Chapter Summary: There is still a lot of time to kill before the Easter holidays. So why not throw Ron a birthday party? Yeah that's right, Ron has a birthday too… isn't it amazing how we all forgot?
--- Begin Fic Here ---
"Hermione," Harry started as he sat down next to her in the library.
"Shhh," she hissed. She was trying to organize her notes for the end of year exams. She'd already tried to convince Harry and Ron to do the same, but they didn't seem to think starting to study for finals ten weeks in advance was practical. Hermione however knew that if she wasn't top of her class at the end of the year, she'd have to hear about it all summer from her father, and that wasn't something she wanted to risk.
"Hermione!" Harry said after five minutes of waiting for her to acknowledge him.
"What?" she said testily.
"We've missed something important."
"We did?" Hermione stared at the stack of papers and books in front of her. It looked like she had everything she needed to start preparing for exams. "What; did McGonagall give use a hint on what would be on her exams?"
"Hermione," Harry sighed. "Could you get your mind off your studies for one minute? We've missed Ron's birthday!"
"Huh? When was it?"
"Three weeks ago, March 1st."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione asked irritably. "I would have gotten him something."
"I didn't know," Harry admitted. "Ron never told me when his birthday was. The only reason I know now is because I overheard his brothers talking about it. We've been so distracted with Snape and the Sorcerer's Stone and all; I guess he just didn't want to add any more complications."
Hermione seriously doubted that. He probably didn't tell Harry simply because he didn't want Harry to buy him a birthday present. Ron always seemed very touchy about his family's financial situation. He had confided this to her one night while they were practicing the leg-locker curse. His father was a ministry employee so he made decent money, but it had always been spread thin because he had such a large family, seven children in all. Harry on the other hand was practically rich, given that he had a huge inheritance from his deceased parents. So it was always a sensitive subject if he did something for Ron that involved spending money.
"We should do something for him," Harry was saying now. "Make up for the fact that we completely missed his birthday."
Hermione shrugged. "Like what? We can't go out and get gifts for him, we're not allowed out of the school. Even if we were, I don't really have any money left."
Harry nodded. "Still…"
"What makes you think Ron cares? He hasn't mentioned anything about it."
"No, but I think it might actually be bothering him. If you haven't noticed, he's been in a weird mood lately."
He was right. Ron had been in a grumpy mood lately, and the fact that he hadn't really had a birthday celebration may have had something to do with it. It was probably yet another reminder that he was just one of seven Weasley kids. Hermione was an only child and though her parent's weren't rich, she never really had to want to for anything. It must be a completely different experience when almost everything you have is a hand-me-down and it was bound to be depressing at times.
"I guess you're right," she said finally. "But what should we do?"
Harry thought for a moment. "I know, let's throw him a party. He'd like that."
"No, he'd love that," Hermione thought to herself. "It'd be one time when everything was about him. Everyone needs at least one day like that."
"It would have to be before the Easter holidays, that way we can get as many people to come as possible." Harry continued.
"But where would we have it? You know Percy. Even though he's Ron's brother, he'd never allow us to throw a party in the common room."
"We could hold it at night, in one of the empty classrooms."
"Oh Harry, don't you think we've pushed the envelop just a bit this year? How could we have a party in one of the classrooms without getting caught and where are we going to get food and the other things we need?"
Harry thought for a moment. "I think we're going to need some help with this, and I know just the people to ask."
-----
Harry and Hermione took seats across from Fred and George in the common room. "We need to talk to you."
"That'll be five galleons an hour," Fred said immediately.
Harry grinned and got right to the point. "We want to throw a party for Ron's birthday."
"I hate to tell you this Harry but ickle Ronnie's birthday was three weeks ago. It's a little late," Fred said.
"We know," Harry sighed. "Which is why we want to make up for missing it by throwing him a party. But we're going to need your help setting it up. We need a place to have it since we already know Percy won't let us have it here, and we'll also need a way to get food. We figured you could help us in that department."
George faked a look of shock. "You want us to help you throw a party for are dung-brain brother?"
"I'm sorry Harry but there are some lines we just don't cross." Fred said seriously. "Don't get us wrong or anything; we like you, but we have to live up to our commitment to torment and torture all of our siblings as much as possible."
