Harry Potter and the Story That Should Have Been

Harry Potter and the Story That Should Have Been

Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter. J.K Rowling owns everything that belongs to this franchise.

Chapter Summary: Harry celebrates his birthday with his parents. Have a conflict with the Dursleys and of course Albus drops by for his annual and customary visit as well.

A/N: I would like to thank Killer Queen for taking the time to beta my work for me. I very much appreciate you for taking the time to do this for me.

Sorry for the delay with getting this chapter done and posted up. My last couple of weekends have been extremely busy and now that things have calmed down again I should be able to get back into a normal routine. Please enjoy the following chapter and again I apologise.

Chapter Four: Harry's Eleventh Birthday

Harry's eleventh birthday was approaching fast and James and Lily were sitting in James' study busily deciding what they should do to celebrate this milestone. They wanted to do something together as a family one last time before Harry went of to Hogwarts. This was due to next year when it came to Harry's birthday he would want to invite friends over from school to attend.

Knowing this James and Lily decided to keep things relatively simple and small. However the problem that the both of them faced is that neither one of them had any idea as to what they should do. Luckily for James and Lily the answer came to them when James picked up the London Times and saw this following article on the front page.

New Animal Sanctuary Opens in London

After eighteen months, the management of Animal Samaritans are pleased to announce that construction has been completed on the new animal sanctuary and that the facility is now open to the public.

This state-of-the-art complex features enclosures built to suit the needs for all the wildlife that will live at this place. Nature and technology come together, with eco-friendly materials and computer-generated climate controls to ensure that the animals will feel like they are living in their natural habitat.

If you're interested and have wanted to see this new animal sanctuary, then you should definitely come down and check it out. Some of the exhibits that I have seen are phenomenal and it's a perfect place to take the whole family.

For directions, pricing, and additional information, please turn to advertisement on page three.

After reading this, James knew that he had found the perfect activity for Harry's birthday. Turning to Lily, he said, “Love, since Harry has a keen fascination for animals, why don't we take him to the new animal sanctuary that has just opened in London for his birthday?”

“Darling, what new animal place are you talking about?”

“It's the new place that has made the front page of the London Times. Here, see for your self,” explained James, handing the paper to Lily.

It only took a couple of moments for her to skim through it and once she had, Lily grabbed her husband and crushed her lips to his in a passionate kiss to show him what she thought of the idea. James, who always enjoyed the opportunity to kiss his wife, returned her enthusiasm with as much heat until the urge for oxygen became apparent.

“From that reaction, my guess is that you loved my idea,” James said after the kiss had ended. “Would you like me to book the tickets now or later?”

“Book them now because the last thing that we want to do is to stand in a long queue and waste valuable time waiting to purchase tickets, when we can spend that time looking around and enjoying ourselves,” decided Lily.

With that, James picked up the phone, dialled the number that was advertised in the paper and made the booking for two adults and one child for the 31^st of July.

****

On the morning of Harry's eleventh birthday, Harry woke up the delicious smell of his favourite foods being cooked down in the kitchen by his mum. Knowing exactly what day it was, Harry quickly jumped out of bed, got into the shower, and changed into a pair of khaki tan cargo pants, a nice blue Apollo shirt. He put on his shoes and socks and after this had been done he dashed downstairs to see what surprises his parents had in store for him for his birthday.

Upon entering the dining room, the first things that Harry saw were a pile of presents that were neatly wrapped up in festive paper. Harry was about to make a beeline towards them, but a pair of strong arms grabbed him out of nowhere and proceeded wrap him in a loving embrace.

“Happy birthday Harry!” greeted James.

“Thanks, Dad!” replied an excited Harry who returned the hug.

Lily walked in at that moment, levitating several trays that had their breakfast on it. After setting each of trays down on the table, Lily turned to her son and also gave him a warm hug.

