Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies - this is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

AN: Story beta'd by my R/L daughter Sillyhobbit.

Chapter 19: Here's Hoping for Peace and Quiet

December 31, 1985 7:35 PM

There were close to three hundred people packed into the ballroom and all of them seemed to be focused on Harry as he walked in on his braces with two goblins following on his heels. It was a smaller crowd than the one that had been at the Ministry Christmas Ball though it didn't really seem that way because the ballroom was far smaller than the banquet hall. At least while these people stared at him they had no reason to crush him in a stampede to shake his hand, they wouldn't be likely to grab his arm to drag him off to who knows where, and they definitely wouldn't try to kidnap him. With the exception of a small handful of outside guests that were invited, including the office staff from the firm, these guests were comprised of the security force and household staff of the Compound and their families.

That didn't change the fact that Harry felt extremely uncomfortable being the center of attention. For as long as he could remember, he'd been kept hidden away from everyone except his aunt, uncle, and cousin. They had never let him go out where the neighbors could see him, never introduced him to anyone invited over to their house, and much preferred that he stayed hidden inside his cupboard on a near permanent basis; except when they wanted him to do chores. He had essentially gone from a virtual nobody to a celebrity overnight and it was still a hard concept to wrap his head around.

A group of children, a larger group then had gone out with him on Halloween, hovered off to the right. One of the older boys, one that Harry thought he remembered being dressed up in a blue costume with red cape, waved from the center of the group. Harry paused and pulled one arm out of his brace so he could shyly return the wave before moving further into the room. He had been told that he'd need to meet a few people before joining the other children to play a few games before the buffet would be served.

First to approach Harry was Klouse and the other lawyers that worked with Trevor. Klouse introduced the elderly Timothy Samson, Mitch Taylor (the newly hired squib), Hubert Clarke (the young Muggle fresh out of Oxford), and Betty Wilson (a new secretary) to Harry who reluctantly shook their hands. Next Harry met Eric Masters, the head of the wizarding and muggle security of the Compound. Mr. Masters then introduced his wife, Karen, and two sons, Oliver and Daniel ages three and one respectfully. Bob Carlson was next with his wife, Samantha, and younger sister, Rene. There were dozens of others Harry met, but their names slowly began to blur together as did the faces.

After nearly an hour walking around the room, Harry was finally escorted by Hobblefoot and Jack over to where the older children had gathered around a few game booths that had been set up to occupy the children during the party. The first to greet him was Stan Shunpike, the twelve year old who'd shaken his hand on Halloween. Harry smiled a little brighter at the boy as he kept the other children from pestering Harry with hundreds of questions and helped to introduce him to the other children. There were several older teens there too but they seemed to have better manners as they didn't rush forward and all talk at once. It was towards these older boys that Harry eventually gravitated, with Stan by his side, as the younger kids rowdily (and happily) returned to their games.

The mismatched group of about six teens close to adulthood, one preteen, one five year old, one goblin, and one adult drew the attention of several groups around the room more then once. Said group didn't seem to care about the extra attention though, as the older boys helped to teach Harry how to throw a ball at metal milk cans stacked in groups of six. When it became apparent that Harry was just too short and his arms not quite strong enough, one of the older teens, Jason Doherty, lifted Harry onto his shoulders and had him try it again. This time (due to his higher perch and gravity), Harry managed to knock two of the weighted metal bottles down and received a chocolate frog from the man working the booth.

Another booth was completely covered on all sides with a woman standing holding a bamboo fishing pole with a plastic hook on the string. Curious, Harry watched as each of the boys took turns 'fishing' over the edge of the booth and pulling out small paper bags filled with candy and small toys. Still perched on the Jason's shoulders, Harry with Jack's help, took a turn only after all the others had theirs and was excited as he felt the gentle tug on the rod shortly after dropping the hook over the top of the booth. His grin was wide and contagious as he opened the bag and discovered his first model car inside along with a pack of Barratt Catherine Wheels and a Lion Bar. He quickly added his chocolate frog to the bag as the group moved on to the next booth where they joined up with the younger kids again.

