Full Circle

Chapter 1 - Harry's Birthday

For as long as Harry could remember he had always been forced to spend his summer vacations with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley at their home on 4 Privet Drive. There in his oppressive foster home, Harry was forced to pretend a large part of his life didn't exist - the part in which he was actually a young wizard going attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He couldn't mention his best friends Ron and Hermione, the fact that he was the seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, or anything resembling a magical spell. Harry was forced to keep all his school supplies hidden away, sneaking them out in the dead of night to study. Year after year he was the only teenage boy who hated the summer.

But the summer after Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts was different. After the events leading up to the Dark Lord Voldemort's second disappearance, Harry's godfather Sirius Black had been cleared of all charges against him and Harry was able to spend the summer with him. This was just the first of many fantastic events that had happened over the last year. In June when school got out, Ron was voted as Quidditch captain (he became the keeper during his fifth year to replace Oliver Wood) and Hermione and Harry had just received notification that they were Head Girl and Boy. This had been a huge surprise for Harry because of his past habit of rule breaking, but most likely his heroic efforts in recent years had a great influence on his current standing. For Hermione, her new position was downright expected. She had been made a prefect last year and she had always been at the top of the class with her grades.

On top of all this, Sirius took great pains to plan a special surprise party for Harry's seventeenth birthday. It was held in the garden behind Sirius's house and everyone who was important to Harry attended - including all seven Weasley children, their parents, Remus Lupin, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall as well as several Gryffindor students both in current standing and graduates. Most of the afternoon the adults sat at the little tables in the garden socializing over the platters filled with Harry's favorite food, while the kids played games like Exploding Snap, Scallywags (similar to Muggle badminton), and swimming in the pond.

At around 9pm, the party was breaking up and most of the guests were on their way home. The only ones spending the night were Hermione, Ron and Ginny (who over the years had become very close friends with the trio). Old friends Lupin and Sirius sat on the back patio drinking a few bottles of wizard ale and reminiscing about their years at Hogwarts when they had been members of a mischievous self-created group called the Marauders. They retold grandiose tales of their adventures, talked fondly about how much they missed Harry's father James and debated on how their once friend Peter Pettigrew had turned against them. Thankfully, (though much to Sirius's disappointment that he could not have played a larger part) Peter had been caught a year ago and given the kiss of death by the Dementers.

Upstairs, the girls were getting out of the bathing suits and into their pajamas while the boys were downstairs digging through the fridge for leftovers. Hermione stood in front of the bathroom mirror trying desperately to brush her wavy hair out of her face. It had gotten wet when she had gone swimming and had forgotten to put smoothing gel in it after she had gotten out (which she had being doing on a regular basis for the last year or so), so right now it was a wild mess. How envious she was of Ginny's straight ginger colored hair! At that same moment Ginny was chattering on about her latest crush - Seamus Finnegan!

"I don't think it was a coincidence that he wanted to be on my team for the Scallywags game," she pondered, half to herself.

"I wouldn't be surprised either," replied Hermione. "You're an attractive girl, Ginny. I'm sure any boy at Hogwarts would like you if they knew you were interested in them."

Ginny groaned. Her problem was that she was still very shy. The only boy she had dated was Neville and that only for a couple of weeks in her fifth year. Being confident was a hard thing to do when you have had six older brothers doing the talking for you most of your life.

"So what about you, 'Mione? Are you interested in anyone?"

Hermione had given up on her hair and had pulled it back into a ponytail. She dug into her overnight bag to find her toothbrush. "Ginny, I don't really have time for a boyfriend right now. I mean, we have to take the N.E.W.T.'s this year and I need really high marks to get the kind of job I want after graduation." After it had been mentioned to her and Harry that they should consider jobs as Aurors, Hermione had been determined to be the first totally Muggle born witch to become one.

Dating had never come natural for Hermione neither. She had dated Ron for a few months, but when it started to become more intimate, she called it off. It was all just too much for her to handle at her age. Luckily, Ron took it pretty well and they had managed to become friends again. But even now, several months later, he still looked out for her. Just because their relationship had not worked out, didn't mean that he stopped caring about her. Hermione had found this to be very comforting and since then had not even bothered dating anyone else.

Down in the kitchen, Ron and Harry had gotten into a container of leftover chicken and had brought it out onto the back patio where Lupin and Sirius were talking.

"Well boys, you're almost adults now. Just one more year of school before you head into the real world," said Lupin with a smile on his face.

"Frankly, Remus, these boys have faced more as teenagers than many people have faced as adults. I think they will be able to handle whatever happens in the future." Sirius reached into the cooler. "Care for a wizard ale, boys?"