Hermione stood. "Come on Harry, it's obviously these two aren't going to help us. I mean, what we're asking them to do would require careful planning and secrecy. We'd be breaking about a dozen rules and we couldn't ask them to do that for us."
Hermione had struck the right nerve. "We'll since you put it that way," George said with an evil grin. "It does sound like an interesting challenge."
Fred elbowed his brother. "What George means is; after all this is our favorite brother we're talking about. Of course we want to help."
Hermione grinned. "So do you have any ideas of how we can pull it off?"
Fred and George started laughing so hard that several people in the common room turned and stared at them.
"What?" Harry asked finally.
"What do you think we are armatures? We do this sort of thing all the time. You can't honestly think everyone's a goodie-two-shoes like you Hermione. Some of us don't use the night for sleeping," Fred said with a grin. "What do you think, George: Weasley Party Plan #6?"
"Sure, that should do for little Ronnikins. We don't want to overdue it."
Hermione gave them a questioning look. "Weasley Party Plan #6?"
"Just leave everything to us. All you have to do is get everyone to Dungeon Five, Friday at around 11:00, and get our dear little brother there at 11:30 so we can surprise him."
"Alright, thanks," Harry said as he and Hermione stood to leave.
"Not a problem, just remember, you owe us," Fred winked.
"Why do I feel like we just made a deal with the wizard's mafia," Hermione whispered as they left.
-----
"He likes his wizard's chessmen because he's had them for so long that he can get them to do whatever he wants," Harry explained a few days later in the library. "That's why I decided just to get him a new chessboard." Harry pulled the mahogany chessboard out of his bag to show Hermione.
"Where did you get this from?" Hermione asked, putting down her quill to examine the brown and beige checkered board.
"You know Fred and George," Harry shrugged. "They sneak into the village as easily as you sneak up to the ramparts. I gave them some money and asked them to pick it up. They had to go there to get some supplies for Ron's party."
"Where is Ron, anyway?" Hermione asked.
"The moment I said 'library' he suddenly got ill," Harry laughed. "I don't think he's in the mood for studying."
"Doesn't he realize that if he doesn't start studying now, he hasn't got a hope for getting through the finals? You should set a good example for him Harry by starting yourself."
Harry ignored this. "So what are you getting Ron for his birthday party?"
Hermione shrugged. "I really don't know what to get him. Besides I don't really have any money left. I have 1 galleon. I really should have converted more of my savings when I was in Diagon Alley. What can I get with 1 galleon?"
Harry thought for a moment. "Well that should get you a lot of chocolate frogs."
"Oh Harry, that's ridiculous. I'm not going to buy Ron chocolate frogs for his birthday. I already got you both candy for Christmas. It's a little redundant don't you think?"
"Well, Ron loves chocolate frogs because of the famous witch and wizard cards. He's been trying to collect them all for a while but he's still short two: Agrippa and Ptolemy. They're supposedly very rare. I haven't got them either. Maybe you'll luck out and give him the toads he needs."
"I doubt I'd be that lucky," Hermione sighed.
Harry shrugged. "Just a thought."
Hermione picked up her quill with every intention of starting to work again, but then an idea suddenly struck her. "Wait a minute… I think I've got it."
-----
For the few days that preceded the clandestine birthday party, Hermione had one mission, find the two elusive famous witch and wizard cards that would complete Ron's collection. She decided to forgo buying chocolate frogs and take a more direct approach. If she could find someone who already had the two cards, she might be able to buy them directly. She asked Neville, Dean, and Seamus first but none of them were really collectors, so she tired the other members of Gryffindor house.
"Ewww," Parvati winced when Hermione asked her if she ate chocolate frogs one evening in their dormitory. "I can't eat those things. Some of us actually care if our skin breaks out. Why do you want those things anyway… craving?"
"Uh, no," Hermione said. "I'm trying to find someone who collects the famous witch and wizard cards so I can find the two I need. I'm getting them for Ron's birthday party this Friday. You are coming right?"
"Are you kidding," Lavender squealed excitedly. She was lying on her bed with her feet in the air. "First years never get to go to the night castle parties. Only Harry could have pulled this off. He gets to be on the house quidditch team and now he's throwing a night party. This is so exciting."
