Madam Pomfrey bustled in behind Hagrid and Professor McGonagall and supervised getting Harry moved into the wizard wheelchair. Harry found that the biggest problem he had wasn't his legs but his injured right arm. He easily moved his legs around so they dangled off the bed. But he couldn't yet use his arm to help push himself up, and straightening it out hurt quite a bit. He got to his feet with Ron's help and managed to stay upright and balanced—though Ron hovered around him clearly doubting that he was capable of standing on his own—while Hagrid brought the chair around. The chair was much narrower than a Muggle wheelchair, and had far more wheels on it. Harry didn't ask what they did, though he coughed a bit nervously as they left the room and approached the first staircase. Hermione caught his eye and shrugged. No one else looked the least bit concerned.

Ron was currently "driving" the chair, as Hagrid had had to bend down quite a bit to push it. He pushed him right to the stairs and, slowing down only a bit, continued right over the edge of the top stair. Miraculously, the wheelchair stayed upright and level and simply rolled down to the landing. Harry caught Hermione staring at the side of the chair, studying it. But she soon gave up trying to figure out how it worked and hurried to catch up with the crowd.

They went up staircases and down staircases, almost as if trying to confuse Harry. But eventually, he knew where they were going.

"The Room of Requirement," he said softly as a door, decorated with colored streamers and balloons, suddenly popped into view.

"Surprise!" yelled a number of voices as Ron pushed Harry through the door. Everyone started clapping and Harry was surprised that the party consisted of at least 20 people, some of them quite unexpected. Most of the guests were already seated, as the table had an intricately drawn place card for each guest, a surprising party hat in each chair, and a variety of party favors and crackers at each place.

Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood sat together at one end of the table. Harry waved to them and they waved back, looking a bit embarrassed. Fred Weasley sat next to Neville, but George sat at the other end of the table altogether.

"Can't figure out why the room doesn't want us together, Harry," called George. Harry grinned. "Every time we try to move my place card the chair boots me back here."

"Something wrong with the company down here, George?" asked Tonks. The young auror, sporting a lime green bowler hat just like Cornelius Fudges', sat between George and Remus Lupin. Lupin's hat was an entire model of the solar system that spun around this head, while George's transformed his head into a giant yellow canary.

Harry stood with a little help from Ron and slid into his own chair. Hermione had moved his hat and as soon as he sat down, placed it on his head. It was shaped like a giant set of antlers, decorated with multi-colored twinkling lights.

Dobby the house elf, Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Mrs. Figg and Bill and Charlie Weasley rounded out the group.

"I am not wearing this hat," said Ron as he sat down next to Harry looking hatefully at the hat the room had chosen for him.

"It's lovely," said Harry, not even trying to surpress a laugh. "It's you, Ron, really."

The hat was shaped like the body of a giant spider, and the eight legs, unnaturally long, moved on their own accord, waving around the hat like twitching nerve endings.

"At least if you put it on you don't have to look at it," said Hermione. She had already put on her hat, which looked like a precariously balanced stack of books. It suited her perfectly. The top-most book, to Harry's delight, had "Hogwarts, A History" emblazoned across the spine.

"Fine!" said Ron, shoving the hat on his head.

Ginny, who was seated on Harry's left, next to Mrs. Figg, picked up her hat and laughed. The hat was shaped like a belfry and miniature bats zoomed in and out, circling the hat.

"I think the room remembers how good you are at the Bat Bogey Hex," said Harry.

Ginny placed the hat on her head and all heads turned to Fred Weasley, who had stood up and was tapping on his water glass with a spoon.

"I hate to break up all your fun," he said as his hat, an almost perfect replica of Ludo Bagman, repeated everything he said . . . in Bulgarian.

"But it's Harry's 16th Birthday. Well, it was his birthday, and we tried to have the party yesterday, but seeing as Harry was sleeping, we ate all his cake and rescheduled."

Everyone laughed, the hat finished the translation and Fred continued.

"Anyway, we're glad you're up on your feet again, Harry. Let's eat!"

The table was suddenly laden with food and the guests dug in. Harry worked himself through a turkey leg, two pieces of chicken and some Shepherd's Pie before tasting the broccoli casserole, candied yams and roasted herb potatoes.

"Try a cracker with me, Harry," said Ron with his mouth full of potatoes. He held out a cracker wrapped in gold foil. Harry pulled one end while Ron held the other and out popped a miniature snitch with bright gold wings. It took off and zoomed around the room for a full five minutes before Harry, showing amazing reflexes despite his injuries, stuck his good arm up in the air suddenly and nabbed it.

"My turn now," said Hermione. She'd worked her way to the Yorkshire Pudding but grabbed another cracker off the table and held it out over Ron's plate so Harry could take hold of one end.

Harry obligingly pulled. With a loud snap a glittering swarm of gold galleons took flight on tiny, enchanted wings. They hovered and swooped, causing general havoc, until all had been nabbed by the guests.

