"WAKE UP, HARRY!" Ron bellowed into Harry's ear. The Boy Who Lived sat up slowly, wincing and
stretching.
"You don't have to yell, Ron," he answered tiredly.
"Yes, I do! Know why? Because it's your birthday and you're sleeping IN and it's 1 pm, you git!" Ron exclaimed, sitting back down on the bed he was too tall for now.
"All right. I'm up," Harry replied and stood up, stretching once more. Harry walked to the bathroom
and took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and changed into a pair of blue jeans and a red T-shirt, placed his glasses
over his brilliant green eyes and stared in the mirror, trying to flatten his hair. He dried it with a towel and
pressed his hands over his head for a few seconds, then lifted them. No luck. It was still sticking up in the back
untidily, just like his father's. Harry groaned. "It's never going to happen, dear," the mirror told
him. Harry rolled his eyes and walked back to Ron's room to find him fully dressed.
"Took you long enough! Let's go downstairs," Ron said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"SURPRISE!" Came the cry even before Harry had even set foot in the kitchen. Poor Harry jumped so high, he
thought he was going to hit his head on the already low ceiling. Harry was amazed; so many familiar faces were there!
Along with Dumbledore ("Ah, what a splendid party! I used to shake a tail-feather or two in my day!"), Remus
Lupin (Harry's werewolf friend and former Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher), there was a lot of others. Dean
Thomas, Harry's soccer fan friend, was standing with a huge grin on his face. Next to him was Neville Longbottom,
with his toad Trevor in his hands, also grinning broadly. Next to him was Lee Jordan and his dreadlocks, followed by
Seamus Finnigan, the Irish boy who always made everything he tried to put a spell on explode. Fred and George were
there, and so was Parvati Patil, her best friend Lavender Brown, Ginny, and Colin Creevey next to her with a huge smile
and his camera, as usual. Harry was happy beyond his years. Then, his eyes fell on Hermione Granger, his bookworm
friend of 4 years. She had changed…so much. Her thick brown hair was no longer bushy, but fell in soft curls over her
shoulders. She was wearing a tight sleeveless blue top and white miniskirt along with tennis shoes and a gorgeous
smile. Harry couldn't take his eyes off her, even when she wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. He almost toppled
backwards, but regained his balance and hugged her back, taking in the soft sweet jasmine scent of her hair.
"Wow!" was all Harry could say.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" a booming voice greeted as a hand the size of a trashcan lid came slamming into
Harry's back so hard, his nose almost touched the floor. He straightened his dangling glasses and stood straight on
shaky legs.
"Thanks, Hagrid," he answered, smiling briefly and rubbing his back.
"All right! Let the birthday boy through!" Mrs. Weasley said in a loud voice and as the people parted,
Harry saw a enormous vanilla-and-chocolate cake with 16 candles waiting for him at the table.
"ONE, TWO, THREE!" Ron counted. At this, everyone started singing "For He's A Jolly Good
Fellow" at the top of their lungs. The problem was, everyone started at different times, so it was more like a
cawing flock of birds than a perfectly synchronized chorus, but Harry loved it just the same.
After the cake had been passed out to everyone, Ron yelled, "PRESENTS!" and shoved Harry to the table in the living room piled with presents.
Harry picked off the top one and opened it. It was from Seamus. A medium- sized book lay in his hands, with a
picture of the Irish team Harry recognized as the one from the Quidditch World Cup that he had gone to in his fourth
year on the cover. The players circled the field and did perfectly executed formations while waving to the cheering
crowds. Then, the Bulgarian Team appeared on the field, and the picture became faded and bleak, but you could still see
the team.
"Made it in favor of the Irish, eh?" harry asked him, grinning.
"You bet," Seamus answered, grinning back. Harry opened the next one from Lavender Brown, which was what looked like a mural with Ancient Runes text on the bottom and it had a gray swirling fog that kept moving (Lavender had called it a 'Futurall'. Harry had no idea what that was, but he thanked and hugged her anyway). Then came Parvati's, a mini crystal ball for Harry's use. Parvati was a Divination fanatic, while Harry detested the subject. All he ever saw in it was white fog, and when he held it, all that came to him was bad memories of Divination class. So he placed it down quickly but still thanked Parvati. Neville's present was a small terrarium with beautiful butterflies of all colors fluttering around in it. Before Harry could reach for another one, Ron shoved his present into Harry's hands. When Harry ripped it open, It was a book entitled "Greatest Quidditch Players of All Time and Their Stories" by Quirky Quagmire. When Harry opened the thick leather-bound cover, there was a scribbled note from Ron:
Harry ~ Happy Birthday! I know one day you will end up in this book! Ron
"Thanks, Ron," Harry said genuinely and they briefly hugged. The next present Harry reached for surprised
him.
"It's from the Dursleys!" Harry exclaimed, holding the large box in his hands. In all his life, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and his annoying cousin Dudley had never given him so much as a glance. Harry was shocked to see a present from them. He quickly opened it to find…a piece of paper. No, wait…it wasn't just a piece of paper. Upon a closer look, Harry found a toothpick lying on top of the paper. He took the paper out and read:
Thought we sent you a big present, did you? Dudley (Oh, and mum and dad)
Harry rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. *I should've known*, he thought as he flung it down
carelessly.
"Here, Harry. Maybe this will make you feel better," Hermione said, stepping closer with her present.
Harry smiled at her and took the present, ripping it open at once. Inside was a beautiful burgundy hardback book with
gold borders and big silver looping letters that read: Memories. Harry slowly opened it to find many pictures with of
Hermione, him and Ron from their 4 years of friendship. There were ones of them laughing in the hallway, talking
animatedly in the Great Hall, joking around in the Common Room, and there was even the one of Hermione running to Harry
and hugging him happily after she had been un-petrified. Harry's smile turned into a grin and he pulled Hermione
into a hug, spinning her and then setting her back down.
"See? I told you it'd make you feel better," she laughed and kissed him on the cheek. Harry wished he could capture that moment in a picture.