Sixteen
'You are mental.'
'He's right.'
'Bleedin' mental.'
'Right.'
'You should be admitted to St Mungos.'
'Right again.'
'You can have yourself a bed next to Lockhart.'
'Well, that's going a little far.'
Harry looked up, glaring at Ron and Ginny. 'I was promised blind support'.
'That was before we knew you had lost your mind,' Ron snorted, reading through the WWW order form and checking the items inside the box he was packing. 'You're going to live with Draco Malfoy?'
Harry lowered his gaze. Maybe he had indeed lost his mind. The conversation with Sirius last night felt like a world away, like it was all a bad dream. It couldn't possibly be actually true, right? Part of him had the impulse to write to Sirius and ask him to confirm that the conversation had really happened.
Draco Malfoy had defected from Voldemort and was living under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix. And the two of them were going to live under the same roof. Together. It was difficult to fathom that information as real.
'Mate. Is this one of those times when you're secretly desperate for help, but you're too proud to say anything?'
'Hey,' he protested indignantly.
'Because you do that, you know.'
'I do not.'
'As much as it pains to me to say, again, Ron's right,' Ginny agreed. 'We can get you out of this. Mum can get you out of this.'
Still thinking Harry turned back to the Weasley Wizard Wheezes box he was packing, adding another handful of packing peanuts. He'd be lying if he didn't admit he had spent most of last night and all that morning debating the merits of his decision. At times he found himself wildly veering from one extreme to the next. From absolute determination that he was going to spend summer with Sirius no matter what, to looking for excuses to get out of his agreement.
Besides, it didn't make him a coward to not want to spend a whole month living with Draco Malfoy. It made him sensible. Rational, even.
'Do you need mum to pitch a fit?' Ginny suggested. 'She loves pitching a fit.'
'She does,' Ron agreed. 'Especially for you.'
'Dumbledore letting you stay a few days last summer? That was all mum's work. She'll do it again.'
'We'd all be happier with you here for the rest of the summer.'
'Yeah,' Ginny said pointedly. 'We'd all be happier with you around for the summer.'
'Gross,' Ron muttered.
'You want me to convince him or not?'
'It's...' Harry began, trailing off with a sigh. 'I'm not changing my mind.'
'But you can,' Ron added. 'You can change your mind. You don't even have to admit you're changing your mind, we'll cover for you.'
'The Order is too stretched,' he said for the second time. And though it made no difference to Ron and Ginny he continued to explain, mainly for his own benefit. 'There's only a small group they trust to keep an eye on me and Malfoy. It's better if we're both in the same place.'
'I'm sure there's plenty of people they trust.'
'Not according to Sirius. Not that I blame him either,' Harry muttered bitterly, thinking of Peter Pettigrew. 'It's like the first war...you never know who you can really trust.'
'It's only a month,' Ginny reasoned, trying to convince him. 'I'm sure the Order can work overtime for a month.'
Harry shook his head. He had already spent all night and all morning thinking about it before he finally told them what he had learned. 'No, you didn't overhear Bill and George talking the other night. They're stretched thin. People like George are exhausted. It's not safe. They shouldn't be working overtime like that. Not if they don't have to.'
That was it, the rationalisation he needed to accept his decision. The Order shouldn't be working over time unless it was critical...and in this case, it was not. He had no right to ask them to stretch themselves thin, to increase the risks they faced in protecting him. He needed to do the right thing by the Order, that's all there was to it.
Annoyed with his own decision he sloppily closed the cardboard flaps of the box and taped it shut. On the far side of the twin's bedroom Ginny was trying to organise all the packages that would need to be sent out, and he tossed the box into the growing pile.
Conversation fell quiet for a little while, but behind him Harry could feel Ron and Ginny looking at one another, both of them still absorbing the enormity of what they had learned, and Harry's decision to go to Grimmauld Place regardless. He glanced at them every now and then, instantly recognising that Ron was fit to burst. After a few minutes of Ron's cheeks turning redder and redder he gave in.
