Harry Potter and the Missing Prophecy

Chapter Two

On Sunday morning, Ron Weasley rode into Hermione's street on the purple triple-decked Knight Bus. When he stumbled off, trunk in tow, he looked as though he was about to throw up. He stumbled across the lawn, pale and green-tinged. He fell down onto the step outside Hermione's front door, muttering: "Never again, never again I told her, but she makes me take this sodding bus instead of flying or flooing me here! Just because it can't be followed..." The rest of his words became a groan, as Harry, who had just opened the door after hearing many things that couldn't be called cat noises, heaved him up and dragged him into the house.

After Ron had rested for a few minutes in the living room, and after Hermione had given him a glass of ice-cold water to drink, Ron looked a lot perkier and capable of holding a conversation.

"So, had a good trip?" Harry asked innocently. Ron gave him an evil 'don't even go there' look and downed the rest of the water in one gulp.

"I swear, one more trip on that bus is going to finish me off for good!"

The trio spent the rest of the day gossiping and catching up, studiously avoiding any mention of anything that had happened at the Ministry of Magic only a few weeks before.

"So then Angelina thought George was Fred of course and gave him a snog over the counter of the shop, and then Fred walked in and caught them at it! Angelina thought their argument was a wind up! Anyway, so it all got sorted, but Fred and Angelina were not happy in the slightest! Fred didn't talk to George for the rest of the day and Angelina won't go in the shop anymore. Too afraid of seeing George's smirk I suppose." Ron sniggered.

"You know," said Hermione. "I still can't believe they've done so well at the shop, especially in such a short amount of time."

"Apparently, they're doing so well, they're thinking about buying out Zonko's as well - you know, the owners there are getting a bit old and want to retire."

Harry was glad that things were working out for the twins. He knew that it also meant his own financial interest in the shop was growing, but Harry wasn't concerned about that.

Harry sat back against the sofa, and inwardly smiled to himself. However, it was a sad smile, and faded as quickly as it had arrived.

For the rest of the week, Hermione, Ron and Harry enjoyed each others' company and contemplated what results they might be getting from their OWLs. They would be receiving them the day before Harry's 16^th birthday.

Harry had not yet found the right time to tell his best friends his secret; he thought that maybe he was deliberately trying to put it off, because talking would eventually lead to the subject of his godfather. And he wasn't ready for that just yet.

The following Tuesday, the trio sat nervously in the living room, awaiting the owl that would bring them their exam results. Or rather, Hermione sat rocking herself, her nails bitten right down, and had started chewing on the cuticles around them, whilst Ron and Harry played a game of wizarding chess, which Ron was winning hands down as usual.

Ron's queen was just bashing Harry's knight over the head with her throne, when a tapping at the window had Hermione bolt upright and dash to the window. She opened it wide and a handsome Hogwarts owl flew in and dropped an envelope into each of the three's hands.

Ron and Harry finished their chess moves and calmly opened their envelopes. Ron let out a whoop of delight and yelled: "I passed! I passed everything, even Potions! And - bloody hell - I aced Divination! How the hell did that happen? That's my highest mark!" Ron looked stunned at the piece of parchment in front of him.

Harry looked from Ron to his own results. He had received top marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts - that was no surprise, but most of his other marks weren't bad either. He had received an E for Potions, which he knew was the one subject that he was most likely to fail, and failing that meant the end of his Auror prospects. He had failed History of Magic - but then, there were exceptional circumstances at the time of the exam, he reasoned to himself.

Harry looked up and was about to ask Hermione what she got, not that he needed to ask, but noticed that she was still staring at her unopened envelope in her lap, as though she was afraid to touch it.

Harry asked tentatively "Do you want me to open that for you?". After a moment, Hermione nodded stiffly. Harry took the envelope and slit it open with his finger. As predicted, Hermione had received top marks in every subject. She had even received 117% in her Charms exam.

"What is it, what is it?!" Hermione squealed hysterically after Harry was silent for a few moments.

Harry momentarily thought of telling her that she'd failed everything, just to see how she would react, but thought better of it. He wanted to actually see in his 16^th birthday tomorrow, in one piece.

"You passed, Hermione," Ron said, looking over Harry's shoulder. "With flying colours by the looks of it. Blimey, they're better than Percy's marks!"

"Let me see that!" Hermione snatched the parchment out of Harry's hands and stared at it. She looked up and grinned at the two boys who were rapidly growing into men.

"We did it! I can't believe it... We did it!" she gasped. Then she ran and grabbed Ron and Harry in a three-way hug and nearly crushed them in the process.

The next day, after having snuck into a muggle bar to celebrate the night before ("My dad would love this," Ron had exclaimed, whilst Hermione had tutted at the fact that they were underage according to muggle and wizarding laws), Harry woke up feeling worse for wear. And he knew it wasn't the hangover. Today was his 16^th birthday and Sirius would not be here to celebrate with him.

