Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, so there!
A/N: Whew! What was it I said about "regular length chapters" last time?? Yeah right!! Oh well, it's been fun all the same! And awaaaayyyy we go!
Of course, even if I ever did forget to thank him (like that one time...), I could never forget to be thankful for my beta, MapleMountain.
And finally... I'm SO sorry, Harry, for what fate (i.e.: the author) does to you in this first paragraph...
Chapter 13. Holding Out for a Hero.
When he landed in an un-catlike fashion in the entrance hall of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, Harry very quickly became aware of a gut-wrenching reality. As Hermione also landed ungracefully next to him, she lost her grip on her present. Harry knew with nauseating certainty that her present was much, much heavier than it looked. When it finally made contact with him, it landed on its corner, effectively concentrating all of the energy of the fall (with almost pin-point accuracy) onto a part of Harry's body that never before had received such mistreatment.
Harry immediately curled up into a ball and then rolled over onto his side, effectively wedging Hermione's brick of a present further into his groin as it became sandwiched between his legs and chest. Whatever discomfort this might have caused was overpowered by the pain he was currently feeling from the high energy impact he had already taken. Choking and coughing, tears began to stream down his face.
Hearing Harry in such obvious pain, Hermione immediately sat up from her undignified fallen position, looking over at him to see what was wrong.
"Are you all right, Harry?" she asked, very concerned.
Unable (and unwilling) to say what her present had done to him, he tried to focus his attention away from the heavy, throbbing stabs of agony that were synchronized to the beat of his heart; he could not ignore them even if he tried. "Yes, I'm fine," he lied pitifully, in an unnaturally high, shaky voice.
Still unaware of Harry's condition, Dumbledore chuckled to himself merrily as he stood up, quite spryly actually, for a man on the bottom half of his second century. While the pain had not lessened, Harry had become acclimated enough to the point where he could at least roll onto his back and uncurl himself from the fetal position. The ten-ton boulder of a gift still sat atop Harry's midsection; it was still sitting there, but at least it wasn't falling, or colliding, or impacting.
Hermione looked at the gift she had been so anxious to give Harry. When she saw where it now rested, followed by her noticing how quickly the color had drained from Harry's face, her face paled also as she realized what must have happened. She turned her head to look at the Headmaster, who was still busy brushing off his robes.
"No matter how many times I do that..." he said aloud to himself, thoroughly entertained by his latest Portkey transport. "The only thing better, for a man of my age of course, is a good Muggle roller coaster. I-" Dumbledore stopped as his eyes landed on a tear-stained Harry Potter lying beneath a neatly wrapped present; he visibly winced at the scene before him.
The sight of Albus Dumbledore, a man Hermione held in high regards as one of the most powerful wizards alive, cringing at Harry's situation did nothing but make her feel worse. Wanting to help Harry, she began to reach for the present to remove it. Dumbledore signaled for her to stop with a wave of his hand.
"Harry?" he asked very gingerly, almost as if he too were in pain. "Are you all right?"
"N... no," Harry squeaked back weakly, his eyes still tightly clenched shut.
"If you are able, Harry, would you please hand your present back to Miss Granger and attempt to stand?" Dumbledore asked gently. "I may be able to remedy your situation, once you are upright."
Dumbledore's offer of apparent salvation motivated Harry to open his eyes. He reached down below his waist, removed the wrapped box, and gave Hermione her gift. Summoning every ounce of strength in his pain-weakened body, he sat up, then slowly climbed to his feet. He was shaky, but standing.
Dumbledore moved to stand in front of Harry, retrieving his wand from his robes. "Miss Granger. If you do not mind, would you kindly look the other way for a moment? While there is nothing to be seen here, I'm sure Harry would be more at ease knowing he wasn't under such... scrutiny." Hermione looked momentarily at Harry. She could see him watching her out of the corner of his eye; he quickly looked back at the Headmaster. Hermione nodded then looked in the opposite direction, still sitting on the floor.
Dumbledore made an intricate series of movements with his wand over Harry's midsection. A pale blue, pulsing glow appeared below his waist.
"No permanent damage," Dumbledore said to Harry, "One picks up a few things when he has been to the Hospital Wing as many times as I have to sort out the latest whodunit" he explained. He then took a step back, and carefully took aim with his wand.
"Are you ready, Harry?" Dumbledore asked in a soft voice. Even though Harry was still in misery, and even though Dumbledore said this would help him, it was still a very scary sight to see a wand being so carefully pointed there. Harry nodded slightly.
"Don't move," Dumbledore said politely. Harry closed his eyes.
"Occaeco!" he heard the Headmaster say gently. The next instant, Harry felt all of the pain in his midsection disappear completely; his entire body relaxed now that that unique and unforgettable pain was gone. He opened his eyes again.
"How do you feel now, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. Hermione decided it was safe and looked back. Harry stood there for a moment, obviously trying to sense any lingering pain.
"Much better now. The pain's gone," he said, relieved. After rolling around on the floor, his trousers had shifted slightly out of position. Harry hooked his index fingers through two of the belt loops and gave a slight tug to pull everything back into place. After doing so, a slightly confused look appeared on his face.
"Well, that would explain why I don't feel any pain anymore," Harry said to no one in particular.
Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "A simple, localized numbing charm. Quite effective at relieving such isolated pain, especially when there's no serious physical damage that needs repairing. Though obviously it has a side effect. Not a popular remedy for married couples, or so I hear. Don't worry, it will wear off eventually."
