reacted to Harry pushing her from behind by turning it into a conga line. At about the fourth leg kick, the loud sound of Luna's name caused Harry to turn around swiftly in an attempt to shield Luna behind him.

"Luna, run!"

Harry had hoped to get Luna outside safely, but she merely giggled and tried to start up the conga line again with Harry in front of her this time. A wild eyed and equally wild haired Hermione found them and brought the fun and games to an immediate halt.

"Luna! Open your letter...now!"

Still giggling despite the nearly tangible hostility Hermione was emoting, Luna opened her letter and read out her own results in her usual dreamy voice as if she was reading the instructions off a cake mix.

Dear Miss Lovegood

The following is the results off your fifth year O.W.L. exams

Care of Magical Creatures:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Arithmancy:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Ancient Runes:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Potions:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Transfiguration:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Astronomy:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Herbology:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Divination:

Practical: O

Applied: O

Total O's: 18 out of 18

Class Rank: 1/80

School Rank: 1/560

Based on your scores, you have been accepted into all your course selections for the coming year. Also, based upon your superior scores in all subjects, a time turner can be provided for any extra course work you may wish to take. Congratulations on maintaining you number one ranking for your year, as well as your new number one ranking for the school.

Best of luck in the coming year!

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

P.S. Congratulations again on your perfect scores. Not since our own Headmaster sat his own exams has anyone done so well. I would hope that between yourself and Miss Granger you could convince Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley to apply them selves for their coming NEWT year. If you have not decided upon a career choice, might I suggest becoming an Auror? Your superior intelligence would be an asset to their ranks.

Luna looked up from reading the letter and simply grabbed onto Harry again in a renewed effort to restart the conga line. Hermione merely stood there and fumed, while Ginny tucked her own letter away and gave a great sigh.

"Well, after Luna reading hers I'm not really that anxious to find out my own scores anymore. Come on guys, let's go back to the kitchen before Luna starts feeling Harry up again. Oh, here's the other letters for everyone."

Ginny passed out the remaining letters to everyone but stopped when she reached Harry's.

"Oh my god, Harry! Yours has something in it! It must be the Head Boy badge!"

Harry reached for the letter but Ron got hold of it first.

"Harry got the badge? Well, that's...great. I guess I kind of thought I would get it, seeing as I was prefect, but hey, that just means I won't have to do rounds again. Oh, and wait until Fred and George hear about it! What kind of marks did you get? Another S in Defense?"

Harry quickly put away his badge, worrying that Fred and George might suddenly appear, and scanned his sheet. A slight smile appeared on his face when he reached the end.

"Well, eight out of twelve isn't too bad. I got accepted into all my classes at least. This next year is going to be really hard, with NEWT exams and Apparation tests and the Introductory Auror training we'll be taking. I just can't believe that they'd actually make me Head Boy. I thought sure it would be you, Ron. Oh, and what about Quidditch? When am I going to have time to practice? And what about the DA? Will we be able to do it again this year? And what about my Occlumency lessons? And Luna, would you please take your hands off my butt before I go spare?"

Everyone's attention shifted from Harry to look at Luna who was standing behind him with her hands indeed fastened tightly to his bottom. Instead of being at all embarrassed at being caught out, she instead merely giggled once again before giving Harry one final squeeze on his posterior and yelling "honk-honk!"

While everyone else laughed, Harry's face reddened and Hermione shook her head in exasperation. Even though she had grown much more understanding of Luna than she had been when they had first met, she was still astounded by just how..."odd"...she really was. And this girl had mentally bested her? It was enough to make a girl's hair curl. Well, curl more at least. Not wanting to talk about grades anymore, along with not wanting to watch Luna grope Harry even more, Hermione cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention again.

"If I could interrupt this celebration of depravity for a moment, I was thinking that the heat of the day will be coming on soon. What do you say we all head down to the pond and cool off? I think Luna could do with that, don't you think?"

Instead of any kind of reaction to Hermione's statement towards her, Luna merely smiled her dreamy smile and clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Ooh, I'd love a nice swim! I remembered to bring my bathing costume this year, so I won't have to borrow Penelope's this time. Why don't the boys get us all some towels, and us girls will ask Mrs. Weasley to pack us up a picnic lunch like last year? Oh, I've been looking forward to this for months! Come on, let's get going!"

Luna quickly ran up the steps leaving the rest of the group to look after her. Harry turned to look at a still staring Ron.

"Ron, do you think Luna is acting a bit...strange?"

Ron turned his narrowed eyes to look at his best mate.

"With Luna, how can you really tell?"

"Good point. Come on, let's get ready."

Within a half-hour, the six friends were all making their way down the path to the Weasley pond. Once there the towels were laid out and a first round of butterbeers were distributed. Taking a long draught of his, Ron sighed in happiness and placed his hands behind his head.

"Bly, this is the life. Warm sun, nice breeze, no homework to do, girls in swimsuits...oh, and Ginny is wearing one too, I guess."

The rest of the group laughed at Ron's comment while Neville and Ginny glared at him. Ginny then got up and stood over him.

