"Woah!"
Everyone turned their heads to see Ron standing at the bottom of the stairs, gaping at all the food and décor.
"Is Harry awake?" asked Sirius.
"No, not yet. This is wicked! He's going to love it," said Ron. "Hey Aurora!"
"Hi Ron," Aurora greeted and hugged him.
A few minutes later, Neville and Luna arrived together.
"I think it's lovely that we are getting together like this to celebrate Harry. Especially during such dark times," said Luna, placing a small box on the table.
"Yes, yes. The most we can do in these times is spread love and cheer, as difficult as it may be to keep up the morale." said Remus.
Meanwhile upstairs, Harry had just woken up. Hermione and Ron sat next to his bed waiting for him to get up.
"What—"
"Happy birthday Harry!" Ron and Hermione cheered in sync.
Harry put on his glasses and smiled at his two best friends. "Thanks, guys. It's so nice to spend it with you guys this year."
His eyes wandered to the gifts in their hands.
"Here!" Hermione shoved hers into his hands.
"Wait..." Ron leaned over to Hermione. "Shouldn't we give them to him downstairs, you know?"
Hermione got chills from how close Ron was to her. "Oh- oh right! Okay," she took the gift from Harry again. "Get ready and come downstairs."
The two friends rushed out of the room.
"Right then..." Harry got up, changed into something comfortable, fixed his hair, and went downstairs. He heard people hushing as he went down the stairs.
As he reached the bottom step, several people yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"
He jumped at this, and was a bit more scared than surprised, but smiled when he looked around and saw who was present: Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Fred, George, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Aurora, and Sirius.
Harry ran to Sirius and hugged him as tightly as he could.
"My boy! How are you?" Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and smiled down at him.
"I'm amazing now," Harry looked around. "You guys... wow. You didn't have to—"
"Nonsense, Harry! Your 16th birthday... how amazing is that!" said Mr. Weasley.
Harry smiled, and was shocked to see the huge pile of gifts next to the couch.
"Cake or gifts first? I promise you'll love our gifts," said George.
"Food. Breakfast first. I'm starving..." said Harry, and everyone laughed.
Since the inside of the Burrow was far too small for everyone to sit in, Mr. Weasley set up a well-protected table outside. Everyone sat, talked, ate, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, nobody discussed Voldemort. The presence of one another, the laughter and cheer that took over them was enough to forget their problems, even if just for a brief time.
By the late afternoon, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George left the party for their respective workplaces. Harry spent over an hour opening gifts in the presence of the rest of everyone else, and felt incredibly thankful, yet exhausted after being surrounded by goodies from his friends.
"I've got another gift, Harry. I guess it's not a physical object, but more of an announcement," said Sirius. Remus and Aurora immediately looked at each other and smiled in anticipation.
YOU ARE READING
Invisible String
Fanfiction"Wouldn't it be great if after everything, we had a happy ending? What could possibly occur next, for us to have such a privilege?" It seemed as if it was a who, rather than a what. A fix-it fic about a rather mysterious and heartwarming individual...