Choosing to ignore the implications of those statements, Harry turned his attention to Hermione, still sitting on the floor and wearing a very guilty expression on her face. "Are you all right down there?" he asked her.
"Me? Yes, I'm fine. Are you okay? I am SO sorry Harry!" she said very apologetically.
Harry smiled slightly. He found her concern rather endearing. And it really looked kinda cute. "Yeah, all better now. But what about you? You haven't gotten up yet. Did you hurt your leg when you landed or something?"
"No, I'm fine," she assured him. "It's just that when I saw you there, and saw what had happened, I just felt so awful that I didn't move. Then Professor Dumbledore told me to look away. I guess I just never got around to standing up," she admitted sheepishly.
Harry began to laugh. He had had his first personal introduction to a very obvious male vulnerability. He'd been very lucky in his first fifteen years, especially considering how much Quidditch he had played; he'd seen it happen to others, but never actually experienced it for himself. With the pain gone, now he could laugh about it.
"I'm the one who got hit, and you felt bad?" he asked in amusement. "I guess I should be glad it was only an accident. I'd hate to think what I'd feel if you ever got truly mad at me," he said as he tried to control his laughter.
Hermione looked up at Harry; seeing him laugh like that allowed her to smile slightly. "So would I, Harry. So would I."
With his laughter finally under control, he looked down at her and smiled again. He put his hands out in front of him towards her. "Come on, let's go. Everyone's waiting."
Hermione grasped his hands firmly as she pulled herself up, As he felt her hands in his, Harry's stomach begin to do flip flops. The last time he felt something like this was a few minutes earlier at Hermione's house, right before the Portkey activated. And the time before that was all those months ago when Cho...
Pulling Hermione up (and fighting the almost instinctual desire to not let go of her hands), Harry wondered if that feeling was simply another side effect of the numbing charm. However, even Captain Oblivious knew that that charm was in effect over a place slightly lower on his body. Just like how deep down he knew that the Portkey activated after he felt that swooping sensation. But he had to believe those were just coincidences... for the only other possibility he could think of was just simply too... delusional.
With Hermione safely on her feet, and with the pain on his front side abated, Harry finally noticed the pain on his other side. As he discretely tried to massage his aching backside, upon which he had unceremoniously landed, he cast a quick look at the Hermione. She was attempting to do the same.
When he realized exactly where in the house he was, Harry immediately turned to where he knew the portrait of Mrs. Black was. He was surprised to find that in its place, or more accurately, in front of it, was a brand new curtain. It was tightly attached to the ceiling, floor and walls around Mrs. Black's painting and her moth-eaten curtains.
"We still haven't been able to remove her," Dumbledore said behind Harry, startling him. He had forgotten that the Headmaster was there. Harry noticed that he had been doing that a lot lately: forgetting there were people in the room other than to whomever he had been talking. He also noticed that Dumbledore had been speaking at normal volume. Everyone usually whispered around Mrs. Black.
Right then, Harry heard Mrs. Weasley come up the stairs from the kitchen in the basement. "Harry and Hermione, dears. It's so good to see you again," Molly greeted them warmly, giving each of them a small hug. She then stepped back and took a closer look at Harry's face.
"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked, concerned. "You look like you've been crying," she said, then suddenly paled as she realized that she might have said the wrong thing.
Dumbledore immediately spoke up, chuckling. "Not to worry, Molly. Just some minor landing difficulties, that's all." Dumbledore then turned to Harry. "Speaking of which, Harry, unless you would care to recount for everyone what happened..." he said, taking out his wand again. Harry smiled and shook his head. Dumbledore flicked his wand at Harry's face; his tear streaks and watery, red eyes immediately cleared.
Molly then turned to look at the curtain she had seen all three of them looking at when she entered the room.
"It's so nice not having to listen to her anymore," Molly said with a hint of relief in her voice. "It was Ron's idea, actually... to put a silencing charm on her curtain. I'm not sure I want to know why he knew to suggest that..." she said, more so to herself. Harry kept his attention squarely on the curtain. Since every bed at Hogwarts was a four-poster with curtains (at least in the boys' dormitories), hardly anyone ever mentioned "silencing charm" and "curtains" together in the same sentence. Harry wasn't going to either.
"But anyway," she continued. "We tried it, but her curtain refused to hold the spell. So we put up a second curtain around hers, and it worked perfectly. Peace and quiet ever since," she said happily, but then added, "at least from her," looking upstairs to where Harry assumed the rest of the Weasleys were assembled.
"Go on up, dears," she encouraged Harry and Hermione. "I'll be up in a minute. I just need to finish your cake." Dumbledore, Molly, and Hermione all smiled when they saw Harry's eyes light up at the mention of cake.
Harry then turned back to the Headmaster, who had moved unnoticed towards the stairs that led up to the drawing room.
"Shall we?" the Headmaster asked with a slight smile. Harry briefly looked back to Hermione; she smiled and nodded.
Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "We shall."
Harry climbed the stairs, followed behind by Hermione, and then the Headmaster. As Harry opened the door at the top of the stairs, he immediately heard a dull murmur of voices; everyone was simply milling around, waiting for them to arrive. Before anyone was able to notice him, Harry took a quick look around the room to see who was there.
Indeed, everyone he had hoped would be there was, except of course for Neville, who was with his family. Harry was surprised to see Percy as well, sitting quietly in the emptiest corner of the room. He was talking with Remus. Harry noticed that everyone else seemed to avoid walking in that direction.
