It was July 31. Harry and 'Philip' where currently celebrating Harry's 17th birthday at the Burrow. Harry was officially allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry and Draco were sitting, squished together slightly, on a small sofa Mrs. Weasley owned. Everyone had finished eating the magnificent cake Molly made, and were currently sitting in the living room, waiting for Harry to open up his presents. In front of Harry were 7 presents laid out in front of him; one from Fred and George, one from Ron, one from Hermione, one from Molly, another from Arthur, one from Remus, and another from 'Philip.' Harry gasped.
"Wow! You didn't have to get me so many things. I would have been happy with just a cake." Harry marveled, genuinely surprised that everyone got him a present. Ron, Hermione, and Draco all laughed as they saw Harry's expression. Arthur laughed.
"Oh, come on now. We wanted to, you're apart of this family, too." Molly laughed.
"Ok now, open em' up now." Ron said slightly impatiently. Harry complied. He first opened the present Molly made him.
Harry held up a knitted, dark green and gold striped scarf. "Thank you so much Molly, its amazing!" Draco snickered at the ironic colors.
"I knew you would like it, the color really brings out your eyes." Molly added, chuckling. Harry then folded it back in to box, and opened one up from Arthur. It was a book that explained how the Wizangamot worked, and what the laws and decrees where.
"Wow, thanks Arthur. Remus told me id be needing to learn all of this." Harry said. He was glad to get a practical gift.
"Well, since you are the Black heir, you are going to have to show up to important Wizengamot meetings to represent the Blacks." Arthur added.
Harry moved the book aside, and picked up another present. It was Ron's tradition gift; sweets and Chudley Canon merchandise. Harry laughed. "Thanks Ron." Harry smiled. Even though he wasn't a big fan of sweets anymore, he still appreciated the gift. He then moved to Fred and George's joint present. It looked like a glorified broom.
"Its a message broom. You can record what you want to say, and the broom sends out lights that write down the words you say." Fred explained.
"But it only works after 5 uses, so use it wisely." George winked at Harry. Harry laughed.
"Thanks guys, this is really cool." Harry then carefully laid the broom aside, and moved to the present from Hermione. It was a book about advanced Defensive spells. Harry lit up.
"Thanks Hermione, this is great!" Then Harry grabbed his present from 'Philip.' When he unwrapped it, Harry gasped and blushed, and quickly shut the box.
"I can't believe you did that!" Harry scolded while playfully elbowing Draco, but Draco only laughed.
"What did he get you?" Ron asked. Harry blushed, but took out the present, and revealed a slightly embarrassing picture in a frame. It was Harry drooling slightly on his pillow. But on Harry's face, was the words "Slytherin Pride" written on his forehead.
"He did that in my sleep 2 weeks ago. Took me days to remove the ink. And all because I told him about where the Sorting Hat wanted to place me in first year." Harry pouted playfully.
He then moved to the present Remus got for him. It was very small. When Harry unwrapped the package, it revealed a gold and silver box, with the letter L looping around the letter J. When Harry opened the box, he gasped and covered his mouth. Inside was his mother and fathers wedding rings, hanging off a thin, gold thread. Then beside it were their engagement rings on a separate silver thread. He picked up an old looking note, and carefully unfolded it. The first part read in beautiful cursive writing;
James, I give you my heart, my promise, that I will walk with you, hand in hand, wherever our journey leads us. Living. Learning. Loving. Together forever. Not even death will be able to keep us apart.
~Lily Evans Potter
A tear silently dropped down Harry's face. He then read the second part. It was in a more rough type of cursive. It read;
Lily, I take you to be my wife, in equal love, as a mirror for my true self, as a partner on my path, to honor and to cherish in sorrow and in joy. I shall stand beside you, and protect you from the evils of the world. Death will be but another small obstacle in our path, but when we pass it, we will still live our eternity together.
~James Harry Potter
Harry had tears streaming down his face. Remus sniffed his nose a little.
"Those were Lily and James wedding vows. They made the box together. James wrote in his will that he wanted me to give you the box when you turn 17." Harry collected himself, and gently placed the box on the coffee table. He stood up and walked to Remus, and gave him a big, strong hug. They were both sniffing a little at the memories. Everyone had glassy eyes to see the exchange. Harry then wiped the remaining tears from his face.
"Look at me. Crying on my birthday." Harry smiled and chuckled, trying to turn the evening around. Everyone also chuckled. It was around noon when Harry and 'Philip' said their goodbyes. Harry made sure to hug everyone, and thanked them all for the gifts. Harry stuffed all the presents in a bottomless bag. And carefully wrapped the golden box. They both flooed their way back to the Black Manor.
When the two stumbled out of the floo, Harry immediately went upstairs to place the presents in their room. Since Harry and Draco had been sleeping in Draco's bed for a couple weeks, they decided to move Harry's stuff in the room as well. They extended the closet and bed slightly for more room. Harry placed his new books on their personal book shelf, then he set the framed picture on the dresser, right next to the golden box Remus gifted him. Then he put his scarf in their winter section of clothes. When he walked back downstairs, he placed the chocolates and sweets in the fridge. When he passed the living room, he noticed that Draco was casting a different Glamour on himself. He now sported shoulder length, brown hair, brown eyes, and he made his face more square. Curious, Harry walked in.
"How come you're changing out your Glamours?" Harry asked as he leaned on the doorframe.
"I'm taking you out on a date." Draco smiled cheekily. He then took his wand out, and casted a spell on his face. Nothing happened. Then he casted another spell on a golden bracelet. Draco walked to where Harry was standing.
"Here, put this on." Draco shoved the bracelet in Harry's hands. When Harry slipped the bracelet on, it immediately shrinked to snuggly fit his wrist. But it was too small to take off. When he looked up, he saw Draco as himself. Harry furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement.
