122 A Memorable Birthday

Godric's Hollow, July 31st

Opening the door to his room, Harry Potter smiled as he walked down the stairs. He'd had a great birthday so far. The fact that Professor Dumbledore had arrived during lunch to confirm that Peter had been spotted in continental Europe only made it better.

Walking into the living room, Harry sat down next to Sirius as the family waited for the Weasleys and Grangers to arrive.

"Hey Harry," Sirius greeted. "You finally finished studying?"

Harry nodded. Even though it was his birthday, that didn't mean he didn't want to practice. Professor Dumbledore had been kind enough to answer some questions when he stopped by for lunch, and Harry had done his best to pick his grandfather's brain. The man was considered the world's undisputed master of transfiguration, and he was willing to utilize every advantage he had to become the Durmstrang champion.

"I still don't understand why you actually want to do homework on your birthday," Nathan said in disbelief.

Grinning slightly, Harry replied, "Oh, I think you'll figure it out eventually."

"You didn't work on our little project did you?" Sirius whispered intently.

Shaking his head, Harry said, "No, just some transfiguration stuff, don't worry."

"So, Harry, Nathan, now that you're fourteen years old do you feel any different?" Remus asked. "Had any great leaps of magical power? Maybe the knowledge of Merlin dumped into your head?"

Nathan laughed. "Come on uncle Remus, everyone knows that happens when you turn sixteen."

Smiling, Lily said, "I still can't believe how grown up they are now. Pretty soon they'll be getting girlfriends."

"Funny that you should mention girlfriends, Lily." Sirius grin was reaching epic proportions as he looked at his wide eyed godson. "I was just about to ask Harry here why he didn't invite his girlfriend over for his birthday."

Burying his face in his hands, Harry mentally cursed Sirius. He had wondered why his godfather never said anything about Calypso after the match. At first he had hoped that Sirius had forgotten everything that happened, but, after Sirius mentioned Calypso during one of their animagus practices, Harry knew that wasn't true. Apparently, Sirius was just waiting for the best opportunity to embarrass him.

"Harry," Lily asked, somewhat hesitantly, "is that true? Do you really have a girlfriend?"

Sending a glare at his godfather, Harry could only nod his head.

"Who is she?" James asked, a bright smile crossing his face.

"I've been dating Calypso for a while," Harry said, not looking at all pleased.

"What's a while?" Remus asked curiously.

"Err, since just before Christmas I guess."

"Christmas!" Nathan exclaimed. "Why are you just now telling us?"

Harry shrugged.

"Oh come on Harry," Sirius laughed. "There's no reason for you to be embarrassed."

"So Harry takes after me then?" James pulled Lily closer to him and placed a kiss on her cheek. "He's dating the prettiest witch at his school?"

"Eh, she's a little cutie alright." Sirius smirked. "Dark hair, greyish eyes. Most definitely a pureblood or recent halfblood. She's got those high cheekbones that's so common in a lot of the old families."

"Wait," Lily said, "how did you find out about her Sirius?"

"I met her in France. She was in Krum's box along with Harry and another girl. Pity she doesn't speak English. I would have loved to tell her embarrassing stories about my godson."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Calypso speaks perfect English, Sirius."

"What?" Sirius said in confusion. "Then why–."

"I don't think you realize just how ridiculous you looked trying to convey what you were saying whenever you talked to her." Harry pointed out.

Sirius seemed to think back to meeting Calypso. He quickly recalled how the girl had taken Harry's hand after his godson was upset with the Veela allure. At the time, Sirius figured she was reading Harry's body language, now though... "Damn it!"

"Well she sounds like a great girl to me." James laughed. "You should have invited her over. We could have asked Albus to borrow Fawkes to deliver a Portkey."

"No, it's okay," Harry said, trying to sound casual. "I'll see her at the world cup final. Viktor is supposed to be sending us some tickets."

Before anyone could ask any other questions, a slight chime echoed in the house. A moment later there was a whoosh of displaced air and Ron and Hermione crashed into the living room floor.

"Oh there must be an easier way to travel!" Hermione said, clearly frustrated.

Barking out a laugh, Sirius said, "You know, if you don't like local Portkeys, never take an international one. They're much worse."

Hermione looked slightly embarrassed as she got up. "Happy birthday Nathan." Quickly rushing over, Hermione gave Nathan a hug before looking over at Harry. "Um, Happy Birthday to you as well, Harry. Thank you for having us over Mr and Mrs Potter."

