The Birthday Celebration-Chapter 6
Harry lay awake in the bed across from Ron thinking about what was going on between his best mate and Hermione. Harry had kissed her twice today and Ron hadn't bristled at all. He'd held her hand and he'd not said a word. Were Ron and Hermione together already and Ron was helping Hermione let him down easy? Were they keeping it a secret from the rest of the family so that his mother didn't watch them like a hawk?
He realized that he couldn't control any of that. He knew how he felt about Hermione and Ron was too valuable a friend to turn into a rival based on the jealous thoughts of a raving lunatic. He couldn't be happy for them at the moment if it was true. Yet, he knew there was a true bond of love and friendship there too, if it were true. He really wished he could be that kind to Ron if the roles were reversed.
Harry never realized he was asleep until he awoke the next morning. In his life, that was a miracle. No dream had forced him to lay awake in puddles of sweat. He heard the sound of happy voices down below. Ron was out of bed and curtain pulled. What time is it, he asked himself? He looked at the clock and it was after 9:30 AM. He had been fifteen for almost ten hours and was missing the day.
He rushed to get through the shower and get dressed. He tried to comb his hair and as always found it an impossible task. He went down to the kitchen where Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were sitting talking to four other girls. Harry's jaw dropped. There sat Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet-all members of Harry's Gryffindor Quidditch team. The fourth girl made Harry's stomach do flip-flops-Cho Chang. He looked at Hermione in puzzlement.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Each girl got up and gave Harry a hug. Harry tried desperately not to linger over Cho. This was a terrible joke. He was now facing the prospect of talking Hermione with someone present who was-well, hard for Harry to ignore. Harry sat down at the table in a daze.
"Surprised, Harry?" asked Hermione. "I invited them all the week after we left Hogwarts. Wouldn't you know that Cho decided she could make it just last week."
"Harry, it was so hard to get over Cedric, but I knew you tried to help him so the least I could do was come to your birthday party," said Cho.
"Seamus, Dean, Neville and Oliver Wood are coming later. We're not sure whether Parvati and Padma will come. They weren't too keen on how the Yule Ball went," said Angelina.
"I'll say they weren't," said Katie. "Parvati wanted you to ask her so bad she walked by you ten times a day to give you the opportunity and when you finally did, she was like out of her mind. Then you blew her off…well…"
Harry tried not to acknowledge the sheepish grin on either Cho's or Hermione's face. He just kept his head in the stack of pancakes he'd found. He was shocked again to find that they were Blueberry and his favorite. He looked at Hermione, "Your idea?"
Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Brilliant," said Harry. "Hermione you are awesome." He ate hoping that she took the hint that she was the one not Cho.
He knew he couldn't eat pancakes all day while he tried to figure this out. He was in real trouble now. Cho stared at him and smiled. He hated the feeling of having two girls that he liked and one being the only real choice. He didn't want to hurt Cho, but he wasn't going to let her get in the way of what he had to do to get to Hermione. His belly started to hurt.
"Harry, you don't have to make yourself sick," said Ginny. "We know you like Hermione's Blueberry pancakes."
Harry knew what Ron meant now. They were laughing at him being a guy and acting silly. He knew they'd all act like he was their friend if they were one-on-one but as a group, they were-to him, a giggling, gaggle of girl geese. He laughed at the thought. Even Hermione was laughing.
"Okay, okay. Why do I look like I put on a few pounds?" asked Harry trying to join in the fun.
"No, but if you get fat, none of will like you anymore," said Angelina with a wicked smile. "Where is that Fred at anyway? I have a present for him."
"Now, now Angelina, control yourself. This wasn't meant as an occasion to for you to come and snog with my son," said Mrs. Weasley with a smile. The roar of laughter got louder as Angelina blushed and slipped away quietly.
"Oliver's bringing a complete set of Quidditch gear. We're not sure whether to bring out the snitch or not because it could fly into the neighboring muggle town and violate the Secrecy Act. But we think that the muggle repelling charm Mr. Weasley placed on the house and the area today will keep them from noticing," said Hermione.
"Was this your idea too, Hermione?" asked Harry.
"Of course, it was Harry," said Oliver as he burst through the door. "How are you, mate? It's my understanding that Granger's the one behind everything today."
Harry had to get out of the room. He could feel every emotion his mind could handle coming to the surface all at once. He wasn't sure which would come out first. "Guys, can you excuse me for a minute." He ran upstairs and went into Ron's room.
He sat in the chair between the beds with his head in his hands. Tears rolled down his cheeks for the first time. He realized that he'd been a fool. Hermione loved him with all her heart and he knew it now. She had selflessly planned every event to make sure that he had the best day of his life. How could he have doubted her with all the signs?
She had even invited Cho Chang, because at the beginning of the summer she had no idea of Harry's feelings for her. She did know he had a thing for Cho. She was willing to let him be happy with an opportunity to be with Cho because she had only let herself think that she and Harry were friends.
