Hey guys. Here's an update to Circle of Friends. It's not a very long chapter, but it's something to get by for a few days. I'm going out of town to my friend's lake house for the Fourth of July. A group of my friends and I are going tomorrow afternoon and won't get back till Monday. So, although it's short, I thought I'd post what I have so far, instead of waiting till next week and making it longer. To everyone in the U.S, have a good 4th! Everyone not in the states, have a good weekend!
Chapter 10
Harry felt something tickle his nose and he annoyingly swatted it away as he mumbled in his sleep. He heard giggling and the feeling of something flicking at his nose came back and he swatted again, this time harder, which caused more laughter to occur. Harry then jerked awake, opening his sleepy eyes trying to take in his surroundings.
He saw a blurry figure leaning over him and he squinted up to see familiar brown eyes. "Hermione?"
She smiled. "Get him, boys."
Harry felt two large bodies tackle him to the bed and even though he didn't have his glasses on, he could see a blur of red and blonde hair and knew exactly whom it was. "Argh! Ron! Draco! What are you doing?!"
"Stop trying to fight us, Potter," Draco said as he pinned his arm down. "We got him, Hermione."
Harry blinked up at Hermione who was now kneeling beside him on his bed and his eyes widened when she straddled his hips. "Hermione, what are you doing?"
She just smiled as she pulled out a red silk scarf from behind her back and then leaned down and pulled it over his eyes. "Hermione…guys, what's going on?" he asked as Hermione tied a secure knot at the back of his head. "It's in the middle of the night."
"Midnight to be exact," Ron said as he and Draco pulled Harry out of the bed. "You know what happens at midnight, don't you Harry?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he remembered. He turned seventeen at midnight. It was his birthday. "So, it's my birthday," he said as he carefully walked through darkness, trusting Draco and Ron to lead the way. "That doesn't explain why you guys are acting so crazy."
"It's a surprise, Harry," Hermione's voice said from in front of him. He heard a door squeak open and then Hermione's hushed whisper, urging them inside.
He didn't know what was going on, but from what he could tell they were in Hermione's room. She had lucked out and managed to snag a room all to herself and had the pleasure of no roommates. "Okay, undo the scarf," he heard her say and then felt someone tugging at the knot.
The scarf came undone and he squinted at his surrounds. "Here," Hermione said and handed him his glasses.
He gratefully put them on and finally everything came to focus. The room was lit with a soft glow, coming from one single lantern and everyone was standing around, looking at him. "Er…what's going on?"
Hermione laughed as she ran up to him. "Happy birthday, Harry," she said as she flung her arms around him.
He returned the hug, but he was still very confused. "Um…thanks."
"We thought we'd have our own little midnight birthday party," Ron said when Hermione finally let go. "We have candy from Honeydukes, plus some butterbeer."
Harry blinked and looked around at all his smiling friends. "You guys…threw me a birthday party?"
"Just a private one," Ginny said. "Mom is throwing you a bigger one tonight."
Harry couldn't believe it. His friends did this all for him. He finally replaced his confused frown with a smile. "Thanks guys…I've never had a party before."
"We know, that's why we decided to do this for you," Hermione said and then started tugging him over to the circle of pillows on the floor. "Come on, take a seat."
Harry plopped on one of the pillows and Hermione took a seat next to the right of him and Ron sat on his left. Luna kneeled on a pillow next to Ron and Ginny and Draco sat together across from him. "Here, have a butterbeer, Harry," Ron said as he handed him a bottle.
He smiled brightly as he took it. "Thanks," he said and twisted off the cap.
"So, how does it feel to be a legal wizard?" Draco asked as he took a sip of his drink.
He shrugged. "Honestly, it hasn't really hit me yet. It's weird knowing I can do magic now."
"Why don't you do something?" Luna suggested.
"Um…okay," he said as he looked around for his wand and smiled when Hermione held it out to him. "Thanks." He then looked around the room as he thought of something to do and grinned at the small vase full of daisies by Hermione's bedside table. "Accio flowers!" he said as he pointed his wand to the vase.
Everyone watched as three white daisies flew out of the vase and glided towards the group. He hovered them in the air and twirled his wand in tiny swirls as he made the three daisies spin in a circle, before one by one he made the flowers fly to Ginny, to Luna and then to Hermione. The girls smiled and blushed as they caught their flowers in the air and Harry enjoyed watching Ron and Draco scowl at him while the girls kissed him on the cheek.
"That was very sweet," Hermione sighed as she pressed her nose to the soft petals.
"Very smooth, Harry," Luna said dreamily.
"And romantic," Ginny added with a sigh.
"Yeah, yeah, Potter's a regular prince," Draco said in an annoyed voice and didn't miss the opportunity to glare at Ginny. She just smiled and winked at him playfully, causing him to be even more annoyed.
"Let's give Harry his surprise," Ron suggested trying to change the topic. He didn't know why, but watching Luna sigh and gaze dreamily at the daisy made him uneasy.
"Oh, let's!" Luna exclaimed as she dropped the daisy in her lap and clapped her hands together.
"Surprise?" Harry asked with raised brows. "Guys, you didn't have to…"
"You hush," Hermione said as she got up on her feet along with Ron. "What kind of party would this be without a surprise?"
Harry watched Hermione and Ron open the closet door and rummage inside it. Hermione turned back around and told him to close his eyes and so he did with a smile on his face. "Guys, come on," he laughed after awhile. "Can I open my eyes now?"
"All right," he heard Hermione say. "Open."
Harry opened his eyes and his heart leapt in his throat when he saw his two best friends holding a broom. Not just any broom, but a racing broom. Harry hurried to his feet and rushed over to it, running his hands along the handle as emotions swirled through him. "You got me a…this is the new model."
"Yep, Firebolt Extreme," Ron said with a grin. "Just came out last week."
"How did you manage?" he asked as questions kept gushing out of him. "I mean…this is unbelievable guys."
"Well, when Hermione told us you lost your broom," Ron explained to him. "We thought we'd chip in to buy you one."
"You all chipped in?" he asked as he looked over at Draco.
"Yes, even me, Potter," he said with a roll of his eyes. "But just because you now have a faster broom than me, doesn't mean I'm not going to put up a fight during Quidditch."
"I hope not," Harry said with a grin and then gazed longingly at his broom again. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."
Hermione gently placed a hand over his hand that was gripping the handle. "I know it can't replace the broom Sirius gave you," she said softly as she looked up worriedly in his eyes.
Harry squeezed her hand. "This broom means just as much to me, as my Firebolt did, Hermione." He then kissed her cheek and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you." He looked at his friends over her shoulder and smiled. "All of you."