Ron looked at his catch doubtfully.

"It's not leprechaun gold, is it?" he asked.

From the other end of the table, a loud "Oh!' was heard as Neville and Luna pulled a cracker together. A rainbow stretched from one end of the table to the other, and a shower of lemon drops rained down from it for a few seconds until the whole thing disappeared.

Professor Dumbledore looked delighted. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth and offered another to Mrs. Figg.

When everyone had eaten their fill, including cake and ice cream, and when all the crackers were gone, everyone stood up and the table disappeared with a pop. Comfortable chairs appeared where it had been, and Harry was led to a plump chair with an ottoman where he could rest with his feet up.

"Presents!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, wheeling a very full cart over to him.

Harry looked at the cart full of presents, at the room full of his friends, and felt he couldn't take it all. All of this, just for him. Just for the one who was causing all the pain and problems to begin with. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, and that no one in the room truly believed that it was his fault. But still . . .he shook off the feeling and accepted the first present Mrs. Weasley placed in his hands.

This present turned out to set the tone for the rest of the evening. It was a hand-knitted pink afghan, with flowers and ruffles, almost exactly like the one a helpful neighbor had given Bill to wrap around him after the accident.

"We never knew you liked pink so well," said George as Harry gazed at the afghan with a very strange look on his face.

Harry shook his head and cracked a smile. He draped the blanket around his shoulders, got a few cheers for doing so, and went on.

Before long he had a set of rear-view mirrors for his glasses, a pair of sturdy shin guards for his legs, a hub cap off of a real muggle car (or so said Tonks), a pair of muggle crutches, and his own dragon claw earring. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave him a pair of jeans and a Weasley Wizard Wheezes T-shirt featuring a magical moving graphic of a boy turning into a canary after eating one of the twins' Canary Creams. He loved the clothes—probably the first real clothes he'd ever had that hadn't been Dudley's first.

Dobby's gift, as expected, was once again socks.

"Dobby made them himself, of course," explained Dobby. He was unusually upbeat. Harry suspected he may have had one Butterbeer too many. There were four pair, each sock a different color and knitted with a different pattern.

"Eight socks!" explained Dobby. "Many ways to combine them. Nothing boring for Harry Potter!" He hiccupped and sat down again.

Hagrid, wearing a giant hat that looked like the business end of a blast-ended skrewt that occasionally belched smoke and sparks, grinned as Harry opened his present.

"Thanks, Hagrid," laughed Harry as he held up a dog-eared copy of First Aid the Wizard Way.

The last package Harry opened was from Professor McGonagall. "Something from me other than extra homework," she said to the crowd. Everyone laughed then cheered loudly as Harry held up a new Quidditch robe with the word "Captain" emblazoned on the back above the Griffindor lion.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" exclaimed Ron.

"Ronald!" protested Mrs. Weasley. "Language!"

"But he's back on, don't you see?" exclaimed Ron, clearly as excited as Harry about this unexpected turn of events. "Umbridge canned him for life, don't you remember?"

Harry noted that no one corrected Ron and made him say "Professor Umbridge."

"We've decided to overturn a few of her decisions," stated Professor McGonagall loftily. "Harry, you are no longer banned from Quidditch. I have high expectations for the Gryffindor team this year, and it looks like we'll continue the tradition of having two Weasleys on the team." She looked meaningfully at Ginny and Ron. Both had made the team last year after Fred, George and Harry had been banned.

Harry was as happy as he'd been in a long time. Surrounded by his friends, he felt not only loved, but safe. He had the very certain feeling that they were there because they wanted to be, because they did indeed like him, despite the danger he might present to them.

But the party had gone on quite a long time, and as if on cue, the visitors started getting ready to go. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gathered up Luna and Neville, who they were escorting home via the Knight Bus, and said their goodbyes. Fred, George, Bill and Charlie left right afterward, telling Harry they would see him soon. Tonks hugged him goodbye. "Stay away from Muggle cars," she said. "No more scares like that." Hagrid winked and said "See you around, Harry."

At last, everyone was gone but Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Professor Dumbledore. The headmaster lingered by the door where he had just had a whispered conversation with Madam Pomfrey. Madam Pomfrey had left, looking not too pleased, and Dumbledore settled down on a squashy chair across from the students.

"Gone at last," he said with a smile. "I hope the party made up for our decision to let you sleep through your birthday, Harry?"

"Yes, sir, it did," he said sincerely. "It was a great party."

"And how are you feeling?" he asked. "Up for a bit of a talk?"

Harry glanced at his friends. He was still sitting on the chair with his feet propped up on the ottoman. Hermione sat to his left in a squashy chair, the twin to Dumbledore's, and Ron was stretched out on the floor with his elbows on a pillow. Ginny sat on Harry's right, curled up in her chair. She looked tired but interested.

"All of us, sir?" he asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "All of you."