'Go on then. What?'
Ron looked relieved. 'You're going to spend the rest of your summer with Draco Malfoy? Actually living with him.'
'Yes.'
'You're going to spend the rest of your summer with Draco Malfoy, instead of here with us?'
'I'm not choosing him over you lot,' Harry said in annoyance. 'It's for the Order, and for Sirius! Sirius promised me we'd have summer together, and that we'd work on my mum and dad's house in Godric's Hollow. That's why I'm going, not because I don't want to be here with you lot.'
'But...but you'll be living with Draco Malfoy!' Ron emphasised as though this had not yet sunk in to Harry. 'The son of the Death Eater who tortured you.'
'Thanks for reminding me.'
'Draco Malfoy!'
'Stay here,' Ginny pleaded. 'Mum and Dad would prefer it anyway, and we can still go to Godric's Hollow - Mum says we're coming anyway to help clean.'
Harry grit his teeth. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate their words, nor the fact that he was so welcome there that the two of them and Mr and Mrs Weasley had both been clear that he could change his mind and stay. But they didn't understand. He'd had such little time with Sirius...they had lost each other when his parents died.
'You don't get it,' he muttered, trying to keep his voice understanding and patient rather than annoyed. 'Sirius nearly died at the Department of Mysteries. And...something's not right with him. He looked awful last night.'
Almost instantly he felt the tension settle, Ron and Ginny seeing what was really at the root of his determination. It wasn't entirely about the Order, nor about squaring off with Malfoy...it was about Sirius too.
'Alright,' Ginny muttered. 'We can live with that…but you're still mental.'
'Yeah,' Ron snorted. 'Basket case.'
It wasn't to be the end of the conversation, for although Ron and Ginny dropped the subject after a while they still had Hermione to tell, who would be joining them the following day to celebrate Harry's birthday. Before then Harry had to get through another sleepless night of laying awake staring at the ceiling. He had tried to employ Occlumency to fall asleep, but the specter of Malfoy looming over him was impossible to ignore.
It felt strange to think that Draco Malfoy was at Grimmauld Place right now...occupying space and living in one of the rooms Harry himself had helped renovate. Until now he had been perfectly content at the Burrow, knowing he would join Sirius on the first of August as agreed, and that had sat just fine with him. But now he was itching and impatient. He needed to see first hand for himself that it was true - that Draco Malfoy, son of the Death Eater who had torment him so deeply, had defected from Voldemort.
It felt like he had been not long asleep before Ron unceremoniously roused him by smacking him with a pillow, shouting loudly that he was finally sixteen. Demanding a lie in Harry turned over and faced the other way, needing to get at least another hour of rest if he was to once again face the prospect of spending a month in the company of Malfoy.
Roommates, he reminded himself. They weren't spending the summer together, they were sharing a house - a big house. There was enough room for the two of them. Their paths might cross at times, but rarely. Surely Malfoy didn't relish spending any time in Harry's presence. They would simply avoid one another.
Confident this would be the balance needed for the both of them to survive cohabitation Harry managed to fall back asleep, but it was only a short while before Hermione arrived and all four of them were crammed into Ron's tiny bedroom.
'Happy Birthday,' Hermione said warmly, hugging him tightly. 'I've missed you.' She turned to Ron, though the hug she gave him seemed a little more tentative and awkward. 'I've missed you too, Ron. All of you,' she insisted, whirling around to Ginny and hugging her next.
'We're glad you're here,' Ginny said pointedly. 'We need to tell you something.'
'Tell me what?' she queried, turning back to the rest of them. 'What?' she pressed. 'Oh no...not the Ghoul?'
'The ghoul's fine,' Ron said hurriedly, looking at Harry. 'Go on mate.'
Feeling bone tired all over again Harry sank back down onto his bed. 'Draco Malfoy did a runner.'
