Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

7

Chapter 7—The Will of Albus Dumbledore

Summary

Harry has a dream back in Voldemort’s head about searching for a man. Ron wakes him, saying that he was calling for someone named Gregorovitch. Harry thinks that Voldemort is abroad looking for the man, and asks Ron not to tell Hermione that he’s seeing into Voldemort’s mind again. He’s fairly sure that Gregorovitch has something to do with Quidditch, but he can’t remember what. Ron reminds him that it’s his birthday, and Harry celebrates by calling his glasses to him with magic. (They poke him in the eye.) Harry then sends various objects flying about the room, before Ron suggests that he do his fly-up by hand. Then he gives Harry a birthday present: Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, a book that Ron claims helped him understand everything about girls. The twins gave him his copy, and he insists he’s learned much.

They head downstairs to a pile of presents. Molly and Arthur give Harry a watch, a traditional present for wizards when they come of age. Harry’s is a hand-me-down from Molly’s brother, and she apologizes for it, but Harry is overcome and hugs her. Hermione gives Harry a new Sneakoscope, Bill and Fleur give him a magic razor, he gets chocolates from Fleur’s family, and new Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes mercy from the twins. Hermione volunteers to pack Harry’s gifts, claiming that she’s nearly done, just waiting for Ron’s underwear to come out of the wash—which is hardly a welcome discovery on Ron’s end. Ginny calls to Harry and he enters her room for the first time. She says that she didn’t know what to get him for his birthday, but decided that she wanted to give him something to remember her by while he’s out there, so she kisses him fiercely. And then Ron bangs open the door and utterly destroys the moment. Ginny turns away from Harry, possibly to cry, and Harry follows Ron and Hermione out of the room, then follows Ron out into the yard.

Once there, Ron starts in on Harry for “messing Ginny around” after ending things with her. Harry insists that’s not what he was doing, and that Ginny knows full well that they don’t have a future together. This puts Harry in mind of Ginny someday getting married to someone who is obviously not him. When Ron continues to scold Harry, he tells his friend that it’s not going to happen again. Ginny pretends that nothing happened at all, and Charlie arrives in the afternoon, helpfully distracting everyone. So many people arrive at Harry’s birthday dinner that Molly puts several tables out in the garden for the celebration. Everyone helps with the decorations, and when Hermione dresses the bushes and trees with streamers, Ron compliments her, to her confusion. Harry figures there’s a chapter in the book Ron gave him on that. Molly comes outside with a giant birthday cake for Harry in the shape of a Snitch. Hagrid arrives in his awful hairy suit, and Harry notices that while Tonks seems incredibly happy, Lupin looks the opposite. Harry and Hagrid reminisce about their meeting, but has to avoid Ron and Hermione’s eyes when it comes clear that Hagrid doesn’t know they’re not coming back to school. He gives Harry a drawstring pouch that prevents anyone but the owner from getting into it. Hagrid talks to Charlie and asks after Norbert—who turns out to be a lady dragon.

Mr. Weasley is late for the dinner. Suddenly, his Patronus shows up and conveys a message: The Minister of Magic is coming with him. Lupin panics, grabbing Tonks and running off. Arthur and Scrimgeour appear, and the Minister asks to speak to Harry, Ron, and Hermione alone. They all head into the sitting room, the trio worrying, wondering who could have told Scrimgeour that they were not coming back to school. He tries to separate them out, to talk to them individually, but Harry insists that they stay together. Scrimgeour tells them that he’s there about Dumbledore’s will, and is surprised that none of them know they were left anything by him. Harry asks why it’s taken so long for them to be told, and Hermione realizes that they’ve been examining all the items he left to them. When Hermione takes him to task for it, Scrimgeour insists that the law supports his actions—to which Hermione schools him on the law in question, pointing out that it’s meant for Dark artifacts, and that the Ministry would need powerful evidence to suggest that the items were dangerous. Scrimgeour asks Hermione if she’s planning a career in Magical Law, but she tells him she only means to do good in the world. Harry asks why they’re handing over the objects now; Hermione informs him that they only get 31 days to prove that they’re dangerous, so time’s up.