Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.
It's for the Best
Chapter 2 - The Birthday Present
The next few weeks flew by quickly, with Harry and Ginny corresponding almost daily while Ron and Hermione wrote him at least once a week. To Harry's surprise, Dumbledore was sending him a package with some type of candy every week. Before Harry knew it, it was his sixteenth birthday.
Harry woke up early that morning, hoping to find an owl carrying a card and present from his beloved Ginny. However, as he looked outside after putting on his glasses, the only thing he saw was the sun rising and the persistent mist that Dumbledore told him meant that Dementors were breeding. He decided to occupy himself by rereading the letters Ginny had sent him since they started dating. After he'd been at it for about an hour, he heard a knock at the front door.
Harry listened to Uncle Vernon walk down the stairs muttering about early visitors and then heard a small scream from him as the door opened. Less than a minute later, he heard Vernon shout, "BOY, GET DOWN HERE, NOW!"
Wondering what was the matter, Harry put down the letter he was reading and got out of bed. He was wearing an oversized pair of pajamas and his hair was a complete mess - even worse than usual. He walked out his door and down the stairs to see Vernon staring with contempt at - Ginny Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Tonks, and Remus Lupin.
"Harry!" squealed Ginny as she ran up to him smiling ear to ear. Harry thought she was positively glowing. He smiled as she pulled him into a tight hug and a quick kiss. He thought he was in Heaven!
After she released him, he heard Albus say, "Happy birthday, Harry! Unfortunately you can't leave the Dursleys for a few more weeks, but I've arranged for you to spend the day out with Miss Weasley. Mr. Lupin and Miss Tonks have kindly agreed to chaperone you two for the day until I return to pick Miss Weasley up at precisely eight p.m. May I suggest you change clothes before you leave?" Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling madly as he said the last sentence, and Harry realized what he was wearing.
As Harry's blood rushed up to his face he said, "Er, thanks. Thanks very much! Really. I'll…I'll be right back," and ran back up the stairs as Ginny and Tonks giggled.
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Ten minutes later, Harry had given up trying to get his hair perfect, deciding that it was at least better than it had been. He'd taken a very quick shower and put on clothes that Dudley had outgrown at ten years old. Aside from looking old, they actually fit Harry decently. He'd turned the jeans into knee-length shorts when he realized the legs weren't long enough for him. He was wearing a pair of shoes he'd bought the last time he was in Hogsmeade.
"Nice legs," said Ginny as he walked down the stairs.
"Same to you." Ginny, who was also wearing a pair of shorts, blushed.
"Well," said Remus, "I think it's time we left."
"Okay," said Harry, "Where are we going?"
"You'll find out," said Tonks as she pulled out an old glove. "The portkey's leaving in one minute."
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As usual, Harry fell down as he landed after the uncomfortable ride. He got to his feet and then helped Ginny up. The adults hadn't fallen down. Remus simply said, "Follow me."
They followed him out the door of the small shack they landed in and continued walking a few blocks. As Harry looked around, he noticed the top of what could only be a roller coaster, although he'd never actually seen one before. He found himself being pulled into a line at a muggle amusement park.
Ginny excitedly said, "Well, what do you think?"
Harry smiled at her. "It's brilliant, and so are you." He then kissed her deeply until Remus and Tonks told them the line was moving.
Once Remus paid for the tickets with money he said was from Dumbledore, Harry and Ginny started practically dragging Remus and Tonks from ride to ride. After three rides, it became clear that roller coasters and Tonks didn't get along. She was feeling rather ill, so Remus stayed with her while the young couple took off by themselves, sitting next to each other on rides where they got pushed close together. They even managed to kiss during some of the less intense rides.
At lunch time, Harry and Ginny walked hand-in-hand toward the food court where Remus and Tonks were to meet them. On the way, they noticed a game. Harry smiled brightly at Ginny. "I think I'll go and win you a prize."
After fifteen tries at throwing a ball at a target to win a stuffed animal for his girlfriend, Harry gave up as she laughed. Ginny then took one shot and hit the target dead center. She further humiliated Harry by giving him the huge purple panda she won, saying, "Happy birthday."
"I guess you should be a chaser," said Harry with his head down.
"Actually, I'd rather be the Golden Snitch. Catch me if you can!" She then ran off with him chasing after her a moment later.
He caught up with her just before she reached their destination, putting his arms around her. "Did you know that I caught my first Snitch with my mouth?" he asked, just before kissing her deeply. He felt her lips smile against his.