With Hermione and Dumbledore behind him, he had to take several more steps into the room to clear the doorway. His presence was detected on his third step.
"Harry!" Ron called out from the other side of the room. Harry turned to see Ron attempting to extract himself from what looked like an in-depth conversation with Luna Lovegood. He also noticed a small stampede of all the other guests heading toward him. He was immediately surrounded by a small armada of his friends. It took several minutes for Harry to get thorough all the greetings, handshakes, and hugs.
Finally, the crowd began to break up as Molly worked her way through it, calling out for everyone to give him some room; she was brandishing a frosting-covered wooden spoon at anyone who didn't move fast enough.
When she reached Harry, she patted him on the back. "Well I see everyone knows you're here now," she said warmly, and then handed him the spoon. Harry noticed happily that Molly had obviously left a lot of frosting on the spoon. "Here you go, dear. Just finished." As Molly turned back, she saw the four youngest Weasleys eyeing the spoon enviously.
"Don't even think about it," she warned them. "It's Harry's birthday. He gets the spoon." The four of them looked rather put out.
"I'm sure there's a bowl somewhere that needs cleaning," Harry suggested to them, holding the coveted spoon protectively. He noticed Ron inching forward slightly.
"Go on!" Molly said to the four frosting fanatics. "And while you're down there, someone can clean that bowl properly once you're through with it. And remember Ronald, Ginerva," both cringed, "you're both still underage, so you get your brothers to do it, or you do it yourself by hand. Bring the trays of lunch back with you. Fred, George, if you spill even a single item with one of your levitations..." she warned them.
All four of them immediately made a dash for the door. As they ran down the stairs, Molly suddenly remembered something and rushed to the door. "And if I find that so much as a fingerful of frosting has been pilfered from Harry's cake, so help me, none of you will get any of it!" she shouted down to them as they ran to the stairs to the kitchen. Harry smiled as he heard someone groan at being denied that opportunity.
Molly then returned. "Well, that should take them about two minutes," she said in good humor to Harry and Hermione. "Hurry up and eat that, dear, before they return. I can't make any promises once they get back." Molly smiled at both of them, then she went over to join Arthur, who was busy talking to Professor Dumbledore.
Harry took one great big lick of the spoon and was immediately in a chocolate-induced heaven. It was one thing to feel the effect of Honeyduke's best after a dementor attack; it was another thing entirely to experience it when it had been whipped up and was in state where it so easily melted in your mouth. Three licks later, he had completely cleaned off the back of the spoon.
Deciding that something this amazing had to be shared, Harry turned to give the spoon to Hermione. He was a little surprised (and unnerved) to find that she looked as though she had been watching him intently the whole time he had been enjoying his treat.
"Here," Harry told her, handing her the spoon, "absolutely brilliant! You have to try it." He made sure to hold the spoon at the very bottom of the handle, to keep his hand out of the way of hers.
Hermione smirked slightly as she took the spoon. "Yeah, I could tell," she said. Not wanting to intrude upon her chocolate bliss (and for other reasons also), Harry turned back to the group right as she began to lick the frosting from the bowl of the spoon.
Molly was right. About two minutes after the four youngest Weasleys departed for the kitchen, they returned, each carrying a large tray of food for lunch. Fred and George were carrying theirs. Harry assumed they were unwilling to take the risk of spilling anything.
After setting his tray down on one of the two large tables that had been set up in the drawing room, Ron came over to Harry.
"Blimey, mate. I'm sure glad you're here finally," Ron said to Harry, looking at the three other trays Fred, George, and Ginny also brought up. "We've all been going insane today, smelling everything that Mum's been cooking. She wouldn't even let..." he trailed off, then began to smirk at Harry now that he got a good look at him.
"Harry, where did you learn how to eat?" Ron said with a laugh. "You've got chocolate all over your mouth!"
"I learned by watching you," Harry retorted.
"Touché," Hermione said on Harry's right.
"Ouch," Ron conceded, still laughing.
Harry then turned to Hermione. "You knew?" he asked her, and then began to smirk as well. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a playfully hurt voice.
"Oh Harry, it was just too funny looking. Believe me, you'll laugh about it later," she told him.
"Oh, I know I will," Harry replied mischievously. Hermione looked at him quizzically.
Ron then turned to Hermione also. "Yeah, Hermione. It's not very nice to not tell someone when they..." Ron trailed off, then he began to laugh.
"What?" she asked.
"You've got chocolate on you too," Ron said very pleased, though his laughs had begun to subside. "You're as bad as Harry. How could you two both get chocolate on your-?"
Ron suddenly stopped and then began to look back and forth curiously between the two of them. Harry suddenly sensed a possible "situation" developing with Ron. He recalled with great clarity how jealous Ron seemed to be when Hermione went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. Sure, Harry was pretty certain he could understand why Ron might get jealous of Viktor, but still, to go off half-cocked like he did was a little much, in his opinion.
Fortunately, Hermione stepped forward to save the day. As usual, Harry thought to himself fondly. She held up the now chocolate-free spoon she had been holding at her side. "Harry gave me the other half of his spoon. The frosting was very good. What did you think of it?" she asked Ron.
Whether it was the sight of the spoon or the mention of the frosting he had just sampled downstairs, Ron immediately began to yammer on about how much he loved it. It took everything Harry had to not start laughing at how easily Hermione was able to divert Ron's attention away from them. Not that we had done anything, of course, Harry said to himself.
A few minutes later, Molly came over to Harry and gently shepherded him towards the second of the two tables. She then was able to silence the room with a very powerful clearing of her throat.
