Birthday Celebrations

That morning it was grey and raining. The adrenalin of the previous few days had drained. The partners were pensive as were the others. However all of them looked better and there were fewer pale faces and bags under their eyes. Moods and weather matched perfectly.

“Well, my students, we have work to do.” This from Severus, elicited groans from the others. “Perhaps Hermione could show us her weather shield charm, and then the Brothers could augment it to cover the practice area. Mmm?”

Mention of brothers drew a slight giggle from Ron and Hermione.

Draco looked peeved, then thoughtful. “You know, Harry, I suppose we are. Not biologically I grant you, but magically and in the way we haunt each other’s minds. I rather like the idea of your being my brother, Harry.”

“Yes Brother, so do I. It has a good feeling about it. We are only a few months apart in our ages too.”

“Ooh I nearly forgot. Mum’s expecting you to have your birthday party at the Burrow. I’ll have to tell her to make space for some more friends.”

“Harry, you go! I’m not sure I’d be at all welcome by many of your friends.”

“Draco, if they can’t learn to like you, at least as much as Ron and Hermione do. Then I’m not sure I want them as friends.”

“Spoken like a true Gryffindor, mate. Straight from the heart. However, my Slytherin side says it’s going to be doubly difficult. I think an introduction like: ‘This is my gay Death Eater soul mate, and you’ve got to like him;’ would go down like a lead balloon.”

“I see Slytherins have a flair for the dramatic too,” Hermione put in, smiling.

“Err … Perhaps I could floo my mum and let her know. Err … Slightly misquote the Pensieve. Like; we were told by Dumbledore that Harry will fail in his quest, unless Draco becomes his partner. They’d have to share a bed anyway, so no extra revelations need to be made.”

“Why’s that Ron?”

“Because all the family will be there and we’ll be crowded, and there’s limited space at the Burrow.”

H: ‘Draco; don’t you dare make snide references to your manor house.’

D: “Well thought out Ron, I’ll make a Slytherin of you yet. Why not suggest we take the tent along to ease the overcrowding. You could come too, Uncle. I bet McGonagall will have told the rest of the Order about the contents of the Pensieve and cleared your name.”

H: “Yes Uncle, that’d be great.”

“Thank you for asking me boys. I’m not sure I would be good company. I’m missing Albus greatly, you four being here has kept me out of the worst of it. Too much hilarity would bring out my severe side. I can deal with small groups of people, like you. But give me many more and I’ll turn waspish, as you all know. I’ll wish you all well, but not come with you I think.”

“Oh Uncle! You could take some books and use the tent’s sitting room. If you wanted to talk to someone we could always bring them to you.”

“That’s very kind, Harry. However my memories of Albus are here; and I need to come to terms with them here. I’m glad you came when you did. Draco helped a lot that first day. Then I had you all to worry about, that filled the hole too. In a way you’re taking on the role that Albus had, and some of his private life here has rubbed off on you. I know you were special to him Harry and that helps too. My other side was drawn to Draco; having the two of you so close is another thing that Albus really wanted. I would like to think, that when all this is over, Harry and Draco would share the cottage here with me. Using it as a safe haven for rest and regeneration; then Hermione and Ron would be most welcome too. While you’re away I shall set too and clear the other guest room, I’ve already started on his room. Albus collected all kinds of junk, and we used to bicker about its efficacy. With four of you coming to stay occasionally, it gives me a good excuse to remove the mess with a clear conscience. Some things I will wish to keep and there’s an attic for them. It’ll be good to clear out the things that have niggled me about my Great etc Grandfather; then I can keep all the good feelings intact. Do you intend to go after another Horcrux before then Brothers?”

“There’re eight days before my birthday, Uncle. Say two more here for recuperation. Two days at the Manor to get the cup and deal with it. A couple more days to get better again, that gives us two spare ones. Once my party’s over, we’ll have the whole of August to try to obtain the others. We could be in school a week or so before term starts and still have another week to spare in case of emergencies.”

“Harry! I’m proud of you.” Hermione’s face beamed. “Nice to have you thinking things through and planning.”

“Oh! Thanks. Um … It’s Draco really, he was working it out and I was saying it. I could feel my brother egging me on, I’m still getting used to it.” Harry gave Draco a little side hug.

“Uncle! You must say something if we’re getting too much for you, we can always go and be rowdy in the tent you know.”

“Thank you Draco. Thoughts about someone else’s feelings from you?”

