How It All Goes Down
The Will of Albus Dumbledore
- Harry awakens from an odd dream with a sense of desperation – Ron wakes him up and tells him he was muttering the name "Gregorovitch," which means nothing to them (or to us)… yet. Harry thinks it's someone Voldemort's looking for.
- Weird dreams aside, it's Harry's seventeenth birthday! He celebrates by using magic to summon his glasses from the bedside table, and promptly pokes himself in the eye. Well, at least he summoned them.
- It's time for presents, starting with a book about charming girls (literally) from Ron, and a beautiful watch from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, followed by a pile of other goodies from everyone else.
- As Harry, Ron, and Hermione retreat upstairs after breakfast, Ginny pulls Harry into her room. Her birthday present is the most special of all – a smokin' hot kiss.
- Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione walk in on them – awkwardness ensues all around.
- Ron turns on Harry once they're out of Ginny's earshot, accusing him of unfairly getting her hopes up. Harry realizes that Ginny has a future of her own, while the only thing in his is Voldemort.
- Harry's birthday dinner is a cozy affair, full of the Weasley family and Order of the Phoenix friends, including Lupin, Tonks, and Hagrid. Harry senses that something's up with Lupin and Tonks, but he's not sure what. Hagrid gives Harry a valuable gift – a moleskin pouch, which hides any object and only allows the owner to take it out.
- Charlie Weasley is back in town for the wedding, and he and Hagrid chat about Norbert, Hagrid's former pet dragon – turns out "he" is actually Norberta. Whoops.
- Mr. Weasley's Patronus, a silvery weasel, appears before he does, warning everyone that the Minister of Magic is on his way to the Burrow with him.
- Tonks and Lupin beat a hasty retreat, telling Harry that they'll explain later.
- Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister, is quite an unwelcome guest. He wants a private word with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
- It turns out that Dumbledore has left certain objects to the three of them in his will. Scrimgeour is suspicious of these gifts, of course, and grills the three on why Dumbledore might have left them.
- Dumbledore has given Ron his Deluminator (a genuine Dumbledore invention), an odd device that's the opposite of a lighter – it sucks light from a place, then can send it right back.
- To Hermione, Dumbledore's left a book, appropriately. It's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a battered and ancient looking tome with runes written on the front.
- Finally, Harry. Dumbledore has left him the oddest things of all – first, the Golden Snitch that Harry caught in his very first Quidditch game. Scrimgeour thinks he's got this one figured out. As Hermione comments, Snitches have "flesh memories," which enable them to "remember" the first person whose skin comes into contact with them. Scrimgeour thinks that Dumbledore enchanted the Snitch to contain a secret message that will be revealed when Harry touches it.
- However, when he takes the Snitch, nothing happens.
- Dumbledore has left Harry a second inheritance. It's something much more dramatic: the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
- Scrimgeour demands to know if Dumbledore has charged Harry with defeating Voldemort (um, should he be surprised? Has he ever met Harry?). Harry responds in a smart-alecky fashion, provoking the Minister.
- They have a showdown that comes dangerously close to violence, but fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley show up before anyone can do anything rash.
- The Minister departs hurriedly, and the Burrow settles down to celebrate Harry's birthday with dinner and cake. The party ends early, and everyone goes to bed to get rest before the wedding the next day.
- Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet up secretly to examine their new possessions. They can't make sense of the Deluminator… surely it does more than just put out lights.
- Harry, however, has an idea about the Snitch. He remembers that he didn't catch it in his hand, but accidentally caught it in his mouth. He touches it to his lips, and it reveals its secret – words appear in Dumbledore's writing, with the mysterious phrase, "I open at the close."
- The matter of the sword is also a mystery. Why didn't Dumbledore just give it to Harry earlier?
- Hermione's book of stories is also an odd bequest. Ron is the only one who recognizes it – apparently, it's a collection of fairy tales that all wizard children learn. That doesn't really explain why Dumbledore left it for Hermione, though.
- Disgruntled, the three go to bed, hoping to get some rest before the sure-to-be-hectic wedding day.