“Happy birthday, Harry!” Lily greeted happily. “We'll save those presents for later. Now come and tuck in while the food is still hot. I have made all your favourites in honour of your birthday!”

Not needing to be told twice, Harry headed to his seat so that he could enjoy eating his bacon, humpty dumpty eggs, sausages, toast and a glass of pumpkin juice.

Harry immensely enjoyed every bite of his special meal. Lily had prepared it just as Harry liked it: the bacon nice and crispy, the yoke of the egg being soft but cooked, and the other food flavoured just right. After everything had been eaten, Harry got up from his seat and made his way over to his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

“Mum, thank you so much,” began Harry. “It was all so delicious.”

Lily was deeply touched and returned the hug with enthusiasm and replied, “It was my pleasure, son. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now, I want you to go upstairs and wash up so that your dad and I can take you out for a birthday surprise. Before you even ask, we aren't going to tell what this place is.”

“Oh mum, can't you even give me a tiny hint?” pleaded Harry, giving his mom the same puppy dog look he inherited from his dad that melted pretty much any female in the vicinity.

Lily knew that Harry would react like this and while she wasn't completely immune to Harry's antics, she laughed and said, “I am sorry, Harry, but you will have to be patient and not ruin the surprise. Let's just say that you'll love where we will be going. Now run along and finish getting ready because the last thing we want is to be late. I am sure you don't want that to happen, right?”

“Alright, mum.” Harry responded in defeat. “I'll go and finish getting ready.”

Harry ran upstairs while James and Lily attended to the dishes and cleaned up. After that, the couple also headed upstairs so that they could also get ready to leave.

Ten minutes later, the Potter family gathered up their belongings in the living room and prepared to apparate to a secluded location near the animal sanctuary. Harry quickly grasped his father's hand in preparation for their departure. Once James held his son's hand in his own he turned to his wife, took her hand, and with a loud popping sound, they all disappeared.

****

The Potter family appeared with the sound of a car back firing just a short distance away from the animal sanctuary. After taking a few seconds to get their bearings, James led the way out to the hustle and bustle of the London streets.

Although the sanctuary was nearby, it took a few moments for the Potter family to reach their destination because of the busy intersections and all the London commuters. Harry was so busy taking in the sights and the crowds that he missed the large sign that had pictures of animal faces on it and in bold letters stated, “ANIMAL SAMARATIANS WELCOMES YOU TO THE ANIMAL SANCTUARY!”

“Harry, since you have a fondness for animals, your mother and I thought that you would like to spend your birthday here.” James said, interrupting Harry's reverie. “So what do you think of your surprise?”

Harry finally looked up and realized where they were. With wide eyes filled with excitement, he hugged his parents saying “Thank you, thank you!” over and over while doing a happy little dance.

Lily was amused by his happiness, but asked Harry to settle down so that they could make their way inside and get their day started.

James removed the tickets from his inside pocket, headed towards the gate. After they passed through the gates, they collected a detail map of the sanctuary and got ready to explore and see everything that this place had to offer.

For the next couple of hours, James, Lily, and Harry walked around and viewed all the animal exhibits that they came across. The exhibits were like replicas of the animals' natural habitats, allowing the animals to live and sleep among foliage and structures from native environment so their surroundings have a familiar feel. Even though the animals are in captivity, it causes less stress for them. For example, at the koala enclosure, there are plenty of eucalyptus trees for the marsupial to live in with plenty of leaves for them to snack on.

The Potters had just finished touring the bird sanctuary, when the stomachs of James and Harry began to rumbling in hunger.

At the sound of the empty stomachs, Lily laughed and said, “I think it is past time for us to have some lunch. Where can we go and get a bite to eat?”

Harry pulled out his map and handed it to his dad so that he could find a place. James scanned the map. It didn't take him long to find a restaurant.

“This place sounds pretty good,” James announced. “It's located near the reptile house and the cat exhibit. Since we haven't seen these animals yet, we can go there right after lunch.”

