10 Years
"Happy birthday, Harry," everyone said in unison.
In the center of the room, in front of a cake decorated with golden stars and twinkling candles, stood Harry. A wide smile lit up his face as he closed his eyes, made three silent wishes... and blew out the candles.
All around him, his friends and loved ones shared in his joy: Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Luna, Sirius, Edward, Selene, Susan, Wendell, Pandora, Xenophilius, Red, Liz, Gris… and, of course, his mother. Wanda, his beloved mum, could never miss his birthday. From a corner of the room, she watched him with tenderness, her heart full as she saw how much the little boy who once opened the door to her house with curious green eyes had grown.
Now he was a little man. His height had increased thanks to good nutrition, his face remained adorable, and his green eyes still sparkled with contagious sweetness. His messy hair was still his trademark, and his smile… that smile lit up everyone's day.
"Open the presents, Harry!" exclaimed Daphne, excited for the gifts—and the cake.
"Sure," Harry said with a calm smile.
At that moment, Liz rushed over, carrying several presents and wobbling slightly as she tried to keep her balance. Harry had already given up trying to stop them from handling everything on their own. They were incredibly stubborn. So he simply let them be, treating them with kindness as part of his family.
"Thanks, Liz," he said sincerely.
"It's my duty, young master," she replied with a wide smile.
Harry picked up the first present and began to unwrap it slowly, while his friends watched with anticipation.
"You have to guess who gave you what," said Daphne with a mischievous grin.
Harry pulled out the first gift: a book on advanced alchemy. He smiled instantly, but didn't speak right away.
"It would be too easy to assume it was Hermione," he said thoughtfully. "But if Daphne's asking me to guess, then they probably switched their gifts on purpose to make it harder. So the obvious choice isn't."
He glanced at Hermione, then at Astoria and Luna, who were covering their mouths to keep from giggling. Finally, his eyes settled on Daphne, who was trying hard to keep a neutral expression.
"Daphne," he said, pointing at her.
"Tsk! I thought I'd trick you," she admitted with mock annoyance. "But you're not going to guess them all!"
"Challenge accepted," Harry said proudly.
The second gift was a finely tailored suit made of magical fabric. Elegant, modest—fitting for a young wizard.
"Aunt Selene and Uncle Edward," he said without hesitation.
"You're very good," Selene admitted, smiling. In truth, the adults had no idea about the kids' game. The children had removed all the tags from the gifts to make it more interesting.
The next gift was… a sword. Harry froze for a moment, processing the fact that someone had actually gifted him a sword.
"Who gives a child a sword?" he thought.
Then he looked up, not even needing to look directly at Sirius.
"Haaah…" he sighed, resigned. "Godfather, last time you gave me a flying motorbike that Mum destroyed immediately. And you still haven't learned?"
He handed the sword to Wanda, who approached with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Well, boys need to learn how to defend themselves," Sirius tried to justify, shrinking a bit under Wanda's icy stare.
"Harry already knows how to defend himself," she said firmly. "And if he can't, I'm here."
Sirius could only raise his hands in surrender… though he was promptly kicked out of the house for a few minutes as punishment. The children laughed heartily at his little misfortune.
The next gift was a bit peculiar: several toothbrush kits, stored inside a magical molar, accompanied by some sweets and a note that read: "After candy, always brush!"
"Thanks, Uncle Wendell, Aunt Susan," said Harry with a calm smile.
Then came a bubble blower. One that looked very familiar. He picked it up and smiled sweetly.
"Luna," he guessed.
She said nothing but beamed from ear to ear, proud that he remembered.
The next package contained a strange horn, along with a scribbled book titled "Research Notes."
"Aunt Pandora and Uncle Xenophilius," said Harry, inspecting the horn more carefully than the book, as it looked like it might explode.
"It's an Erumpent horn," explained Xenophilius cheerfully. "A few months ago, we met Mr. Scamander, and Pandora had the idea to travel to the United States to investigate rare spells."
Thanks to the amulet Wanda had given her years ago, Pandora had survived a serious spell gone wrong. That experience triggered something in Xenophilius—he shouted at his wife for the first time in his life. Seeing him so upset—and with their little daughter present—Pandora finally understood that her experiments weren't just games. That if something happened to her… what would become of Luna?
Since then, Pandora only did research—no more testing spells on herself. The gift, in its own way, was a symbol of that new promise.
The next present Harry opened was an artificial snow globe, with two small deer made of light dancing inside. As he looked at them, his eyes lit up with soft, serene joy, as if wrapped in the memory of something warm.
He looked up, smiling brightly.
"From Mum," he said simply, with tenderness in his voice.
Wanda returned the smile—one of those that spoke more than a thousand words—and gently encouraged him to keep opening presents.
Liz had knitted him a scarf—not perfect, but full of evident love—while Gris gifted him a pair of black gloves, practical and elegant.
Only two gifts remained: one from Hermione and the other from Astoria. Since guessing one would reveal the other, Harry decided to open them at the same time.
