Of Fangs and Fur

Chapter One - Birthday Fun

Harry Potter sat on his bed awaiting the owls he expected would be arriving any minute. It was 11:59pm and in one more minute, it would be his birthday.

"30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20," Harry counted down in his head, "19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14." As his clock changed to read 12:00, several owls swooped in and dropped their packages on his bed.

The first one he opened was from his best friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione had sent him a broomstick servicing kit specially made for his Firebolt. The letter she sent with it said:

Harry,

Happy Birthday! Since you're 16 now, I do hope that you will start acting more your age. We are supposed to be responsible young adults, not children. I presume you have been working on your homework. (My homework is done already.) Try to have a good birthday, and do try to enjoy the rest of the summer. See you on September 1st.

Friends always,

Hermione

The next present he opened was from his other best friend, Ron Weasley. Ron sent him a bag full of Chocolate Frogs and sweets from Honeydukes. Ron's note was the usual:

Harry,

Hey mate! Happy birthday! Couldn't think of what to get you, so I figured these would do. Don't let your cousin find them. Sorry we couldn't have you over this summer, Dumbledore's orders. Have fun. Or at least try to. See you in September.

Ron

Harry put the presents from Ron and Hermione off to the side and opened the ones from Sirius Black, his godfather, and Remus Lupin, Sirius's best friend. Sirius sent him a book on becoming an Animagus, and Remus sent him books to help him in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. There was no note from Sirius (aside from an ink paw-print on the wrapping), but Remus wrote:

Harry,

Happy Birthday! Snuffles and I are doing well. Since today is your birthday, please don't spend it worrying. We are fine. Try to have fun and we will see you at school. Yes, I said we. I will be teaching again this year and Snuffles will be accompanying me as my "faithful companion." But don't tell Ron and Hermione, let's surprise them. We love you, Harry.

See you soon,

Remus and Snuffles

The rest of Harry's presents were the usual: new tricks and treats from Fred and George Weasley, (most of which Harry was very reluctant to try,) cakes and fudge from Molly Weasley, and rock cakes from Hagrid. Harry put all of his letters and presents into the space below the loose floorboard under his bed, where he kept most of his prized possessions. After making sure the owls were okay for the night, Harry lay down on his bed and went to sleep.

Harry awoke at seven in the morning to his aunt Petunia pounding on the bedroom door. He got up and showered, then went down stairs and made breakfast for the Dursleys. He spent the morning dusting and vacuuming the downstairs of the house. When he was finally done, Harry took another shower and got dressed for work. He left the house at 1pm and headed for the diner with plans to get something to eat before his shift.

Harry walked into the diner he worked at, Greg's Home Cooked Food, and ordered a sandwich for lunch. He talked with his co-workers and the customers while he enjoyed his meal. At three, he clocked in and started to work. The customers that day were all regulars so he didn't have any surprises at all. That is, until his boss, Greg Prancline, walked in.

"Harry, come to my office with me," Greg said, as he walked by the counter. "Okay," Was Harry's nervous reply, he had never been called into his boss' office before. He wondered if and when he had messed up.

"Harry. You've been doing a great job," Greg began. "Even though you haven't been here that long, I want to give you a raise. Since today is your birthday, I figured that this would be the perfect day to do it. You are making six pounds an hour right now, and I am raising that to eight pounds an hour. What do you think?"

"That, that's great, Sir. Thank you."

"Harry, you don't have to call me sir. It's Greg," the older man said with a slight smile.

"All right, Greg," Harry replied, smiling back, though the name felt strange.

"Thank you, a lot."

"Your welcome. Now go back out front."

"Alright."

As closing time approached, Harry noticed that Greg was still at the diner and that his co-workers were acting a little oddly. They would look at him and giggle and then disappear into the backroom for a few minutes. Harry, deciding not to make anything of the strange occurrence, shook his head and finished closing up the diner. As he was preparing to get his things to leave, everyone walked out to the front of the store singing ''Happy Birthday''.

"What?" Harry was stunned. He couldn't think of what to say.

"We wanted to give you a party, Harry. It's not much, but we got you a cake," Greg told him, grinning at Harry's inability to say anything.

Harry finally found his voice, and replied happily, "Thank you, guys. This means a lot to me."

After everyone had eaten some cake and wished Harry a happy birthday, they finished closing up the diner and everyone headed home.