Not yet fully understanding Hermione let out a gasp of delight, startling Pig who had been sleeping soundly on his perch. He ruffled his feathers before putting his head back under his wing.
'I knew it!'
'Dragon Dung,' Ron argued. 'You didn't know shite.'
'I knew he'd do it,' she insisted. 'Harry was right to confront him at school - Draco wants no part of what his family are doing, we knew he didn't. This is good news,' she said brightly, looking around at them in confusion.
'Oh, the good news doesn't stop there,' Ginny said brightly. She trailed off and turned to Harry, but when it was clear he couldn't bring himself to say something so horrible out loud she jumped in for him. 'The other good news is that Malfoy's living at Grimmauld Place. With Sirius.'
'With Sirius?' she frowned, tilting her head in confusion. She looked around at each of them, realisation slowly dawning on her. 'But isn't...Harry? Aren't you...'
'Yep.'
Matching his tone Hermione sank down onto Ron's bed, and were it any other time it would have been amusing to see the way Ron's eyes bulged at the sight of her sitting on his bed. He reddened, awkwardly crossing his arms before scratching the back of his head and trying to remain casual.
'Draco Malfoy is living at Grimmauld Place, with Sirius. And with you?'
'That's the sum of it.'
'Oh,' Hermione murmured, exchanging a glance with Ginny. 'And you're okay with this?'
This Harry couldn't bring himself to answer. His silence spoke volumes, and Hermione politely pursed her lips and said nothing else. An awkward silence settled over the attic bedroom, made worse by Ron's awkward body language from having his crush sitting on his bed. Hermione was oblivious though, and her wide eyes were flicking between each of them, anxiously but politely waiting for someone to fill her in on all the details.
'Let's go fishing,' Harry decided, lurching to his feet.
'Fishing?' Hermione questioned. 'It's after dawn. Won't all the fish be gone?'
Not really caring about the fish he insisted they get a move on, Harry dressing while Ron hurriedly collected their gear from the shed and Hermione and Ginny packaged a picnic basket with the bacon and egg sandwiches Mrs Weasley had been keeping warm for when Harry finally awoke.
'Only to the stream,' Mrs Weasley reminded them as she saw them off. 'No further, you hear?' She caught Harry before he could get too far, stopping him to press a kiss to his cheek. 'Happy birthday dear.'
'Thanks Mrs Weasley,' he said hurriedly, lacking the time to fully appreciate the gesture, but she didn't seem to mind.
It wasn't until they were out of ear shot from the Burrow that they began filling Hermione in on all the details, catching her up on everything that Harry had learned from the Order two nights ago. With the freedom of space and privacy they could speak freely, and as they settled down at the running stream not too far from the Burrow Hermione listened in captivation. Her mouth was gaping as she looked back and forth between the three of them who were jumping in and adding to the story.
'Murder Professor Dumbledore?' she said in utter astonishment. Barely paying attention she dropped the worm she was supposed to be hooking, not noticing the way it squirmed around on her leg. 'They wanted him to murder someone?'
'I know, right?' Ron snorted unsympathetically. 'Do they even know Malfoy?'
'This is terrible,' she murmured, her shoulders deflating. 'Poor Draco...'
'Poor Draco?' Harry exclaimed, still touchy about the subject. 'Don't start on that rubbish. It's his nut bag family that got him into this.'
Ginny cleared her throat and leaned to Hermione. 'The current stance you're expected to take is anti-Malfoy.'
'Well, I do seem to recall a different sentiment last term,' Hermione reminded him. 'You were worried about him.'
'That was before I knew he was planning to murder Dumbledore! Merlin knows what else he's not admitting to!'
'Circumstances do suggest it wasn't exactly Draco's plan to follow through on that.'
'Sirius must be mental letting you come to Grimmauld Place,' Ron piped up supportively. 'If he's so worried about Malfoy's safety the two of you should be at opposite ends of the country.'