One was a magical storybook: The Adventures of Harry Potter, with enchanted illustrations that moved like little plays. The other was a photo album filled with captured memories: walks, mischief, laughter… with small handwritten notes next to each picture.
"The album is from Hermione. The book… from Astoria," said Harry, looking at both gifts with a smile full of affection.
"Booo!" exclaimed Daphne, pretending to be upset that he had guessed them all correctly.
Meanwhile, Harry flipped through the enchanted album, watching the images move softly, as if the past had come to life again. Photos of all of them growing up together, doing crazy, fun, unforgettable things.
"I'm glad I met you," he murmured. "And I'll never get tired of saying it."
He looked up, scanning his friends, their parents, and finally his mother. His smile was pure happiness.
Once Sirius was forgiven and reintegrated into the party—though still grumbling about his mini punishment—everyone began chatting cheerfully while enjoying some cake.
Harry stared at his slice, a mischievous spark in his eyes as a memory returned.
"Now that I think about it," he said, turning to Hermione, "when we first met, I misunderstood a spell and thought I was going to erase your brain instead of your memory… because I thought you were a Muggle. And the thing that worried you most was that you wouldn't be able to eat cake again."
Hermione turned red in an instant. "Shut up!" she said, both annoyed and embarrassed. "Anyone would have been scared!"
"Really?" asked Daphne with a teasing, gossipy grin. "You were more worried about cake than your brain?"
"Of course not!"
"Cake is delicious," said Astoria with a childish smile.
"Mmm," added Luna, her cheeks full of frosting.
"You guys… all of you!" huffed Hermione before walking off with fake dignity… though everyone knew she'd be back. And she was—because no one strayed far when surrounded by family.
It was then that Wanda approached with a small stack of packages in her arms.
"Harry, you received some presents by owl," she said softly.
"More presents?" Harry asked, intrigued, as he hurried over.
Wanda handed him the packages one by one.
"This one's from Professor McGonagall, this from Professor Flitwick, these are from Mr. and Mrs. Tonks… This one's from Professor Snape, and… this last one says 'Weasley'. Who's Weasley?"
Daphne tilted her head. "That name sounds familiar… Mom, who's Weasley?" she asked, turning toward Selene with a small shout.
"I've told you many times, a lady doesn't shout in public," Selene corrected her patiently. "Weasley is that family… the ones with red hair."
"Oh right. The one with a lot of kids," Daphne remembered immediately.
"Now that you mention it… I met the mother at Lockhart's book signing a few years ago," Susan added thoughtfully. "She seemed like a nice woman."
Harry listened attentively, though without much expression. He shrugged and decided to open the gift. Inside was an old magical chess set and a carefully written note:
"Hello, Harry Potter. You probably don't know me, but I'm Arthur Weasley and I live in Ottery St. Catchpole. I heard that you're the owner of our lands, which was quite a surprise. I hope you like this gift: it's a chess set that has been in my family for generations. My son loves to play, and if you ever want, you're welcome to come play with him. My best wishes, Arthur Weasley."
Harry read the letter silently, frowning slightly. Why would someone he didn't even know send him such a valuable gift just because of some land?
"That's strange," murmured Selene, drawing everyone's attention.
"What?" asked Daphne, intrigued.
Before Selene could answer, Sirius jumped in.
"They're poor," he said bluntly. "Barely enough money to send all their kids to Hogwarts, and he gives you a magical chess set I wouldn't even buy. It's… suspicious."
Harry nodded calmly. "Then let's just say thank you and be done with it. Mom, can you check if there's anything odd?"
"Of course, sweetheart," Wanda replied. She touched the board with a hand wrapped in gentle magic. Then she nodded. "It's clean."
"Then maybe they're just trying to get on the good side of the landowner," Susan suggested with a smile.
"Maybe," said Sirius, though something in his expression still didn't quite settle. Still, he decided not to press it. It was Harry's birthday—not a time to be paranoid… though something else was still bothering him.
"And what did Snivellus get you?" he asked, with a hint of barely disguised jealousy.
"Godfather…" Harry murmured, shooting him a reproachful glance.
"All right, I'm sorry. It's not nice to make fun of people's names. So… what did Snape give you?"
Harry opened the package. Inside was a potions book: the first-year manual. Even though he still had a year to go before Hogwarts.
"A book? Ha… Seems like he has no taste in clothes or gifts," Sirius said, crossing his arms.
"Hey," said Daphne, slightly annoyed. After all, she had also given him a book—though she'd tried to copy Hermione.
Harry didn't respond. He put the book away carefully. He knew he would need it next year.
Professor McGonagall had sent him a golden snitch, Professor Flitwick an enchanted quill that didn't need ink. The Tonks couple had sent… an armor? But upon checking the note, the mystery was solved: their daughter, Nymphadora, had messed with the package and switched it out.
Finally, the last gift was from Malfoy. Harry opened it… and inside was just a card with a single word:
"Challenge."
Harry smiled with interest.
This promised to be… fun.