Draco giggled. “It was Harry prompting me. Harry’s heart and Malfoy’s mind, we’ll be invincible.”

“If Potter’s pothering and Draco’s dithering don’t get us in to trouble first, Brother.”

The mood, by the end of breakfast had considerably lightened; as the company set about creating a waterproof shield and practicing the various charms and countercharms that Severus thought they ought to learn. At one time Draco was over two hundred yards from Harry, but they found they were still exchanging thoughts.

D: I can still hear you inside me, but you should be too far away!

H: Maybe we get better as we practice.

D: I know what it is. Remember that passage about carrying seed?

H: ‘Yes; but what’s that got to do with it? ‘

D: ‘Did you swallow my emissions last night, I gulped yours down.’

H: ‘Oh that kind of seed. Well, well. I’m going to like that kind of preparation.

D: ‘Me too Love. I wonder if it wears off after we’ve been to the lavatory.’

H: ‘Probably! I thought that idea was in the hetero section?’

D: ‘Perhaps they only thought of the girl, we are rather special amongst a few unusual people.’

H: ‘I know you’re special Love, but I see what you mean.’

They had borrowed Uncle’s lectern, so that they could keep the books off the damp ground. Hermione, as always, was reading from them and the three young men were trying the charms, Hexes and Wards.

“Twins, there’s a charm here specially for you. It’s headed Duumviri Protectorium. If one of you is casting and being attacked, then the other can cause the first one to issue a secondary charm which reflects the hex back at its perpetrator.”

“Hermione love; I’m totally lost and the duo are looking baffled.”

“Oh really Ron, it’s so simple. OK! Ron this is not for real, understand? If Draco is holding an Immobulus on me and you attack him using Stupefy; Harry from a little distance away could Redero you via Draco. That means your Stupefy would rebound on you, see?”

“Couldn’t Harry just hex me straight?”

“No Love; because your Stupefy would still hit Draco. It’s a shielding charm with a sting in its tail.”

“Would it work if Draco were looking the other way, but not holding a hex?”

“I don’t think so Harry. It states that the ‘vir duum’ is casting. Draco, come and look at it please, see if I’m reading it correctly.”

Draco went to the lectern and indulged in a quiet discussion with Hermione, as they both translated the words.

“I agree with Hermione, it does look as though the defended one has to be using magic. Hermione; look at this reference and this one, it looks as though a married couple can use the charm as well.”

“You’re being very decorous Draco. The real reference means sexually united.”

“Yes it does, and yet it includes Duumviri too.”

“Hey guys! Say I was duelling you-know-who, and Draco was nearby under the cloak of invisibility, and a Death Eater attacked me. Draco could defend me without revealing himself. That would be really useful.”

“We ought to practice it, but we need some fairly harmless personal spells, I don’t want to hurt any of you.”

“Well there’s Mufilato that just makes us deaf temporarily. That tickling hex isn’t too bad. Uncle used it when my brother and I were practicing shield making.”

“The dancing one’s not too bad either, and Mobilicorpus only lifts you in the air.”

They tried various experiments, using the tickling hex and the lifting charm. Draco and Harry became quite adept at shielding their partner. In fact the quartet’s hilarity about the practice got out of hand.

Draco aimed a Tarantallagra at Hermione and Ron’s Redero pushed it back at Draco. Once Draco had stopped dancing he looked meaningfully at Ron and Hermione.

“So you have, then?” Draco asked, with a wicked smirk.

Hermione and Ron went extremely red.

“There are safe times you know, I’m in one now. We got carried away by your obvious noisy enjoyment.”

H: ‘That’s the first time I’ve seen Hermione really look bashful.’

D: ‘So that’s why Ron went all peculiar yesterday, when I pulled his leg.’

H: ‘Let’s not embarrass them, please.’

D: ‘We haven’t a righteous leg to stand on, anyway.’

H: “It’s all right. We won’t tell Uncle. Let us know if you tell anyone else.”

D: “It’s a good thing I’m a reformed Slytherin, such slips would make excellent blackmail subjects.”

The duo went over and hugged the other two to show everything was all right. Then it was lunch time.

“Uncle?”

“Yes Draco?”

“Is there any way we can duplicate some of the indigo curses without spilling blood?”

“I’m not sure you should be practicing the old magic. It’s forbidden you know.”

“Yes I do. I was just thinking that they’re the ones which will cause us most harm, and the ones that we ought to have some counter charms for.”

