Harry was very grumpy when Mrs. Weasley woke him the next morning. He had slept peacefully, but did not want to get up. He rolled over and his thumb automatically went to his mouth again.
“We have to do something about that. Five is a little old to suck your thumb.” Harry sat up quickly and removed his thumb, looking resentful at it.
“Five,” he asked, turning to Mrs. Weasley. “Dumbledore said he made me four again.”
“Professor Dumbledore, Harry. Did you forget today was your birthday?” Mrs. Weasley had lifted Harry out of bed and was dressing him for the day.
“No,” Harry lied. He was thinking how could he forget his birthday. “I didn’t think the spell would let me age.”
“Of course it does,” Mrs. Weasley commented, picking Harry up and heading for the door. “Not even Professor Dumbledore can stop time.”
Ron, Ginny and Hermione wished Harry a happy birthday when he sat at the table in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had made him his favorite breakfast. After breakfast, Ginny took Harry’s hand and the two walked back to his room.
“What do you want to do Harry?” For the past few days, Harry and Ginny had played together after breakfast. He therefore had no reason to suspect she was trying to distract him.
Harry and Ginny spent the morning drawing. Rather, Harry drew pictures, but Ginny read. Like the last time, Harry drew what his true feelings were. Unlike last time, his drawings were not as dark. He drew pictures of himself and his friends. Looking over the drawings made him feel happy.
Harry realized that no matter how he arranged everyone else, he and Ginny were always standing together. In his fourth, he and Ginny were standing in the middle of the others, who were arranged in the shape of a heart.
Harry gasped and looked up at Ginny. She was still reading, so he quickly stuffed the paper under the bed. He also put the others under the bed and started playing with a toy, trying not to think about the drawings. He planned to destroy them as soon as he was alone.
“Harry, we have a surprise for you,” Mrs. Weasley announced entering the room, just before noon. Ginny quickly got up and left the room.
“A surprise?” Harry was already in her arms and she was heading downstairs. Harry had not expected any kind of birthday surprise; he knew he had not been very well behaved this summer. He did not even expect any presents, because of his current condition.
His puzzlement turned to complete embarrassment when he saw who was in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had invited some people, people that Harry did not want to see him like this. On the top of this list were Fred and George, who were talking with Lupin. Mr. Weasley was there too, talking with the Grangers. It was in fact just a small gathering of friends, but Harry was still embarrassed.
He squirmed free of Mrs. Weasley’s arms before anyone saw him in the room. It was bad enough looking like a child among them, let alone being carried like one. He sat down at the table, doing his best to hide from view. It was easy, given hi size. He could not even see the top of the table. Unfortunately, it was Fred and George who spotted him first. Seeing only his hair, they could tell he was embarrassed and trying to hide.
“Hey Harry,” Fred greeted. “Is there something different about you?” Both he and George sat beside Harry.
“Yeah, did you get a haircut,” George asked. (I know it’s cliché, but it fits them.) Harry glared at the two.
“Don’t be stupid George. It’s obvious he’s lost weight.” With that both the twins and Harry burst out laughing.
“I guess you could look at it like that,” Harry said after he calmed his laughter. “So, how’s your shop doing?”
“It’s going great,” Fred responded. “You should stop by when you go to pick up your school books this year. See it for yourself.” Going back to school was not something Harry wanted to think about.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Harry said this half-heartedly. “I’ll be right back.” He quickly got up and headed for the staircase. A couple steps up, just out of sight, he sat down and let loose his tears. Harry wished he knew whether he would be able to return to school this year. He really wanted to return. He was tired of being little, tired of being treated like a child. But there was something enjoyable about it all. A lack of responsibility was appealing. Harry shoved these thoughts from his head; being older was better.
Harry dried his eyes on his sleeve and with his hands. He returned to the kitchen to see Dumbledore and Tonks had arrived. The latter looked much like she had when she met Harry at King’s Cross Station at the end of term, but her hair was brown.. Harry suddenly realized there was somebody above the twins on his list. He really, really did not want Tonks to see him like this. She had already spotted him, however and there was no place to hide.
“Oh, aren’t you just adorable,” Tonks commented, picking him up. She had a big smile as she carried him toward the others. “I didn’t know you were cute as a kid too.”
“Put me down,” Harry said flatly, turning slightly red. She put him at the same chair he had sat in earlier.
“Alright. I guess it feels funny being carried around.” Harry nodded as Tonks took the adjacent seat. “But you are cute like this.” Tonks moved to pinch his cheek, but Harry angrily brushed her hand aside.