'Well, he probably wasn't expecting it t-'
'Hey-' Harry said quickly. 'We're not defending Sirius either. He is mental.'
'Oh,' she murmured, glancing at the others. 'I see.'
Ron shook his head, reeling in his line. 'I give it a day before someone's bleeding, and a week before someone's dead.'
'Unfortunately, I must agree,' Hermione nodded. 'The two of you in such close proximity? I don't think that's a good idea. You do remember he once attacked you in the boys bathroom?'
'Two on one,' Ron added. 'Never misses an opportunity to have a crack at you.'
'He's half the reason the DA got caught.'
'And you know what he calls Hermione. I'm not saying it, but you know what he calls her.'
'We could go on and on about how horrible he is,' Hermione said reasonably. 'Harry, you know all this and you're really going to spend the rest of the summer living with him?'
Their reminders were unappreciated, particularly from Ron and Ginny who had already agreed to let it go. 'Yes, I am,' he said shortly. 'And nothing's changing my mind, alright?'
Hermione made a strange noise under her breath, raising her eyebrows. Turning her attention elsewhere she studied the bucket of squirming worms before very gently selecting one and bringing it up to her hook. With great care she draped the worm over the bend of the hook, sighing when it slipped straight off. 'Harry, by any chance are you insisting on this because you feel uncomfortable about Sirius? Maybe a little…territorial?'
Having been watching her efforts with the worm Harry's eyes shot up. 'What?'
'Territorial over Sirius,' she clarified, picking up the worm and trying again, this time trying to wind it around the hook. 'Are you uncomfortable with the idea that part of his attention and concern will be on Draco Malfoy and not on you?'
'What?' he said again, feeling his cheeks flush. 'How'd you come up with that rubbish?' He looked around for support, noticing Ginny quickly averting her eyes.
'Just wondering,' Hermione said lightly, but the look she gave him suggested otherwise. 'It must be strange after all. Since the Tournament you've largely had Sirius to yourself. Now he's free to go about the world as he pleases. He's working with the Order and the Ministry, and now he's helping Dra-'
'I am not territorial over Sirius.' He glared at the lot of them. 'You lot are my best friends, you're supposed to be on my side.'
'Even if you're being unreasonable?'
He shifted a little, looking away. 'Yes.'
There was a murmur of agreement - they all knew how this kind of thing worked.
'So you're going then?' asked Hermione. 'Back to Grimmauld Place?'
'Of course I'm going,' he repeated. 'It's my home, and Sirius promised we'd have the summer together.'
'I do feel kind of bad for Malfoy,' Ginny commented, sighing when she saw the look Harry gave her. 'I'm sorry, but I do. None of us like Aunty Muriel, but at least she's not Bellatrix Lestrange. Not that I am at all defending him,' she said loudly, before quietly adding, 'But for the record you're the one who insisted the Order help him and that's all I'll say, I'm shutting up now.'
'It must have been really terrible,' Hermione added.
'Don't start, alright? Can we just...' he trailed off with an exasperated sigh. 'Can we just fish?'
The four of them became silent, the rest of the conversation lingering between them unspoken. As things became more uncomfortable they sat in the warm sun listening to the sound of the running stream, but while he kept his expression neutral Harry was seething on the inside. He had hoped for unbridled support and the unanimous agreement that Sirius was being completely unreasonable with his support for Malfoy. And Hermione's comments weren't helping either, the suggestion that he was territorial over him was stupid. She wasn't wrong that it was strange these days, the new reality that Sirius was no longer cooped up at Grimmauld Place...ready and able to see to Harry's every whim and need...
'Hermione, what are you doing with that worm?' Ginny finally asked, unable to watch her struggle any longer.
'I don't know, I've never fished before.'
'Stop faffing about and just stick a hook through it!'
'Oh,' she realised, faltering a moment before putting it all down. 'No, thank you. I'm confident that my skills lie in the area of holding a pole, not hooking worms.'