Harry and Ron stared at each other in disbelief. They were only seventeen! The most they had had so far was butterbeer, which wouldn't even make a small child drunk.

"It's ok, boys. You're almost old enough now and I don't think one drink is enough to harm your senses."

They shrugged and smiled, accepting a bottle of wizard ale each.

"Where are the girls at?" asked Lupin.

"Upstairs, playing with each other's hair, I'm sure," groaned Ron as he sat down.

"Give the girls a little credit, Ron. When have you known Hermione to do stupid girly things?" replied Harry.

"I know she and Ginny spent a bloody long time getting ready for today's party. You'd think they were dressing to see the Queen of England!"

Wanting to change to topic, Harry turned to Sirius. "So what stories were you guys reminiscing about tonight?" At that prompting, the older men smiled and returned to regaling the boys with some wild tales concerning the "good old days".

Hermione searched through the medicine cabinet. "Harry's got to have some face soap in here somewhere."

Ginny called from the spare bedroom where they would be sleeping tonight. "Have you looked in the closet at the end of the hall?"

"No, it never occurred to me," grumbled Hermione to herself. "But what else should I except from a house full of men!" She opened the door to the linen closet and on the top shelf she could see could see a box full of bathroom supplies. "Aha! Soap!" she called out, as she pondered a way to reach to shelf that was at least a foot above her head. Damn it!

Should she go downstairs and get Harry to help? Nah, there's no bother, she thought as she lifted her foot onto the bottom shelf. All I have to do is push myself up a little and...just a bit more...almost...got it! Just then the box slipped out of her fingers and whacked Hermione on the head before she lost her footing on the shelf and fell to the floor.

"Hermione!" Ginny screamed as she rushed to where her friend was lying. "Are you ok? Geez, why didn't you ask someone to help you get that?"

Hermione sat up, tenderly rubbing her forehead. "Ugh, it's not as bad as it looks, Ginny. I would have been fine if the box hadn't slipped." She got on her knees and proceeded to put the contents back into its container, leaving out a jar of face soap for herself. Ginny added the last few items before returning to box to the closet. She turned back to Hermione and eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just a bump. I can be such a klutz sometimes."

By this point Harry and Ron were down at the foot of the stairs.

"Are you guys ok up there? We heard a crash!"

"Yes, we're fine," replied Ginny. "We were just trying to get some extra soap from the linen closet."

"You should have asked for some help," said Harry "that closet is a disaster zone!"

"So are you coming back down here sometime tonight? Sirius and Lupin are telling us some great stories...and letting us drink wizard ale!"

Hermione popped her head out of the bathroom. "You're not old enough to drink wizard ale!" she scolded.

"Oh, Hermione", sighed Ron "We're only having one!"

"Well, frankly Ron, I don't think your mother would approve."

"We'll be down in a little bit," replied Ginny, trying to extinguish the situation.

Hermione returned to the bathroom to wash her face. "Your brother can be so childish sometimes."

"Well, you dated him," smiled Ginny as she went back into the bedroom.

Hermione scowled and splashed cool water on to her soapy face. Drying it on a fluffy towel, she looked up at her reflection in the mirror.

"Nice mark you have on your forehead. You could be mistaken for Harry Potter!" mocked her image. After six years in the wizarding world, Hermione still detested these opinionated mirrors.

"I'm getting such a headache," Hermione moaned as she entered the bedroom where Ginny was on the bed, reading a copy of Modern Witch magazine.

"Really?" asked Ginny as she jumped up "Try some of this." She reached into the front pocket of her suitcase, pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Hermione.

She stared at it strangely. "What is this? And why are you so excited about it?"

"It's a common herbal pain reliever. I've been assisting Madame Pomfrey in the afternoons before dinner and she taught me how to make it."

"Wow, that's impressive! Any chance of you becoming a doctor after you graduate?"

"Maybe." Ginny smiled. "Go on. Give it a try. I've used it myself, so I know it works."

Hermione put the small bottle up to her lips and took a sip. It was thick and tasted sweet, almost like honey, but it burned when she swallowed. "How much of this am I supposed to take?"

"For a headache, I usually take about three spoonfuls, so you should take another sip, just to be sure."

Hermione swallowed another mouthful and was already feeling somewhat better. "Wow, Ginny, this stuff really works!"

"I told you so," replied Ginny. "But you should really lie down. Climb into bed and I'll tell the boys that you need to rest until your headache clears up."

