Ch 9 Birthday Bash
On the last day of July, the afternoon sun was terribly warm. Harry was having a difficult time keeping up with his melting ice cream. Across the table, Hermione seemed to be having the same problem. For perhaps the fifth time, Harry reached across with a napkin and wiped ice cream off her nose.
"You really like this stuff, don't you?" he laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she countered.
"Nothing, nothing. Relax. Thanks for taking me out. I'm really starting to go stir crazy. I know I shouldn't complain, but I thought this summer would be different. I was so excited about staying with the Weasleys, but I've hardly seen them all summer."
"Got tired of hanging out with me and my family, huh?"
"That's not what I meant."
"I know-I was just kidding. Don't worry, things will get better."
"Do you know something I don't know?"
"I think that's pretty obvious, Harry."
"Is it about my birthday?"
"Yeah."
"Is it a surprise?"
"Yeah."
"Are you going to tell me?"
"Not if I want to keep it a surprise."
Moving closer, Harry threatened, "Maybe I'll have to tickle the information out of you."
"Not if you want to keep all of your fingers."
Smiling, Harry leaned back and shaded his eyes against the sun as he looked down the street. "I love the private table they've installed here. I'll bet the twins will make a small fortune off of this invention."
To any person walking down the street of Hogsmeade, the table outside of the ice cream shop appeared to have an elderly wizard and witch talking quietly over small slices of ice cream cake. The illusion allowed Harry and Hermione to sit and talk quietly without the least fear of being discovered by nosy reporters from one of the wizarding papers. The only person who knew they were there was the owner of the shop herself.
"Well, if you're done, Harry, we might as well go."
"To the secret surprise party?"
"No, we're going somewhere else first. Besides, you know how busy everyone has been this summer. It will probably just end up being you and me blowing out a match on a cupcake." At Harry's pained expression, Hermione laughed. "Oh lighten up Harry, I'm just kidding. Come on."
They left the ice cream shop through the back and Hermione guided Harry through several alleys to the edge of town.
"Uhh, Mione, are you sure you know where you're going? The only thing there is up this trail is the Shrieking Shack. And from what I've heard in the village, it's been especially haunted this summer."
"Trust me, Harry."
Within a few minutes, they had climbed the little trail that led up the side of the hill to stand in front of the old, falling-down house known as the Shrieking Shack. It sounded eerily quiet today, which only made it appear more ominous. Normally a slight breeze whistled through several of the spindly trees and caused several of the shutters and the front door to creak and bang against the house. But there was no wind today.
Looking at the overgrown garden, the peeling paint, and the walls in various states of disrepair, Harry snorted. "What a horrible little shack."
Hermione glanced at him. "You know, I heard someone bought this place this summer."
"Really?!?! Who in their right mind would want this place?" Then the expression on his face changed. "They're not going to tear it down are they?"
"I thought you didn't care, Harry."
"Well, I don't. It's just that-well, my dad and Sirius spent a lot of time there. I just hate to see it get destroyed I guess."
"Well, I guess you'll just have to make that decision for yourself."
Puzzled, Harry looked at Hermione as she reached into her pocket and with a grin pulled out a large skeleton key.
"Welcome to your new home away from Hogwarts, Harry Potter," she pronounced as she placed the key in his hand.
As Harry's hands wrapped around the key, movement out of the corner of his eye captured his attention. Like a shimmering veil, the image of the Shrieking Shack seemed to drop like a stage curtain and in its place was a beautiful three story brick home with a wild mixture of eaves and gables and towers that nevertheless seemed perfectly balanced.
"What the …" started Harry.
"This is your birthday present, Harry, from all of us. Now follow me and I'll show you around." She led a wide-mouthed Harry towards the solid oak doors and raised a large brass knocker. Before she could knock, the double doors swung open to reveal a deeply bowing Dobby.
"Welcome to your new home, Master Potter."
"Dobby, I'm not…I…wow," stuttered Harry as he glanced around the entrance hallway. The first door on the right opened into a huge parlor lined with bookshelves and comfortable chairs and sofas. On one wall hung a huge black rectangle over the top of an enormous fireplace. There were huge black boxes around the room.