'Really?' Ron snickered. 'Holding a pole?'
'Yes, I think I'll be excellent at that.'
Glad the awkward pause was broken Harry couldn't help but speak up. 'Careful...don't hold it too tight.'
'Why's that?'
Ron pressed his lips together, glancing at Harry before answering. 'Some poles enjoy a lighter touch.'
'They're being dirty,' Ginny rolled her eyes. 'Just ignore them both.'
'Oh,' she said in exasperation, looking at Ron and then shoving the fishing pole back at him. 'Well in that case you can hold yours and I'll hold my own.'
At this Ron could not contain himself, and with an undignified snort he dissolved into laughter, and Harry barely managed to contain himself either. It made for a much welcome distraction, and he laughed even harder when Ginny slung a handful of worms at Ron who leapt to his feet and started dancing around trying to dislodge them from the waistband of his shorts.
It was a good thing that the conversation lapsed, and for the first time since Hermione's arrival the four of them began to relax. The news of Draco Malfoy's defecting had been shared, and though there was certainly more on the subject to be explored for now it seemed to quell interest.
Settling in the four of them cast their fishing lines into the stream, and Harry tried not to make it obvious he could see what Ron was doing with Hermione, noting his patience and effort in teaching her how to cast out and reel in, hooking every worm she needed without complaint. Ron's tentative question about whether or not Hermione might be interested in him as more than a friend was not forgotten by either of them, though Ginny had been rather noncommittal when he'd subtly asked her opinion on the subject a few days ago.
The only fish they caught (Hermione's beginner's luck) was promptly unhooked and tossed back into the stream, and when they became bored of fishing they moved into the water, luxuriating in the shallow but cool running water.
'Ahhh, much better than being at the bottom of the Black lake,' Ron sighed happily, tilting his head back to face the sun.
'We don't remember being at the bottom of the lake. We were unconscious before we even got close.'
'I can use my imagination, can't I?'
'It is better than the bottom of the lake,' Harry agreed, speaking up mainly to head off the bickering that occasionally started after an innocuous comment from one of them.
With the packed breakfast from Mrs Weasley they were in no hurry at all to return to the Burrow, and taking their time they eventually got out of the water and lazily laid out on the bank of the stream, letting the sun dry them as they ate and drank icy cold pumpkin juice.
In the comfortable silence Harry's mind wandered back to Malfoy, for as determined as he was that he would spend summer at Grimmauld Place as promised, part of him was dreading tomorrow. Despite assurances that nothing had changed a month at Grimmauld Place with Sirius was not going to be what he had hoped. And, with great reluctance he admitted only to himself that perhaps there was a small amount of truth to what Hermione said. He was not used to sharing Sirius with anyone, let alone an enemy.
'I want to know what Malfoy's done,' he said suddenly.
His comment came completely out of the blue, for the subject of Malfoy had not arisen in hours. Ron and Hermione looked at him perplexed, while beside him Ginny propped herself up on her elbows, peering up at him. 'Huh?'
'His mother pulled him out of Hogwarts early. He was with her and Bellatrix Lestrange for weeks, and Merlin only knows who else,' he added vehemently. 'They must have been training him.'
'Training him for what?'
'You know! Death Eater stuff,' he said lamely. 'Killing Dumbledore. I want to know what he was doing all that time with them.'
Blackmail. Torture. Kidnapping...
'Well I think he's brave,' Hermione said diplomatically. 'I'm sorry, I know it's your birthday and we're supposed to be on your side, but it sounds like Draco's trying to do the right thing. You told him to go to the Order for help, and he did. He left behind everything, his entire family. I think that's brave.'
For a moment Harry was quiet, feeling the watchful eyes of his friends who were surely still exasperated with him. But unlike before he felt a sense of cool clarity coming over him, and the root source of his discomfort started to reveal itself.
'Unless he didn't.'