Harry lay under the covers, looking over at Ron, who was snoring loudly, his arms splayed over his head, mouth open and the covers on the floor.

How attractive, Harry couldn't help thinking.

At about 9 o'clock, a hammering on the front door and a plethora of voices caused Harry to pull the covers up over his head. He rubbed his temples to try to alleviate the throbbing.

Ron awoke with a start at the noise downstairs and mumbled: "I never said I liked her!"

Harry, a little startled and curious about this tidbit of a confession from Ron, pulled his covers back and looked at Ron. Ron had sat up, blinking blearily at Harry, and looking very confused.

"What?" Ron asked to no one is particular, looking around and shielding his eyes from the sunlight pouring in through the window. "Aargh, someone turn that off!"

"I think there are people downstairs," Harry informed Ron.

"Well, tell them to go away".

By that time the noise downstairs had grown louder and laughter could be heard. It sounds as though there were hundreds of people in the hall!

Harry sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Rubbing his temples again, he stood up and went to the bedroom door, opening it a crack.

"Who is it, Harry?" Ron asked, who had picked his duvet up from the floor and had wrapped himself in it and put a pillow over his head.

"I dunno, it sounds like.... it sounds like Mad-Eye Moody! And Tonks! What the hell's going on?" Harry moved to his trunk as quickly as his jelly-like legs would allow, nearly tripping over some abandoned towels. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and dressed. He briefly looked in the mirror above the side table where his glasses lay, noticing the bags under his eyes and the pale, clammy look of someone who really should learn how to handle their drink.

Harry pulled his t-shirt down and left the room, leaving Ron sulking at the cheek of people daring to disturb his sleep.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was surprised to see Mrs Weasley standing there. She turned to him and wrapped him in a huge bear hug. "Happy birthday Harry! Come and see who's here." When Mrs Weasley had released Harry from her crushing grip, Harry pushed his glasses back up his nose and stared around the living room.

The entire Weasley clan were there, including Bill and Charlie, but not Percy. Ron had told Harry that Percy had contacted his parents and Mr and Mrs Weasley had been ever so forgiving and welcomed him back with open arms. However he was now far too ashamed of himself to speak to anyone, let alone Harry.

Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hermione's parents, Remus Lupin, Mundungus Fletcher and most of the Order of the Phoenix were there. Even old Mrs Figg from Little Whinging was smiling back at Harry from the sofa, a black and white short-haired cat tucked under her arm.

There seemed to be only three people missing from the group. Professor Snape, Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black.

Ginny beamed back at him, carrying a huge parcel wrapped neatly in blue wrapping-paper. Harry noticed that the others were all carrying various sized parcels as well.

It was then that Harry noticed that everyone in the room had attempted, with a mixture of success, to dress in muggle clothes. Harry wondered why the magical people in the room weren't dressed in cloaks, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, Hermione and Ron came up behind him from the hall and stared around at the congregation gathered in Hermione's living room.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron.

One by one, the guests came over to wish Harry a happy birthday and hand him their present. After an overwhelming half-hour, Remus Lupin tapped a glass to get everyone's attention.

"Excuse me! Thank you. I just have a little something to say." He turned to Harry. "Harry, it's your sixteenth birthday today. In one year you'll officially become an adult and I think everyone here would agree with me when I say that for the past five years that you have been part of the wizarding world, you have made a massive impact on all those gathered here today, and to those who cannot be with us. You have shown great courage in the face of danger, and it would be safe to say that you have demonstrated great control for someone who has seen and been part of many things a boy - sorry, man - should not and wouldn't have seen had he not been you. And to that I drink a toast." Remus raised his Buck's Fizz in the air and the others gathered did the same. A moment's silence followed, in which Harry looked at the floor and wished that this was over. He didn't like the fact that everyone knew precisely what he was thinking.

"On a lighter note..." Remus smiled. "We have a surprise for you, Harry. Professor Dumbledore didn't think it would be appropriate for him to be here today, but he has arranged for a birthday treat for you and all those celebrating with you. He thought this would be something that all of us here would enjoy." He handed Harry an envelope, which was thick and looked, well, like a muggle envelope, not the thick creamy parchment that wizards used.

Harry looked bemused, not least by all the people looking expectantly at him. He slowly opened the envelope and a brochure for a theme park fell out.

Harry looked up. He had never been to a theme park before and he wasn't sure that he wanted to either. However, when he saw all of the expectant faces smiling at him, he thought to himself that maybe it could be fun, and he really didn't want to disappoint everyone there, especially as they had all come over for his birthday.

Harry looked down at the tickets again. He'd heard of this theme park from Dudley. The Dursleys had taken Dudley there at least once a year, but they had never taken Harry with them.

Harry put on a false smile and said: "Nice one. Er, looks like fun."

Ron looked at Harry quizzically and asked: "What's a theme park?"

Harry chuckled. "You'll see!"