"Hem hem." The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up. It was scary how much she sounded like Professor Umbridge. Harry caught Hermione's eye on the other side of the room and gave her an "I'm impressed" look, which she returned, smiling.
Like daughter, like mother, Harry said to himself, recalling when Ginny did the same thing in the Hog's Head to distract Hermione from her "discussion" with Luna about the existence of Heliopaths.
"All right everyone. Now that we're all here and the food is here, let's give Harry his presents so we can all eat. I've already seen four people eyeing the fried chicken, so I think we're pushing our luck to wait much longer."
Molly then turned back to Harry. "Just set your presents down on that table and then you can open them after everyone has eaten," she said cheerfully. "Somehow I doubt there will be any food left if you open them all now."
Her head then snapped to the other side of the room where the food was. "Ronald!" she shouted. Ron withdrew his outstretched hand away from the small mountain of fried chicken.
"Yes, Mum," he said sheepishly as his six other siblings began to snicker.
Molly then turned back to the group. "Okay everyone. It's time..." she said in an unusual voice. Harry suddenly had the feeling that something was odd.
Are they planning something? Harry wondered.
As requested, Harry went over and stood next to the table. Once he was ready, everyone in the room began to gather in an informal line. Whether it was planned or not, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were at the head of the line.
"Mr. Harry James Potter," the Headmaster said to Harry, but loud enough for all to hear. "Born in early afternoon, on this day as the seventh month came to a close, sixteen years ago. I will not bore you all by recounting some of Harry's more embarrassing moments." Ron, Fred, and George booed in the background. Dumbledore then chuckled slightly. "I will save the boredom for the start of term announcements." Everyone in the room began to laugh.
"However I will say that no matter what Mr. Potter has in store for us in the future, one of my fondest memories will always be of the day he got me sacked, not just a few months ago," the Headmaster said, his eyes twinkling as most of room began to snicker. "It was quite a holiday for me, if I do say so myself. My only regret was that I missed all of the Weasley twins' escapades... something about fireworks... and a swamp, if I got all the tales sorted out correctly?" He then turned back to Harry.
"Unfortunately, it would be considered rather inappropriate if staff were seen giving presents to some students and not others. So, please consider this as simply me making a delivery," Professor Dumbledore said quietly as he handed Harry a parchment envelope; the wax seal was stamped with the emblem of the Ministry of Magic.
"Happy birthday, Harry," Professor Dumbledore said as he shook Harry's hand. As Harry turned to set the envelope on the table, the Headmaster stepped to the side and Professor McGonagall stepped in front of him.
"Happy birthday... Harry," she also said as she shook his hand. As they were both unaccustomed to her using his given name, he nodded slightly and told her thanks, resulting in a half-smile from his Head of House.
Next in line were Arthur and Molly Weasley. As they came up to him, Harry happened to notice that Percy was several places back, looking very uncomfortable.
"Harry!" Arthur exclaimed. "You saved my life when you saw... well, you know what. What more do I need to say?" He paused for a moment. "Other than to say that I would be happy to call you our seventh son. Happy birthday!" Mr. Weasley shook his so vigorously that for a moment Harry was afraid he might lose his arm.
Before moving aside so his wife could get a shot at Harry, Arthur came in close and lowered his voice. "And we really do need to get together some time so you can explain what a credit card is." Harry smiled and nodded.
As he turned back, Harry had time enough to see Molly come rushing forward with her arms stretched out. Uh-oh, he thought as she wrapped her arms around him. Fortunately, it wasn't quite as fierce a grip as Hermione had on him when he first arrived at her house.
"Oh Harry, dear. I don't want to battle on here too much," she said, a little choked up. "Everyone is waiting in line behind me. Let me just say that you're welcome to come over and have dinner with us any time you want to, free of charge of course," she added with a smile, referring back to the thank you letter Harry sent her. "Happy birthday!" she cried as she hugged him again. When she handed him his present, a seam in the wrapping paper separated slightly; the wonderful smell that escaped foretold that it would not be around for long.
Next in line were Remus Lupin and Tonks... together, Harry noticed. Then again, he told himself, they must've come with each other since they were living together... in the same house, he hastily corrected. Shouldn't jump to any conclusions, he chided. After all, Hermione and I are living together too. As those words passed through his mind, he felt his stomach surge as though he had hooked his foot on something very heavy, say... an anvil, and just barely caught himself on his other foot before falling. Yep, best keep those conclusions to myself, he thought as he tried to shake off the feeling.
All of this inner musing did have one drawback; he completely missed everything that Tonks had said to him. In fact, he probably wouldn't have snapped out of it if she hadn't given him a quick hug. "Happy birthday," was all he heard her say.
Lupin was next; maybe later Harry could talk him into repeating what Tonks had said. "Harry," he started after clapping him on the back, "you were born to two of the best friends a man could have. And you were godson to the third. They were all taken from you long before their time, but the love they had for you has obviously lived on, for here you are, standing before us all, ready to celebrate your sixteenth birthday." Lupin was getting a little misty-eyed, as was Harry. "I, ahem, found this in Sirius's room when I was in there a few weeks ago," Remus choked out. "I know he would have wanted you to have it," he said as he handed Harry a small present.
As Lupin and Tonks walked off to join the others who had already wished Harry well, Harry looked back to see that Percy was next. He still looked as uncomfortable as before. He quickly glanced past him to see Fred, George, and Ron all standing together, watching. Harry could not read the expressions on their faces.