Everyone sat down and ate lunch. Harry tried to maintain as normal a conversation with everyone as was possible. Lupin acted as if nothing had changed whenever he spoke with Harry. Harry was thankful for this and mostly talked with his former teacher. He told Lupin about his O.W.L. results and what classes he planned to continue. Remus was only surprised by the History of Magic grade, until Harry told him when he sat the exam.
This brought unbidden tears to Harry’s eyes, as he had come very close to the subject of Sirius. Remus offered a handkerchief and allowed Harry to hide his face for a few minutes. Harry was tired of how much he was crying frequently and promised himself not to do it for the rest of the day while drying his eyes.
After everyone had eaten and talked for a while, Mrs. Weasley dimmed the lights and brought out a beautifully decorated cake. It was a chocolate cake, with thick, velvety, chocolate frosting. Harry laughed to himself when she sat it in front of him. She had placed five candles, shaped like the number sixteen on the cake. Apparently she could not decide how old he was.
After everyone sang to him, Harry blew out the candles, making a silent wish. He had one wish on his mind and repeated it twice before opening his eyes again. Unfortunately, he found himself still in a child’s body.
Harry’s face was extremely messy when he finished with his cake and vanilla ice cream. He spared himself further embarrassment though by cleaning himself with napkins. He had no desire to have Mrs. Weasley clean his face like a child given the present company.
Afterward, Harry opened presents from his friends. Harry was thankful for all he received, even though most of it would only be useful to him in his adolescent body.
Fred and George gave Harry one of their Skiving Snackboxes, which brought scornful looks from their parents. Surprisingly, Dumbledore sat with an amused expression. Harry doubted whether he would be able to use it now that Dumbledore had seen it.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave him two books. One on Quidditch and the other on apparation, complete with an application to schedule a test when he turned seventeen. He loved them both, glad to see they thought he would return to normal shortly. He almost began to read the Quidditch book before remembering he had other presents.
Harry also received books from Lupin and Tonks. Lupin’s was about animagi and also contained a registration form, should he succeed. Harry doubted this very much, but smiled and thanked Remus all the same. Tonks’ was a study prep for the Auror entrance exams and was so big and heavy that she had to hold it while Harry opened it. Half the size of a large pizza box, half as thick as it was tall, with no pictures and miniscule writing; Harry doubted he would ever be able to read it, even at sixteen.
Ron gave Harry a large box of his favorite candies, which was nearly as big as Tonks‘ book and also brought scowls from the Weasley parents.
Hermione and her parents gave him a board game he had enjoyed playing while staying with them, Clue. This really made Harry smile, as it was the only game or toy he had that was not for little kids.
Professor Dumbledore gave Harry an ornately decorated, gold pocket watch. On the inside, opposite the watch face, was a picture of his parents. They were not much older than he truly was, perhaps almost eighteen and it was likely their first photograph together. True to his word, Harry held back his tears, just barely. It was very beautiful and Harry thought he could not be happier.
But Ginny came forward with her present last. She turned slightly red as she gave it to him. Harry unwrapped the small package and opened the box within. It contained a small silver chain, with a real, four-inch dragon talon attached. Both Harry and Ginny turned crimson, but Harry put it on. He gave a shy thank you to Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave each other a puzzled look and Ron starred blankly at the pair. Harry understood why, he was surprised he and Ginny were becoming so close too.
For the remainder of the party everyone was in one conversation or another. Harry avoided the conversations centered around Hogwarts. The subject of Ginny’s gift never came up in any of the conversations. By four o’clock people began to leave. Harry thanked them all again as they left. Mrs. Granger and Tonks gave him tight hugs before leaving. Lupin was the last to leave, but when he did, after shaking Harry‘s hand, Harry started to help Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley clean up.
“Oh, you don’t have to help Harry. It’s your birthday.”
“That’s ok Mrs. Weasley. I want to help.” He felt a need to prove he wanted the responsibilities of being older, both to himself and the others.
The remainder of the evening was quiet and proceeded normally. Harry even forgot about destroying the drawings, as he forgot they were under the bed. It wasn’t until he was taking his bath that Harry realized there was something he wanted to do. He waited until he was being laid in bed to ask though.
“Um, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said, stifling a yawn. “Do you think we could go to Diagon Alley sometime?” He was already turning red and had not even told her why he wanted to go.
“Well, we are going to go when you and the others get your supply and book lists. Did you want to go for another reason?”
“I sort of wanted to go sometime this week.” He felt no need to explain, but blurted out the next sentence before he knew it. “I want to get Ginny a birthday present.”
“Oh, I see,” Mrs. Weasley sighed, tightening his blankets for the second time. “I think I can find time to take you before her birthday. But for now, you need to get some sleep.” She left Harry alone in the dark and he fell asleep almost instantly, smiling wide. It had been a great day.