“I understand. However making those kinds of curses harms your soul and I’ll not be party to something like that. Why don’t you borrow that book we were looking at? The one that describes the colours, it also describes what the curse does and how. You will remember I wrote some of the things we had found out on the final parchments. As far as I know that is the most up-to-date tome on this side of the light. It goes a long way back too; our enemy will probably have used some of the older ones. Please do treat it carefully, it is totally unique.”

“Thank you Uncle, we’ll look after it carefully.”

Hermione went to collect the tome and came back with it in Mobilliarbus. “It’s really heavy Guys; some of the pages are over two thousand years old.”

Draco helped Hermione set the tome on the lectern; then their two heads became immersed in the old script, discussing meanings, and translating for Harry and Ron. A number of times, one of the readers would copy a word or phrase and have to go and ask Uncle about the meaning.

Harry remembered the potions chart, so he and Ron drew an equivalent one for the curses and wards. In the end the quartet decided it was easier to work in the Den, so they cleared away the other books and removed the dry weather shield from the practice area. Tea was drunk while they had their heads down, totally absorbed and oblivious to time. Eventually Chetrum became quite firm with them about breaking to eat dinner.

The four students were keen to follow their muse that night. Eschewing all possible entertainment, they went back to the den to pore over the tome. Sempra and Dobby were ignored when they came to remind the duo. It took Severus to call a halt to the proceedings, not in his sarcastic way, as at school, but by giving the duo two rings.

“I’d like to give you these two rings. Albus and I bought them as they were supposed to give Duumviri extra transfer powers. We were told they would act like the clasped palms do, but you can stand further apart. We never got them to work; the wording of the charm is a little prosaic. It mentions essence of love, but we were unable to find any other reference of how that essence was to be made. You know my knowledge of potions, so after much researching, I was quite annoyed with myself in not uncovering the truth. Perhaps some younger brains might come up with a solution.”

“May I look over your shoulder Draco?”

“Of course, Hermione.”

More erudite discussion took place, especially about the essence of love references.

“Hermione, I think I have a solution. Look at the references about wands and poles. Perhaps Albus and Severus were too prudish to even think those kinds of thoughts.”

“Oh yes! Well now; it’s definitely a Duumviri thing, you couldn’t do that to a female, if that’s what that phrase means.”

“There's another reference to twenty one strokes look.”

“That’s what Uncle had you doing to Harry isn’t it?”

“Yes; to get the cold out of him. Well it could be that reference, but it’s still obscure.”

“You two will have to try it out as an experiment, won’t you?”

Ron and Harry were gagging with curiosity, but their partners put them off; saying they would tell them once they were in privacy of their rooms.

Sempra and Dobby were slightly miffed when the duo decided to shower and go straight to bed. So the pair promised to have a proper bath and massage the following night. Once in bed Draco had Harry explore his ring to see if there was a hidden compartment. He couldn’t find one to begin with; then Draco found a word he didn’t understand in the book, as he told Harry what is was both rings popped open. Draco had the I-should-have-known look, so Harry giggled. They decided to thoroughly wash out the rings’ insides before continuing the experiment.

Back on the bed Harry agreed to be the first victim. Twenty-one strokes and Draco transferred Harry’s essence into Draco’s Ring by using the necessary magic words. The process was repeated and twenty-one strokes later Harry’s ring encapsulated Draco’s essence. The pair kissed, agreed to go outside, and donning their bathrobes, went to the rubbish recycling area. After touching the rings together the duo easily managed to raise six of the bins without clasping palms. Satisfied they scampered back to bed to continue lovemaking and then some companionable sleep.

§§§§§

In the morning, whilst the duo showered, Dobby and Sempra laid out their clean clothes. At one time water splashed into Harry’s eyes so he shut them. For a moment or two he felt as though he still had them open. By the time the sting of the soapy water had gone, Harry had dismissed the illusion as nonsense.

Hermione and Ron met the duo as they came out of their room to go to breakfast.

“Well,” asked Ron eagerly. “Did your idea work?”

“Yes Ron; we lifted six of the bins, immediately afterwards.”

“Great! Draco! How are you going to tell Uncle without blushing?”

“We thought we’d let you do that.”

Ron went red and looked horrified; then playfully punched Draco’s shoulder as he realised he was being had on.

Draco managed to forestall a public announcement, by going to meet Severus on his way to breakfast. Meanwhile Hermione was examining Harry’s ring.