"Well, hello there Harry," Percy started uncertainly. He shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other. "I guess all I can say to you is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I doubted you. I'm sorry for the things I said about you. And most of all, I'm sorry for that letter I wrote Ron. I was wrong about everything that mattered. I hope I'll have the chance some day to start over with you." Percy then stopped talking and stood there silently, staring at his feet.
Harry knew it must have humiliating for Percy to do this in front of everyone. As he listened to Percy say his piece, he remained undecided about what to do. It may have seemed heartless, but as far as Harry was concerned, he really didn't care one way or the other if he and Percy reconciled their differences. What Harry did care about was whether Percy and the rest of his own family did.
Harry looked over Percy's shoulder and glanced back at Arthur and Molly, who were standing near the back of the room. They had a mildly concerned look on their faces as they watched Percy talking to Harry. When Arthur saw Harry looking at him, he gave him a very slight nod that no one else saw.
With that, Harry made up his mind. He assumed that the worst blood had been with Arthur; if things were on the mend with him (maybe not fixed, but at least progressing), then Harry was more than willing to give Percy another chance. He stuck his hand out toward Percy. "I'm Harry Potter. Nice to meet you, Percy Weasley." Percy eagerly shook Harry's hand, then he quickly retreated back to his empty corner of the room.
Next to greet Harry and bring their presents were Charlie, Bill, and Fleur. "Well, Harry. It seems that Charlie and I will have the easiest time here," Bill said with a grin. "We really haven't had much chance to get to know you other than what we hear from Ron and Ginny."
Charlie then picked up. "And believe you me, those two aren't the most reliable when it comes to telling us what a prat you really are," he said as everyone began to laugh. "So, we'll let you get away with just a Happy Birthday." Both Bill and Charlie also shook Harry's hand.
"Oh, 'Arry," Fleur cried as she came up to him. "I will never truly be able to zank you enough for ze bravery you showed when you rescued Gabrielle. I know now zat she was safe all ze time, 'owever neizer of us knew zis at ze time. If you are ever in Francaise, please stop and visit. I know Gabrielle would be very 'appy to see you again!"
For some unexplainable reason, Harry found himself glancing over at Hermione. She didn't look entirely thrilled about something. Then again, she never really did look happy whenever Fleur was around, Harry thought to himself as he suddenly remembered some of the looks he caught on her face, like after the time Fleur kissed him when he rescued Gabrielle.
Harry's remembrances were cut short as Fleur stepped forward and kissed him on both cheeks. "Joyeux Anniversaire! ... I mean, 'Appy Birzday, 'Arry!" she said, then stepped away with Bill after they set his present on the table. Again, Harry looked unexpectedly at Hermione. To his surprise however, he found that she was smiling. If her previous behavior, as he remembered it, was any indication, he expected that she wouldn't be. But yet she was. Before he had anytime to think about it though, Hagrid came up next.
"I's good ter see yeh again, Harry," Hagrid said after giving him a slap on the back that nearly caused him to fall down. "I'll never ferget the day I took yeh on Sirius's ol' bike ter 'em horrible relatives of yehrs. 'Bout broke me heart knowin' yeh'd have ter spend so long with 'em. An' I can never thank yeh enough fer savin' ol' Beaky. Anytime yeh wan' ter come'n visit'm, jus' lemme know. Happy Birthday, Harry!" Hagrid then lifted a large sack of something up from behind him. As he set it down on the table, Harry distinctly heard the sound of solid, heavy objects rubbing against each other. Rock cakes? Harry thought to himself fearfully.
As Hagrid worked his way to the back of the room, Harry took a quick glance at the remainder of the informal line. All that were left were Fred and George, then Ron, Ginny, and Luna, then finally Hermione. Fred and George were up next.
"Harry, old pal," Fred started (or was it George?). "We won't stand up here all day and tell stories of how you saved us. Come to think of it. George," Fred said to his brother, "I don't think he ever has saved our lives."
"Yeah, what's up with that, Harry?" George asked in mock offense. "What? Are we not good enough to be saved?" he asked, trying to maintain a straight face.
Looking around the room, Harry saw that most everyone was trying not to smile. "No," he replied, "I think you're simply the smartest ones in the room. You've never needed to be saved."
"You know what, Gred?"
"What, Forge?"
"I think he's calling us chickens."
"I do believe you're right, dear brother."
"Just you wait, Harry," George warned teasingly. "One of these days you're going to bite into the wrong piece of candy, and then we'll all see who the chicken is around here."
"Um, George," Fred said in a stage whisper, nudging him with his elbow. "Those are Canary Creams. We don't have anything that does chickens... yet."
George's face screwed up in concentration for a moment as he tried to remember something. After obviously being unsuccessful, he put on his earlier face of warning.
"Like I said," George continued dramatically, "we'll all see who the canary is around here!" Everyone in the room burst out laughing, even Percy. George then came up and clapped Harry on the back. "Happy birthday, Harry!"
Fred then stepped forward to wish Harry well also. At first, Harry thought Fred and George did not have a birthday present for him. While he was always ecstatic to get any present (after ten years of Dursley birthdays), he really didn't care if he got one or not. What really was important to him was that they were there. Besides, they had already given him the Marauder's Map, and that present would probably account for many birthdays worth of presents.
At the last second, Fred pulled a very small package out of his pocket. It was unlike any other of the other presents. "Wrapped in plain parchment for your privacy," he said very quietly, and with a grin.
