Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory

Chapter 35

The final month of summer passed by in a flash for Harry. Hermione had returned home to spend time with her parents two days before Harry's birthday. Though she still had not recovered much of the joy she exuded the previous term, the sharp edges of her grief had been dulled through tears, conversations, and time. Harry's description of Viktor's bravery in the face of Voldemort and the smoky version of him who passed on a final message for her before helping Harry escape had been a balm of sorts. A reassurance that Viktor's feelings had been just as strong and deep and real as hers.

Harry's birthday celebration was spectacular. Sirius, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley had combined forces to plan the event, and Grimmauld Place was almost as full as when the Order had a major meeting. All the Weasleys except Percy and Charlie were present, as was Fleur, who had been newly inducted into the Order and had been officially dating Bill for a few weeks. She hugged both Harry and Ginny as soon as she arrived and told them how happy she was that they were together. Later that night, Ginny blushed furiously when Harry mentioned that he hadn't even felt Fleur's Veela allure at all when holding Ginny's hand.

Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad-Eye each showed up over the course of the night, as did Professor McGonagall. Some other Order members, including Hestia Jones and Mundungus Fletcher, also made appearances. While Harry wasn't as close to them, it was still nice to have a full house for the party.

Harry opened his various presents, receiving a few books and several sets of new clothes from various adults. Mrs. Weasley had been fed up with Dudley's hand-me-downs draped on Harry's thin frame, so she had requested that folks help fill his wardrobe. Harry also got three framed photos, one of Sirius teasing Harry while poking and prodding him, one of Harry, Hermione, and Ron from first year looking much tinier than Harry remembered them being, and one of Harry and Ginny, who kept sneaking out of the frame and then returning with red cheeks.

His favorite present, though, was Ginny's. For two weeks, she had been borrowing Hedwig and keeping her correspondences away from Harry. When Harry opened her gift, he was touched to find more than a dozen letters from friends and classmates waiting for him. Hagrid's messy scrawl was on one, and each of his fellow soon-to-be fifth-year Gryffindors, too. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had each sent a note, as had Lee Jordan and Oliver Wood. Charlie had sent a letter that included a dragon tooth from the Hungarian Horntail he'd battled, which Harry appreciated far more than Percy's standard Ministry birthday card on official letterhead. Colin Creevey had sent a photo of Harry casting an incorporeal Patronus while chasing the Snitch, and Cho and Cedric had packed both of their letters into the same envelope. Dumbledore's loopy handwriting was one of the last he read.

If Ginny had been unsure if her new boyfriend would like the gift, his misty eyes and wide smile provided ample reassurance.

With Hermione away, the final push to clear out the library became a slog. Several minor mishaps had kept the amateur librarians on their toes, but most of their time in the afternoons resulted in drooping eyes and exaggerated yawns. In the large stack of deeply disturbing books about the Dark Arts, Sirius had found two books that obliquely referenced horcruxes and one other that described them in slightly more detail. They'd been passed on to Dumbledore and McGonagall, whose research into the outer limits of horcrux creation was moving slower than hoped.

After the extravaganza thrown for Harry's birthday, Ginny's was quickly upon them. Harry didn't feel confident about his ability to top her gift of letters, but after consulting with Sirius and getting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's approval, he thought his gift wouldn't be half bad.

The morning of her birthday, Harry greeted her with a kiss on the tip of her nose before they entered the kitchen to grab breakfast. The twins pretended to retch into a nearby waste bin after witnessing the "offensively cute" display of affection.