'Pardon?'
'What if he didn't? Leave, that is,' he explained. 'What if it's all exactly what Voldemort wanted? He doesn't trust Snape anymore, he's lost his spy at Hogwarts...until now.'
'Harry, that sounds crazy.'
Increasingly certain of himself Harry looked around at her in astonishment. 'Really? Barty Crouch Junior impersonated Mad-Eye for months, just so Voldemort could get me into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He spent a year teaching classes and marking homework, all to make sure I got to the Cup first - all to guarantee I disappeared properly with no one linking it to Voldemort's return! That was crazy,' he insisted. 'But this...replacing his spy with Malfoy makes perfect sense.'
'Bloody hell,' Ron muttered, looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione. 'That does make sense.'
'You don't have any evidence to support this theory,' Hermione stated.
'Sirius went to get Malfoy himself. Sirius,' he emphasised, increasingly convinced. 'They played right into his hands! A teenage boy who wants to run away from Death Eaters? That was Sirius! He ran away at Malfoy's age because he didn't want to be a Death Eater.'
Ginny gave a small exclamation, swiftly sitting up. 'His brother. You know how weird he is about his brother.'
'Yes!' Harry agreed, thankful for her support. 'Sirius probably blames himself for not helping his brother more, so of course he's going to help Malfoy! He brought him right into Headquarters.'
Hermione wasn't having it. 'There's just one problem with this theory.'
'What's that?'
'Evidence.'
'I don't need evidence.'
'In the real world you do.'
'When have I ever been wrong about what Malfoy's up to?' he challenged, continuing when no contradiction was made. 'I'm telling you. Malfoy is Voldemort's newest spy.'
Though Ron and Ginny seemed mostly in agreement he could practically feel Hermione rolling her eyes at him, though she continued to maintain the position of diplomacy.
And now the prospect of going to Grimmauld Place no longer filled him with dread but rather a sense of urgency. His suspicions were valid and rationale, he kept telling himself that over and over again, though he knew that when it came to Sirius he shouldn't be as blunt and bullish as he was with his friends. Not if Sirius was determined to help Malfoy. Not if he was motivated by guilt.
It was another hour before they packed up and made a return to the Burrow, sun kissed and content with their venture out, but Harry's mind was still full. While Ron and Hermione walked ahead he tried to push the specter of Malfoy and Voldemort out of his mind, taking Ginny's hand as they walked and making a point of sharing a kiss, and then another too.
He got the feeling that Ginny understood where he was coming from, his determination to question things, to be mistrustful. She was like that too as she had once told him. A small part of her would always be on alert, watchful and hyper vigilant, waiting for a signal that someone or something wasn't really what it seemed to be.
They neared the Burrow soon enough, and it was then Hermione turned back and spoke to him over her shoulder.
'Harry, whatever you do at Grimmauld Place, just remember one thing. There's no Quidditch in Azkaban.'
The heat did not dissipate when evening began to fall, but not minding at all Harry was glad that they had elected to eat outside that evening. The Weasley's kitchen table wasn't big enough for the extra people who had come to celebrate Harry's birthday, and so they had eaten outside in the garden. The flimsy tables taken from Mr Weasley's shed were straining under the weight of food and drink, with Harry certain one table was only upright thanks to Hagrid's knees propping it up from below.
After dinner there was a comfortable lull as most people sat back and relaxed, and Harry suspected that Mrs Weasley was inside putting the finishing touches on a birthday cake. He'd not seen it nor had one been mentioned, but he'd been suspiciously banned from the kitchen all afternoon, and he'd overheard heated debate over the merits of buttercream versus fondant.
Since going to Hogwarts his birthday had been remembered and celebrated. He'd even received gifts and cakes before, his first cake most notably from Hagrid the stormy night he learned he was a wizard. But this was the first time his birthday had been made an occasion - certainly the Dursleys had never even considered making a fuss the way the Weasleys did.
