For a person whose mind operated on pure logic and predictable outcomes, Ariana Dumbledore found that her own birthdays had become the most wonderfully illogical day of the year.
She had been lured back to Earth from her quiet lunar observatory under the call of "critical, time-sensitive review" of the Ministry's new planetary warding scheme. She arrived in the gardens of Grimmauld Place, now a bright, beautiful space filled with laughing children and blooming magical flowers, expecting to meet Amelia Bones for a serious briefing.
Instead, she was met with a resounding, joyous shout of "SURPRISE!"
The entire garden was filled with the strange, wonderful, chaotic family she had built over the years.
Albus Dumbledore was there, his eyes twinkling brighter than ever, holding a garishly wrapped gift that was almost certainly a new supply of sherbet lemons. McGonagall stood beside him, a rare, soft smile on her face.
Sirius and Remus were manning a magical barbecue, arguing playfully over the proper way to charm a sausage to cook itself. Amelia Bones was in deep conversation with Lord and Lady Greengrass, their talk of Ministry policy now easy and familiar. Mr. and Mrs. Granger were proudly showing off their holiday photos to a recovered and serene-looking Nagini and playful skittish Nymphadora (Don't you dare call me that) Lupin nee Tonks, who both listened with genuine, quiet interest.
Aberforth Dumbledore was there, sitting quietly in one corner. The talk had been intense but Aberforth had never once broken eye contact with the memory of the girl whose life had been snuffed on that day. Ariana of course had simply said one line. "We have already missed on several years of time. Perhaps, now is a good time to start mending our relationship." Aberforth had simply nodded, unable to say anything else.
Snape stood in a corner, looking as dour as ever, but he was patiently explaining the difference between a bezoar and a Calming Draught to a wide-eyed Teddy Lupin, whose hair kept changing from turquoise to a shocked shade of red.
And her friends… her friends were all there.
Harry, his hand linked with his wife, Ginny, whose frosty demeanor towards Ariana had long since melted into a deep, sisterly affection. Ron was there, his arm around his wife, Padma Patil, who was laughing at one of his jokes. Neville, now the confident and respected Herbology professor at Hogwarts, stood proudly with his wife, Hannah Abbott, standing beside the happy, lucid and completely healed Frank and Alice Longbottom.
And at the center of it all were Hermione and Daphne, who came forward, their faces alight with love and mischievous triumph.
"Did you know?" Hermione asked, her eyes dancing. "Did you calculate this variable?"
"My predictive models indicated a 73.4% probability of a non-scheduled social gathering occurring on this date," Ariana replied, a smile playing on her lips. "However, I did not anticipate the inclusion of a magically enchanted banner that sings 'Happy Birthday' slightly off-key."
The day was a beautiful, chaotic blur. Harry's son, James Sirius, tried to ride a toy broom too high and was gently levitated back down by Sirius. He did get to sit on Midnight's back, the panther extremely gentle with the chaotic boy. Ron and Padma's daughter, Rose, got into a fierce, intellectual debate with Hermione about the proper use of the comma. Neville and Hannah's children, Alice and Frank Jr., were fascinated by Nagini's stories of the strange, magical creatures she remembered from her youth in Indonesia. Luna Lovegood was there interviewing Harry with vague questions of his trip abroad and whether he had found a Crumple Horned Snorkack (Ariana thought she should definitely see if she can find one for Luna as a gift).
Hedwig was seen preening at the attention from the children who petted her. Crookshanks tottered around the place, also being cooed at by many of the guests. Astoria and Draco were also there, Draco quietly following his wife around. No one was harbouring any kind of hatred towards Draco anymore, his friendship with Harry was also surprisingly solid now.
Later, as the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the garden, Ariana sat in a comfortable armchair, a small, dark-haired girl—Lily Luna Potter—asleep in her lap. Midnight was resting beside her chair. She watched the scene before her.
She saw Dumbledore enchanting a set of bubbles to look like tiny, soaring phoenixes for the children. She saw Snape grudgingly offering a perfect, bite-sized piece of birthday cake to a giggling Teddy. She saw Sirius and Remus, no longer haunted by the ghosts of their past, laughing with Harry, a true and complete family. She saw the Grangers and the Greengrasses discussing Muggle dentistry with a fascinated Mr. Weasley.
And she saw her partners. Hermione was now engaged in a fierce, but friendly, debate with Daphne over the best strategy for their upcoming bid to fund a magical research outpost on Europa. Their love for each other, and for her, was a constant, steady, and brilliant light in her life.
This, she thought, was the ultimate outcome of all her plans, all her logic, all her secret wars. It was not the defeat of a dark lord. It was not the accolades or the inventions. It was this. This messy, loud, illogical, and profoundly beautiful network of love, friendship, and family. It was a reality she had never predicted, but one she had, somehow, helped to build.
Hermione caught her eye from across the lawn and raised her glass in a silent toast. Daphne, seeing the look, did the same, a warm, genuine smile on her face.
Ariana smiled back, a feeling of deep, profound, and perfectly logical contentment settling over her. Her life was a symphony of complex variables and beautiful, unexpected outcomes. And she wouldn't have it any other way.