For His Protection

12. Happy Birthday, Harry!

July 31, 1991--Ten years later...

His eyes opened way before the sun came up.  He was so excited that he could hardly stand it.  He threw off the covers and hopped out of his bed like it was on fire.  He grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and practically threw them on his face.  He didn't even care that they were slightly crooked.  Without even changing out of his pajamas, he flung open his bedroom door and headed down the stairs, trying his best to be quiet while doing it.  The stairs were made of wood, so they creaked loudly, but he managed to reach the bottom without a sound.  He wouldn't have to try as hard to be quiet in the living room.  The floors in there were covered by carpet.

Harry Potter rubbed his hands together, unsure of where he was going to start.  Every year his aunt Serena would buy him birthday presents and hide them all over the house.  One of his presents last year had been floating above the television, nearly against the ceiling, so high that he couldn't possibly reach it.  He realized when Serena had told him, "The sky is the limit.", that she was being literal.

He scanned the living room in the darkness, but he didn't see anything suspiciously out of place.  He didn't want to turn on the light for fear of waking Serena.  He frowned, deep in thought for a moment.  There had been a lot of hiding places for his birthday presents over the years: cabinets, the lou, under his bed, and in the refrigerator to name a few.  No matter where they were hidden or what they were, the best part to him was always the hunt.  He felt like he was one of the those pirates on television searching for lost treasure.

Harry decided that he would search the kitchen first.  He ran over to the entryway and raised up on his tip toes to turn on the light.  It flooded the room and he eased himself back down...and nearly jumped out of his skin.  He wasn't alone.  Serena was sitting at the kitchen table, a steaming hot cup of cocoa in her hand, and another one sitting in front of the chair across from her.  She grinned at him.

"You're late, Harry," she said checking her watch.  "You were up a whole half an hour earlier last year.  You're slipping."

He smiled at her.  "I was up late.  Too excited for today.  Is that hot chocolate?"

She pushed it toward him.  "Yes.  It's yours, birthday boy.  Come and join me."

He walked over to the table, pulled out his chair, and sat down.  He leaned over the hot chocolate and took a big sniff.  The sweet smell of cocoa and marshmallows entered his nostrils.  She had fixed it just the way he liked it.  His mouth was already starting to water.  He wrapped his hands around the mug, allowing the warmth to flow into his hands.  Even on a summer morning, he couldn't resist it.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Serena told him.  Then she raised her mug and motion for him to do the same.  He raised it high so that it was level with hers.  "I hope you have many, many more."

He laughed as they both took a sip of chocolate.

"So, have you found any of your presents yet?" Serena asked, sitting her mug on the table and leaning forward.

"Not yet," Harry disclosed.  "The kitchen was the first place I was going to look."

"I wouldn't look in here.  They're not in the kitchen."

Harry sat his mug down.  "Can you give me a hint?"

"Sure."  Serena thought for a moment.  "If I were you, I would start upstairs."

His emerald eyes went wide.  He took a quick sip of chocolate and then took off.  She laughed as he ran out of the kitchen as fast as a lightning bolt.  Harry didn't waste any time getting up the stairs.  The first place he looked was in Serena's room.  He found one in there.  He gazed at the tag and grinned.  It said: 1 of 4.  That meant there were three other presents she had left for him to find.  He went to the upstairs lou and found one, then one in the hall closet, and the last one in his own room on the top shelf of his closet.  He carried them down to the living room one by one and sat them on the couch.  Serena was leaned against the frame of the entryway to the kitchen smiling as she watched him.  Harry thought this was all big fun, but she was teaching him a lesson hidden just beneath the surface too.  She was teaching him how to notice things, how to tell if something was out of place, and he didn't even realize it.