"Hermione, this room alone is big enough for everyone in Gryffindor house to fit in."
"And you'd better invite us over from time to time," laughed Ron as he got up from one of the chairs. "Hermione has been explaining to us about how to work these DDD's and DC's, but they never seem to work right."
"They're called DVD's and CD's and the problem is that you keep mixing them up and putting them in upside down."
"Hermione knew how you never got to watch TD or movies or listen to any of your own music growing up with the Dursley's, so she thought she would remedy that in your new home. And the twins managed to hook up the stereo to the Wizarding Wireless Network as well."
"Wow Hermione. This is incredible. Is that a flat screen TV?"
"Of course, Harry. Nothing but the best for you."
"You shouldn't have, I'm sure this was all very expensive."
"Oh, don't worry about it Harry. We just took it out of your Gringott's account," joked Hermione.
"You what? How?" exclaimed Harry.
Choking off his laughter, Ron smirked, "Wait till you see the rest of the house, mate."
Across the hall there was an enormous study with several large tables, desks and chairs. Once again there were bookshelves that lined the room.
"Did you put bookshelves in every room, Hermione?" asked Harry.
"Except for the kitchen and bathrooms, yes. I thought you might have friends over who like to read."
"But Ron just likes to read Quidditch magazines, and even then just the ones with lots of pictures-I certainly don't need that much shelf space."
"That's funny, Potter," snorted Ron. "I'll have you know I read plenty of wizarding comic books as well."
"Cute, Harry. Maybe I won't show you the library, then."
"How could I miss it? I'm sure it will be the biggest room in the house," teased Harry.
"Keep it up funny boy," snapped Hermione in mock anger.
The double doors on the side of the study did indeed open to an enormous library. Rows of books lined the shelves on every wall, as well as several freestanding bookcases. A rolling ladder leaned on one wall that provided access to the shelves over six feet off of the ground.
Walking back out of the room, Ron quipped, "Well, that's enough books for me. I'll be back in the parlor listening to some DDD's."
On one wall, Harry noticed a pair of chairs in front of a small fireplace. Then it hit him. Hermione had recreated the library within his own mind. He turned and looked at her. "Thank you. It's beautiful. This is all so wonderful. How can I ever thank you?"
"It wasn't just me, Harry. I had a lot of help. All of your friends wanted to do this for you. We wanted to give you a real home. We're just sorry it took most of the summer to finish it." Hermione gave him a huge hug and a peck on the cheek. "Now it's Molly's turn to show you the kitchen and I think the twins have a surprise for you outside."
Back in the hallway, Hermione pointed out an enormous dining hall, with a ceiling composed of constellations like at Hogwarts. Then she pushed him into the kitchen where Molly wrapped him up in a huge bear hug. "Now I've magicked most of the appliances and pans and utensils, Harry, but you can also cook without magic if you'd like." Harry looked around in awe at the kitchen. It seemed enormous and every cupboard door he opened seemed packed with food. As Molly continued explaining the various aspects of the kitchen, in barged Fred and George from a door that opened to the backyard.
"Enough mum!" shouted George.
"If he gets too hungry, he can always hit up the Hogwart's kitchen staff for some table scraps," explained Fred.
"Come on, Harry, you've got to see this." Each grabbing an arm, they pulled Harry through the back door. Ten steps off of an enormous back porch, Harry realized he was standing on the edge of a regulation size Quidditch pitch. There were three rings on each end of the fields and even a small set of stands on one side.
"Brilliant!" was all Harry could say as he looked over the field.
"We thought you'd like it," replied a very smug Fred.
"Now all we need are your brothers and my broom," replied Harry with a huge smile.
"We were just waiting for the magic words, Harry," smirked George, who then snapped his fingers.
From the other side of the stands emerged Bill and Charlie on their brooms, carrying several extra brooms. Ron stepped out of the house and walked over to stand by the twins and Harry. With wide grins on their faces, they all reached out their hands and commanded simultaneously, "Accio broom."