"Yeah," Ron grunted, pulling himself up off the ground. "Thanks."

"Well, now that everyone's here, who's up for some food?" James asked.

Ron immediately nodded his head and everyone followed James into the kitchen where two identical cakes had fourteen candles spread out across the top.

"What are you going to wish for?" Remus asked the two boys.

"A new broom," Nathan said, giving his parents a hopeful look. "A Firebolt hopefully."

Shaking his head, Harry said, "If I tell you what I want, it won't come true."

Nathan laughed. "Do these things ever come true?"

"This one will," Harry said emphatically as he looked at the cake in front of him. Taking a deep breath, Harry blew out all the candles, silently wishing to become the Durmstrang champion. As he watched the smoke float away from the cake, he vowed to make his wish come true.

"Come on Harry, what did you wish for?" James prodded.

"I'm not going to say," Harry said stubbornly.

"Come on, why not?" Sirius asked before his eyes grew wide. "Oh! I get it. You were thinking about your girlfriend!"

"W-what?" Harry spluttered, momentarily stunned. "No, I wasn't thinking of Calypso. I swear."

"You have a girlfriend?" Ron asked, doing little to hide his surprise.

Glancing at Ron, Harry reached out with Legilimency. Disbelief and confusion were Ron's most prevalent emotions while Hermione seemed to be radiating curiosity. Breaking the connection, Harry said, "Calypso is one of the smartest witches at Durmstrang. She's top of her class in several subjects."

"Is she in advanced classes as well?" Hermione couldn't help but ask, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Of course," Harry said proudly. "She'll be entering her fifth year in Transfiguration and Charms this coming year."

A loud screech caused everyone to turn their heads sharply. Outside the nearest window, several owls were doing their best to stay in the air as they carried a large parcel. Waving his wand, Harry opened the window.

"You know," Hermione huffed, "It's not at all fair that you can do magic over the summer just because you go to Durmstrang."

"Hmm," Harry said, doing his best to keep a smile off his face. Flicking his wand, he casually levitated a piece of cake onto Hermione's plate, which only seemed to upset her more.

"And you shouldn't abuse the privilege! You should only use magic to study or–"

"That's a broom, it's got to be!" Ron exclaimed, cutting Hermione off. Harry turned around and saw several owls set a long rectangular object down on the nearest counter before they flew off. Nathan immediately jumped out of his seat and tore into the package, exposing the cherry colored Firebolt racing broom inside the box.

"Yes!" Nathan said happily, quickly pulling his parents into a hug. "I can't believe you got me a Firebolt!"

Before James could say anything, a much smaller owl swooped through the open window and dropped a card into Harry's lap. As Nathan continued to thank his parents, Harry opened the card.

Harry,

Happy birthday my friend! I do hope you survived your first experience with Firewhiskey. If you ask nicely, I'll even destroy most of the pictures I have of you stumbling around your tent.

Now, if you can't tell from the packaging, I've sent you a broomstick. Since I know you're probably busy learning spells and curses for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, I just thought I'd give you a project that is more fun than work. I was recently given a tour of the Firebolt company and they let me take one of their brooms, sans enchantments. I'm sure you're capable of casting the magic to make it work, and I thought it might be fun for you to work on your enchanting skills.

I've also attached a couple of books on Charms that I think you'll find useful, both for this project and the Tri-Wizard. I should be sending you some tickets to the final in the next couple of days. My training has already started to intensify for the final, and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to write back, but I hope you have a great birthday!

Your Friend,

Viktor

"Nathan!" James finally exclaimed. "Your mother and I didn't buy you a Firebolt."

"It's from Viktor," Harry announced, causing his brother to turn and look at him in shock. "He thought I might like trying to enchant a broomstick, so he sent me a Firebolt without any of the enchantments cast on it."

Nathan groaned and dropped his head in disappointment. "I don't believe it."

"What kind of idiot would buy a Firebolt and take off all the spells?" Ron demanded. "It's the most expensive broom in the world!"

Not at all bothering to hide his glare, Harry snapped, "My friend is not an idiot, and you'd probably be on your knees worshiping the ground he walked on if he was actually here."

"Please," Ron scoffed.

"You would, Ron," Nathan said, clearly disappointed. "Harry's friend is Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. Remember, I wrote to you earlier this summer and told you that Harry and Krum go to Durmstrang together."

