[OPEN] They say it's your birthday || We're gonna have a good time!

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

WHO: Most of the HP cast and ANYONE WHO IS FRIENDS WITH HARRY
WHERE: Potterbase (née Moonybase)
WHEN: TODAY, 7/31/11
WARNINGS: Parents being shmoopy
SUMMARY: IT'S HARRY POTTER'S BIRTHDAY Y'ALL!
FORMAT: Any!

The afternoon was sunny with a pleasant breeze. A tent had gone up in the yard, and each of the main rooms of the house were decorated along the theme of a garden paradise. Enchanted leis and large straw hats were there for the taking, and various wizarding games had been laid out: exploding snap, a chessboard whose pieces currently looked rather board, Pin The Nose On Voldemort (with a variety of comedic noses to choose from). there was a table, already piled high with gifts but with plenty of room for more.

Food had been made and set out, and meltless charms had been cast on all of the icecream. There were wo big bowls of punch. One of them is charmed to be spike-free, the other...well. It may eventually dissolve the bowl and the table beneath it.

All that is missing is YOU!

Comments

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Harry wasn't used to having parties thrown for him, so it was quite a thing to wake up to. After all, for the biggest part of his life he was lucky if the Dursleys even acknowledged the fact it was his birthday by giving him old socks or such. The biggest party yet had been his seventeenth at the Burrow, right before Bill and Fleur's wedding. His eighteenth had been quieter, mostly because he'd wanted it that way. He was fine, more than fine, with just a simple dinner in the company of friends.

Frankly, he hadn't even thought of his birthday being today. It had been winter back home so there had been quite a few months to go there. The City was weird that way. So really, it was double the surprise. Not to mention he'd actually get to spend his birthday with his family for the first time.

He'll be found walking through the house, feeling a little overwhelmed in a good way.

[hexappeal]

And here comes something to be even further overwhelmed about. Zatanna is now standing before him, in a blink of an eye, in costume. She's a a cake propped up against her palm and balanced further by her arm and a card in her other hand.

"Hey, kiddo, don't have much time this weekend, so I'm in and out. The cake's magicked to stay fresh and if anyone that isn't you tries to eat it, the piece will come up tasting like horseradish and sardines -- and then the piece will grow back." Heh. She thought of that all on her own. "And the card's a card. But it has money in it." Quite a bit of money, actually. Five hundred dollars was an acceptable gift to a young man just turning eighteen, yes?

"But also, I'll take you somewhere or we can do something or... whatever? But yeah, busy. That whole Metamen thing." Just so he had an idea that it really was important. "In case you don't have my personal number, it's in the card." She waits, now, because this is meant to be short and sweet. But she doesn't want to just dump it and ditch.

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Harry's not as startled as he could be by her sudden appearance. He's used to people apparating, although that's usually accompanied with an audible noise. Still, she does come as a great surprise. He can only blink owlishly at first, until what she's saying sinks in and he's grinning at the magic cake. Sirius and his dad would have loved that one.

"I— You really didn't have to. Thank you, Zatanna." He smiles gratefully at her as he accepts the cake and the card (the latter which he wouldn't have if he knew just how much money was in there), quickly taking them off her hands seeing as she was in a hurry.

"Of course. I won't keep you. Again, thank you very much for stopping by and for the gifts."

[hexappeal]

She hadn't mentioned showing up and who even was able to figure out how she knew the party was today, but those were just details.

"No, I didn't. But I wanted to," she makes a point of stressing that she did it for her own sake. As selfish as it may be, it also wordlessly stated that she liked him enough to be there and to be giving him something.

As awkward as it kind of is, she leans down and offers him a quick hug. "Take care of yourself, Harry. I'll see you soon, yeah?" She doesn't give him time to answer and she feels a little bad, gift-and-ditching, but what can she do? She languidly raises a hand, her smile halfhearted as she begins to fade out in a cloud of smoke.

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Harry does realize that and he's quite flattered she made time for him and got him something despite being so busy. They hadn't spoken an awful lot, but Harry did really like her. He nods and smiles in both acknowledgement and gratitude at the gesture.

The quick hug is a bit of a surprise and all he can do is lean into it awkwardly for that quick moment. Before he can reply or even truly express his gratitude, she's already gone. He lingers for a small moment, telling himself he'll have to thank her again later, before moving away from the spot to put the cake away and put the card with the others.