“The jewel looks just like Draco’s eye … Draco, come here a minute please … It matches exactly. May I look at your ring please? Well, well! It matches Harry’s eyes too … Draco there was something about seeing with the other’s sight, wasn’t there?”

“It was very obscure Hermione.” Draco closed his eyes trying to concentrate on the exact words. He found himself looking at Hermione, but from a different angle.

“Erm … Harry? Close your eyes a moment please Brother. Without opening them, tell me what you see.”

“Don’t be a fool Draco, I can’t … Oh! It’s Hermione’s face … No it can’t be, I’m imagining things.”

“I think, with these rings on, if we concentrate and close our eyes, we can see what the other one is looking at. So that’s what the manuscript meant.”

“It’s the result of carrying the seed, Draco. We are more than brothers, magic links par excellence, thinking together, seeing together, defending each other, talking privately too. Anything more we need? Anything more in that book?”

“Let’s get used to this one first, please Harry. We haven’t worked out the advantages and limitations of this gift yet.”

It was heads down in the Den again after breakfast, as Draco and Hermione translated; Ron and Harry made up the chart. Uncle came in occasionally and helped with the right colourations. The quartet worked on through their coffee break too. Just before lunch Hermione and Draco found something special.

“It’s about hiding and revealing spells,” said Draco.

“If we revealed the wards round Draco’s house, like we did next door. We would warn anyone living there that we were interfering. This one seems to only reveal the spell to the enquirer,” continued Hermione.

“I think we should talk it over with Uncle; then, if he agrees, go and practice it to see how it works. The words appear to be an addition to the Revelio Artes charm.”

Uncle was intrigued. “So the Secretus added to our new Revelio Artes might just show the wards to the individual; very interesting. I’m unable to see anything that would be harmful, so it is worth you experimenting. Tell me afterwards and I’ll amend the records if necessary.”

The quartet felt quite chuffed that Uncle would allow them to experiment thus. They also felt that some precautions ought to be taken, in case anything was hidden in the spell. Then they went to the practice area.

“You can’t call it a charm, Ron.”

“Why not, Draco?”

“We’re hiding what we’re doing from others. It’s a jinx for the burglar to use, as he’d be up to no good.”

“But we’d be using it to help the light, also so we don’t get hurt, or killed, or something.”

“Think of it logically. We are stealing something that another person, even if he’s a devil, doesn’t want us to find. We took away somebody else’s property when we raided the ruin.”

“Draco’s right, My Love. We are doing the wrong thing but for the right reasons. People will praise us for stealing the Horcrux and destroying it, when they find out. However we are meticulously planning a robbery,” Hermione expounded.

“Would it be burglary?” Harry queried. “It is Draco’s family house after all; he is entitled to bring his friends along, just as Ron brings me to the Burrow.”

“Oh! I haven’t flooed Mum yet.”

“Did you forget?”

“No. Hermione and I wanted to ask you something, Harry.”

“Well! Ask me?”

“You two know what we’ve been doing on the quiet, don’t you?”

Draco giggled.

“Well we’ve decided to get engaged and we were wondering if you’d mind an even bigger party. Your seventeenth and our engagement.”

The duo ran over to Hermione and Ron hugging and congratulating them.

“What a good idea, I love it,” beamed Harry.

“Economical too!” exclaimed Draco.

They looked at him, expecting a Slytherin sneer.

“No, no; I didn’t mean it that way. You all share the same friends; because of the impending hostilities they’re all very busy, but will already have put aside time to be with Harry. Don’t forget either; that special wards will have to be put up, that sort of celebration is likely to attract Death Eaters. Let’s hope they don’t know the new Revelio Artes yet. I fully support the idea; despite personal worries about being accepted.”

“You must come, Draco. Harry’d be lost without you. Please, please be with him?”

“Yes, I’ll come; us Duumviri should be able to create cast-iron wards with our strength and Uncle’s recent tuition.”

“Make sure our friends are inside first please. I can just imagine Mad-Eye’s eye whizzing round when you make them.”

They had a quiet giggle.

“You’d better tell Uncle the good news; he might go all frosty on us if you don’t.”

“I might go all frosty on you anyway.” Severus appeared, walking round the end of a hedge. “You don’t appear to be practicing.”

“Sorry Uncle, but Hermione and Ron were telling us their good news.”

“And what is that, may I ask?” It was pronounced in a real Snivellus way. Then Uncle ruined it by smiling.

“We’re getting engaged Uncle.” Ron was bouncing up and down.

