Harry Potter and the House Divided

Chapter Six: "A Very Small Celebration"

Two days later, Harry was wide awake. It was midnight and more importantly, it was his sixteenth birthday. He had become used to receiving a small procession of owls from his friends shortly after midnight on his birthdays and so was shocked by the flock of hooting, screeching, pecking and flapping birds that descended on his room this year.

He soon realized that the best way to handle things was to take his presents from the birds as they arrived, offer them a few owl treats and make sure that they departed as quickly as possible. As it was, he was terrified that the racket in his room would be enough to wake either Dudley or his Uncle Vernon. Happily, neither seemed to find the noise a distraction from their thunderous snoring.

Within minutes of midnight he'd received eight owls.

As usual, Ron's miniature owl, who was called Pig by everyone despite his truly diminutive stature, was rocketing about Harry's room making more noise than all of the far larger birds put together.

Also as usual, Harry had to time his attempts to capture Pig very carefully. He ultimately did so and was surprised and very disappointed to see how small the present was that Ron had sent him. It didn't take him long to realize that Mrs. Weasley hadn't sent him a gift at all and this depressed him so much that it took several minutes for him to recover sufficiently to open the post that he had received.

Wanting to get the most depressing gift opened first, Harry tore into the small package that Ron had sent him. He was shocked to see that it contained a practice snitch. The note that came with his present was short but made him feel much better about Ron's feelings toward him.

Harry

Can't make this long as Mum's still going nutters about what has been going on in the Prophet lately. She's still pretty mad at you mate, so I think that I'll have to wait to see you until we get on the train. I'm really sorry about that but she's always been a little barmy about Percy and since he's been sacked she's been all a flutter trying to make sure that he's feeling OK.

Since he's not apologized to the rest of us for what he did last year I'm not listening to her and neither are Fred and George. They got this for me and I'm paying them back by working at their shop. It's really amazing what they're doing here and it seems like everyone's in here, I've even seen a couple of the Slytherins.

I'm sure you'll be back on the team this year and hope that you can get some practice wherever Professor Dumbledore ends up sending you. Since Mum's mad at you I don't know what he's planning but Bill said that it was going to be great.

I got seven O.W.Ls but didn't do well enough in a couple of classes to make Auror. O's in Defence and Creatures, an E in Charms and A.s in Potions, Transfiguration, History and Astronomy. Mum's happy and I won't have to sit through two more years of Snape which is a good balance for missing out on auror training. I hope that you did OK, but even if you didn't, the ministry will probably fix your scores as much as they're bending over for you and Dumbledore lately.

Take care mate, I'll see you on the train.

Ron

Harry felt much better after reading Ron's letter. The fact that Mrs. Weasley was still mad at him hurt a lot but Ron's note and the gift that he'd sent assured him that Ron still liked him. His best mate's gift led him to replay the memory that he'd seen in Snape's pensieve. Doing so brought up some very confused feelings for Harry.

On one hand, he had the image of his father, still immature and a natural born show-off. On the other, the letter that he'd received from his parents at the beginning of the summer that showed that they loved him deeply and had grown up a lot between the end of their fifth year and the day-a few short days before they died-when they had written it to him.

Knowing that he could do nothing to work these very confused impressions of his parents through at the moment, he decided that the best distraction would be to open more of his presents and think about all of this later.

The next letter he opened was from Professor McGonagall.

Mr. Potter

I wanted to congratulate you on your scores. You overcame a lot to get the results that you did and it seems that you've done well enough to follow your preferred career path. We will need to meet regularly this year in order to monitor your progress.

You will be glad to know that your Quidditch ban has been lifted. I want to speak with you about the captaincy of the team as Miss Bell has already told me that she does not wish to take on the responsibility during her N.E.W.T. year. You are next in line and should let me know whether you wish to be captain by August 15.

I hope that the rest of your summer goes well and will be glad to see you back at Hogwarts on September First.

Professor M. McGonagall

Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Harry jumped into the air, barely able to resist the urge to whoop as loudly as he could. His Quidditch ban was lifted and he could become captain of the team. He figured that this was a pretty good way to start off the year, particularly since Malfoy would still be smarting over the imprisonment of his father and would go completely spare when this news got to him.

Harry's next gift was from Fred and George. It was by far the largest of his presents and proved to contain many of their best products.

Harry laughed when he saw the " Ton-Tongue Toffees" which the twins suggested he give to "your cousin, for old times' sake."