This booth had a table covered with several dozen small glass bowls filled nearly to the brim with water. Harry watched while the younger kids tossed ping pong balls onto the bowl filled table, trying to get one to land inside one of the bowls of water. Each time a child got a ball inside a bowl, they were handed a magical underwater model of their choice (there were about twenty different kinds, including mermaids, guppies, ornamental koi, clown fish, grindylows, dolphins, and kelpies in a wide assortment of colors). Once the younger children were finished, Jason carried Harry forward and told him he got to go first this time and passed the ping pong balls up one at a time to Harry as he tossed them at the table. Twice he managed to bounce a ball into a bowl to his astonishment and had to be prompted to select his prize models – he picked a kelpie because the water demon horse looked dragonish and one of the white and gold koi because he thought it looked neat. Like his other magical models, these ones moved and made sounds. The man working the booth said they could even go in the water, since they were protected with waterproofing spells. Those soon joined his other new treasures in the brown paper sack.

The final booth was filled with hundreds of balloons stuck to a large dart board, in order to get a prize you had to pop at least two balloons with the three darts provided. This was the only game Harry didn't try, he was afraid of hurting someone if he messed up when throwing the dart. Jason, however, played his turn for him and passed Harry the handheld mirror etched with the picture of a winged horse that he won when he popped three balloons in a row. Jack then took a turn and popped three balloons with one dart, much to the shock and amazement of all the younger teens. A second mirror was passed to Harry with a wink from the young guard, this one etched with a unicorn. Both mirrors were magical and the etchings neighed and reared up on their hind legs as Harry watched them.

Right about then a chime rang through the room announcing that the buffet was now open. Jason lowered Harry back to the ground and ruffled his hair as the group of children began splitting up to join their parents for the meal until it was just Jack, Hobblefoot, Harry, and Stan. When asked why he wasn't joining his parents, Stan said his father was working during the party and his mother had stayed home with his younger brother who was sick with the flu. Harry took a few minutes to work out what that meant and when he realized that Stan would have to eat alone he tugged on Jack's pant leg and asked if the older boy could join them. Jack glanced at Hobblefoot who shrugged and back to the twelve year old who had a hopeful look on his face; Stan really didn't want to eat alone. In the end, Jack said they could ask Trevor if there was room but didn't think that there would be a problem.

The small group headed over to join the line at the buffet where Leticia and Trevor were waiting for them. Trevor gladly gave permission for Stan to join their group when Harry asked, knowing Harry rarely asked for anything. Everyone but Harry grabbed a plate when they reached the first table, his hands fully occupied with his braces and bag of goodies. Trevor had anticipated this though and grabbed an extra plate for Harry while the child pointed out which dishes he wished to try.

Conversation over supper was varied as the two youngest discussed dragons and various muggle and wizarding games while the adults discussed the plans for the coming year. Harry managed to talk Stan into trying a couple of the goblin dishes while Stan convinced Harry to try a few of the more traditional English dishes, such as the Lancashire Hotpot and Toad in the Hole, which while not as spicy as the goblin fare still had enough kick for Harry to enjoy.

After supper, the children returned to the game booths while the adults danced for a couple of hours. Harry returning to the fishing game and the ping-pong toss because he liked those two games best. Stan then talked Harry into getting his face painted as the twelve year old spotted a couple of young witches painting silly designs on the younger children's faces with their wands. Somehow Harry managed to convince Stand to get his face done as well and Harry thought it was cool the way the lizard he'd been given crawled down from his face so that it was sitting on the back of his hand. He liked it even better when Jack whispered a suggestion to the older of the two witches and he ended up with a dragon that chased the lizard all over the place.

Next, Harry spent some more time being carried around and introduced to the parents of the older children he had hung out with over the course of the evening as well as some of the household staff. He briefly met Lucy's parents and Grace's older brothers as well. By this time it was drawing nearer to midnight and Harry was starting to drift in and out as he fought the drowsiness of staying up way past his bedtime.

Five minutes before midnight, Stan said a temporary goodbye to Harry as he left to join the other children while Harry was carried up to the dais that was set up on one end of the banquet hall where Trevor was waiting for him. A tired Harry soon found himself the center of attention again as all of the guests gathered near the dais holding glasses containing sparkling cider, champagne, white and red wines, and various fruit juices. Harry was given a crystal glass of white grape juice as the crowd of employees and friends began counting down the time loudly, all eyes focused on the large clock hanging on the wall behind the dais.