"We were thinking of making that a delivery option for our catalog... only one Sickle extra," George beamed. He then took on a slightly devious grin. "Absolutely guaranteed, Harry."
"Yeah, we, um, tested it ourselves," Fred piped in, glancing awkwardly at his twin. George appeared to shudder slightly at some memory, then he promptly took one step away from Fred. Harry took the present and looked at it with trepidation. It was very small, probably no larger than a salt shaker. Knowing the source, this was either a very good sign, or a very bad sign. Harry decided to err on the side of caution; he very gingerly set it down on the table, as far as he could away from the rest of the presents.
Right before joining everyone in the back of the room, Fred and George quickly looked at each other with a grin then turned back to Harry.
"Oh, and Harry," Fred said.
"About next year," George finished.
"We solemnly hope that you will still be up to no good," they both said simultaneously.
Ron was next. He looked about as uncomfortable as Percy did, though Harry suspected for different reasons. A pattern seemed to have emerged with everyone sharing some personal story. Ron really was never one for this kind of talk. He trudged up to Harry, his present under his arm. When Harry later looked back on this, he would admit that he was pleasantly surprised.
"Well mate. I don't really know what to say. We've been best mates since the day we met on the train. We've survived trolls, spiders, dementors, Death Eaters, Snape, and even a bossy know it all," Ron said with a laugh. For some reason, Harry didn't think it was quite as funny as Ron did; it was worth a grin, but not a laugh, he thought.
He glanced over Ron's shoulder and caught Hermione's eye. When she saw him, she shook her head slightly with hint of a smile as she rolled her eyes. Harry shot a quick grin back at her, and then returned his attention to Ron who was still talking.
"-than a bouncing ferret," Ron finished with a happy sigh as he recalled one of his favorite memories of all time. Everyone else in the room began to chuckle, so Harry, who really hadn't been paying attention, forced one as well.
Ron's face then became serious. "Harry, for almost five whole years, you've been the best mate a bloke could have. Happy birthday, Harry!" Ron said before giving him a quick one-armed hug (he was still holding the present).
From somewhere in the back of the room, Harry heard one of the two twins shout out as Ron handed Harry his present. "Okay now Ronniekins, give him his birthday snog." As everyone else in the room (except Ron and Harry) sniggered, Harry could see both Fred and George ducking as they tried to escape the reach of a determined, though smiling, Molly.
Adding Ron's present to the ever growing pile on the table, Harry could not help but notice how heavy the present felt for its size. Acutely aware of how heavy Hermione's was, he thought to himself, He didn't get me one too, did he?
Now that Ron had rejoined the rest of the group in the back of the room (standing so that Molly was between him and the twins), only Ginny, Luna, and Hermione remained. Harry noticed how the three of them seemed overly happy. Well, truth be told, Luna looked to be her normal dreamy self. But Ginny and Hermione definitely seemed to be looking forward to something.
As he looked around the room, Harry could not help but notice that every single other person in the room wore a knowing smile on their faces, as though they were expecting that something was about to happen, something that Harry was obviously not clued in on.
Harry looked again at Hermione. She, more than anyone else, seemed to be wearing the largest grin. "Well, I didn't think it seemed too out of line," he remembered her saying the day before. Whatever it was, he was pretty sure he was about to find out very shortly.
Ginny stepped forward; she seemed to be having a bad case of the blushes. It wasn't however, quite as bad as Hermione had, he recalled, when he kissed her cheek after letting his emotions get away from him after receiving his O.W.L.s.
As Ginny began to speak, Harry noticed that her lip began to tremble slightly. "You came after me when I was taken into the Chamber of Secrets. You killed the basilisk, and destroyed Riddle's diary and him at the same time. You saved my life. Me, who had been chasing you around all year. You, who had been running from me chasing you. And yet you still risked you life to save mine.
"And then this last year, you started the D.A.-" and Hermione, Harry thought to himself a little defensively, it was her idea, "-so that we all could learn how to defend ourselves after that fraud made it clear that she wasn't going to teach us anything," Ginny said more confidently, now that her determination had begun to replace her embarrassment.
"At the Ministry, we were outnumbered two-to-one by Death Eaters, but what we learned from you kept us alive until the Order arrived." As soon as she said it, Ginny winced slightly as she realized that she was indirectly mentioning Sirius. She paused for a moment. Harry suspected that she had something more to say, but was debating whether or not to, after bringing up Sirius.
In the end, she must have decided against it for she immediately regained her determined face and put on a smile. "Happy birthday, Harry!" she exclaimed as she handed him her present. As he took it, she fixed him with a very piercing stare. When he saw this, he suddenly felt very exposed, as though he was being observed and judged by everyone, which really wasn't that far from the truth.
When Ginny saw the slightly confused, slightly fearful look on Harry's face, a delighted smirk appeared on her face. "Don't worry, Harry. I won't kiss you like Fleur did," she assured him.
Harry, who had been thinking nothing of the kind as he set her present down on the table, was about to ask what she meant when he very unexpectedly found out exactly what she meant. In what seemed to Harry like super fast motion, Ginny rushed forward, put her hands on his face to hold him in place, and then gave him an intense kiss on the lips.
When she finally released him, she stepped back, and blushing brightly, told him, "Happy Sweet Sixteen, Harry!" She seemed very breathless as she said it, though Harry seemed to be okay in the oxygen department. As she walked hurriedly to the back of the room to join a very satisfied looking Ron, Fred, and George, Harry replayed the scene in his mind to try to figure out exactly what had just happened.