“That sound like a good idea to me,” agreed Lily. “We'll first have lunch, see all of the cats, and last port of call shall be the reptile house.”

Lily wasn't all that eager to see the reptiles, but she knew that James and Harry wanted to see everything. She allowed James to take her hand and lead her towards the restaurant.

At the restaurant after they were seated at their table, James, Lily, and Harry each took a menu and perused it to see what selections they could be ordering for lunch. After Lily had chosen a steak, chips, and a tossed salad, she took the time to look around the area as both of her men in her life were still trying to decide what they wanted to eat.

Gazing around Lily found that the place was a nice open area that had plenty of room to accommodate and cater to a large number of people. The walls were decorated with a wide range of pictures of animals of all sizes that came from different countries. She found some of the pictures to be quite fascinating and interesting to look at while.

Lily was about to return her attention back to James and Harry to see if they were now ready to place their orders when all of a sudden, out of the corner of her eyes she caught a glimpse of a woman that looked very familiar to her. A lady who had walked by lady resembled her older, estranged sister. After looking back, she lost sight of the lady, so she just shook her head, and returned her focus to having lunch with her family.

Once the delicious lunch had been eaten, The Potters were making their way out of the restaurant and towards the cat exhibit, when the lady that Lily spotted caught a glimpse of Lily, and dropped her glass of wine in shock.

Hearing the glass smash all over the place, the lady's husband, whose name was Vernon Dursley, asked “Petunia, darling, are you alright?”

Petunia, who was in quite a state of shock, had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down before replying.

“I thought that I just saw someone who resembled my sister. For a moment, I was pretty sure it was her, but I must be mistaken.”

Hearing the mere mention of his wife's freakish and abnormal sibling, Vernon turned red, got up, and asked, “Where are she? Which direction did she go?”

Petunia placed her hand on Vernon's arm and gently said, “Don't worry about them, dear. I am pretty confident that it wasn't her. Now, let's turn our attention back to our meal and enjoy it before our Dudders eats it for us.”

Knowing his son's more than healthy appetite, Vernon dropped the matter and got back to enjoying the meal. He re-ordered a glass of wine for his lovely wife.

After spending some time in the cat exhibit, the Potter family made their way to the reptile house. Entering the reptile house at one end they set about to view the reptiles and as they were doing so, at the entrance on the opposite end, Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley entered the reptile house as well. Unbeknownst to both families, they were slowly making their way towards each other. Unfortunately for Harry, it was he and Dudley that brought the two families together.

Harry had just wandered slightly ahead of his parents down the corridor, when he heard a kid in the throes of a tantrum, demanding to his father that he do something to make a snake move. Hearing the commotion peaked Harry's curiosity so he looked behind him to see a rather huge man trying to placate his son, who seemed roughly the size of a baby whale. Harry decided to see exactly what the snake had done to cause the huge fuss.

Quietly walking to the snake enclosure, Harry found a Brazilian python of some kind that was sleeping soundly. He felt bad for the snake, having to listen to the kid whining, and he silently said, “I am terribly sorry about him. He doesn't understand that snakes like you need your rest as well.”

As Harry spoke these words, the python awoke from its slumber, raised its head and turned to face Harry intently. When Harry discovered the snake had moved and was now focused on him, he could hardly believe it.

“Can you hear and understand me?” Harry asked silently.

“Yes,” replied the snake in a hiss.

“How is it that I can speak to you?”

“You are speaking Parseltongue which happens to be the language of snakes.”

Hearing this from the snake, Harry was a little shocked but hearing that some wizards could talk to snakes Harry went on. “I think it's amazing that I can talk to you. If it's not too rude on my part, will you tell me more about yourself?”

“I have lived here…” for the next few moments the snake happily discussed with Harry what life was like at the sanctuary and that his deepest desire was for him to return to his home country of Brazil.

