The Chamber Of Secrets (A Harry Potter Rewrite)

THE BURROW

"Happy Birthday to you...happy Birthday to you..... Happy Birthday dear children.... Happy Birthday to you!"

Thirteen kids blew together at the candles on the top of the huge three tier Birthday cake. Cheers rang through the room and then they all dug in.

Ria took a large piece on a paper plate and went over to Mrs. Haans.

"Thank you", she said, handing the plate over. "For doing all this. You didn't have to buy the gifts though. The cake is delicious and it's more than enough."

"Don't mention it, dear girl!", Mrs. Haans replied with a smile, pulling her down on the couch beside her.
"I have more money than I can count through my life and no one to leave it to. And since these kids won the scholarships, I haven't had to spend as much. This is the least I can do."

Ria had came back to the orphanage, at the end of her first year at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, to a surprise. An organisation had extended an offer to test the intellectual level of the children and provide them education as per required. The kids had all excelled and were all enrolled in their respective classes at the local school, on full scholarship.

Ria couldn't be happier. They would all have degrees and able to pursue higher studies eventually. They would have a life.

Spending last two months at the orphanage had been amazing. Ria was grateful for the opportunities Hogwarts brought in but she missed the kids here dearly. What surprised her was how easily she fell back in the routine with the others kids. The hitch was so little, it almost felt like she had never left.

She didn't have to miss her friends either courtesy of Mrs. Haans. She had kept up steady communication with Hermione, Ron and the twins through her throughout the past two months. The twins had kept their word and hadn't sent any magic pranks, but bickering with them over the letters was almost as much fun. She had been chatting back and forth with Ron and Hermione quite a bit as well. The only one MIA was Harry.

Ten letters over the summer and he hadn't replied to a single. Ria was worried about him and the concern was shared by the other two. So much so, that Ron said, in his last letter a week ago, that if Harry didn't reply soon, accepting the invitation to stay with the Weasleys, he was going to go and get Harry himself. Ria had immediately replied back and told him to inform her when he went to get Harry. Two days back a letter had arrived.

He still hasn't replied. I'm going on the 3rd.

So Mrs. Haans preponed the birthday celebration to today before Ria left. After some consideration, Ria had decided to accept Ron's invitation and spend the rest of the holidays at the Weasley's. So here she was packed and ready to leave the moment the children fell asleep.

"When's the train?", Andy asked.

"3 am", Ria replied.

"Does it have to at such an ungodly hour?", he grimaced.

Ria laughed. "It's ok, Andy. I don't mind a late night."

None of the children had any idea when their birthdays were. So Mrs. Haans had taken it upon herself to make sure to have them all celebrate together one day each year.

The children had grumbled quite a bit when they realised Ria would be leaving a month earlier. But after a lot of consolation and a promise to return over Christmas break, they let it rest and dove right into the festivs.

The children had made several friends in the past months and quite a few of them were at the orphanage today for the celebrations. Knowing each of them had people to fall back on, made Ria feel less guilty about the lies and the absence.