"Right then, we'd better be off, otherwise we'll miss the whole day!" Remus said brightly. "We've had the Grangers' fireplace added to the Floo Network and we'll be travelling through to the pub in the middle of the park. It's a temporary entrance to the park, just for us. You all need to say 'The Market Place Pub' clearly to go through. And for goodness sake, try not to use magic when you're there!"

"But where are we actually going?" Ron exclaimed. Harry & Hermione just grinned, and Ron rolled his eyes exasperatedly at them .

One by one, all of the people in Hermione's living room took some Floo powder from Remus and disappeared through the fireplace and reappeared, seconds later, in what looked like a muggle pub.

Harry, being the first to go through, looked around him at the dark room filled with tables and chairs stacked to the ceiling. There were bits of plasterboard and workmen's tools lying about. The windows around him were all painted over, but Harry could just about see the shapes of dozens of people walking past, and even more children of all ages running and laughing excitedly.

Gradually, more of their over-large party appeared in the pub and, checking that everyone had arrived safely, Remus guided them out into the sunlight. Harry looked back and read a sign on the door of the pub, saying "Closed for Refurbishment".

"No, really, where are we?" Ron asked impatiently.

As Hermione told Ron what a theme park was, Remus gave them all maps of the park, which had been enchanted to make all the rides actually move on the paper. Ron looked rather nervous and green at one picture, which seemed to be twisting and turning on the page before him.

As one, the group moved off into the park.

After a few hours, Harry admitted to himself that the day was turning out to be rather more fun than he had expected. It was made all the more fun because of the way the adults within the group had tried to use magic in an un-obvious way. The first time they had queued for a ride Tonks had got very impatient ("This is meant to be fun!?"), and magically moved them to the front of the queue. Hermione had been worried that the muggles might notice that at least two dozen people had just appeared in front of them, but not one of them seemed the slightest bit bothered at all, which made Hermione assume that memory charms had been put on them simultaneously.

Everyone had been highly amused at seeing Moody on a rollercoaster, not least because he seemed to love them, even though his magical eye would swivel in its socket for a long time afterwards, making him dizzier.

Mundungus Fletcher had been seen trying to convince a young teenager manning the plate-smashing stall that he had great need for the crockery debris littering the stall. The stallholder had not looked impressed and Harry couldn't even begin to fathom why Mundungus would need broken china. He didn't like to ask.

Mr Weasley was predictably enamoured with everything around them, and quite frequently he had to physically be dragged away from things, so fascinated was he by everything. He especially liked the fountains that spurted water out of frogs' mouths. Mrs Weasley had had to discreetly magically dry him off after he had jumped in the fountain, trying to figure out how the thing worked without magic.

At first, Ron couldn't understand how any of the rides could be considered fun. He was constantly arguing that broomsticks could do the same thing, but after he had been on a particularly sophisticated rollercoaster that was supposed to give the sensation of flying, even he had to agree that these "muggle monstrosities" were pretty good, considering that they didn't work by magic in any way.

Fred and George had been discovered lurking behind a large tree, plotting to make the tracks of the rollercoasters invisible to the muggles and make the rides more scary, but Remus had caught them and ordered them not to give anyone heart attacks.

Mrs Weasley had worked overtime on her drying charms when everyone had got thoroughly soaked on the water rides, only to get very annoyed when they decided to go back on them again.

By the time the park closed and the group was heading back towards the Market Place Pub, everyone was thoroughly exhausted and chatting animatedly about the day.

Whilst Mr Weasley had cornered Ron at the front of the group to demonstrate the marvels of the Haunted House ride ("Can't we give them Peeves?" Ron had suggested, after complaining about the lack of authentic ghosts in it), Hermione dropped back to walk with Harry at the back.

"You ok Harry?" she asked.

Harry contemplated this question seriously and hesitatingly answered "Yeah, I guess so. It's just...." Harry didn't need to finish.

"You wish Sirius had been here to enjoy today." Hermione didn't look at him as she said this.

Harry sighed. "I just feel like - "

Hermione interrupted him. "It's ok Harry, you don't need to say anything." She was silent for a moment. "I don't know why I've never told you this, I suppose it never occurred to me to do so, but when I was younger, I was really close to my godmother. She was my mum's best friend and lived near us, but I knew that whatever I told her, it would stay between us, that she'd never tell my mum. She was great and I loved her. When I was 10, she died in an accident. She was still young and it shouldn't have been her time. I felt like I had no one left. Of course, I was young and took my parents for granted, but back then I couldn't believe that she'd just go and leave me all alone like that. It was only later that I realised I still had other people around me who loved me and cared for me. I still really miss her, but that's ok too."

Harry stayed silent and instinctively knew that Hermione was trying to echo what he was thinking and feeling, so that he wouldn't have to say it aloud.

"Come on, let's catch up," Hermione said more brightly, and brushed her hand against Harry's before skipping ahead to catch up with Ginny and Tonks. Harry stayed behind, but sped up his pace. He became lost in his thoughts again, but they kept on coming back to how it felt to have Hermione's hand brush against his own and how it had given him a pleasant tingle down his spine.