He reached into the bottom of his backpack and pulled out his letter. He realized how woefully in adequate it was. It only started to tell the story of how he felt now. He only had a day, maybe not that long, to return the kind of love she was showing him. Well, he had to get cracking and he had to do it with a plan that would develop on the fly.
"Hey, Harry, get your arse down here," said Oliver. "Are we going to play Quidditch or what?"
Mrs. Weasley admonished Oliver for his language as Harry emerged from the stairwell dry-eyed and determined. To do exactly what next, he wasn't sure. He had one plan, but that was it. He'd have to wait until later though. It wasn't the right time.
Harry hadn't expected it but it turned out to be a practice session for the next year's team. Angelina had just found out she would be the next Quidditch captain and asked Oliver for some advice. Harry could care less whether it was a friendly game or a practice. He loved flying and it had become like second-nature to him. He used the breaks while Angelina and Oliver talked to think of what he was going to do to show his appreciation to Hermione.
This time he stopped and looked down at Hermione. She was deep in conversation with Neville and Ginny. They laughed and carried on with Neville falling backwards over his chair as he stood. Harry looked away before Hermione could spot him staring at her again. Ron soared in next to him. That was another thing too; Ron seemed to be pretty good. And, he'd also mentioned that Ginny could be really good too if given the chance, but she wasn't going to show off in front of their Mom and Dad. They still didn't know that Ron and Ginny snuck out in the mornings to fly while they slept or worked inside.
Around two-thirty they stopped for lunch. Harry landed and snuck up behind Hermione. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he put his hands on her waist from behind and asked her to pass him a paper plate.
"Harry!" she exclaimed with all the excitement he'd hoped for in her voice. She blushed. "You scared me half to death." She didn't push his hands away but did move closer to the serving table and grabbed him a plate. He couldn't hold her waist and not be obvious when she moved.
"Truth," he said. "The first line was the truth." He smiled and put a bun on his plate as he began to make the burger. He loaded his plate with macaroni salad, pickles and a little bit of jello.
She beamed back at him. "And? (A perfectly timed pregnant pause.) The rest of the story is?" she said coyly.
He had no idea what to say next. He'd surprised her and now she'd surprised him. "Don't know yet, do we?" he grinned.
She giggled.
His heart pounded.
Her face flushed as she giggled again. "Nice, I like it. That was really nice."
He walked away just far enough look at her walk away. She was just as beautiful as he'd thought. He watched her hips and sighed.
"Hi, Harry," intruded a girls voice. It was Cho.
"Oh, Hi, Cho," he responded with a step back. This was a problem he knew he'd have to deal with all day. He saw Ron approach Hermione too. He helped her carry her plate to the table. Hermione looked back at him as though she were begging for help. He shrugged.
"Harry?" asked Cho.
"Oh, sorry. Ron just looked over and called me. Would you like to join me?" he asked having no idea what to do next. He loved it. He'd bring his problem over to what, he thought now, might be Hermione's problem.
"Hi, guys. Ron, you know Cho Chang, don't you?" said Harry.
While Ron smiled sheepishly at Cho and took her hand to shake it, he winked at Hermione who blushed and looked away with a smile. "Enchanted," said Ron. Harry and Hermione laughed out loud as Cho blushed and Ron seemed unaware of the problem.
They talked as group for most of lunch. Harry did everything he could but blurt out that Hermione was the cutest girl he'd ever seen. "Man, are we lucky or what, Ron?"
"Sorry?" said Ron.
"I mean we have the coolest girlfriend in the world, don't we?" he made fun of all three of them at once referring to himself, Ron and Hermione. Hermione started to say something in her defense but laughed instead. It was as if she caught the double-meaning in Harry's joke just in time.
They all laughed at once including Cho who was actually the only one who spoke about it, "Yeah, I'll say. She's done a wonderful job planning this whole thing. I mean, I really needed a place to go this summer. Thanks, Hermione."
"Yeah, we do. That's one way of looking at it I guess," said Ron with a confused but playful grin.
Harry felt good. Ron felt good. Hermione felt really good and Cho wasn't getting hurt. He didn't know how it happened that way, but it did. They talked for another ten minutes or so until Hermione spoke up. "Sorry, but I have to go. Forgive me. I'll be back though."
"Cho, do you mind talking with Ron for a few minutes I need to talk to Fred and George," said Harry. He walked toward Fred and George and waved.
"Harry, oo-lah-lah, that Cho is hot," said George shaking his hand in front of him as if he'd been burned.
Harry loved the twin's attitude even when they were wrong. He didn't know if he could pass off their comment the way he wanted to do, but he was going to try. It only just came to him. "Well, lucky Ron. She seems to be interest in him, doesn't she?"