During the rather pleasant conversation that was taking place between Harry and the python, Dudley Dursley decided that he would try to get the snake to do something. Looking back at the area where Harry was standing, Dudley couldn't believe that another boy had made the snake move. Wanting to take credit for making this happen, Dudley ran towards Harry and shoved him out of the way.

“MUM, DAD, I MADE THAT SLEEPING SNAKE MOVE!” Dudley exclaimed. Hearing their son's happy announcement, Vernon and Petunia dashed to the scene.

“Oh my Dudders, I am so proud of you!” Petunia gushed.

“Yes, son this is absolutely fantastic. How were you able to make him move?”

“All I did is keeping banging my hand on the glass like I was doing before, and it moved. See?” With that, Dudley raised his chubby fist and hammered the glass.

While Dudley was enjoying his moment of fame, Harry was still lying on the ground. Harry slowly got up and was extremely unhappy. He was enjoying his conversation with the snake and minding his own business when all of a sudden he was shunted to the side because of this bully of a boy. He witnessed other people being picked on at school, and he did not like this one bit. Harry decided that this boy needed to be taught a lesson.

Because he was already in a temper, it didn't take much for Harry's magic to do the job that needed to be done. After staring intently at the glass panel that was in front of the enclosure, Harry wished and willed for the glass to vanish. What happened next came as a complete surprise and shock to everyone.

When the glass panel suddenly disappeared, Dudley, who was slobbering all over the glass, immediately fell forward and landed in the cold wet water that was contained in the enclosure. At the exact same time, the python slithered out and took the moment to escape so that he could return to his native country. On his way out, he hissed a thank you to Harry. With a snake on the run, it didn't take long for word to spread and as it did all of the people screamed and ran for all the exits.

After the snake had left, Vernon decided that now was a safe time to help his son out. Just as he was about to reach for his son, the glass panel suddenly returned to its rightful place and Vernon was unable to get Dudley out. Discovering that he couldn't rescue his son, Vernon gazed around the area to see who could have caused this to happen. Unfortunately for Harry, Vernon's eyes spotted him and in two strides, Vernon seized Harry by the scruff of the collar and shouted out in a loud voice, “BOY, I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY POOR DUDDERS!”

Vernon had raised his hand and was about to strike Harry. Before this could happen, another loud voice shouted, “LET GO OF MY SON THIS VERY MINUTE AND IF YOU EVEN ATTEMPT TO STRIKE MY BOY, THAN I CAN GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL BE THE LAST MISTAKE THAT YOU'LL EVER MAKE!”

Surprised at hearing the forceful voice of another bystander, Vernon turned to see who it was that had spoken. Before he could say anything, Harry, who had been struggling to get loose, bit Vernon on the hand as hard as he possibily could. Feeling the sharp pain in his hand, Vernon yelled out and relinquished his grip on Harry. Noticing that he was able to get away, Harry ran in the direction of his father, who had arrived on the scene. Before he could reach him, he was seized by Petunia. Luckily for Harry, Petunia let him go straight away.

“Hello Petunia, I thought that I recognised you while we were having lunch,” said Lily in a dangerous tone. “If you don't want to get into any more trouble than necessary, I'd strongly recommend that you release my son and your nephew this instant.”

Hearing the sound of her freakish sister's voice and discovering that she was holding a freak of a nephew, Petunia not so gently shoved Harry and took several steps away so that some distance could be made between the two families. Seeing that Harry had been roughly treated by Petunia, Lily walked over to Harry and gently helped him up to his feet, and wrapped her arms around him as he was upset about what had happened.

“What are you and your freakish family doing in a civilised place like this?” snarled Petunia. “Can't your brat of a son accept what is due him?”

“There is no need to be rude or arrogant especially in a public place,” Lily calmly replied, holding her temper in check. “Luckily for you, there are no other bystanders to witness your display and if there were I'd wonder what they would think about your attitude and the way you treat your own family.”