Presents had been sitting on the kitchen table all day (he elected to wait until everyone was there that evening), Hermione had come to spend the day and overnight, and more had joined for dinner. Sirius and Professor Lupin had come of course, as had Tonks and Mad-Eye though they only stayed for a quick drink, and Hagrid arrived bearing an enormous bunch of balloons that twinkled magically around the garden, rearranging themselves and shifting colour at random.
'Harry,' Lupin began, coming around to Harry's side of the table. 'I apologise, but I have to take my leave now.'
'Oh, o-'
'Before cake?' Ron interrupted, sounding horrified by the very thought.
'I'm afraid so.'
Harry got to his feet, he and Lupin moving away from the table.
'I'm sorry that I can't stay.'
'It's okay,' he said understandingly. 'Thanks for coming Professor.'
Lupin smiled wearily, closing his eyes as if calling for patience. 'This again?' he chuckled. 'Once more, I am no longer your teacher. Lupin or Remus will suffice.'
'I can hope, can't I? You came back to Hogwarts once.'
'Temporarily. I don't hold your hope against you, particularly given next year's prospect.'
Harry quickly changed the subject, not wanting to spare Snape a single thought. 'I'll see you tomorrow, right? At Grimmauld Place.'
'I'll be around as much as I can,' he added, giving Harry a knowing look. 'Although I do hold out hope that your presence might bring about certain change among the household.'
He tried to keep his expression neutral. 'What kind of change?'
'Change for Draco. Understandably it's been a difficult time for him. He doesn't yet have many true allies among the Order...or dare I say any friends.'
'I think you need your head seen to.'
Lupin seemed unperturbed, and he seemed to have anticipated Harry's resistance. 'I can hope, can't it?' he countered, smiling. 'Your presence might be able to encourage Draco to come out of his room for a little while. Perhaps even to share a meal with us. For the foreseeable future we are in fact his only network of support.'
Well intentioned as always Lupin had underestimated not only Harry's intense dislike for Malfoy, but his absolute resentment for the living arrangement that had been forced on him. What's more, any inkling of sympathy Harry might have felt began to falter. Being alone as Malfoy was right now sucked, Harry knew too well how lonely and isolating it felt to be somewhere he didn't want to be - but he had to suffer through that every summer.
'Once he's back at Hogwarts Malfoy doesn't need us,' he argued. 'He doesn't need the Order's protection. All he's doing now is what I've had to do every summer at the Dursleys. Grit his teeth and wait it out.'
'Yes,' Lupin agreed. 'But in retuning to the Dursleys you don't have to permanently leave your friends and family as Draco has done. He may find he has few friends left at Hogwarts. And I know that despite your understandable feelings of animosity, you have great compassion within you.'
Harry swiftly changed the subject, ignoring the truth of that statement. 'So you're not going anywhere? You'll be with us for the summer?'
Not pushing the subject any longer Lupin nodded. 'I will depart tomorrow night for the Full Moon, but otherwise yes, I will be spending most of the summer at Grimmauld Place.'
'Can't you stay at Grimmauld Place during Full Moon? Sirius could keep you company.'
'It's safer that I depart for the night, even with Wolfsbane.'
'You're not leaving because of Malfoy, are you? Because if he's got something to say about you I've got something to say back.'
'Much the same sentiment that your father used to have,' Lupin smiled fondly. 'He was always quite prompt in correcting those who misspoke about my condition.'
'I mean it,' Harry insisted. 'You don't have to go because of Malfoy.'
'That's not the case at all. I am far more content knowing that I've done everything possible to ensure the safety of others.'
At this Harry forced himself to hold his tongue. If Lupin was more comfortable elsewhere that was none of his business to intrude on, but part of him wondered if there was any untruth to what had just been said. He knew from previous eavesdropping that Lupin had been spending a great deal of time with feral Werewolves like Fenrir Greyback, trying to get many of them to come over to the Order before they were further corrupted by Voldemort and Death Eaters. But the intentional murder of a little boy last month seemed to suggest there hadn't been much success.