Harry teamed up with the twins against the remaining three in what proved to be one of the wildest Quidditch matches any of them had ever seen. Resting for a minute after an exhilarating, but exhausting fifteen minute pursuit of the snitch, Harry happened to glance down at the stands and noticed that a number of people were there watching the game. He swooped down and greeted Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, and Lupin. Ginny and Hermione were there, as well as Molly, Arthur, and Samuel and Dobby. He quickly said hello to everyone and then noticed most of the Weasley boys were huddled around someone at the end of the bleachers.
"Hello, Harry!" said Fleur Delacour in very fluent English amidst a sea of red headed Weasleys.
"Er…hi Fleur. What are you doing here? I mean, here in Britain not here at my party…I mean you're welcome at the party," he stammered.
"I have been working at Gringotts and"
"and spending time with me. Now clear out you lot, the lady is spoken for," teased Bill, trying to shoo his brothers away from her. Fleur laughed but Harry could hear a low growling from behind him. He turned and noticed Hermione watching the commotion around Fleur with narrowed eyes. He was going to say something to her but then he noticed something sitting behind the stands. His eyes grew wide as he slowly walked towards it.
A large, black motorcycle covered with polished chrome stood behind the stands.
Harry's eyes grew round as saucers. "What is that?" he whispered. "Is it…"
"That was the pride and joy of Sirius, Harry. He spent more than a year working out the various charms and enchantments on it. It's truly one of a kind, as was Sirius," explained Lupin.
"We reckoned he woulda wanted yeh to have it, Harry," finished Hagrid.
"But it is to stay here, and under no circumstances is it to leave these grounds until after graduation." McGonagall then accomplished the incredible feat of glaring at both Ron and Harry simultaneously as she finished her final sentence. "If it so much as gets within a mile of Hogwarts grounds…" Harry nodded his understanding before she even finished the threat.
Harry moved closer to the bike, his hand itching to grasp the handlebars but stopped when Hagrid spoke. Harry didn't notice that Arthur was right beside him, looking at the bike with extreme enthusiasm.
"They can be a bit tricky ter ride, Harry. I wouldn't want yeh fallin off at a hundred feet up, so I'll give you some lessons later, if yeh want," offered Hagrid.
"Falling off at a hundred…do you mean it can really fly, Hagrid?" asked Harry with a puzzled look on his face.
"Look at the motorcycle more closely, Harry, and see if you can determine what sort of enchantments young Mr. Black placed on it," urged McGonagall.
Harry walked around the bike carefully, examining it closely. Then he placed a palm over it and muttered a few low words. He opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Wow! It has a flying charm, a stabilization charm to prevent spills, a modified return charm that will enable the bike to fly itself home, a shelter charm to protect you from the elements, especially against the cold and thin air, and two acceleration charms. I'll bet this thing is faster than my Firebolt! Maybe I should…"
"Yes, yes, Harry, let's see what it can do…" urged a very enthusiastic Arthur Weasley. Harry was sitting on the bike reaching for the handlebars when he and Arthur looked up and saw the stern looks from McGonagall, Molly, and Hermione. "Perhaps some other time," finished Arthur somewhat awkwardly.
Reluctantly, Harry dismounted the bike and walked back to the group. "Thank you Remus and Hagrid. Thank you everyone, for this wonderful birthday surprise. It's really too much-I don't know what to say except thank you."
Harry looked around again at everyone in the stands and on the field. "But where are your folks, Hermione? Didn't you invite them?" asked Harry.
"They had to attend one of their conferences," she replied, still glaring daggers at the beautiful French girl by Bill's side.
"Snape and Draco couldn't make it?" asked Harry, looking at Dumbledore.
"They had prior commitments, unfortunately," replied Dumbledore, "but they sent their regrets as well as a present, I believe."
"Probably a vial of poison," commented Ron sourly.
Harry gave him a sharp look.
"If one of you is tired, I'll take your spot in the game," offered Ginny. Ron looked around but nobody seemed willing or anxious to sit out.
"Sorry, Gin, but it looks like the teams are even right now."
Before Ginny could reply, Harry asked Hermione if she wanted to play. "No thanks. I don't like flying in crowds." "I just like to fly with you, Harry, like on that afternoon at Hogwarts down by the lake when you were supposed to be taking a nap in the infirmary." She smiled and Harry felt his heart flip.
"How does she do that to me?" he asked himself.