Lily allowed a couple of moments for these words to sink in before going on, “We have every right to be here, just like you. Other than that, it's really none of your business. Now can you tell me why Vernon was about to assault my son and how your precious and spoiled brat of a son Dudley ended up in the snake enclosure?”

“How dare you say those things about my precious Dudley and what gives you the right to accuse my husband under false pretences?” retorted Petunia defensively.

Before Lily could respond, a deep male voice said, “Actually ma'am, your sister has every right to her accusations. From what I have already scene from the security footage, the actions of your boy have caused this problem to arise and occur in the first place.”

Petunia turned to face the two newcomers and rudely asked, “Just who the ruddy hell are you and how dare you interrupt a private conversation?”

“Allow me to introduce myself, my name is William Baker and this is my partner Peter Buffalo,” said the man. “We are security guards that work here and management has requested that we bring you, your husband, and your son to the head office so that they can discuss with you the actions of your son, as well as the figure of compensation that you'll need for restitution of the loss of a snake and the repair of the glass panel.” At this William gestured towards Vernon, Petunia and Dudley.

At the sight of Dudley, William walked over to the panel. He put a key in a slot next to the glass and turned it several times, but nothing happened. Finally, he took out his baton and he indicated for Dudley to step aside. Once he was safely in the corner, he struck the baton on the glass and it broke into thousands of small pieces. After fishing Dudley out, he instructed, “If you'll please follow Peter, he'll escort you up to the office.”

After hearing this, Vernon yelled out “What about them?” pointing towards where James, Lily and Harry were standing.

“Sir,” replied William. “It is none of your business as to what will happen with the other party involved in the incident. I'd strongly suggest that you and your family make your way up to the office and meet with the management before they decide on a much harsher restitution, which could end up being harder on your back pocket, if you get my drift.”

“Alright let's go.” Vernon agreed, knowing what the guard was implying. “I would rather speak and see the management than stand among freakish members of my wife's family and deal with you underlings. Come on Petunia, Dudley, let's get away from here.”

Dursleys turned around and began to follow Peter. As they were leaving, Lily called out, “I hope that the management gives you what for and that you can't go around treating people this way.”

“Good riddance to you and I hope that we never see each other again,” exclaimed James.

After they had departed William turned to face the Potter family and explained, “Management has asked me to inform you that they don't blame you for what has occurred here. The security camera showed that your son was just in front of the enclosure when the other boy shoved him out of the way and began banging on the glass. We think that's how the glass malfunctioned. We are sorry that your son was treated that way and that we were not able to do anything until this incident happened. All day long we have been keeping a close eye on that boy and his family, and from what we have seen, let's just say we have received a number of complaints from the public. They have also asked me to inform you that if you ever return here again, then you'll be pleased to know that the management has permitted you to free entry upon each visit. While we can't cover the cost of food and everything else, allow us to make up for what has happened today.”

James and Lily couldn't believe what they were hearing. For a moment, they both thought that they might be banned from ever returning here due to what happened. Instead, they're being thanked for it.

James simply said, “I don't know what to say but thank you for your graciousness. But for now, I believe that the time has come for us to be heading home.”

“I completely agree with you and personally I don't blame you. You folks have a nice day.” with that William shook James' hand and returned to his duties. He headed in the direction that his partner led the Dursleys.

“Lily, let's take Harry home,” said James. “Once we're there, maybe the birthday boy would like to go for a quick ride before someone important stops by for a visit. What do you think, Harry?”

Harry was still a bit shocked by everything and although he was getting over the ordeal softly answered, “Yes Dad, I think I would like that a lot.”

“In that case, let's get going and you'll feel better in no time.” The Potters quickly headed towards the exit of the animal sanctuary and after they came to the secluded area that had no one around, James, Lily, and Harry side-along apparated back to their home in Godric's Hollow.

****

A short time later James and Harry were both riding on their broomsticks and were having a wonderful time. It didn't take Harry long for him to get over what happened at the animal sanctuary and was soon a happy boy again. As the sun began to set and the light began to diminish, James and Harry called it quits and headed back to the house to stow away their brooms, before heading inside.

