Purpose

"Don't let that one escape!" Hermione shrieked, scampering around the garden, with Crookshanks chasing a gnome from the vegetable patch. She groaned with frustration when the gnome neatly evaded from her reach. "I will not resort to cheating!" the young woman shouted determinedly in the air, and ran in another direction, her curly hair bouncing off her back.

Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead using a handkerchief provided by Mrs. Weasley. The twins were working in the joke shop while Bill and Mr. Weasley made a trip down to the Ministry. Charlie, the second eldest of the Weasley siblings had dropped by two days ago by dragonback, and then went to perform an errand from Professor Dumbledore. That left the young adults to Mrs. Weasley and she instructed that they help her degnome the garden while it was still sunny. Mr. Granger wanted to see how they degnome the garden so that left the two adult females to see to dinner. Harry leaned towards Ron who was watching Hermione dreamily.

"I certainly did not imagine Hermione would be acting like this," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked in puzzlement.

"It seems that she's much more easy-going than she had been the past few years, and certainly developed a little sense of humor, even if it's a bit warped sometimes." Harry explained hastily.

"That's probably because of her parents. She wants to enjoy as much as she can while we all are still on holiday. It won't be a pleasure jaunt for us this year, not with the restrictions that would take effect once the school terms starts." Ron said, and Harry wondered at his friend's reactions as well. Ron seemed to have matured a lot. Maybe appointing him, as a Prefect was a good decision after all, he's showing the signs of wisdom and self-confidence. And I wonder when our OWL results are… I remembered Professor McGonagall said that we would know our results by July. Strange… neither Hermione or Ron talked anything about OWLs… neither do their family members…

"Aha! Got you now!" Hermione gave a triumphant shout and hurled the gnome towards her father, who batted at the gnome expertly. Harry narrowed his eyes as he watched the affronted gnome soaring farther and farther from the Burrow.

Ginny had complained to Mr. Granger that degnoming the garden would be a waste of time because the gnomes would always find their way back to the garden in about twenty-four hours time. That gave Mr. Granger an idea, took some firewood, and whispered to Hermione. The rest watched curiously as Hermione Transfigured the wood into what Harry recognized as a baseball bat. Harry got a vague idea and was the first to catch a gnome lurking under a berry-bush. To everyone's amazement, Harry tossed the gnome towards Mr. Granger who hit the gnome squarely, sending it flying away.

"Wicked," Ron whispered, his eyes glinting with excitement.

"At least the knock on his rump will make sure he takes his time getting back to the garden," Ginny observed clinically.

"Good job, dad!" Hermione panted, her eyes twinkling in the afternoon sun.

Mrs. Granger stood at the kitchen door. "Aren't you guys being a little sadistic?"

"Oh, come now. It's a good way to relieve stress," Mr. Granger said.

"Whatever. If you guys are finished, why don't you wash up and help in setting up for dinner?" she suggested. Those working in the garden nodded their agreement and began taking off their gloves.

"I wonder why I'm always hungry," Ron muttered.

"Just signs of growing up," Mr. Granger answered sententiously.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Harry greeted, "is Professor Lupin all right?"

"I don't really know," Mrs. Weasley bit her lip. "He's feeling very edgy, and he thinks he shouldn't come down to dinner tonight."

A sudden noise broke out in the garden. Harry stared calmly as Professor Snape made his way to the kitchen. Ron narrowed his eyes dangerously and the two girls held tightly on his arms. Ron had found the Potions Master actions during the previous term disgusting. The head of the Slytherin House stared menacingly at the Grangers' and since they were already aware of his animosity towards the young Potter, they had dared to show to show their indifference to the Potions Master.

"Dearheart, if you burn anything in the house, I'll kill you," Mrs. Granger threatened softly, her lips not moving. Mrs. Weasley jerked her chin towards the stairs.

"Don't bother, Severus. I'm not taking the potion. It won't work anymore," Professor Lupin said, as he trudged down the stairs to take a sit on one of the wooden chairs. "By the way," Professor Lupin turned to the Fire Mage, "that was a good hit."

Professor Snape bristled, but as he turned, he met Harry's silent, and calm green eyes.

Crack!

Professor Snape Disapparated out of the house without a word coming out from his mouth.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione looked curiously at Harry.