"It's my secret power, Harry." she teased and he noticed her smile grow much wider as it spread across her face.
"Stop eavesdropping like that," commanded Harry and tried to shake his head to clear it and raise his mental defenses. Hermione just smirked with that know-it-all look that he loved.
"I'll fly, if it will make the teams even," offered a deep voice. Everyone looked to Samuel. "And if you have a spare broom."
Arthur cut in, "I'm not sure that would be such a good idea, Samuel."
"And why not? Afraid I might hurt one of the kids?"
"Actually, no. Knowing my children, I'm afraid that one, or perhaps two of them," he replied looking at the twins, "might hurt you."
All of the Weasley boys and Harry started laughing. Samuel joined in a moment later. "Good one, Arthur," he chuckled.
"Right then, Harry. As host, you should provide the broom. Now hurry up there," laughed Fred.
"Uhh-well," started Harry.
"Good grief, man! This is your house isn't it?" asked George.
"Well, yeah, I guess. But I've only been here a couple of hours. I don't know where to look."
With a wide smirk on his face, Charlie suggested, "Why don't you try a broom closet, mate? Where else would you keep a broom? Why don't you show him where it is Hermione?" Then in a lower voice meant to be heard only by his brothers, he added, "You seem to know your way around a house."
As the Weasley boys chuckled, Charlie's smile and their laughter died under the withering looks of Molly, Minerva, Hermione and Ginny. He gulped and tried to apologize, "Just a joke, mum, Professor. Uhh, on second thought Harry, I think I'll help you find the closet."
Charlie guided Harry back towards the house as his mother spoke to their backs, "And you can do all the dishes tonight, Charles Finnigan Weasley, to help you learn your way around a house. One more smart aleck remark like that and you can have Christmas dinner on your own. No son of mine talks like that to a…"
"Nice one, Charlie," smirked Harry once they were well out of earshot of the group outside. "Remind me not to ask you for advice about girls. I think you've been out too long with the dragons."
"Yeah, well, how was I supposed to know they all have superior hearing? Sheesh! Now where is that broom closet? Ahh, here we go."
Inside the closet on one side of the back porch were a dozen excellent flying brooms. "Nice collection you have here, Harry. You have a couple of Nimbus 2000's, some Starstreaker 2001's and some late model Skysweepers and Clouddusters. Nothing in the league of your Firebolt, but very good brooms nonetheless. Which one should we pick for him?"
With a wide smile, Harry asked, "Which one is the slowest, clumsiest of the lot?"
With a smile as wide as Harry's, Charlie picked up a Skysweeper. "Want me to knock it around a bit, first? Tear out some stabilizing twigs?"
"Nah," laughed Harry. "We don't want to make it too obvious."
When they returned, Samuel looked at the Skysweeper and then at the other brooms. "You're kidding right? Fancy house like this and this is the best you got?"
"Well, you could always borrow my old Nimbus 2000, but you might have a hard time finding a piece big enough to sit down on," chuckled Harry, soon followed by the other Weasleys.
Dumbledore pointed out wisely, "Samuel, I am afraid that beggars cannot be choosers."
"Fine, fine," grumbled Samuel. "Who wants me?"
There was complete silence for thirty seconds while the Weasleys and Harry looked at each other and Samuel quietly. Then the twins burst out together crying, "We want Ginny!"
"What?!" roared Samuel. "You picked the girl before me?!?! That's it! Give me one of the beater clubs!"
Once again laughter burst out from everyone except for Samuel. If the game before had been frantic, the one that ensued was played at breakneck speed. Fred and George took turns watching the goals and playing Beater while Ginny played at her natural position of Chaser. Harry of course was the Seeker matched on the other side by Charlie. Both occasionally played Chaser as well. Ron played Keeper, while Bill played Chaser. And Samuel was an overenthusiastic Beater with incredible aim. Only the exceptional flying skills of Harry and the twins kept them from getting knocked out of the sky. Ginny managed to score a few goals on Ron, while Bill had a much easier time against the twins. Two hours into the match and down a hundred points, Harry realized that it was up to him to win the game for his team-they were not going to be able to dig themselves out of such a deep hole with Ron guarding the goals. Dodging bludgers from Samuel and with Charlie marking his every move and not falling for his feints, Harry was having a difficult time concentrating on locating the snitch. Pitching, diving and rolling around the field, Harry finally glimpsed a glint of gold a dozen feet behind the goal being guarded by Ron. Glimpsing another dive by Ginny below him as she sped towards the goal, Harry dove, too, as if he were trying to clear the way to the goal, with Charlie in close pursuit. Sensing it rather than seeing it, he dodged quickly to his left as another bludger flew past his ear.