Along with these and other classics were the "Invisible Inkpot" which made any ink you put into it disappear once you wrote with it and the "Barmy Beans" which had variable and highly embarrassing effects if you ate them in public.

"We were hoping that we could give you a real party but Professor Dumbledore said no. So instead we're holding the 'Harry Potter Birthday Sale' today and will stay open for 24 hours in your honour. All proceeds to go to whatever cause you want."

Even though he was mad at the thought of missing it, Harry couldn't resist smiling at the twins' ingenuity. He'd have to tell them to give the money to Percy. He hoped that this would help fix things up with Mrs. Weasley.

The next piece of mail that Harry opened was from Ginny. The youngest Weasley had come into her own around Harry and seemed to be over her crush on him. As her interest embarassed him at times, Harry was glad that Ginny had come to realize that he wasn't interested. He knew that Ron still hoped that they would get together but he would never be able to go out with a girl who had fancied him for what rather than who he was.

Ginny's present was a pair of seekers gloves. Harry knew even before he read the note that she'd written to him that Ginny was just as hopeful as Ron was that he would be able to return to the Quidditch team in the fall.

Harry

Hopefully these gloves will help you catch the snitch again as soon as your ban is lifted. They're the latest thing in seekers gear, have a warming charm and the ad says that they were made to have special surfaces that help you grip slippery things better. They're not charmed since that's illegal but Victor Krum swore by them in the latest issue of Quidditch monthly and so I asked Hermione to ask him if he really liked them or was just endorsing them for the quid. She passed my question on and he said that he really likes them so hopefully you will too.

Mum's still pretty chuffed at you about the whole Percy business but everyone else in the family is worried and hoping that you're OK. I know that you're missing Sirius and although I'm going to be busy with O.W.L.s this year, I'm always willing to talk if you need to.

Mum'll come around after a bit, and hopefully you'll be able to come down before the end of the summer. If not, I'll see you on the train this fall, though I'll be a bit late since I've been made prefect. I haven't told everyone yet so please don't say anything to Ron when you write back. I'm hoping to wait to tell the family until after Fred and George's sale as Mum is going nutters that they're celebrating your birthday at all, not to mention so publically now that You-Know-Who's back. Hopefully, I'll be able to distract her from being mad at them.

Take care and see you on September first

Ginny

Harry smiled and set her letter aside. Though he was still worried that Mrs. Weasley was mad at him, he saw that everyone in his favourite family was doing their best to distract her. He'd already learned that although incredibly emotional, Mrs. Weasley could usually be distracted and that this was the best way to deal with her when she was angry. The fact that she had stayed mad at him for as long as she had worried him a lot but he was slowly learning to realize that the past was passed and he couldn't do anything to change it. Hopefully, Mrs. Weasley would change her mind before September first, if not, he'd talk with Ron about it and see what he thought was best.

The next note was from Tonks.

Wotcher!

I thought that you'd like some more books since you're doing far too much reading for a sixteen year old wizard who should be chasing young witches every which way. These are some of the books that were on the "recommended reading" list when I was training and although we can't do the spells I'll help you think about where and when to use them when I see you in a couple' days. The boss is working on something for you for August but I don't know what he's got planned. Bill Weasley says that it's cool and since he knows more about that than anyone else, I'm trusting him until Dumbledore takes us there.

I'll be spending most of the month with you and so are Bill and Fleur. Should be a pretty rowdy time, wherever it is, and hopefully we'll be able to show you some real fun before you go back to school. Enjoy the reading and see you soon.

Wand up

T

Tonks' books looked to be highly advanced. One, "Protecting Yourself And Your Neighbourhood Against Pain And Pillage," seemed to be full of defensive magic. Meanwhile, "Outcasting People That You Want To Cast Out," seemed to focus more on offensive magic. The final book, entitled: "Constant Vigilance: Ensuring That Anything your Enemy Tries Doesn't Take You By Surprise," was, not surprisingly, written by Alastor Moody. All were extremely thick and Harry knew that he would be very busy reading them.

His next note came from Luna. It was short but very meaningful all the same.

Harry

I have been with my father looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. We haven't found anything but I did see some beautiful fairies as you'll see from the picture. When I get home I'll try to send you some more if the hornswaggles don't eat the film first.

I hope that your summer's allright and will see you at Hogwarts if the goblins don't make Minister Fudge close it because he was making pies out of them.