'But you're sticking around?'
Lupin nodded, perhaps suspecting what Harry worried about. 'For now my place is here, helping the Order. We can't spare a single person right now.'
'Good,' Harry nodded, relieved to hear it. 'It was nice having you around over Easter.'
'I enjoyed my visit then. Harry Birthday, Harry.'
'Thanks for coming Prof-' he quickly stopped himself, catching Lupin's amused expression. 'Thanks for coming, Lupin.'
To his surprise Lupin embraced him. It was only quick, a one armed hug followed by a friendly grasp of the shoulder. But though it was unexpected it was not unwelcome. It was a simple embrace that spoke volumes, for in that instant Harry felt a glimpse of what might have been had Voldemort never targeted him. That he would have been raised by Lily and James, that his sixteenth birthday would have been in Godric's Hollow with his mum making his birthday cake. That he would have grown up with Sirius as his godfather, and that Lupin probably would have been more akin to an uncle rather than someone he accidentally called Professor.
As this realisation swept over him he was a little relieved when Lupin promptly departed, giving him a moment to quickly gather his thoughts and put them aside before returning to the table. There was no point in dwelling on that kind of thing. Time would never be reversed. He would never know his parents, he would never know the life he could have had - he had his lot and could only make the best of it. And a few minutes later when a cake with burning candles levitated towards the table and a chorus of Happy Birthday broke out, Harry knew that the life he led was far greater than anything ten year old him could have imagined while laying in the cupboard under the stairs at Privet Drive - Voldemort and the prophecy notwithstanding.
The cake Mrs Weasley had labored over was shaped like a broomstick, while decorated balls of fondant made up a snitch, quaffle and two bludgers, and red and white buttercream made a crest with G for Gryffindor.
'Not so fast,' Mr Weasley interrupted, stopping Harry as he reached for the knife to begin cutting the cake. 'We'll have some pictures first.'
'Err,' Harry muttered, a little embarrassed. 'You don't have to-'
Mr Weasley was insistent. 'We're taking pictures. Sirius?' he called, looking around. 'Sirius go on, get in there too.'
Jovially putting his arm around Harry's shoulder Sirius playfully ruffled his hair (which made little difference to its presentation), and it was then Harry could sense that although his godfather seemed to be in better health today he had passed the stage of pleasantly sloshed. His eyes were glassy, his smile a little too forced. Was it one drink too many, or had the same thought which occurred to Harry only a short while ago occurred to Sirius too? That in a parallel universe they would be celebrating this occasion with Harry's parents.
'Harry, love,' Mrs Weasley called, waving to get his attention. 'Look over here please - that's better!'
Doing as he was told Harry looked at the camera and smiled, inwardly very touched that his birthday had been made such a fuss of. Nevertheless he was relieved when the attention began to settle, when he was allowed to take up the knife and start cutting the cake. Ron and Ginny made their preferred pieces of cake no secret, and he quickly served them each a slice while Mrs Weasley rolled her eyes, protesting that Harry was meant to eat first.
'Harry knows what's good for him,' Ginny winked as she accepted the piece he had cut for her.
'Yes, that is a life lesson worth learning young,' Mr Weasley mused, looking at Harry sympathetically. 'If your witch wants cake, give it to her.'
Everyone laughed, the light and jovial atmosphere lingering as everyone settled in and ate. But though he was greatly enjoying himself in the back of Harry's mind lingered the reality that wouldn't wait. That tomorrow he would have to face sharing a home with Draco Malfoy. That Voldemort still wanted him dead, or worse. That Sirius had quickly downed his drink and promptly poured himself another.
'Sixteen, sweet Merlin,' Hagrid ruminated fondly, tucking into a second piece of cake. 'And t' think I used to be able to hold yeh in one hand.'