"Yeah, Padma is bringing a bunch of her friends from Ravenclaw," Parvati added. "Speaking of such; if you're really serious about finding those cards, I think a friend of Padmas knows someone in Hufflepuff that is a collector just like Ron. Maybe he can help you." It was a proven fact that there were at most three degrees of separation between any Hogwarts student and one of the Patil twins.
Hermione brightened. "Sure, can you ask her who it is so I can get a hold of him?"
"Okay, but you've only got a couple of days before the party. Are you sure you can pull this off?"
Hermione grinned to herself. "Of course, I'm a Granger."
Parvati looked up. "Huh?"
"Nothing."
-----
"Uh, Hermione," Parvati said as she came up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione at breakfast the next morning. "I have to show you that… uh… thing I promised to show you. Remember?"
Hermione threw down her napkin. "Oh… yeah." She turned to Harry and Ron. "Be right back," and then jumped out of her chair to follow Parvati.
"Girls are weird," Ron said through a mouthful of bacon.
Parvati and Hermione walked out of the Great Hall to where a boy was waiting patiently by the oak front doors.
"This is Wayne Hopkins," Parvati introduced. "He says he has what you're looking for. I've got to go though. I promise I'd meet Padma after I finished breakfast." With that, she left.
Wayne gave Hermione a half grin. "So I hear you're looking for a couple of famous witch and wizard cards."
"Yes, Agrippa and Ptolemy. Do you have them?" she asked hopefully.
"Yup, I'm a collector. Agrippa and Ptolemy are rare, but I lucked out and have a few of each. Still, you better have something good to trade."
"Trade?" Hermione repeated uncertainly.
"Well I can't give 'em away for free." Wayne said matter-of-factly.
"Well I don't collect famous wizards and witches cards," she admitted. "I have 1 galleon though. Will that do?"
Wayne gave her a look of shock. "Naw, I don't want money. I told you, I'm a collector. I collect all sorts of things: coins, owl feathers, talismans, all sorts of stuff. If you have something you can trade for the two cards, they're yours."
"Oh," Hermione thought about this. "I don't really think I have anything."
Wayne shrugged. "Well if you think of something, find me at the Hufflepuff table during mealtime and we can trade." He started off.
-----
"So you couldn't find anything to trade with Wayne?" Harry asked later when they were both in the library. Ron had yet to arrive.
"No," Hermione answered in frustration. "What do I have that he would want? I don't have anything worth collecting. I don't have any talismans or rare coins or anything else like that and I've barely had time to ask any of the other Gryffindors."
"Rare coins?" came a voice from behind them. It was Ron and he had caught the tail end of their conversation.
Hermione jumped. "Oh hi Ron. Uh, finally decided to study?"
"Not really," Ron shrugged, "but Seamus isn't around so I didn't have anyone to play wizard's chess with. So what do you need a rare coin for?" he pressed.
"Uh, well I'm trying to trade it with someone for a… uh… book I want to get from them."
Ron laughed. "Only you would trade someone for a boring old book."
"Hey!" Hermione squealed indignantly.
"Well, even though it's not for a worthy cause, I'll help you out." He tossed a coin on the table. It was the 50 pence piece that Harry's aunt and uncle sent him for Christmas.
"Ron," Hermione sighed picking up the coin to hand it back to him, "this isn't a rare coin; it's just muggle money."
"I know," Ron said. "But that's the whole point. Most wizards have no idea what muggle money even looks like. So to us, this is a rare coin."
"You know," Harry mused. "It just might work."
"I can have this?" Hermione asked Ron, uncertain.
"Sure, I don't have any use for it. It was fun to have it but I don't really need it." Ron sat down as Hermione jumped to her feet. "Hey where are you going?"
"I have to go get that… uh… book now," she told him as she rushed for the doors.
Ron shook his head as he watched Hermione retreating from the library. "That girl is beginning to scare me."
Hermione rushed down the stairs and into the Great Hall where several students were still finishing dinner. She scanned the Hufflepuff table and saw that Wayne Hopkins was still there.
"Wayne," she panted as she ran up to the table. "I think I have something you want." She pulled the coin from her pocket.
Wayne looked intrigued. "Oh what's this?"
"It's a muggle coin: 50 pence piece," she told him.