[symmachy]

One convenient thing about being an Elder was the speed. Scathach had found out that it was Harry's birthday in the early afternoon, and by early evening, she had made a gift for him. She'd made the dagger shortly after she had arrived in the City, well over a year ago. It was one of her favorites, but the decision to give it to Harry was a relatively easy one. He deserved it. Something about him told her that. The hilt hadn't been as intricate as it was now and the blade had been smooth, but a bit of quick engraving had fixed it right up. She thought he might like the dragons.

The weapon was in a box wrapped with white paper, tied off with a red bow. A quick scan of the garden told her he must have been inside the house, and disappointment bubbled up. She couldn't enter without an invitation, and as she had never been there, she had never received one. An easy fix. Tucking the box between her belt and hip, Scathach dug her fingers into the brick of the side of the house. She could fix that later. And with that she started to climb, aiming for the nearest window.

Luckily, he was close enough to the first one for her to tap on it, hoping to get his attention.

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Over the years, tapping noises from windows have subconsciously become something that Harry associates with owls. So when the noise catches his attention and he turns, he's fully expecting to find an owl despite the fact no one has been using owls in the City. They had the communicators for that now. Certainly he didn't expect to come face to face with Scathach instead.

He quickly pushes his surprise aside to rush over to the window and open it. He can't quite keep the surprise aside once he's done that and it's clear in his voice.

"What are you doing out here?"

[symmachy]

Seeing his shock makes her smirk a bit; she hadn't climbed up the side of anyone's house since Alex had been 'Ported out, and she still didn't like to think about how that night had ended. Hopefully, this would be a good memory to replace that. She waved, perching on the outside of the sill; luckily, she wasn't a very large person and was able to balance well enough on her own.

The redhead shrugged. "I need an invitation," she said simply, gesturing towards the inside of the house. "I was hoping you were outside so I wouldn't have to ask, but here we are."

[equalled.livejournal.com]

It's not that Harry had forgotten Scathach was a vampire per se. It was more something he just didn't really think about much and this was a good reminder that suddenly made her being outside the window like that make sense. The way she was balancing on the sill still looked quite precarious to him though.

"Oh, sorry," he said hastily before stepping aside to allow room for her to climb in. "Er, come in?"

[markofawitch.livejournal.com]

Just in case Harry isn't overwhelmed enough, he has his mother fussing over him whenever she can. While she can't exactly cook, she has managed to scrounge up an fantastic birthday breakfast for him, and has, over the past few days, been trying to find out what his favorite foods are, so that she can incorporate them into every meal that happens during the day.

She really just can't get over the fact that it's her baby's birthday. And she feels incredibly lucky that she gets to be here with him for it.

"Just a warning, that because your father has been planning this, probably with the help of Sirius, that there may be explosions at some point during the night."

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Harry is intensely grateful for her efforts and well, just her presence in general, really. It's all he ever wanted, just to be with his parents. He had that here and sometimes there were moments where it felt like he was having a wonderful dream and he'd wake up at some point. Today that feeling was particularly strong.

If anything, he feels equally lucky too.

"Somehow I'm not surprised."

[markofawitch.livejournal.com]

"Let's just hope they didn't make the explosions too big for their own good," she laughs, and puts an arm around his shoulders. She knows that James and Sirius would object to her saying that, but it's all in good fun. "Don't tell them I said that, though. They'll get defensive about how it was 'only the one time!' and 'we were really young and not sure what we were doing yet.'"

"Are you having a good day so far?"

[equalled.livejournal.com]

"I bet it wasn't just a 'one time' thing," he grins, leaning into her touch a little contentedly. Knowing his father and Sirius, there was no shadow of a doubt. "I won't tell," he adds reassuringly.

He pauses then, his smile growing wider and warmer before he says earnestly: "I'm having the best day."

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

There'd been something a little odd in Sirius's eyes when Harry arrived, but he'd limited himself to just one hug. A big one.

"Come find me later. I've got something I think you might like."

[equalled.livejournal.com]

The situation with Snape isn't forgotten, but today Harry will put it aside and with the gratitude he's feeling for Sirius being here, it's an easy thing to do. The big hug he gladly returns helps as well.

"Alright. No point asking what is then?"