"Dear brother, do you happen to remember last year when you ran your mouth about me? Well, you're an even slower learner than I thought. I'll give you until the count of three to run and then I'm going to kick your sorry arse in front of all our friends...again. One, two..."

By the time Ginny had gotten as far as the number two, Ron was halfway to the pond. He had anticipated his sister's reaction and been smart enough to pick a spot closest to the water. For him, it just wasn't summer until Ginny was chasing him around, threatening his life. Those left on the grass laughed at the familiarity of it all. Neville shook his head at the sight.

"Man, you'd think that Ron would learn not to mess with Ginny by now. I know I learned that pretty quickly. Well, I'd best go after them and make sure nobody gets hurt. And by anybody, I mean Ron."

Neville got up and went into the water to wade over to where Ron was holding Ginny away from himself by holding his hand out and keeping a grip on her forehead. Owing to his long arms and Ginny's much shorter ones, she was throwing punches that were currently failing to connect with him. Once again, this meant that Harry was left alone with Hermione and Luna. A slightly awkward silence hung in the air as Harry worried what to say to Luna now that she had not only declared her love for him on many occasions, but had also left red marks on his buttocks. The fact that she was now wearing a bathing suit didn't help, either.

Hermione also felt awkward owing to the fact that she felt like the third wheel. A small part of her also felt protective of Harry, not wanting to leave him alone with her in case she tried anything. She couldn't explain why she felt that way, but she did. For her part, Luna didn't feel at all awkward. To her, as long as the sun was shining and she was in her beloved nature, there was nothing to feel awkward about. After a few more minutes, she was the first to break the heavy silence. As usual with her, the topic caught the other two teens completely by surprise

"You know, the six of us have very different body types."

Harry and Hermione both looked over at her, a blank expression on both their faces. Hermione was the first of them to recover from the out of the blue utterance.

"Uh, Luna, what exactly are you talking about?"

Luna continued on as if it was the most natural thing they could be talking about at the time.

"Well, you know, we all have a different body type. Take the boys for example. Ron is long and lanky. He's got really long arms and legs and is quite tall. With Neville, he's still got some weight on him, and he's got a longer body with shorter legs. And then with Harry you've got the biggest change from when he started school. Even in the last year the change is amazing. You still aren't very tall, and I don't think you're ever going to be, but you are built like Adonis. Just think, Cho fancied you before you hardened up, just imagine what she would do now! And then there's us females."

Harry's face turned red and he tried to cut Luna off.

"Hey, Luna, what do you say we take a walk?"

Luna smiled at Harry but didn't move to get up.

"Oh, yes, we'll do that later. It's always nice to walk around outside in the cool off the evening. That way we can lie under the stars and look at our moon together. Now, where was I? Oh yes, us females. Ginny is the petite one. Everything on her is proportionate to her height, like a little doll. She and Neville make a good pairing because he's very gentle with her, and she's very compassionate with him. With me, I'm willowy like my mother was. I'll never have the curves that you other two have. I guess you could say I have a "boyish" figure. Now with you, Hermione, you're sort of the female ideal, just as Harry is the male ideal. I think the Muggles would say you have an "hourglass" figure. Anyway, you've got a body most girls would kill for. You know, that was another reason why Cho was jealous of you. She may have been more athletic, but she often wished she had a body more likes yours. She used to say that was the real reason Harry stayed with you. She used to say really horrible things about you, but I always told her that you weren't like that at all. That's usually when I would wake up the next day with all of my clothing gone for some reason."

Harry and Hermione both say there in silence. It wasn't that what Luna was saying was false, it was that she was saying a lot of things that they had been too busy with other things to think about. Yes, they were all growing up and so were their bodies. Being teenagers, they had all checked out one another's bodies many times. Harry had to agree that Hermione's figure was quite curvy, and that Ginny was very cute in her smallness, but he didn't like the idea of Luna considering herself "boyish." Especially since he himself thought she had a very nice body. Thoughts of Luna's body caused his resolve to weaken even further and he ran his eyes over her body as she lay there basking in the sun's warm rays. He noticed immediately that the sun caused her hair to shine like strands of the finest gold, and that her eyes were even more beautiful than he remembered. As the sexual tension rose to match the summer heat, Hermione got up and cleared her throat.

"Well, I think I need to cool off. I'm going in to take a dip. You two behave yourselves now."

Hermione walked down to the water, leaving the remaining two on the grass behind her. Luna smiled as she noted that Harry didn't watch her walking like he had last year, even though Hermione's backside, usually hidden under robes, was one of her best features. Instead, his eyes remained firmly locked with her own.

"Luna, would you like to sit in the shade for a bit? I don't want you to get burned with your fair skin."

Luna smiled and took Harry's hand to help herself up. The two of them walked away from the pond and settled into the shade of the trees that surrounded it. Hermione watched the two of them leave but told herself not to worry about it. Harry could take care of himself, even against Luna. At least she hoped so.

Taking a seat under a large apple tree, Harry patted the space beside him for Luna to sit. Now that it was just the two of them, he felt more of the familiar calm feeling washing over him.