Wayne's eyes widened. "Really? Muggle money is pretty rare. It's not impossible to get of course, but since Gringotts melts down all exchanged coins immediately and most wizards just use magic to synthesis any muggle money they need, it's getting harder and harder to find real muggle coins in the wizarding world. I definitely don't have this. I think it's worth the two cards you want."
He took the coin from her and reached into his bad and pulled out two mint condition famous witch and wizard cards. "Thanks for the trade," he said as he slipped the coin in his pocket. "Let me know if there's anything else you need. By the way, can't wait for the night party tomorrow. Sounds like it's going to be a blast."
Hermione thanked him and then left, thinking about the last thing he had said. It seemed that news of the party had definitely spread. How the Weasley twins were going to keep it a secret from the staff, she didn't know. Every time she asked them about it, they just assured her that they've done it numerous times and that they had everything under control.
It was amazing to think that parties went on at night that people didn't know about. She supposed that the teachers, especially those who attended Hogwarts in their youth, had to know what was going on. Did they not care or were the students really clever enough to keep from getting caught. She supposed it was a mix of both. She didn't know a lot about their headmaster but it seemed that as long as things didn't get out of hand, he was willing to overlook a few broken rules here and there. The person they really had to look out for was Professor McGonagall. If she found out about the party, they'd all be in serious trouble.
-----
"Have I mentioned that I have a bad feeling about this?" Hermione said nervously to Harry in the common room. It was the night of Ron's surprise birthday party.
"Only a hundred times," Harry said with a sigh. "Would you like to go for a hundred and one?"
Fred and George came up to them, a wide grin on each of their faces. "We're off to prepare for tonight. Don't forget: Bring dung-brains at 11:30," Fred said cheerily.
"Are you sure that everything is going to go okay?" Hermione asked.
"Don't worry goodie-two-shoes, we've got things covered," George assured her. "You just bring Ronnikins." The twins headed for the portrait hole.
"How are we going to get Ron to go out tonight without telling him what's up?" Hermione asked Harry.
"I've got an idea, just meet us down here at 11:20 tonight and follow my lead," Harry said with a grin.
At that moment, Neville came tumbling through the portrait entrance. "Oy, Harry just who I wanted to find."
Harry helped him up. "What's wrong Neville?"
"I overheard Malfoy talking to his friends about the night party for Ron. If he knows about it then…"
"Then he may try to cause trouble for us tonight," Harry finished for him.
"See I knew this was a bad idea," Hermione said immediately.
"Maybe we should call the whole thing off," Neville suggested. "If Malfoy's going to be there, I know I'm not going."
"Don't worry about it," Harry said calmly. "Now that we know about it, we'll be ready if Malfoy tries to show up." He turned to their most recent arrival. "Neville, it's still early, run down to Dungeon 5 and tell the twins what you just told me. I'm sure they've got something up their sleeves to handle Malfoy."
Neville nodded and then pushed his way through the portrait door again.
"We're going to get in trouble," Hermione insisted.
"We'll be fine," Harry said.
"What's going on?" Ron said as he descended the stairs from the boys' dormitories. "Everyone seems to be excited about something."
"Don't know," Harry said with a shrug. "Guess it must be because it's the weekend."
-----
"Ooo, Parvati, that's such a nice outfit, where did you get it from?" Lavender squealed as her roommate reentered the room, having changed in the bathroom.
"I brought up some more clothes at Christmas," Parvati said. "Are you ready to go? It's 11:15."
Lavender stood. "Yup, are you coming Hermione?"
Hermione was lying on her bed reading, "No, I'm going with Harry and Ron, I'm supposed to help get him to his surprise party remember?"
"Oh alright well Fred and George said we shouldn't all go in one big group, so Parvati and I are headed out on our own now," Lavender told her.
"Just don't get caught," Hermione warned them tentatively.
"We won't," Parvati assured her. "They gave us a route to follow that should keep us away from Filch." They left the room.
Hermione tried to keep reading, but her nervousness was getting the better of her, so she threw down her book and decided to go to the common room to wait for Harry and Ron. As she descended the stairs, she saw Neville headed towards the portrait exit.
"Neville I thought you said you weren't going," Hermione called before he could push the portrait open.