"I don't get it, you can't go out in public like that. Death Eaters will attack us." Draco only shoved Harry to the mirror. When Draco stood behind him, the mirror showed the brown haired man again. Harry looked between Draco and the mirror.
"What did you do!?" Harry asked in amazement.
"Well, whoever wears that bracelet can see me as I actually look without Glamours. I made it shrink small enough so it won't fall off your wrist." Draco then whipped out his wand, and casted a Glamour on Harry. Harry soon turned into the white haired man called 'Dragon.' Then Draco casted the same spell on Harry, and this time, on a silver bracelet. When Draco slipped the bracelet on, he grinned. They both turned to the mirrors. The reflection didn't show Harry and Draco, but their personas. When they turned to each other though, they looked perfectly normal.
"Now we can both have a proper date while looking at the real face of the person we're with." Draco smiled cheekily. "Now let's go upstairs and change into some nice clothes. I scheduled a reservation at a fancy restaurant, so make sure to wear robes." Draco winked and walked upstairs to change. Harry followed. Harry picked up his dark green, silk shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes. Then on top of that, black, summer high-low robes, with green threading around the border. Draco on the other hand, wore his white, silk button up shirt, dark grey slacks, and black dress shoes. And on top of that, deep purple summer high-low robes, with black threading around the border. The purple made his silver eyes intensify.
When the two meet downstairs, they complemented each other, and linked arms. They apperated to the apperation sight, since they both were at the legal age for apparition.
When they got there, Harry gasped. It was gorgeous. It was night time already, and the stairs twinkled brightly. Right next to them, stood the Eifel Tower all lit up.
"Draco, when you said 'Date' I didn't think you would take me to Paris!" Harry exclaimed.
"But where is the wizarding world?" Harry asked. Draco also noticed the many muggles staring at them in surprise since they were both dressed peculiarly.
"We have to walk through the underside of the Eifel Tower. Its protected that way muggles can't enter." Draco then hooked his arm around Harry, and they continued to walk underneath the Eifel Tower. All of a sudden, buildings appeared out of nowhere. Harry could see the many wizards and witches walking around. The street had a sign that read 'La route de l'Amour'. Draco looked at Harry.
"The sign translates to 'The Road of Love.'" Draco winked, and the two continued their walk, arms linked together. They finally arrived to a small looking restaurant, which had 3 levels.
"This is 'Les Portes du Ciel, The Gates to Heaven.'" Draco said as they walked in.
"Noir , table pour deux." Draco said to the Hostess.
"Droit de cette façon , monsieur." The Hostess replied politely. She lead them up 3 flights of stairs, before finally arriving to the roof. Harry gasped again. The whole roof was decorated in fairy lights. And there was only one table in the middle. It was candle lit, and had rose petals surrounding it.
When they both walked over to the table, Draco held out Harry's seat for him. Harry thanked him, and they both sat across each other. The hostess handed them menus, and popped a bottle of Champagne. She silently poured them both a flute, and walked back downstairs.
"You didn't have to do all of this." Harry smiled.
Draco laughed slightly. "I wanted to, Harry. I wanted you 17th birthday to be spectacular."
"Yeah but why. You didn't have to blow up so much money on a date." Harry giggled.
"Because I love you." Draco said. Harry stopped giggling and looked to Draco.
"I love you too, Draco." Harry smiled. They both sat there in quietness before Draco broke the silence.
"Let's see what's to eat." They both opened up their menus. Harry frowned.
"Little problem Draco, I can't read French." Draco mouthed an 'oh yeah' then whipped out his wand, and changed the menu to English for him.
"Thanks." When Harry read the menu, he marveled at the lists of so much fancy food. They both skimmed through the menu, then Draco called the waitress over to take their orders. Draco ordered a platter of Fettuccine pasta, with white wine sauce, and a lobster tail on top. Harry ordered a medium cooked Filet Mignon, with red wine sauce, and Mediterranean style spinach.
"This really is amazing, Draco. The sky looks beautiful." Harry said as he tilted his head up and watched the stars. Draco watched them too.
"The stars are beautiful, but next to you, they look dull and void of light." Harry blushed furiously, and didn't say anything.
It was 20 minutes before their food arrived. Harry was amazed at how good everything tasted.
"This is the best thing I've ever tasted! Did you eat food like this at the mansion?" Harry asked.
Draco swallowed his bite. "The food I usually ate definitely wasn't this good. It was mainly prepared by elves. This restaurant though, has witch and wizard chefs. They incorporate magic in the food."
The two continued they're meal in relative quietness. When they finished dinner, the waitress took away their plates.
"Sera besoin d'un dessert menu ce soir?" The waitress asked. Although, only Draco knew what she was saying.
"Oui , lui et moi vais partager ." Draco then took, what looked like another menu, but Harry couldn't read it. Harry watched as Draco pointed to something on the menu, and the waitress nodded, and walked downstairs.
No more than 5 minutes later, the waitress brought down a weird looking piece of artwork. There was a circular piece of brownie the size of a baseball. On top of that was one scoop of vanilla gelato. Then a hollow dome-like piece of chocolate encased the dessert. The dome had little patterns piped onto it. Draco said his thanks, and explained the treat to Harry.
"Wow, it sounds good, let's try it." Right when Harry and Draco reached for their forks, they heard an explosion and screaming in the distance. The two shot up out of their chairs, and rushed to look where the noise was coming from. In the distance, they could see the dark outline of 15 people hovering in the air. Different colors of curses being shot out at the public from overhead. The most prominent one; a bright green flash of light. They looked at each in fear.
"Death Eaters." Draco gulped.