He recalled her wishing him a happy birthday, then, something he missed the first time, he heard one of the twins shout out "Do it!" She then stepped forward and kissed him. Though it was a regular closed-mouth kiss, he could remember feeling that there was some eagerness by Ginny behind it.
As he recalled the feeling of Ginny's lips on his, he was surprised to realize that it didn't at all feel awkward or unpleasant, like he imagined kissing a sister would be. On the contrary, it reminded him a great deal of how it felt when he kissed Cho Chang; it was rather nice, actually. Though his experience was limited, Harry knew enough to know that kissing was quite an enjoyable sensation.
At the same time, however, he realized that it was different also. Unlike when he kissed Cho, all of those many months ago, there was no swooping sensation in his stomach. There was no lurch in his insides that told him that the kiss meant something to him. There was nothing, except simply the pleasant feeling of a warm pair of lips pressed against his.
As his mind returned to the living room of Grimmauld Place, Harry realized that he in fact did not consider Ginny a sister, at least in that way; at the same time however, and with a small amount of inexplicable satisfaction, he also knew that he didn't have any feelings for her in that way either.
Harry's thoughts suddenly shifted to Hermione. She knew what he had said earlier about Ginny being like a sister. As he looked at Hermione, he was surprised to see that she had a large grin on her face. That didn't make any sense. As far as Hermione knew, Harry had just been given an intense kiss by his sister, and she seemed amused, almost excited.
He then remembered what she had said the other day about his party. She knew something was going to happen. Was this it? As he looked around the room, everyone was wearing quite satisfied grins on their faces, as though they had all been waiting to see this; Fred and George were even chuckling.
Harry looked back to Hermione, who was still standing behind Luna. When she saw him looking at her, wordlessly trying to ask if this was what she was talking about when she mentioned being out of line, she merely smiled even wider and wagged her eyebrows as if to say... well, actually, Harry didn't know what she was trying to say. All he knew for sure what that there was some message hidden in there. He would have to ask her later.
Luna stepped forward next, holding her thin present. The way her unblinking eyes stared at him, he felt as though she was looking right through him and seeing the wall behind him. "Hello, Harry," she said in an airy voice. "I was told that I was supposed to do this. Everyone said it was tradition. I'll admit it's not one I'm familiar with, but who am I to decide that it's strange? So, I'll just play my part, and wish you well on this fine day."
As Luna handed Harry his present, Harry began to wonder what exactly she had been talking about. What was tradition? Harry asked himself. And why is Ginny making a wolf-whistle?
Harry's consideration of what exactly Luna meant and what Ginny was doing was brought to an abrupt halt when Luna stepped forward and gave him a very nice kiss on the lips as well. When she finally stepped back a second or two later, she looked at him again. "Happy Sweet Sixteen, Harry."
If Harry was surprised by Ginny's kiss, then he was even more so by Luna's. Was this was Hermione had been hinting about? Harry wondered to himself. That they would be giving me birthday snogs? Now that he thought about it like that, he remembered one of the twins shouting "Give him his birthday snog," to Ron. If everyone knew that the girls were planning this, it would certainly explain a few things.
While he hadn't been expecting what Ginny did, he at least thought he knew why she kissed him. In fact, now that he thought about it, he noticed that there wasn't that little something extra in Luna's kiss that there was in Ginny's... something that suggested feelings behind it.
What Luna may have lacked in emotional investment, she certainly made up for with skill. Luna, to Harry's immense surprise, was a very good kisser. He didn't know much about her personal life, but he assumed that she didn't have much practical experience. If that was the case, then she certainly had natural born talent, not to mention very nice lips.
As pleasurable an experience as it was, again, he noticed that while even now he still felt a slightly tingling sensation in his lips, there was no tingly feeling in his chest, like the one he had felt so long ago, so many miles away.
Harry looked around the room again. Everyone looked quite pleased with Luna's second gift... except Ron, however. After having just watched his best mate being snogged by Loony Lovegood, Harry expected to see Ron in riotous laughter. Instead, if anything, he seemed confused by... something. Maybe Ron didn't know what was planned, Harry wondered.
Harry finally again looked at Hermione. She was certainly looking like the cat that ate the canary. She knew! She knew all along that this was what they were going to do! Harry said to himself amused. He felt as though she had outsmarted him somehow, even though he didn't know that there was anything going on between them.
Payback time, Harry said to himself. Hermione was next; she was the last one, actually. If Hermione had been aware of the plot, then it seemed perfectly logical that she was going to kiss him also. A slightly devious smile appeared on Harry's face. He remembered how much she blushed when he accidentally kissed her after reading his O.W.L.s. He would have to make this a kiss for her to remember... strictly for payback, of course.
Harry saw Hermione return his devious smile when she realized that he knew what was coming. He was so intent on trying to figure out what he should do that he missed a quiet voice in his head asking, Payback for what?
Finally, everyone in the room settled down. Everyone had been very quiet as they listened to what each person had to say. With the second of Harry's two best friends ready to speak, everyone was most anxious. Hermione stepped forward in front of Harry.
Hermione stood there for a moment, without saying anything. She smiled lightly, as if to break the ice. Harry returned the smile.
"Being the last one, Harry," Hermione started, addressing the room more so than Harry directly, "it's given me a chance to see a pattern emerging. Harry saved the Philosopher's Stone. Harry saved Mr. Weasley. Harry saved Buckbeak, and Sirius, for that matter." Harry felt a surge of something as Hermione mentioned saving Sirius from a dementor's kiss.