Hermione curled up under the covers and noticed that she was starting to feel groggy before she could even lay her head down on the pillow. She was asleep before Ginny turned out the light and closed the door behind her.

"Well, Sirius, it was good to see you again," said Lupin shaking his friend's hand at the front door. "Be sure to send me a post in a few weeks." He turns to Harry and Ron. "Goodnight boys. Hope you had a good birthday, Harry."

"Thank you, Remus. Yes, I enjoyed it very much." He glanced up at Sirius, who smiled.

"Goodnight, Remus. Hope to see you again soon," said Ron and before he could blink, Lupin had disappeared.

"Well, boys. I am going to head up to bed now. Are you guys going to sleep down here?"

"Yeah, we thought that would be easiest," replied Harry.

"Well, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." Sirius was halfway upstairs before he turned around. "Oh, and stay out of trouble, ok?" he smiled.

"We will," they replied in unison. After Sirius was gone, the two headed outside to the patio to finish cleaning up.

"So, Harry? What's it like living here with Sirius?" asked Ron, stacking some bowls on top of each other.

Harry gathered together some empty bottles. "It was sort of weird at first. I'm not sure Sirius was used to living people after being by himself for such a long time. But I can assure you it has been a hell of a lot better than living with the Dursleys. I mean, Sirius actually respects me, and treats me like an adult. Frankly, just not being ignored is a nice feeling."

"I can understand that," said Ron as he walked back into the kitchen. "But in my house, I prefer just the opposite. When everyone comes over to dinner, there's hardly enough room to breathe."

"It is going to be even more crowded once Percy and Penelope get married."

"Don't remind me! Why a nice girl like Penelope would ever want to spend the rest of her life with that overachieving, perfectionistic brother of mine is beyond anything I can understand!"

Harry laughed to himself. Percy's mere presence had been annoying Ron for almost as long as he had known them and it was only getting stronger since Percy graduated from Hogwarts and started working in the Ministry of Magic. Harry went back outside to take down the last of the decorations. He had been impressed with the time Sirius had spent making the party perfect especially since it was the first real party Harry had ever had. Oh course, his parents had probably thrown him a party for his first birthday, but he would have been too young to remember that. This however, was by far the best birthday he could remember, perhaps even beating out the one that occurred six years ago - when he first discovered that he was really a wizard and would be going to Hogwarts.

A few minutes later, Ron came outside from the kitchen with a couple of bottles of wizard ale in his hands. "So, Harry, are you up for another drink?"

Harry shook his head and smiled. "We really shouldn't, Ron," he said, but Ron was already screwing off the top of one and handing it to Harry. "Oh, I suppose one more won't hurt."

"Definitely not! Besides, there is only one more hour left of your birthday. Let's end it with a bang."

It was well past midnight before Hermione woke up again. She was feeling a little lightheaded, but certainly not tired.

"Ginny?" From the dim light that crept under the bedroom door, she could make out Ginny's body lying in the bed beside her, fast asleep. Hermione, not wanting to wake her friend, snuck out of bed and put on her bathrobe and slippers before heading downstairs. Once in the hallway, she glanced at clock which told her it was well past midnight. To her right, Sirius's bedroom door was closed. The boys must have gone to bed already.

Down in the living room, Hermione saw two sleeping bags rolled out on the floor. From under one set of blankets she could make out Ron's red hair, but the other sleeping bag was empty. Where was Harry? Perhaps he had trouble sleeping and climbed back into his own bed. Suddenly, Hermione felt dizzy again. Maybe I should get myself something to drink before going back to bed. She tiptoed quietly into the kitchen and took a glass out of the cabinet. Standing in front of the sink filling her glass with water, Hermione noticed a figure outside of the window. Curious, she leaned over to pull to curtain aside. There sitting on the low garden wall she saw Harry...and was he...oh, goodness no!

In his hands he was holding an old photo album. It was one of Harry's most treasured possessions because it had been a gift from Hagrid after Harry's first year at Hogwarts. In the beginning it only held pictures of Harry's parents and him when he was a baby, but over the past six years he had added pictures of Ron and Hermione, the other members of the Weasly family, the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team as well as some of the professors. It even had a great picture of the three of them and Hagrid after one of the events in the Triwizard Tournament during their fourth year. That, of course, was before Hagrid had died while he was rallying giants for the battle of the Order of Phoenix. It had been a huge blow to most of the students and staff at Hogwarts when they found out, but Harry took it especially hard.