Entering through the back door, the first thing that they saw was the figure of Albus Dumbledore standing in the kitchen having a casual conversation with Lily. At the sight of his surrogate grandfather Harry raced over in his excitement called out to Albus and gave him a big hug.

Albus always enjoyed these moments returned the hug and greeted, “Hello Harry, Harry Birthday.”

“Thank you, Granddad!” said Harry with a sly smile. “Did you bring me a present for my birthday?”

Albus chuckled before replying. “As a matter of fact Harry, I do have a birthday present for you. But you must be patient, as your Mum has just finished making dinner.”

Sure enough, as soon as those words had been said, Lily called to everyone to take there places at the table so that they could sit down and enjoy the meal she prepared. Everyone helped themselves to what they wanted, while Lily poured pumpkin juice in a glass for Harry and some mead that Albus had brought for the three adults.

After the main meal had been finished, Lily brought out on a special cake for the birthday boy. It was a sponge cake decorated with the colours of Harry's favourite Quidditch team, the Montrose Magpies. Once it had been placed in front of Harry, everyone sang `Happy Birthday to You…' and Harry blew out the candles. Lily sliced up the cake for everyone to enjoy. Soon, it was time to focus on the presents.

“I believe we have arrived at the moment Harry has been anxiously waiting for all day.” James announced. “Without further ado, here is your first birthday present.”

James handed to Harry a small brightly wrapped box. Taking the present and ripping straight into the paper, revealing a Golden Snitch.

“Wow, thank you, Dad. I can always use another Snitch to practice with.”

“Son, I know that you already have one, but this one is special. This is the Golden Snitch is that is officially used in the games at Hogwarts. More than that, this is the winning snitch from when my team won the house cup in my Seventh year, so I wanted you to have it. With you going to Hogwarts in a few weeks time, I have every confidence that you'll make the Gryffindor Quidditch team, especially when the captain discovers that you're a complete natural.”

At this Harry hugged his father, “Thank you, Dad and I promise not only to keep this Snitch safe, I also promise that I'll do the best that I can to make the team.”

“That's all we can ask of you, son.” James said, patting Harry on the back.

“Here you go, Harry, and I am sure that you will like my present.” said Lily as she handed to Harry a present.

Taking the offered gift Harry tore into it and as he removed the paper he discovered the latest team magazine of Montrose Magpies. This special edition contained a wide range of team information from the history of the team, personal interviews with the players, and skilful advice for Quidditch hopefuls. At the mere first glance of the cover, Harry who had a huge smile on his face looked up at his mum and said “Thank you so much, mum.”

“You're very welcome, Harry. Now, before you get too engrossed with that magazine, there are a couple of more presents for you to open.”

Opening the other presents, Harry found a wide range of clothes and a couple of books, including the latest version of Quidditch through the Ages and Hogwarts: A History. After he had opened the last present from his parents, a brand new pair of sneakers, Harry turned and looked at Albus expectantly.

Albus chuckled and handed Harry two envelopes. After a quick word of thanks, Harry picked the one that was on top and opened it. From the looks of it, he instantly knew that it was his acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In less than a second, he quickly turned it over, broke the red wax seal with the coat of arms of the school on it, and withdrew the letter. With excitement, he read out loud for all to hear.

Dear Harry,

As part of your birthday present, please allow me to be the one to inform you that you have been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry come the first of September. With this letter is a second piece of parchment with a list of all the school supplies that you will need for the upcoming year at Hogwarts.

Since you will be entering as a first year student, I am afraid that the school rules forbid you to bring your own broomstick. You are, however, allowed to bring an owl, a cat, a toad, or another approved pet, if you would like, to keep you company and to give you a piece of something from home.