"The snitch! Behind you Ron! Behind you!" screamed Charlie, who realized he would not be able to catch Harry on the Firebolt. Ron looked nervously over his shoulder and then back in front as Ginny and Harry sped towards the goal. Fifty feet away from the goal, Harry lurched to the side as Samuel slammed his broom sideways into him.
"Time to go down, hero!" grunted Samuel as he used his heavier weight to slowly force Harry down and to the side, slowing him considerably and providing Ron time to turn on his broom and dive for the snitch. As Ginny soared past the pair, she drove a knee into the back of Samuel's shoulder, knocking him off balance slightly. He grunted and then laughed as he leaned again to apply pressure on Harry. However, instead of pushing back against him, Harry rolled right over the side of his broom. He continued his roll underneath the broom and as he came up again, he pushed Samuel, who was already off balance from having pushed Harry. While Samuel managed to hang on to his broom, he quickly fell into a nose dive towards the ground. Unfortunately for Samuel, he made an appealing target that neither of the twins were able to resist. The spectators winced as they heard the dull thuds of the Bludgers pound solidly into his side right before he plowed into the turf.
Meanwhile, Ginny was speeding towards the goal and Harry was quickly catching up to her. But Ron had decided to go for the snitch and was only five feet away from it when it started to move towards Harry and Ginny. Harry adjusted his angle to shoot right through one of the hoops and intercept the moving snitch. Ginny lined up her shot and fired. Bill started laughing as the shot went wide but then stopped when Ron had to duck and dive on his broom, barely avoiding the Quaffle thrown by Ginny. Then the snitch changed direction again. Harry and Ron collided as they both changed direction to pursue the snitch with Charlie about twenty feet behind. When the snitch dropped again, Harry rolled on his broom to an inverted position. Hanging by his legs, his fingers just barely reached around the snitch. Ron had tried to dive lower, but even with his longer arms couldn't reach the snitch but got his fingers tangled up in Harry's sleeve. As Harry's hands closed around the snitch, Ron jerked his hand back in frustration pulling Harry off his broom. Ron reached his hand back out to grab Harry, but his fingers couldn't get a firm hold on his wrist before Harry fell towards the ground. Then Harry simply disappeared.
"Harry!" screamed Ron. It was echoed by Hermione from the stands.
"What's all the fuss about? I've had much harder landings than that," laughed Harry, now sitting behind Hermione.
Spinning around, Hermione slapped him on the shoulder. "That's not funny, Harry!"
"Would you rather I bit the turf like our friend Samuel out there?"
As Harry and Hermione finished their discussion, the rest of the Weasleys were landing as a figure slowly limped off of the pitch towards the stands.
"You know, you could have brained me with that Quaffle!" roared Ron at Ginny.
"You mean like when you threw Harry off his broom? Don't you want a seeker this year?" countered Ginny.
"Easy, easy you two," urged Harry. "It was just a game. A very competitive game, but just a game. Ron wasn't throwing me off, he tried to catch me. It was just an accident."
"Well, what about the Quaffle?"
Harry glanced at Ginny and smiled. "Well, that probably wasn't an accident. But relax, she's on our team at school."
The various discussions died down as Samuel limped up to the stands. With a scowl on his face, he looked at the various Weasley boys and then glared at Harry. Then he burst into laughter. "You were right Arthur, they do play rough. Even the girl," Samuel added as he rubbed his shoulder. "Now that was a well played Quidditch match. It reminds me of the way we play it in the States. Of course, we don't use the little golden golfball with wings and we use two more Bludgers. Oh, and of course everyone has a Beater club. But this was still pretty fun. Good game." He then limped into the house.
The Weasley boys and Harry just stared at him in disbelief as he walked in.