Neville jumped. "Oh well, I want to go. I don't want to be afraid of Malfoy or anyone. Gram would be so disappointed in me if she found out I wasn't facing my fears."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Well do you have the directions so that you don't get caught?"
"Uh, yeah." Neville reached in his robe pockets. He pulled out a bit of parchment and as he did, a small pouch came tumbling out.
"What's that?" Hermione asked as Neville hastily reached down and shoved the pouch back into his pocket.
"It's just something I made earlier. I thought it might come in handy but I'm probably being paranoid. I'll see you." He pushed his way through the portrait exit and tumbled out.
Hermione took a seat in one of the large armchairs beside the common room fireplace. She didn't have long to wait before she heard voices coming down the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories.
"I wonder where Seamus, Dean, and Neville are. Maybe we should go look for them instead," she heard Ron say. His voice sounded pleading.
"I don't care," came Harry's angry reply. "I'm going to go find it. You don't have to come if you don't want to."
"No, I'm coming. I have to make sure that thing doesn't suck you in or something." Ron and Harry appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Hermione what are you doing up?" Ron asked in shock. "Is there some sort of party I don't know about? Everyone seems to be up tonight."
"Uh…" Hermione didn't know how to answer that.
"Come to stop me too have you?" Harry cut across her. He seemed genuinely upset about something but what, Hermione couldn't tell. "That's the last time I tell you anything." He turned to face Ron again. "I'm going to go find the Mirror of Erised and neither of you are going to stop me. All I can think about is seeing my parents again. Maybe if I do, I won't have these nightmares anymore."
Hermione finally understood. "Harry," she started, faking a look of deep concern. "I didn't come here to stop you. I just thought maybe you could use some company tonight. I know how hard this has been for you."
Ron looked back and forth from her to Harry. "Hermione, have you gone nutters? You do realize what that thing could do to him don't you?"
"Ron," Hermione snapped. "Stop being so insensitive. This is obviously something Harry wants. We should at least be there for him."
"You two have both gone mad," Ron said in exasperation.
"At least I care!" Hermione said testily.
"I'm not going to wait for you to decide Ron," Harry interrupted impatiently. Hermione stepped up beside him.
Ron took the bait. "Fine, I'm coming. Looks like I'm going to have to be the voice of reason," he grumbled.
Harry headed towards the portrait exit and Hermione followed as did Ron, still grumbling.
"How are you even going to find it again," Ron whispered a few minutes later as they descended a flight of stairs. "I thought you told me Dumbledore hid it."
"Hermione found it," Harry told him.
"I did?" Hermione thought to herself. Then she realized that this made the most sense. If anyone could have found the mirror, it would have been her. She knew the most about the castle.
"Nice going, Hermione," Ron said angrily in her ear. "You just had to get him on this again."
"Shut it, Ron," Hermione hissed. She was thoroughly enjoying making him worry. She suspected that Harry was enjoying blaming her for this fiasco as well.
They had made it to the ground floor without incident. The castle seemed completely still despite the huge party that was supposedly raging, in the dungeon level.
"Where are we going?" Ron asked finally.
"Dungeon 5." Harry answered quietly.
"Dungeon 5?" Ron repeated.
"Shhhh," Hermione hissed as they descended the stairs to the dungeon level.
Harry led them to the deceptively quiet dungeon. The door was shut. "Alright, we're here."
"Harry," Ron started hastily. "It's not too late to go back."
"Oh Ron, you worry too much," Hermione said as she opened the door and pushed him forcibly in.
"SURPRISE!" There were at least 50 students packed in the dungeon, all first, second, and third year students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.
Ron's mouth dropped. "Wha… What's going on?"
Hermione had shut the door quickly behind her and Harry. "Don't you know a birthday party when you see one Ron?" she teased.
"Birthday party?" Ron repeated slowly. "But… it's not my birthday. My birthday was weeks ago."
Fred and George emerged from the crowd of people. "Well better late than never, I say," Fred said with a grin.
"Oy, beggars can't be choosers," George added. "Or would you rather us send this lot back to their dormitories?"
Ron was still completely in shock. "You two," he said to Harry and Hermione. "You two knew about this all along. That whole thing about the mirror was a trick."
"You catch on pretty fast Ron," Hermione said with a grin. "This was actually all Harry's idea."
