3 Birthday Well-wishes

July came with the smell of fresh grass, various sweet and medicinal flowers, with hot nights and hotter days. It was a humid sort of season in Godric's Hollow, and the small cottage was often filled with people. Harry's extended family was often looking for an excuse to relax and unwind, and the Potter's home was full of good food and good company. Most every evening laughter and voices carried their way through to the neighborhood, filling the night with more color than before. To Harry, there wasn't a more beautiful sight in the world.

Harry was learning to walk, though it was easier to stand than move with momentum. Several times he managed to get going, only for the forward motion to send him stumbling to his knees or bottom. Not to be denied, however, Harry kept practicing with dedication.

'Is it really dedication, or am I just stubborn?' He wondered to himself, teething angrily on his knuckles after his third fall in a row. It was becoming a pattern, actually. Up, wobble. Stand, focus... and wobble. Move forward, unsteadily step, wobble. Another step, wobble. A third step, with a too-quick fourth to catch his balance-- but it was a trap. He was already off-balance, momentum building and urging him forward, only to have his knees buckle, his feet twist inwards and slide down one way or the other.

'Horse radish!' He cried, his pride stinging more than his bottom.

Today was, in actuality, Harry's first birthday, and plenty of guests were beginning to arrive as morning rolled into afternoon. The Weasely matron had arrived with half her brood, as well as being heavily pregnant with another on the way.

Fred, George, and Ron were all present at the get together, and Harry was so excited he began to babble, forgetting momentarily that they couldn't understand him.

Ron seemed shy, much more timid than Harry recalled, and the twins were a bit more cautious. As older toddlers, they held each other's hand and never separated. It was rather unusual compared to their teen selves, so confident and independent in their abilities.

"La la!" Harry noisily proclaimed, patting each twin's shoulder with his drool-soaked fingers. Talking wasn't something he had managed verbally yet. "Uhn... ah... wa-la la."

Despite his lack of English skills, he sounded confident, as only a child can be. The twins regarded him with a curious glint, all the while sneaking glances at each other. Neither seemed to know what to make of the child patting them.

"Ah! Ohh, ha na na!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, voice rising in pitch as he pointed towards the kitchen. There was a new arrival, the Longbottom family with young Neville Longbottom balanced on Auror Alice Longbottom's hip.

His cooing had the three Weasely children turning to look. Alice and Lily were walking out the kitchen door to the backyard, bringing the small blond child to the garden playpen as they caught up.

"Of course we invited you," Lily was saying warmly to other woman. "With their birthdays so close together, it only makes sense to have a joint birthday for both boys."

She paused to coo at the four children before her, green eyes softening with that warmth that comes from love and happiness. Her fingers brushed each of their cheeks, tucking back small curls, and smoothing their clothes before she was satisfied. Lily then gently turned and took Neville in her arms, Alice passing her son to his godmother. Kissing his forehead, she set the fifth boy amongst the others and returned to the kitchen.

Harry stumbled forward, crawling after he fell. His hands grasped Neville's shirt, using the other to pull himself up to his feet. Both fell several times before righting into a standing position. Neville never tried to extract himself from the other.

"Ah! Buh.. oh na na," Harry greeted, doing his best to tell Neville 'happy birthday', but garbling the words as his tongue refused to cooperate.

"Bah!" He tried, patting Neville's hand and starting to smile. The blond slowly smiled back, all chubby cheeks with few teeth. But to Harry, it was a beautiful smile.

Tugging on his new-found friend, Harry did his best to introduce everyone, babbling and walking around the small enclosed area. The twins seemed to find him amusing, and allowed his rough-pawing as he brought Neville and Ron over.

'Dexterity!' Harry's heart inwardly cried, wishful at best.

Realizing that the twins were not too enthused with younger children, being all of three and a half, Harry decided to pique their interest.

"Ba!" He said, pointing at the playpen enclosing them to the area of the garden by the big tree. This was the only resistance they faced to prevent them from wandering the whole backyard. The child gate was made of a mixture of wood, runes, and magic. It glowed beautifully in the shade, three intermixed colors acting like bars, crisscrossing as they formed a lattice of light.

Red, blue, and purple bars stretched vertically and horizontal, the smaller green lines mixing in diagonally.

Harry toddled closer, pointing at the smooth wooden poles that were staked evenly through the yard. On each piece, an array of runes was carved into it. It would take careful understanding of them to upset the sequence, though an adult only needed a wand on the outside to carefully tap an embedded gem. This would activate or deactivate the playpen.

Pushing at the barrier, the young Harry Potter placed his hand against the magic to prove a point. Solid now, unable to get through to the outside, but what if---

Touching the smooth wood, his fingers found the rune that was primary in the sequence, the one that sealed the set. Index finger tracing it, he pressed outwards with his core. Magic was something easy to him now, especially here, as a wizard once more.

The sequence flashed twice in warning, but he fed his own wild magic into the symbol, overloading the set and causing a small spark and the faint smell of burning to fill the air.

"Dhhjdpa!" He announced/spit, as the lights enclosing the playpen flickered then extinguished.

Harry laughed delightedly while there were various reactions from the other children. Ron seemed hesitantly curious, Neville looked nervous, and the twins were amused enough to comment.

"Lookit!" George said.

"He did it," Fred agreed, both redheads grinning.

Harry laughed again, his giggle echoing as he encouraged the others to follow him.

"Go!" Harry squealed, his voice high and squeaky.

The twins didn't need to be told twice. Moving quickly, hands still held, they scattered quickly. Racing through the yard, they wandered about in search of mischief.

There was a commotion inside, and Harry was sure he was found out. Instantly he ran for the tree, trying to dive for the bushes. Just as he was about to be safe, something firmly grasped him round his middle and tugged him out into the open.

"So this... wild thing... is young Mister Potter, is it?" Came an amused and soft voice.

Harry looked up and turned quickly, because the owner of said voice was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

'Merlin's soggy wet balls,' Harry complained inwardly. 'Why does our first meeting always go wrong?'

"Indeed," Dumbledore seemed to agree and Harry turned sharply to stare at him. Eyes past infancy were more likely to show their true color, and Harry was in possession of the most alarmingly green set of irises. Twinkling blue met green and the young immortal was left confused.

'Shite. Can he read infant minds?'