"Yes, I am," Harry replied impassively as he got up the stairs to bathe.

Dinner was quite a lively affair, with the Weasleys trying their best to cheer Professor Lupin. When they were not looking, Harry managed to catch his eyes and Professor Lupin shook his head in sufferance. They all retreated to the living room after they had cleaned up after dinner.

"So what are we going to do tonight?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"I don't know… Harry?" Hermione looked to Harry who just shrugged.

"Pity we couldn't go out and play some Quidditch," Ron sighed.

A sudden flicker of flame caught their attention. Mrs. Granger looked suspiciously at her husband.

"Uh…Harry…you…uh…have a message," Mr. Granger began, looking slightly perplexed.

"From who?" Harry asked cautiously.

"It's by… Fenix Maxwell, the Fire Master," Hermione's father said, and everyone turned curiously to look at Harry.

"Look in the shining surface and call upon it on the instant of the midnight hour, that signifies another marking in your life," a familiar deep voice spoke up. "Well, that's the message your colleague gave me," the voice addressed Mr. Granger.

They all looked upon Harry expectantly. He was not paying attention to how the company was looking at him. Instead, he was mumbling absently to himself. "Shining surface…and call…new marking…" Harry brooded silently, deep in thoughts.

"Shall we engage ourselves in a game of wizard chess?" Ginny suggested lamely.

Saturday, 29^th July. Full moon…

It was a tense evening for everyone living in The Burrow. A distance from Ron's home and away from any prying Muggles was a sturdy shack that the Weasleys' had magically built especially for Professor Lupin's use. Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Granger and Bill were at home, as the rest took upon themselves to guard Professor Lupin. A hair-raising howl emerged from the shack. Hermione jumped in surprise when the werewolf suddenly rammed against the solid wall of the shed.

"It's too bad none of us are Animagus," Fred muttered under his breath as he stared at the shack in concern. Although that the stigma on Professor Lupin was bound to rub on the Weasley family, they were genuinely concerned about him.

"Even if we were, we wouldn't really know how to handle him," their father said, scuffing his feet on the ground.

All of them had their wands in handy just in case something happens. Harry seated himself, leaned back against a broad oak tree, and stared out. I still don't get the message given by the Salamander. ‘Look in the shining surface and call upon it on the instant of the midnight hour, that signifies another marking in your life'. Why must it be so cryptic? Harry sighed, starting to feel a little frustrated.

"Thinking about the message, Harry?" Hermione said as she and Ron sat down underneath the oak tree, looking above at the night sky, the stars glittering gently above their heads.

"Yeah, I still can't figure it."

"As far as I understand it," Hermione said and paused as the ground rattled beneath them, shuddering at the fearsome force the werewolf had made, "you are supposed to look into a shining surface and call on something on the instant you turn a year older."

"Explain," Ron suggested. "Our skulls are much thicker than yours."

"It seems logical. ‘The instant of the midnight hour, that signifies another marking in your life'," Hermione recited then continued, "you were born at midnight, a marking means in this case that you had just added another mark; meaning one year." Ron looked at her with a blur expression on his face. "Oh, bother, just trust me in this one. What you need to figure out Harry, is the first part. ‘Look in the shining surface and call upon it'. What is it that you need to look into? A basin of water?"

"Shining surface…" Ron mumbled. "A mirror maybe?"

Harry remained mute. A mirror…and call upon it…It can't be! Harry suddenly jerked upright, his eyes growing wider.

"Have you figured something out?" Hermione asked excitedly. But Harry shook his head, suppressing his own growing excitement. They all jumped when an ear-shattering howl escaped from the shack.

"Anyone game for Exploding Snaps?" Ginny called out shakily.

In Fenix's bedroom…

"Sirius…" he heard a whisper. "Sirius, wake up!" someone called urgently this time.

"Wh--what?" Sirius blinked his eyes groggily, awakened by Fenix's shaking.

"You're dreaming again," Fenix explained. "Anything wrong?"

Sirius sat up on the bed and rubbed at his eyes. "Do you think I need a haircut?" he suddenly asked inconsequentially.

"You're evading my question," Fenix accused, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

Sirius gave a light chuckle. "It was just dreams, sister. I was dreaming about a friend of mine, howling in distress."

"Howling?" Fenix asked, her face almost minx-like in the strong moonlight because of her growing curiosity.