He expected that he'd feel bad being reminded that Sirius was now gone. All he could remember right now however, was seeing him alive in Flitwick's office that night, knowing that he was safe as they flew away with Buckbeak. He remembered how tightly Hermione had been holding on to him, all the while muttering how much she didn't like flying. An irony suddenly struck an amused Harry: Hermione didn't like flying and she lived on Broomhill Road. Harry's wandering mind was reigned in as Hermione began to speak again.
"Harry saved Gabrielle and Ron from the merpeople," Hermione continued. "Of course they weren't in any danger, but he didn't know that. Harry saved Ginny and destroyed the memory of Riddle. Harry battled wand to wand with-" she looked left and right as if to look at everyone behind her, and then winked at Harry and grinned, "You-Know-Who. Not only did he survive, but he also brought Cedric back home to his parents. And then, just a few months ago, he faced him again and came out alive, once more.
"I once told him that he had a saving-people thing. Whatever my intentions at the time had been-" Harry smiled slightly as remembered that discussion; he could smile this time because he knew that she'd been right, all along, "he's certainly been able to prove that it's true over the years. And well earned, I might add."
"Yes, it certainly seems that Harry here IS the hero." She took a half step forward. He knew he was jumping the gun, but he could not help but look at her lips before she continued to speak. When she did continue, even though he could not hear any change in her voice, for some reason he felt as though she was speaking directly to him and him alone, even though the room was full of people. Her voice sounded exactly the same as it did just a few seconds ago, but yet... somehow, it just felt softer for some reason.
"He's gotta be strong. Facing Voldemort five times? Yeah, I'd say so." Harry assumed that most everyone in the room had shuddered when Hermione spoke Voldemort's name, but somehow he didn't notice anyone else's reaction.
"He's gotta be fast. Getting the golden egg from the Hungarian Horntail with your Firebolt? Yep.
"He's gotta be fresh from the fight. Breaking down my door because you thought I was in trouble? Most definitely." A huge grin and a slight blush appeared on Hermione's face.
"He's gotta be larger than life. Jumping on the back of a fully-grown mountain troll? Absolutely.
"The song said I'm holding out for a hero. Well, it's wrong. I already found my hero." Harry blinked a couple times. His eyes were beginning to feel slightly warm. He looked back at Hermione. Her eyes seemed to have a slight sparkle to them also, though she looked happier than he could ever remember seeing her.
She took another half step forward. Again, he found his gaze being drawn to her lips. He knew what was coming. "Harry," Hermione said unevenly, "you've saved my life more times than I care to remember. And believe me, once is one time too many. You ARE my hero. Thank you. Happy birthday," she said quietly.
Hermione handed Harry his present for the first time (that other time, it just seemed to fall out of the sky and land in his lap, literally); it was still as heavy as he remembered it.
He knew what was about to happen. She had kissed him before in fourth year; he kissed her just this week. This would be just the same... no big deal. Right?
As he turned to set the present down on the table, he thought for a moment about what he could do to make good on his plan, to make it a kiss for her to remember, since he seemed intent on getting payback. Again, he missed the voice nearly shouting, FOR WHAT?
She had known that the other two girls were going to sneak their kisses in. He couldn't just simply stand there and let her kiss him without doing something. It would have been like letting her have her seat on the sofa without even trying. Sure, it had been a while since he actually tried to sit there, but he at least had been pretending to try to take it all along, just for fun.
So, what could he do? He knew it was just a birthday kiss, so he couldn't do anything too dramatic. Plus, everyone was watching. Oh well, he told himself, maybe I'll just think of something when the time comes.
Harry set the present down and turned back to face Hermione. She took another half step forward. There was now only two feet or so between them. Hermione looked at Harry; Harry looked at Hermione. This was it.
But now that the moment was here, all he could feel was his insides tearing themselves apart in anticipation, as though there were some monster in there like in that movie Dudley loved to watch. He was quite unprepared for the intensity of it. It was like nothing he had ever felt in his life.
"Do it!" Harry heard one of the twins shout.
Harry looked into Hermione's eyes. She was standing there, staring at him, smiling. Am I supposed to do this, or is she? he wondered. Ginny and Luna did all the work. Harry was just an unwitting passenger along for the ride. But now that he knew, was he supposed to do it?
"Come on... do it!" he heard the other twin plead in a teasing voice.
Hermione took yet another small step forward. She looked as though this was exactly what she wanted, and yet she seemed nervous about it too.
"Hermione," Harry started.
"Go for it, Hermione" Ginny cheered in the background while Harry was still talking.
"Everyone is watching," Harry continued. A determined smile appeared on Hermione's face as she heard Ginny. "I think they're all waiting for you-"
"Harry? Just shut up and kiss me," she said in a very matter of fact tone, still grinning from Ginny's exhortation.
"As you wish," Harry replied, quoting that oft-used response to being given an order in Emma's favorite movie. Hermione smiled, then she closed the remaining distance between them.
A/N: Oh, I am in SO much trouble! Heh heh heh. I seem to remember saying something back in Chapter 4 about not having cliffhangers. Hmmm... Looks like I was wrong! :-P
Also, a big nod to MapleMountain (again) and his totally awesome story, Keeping A Promise, for the "Just shut up and kiss me," line. I know you've told me before that you're not the first person to use that line, but you are where I got the idea from. As soon as I decided to start writing, I knew I wanted to have that line in here at least once. Maybe even more than once....