"Uhh, Dad," started Ron, "is that why American teams never get invited to the World Quidditch Cup?"
"I would imagine so, Ron," was his father's answer.
"Well, if you children are done trying to knock each other senseless, I have dinner and Harry's birthday cake waiting for us back at our house. Dumbledore has been good enough to make a portkey for us to use tonight. Just touch the floppy hat laying on the table and say Birthday Party."
Everyone started filing in when Hermione pulled Molly aside. "I have one final surprise for Harry. We'll just be a few minutes behind the rest of you."
Molly's eyebrows rose, but she merely said, "Very well, but don't be too long, dear."
While Harry was putting the brooms away in the broom closet, everyone else was in the kitchen using the portkey. Before he left, Hermione offered Samuel one of her SAPs, which he accepted with a bit of skepticism. After he took it, he gave Hermione a hearty thank you. Hermione was sitting by the table, all alone, when Harry came in from the back porch.
Seeing they were all alone, Harry grinned. "Would you care for a quick spin around the pitch? It doesn't seem to be too crowded. Maybe on the motorcycle?"
"I'd love to, Harry. But not on the motorcycle just yet-you don't even know how to run it yet. The Firebolt will be fine." Taking his arm, she followed him outside. A moment later he was kicking off the ground on his Firebolt, with Hermione riding behind him, holding him tightly. As they soared upward, Harry explained that the Weasley boys, with the help of Dumbledore, had charmed the field so that nobody from Hogsmeade could see or hear them playing on the pitch. "We could even have Gryffindor practices here," he explained excitedly, "we wouldn't have to worry about scheduling time with the other teams!"
"Yeah, I'm sure McGonagall would have absolutely no problem with that," replied Hermione sarcastically.
"Well, she doesn't need to know."
"I don't think I want to know."
"Well, forget I mentioned it then."
"I already have."
"It's beautiful up here," whispered Harry. From their vantage point, they could see the lights being lit in the town of Hogsmeade, and further off, the silhouette of Hogwarts castle looming over the Forbidden Forest and the lake. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder.
"Take us down over there," she whispered in his ear, pointing to a balcony on the third floor. Harry did as he was directed, setting them down gently on a spacious deck that overlooked the Quidditch pitch and had two large glass doors that opened into the house.
"Aside from the library, the remaining rooms on the second and third floors are guest rooms, a couple of bathrooms, and some other rooms that you can adapt for whatever use you want. This, however, is the room I wanted to show you. The master suite-I think you'll like it a bit better than your old room under the stairs. Come on, I have one final surprise for you." As Hermione pushed Harry through the French doors, she missed Harry's look of puzzlement.
When he stepped through, his jaw dropped in amazement. There was a huge bed, all decked out in Gryffindor gold and red, several chests and wardrobes, a small worktable with several chairs, another TV and small stereo on one side of the room with a small fireplace and several plush chairs in front of it, and of course, more bookcases lining the walls. Harry just stood and spun, speechless. He followed Hermione as she showed him the huge bathroom, with a tub only slightly smaller than the one in the Prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. When they walked back into the bedroom, Harry finally found his voice. "Wow. This is amazing. I can't believe you all did this for me. This goes beyond my wildest dreams."
"So you like it?" asked Hermione.
"I love it! And I love you!" he exclaimed as he caught Hermione up in his arms and gave her a huge kiss. When Hermione returned the kiss just as strongly, Harry tightened his arms around her. For a moment, he thought maybe he shouldn't, but when Hermione hugged him tighter, he shook off any nagging doubts. A bit off balance, he stepped forward to try and regain it. He tripped on one of Hermione's shoelaces and began to tumble forward. He tried to catch himself, but he had already knocked Hermione backwards, and she pulled him down with her. They landed in a jumble on the huge bed. At Harry's puzzled look, Hermione laughed. Harry listened for a moment to that magical, enchanting sound and then leaned forward and kissed her again. Hermione hesitated for a moment, but when Harry ran his fingers down the side of her cheek and neck, she returned the kiss. Harry tried to pull her close to him again, but got tangled up in the quilt and ended up tumbling on top of her. He leaned down and kissed her again and she kissed him back. His mind whirling, he lost all sense of time as they continued to exchange kisses. Then he thought he heard Hermione trying to say something. He mumbled "I love you, too," back and kept kissing her.