"Y-you were serious?" Ron asked, looking completely bewildered. "Your brother actually knows Viktor Krum?"

"Oh what's the big deal?" Hermione asked. "He's just a Quidditch player, right?"

Ron looked at Hermione in disbelief. "Hermione, Viktor Krum is the greatest Quidditch player in the world! He always catches the snitch, and he's never lost an international match. I can't believe he's still in school."

As Ron and Hermione began debating the usefulness of Quidditch, Lily looked at the books Nathan had ignored inside the box. Flipping through the books, Lily nodded. "I recognize a few of these titles, they probably have all the spells you need to enchant the broom. It won't move like a Firebolt, but I'm sure you could get it to fly. Are you going to try to enchant it, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I've never tried enchanting something with that many spells, all of which have to interact with one another. It might be fun to try."

"If you manage it, let me know," James said. "I'll test the broom for you. The last thing I'd want is for you to be flying on the thing and it fails while you are up in the air."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good." Harry agreed. "I'll let you know when I've finished it. Viktor also said he'd be sending some tickets to the final in the next couple of days."

"Are you serious! He actually sends you tickets to his matches?" Ron's face quickly shifted from awe to envy in a split second.

"Not just tickets," Sirius interjected, "Krum gave Harry permission to use his private box for the semifinal match in Paris."

"You mean you were actually there when Krum pulled off that reverse bottleneck in the middle of a dive?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said, clearly reminiscing, "It was the best catch of the Snitch I've ever seen. The photos in the papers didn't do it justice."

"Yes, well," James interjected, "you can write Viktor and let him know tickets won't be necessary. Your mother and I were going to surprise you boys, but we've got tickets for the final already."

"Really?" Nathan asked, excited. "That's great!"

"My father told me we've got tickets as well," Ron said proudly.

"I'll let Viktor know I've already got tickets." Harry picked up his new broom and books before adding, "I'm going to go put the broom up in my room."

Leaving the kitchen, Harry made his way through the living room and up the stairs. As he passed a window, he couldn't help but notice an owl lazily flying in circles up in the sky. Ignoring the animal, Harry reached the top of the stairs and unlocked his door. Walking into his room, Harry made his way into his study before dropping the broomstick down on his desk.

With a very clear image in his mind, Harry did his best to conjure a comfortable straight back chair. With a soft THUD, the chair dropped to the ground and, after a careful inspection, Harry smiled. The chair didn't have any of the obvious faults his earlier attempts at conjuring had. Taking a seat, Harry grimaced slightly.

While the chair might appear physically fine, it was not as comfortable as he had intended. Still, it was progress. Harry prepared to cast a cushioning charm when there was a sharp tapping on his window. Glancing outside, he spotted the owl he saw earlier hovering outside.

Flicking his wand, Harry opened the window, allowing the bird to flutter inside. The owl immediately went to him, and set a parcel down on his desk. With a single look, Harry could tell that the item was a book. Figuring that the gift was probably from Calypso, he removed the card from the bird.

Harry,

Happy 14th birthday. Hope everything is going well for you.

Father still won't tell me the spells to make an earth elemental. He's virtually ignored me this summer, leaving me by myself as he vacations at our summer home in Crete. While I would have liked his help for some of the magic I've been practicing, his absence has given me a chance to go through our family's library unencumbered.

A few days ago, I found this book, and I thought it might interest you.

Happy Birthday

Calypso

Removing the wrapping, Harry looked curiously at the book Calypso had sent him. The book had a pasty color to its cover, and it looked to be somewhat old, but well cared for. Flipping a few pages into the book, a smile appeared on Harry's face; however, as he glanced at the chapter list, he had to clamp down hard on his emotions to remain calm.

As he stared at the harmless looking book, Harry knew why Calypso had chosen it, and a part of him was even thankful that she had sent it to him. It would be useful – that did not doubt – but if the wrong person found it...

"Harry!" Sirius called from downstairs. "We're about to run out of cake. What're you doing up there? Writing to your girlfriend?"

Using every mental trick he knew, Harry stood up and prepared to make his way downstairs as though nothing was wrong. With a final glance at the book on his desk, Harry walked out of his room and cast the most powerful series of locking charms he had ever attempted. Today was his birthday, and he really didn't want to explain to his parents why he was sent a book whose final chapter was on the theory of inferius creation.