"God, I really missed you this summer, Luna. I'm really glad that you kept writing me, and that you still want to be my friend. I have to admit, I was worried about that. I still think that what I'm doing is right, and that I'm correct in wanting to protect you, but it doesn't make it any easier. We just can't be together as a couple. I'm sorry."

Luna's smile faltered slightly, but it quickly returned as she took hold of Harry's hand with her own.

"I know, Harry. I know you'd never try to hurt me on purpose. And I know that you mean well, and that you don't want me to get hurt by being your girlfriend. But, I also think that you have to keep in mind that I'm not going to just give up on you, and that I'm not going anywhere. I know that there's something that you are afraid to tell me, afraid to tell all of us, and that it has something to do with Voldemort. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Someday you'll defeat him, and then the two of us can be together. I've told you before, Harry, you are so worth the wait. You can keep me at arms length like Ron was doing with Ginny for now, but just keep in mind that, one day, you'll be using those same arms to hold me to you."

This wonderful and ever surprising girl that cared so much about him once again amazed Harry. He realized that he hadn't even known her for two full years yet, but it seemed as if she had always been a part of his life, or at least the parts that mattered. Looking into her beautiful eyes, he took in the dazzling smile that always caused him to want nothing more than to kiss her and to be with her in the way all boys his age want to be with the girls they care about. His physical resolve had crumbled away completely, and his mental resolve was only just hanging on by a thread. Before he could think another rational thought, he heard himself speaking from his own heart.

"Luna, you're right, there is something that I'm keeping to myself. All I can say now is that when the time comes, I will tell you, ok? Right now, I have to figure it all out on my own. I have been trying to keep you at arms length to protect you, and I'm really glad that you understand why I've been doing it. I just hope that you're right about me being the one to be the final victor someday. When the final battle does take place, I'm going to need all of you by my side. I realize now that I can't do this on my own, no matter how much I want to. And, if I do win, if I finally rid the world of his evil once and for all, I'll be able to live my own life at last. And then, if you still want me, I would like nothing more than to be with you. Is that ok?"

Luna looked at Harry and suddenly wished she could speed up time. She had asked herself on numerous occasions if the pain and the waiting and the frustration were worth it, if any single person could be worth it. And then she would be with him and she would realize that Harry, her Harry, was worth anything.

Harry was kind to her. He never spoke down to her, or made her feel like an outcast as nearly everyone else did. She felt beautiful when she was with him, she felt special with him, and she felt the vacancy when they were apart. How could she give that up? Why would she ever want to?

"Yes, it's more than ok, Harry. We both have our whole lives ahead of us. Now, we'd better get back to the others before they get worried. I think Hermione doesn't trust me alone with you for too long. I guess she really is smart enough to have been in Ravenclaw."

Luna giggled at her little joke and took Harry's hand to lead him back to the pond. The rest of the afternoon and early evening went by very quickly, and by the time the six of them had all parted to their respective rooms, Harry was happy to see his bed. As he readied for bed, he was feeling equal parts tired from such an active day, and anxious to come of age in a few short minutes. He had hoped to celebrate to very moment it happened with Ron and Neville, but their dueling snores let him know that he would have to celebrate without them. He briefly thought about the conversation he and Luna had and wondered how long it would be before the two of them could be together, or even if they ever could be. Deciding quickly that such depressing thoughts were not what he wanted to think about on his birthday, he looked at his digital watch and saw that it was now 11:58. Counting down the seconds until he was seventeen, he was startled at a knock on the door as the time turned to 11:59. Getting up and moving to the door, he wondered who it could possibly be. The first thought that occurred to him was that it must be Luna. He had promised her a nighttime stroll and she must have been there to take him up on it. Quickly putting on his slippers he threw open the door to see the smiling face of...

"Hermione! What...what are you doing up?"

Hermione continued to smile sweetly at Harry as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Harry then noticed that she was holding something behind her back.

"Hermione, what have you...?"

But before he could finish his question, his mystery was solved when she produced a multilayered cake with seventeen red and gold candles on it. Hermione presented it to him and laughed as Harry's brightened face. He looked to her like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Wow! Hermione, did Mrs. Weasley make this?"

"No, actually, it's from Professor Dumbledore. He dropped it off while we were all down at the pond this afternoon. He also left specific instructions for me to give it to you at the stroke of midnight. Could you give me a hand with it, it's rather heavy."

Harry took hold of the glass cake stand that the cake rested on to help her. The icing looked very rich and his mouth began to water like Pavlov's dog. He was suddenly glad that Ron and Neville were still asleep. Looking up at Hermione from the cake, Harry was taken by the way the candlelight made her eyes sparkle and shine. Hermione, as it happened, was thinking the exact same thing about him.

"Harry, you're supposed to make your wish at the stroke of midnight. Are you ready?"

Harry looked at his watch and saw that he had all of three seconds until midnight. Deciding to simply wish for the health and happiness of his friends who had become his family, he drew in his breath and began to blow out his candles. The instant that his watch beeped and the downstairs clock began to chime, Harry and Hermione both suddenly felt the familiar tug behind their navels and disappeared soundlessly from the Burrow, leaving only the smell of smoke from the extinguished candles behind.