Harry grew more and more nervous as the day of his birthday approached, and he knew Ron, Hermione and Professor Snape could all tell. But how was he supposed to act at a birthday party? He'd never been to one before, both Ron and Hermione celebrated their birthdays at Hogwarts and although the three friend's exchanged gifts, they'd never really had a party before. He was looking forward to it, but he was more scared than anything else. The weather that week stayed nice, if anything it was getting even hotter and Harry awoke on the last day of July to find his room bathed in sunlight from behind the closed curtains. Ron was slowly waking in the other bed. "Happy Birthday," he said when he saw that Harry was also awake.

"Thanks," Harry told him, as he faced his first dilemma of the day. What did you wear to a birthday party? Seeing Ron pulling on his usual shorts and t-shirt, Harry followed suit. After all, the party wasn't until this afternoon, and it was going to be held by the lake. He could change at lunchtime if he needed to, but he didn't really have any nice clothes to wear.

Once out into the kitchen, Harry was hugged by an also casually dressed Hermione. "Happy Birthday, Harry," she told him, and Harry returned the hug whilst blushing, before turning towards his smirking guardian.

"Come and have breakfast," Professor Snape invited them. The three Gryffindor students settled around the kitchen table at ease, things in Snape's quarters were a lot comfortabler than they had been at the beginning of Hermione and Ron's stay. Harry couldn't help the grin that threatened to split his face at breakfast. You could tell that it was his birthday. Professor Snape was usually a stickler for healthy eating, but today there was an offering of pancakes and doughnuts for breakfast, along with some hash browns, scrambled eggs and bacon. All three children ate well, the fresh air and sunshine they had got everyday as they played out in the Hogwarts grounds doing wonders for their appetites. Not that Ron's needed any help of course.

Once breakfast was over the three of them were back out in the Hogwarts grounds. They had been told that there was nothing they could do to help, so they simply had to keep themselves amused until Ron and Hermione's families arrived at around one o'clock. They ended up wandering around the Quidditch pitch at a slow place. Both Ron and Hermione would be leaving with their respective families that evening and the three friends wouldn't see each other again until the end of August when they met up at Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies for their third year, and then not until September 1st when they caught the Hogwarts Express from Platform nine and three quarters. All the talking they had done over the last couple of days about their Memory Box had made them realise in a way how much they took each other for granted. Especially now that their visit was starting to draw to an end. They were lucky to go to boarding school, and they were with each other all the time during the school term, and it made their friendship particularly strong.

Lunchtime came around and Professor Snape told them not to eat too much before the party. Looking at the amount of food that the kitchens had sent up for the party, and the table they had seen down by the lake earlier for it all to go on, Harry couldn’t help but to comment quietly, “I think we’re going to need a bigger one.” He was still struggling to comprehend that people would go to all this effort for him.

Soon enough everyone had arrived for Harry’s party and there was a gathering of people at the lake edge. Ginny had come to join Harry, Ron and Hermione and the twins were apparently talking to Percy, but no one had any idea what about, and they were pretty certain they had heard the question “he knocked her up?”. They didn’t think that they actually wanted to know. Instead they decided to go paddling in the lake, it was another glorious summers day. Son enough the twins joined them and Percy predictably enough, when to sit with the adults. Mr and Mrs Weasley were enjoying being back at Hogwarts again and it was nice for Hermione’s parents to actually get to see where their daughter went to school and to meet one of her teachers and her head teacher.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were busy hatching another plan though, and Ginny was helping them. And if all worked like it should, it was going to end with the twins getting soaked. It worked, and the look on the twins’ faces was priceless, as was the laughter from the shore. The younger children couldn’t believe they had pulled it off though. It was Ron who came to his senses first though. “RUN!” he muttered to the others and quickly began wading his way to the shore, because he knew full well what would happen if the twins caught them before they got there. Harry, Hermione and Ginny very quickly followed him.

Once on dry land the four of them made a bee line for the adults, quickly running across the grass, with the twins in hot pursuit. The younger four knew that not even the twins would dare try anything if they were hiding behind adults including Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore though. They were all wet, but none more so than the twins and it was Professor Snape who dried them all with a quick flick of his wand and a mutter that sounded suspiciously like “Gryffindors!” Harry grinned at his guardian happily.

There were enough people now for a small game of Quidditch and the decision was made to move to the Quidditch Pitch before coming back to the lake for lunch. Everyone played except Mrs Weasley, Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore, Percy and Mr and Mrs Granger, who watched from the stands. Harry was delighted that Hermione was willing to play and that Professor Snape was and knew that they had only done so because it was his birthday.  

It was late afternoon when they went back to the lake and filled their plates with food. The kitchens had out done themselves with a selection of sandwiches, salads, pastas, cakes, scones and biscuits. They had even set picnic tables up and Harry joined Hermione and the Weasley children around one, with Fang sprawled nearby. And once they had finished eating, he even had a birthday cake. It was easily the best birthday he had ever had. And it was all thanks to Professor Snape. Once the last of the cake had been eaten though, it was time for his friends to leave. And they wouldn’t see each other again for nearly a month. They had decided that the Memory Box should stay in Harry’s room for now because that was the easiest place to keep it. And it would be there as a constant reminder of them, when the room felt slightly too large now that Ron’s bed wasn’t in it.

Harry felt a bit lost in Professor Snape’s quarters once Ron and Hermione were gone and since it was still light outside, he asked his Potions teacher if he could go for a walk. Not only did his teacher give him permission, but he even came along with him, and they made their way down to the lake. On the water’s edge, a slight breeze ruffled Harry’s hair back from his face, and he wondered how long it would be before Professor Snape managed to get him a new hat. The Professor in question had sensed his wards reflective mood, and lay a gentle arm around his shoulders as they watched the sun sink beneath the horizon.

Finally his teacher spoke; “time to go home”. Harry realised that for the last two years he had considered Hogwarts his home, and Ron and Hermione as his family, but somehow this summer that family had grew to include Professor Snape and on his thirteen birthday, Harry Potter was very glad of that fact.