"Yes, howling. You see," Sirius paused and leaned forward, "he's a werewolf."

Fenix raised an eyebrow. "You certainly make friends with the unusual kind."

"Now the pot is calling the kettle black. You're the eccentric one. Whoever would think of making wolves as pets?" Sirius snorted and Fenix hit him with a pillow.

: You are certainly acting like siblings, : Silver observed, as he padded quietly into the room.

"They are not pets. They are my bondmates," she said, gritting her teeth.

: Hello, Silv. How was the frolic? : Sirius asked casually, sending his thought to both wolf and human.

: It was awesome. : The silver wolf replied directly into their minds. Fenix stared incredulously at Sirius.

"Why you--" Fenix growled, then continued her attack on Sirius. : You could have told me you could communicate using mindspeech! Gods, how stupid I am! And all the time I was wasting my energy shouting all around the house! : She deserted fighting with the pillow and began with a more hands-on approach. She started pinching the very amused and wincing Black.

: It isn't really my fault! You didn't ask! :

: Oh yeah? : She doubled her efforts.

: All right! ALL RIGHT! : Sirius gave up the fight. : I yield. :

Fenix stopped pinching, but her face glowed with satisfaction.

"I'm really excited when the time comes," Sirius said absently, lying down again. Silver jumped up onto the bed and curled himself on Sirius's legs. Fenix resumed her former position, which was lying beside her oathbrother.

"And you want to know something," Sirius added, his face bearing a mischievous smile, "I think if I have the chance, I would really like to matchmake you."

"To whom? Your howling friend?" Fenix asked archly.

"Well, no. Actually I was thinking about this man," Sirius said, linking his mind with hers easily, and posted an image of Severus Snape.

: SIRIUS! DON'T YOU DARE! : Fenix yelped. Sirius had told her of the various people that Harry had to work with constantly and was not really impressed by Severus. Well, I can't really judge until I've met the man for myself. Sometimes Sirius looks at things very differently…

: I was just kidding! : Sirius assured her, breaking into a hearty laughter.

: The nerve of this man, : she complained helplessly.

: You two stop that, : Wind chided firmly. : It's already late. Go to sleep. :

: Yes mum. : The two humans replied as one and the female wolf gave them a stinging slap causing the humans to wince and rubbed at their aching temples. Sirius grinned and winked at Fenix. She winked back.

: Night, : her sleepy thought reached him.

: Night and sweet dreams. : Sirius gave her a light kiss on her cheek and they all drifted away to sleep.

Sunday, 30^th July. Four hours before midnight…

Professor Lupin looked better than he had in days before, much to the relief of everyone in The Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was feeling quite a bit frantic when Moody, Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster of Hogwarts suddenly Apparated on the front step of The Burrow.

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry whispered, as she prepared some pumpkin juice.

"Yes Harry?" she asked in a preoccupied way.

"I'm sorry if I'm causing too much trouble," Harry told the plump woman sincerely.

"Oh, Harry. It's not your fault that they had come. I don't really mind at all; but only if they had given me some early notice or something," she sighed and concentrated on her task. Harry felt as if a huge load of burden had been lifted from his shoulders and joined in with the others in the garden, where they were helping in setting up tables to accommodate the slightly larger group.

Professor Lupin was instructing the boys and Harry looked around for his owl. A sudden weight on his right shoulder made him smile.

"Hello, Hedwig. Had a good hunt?" Harry asked, turning his head to look into her golden eyes. His owl nibbled gently on his hair before launching herself off into the sky.

"Harry, do you mind arranging the chairs now?" Hermione called out and he gave a nod. He went around the corner where the chairs have all been stacked up and picked them up, one at a time.

"It is always good to keep yourself in practice," Professor Lupin hinted and Harry sighed.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Professor Dumbledore was in deep discussion with Hermione's parents and they--Moody and Professor McGonagall--seemed very much interested with the strange Fire Master. Harry felt something tugging on his sleeve. Nothing was there except for a single white rose at his feet. Harry picked it up and fingered it peculiarly. However, he was not unnoticed because he saw Hermione smiling at him.

"Don't worry, Harry. It is a gift from a friend," she spoke up.

"Who?"

"My mom's Sylph. She seemed to be quite taken with you," Hermione said, then laughed at his terrified expression. "Don't worry, Harry. It isn't a crush or anything like that. She simply likes you."