"George and I planned the whole thing of course," Fred added immediately as if he wanted no one to have any doubt as to who the masterminds behind this party were.
"You guys are the greatest friends ever," Ron said. He looked as if he were about to explode with excitement.
"Enough of this sentimental stuff; let's party," Fred said and with a wave of his wand, loud music started to play.
Everyone began laughing, talking, and dancing. The party was a complete success and for the next few hours, everyone took turns coming up to Ron to wish him a happy birthday. Ron recognized most of the first year students who were there. The rest of them seemed to be friends of people who he knew or friends of his older twin brothers. Almost everyone brought small gifts or wizard birthday cards which did everything from singing silly songs to shouting comical birthday insults. He opened Harry and Hermione's gifts last.
"Thanks for the chessboard Harry," Ron said with a grin. "Now I can beat you in style."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Just you wait."
"Boys," Hermione said huffily as she handed Ron a small envelope. "Happy birthday, Ron."
"Hmm, well it's too small to be a book," Ron said taking the envelope.
"Just open it!" Hermione said impatiently, but she was smiling all the same.
He pulled out the two small cards and examined them. "Hermione…" he started breathlessly. "How did you find these? How did you even know?"
Hermione beamed. She could tell from Ron's reaction that he was definitely pleased with her gift, which made it worth all the effort she'd put into getting them. "As you keep telling me Ron, I'm the cleverest witch in our year."
"Thanks Hermione," Ron said grinning. "I mean it. I've been trying for months to complete the collection."
"Now his life's complete," George said with mock boredom.
"And thanks to you guys too," Ron said to his older twin brothers. "I can't believe you pulled this off, and without me knowing what was going on."
"Oh that was the easy part, dung-brains," Fred said. "We can slip just about anything past you."
"What about this room though," Hermione pressed. "How are you keeping this party such a secret?
I'm surprised we haven't woken the whole castle up with all the noise we've been making."
"When Bill was at Hogwarts, they had these kinds of parties all the time. He and his friends found the best rooms
in the castle to have them in," Fred explained. "Some rooms already have special magical properties embedded
in the walls; probably from Hogwarts students from way back when. They just have to be activated with special charms.
This room is one of them. It's probably because it's barely used by the staff."
"There are silencing spells and room renewing spells, that quickly change the room back to its original form when the party's over," George continued. "There's also a special age charm on the door that makes it impossible for anyone over 18 to open the door, just in case Flitch decides to check in here. He'll just think the room is locked."
"But the best spell of all is one that we found ourselves. Once we get the party started, we use a threshold charm. If anyone does open the door, they won't see the party. They'll only see an empty classroom. Even if they walk inside, they won't see what's really going on unless they actually touch someone or something that they can't see."
"So you mean, a teacher could come in here right now and walk around the room, and as long as we stayed out of their way, they wouldn't know we're here," Hermione asked in awe. "That's got to be a complicated spell."
"Yeah, it is," Fred admitted. "Which is why we only use it when we have to. Don't worry though, George did the spell right after you, Harry, and Ron arrived."
George looked at his brother. "Uh, you mean you did it, right Fred?"
Fred's eyes widened. "No, I didn't. I told you to do it."
"No you didn't!"
"Well I meant too," Fred said in exasperation. "And you're my twin, you should have known anyway."
"Hey, Potter!" came a loud voice from the door that made everyone stop what they were doing. It was Draco Malfoy. He had a look of pure sadistic joy on his face. "Nice party Potter. I'm sure Professor Snape would love to join in on the festivities." With that he took off down the hall.
"Malfoy!" Harry called after him angrily, but it was too late.
"What do we do," Hermione said, biting her bottom look and dancing from foot to foot nervously.
"I don't know." Harry said quickly.
Everyone was beginning to panic. They knew they couldn't all leave at once because then they'd really be caught. They were all frozen in fear for a few terrible seconds that seemed like hours. Then someone broke through the crowd and went tearing out the door. It was Neville. He was going after Malfoy.
"What's he doing?" Ron said as he, Harry, and Hermione ran to the door and peered out. Several others joined them. They saw Malfoy retreating down the hall and Neville gaining on him. "I think Neville's finally snapped. He's going to try and attack Malfoy."
"Oh Neville," Hermione sighed.