“We hope to have a combined birthday and engagement party when Harry becomes an adult.”

“Congratulations Hermione ... Congratulations Ronald...” Severus shook their hands. “I hope you’ll get back to experimenting when Ronald has managed to control his excitement.” Again the smile belied the severity of the statement.

“May I use your floo to call Mum, please Uncle?”

“Of course Ronald; I’m honoured to have been told before your parents.”

Ron went off with Severus and the others started their experiment. Everything went as expected. However, when one of the Duumvir cast, the other Duumvir could also see the wards the caster revealed.

Ron came back, full of smiles. “Mum says she’s very pleased, and she’ll bake two cakes for us, and she’s got something special for Hermione, and she understands about Draco, and is dying to meet him, and Uncle is cleared of any bad vibes, and she’d love to have the tent, and our duo’s extra wards will be very welcome, and she sort of hinted that she thought Harry and Draco might be sharing a bed, though I didn’t let on, least I hope I didn’t, Oh, and she sends her love to all of us, including Uncle.”

They settled down and continued the experiment. They found that Ron could not see when Hermione cast and vice versa. Next Ron held his loved one’s hand while she made the jinx/charm and he could see. So the duo tried it with Harry casting and Hermione holding Draco’s hand: finding out that she could see. It worked with Ron that way too. When it came to one of the Duumviri holding Hermione’s hand the other could see with his eyes closed.

Uncle joined the experiment and afterwards added some more instructions to the tome; that anyone who had had physical contact with the caster could still see the revealed Secretus charms even after they had lost contact. He noted the special case for Duumviri and the fact that the caster had to close the Artes down, which was a slight limitation on the open charm, which anyone could close.

Teatime had them back in the Den continuing their research and chart. Chetrum agreed to hold dinner for half an hour so they could finish up. Heaving joint sighs of relief they tucked into their repast and ate at a leisurely rate.

“Hermione and Ron, I have a little gift for you. It’s a family heirloom belonging to Albus’s and my family. I’m the last of the line and I think Albus would be pleased for you to have it. It’s two things really. However if they do not suit, or you had other plans, I will not be offended if you decide not to take them. The tradition has been that the firstborn daughter was always given them on her engagement. It reverses the Muggle tradition of the intended spouse giving one of them.”

By this time everyone was dithering in anticipation as they felt Uncle was being deliberately mysterious. Uncle Severus handed over two small leather-bound boxes; one to each of them. When opened the boxes revealed two rings. Ron had the lady’s one and Hermione the gentleman’s.

“If you accept them, each of you must place the ring on the other’s finger.”

Hermione looked at Ron questioning him through budding tears. Ron was entirely speechless, but nodded a quiet yes to her. Both were in tears as they swapped rings, then the pair went and hugged Uncle. Severus was quite taken aback and unsure what to do; eventually he put an arm round each shoulder and hugged back gently.

D: ‘If you make such a gift, you ought to be prepared for the results.’

H: ‘He wasn’t sure whether they’d accept, was he?’

D: ‘Nice to have the old family traditions kept going, though.’

H: ‘I suppose we are his family now. After all, he’s offered us the use of the cottage; hasn’t he?’

Fiancé and Fiancée came and exhibited their rings for Harry and Ron to see. Hermione’s had a cluster of diamonds in a pink heart shape with one green stone in the middle. Ron’s had small alternate pink and green stones set into a plain ring.

“Have Hermione and Ronald accepted the rings in true trust and fellowship?” Uncle sounded very formal, and the quartet looked up at him,

“YES UNCLE SEVERUS, WE HAVE.” Replied the new pair in unison.

“Then the two betrothed must touch rings.”

Ron and Hermione did as they were told. Severus made a long and involved charm and as his wand touched the joined rings, green and pink sparkles shot out to make halos round the new pair. Two or three minutes later the halos dissolved.

“When your time comes to marry, touch the rings again and you will have that sparkle during the ceremony. It will happen again when you formally name your children after their birth, but the halo will crown the child. Please remember this and pass them to your firstborn daughter at her engagement. Hermione, here is a sealed parchment with the charm written down, for when that time comes.”

Never mind the two engaged ones. The Duumviri were also moist round the eyes and a general hugging session took place, even Uncle’s eyes glistened. He felt Albus’s ghost approving as Uncle looked down on his new family. Then he looked round to see his house-elves and Dobby watching with approving eyes.

Afterwards, Draco and Harry had their bath and massage; retiring to make love thoughtfully.