Luna

Harry never quite knew what to do with Luna's letters and thoughts in general. She didn't necessarily have a clear connection to reality most of the time but, much as Professor Dumbledore said was true for him, when she was focused, she was a very powerful witch. He could respect her for that and for her loyalty and bravery. She might never be a Gryffindor and wasn't fully normal, but he'd seen enough with her to know that when she said something you should at least listen. Hopefully, he'd be able to convince Hermione of this at some point this year as he thought that Luna was probably going to become an increasingly important part of the slowly expanding group of people that he thought he could trust to stand by him.

Neville also sent him a present and Harry was embarassed to realize that he hadn't thought to send the other boy anything. On the other hand, sending Neville something might have led to some tough questions. Questions that he wasn't ready to answer to anyone, not least a boy whose trustworthiness he had only come to believe in over the last few weeks. Neville might deserve to know about the prophecy but first, he had to figure out a way to tell Ron and Hermione. When he could do that, he knew that he'd be ready to tell the other people in his life that he trusted.

Dear Harry

I didn't know what to get you so I thought that I'd ask my gran to have a copy of "Blood Lines Of Wizarding Britain" made for you. It has a lot of information on your family and since I know that you're curious about them, it seemed a good thing for you.

I hope that you like it and that you're planning to keep the D.A. going this year. It was great and helped me get an "O" in Defence.

Gran was really proud of me after she heard about what happened at the ministry. We haven't been to Olivander's yet but I'll have my new wand when school starts. I'm looking forward to seeing you and everyone else soon.

Take care and have a great summer

Neville

Neville's gift was something of a shock to Harry as he had been too busy to think seriously about the documents that he'd received from the solicitors nearly a month earlier. Fortunately, it seemed that he didn't need to do anything for the time being but he knew that once he'd been moved to wherever Professor Dumbledore was taking him that he'd have to talk with his mentor or possibly Bill Weasley, about the money that he'd learned was his.

Harry didn't know much about his family and decided that he would prioritise reading Neville's present. Between the money that he'd recently learned about and the offhand references that his professors had made over the years it seemed likely that there were things that he should have known long before now.

That decision taken, he turned to Hagrid's lumpy package.

Harry

It's been a busy summer for me 'n Grawpie. Can't talk about a lot of it, you'll know why of course. I sent some of my favorite things from what Olympe's been making for me this summer. She's a much better cook than me and I hope that you like everything. I've got another thing for you when you get back to HOgwarts in September. Just come by me hut when you get settled in and I'll get it for you.

Have a great summer and keep your chin up.

Hagrid

Harry tore into the package and sure enough, it had lots of pastries and other things that looked as though they would be very good to eat. Fortunately, the Dursleys had been far too terrorized by the continual visits from Fleur, Tonks and Dumbledore to starve him but still, it would be good to know that he had some things in his room that Dudley would envy him for if he knew about them.

After stuffing the food under the loose floorboard where he kept many of his most valuable things when at No.4 Privet Drive, he turned to the second-to-last package which was from Remus.

Dear Harry

This was Sirius' idea but both of us worked hard to get it together for you. I'm very sorry that I've not been able to be around for you much this summer but I've been asked to do some work that has been carrying me all over Western Europe. If you'd not had anyone around this summer I would have refused the assignment but I'm sure that you'll understand that as I'm the only one who can do what I need to for our fiery friends, I had to go once I was somewhat sure that you were taken care of. I'll be with you and the others in August and am looking forward to seeing how you're doing.

I miss Snuffles terribly and am sure that you do too. I want you to know that once you've been moved and I'm back from where I am now, that I'd really like to talk with you about him and your parents. All were truly special people and it was my honour to come to know them as well as I did. Hopefully I can pass some of those memories on to you. Professor Dumbledore is going to help me with this and I hope that we can spend some time going through old memories next month.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Happy birthday

Remus

This was a very odd package. It was almost as large as Fred and George's but a lot heavier. When Harry accidentally dropped it on his bed, there was a clunking/rattling noise that he hadn't ever heard a package make before.

However, like any other, the wrappings came off easily enough and when it did he nearly dropped it in shock. The card on the outside said:

Akton's Armourers'

Makers of the finest in personal protective gear since 1035.

Specializing in Dragon Hide, Iron and Steel Ring Designs.

When he opened the box he discovered two heavy bundles of fabric. One seemed to be a rendering of the traditional Hogwarts robes but in material that he immediately recognized as the hide from a Hungarian Horntail like the one that he'd faced during the Tri-Wizard-Tournament.

The other was a beautifully done red cloak. The card attached to this said that it was made from the hide of a Chinese Fireball. It wasn't quite the same shade of red as Godric Gryffindor had used but it was close enough so as not to matter.