Despite all the hardship Harry had gone through in his life, he never showed this vulnerable side to too many people. Ron and Hermione had seen it a few times after he had been pushed to exhaustion after fighting against Voldemort, but Hermione knew there were many other times when Harry kept his pain inside. Not knowing that anyone was watching, she could see Harry remove his glasses and wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. Should she go outside to try to comfort him or would that just make him embarrassed? Forgetting about the glass of water, she followed her gut feelings and opened up the backdoor.

Harry looked up suddenly, surprised and confused. "Hermione! I thought you were asleep."

"Um...I was...but I came down to get something to drink." Hermione approached Harry almost cautiously. "What are you looking at?"

She could see him blush even under the pale light from the moon.

"It's just my photo album," he replied sheepishly.

There was a dense pause between them before Hermione said, "Yeah, the party just wasn't the same without him." Harry stared at her almost amazed that she knew that he was missing their friend Hagrid, but then again - Hermione often had the ability to know what Harry was thinking.

"It is times like these - you know, around holidays and my birthday - when I think about the people I miss the most. Like Hagrid...and my parents.

Hermione sat down on the garden wall beside him, almost unsteadily. Why was she feeling so disorientated?

"It's understandable that you feel that way, Harry. Life's milestones are bound to revive memories of people that are important to you, particularly those who can't be here."

Harry, too, seemed almost in a daze. "It's hard to believe that in less than a month we will be heading back to Hogwarts for our final year. After that, we'll be considered adults, with jobs and real responsibilities."

"I'm sure we'll be able to handle it, Harry. I mean we are Hogwart's Head Girl and Boy!"

"Who would ever have guessed that? Well, I mean, at least the part about me being Head Boy - I was sure Seamus would have gotten it. His grades are much better than mine."

"Well, maybe there is more to this position than just grades. Perhaps being Head Boy was your destiny."

"Destiny? You better watch out, Hermione. You're starting to talk like Professor Trelawney!"

"Well, both you parents were School Heads. They would be so proud to know that you followed in their legacy."

Again Harry blushed. He was starting to feel very warm despite the cool breeze blowing through the garden. Perhaps he had drunk too much wizard ale (he and Ron had managed to drink another two bottles each after Sirius had gone to bed.)

Hermione was silent for a moment as if almost daydreaming. Smiling she said "It's amazing to think that we've been friends for over six years!"

Harry laughed. "It's even funnier to think about the unusual circumstances in which we became friends." They both remember they time that Harry and Ron saved Hermione from an escaped troll in the girl's bathroom. It had been the Halloween night of their first year at Hogwarts. "When you lied to protect Ron and me..."

"Yeah, that was just the beginning of all the rule breaking I would end up doing with you two." It was getting more and more difficult for Hermione to focus on anything. Her thoughts seemed to keep wandering off.

Suddenly, Harry found himself watching Hermione out of the corner of his eye. Something seemed different about her tonight, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Hermione, do you feel alright?"

She giggled. "Actually, I feel really good right now. Strangely good." She turned and looked at Harry with a peculiar expression on her face.

"What happened here?" He reached his hand out to carefully touch the mark on her forehead caused by the box that had fallen out of the closet. It made his fingertips tingle slightly.

"Oh, nothing. Just the result of me being a klutz." Their eyes met and they looked at each other almost as if they this was their first meeting, but at the same time as if they had known each other forever. Harry's thoughts were all blurry and he could hardly think. He reached out again to touch her face.

Hermione felt almost nauseous from anticipation. What exactly was going on here? She placed her hand comfortingly on Harry's thigh. He shivered.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's just that I feel so..."

"Weird. Yes, I know. I do too. I mean, I've been feeling strange since I woke up, but now it seems to be getting worse. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about the whole-".

His lips pressed gently against hers. Hermione's mind went completely numb. Was Harry kissing her?

He was feeling just as conflicted and out of control as she did. What was he doing? This was his best friend, Hermione! But yet it felt like he had no other choice.

Harry pulled away from her abruptly and turned away from the shocked look on her face. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

"Me neither," Hermione agreed, her hand still on Harry's leg. She traced her fingers along the inseam of his jeans. Suddenly she caught her breath. This was very confusing somehow. "But it wasn't bad, Harry."

Harry turned to look back at Hermione. Strands of her brown hair fell delicately out of its ponytail while her warm eyes stared back at him, anxiously. He leaned forward and Hermione felt his lips against her neck. She unknowingly moaned in response, surprising herself. Harry's heartbeat was racing and his thoughts were clouded. Why was he doing this? Why was she letting him? He pulled the fabric tie of Hermione's bathrobe and revealed the tank top and plaid boxer shorts that she had worn to bed. A panicky feeling gripped his body as he pulled away. He slid off the garden wall and staggered into the backyard, gripping his head in pain.