"Stop it Harry! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop!!!"
Harry's eyes flew wide open and he jumped backwards, falling off the bed in a tumble as if Hermione had hit him with a banishing spell.
Crawling to his knees, he looked up at a hysterical Hermione. "What the …" he started.
"I said stop it, Harry! This is all wrong. Don't you understand?"
"What?!? No! I don't understand. What's the matter?"
"Us! Here! Like this! Do you realize what could have happened?"
"Well, yeah. But I thought you wanted to…"
"NOOO! Harry! I thought you knew me better than that! This was all a horrible mistake!"
"A mistake! What are you talking about?!?! I love you!!! There's no mistake about that! And I thought you loved me! But maybe that's where the mistake is!"
"WHAT?!?!"
"You heard me! And if you didn't, you certainly could have read my mind! You're good at that! I thought we loved each other. And if we love each other, what is so wrong with showing it by…"
"And what bloody moron gave you that wonderful insight into relationships? Ron? One of your other roommates? One of the twins? Malfoy? Sirius, maybe? Because it sure as hell wasn't anyone that knows a damn thing about women!!!"
"Now it's my fault that I didn't have good role models to bring me up right?!?! It's my fault that anyone that might have taught me whatever the hell you think it is that I'm supposed to know died!!! Last time I checked, Voldemort killed both of my parents when I was a year old. Guess old Dumbledore should have found me a better pair of foster parents that the Dursleys. I guess Sirius should have broken out of Azkaban sooner, but that wouldn't have made any difference-apparently he was not up to your high and mighty standards!!! I'm sooo sorry! Maybe you know a book I could read that will help me sort it out!!"
"I thought you had enough common sense to figure this out on your own. Obviously, I was wrong. You're just as thickheaded and dimwitted as most boys your age!!!"
"Well I'm sorry if I can't read your mind! That's your specialty, not mine!! I thought I was reading the clues-I have one more surprise, Harry…I want to show you the bedroom, Harry-What the hell was I supposed to think!!!"
"WHAT!!! You think I set this up so that we could…"
"Well, you waited till everybody was gone and it was just the two of us. I have another surprise, Harry-Come in here, Harry."
"And you automatically assumed…"
"I didn't assume anything!"
There was silence for a moment as the two glowered at each other in the very warm room.
"So what was this surprise supposed to be?" snarled Harry.
Hermione spun on her heel and stomped towards one of the bureaus. She picked up a flat, rectangular object and spat out, "You don't deserve it anymore." She then hurled it like a fanged frisbee right at Harry's head. When he ducked, it smashed into the wall and he heard the sound of breaking glass. When he looked up again, Hermione was standing by the open glass doors with his Firebolt.
"Now Mione, you're not that good of a flyer, be careful with…"
"Shut up Harry! Don't worry about your precious little broomstick-I'm not going to break it!"
"That's not what I meant…" growled an angry Harry.
"And don't try and follow me, Harry. I don't want to ever see you again. EVER!!!" With that, she mounted the broom and flew off into the night.
"Good!!" shouted Harry into the darkness. "The same goes double for me!!" Then he slammed the doors shut. He turned and looked at the mess by the far wall and went over to inspect it, fuming. Picking up the golden cloth that had been covering the present, he saw shattered glass and a broken wooden frame but no evidence of a picture.
Looking back at the bureau, he saw another cloth covered frame, probably another picture. He stalked angrily over to it and snatched the fabric off. The undamaged picture was a wizard portrait, one of a young man with dark hair and glasses and a woman with beautiful, long red hair and green eyes. They both looked out at him very sadly. They then turned to look to the side of the picture as a slightly shorter young woman with long, curly brown hair ran sobbing into the picture, right into the arms of the woman who gave her a huge, comforting hug. The man stood for a moment uncomfortably, then put his arms around the pair of crying women, and with a last, sad glance at Harry, led the two women off the edge of the picture. Harry collapsed onto the edge of the bed, and dropped his head into his hands and began sobbing. He didn't notice the slight trembling of the floor over the shaking of his own shoulders.
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