There was a longer note in the box which bore Sirius' distinctive hand:

Harry

I thought that you might find the robes useful, after all, you never know when Snape, Umbridge or Malfoy will try to cause trouble for you at school. There are no rules about what robes have to be made of and it seems that you might need these sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe they'll even help whenever you have to fight Voldemort again. Remus thought that the girls would think that you'd look as smashing in the cloak as your father did in his and so we had it made too. If you do, just be sure to wear your regular cloak on top of it before you leave school. I hope that you enjoy them and look forward to seeing you in them when you get here.

Happy birthday

Snuffles

This time, thoughts of Sirius didn't make Harry want to cry. Rather, he was furious with himself, Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange and Professor Dumbledore for ensuring that Sirius wouldn't see him in these clothes. Harry would never fully believe Professor Dumbledore's reassurances that he wasn't to blame for everything that happened in June but was realizing that although he bore a part of the responsibility, most of it belonged to a wide variety of people, some of whom he didn't like but were supposedly on his side. Hard though it was to understand and accept, he was also coming to see that he would have to learn to trust people like Professor Snape and even more importantly, might have to be the one to show maturity in making some kind of a working relationship with him. Hermione had tried to teach him this all important lesson last year and he hadn't learned it very well. Sirius' life was the cost of that failure and Harry was determined that no one else would pay because he wasn't willing to work with people that he didn't like.

In order to distract himself from his confused thoughts, Harry turned to his last birthday present. Along with something that seemed likely to be a book, Hermione had sent him a very long letter.

Far less interested in what the present might be than in what Hermione had been doing with her summer, Harry left the book aside and quickly tore open the letter.

Dear Harry

I've so much news for you but before I get to that, I wanted to wish you happy birthday. I hope that the book proves interesting for you, I got word of it from Flourish and Blotts and thought that it would be perfect. You're doubtless preparing for next year's classes and the D.A. and I hope that you take the time to do a little lighter reading too.

I wanted to tell you that I was really hurt by your last note, it was really quite rude. I know that you were missing Snuffles but it wasn't fair for you to lash out at me just because I told you that you could talk about things with me if you wanted. Only four sentences and those terse and obviously meant to put me off. If you want me to go away, I will but if you tell me to go I'll be incredibly hurt. I've only tried to help you and think that everything that we've gone through together gives me a right to expect better treatment from you than you've given me or Ron for a long time. I really want to talk about this but am not sure whether I'm going to be allowed to see you until September first. Please, don't push me away, Harry, you've been the most important part of my life since I came to the wizarding world and if I've done anything to hurt you I'd at least like to talk about it like the thoughtful people that I think both of us are before you throw me out like last week's rubbish.

Harry stopped reading, horrified by Hermione's words. He knew that he'd been pretty shirty with Hermione when he'd written her some time ago but hadn't fully realized just how much he'd hurt her by it. It was, for him, a sign of just how angry he'd been and just how poorly he was handling his relationships with a lot of people. After some minutes thinking about what he needed to do to repair his friendship with her he returned to her letter.

I have been keeping up with things in the Daily Prophet and I'm sure that you know that you've caused quite a kafuffle at the ministry. I know that it was unintentional but please, Harry, watch what you say wherever you are. Minister Fudge seems to be on the way out and I'm afraid that much as he's trying to steer things well, Professor Dumbledore is too busy to make sure that things go the way we need them to. I don't know who the new minister will be but you know as well as I do that it could be someone who is aligned with Lord Voldemort. Please, please be careful about what you say from now on and where you say it.

On better news, I got 12 O.W.L.s, and all were outstanding except Ancient Runes and Astronomy where I got Exceeds Expectations. I'm thinking about protesting the Astronomy mark because of the problems with Hagrid and Professor McGonagall but Professor Dumbledore told me that he was already looking into the Astronomy exam when I wrote him about it so I'm sure that he'll probably work things out somehow. How did you do? Are you going to be able to take Professor Snape's advanced potions class?

I miss you, Ron and everyone else terribly and hope that you're having a good summer with your relatives. Hopefully our threats helped you some and you'll be OK until you go to the burrow or...wherever. I hope that I'll see you before then and that we'll be able to talk about things as I'm really worried about you and what you're thinking of me.

Take care, and love whether you want it or not

From

Hermione

Harry knew that Hermione deserved a long and very personal letter. What he would say and how he would say it needed some thinking. Not yet ready to decide what he would say and how, he tried to practice his Occlumency and see if the morning held any answers.