They met up with the adults for lunch (a large deluxe pizza) and then the young couple took off for more rides, kissing in between them.
At the end of the day, they walked back to the same shack they'd arrived in and portkey'd to Harry's room on Privet Drive, where Albus was waiting for them.
"Hello everyone," he said happily, "I trust you've had a good day, Harry."
"Yes I did. Thank you, sir. I just wish that Hermione and Ron could've come too."
For a moment, Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling. "Yes, well, we felt that the bigger the group, the more likely to bring attention. I'm sure you preferred the company of Miss Weasley over the others. Am I right? Have a piece of cake."
It was then that Harry noticed that Albus had five slices of a birthday cake on the desk on different colored plates with plastic forks. Albus grabbed one and handed it to Harry, who dug in heartily as Albus handed another to Ginny, and then the others. As Harry was enjoying his cake, he realized that the most important thing was that Ginny was with him.
After they'd eaten the cake, Dumbledore banished the garbage. "Now it's time for your gifts!" A pile of presents suddenly appeared on the desk where the cake had once been.
The first one that Harry opened was from Albus. He unwrapped the two-square-foot parcel to find it was a black case with a drivers' license with his picture and information on it. Harry looked at it in confusion. "How did you…"
Albus smiled. "Wizards don't take muggle tests for licenses. This is valid for muggle identification and driving both a car and a motorcycle. Any muggle police officer who sees it will feel compelled to give you only a verbal warning and not enter it in their system. I do ask you to be careful and learn before you actually drive. Now take the license and open the box."
He found that it contained two black helmets, each with a red phoenix painted on the front with flames instead of wings. It also contained two dark green dragon leather jackets with matching gloves. He pulled them out of the apparently bottomless case and saw a toy motorcycle. He pulled it out and looked at Dumbledore with a questioning expression.
Albus' eyes twinkled merrily. "The motorcycle actually belonged to Sirius, and he specifically wanted you to have it. If you tap it three times with your wand, it will grow to normal size. The gear is from me. Both sets will conform to the size of the wearer. I thought you might want company on your rides." He tilted his head toward Ginny, causing her to blush.
Harry looked a bit sad at the mention of Sirius, but was overwhelmed with excitement over the bike.
"I'll be giving you driving lessons on that bike over the next few weeks," said Lupin. "Padfoot made sure that all of us knew how to drive a motorcycle."
"And I'll be teaching you how to drive a car," said Tonks. "My dad taught me that. For some reason he wouldn't teach me how to drive motorcycles."
Harry was smiling brightly. "Thanks guys!"
"I suppose now's as good a time as any to let you know that Sirius also left you some gold in his will. It's been added to your vault."
Harry took a deep breath. "I, er, guess that's to be expected."
"Open my gift next," said Tonks, quickly changing the subject as she handed him a small badly-wrapped package.
He opened it to find it was a hat that had a visor that protected your eyes from the sun, but no top that covered the top of your head, just the adjustable part that fit around the sides of your head. Harry had never seen something like it before.
"Well, Harry, put it on!" said Tonks excitedly.
He complied and everybody's jaw dropped. "What?" he asked.
Grinning, Tonks said, "I really should've given you this hat before we left," as she conjured a mirror for him to look at.
What he saw was a blonde boy with blue eyes, with no glasses or scars wearing the visor. He laughed. "This is brilliant! Now I don't have to be recognized everywhere I go! Thanks a lot Tonks!"
"I hoped you'd like it."
Harry opened Remus' present next to find a very advanced book on defensive magic, which he happily thanked him for. There was a package of several types of magical candy from Ron and a book on Occlumency from Hermione with a note asking him to try learning it. Finally, he opened Ginny's present, to find a framed magical picture of herself in fancy dress robes. Harry said, "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," causing her to blush redder than her hair.
She kissed him and said, "Happy birthday."
Albus then said, "I believe that it's time we were all leaving."
"I'll be here at ten o'clock for your first lesson," said Remus. "The Dursleys would probably prefer if you meet me outside."
After they said their farewells, the visitors left, leaving Harry alone to dream of his wonderful day spent with Ginny.
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Please review. Thank you to those who have.
Isn't it amazing how a picture of someone is so wonderful while we're dating them, but useless when we're not?
Here are general answers to some of my reviews.
By the nature of this story, Dumbledore is out of character. Until Harry and Ginny are off the love potions, they may act out of character as well.
It took JKR 5 books to explain why Tom tried to kill Harry. It may take me several chapters before I explain some things that are happening. If you have specific questions, ask them in reviews.
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