"Okay," Harry replied dubiously, nervously looking around at the empty air. A silvery giggle emerged from inside the house and Professor Moody jumped slightly, his magical-eye spinning around as if to locate the source.

"I like this one," a soft musical voice spoke up, coming directly in front of Professor Moody. Hermione giggled as she watched Arenii, blinking flirtatiously at the nonplussed Auror. The Auror felt a strange hugging sensation and his face reddened with embarrassment, while Professor Dumbledore peered curiously, not able to see the pixilated Sylph. Hermione dashed outside and they all could hear her resonant laughter quite clearly from in the house. Mrs. Granger surprisingly managed to keep a straight face as she watched her playful Sylph hugged the weird-looking Auror.

"Arenii, stop that this instant," she instructed firmly and the Sylph gave another giggle as she kissed the man's cheek and returned to hover beside Mrs. Granger.

"What was that?" Moody asked, looking suspiciously at Mrs. Granger. The woman just shrugged leaving the Auror's question unanswered.

Sirius was getting excited with each passing minute. Aldren watched the man with his cat-like eyes in puzzlement.

: I'm getting dizzy by just feeling him pace around, : he silently commented to Fenix who was watching the wizard with a peculiar smile.

: I think he's right. Aldren, why don't you give his hair a trim? : She suggested absently.

: You think he would consent to it? :

: Well, we don't really need to ask him, do we? :

The grin the elf gave her was devilish. : Do you have the things ready? And where do you want it to be done? :

: Here. :

Sirius stopped his pacing, as a chair suddenly appeared right in front of him, barricading his way. And a mirror hung in mid-air and Sirius found himself being lifted by invisible hands of the Sylphs, who were all giggling at the surprised wizard.

: What is going on? : He demanded.

: Just carrying out instructions, : Aldren informed him. The elf sprayed water onto the man's long black hair and began to comb it. Fenix in the meantime watched her friend as he began to trim Sirius's hair deftly.

Thirty minutes to midnight…

"Harry, have you figured out the message?" Hermione whispered. Ron groaned in his seat, patting his stomach tenderly. She gave a sidelong smile at the boy sitting beside her.

Harry gulped down on his chilled pumpkin juice. "Yeah."

Fred was discussing how they should start Harry's birthday celebration. Hermione raised her hand and the twin looked at her curiously.

"Have you forgotten that Harry was supposed to do something at midnight?"

"Oh--yeah," Fred mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"You must be getting old, bro." George smirked.

"Shut up!" Fred snapped. "Well, Harry will do whatever he wants to do at midnight; then the cake and then…" He stopped, and the twins gave Harry a very evil look. Fred continued, "And then he'll deal with the presents."

Harry felt strangely detached from himself. Professor Dumbledore was discussing quietly with Professor Lupin while Mr. Weasley bombarded the Grangers' with more questions about the Muggle world. Minutes passed slowly. Professor Dumbledore took out his pocket watch and it spoke.

"Exactly three minutes to midnight!"

The table went silent as Harry stood up and fished out for a package from his pocket. Harry slowly opened the package and held out the two-way mirror. He remembered the evening when he had flung the mirror back in his trunk and it shattered. But on the night before they left Hogwarts, he had asked Hermione to repair it. Hermione did it without asking why.

"Exactly a minute till your birthday!" the pocket watch screeched. Harry turned the mirror back to read Sirius's handwriting.

"Get ready, Harry," the Salamander spoke up.

"Are you sure you know what you're supposed to do?" Ron asked him dubiously. Harry did not answer him as a chorus of voices echoed through the night.

"It's time."

Harry's eyes misted and he called out the one name that belonged to a person he wanted very much to be back in his life. "Sirius," Harry whispered. Nothing happened.

"Sirius Black." He tried again. Still, nothing happened. Harry trembled, his eyes misting heavily and blinked furiously.

"Padfoot!" Harry croaked out, with a touch of command and desperation in his voice.

The dirty surface of the mirror began to blur and suddenly light shone out of it. And there in the reflection of the mirror, was not Harry's but a very cheerful and healthy godfather, with a head that looked as if he had just gone for a haircut.

"Happy Birthday Harry!" Sirius gave a dazzling smile at his overwhelmed godson.