But Ron was wrong. As he drew closer to Malfoy, Neville reached into his pocket and pulled out the small pouch he had shown Hermione earlier. He threw it as hard as he could down the hall and it hit Malfoy square in the back. A green powder exploded from the tiny bundle.
"What the…" Malfoy said as he turned around to see what hit him. Green smoky powder was swirling around him now. He saw Neville. "Why you little…" but Malfoy could barely speak now. He collapsed to the floor.
Hermione, Ron and Harry ran up to Neville. "What did you do to him?" Harry asked in shock.
"Standard sleeping powder; we learned about it in Herbology remember?" Neville said with a grin. "I may never be a great wizard, but I know my plants, especially dittany. He'll be out for hours."
"That was… that was amazing!" Ron stammered as they walked back to the dungeon.
Neville blushed. "Well I thought it might come in handy."
"Hey everybody, looks like the party's still on," Fred announced as he let Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville back in and shut the door. He had seen everything from the door. Everyone cheered and people were slapping Neville on the back for his quick thinking.
George quickly performed the threshold charm on the door as Fred climbed onto one of the tables to make an announcement. "Well before we tear into this wonderful birthday cake, provided for us by the Hogwarts kitchen staff, I'd like to give a toast to my little brother, Ron!" He raised his cup in the air. "You may be a good-for-nothing scrawny little pain in the bum, but you're my brother and so I guess that makes up for it all. Happy 12th Birthday Ron."
"Cheers!" Everyone shouted as they raised their own cups.
Ron gave his brother a half grin. "Gee, you sure do know how to make a guy feel loved."
Everyone laughed. Fred waved his wand and the music started again. They began handing out slices of the huge sheet cake that had the words "Happy Birthday Ron" scribbled on it in blue icing.
"So how do you like your party, Ron?" Harry asked as he, Hermione, and Ron sat down at a table in the corner. "We're sorry we couldn't have done this earlier."
"You guys are the best friends I've ever had," he said with a huge grin on his face. For a moment, it looked as if he was going to be overcome with emotion but he quickly composed himself. "I really mean that. Thank you both for doing this for me."
The last few hours of the party went off without a hitch. People began to leave one at a time or in small groups so as not to get caught on their way back to their dormitories at three in the morning. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the last to leave except for Fred and George who said they were going to "clean up."
Ron was still beaming as they climbed through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. Despite all of the objections and concerns she had about the night party, Hermione was glad she was a part of it. It really seemed to have a positive affect on her friend. It was almost as good a feeling as she got when she was tormenting him.
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Malfoy stormed up to the Gryffindor table Saturday morning at breakfast. "I'll get you for this Potter and you too Longbottom."
Neville involuntarily flinched at the sight of Malfoy and his two goons, Crab and Goyle, but Harry simply reached for a bowl of eggs. "What are you going on about now, Malfoy?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Filch caught me this morning at 4 AM, lying on the floor. He thought I was sneaking away from some party and just conked out on my way back to my house. I've got detention tomorrow night because of you!"
"You were at a party Malfoy?" Harry said, pretending this was the only part of the story he had heard. "You should have invited us."
"Harry!" Hermione said in her trademark chastising voice. "You know that's against the rules. You wouldn't want to do something like that. You could get caught." She grinned up at Malfoy. "Isn't that right?"
"Why you little…" Malfoy made a motion as if to grab Hermione.
"Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall was right behind him. She and Dumbledore had already left the high table to leave the Great Hall and it was Malfoy's bad luck that they were right there to witness his attempted attack. "I believe your table is over there, is it not?" McGonagall said sternly. "Now you and your friends move along before I give you another detention."
Malfoy, Crab, and Goyle stormed off, saying nothing. McGonagall continued past but Dumbledore paused for a while longer.
"Mr. Weasley," he said quietly.
Ron looked up from his food. "Uh, yes sir?"
"I almost forgot," the headmaster said apologetically with a twinkle in his eyes. "Happy birthday." He strolled off.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stared after him. They had no way of telling if Dumbledore knew about the most recent night party but Hermione had a feeling that he may have had at least an idea of what went on. After all he had to have heard Malfoy's story from Filch.
"It looks like the famous Harry Potter has squeaked by again," she thought to herself with a grin, and she noticed that this didn't seem to bother her anymore.