[fliesacomet260.livejournal.com]

Upon arrival, Tonks had placed Harry's gift (http://www.swissarmy.com/MultiTools/Pages/Product.aspx?category=multitoollights&product=53968&) with pile of presents. The small box was wrapped with burgundy colored paper and tied with a yellow bow. The card on the box read that it was from Andromeda, Hermione and Tonks. It was wrapped neatly meaning that Tonks had not wrapped the gift herself.

Along with the group gift, Tonks had included a much smaller one (http://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-IN9-65-WHOOPEE/dp/B000NJBRPA). There was a note that read, I've gotten your Dad loads of times with one of these. I thought you might like to do the same. Enjoy! Tonks.

Somehow she managed to keep the presents from cascading off the table in an avalanche, somehow.

After the gifts had been placed, Tonks went to find the birthday boy himself. She had done her hair in Gryffindor colors. It seemed only appropriate for the occasion.

"Happy Birthday Harry!" Tonks said after she found him and gave him a great big birthday hug.

[equalled.livejournal.com]

The sight of Tonks and her bright, Gryffindor-coloured hair brought an instant smile to Harry's face. Quite appropriate indeed. With how everything was decorated with Gryffindor colours, one would almost think he'd won the House Cup instead or something. It was brilliant.

"Thank you, Tonks. I'm glad you're here," he said earnestly as he hugged her back.

[fliesacomet260.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't have missed it for anything Harry." Tonks didn't want to clash with the party decorations. That would've been a tragedy.

"I just saw your pile of presents. I think you'll be going through them for days."

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Such a great tragedy it would have been indeed.

"It's the biggest pile of presents I've ever seen," he grins sheepishly. "I may need help with them."

[i-seethestrals.livejournal.com]

Why, the perfect cure for being overwhelmed was the sight of Luna. Standing off to the side, waiting for the crowd of well-wishers to thin a bit before giving Harry... whatever she'd put in what appeared to be some Christmas themed wrapping paper.

And not that well, either, judging by the ear (https://shop.spirithoods.com/products/Details.aspx?p=721&cats=0) peeking out of the package.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," she smiled, handing it to him. "Oh... and there's this. Professor Snape told me to give it to you."

Whatever was in the parcel she grabbed, it was clearly put together with much more care than her shoddy present wrapping. Minus it's tendency to insult certain people named Moony, Padfoot and Prongs. But Luna didn't know that.

[equalled.livejournal.com]

It sort of was for Harry, actually. There was something calming about Luna that he couldn't quite put a finger on. Perhaps it was merely the fact he had a close friend nearby or maybe it was the quiet understanding they always seemed to share, Harry wasn't sure. Whatever the case, he was glad to see the familiar, yellow-clad figure.

"Thanks very much, Luna," he smiled back as he accepted the shoddy package, his smile growing fonder as he got a good look at it and noticed the ear.

However, his attention was quickly snatched away from it by the mention of Snape. Surely, even with their awkward 'truce' of sorts, he couldn't have...

"Really? He did?" He wondered aloud, utterly astonished.

[i-seethestrals.livejournal.com]

"You're very welcome, Harry Potter," she smiled, practically radiating with joy at the fact he seemed to be pleased with her gift. "I thought it suited you. Or you could use it to hide your identity -- it seems to be popular thing here."

At the mention of Snape, she merely blinked. Was it that surprising?

"Oh, yes, he did. I don't know what's in it, however. I have a feeling it's meant for you and only you."

HOPE IT'S OKAY IF I POP IN HERE?

[galactic]

Jade had never gone to a birthday party in her life, but she got the basic gist of it. She certainly didn't know Harry well, but he had been very nice when they'd spoken, and anyway, she figured he wouldn't mind another gift. Luckily he wasn't hard to spot and she crossed the tent towards him, carrying a small, strange looking potted plant from her garden. Everyone liked plants, she was certain of it!

"Hi, Harry!" She grinned, holding out the plant as she rocked back on her heels. "Happy birthday!"

SURE THING

[equalled.livejournal.com]

Another surprise, today was just full of them. Harry had only spoken to Jade once from what he recalled, so her appearance was quite unexpected. Then again, his dad did announce it on the Network so technically anyone could come over. Not that he minded that much, a big party like this was an interesting new experience.

"Hullo," he replied with a smile, taking the plant curiously. "Thanks, Jade. You shouldn't have."

awesome!

[galactic]

"You're welcome!" She grinned again, giving the plant a little poke. "He's really easy to take care of. You don't have to water him much or anything." She tilted her head up to look at him as she dropped her hand. "Are you having fun?"