Knowing that you do not yet own an animal of any kind, then as my birthday gift to you, please allow me the honour of purchasing an owl for you. On the day that your parents take you to Diagon Alley to purchase all of the necessary school supplies, I'll arrange for a good friend of mine to meet you there and assist you in finding the perfect owl.

Once you have your selected owl, all that you have to do is give the owner of Eeylops Owl Emporium the money draft that I have included in the second envelope and everything will be taken care of.

I would like to wish you, yet again, a happy birthday and may you enjoy my gift to you.

Love your affectionate grandfather,

Granddad Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

After reading the letter, he placed it on the table and shouted for everyone to hear: “I'M GOING TO HOGWARTS! I'M GOING TO HOGWARTS!” As he did this, Harry raced around the room jumping up and down in excitement.

While Harry did his little jig around the room, James and Lily were extremely proud that their son had finally been officially accepted to attend the finest magical school in Britain. Knowing that Albus was headmaster, both of them knew that Harry was in for a grand and exciting time.

Lily cleared her throat and suggested, “Alright Harry, that's enough of that. Haven't you got something to say to your grandfather?”

Instantaneously Harry sobered up and said “Thank you for the birthday present, Granddad! I can't wait to show you the owl that I will buy.”

“Harry, my boy, consider it my honour and I am looking forward to it.” At this, he turned to face James and Lily and continued on by saying, “Thank you for a wonderful evening but alas, I must get back to Hogwarts to finish preparing for the new school year.”

“We totally understand, Albus. Thank you for coming and I am sure we'll see each other again soon.” James said, shaking Albus' hand.

“Yes Albus, thank you for coming and making Harry's birthday so special,” added Lily. “Please tell Hagrid that we will be heading to Diagon Alley on the 2^nd of August so we can purchase all of Harry's school supplies.”

“I'll make sure that he is there,” Albus promised. “What time do you plan to be arriving at Diagon?”

“We should be there around nine o'clock in the morning.”

“Then nine it shall be. Is there anything else I can do for you?” asked Albus.

“As a matter of fact, there is. I was possibily wondering if…” at this James whispered something into Albus' so that he could only hear.

Once James had requested that something be returned to him Albus chucked and replied, “Yes I can return it to you so that you can do whatever you wish with it. I'll give it to Hagrid, so that you can have it on the 2^nd of August.”

“Thank you, Albus. That will be perfect.” James said with relief.

Albus stood up and prepared to leave. James, Lily and Harry walked with Albus to the door. After everyone said their goodbyes and a final thank you for everything, Albus walked out to the edge of wards, and after he was clear of them he Apparated back to Hogwarts.

After he left, Lily announced that it was time for Harry to go to bed. Since Harry had already started to yawn, he brooked no argument, and picked up his presents. He handed his Hogwarts letter and money draft to his mum for safekeeping before heading upstairs to bed.

Reaching his bedroom, Harry set his new gifts on his study table for him to put away in the morning. Once he had gotten changed into his sleep clothes, he washed up and brushed his teeth. He returned to his room to find his parents waiting there to tuck him in for the night.

“Did you enjoy your birthday?” asked Lily, running her fingers through his messy hair.

“Yes, I did, mum and I had a wonderful time, especially at the animal sanctuary.” Harry answered sleepily.

“That's great to hear and I am delighted that you enjoyed yourself. I trust that sometime tomorrow that you'll place your presents neatly away where they belong?”

“I promise that I will, mum.” Knowing that her son would keep his promise, Lily quickly kissed him on the forehead and stepped to the side so that James could say goodnight.

“Sometime tomorrow, the two of us we'll make good use of that new Snitch. How does that sound to you?” James didn't get a reply to his question because Harry had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

Noticing how tired his son really was James softly continued by saying, “Sleep tight, Harry, and we'll see you in the morning.”

With a kiss on his forehead, both James and Lily crept silently towards the door and after turning out the lights, they gently closed the door so that they could allow Harry to get a good night's sleep.

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