At exactly midnight, the ballroom was filled with a roar of voices welcoming in the New Year. The combined sound of over a hundred of party poppers and wizarding crackers being fired off simultaneously startled Harry into dropping his glass of juice before he could take a drink. It was a bad omen that went mostly unnoticed by the crowd, which was now singing Auld Lang Syne. If the magicals in the room had been paying any attention, they might have felt the ripple of magic that spread out and away from Harry as Glorthock offered the boy a sip of his goblin made wine so the child could complete his toast.

The witches and wizards patrolling the grounds might have felt the pulse of magic had it not dissipated long before it reached the edges of the property.

Far to the north a middle aged witch swore an oath and tossed her wine glass into the roaring fire, causing the flames to flare dangerously. Said woman glared contemptuously into the now fading fire, her entire countenance one of rage as her glorious plans of revenge had been well and truly reduced to ashes during the last six or seven months. Her unwitting minions had failed so spectacularly that there was nothing she could do to salvage her former plans. Flouncing away from the now dying fire, she began pacing frantically as she tried to think of some way to regain control of the situation without being forced to rely upon what she viewed as her incompetent puppets.

January 1, 1986 1:37 AM

Trevor helped an exhausted Harry out of his formal robes and into his favorite dragon covered pajamas before tucking the child into his bed. Dragon the kitten pounced on the pair from her cubby hole above Harry's head, demanding attention from both man and boy as she purred loudly and head butted them repeatedly. Gwinn, who was still trapped down on the floor at the base of the platform whined piteously at being left on the cold floor.

Harry giggled tiredly as a scratchy cat tongue ran over his nose as he tickled the excited kitten under her chin and behind her ears while Trevor scooped the whimpering crup off the floor and deposited her next to Harry. A warm pink tongue unexpectedly washing over Harry's ear caused him to squeal in merriment as he flopped away from the cold nose and wet tongue of his puppy. Dragon, offended at being dislodged from her perch on Harry's chest, yowled loudly and climbed back up into her cubby out of reach of the overly excited puppy. After two final licks, many head pats, and a belly rub, Gwinn was gently placed on her sleeping pillow at the foot of Harry's bed while Harry crawled under the covers and fell to sleep almost immediately as his head returned to his pillow. Trevor brushed a kiss over Harry's forehead and tucked the covers in snugly before retreating down to his bedroom on the ground floor.

Silence settled over the renovated and magically enhanced farmhouse as the exhausted revelers drifted off to sleep in their various quarters, most of the adults still feeling the effects of the alcohol that they had imbibed during the celebrations. Shift changes were completed with quiet efficiency as those who'd patrolled during the party headed off for some much needed rest while their replacements continued where the others had left off on their rounds.

Upstairs in the attic, as the goblin guards settled into their assigned posts, a little boy tossed and turned fitfully as his dreams were haunted by long forgotten nightmares of green lights, pleading voices, and high pitched laughter. His two furry companions whined and whimpered as they watched, the two animals feeling the magic that flooded the space that surrounded the entire bed. As the magic peeked, the crup let out a mournful howl as four new weights settled onto the bed with a loud pop. The unfamiliar weight and sound, combined with his disturbing dream pulled the boy abruptly out of his slumber, his wide fearful eyes making out large ears, oddly shaped noses, and huge eyes circling his bed.

A loud, squeaky voice announced in an excited voice, "Yous be Harry Potter!"

This proved to be too much for the little boy, as long forgotten memories from nearly two years earlier surfaced the moment the voice had spoken. Harry let out a piercing scream that echoed through the entire house before the pounding footsteps of running goblins in metal boots filled the loft as bright light exploded all around Harry, revealing the presence of four ragged and half starved house elves surrounding the boy hero to his guards.

*** THE END ***

AN: I know this chapter is small compared to the rest but it was even shorter before I combined it with chapter twenty which was the shorter of the two chapters. The sequel is still under construction though it is half written as I mentioned before (or close to it). I'll have the bonus cameo chapter up by this time next weekend, once I finished writing out the scenes for the original characters that I've created for this story. I've got about half of them done right now. I will post periodic updates on my author's page to let you know when the sequel will be posted (once it is finished) and will update the final chapter of this story with a note once the sequel has been posted. ~ Jenn