"Harry!" called Hermione, almost tripping as she climbed off the wall the follow him. She could barely walk straight herself. "What's wrong?" It grew darker as they moved farther away from the house and she was loosing sight of where Harry had gone. Her already blurry vision wasn't helping the situation either. "Harry!"

She practically stumbled over Harry when she found him, crouched on his knees in the grass. Trying to look calm and composed, she turned to stand in front of him. Harry looked up at her and almost screamed. Hermione stood before him looking magically beautiful and yet he had a horrible feeling that this situation was unnaturally wrong. He closed his eyes and said "You have to get out of here, Hermione. This is bad. Really bad."

Hermione, barely being able to breathe, sat beside him on the grassy knoll. "I'm so scared, Harry. I don't know what's going on." She reaches out and touches his shoulder desperately. He pushed her away.

"Hermione! I'm serious. Get out of here!" He looked up into her eyes and felt compelled to kiss her again. This time she frantically kissed him back, reaching her arms behind him in an attempt to take off his t-shirt. His own hands were moving awkwardly, trying to remove Hermione's bathrobe, his fingertips brushing her skin lightly. He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew his actions were beyond his control anyway. Hermione did not deter any of his advances, letting him slide his hands under her tank top and beneath the waistline of her shorts. He felt her lips kiss him softly on his neck and collar bone, his body writhed beneath the seductive touch of her hands. As the night wore on, they continued in a heated trance as the tension become more and more persistent until they eventually gave in to the unknown power that controlled them - manipulated them like puppets - and they made love to each other. It had been the first time for both of them. After they had finished, their symptoms quelled, the headaches, racing heartbeats, difficulty with breathing all ended and their minds finally cleared as they drifted of to sleep in Sirius's backyard.

The two were awoken by the sound of Ron, Ginny and Sirius anxiously calling their names from the back patio. They stared at each other, still lying in various states of undress, feeling very confused as to what exactly had happened between them the night before. Not having a chance to discuss the events, they hurriedly put their clothes on and ran back to the house. When the two came into sight, Ginny nearly screamed.

"Thank goodness! We thought he had gotten both of you in the night!"

Sirius and Ron had tense looks on their faces. They were all still dressed in their pajamas and looked like that they had been woken unexpectedly early.

"What's going on?" asked Harry in a hoarse voice. "Who did you think had gotten us?"

"What time is it?" asked Hermione.

Ron stared at them curiously. "Where have you guys been?"

"It's quarter after seven," replied Ginny.

"And Professor Dumbledore is dead," said Sirius quietly. "We just got the message a few minutes ago.

Harry's chest tightened painfully. Dumbledore was dead? Hogwarts Headmaster, highly respected wizard, personal advisor and trusted friend of Harry's - DEAD!

"How?" asked Hermione, trying to seem calm.

"Well, Madame Pomfrey feels it was merely of old age, since he had passed in the night while he was sleeping. We know he has been getting weaker recently, but some of us fear that the timing was too coincidental."

"You think it's Voldemort!" cried Harry. Ron and Ginny cringed at the sound of his name. "But he's not strong enough to kill Dumbledore in his current state." No one had heard from You-Know-Who is over a year since the Order of Phoenix had attacked.

"Yes, but we know Dumbledore was in a more fragile state too. It could be possible, Harry. But whether or not he did manage to kill Dumbledore secretly is not as important as the fact that now that he is dead, there is nothing standing in the way of Voldemort rising again."

"I'd hardly consider Harry to be nothing, Sirius!" said Hermione.

Harry gawked in response. "I know I've had some luck in keeping Voldemort at bay over the last few years, but I am hardly the powerful wizard that Dumbledore is....was..." It pained him to admit he was dead. "I'm still just a kid, Hermione. It's going to take a lot more than me to stop Voldemort if he rises again."

Ron rung his hands and turned to Sirius. "Are they going to call together the Order again?"

"Professor McGonagall wants too. She fears the safety of Hogwarts without Dumbledore's protection.

Ginny looked like was going to cry and huddled in Hermione's arms. Harry collapsed into a patio chair and ran his fingers through his dark hair dejectedly. Ron jammed his hands into his pockets and looked across the yard from where Harry and Hermione had come from. Sirius went inside to get Hedwig - she was going to be quite busy that day with the amount of messages that would need to be sent concerning most recent events. The air seemed unusually muggy that morning. It was August 1^st.