"Harry, come on. Ron? Who are you kidding? I heard how he almost lost his ability to speak with Fleur last year. Cho would send him to the loony bin in St. Mungo's," laughed Fred. "Oh, here comes Angelina. Have to work out a way to get her alone and out of sight," he said snapping his fingers. "Eat your hearts out boys."
Harry laughed. "What about you George, you have your eye on anyone?" asked Harry.
"Katie's cute, but I'm not keen on getting involved right now. Percy's escapades with Penelope don't give me much hope for having a girlfriend and remaining a free spirit. Look at Fred. He's after Angelina like she was in heat."
Harry wasn't sure he liked George's analogy all that much but the substance of what he was saying was true. Fred had definitely got the taste of honey and liked being worker bee for his queen. Harry liked his better than George's. He wondered if he would act like that with Hermione.
"Everyone? Please can Hermione get your attention?" requested Mr. Weasley. "She's got a few things planned for us this afternoon that I think will be fun for everyone."
"Hi everyone thanks for coming. I'm terribly nervous talking to you all like this so bear with me," she turned to Harry as she finished.
"Everyone here knows that Harry is a very special person to me and Ron. What you may not know is that he's never had a proper birthday party. So, I thought that some of the games that we played as children should be reenacted today to make up for the huge mistakes made when he was growing up," said Hermione. "They're simple and probably pretty stupid for people our age, but I've raised the bar a little and hopefully you'll get a kick out of them. Ron, yours is first."
Harry smiled at Hermione as the red hue to her face slowly returned to pink and then to normal. He snuck over as Ron was talking and whispered, "Absolutely, wonderful you are."
"Er, well, Harry. The first day we met you bought out the entire candy cart on the Hogwarts Express, remember?" asked Ron.
Harry was startled. His best mate was talking to him. "Yeah, Ron, it was great, wasn't it?"
"Yep, well, Hermione and I thought that we'd make a piñata and fill it with a whole bunch of stuff from Honeydukes. We'll all be blindfolded swat it with a broomstick until it explodes. Everybody up for that?"
Harry smiled like a little kid. He didn't want to sound thick, but he didn't know what to do when it broke. "So what do we do when it does?"
"Well, as kids, the parents made the kids pick up the candy one piece at time so we didn't get hurt, but Hermione I think that we're mature enough to…well…Hermione?" Ron looked over at Hermione.
"Anyone who wants candy from it will have to jump in and get it or use a summoning spell to get it. Obviously, it will be more fun if there is a mad scramble for the candy, but be careful not to hurt each other," she said.
"The heck with that," said Seamus. "I'm jumping in like it's a swimming pool." His comment broke everyone into laughter.
Ron turned to Mr. Weasley. "Dad?"
Out of the tool shed in the garden, a small balloon in the shape of a stag. As it emerged Mr. Weasley said,"Engorgio." It got larger and larger until it was the size of a really small hot air balloon.
"Is there really enough candy in there to fill it?" asked Neville eagerly.
"Yep, that's why we should be careful. There's enough for everyone," said Hermione. "Harry, you're first."
He started to walk up and hit it with the broomstick on the ground beneath it. "Oh, wait Harry. Did I forget to tell you that you'd be blindfolded?" giggled Hermione. "And, we can move it so that you have to try to find it."
Harry looked at her and smiled, "You're evil. You know that don't you?"
"Devilishly, so," she giggled in return.
Ron came up and tied an old fashioned blindfold on. "Hermione said that half the fun was trying to angle your head to see around the blindfold, so using a magical one would have made that impossible. Here you go mate."
The broomstick was placed in his hand and suddenly he felt himself spinning.
"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you one more thing Harry. You get to do this dizzy as hell," laughed Hermione.
Harry stumbled around until he actually fell on his knees in the grass laughing. "I will get you for this, Hermione."
"Don't worry, we all get the same treatment," she said sympathetically. "We just wanted to laugh
at you first."
It took twenty minutes and almost two turns each until someone hit it just right to break the piñata open. Harry made sure he was standing by Hermione when it broke open.
When it broke open she looked at him slyly and threw her hip into his trying to block him from the pile. He grabbed her by the waist and gently tried to move her out of the way, but she was having none of it. It only lasted thirty seconds or so, but they stood up with handfuls, pocketfuls, and tops filled with candy. Harry laughed at Hermione as she stood in front of him with lumps all over her shirt where she'd stuffed candy. He slapped him because at the end he started stuffing down her back. "Harry, it's your loss the candy's mine now." She winked.
He wanted to kiss her so bad, but he was afraid that the growing excitement he felt from wrestling with her would embarrass him. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but it seemed that for the first time Ron seemed to redden a bit at their laughing. But Harry didn't feel too bad because Ron had somehow managed to be in a similar situation with Cho. He, of course, hadn't started stuffing candy down her back but she was smiling at him and sharing her candy with him.
It took a moment for Harry to register the fun that everyone had with that game. Not everyone paired off like he and Hermione but they were excited. There was every kind of candy imaginable, well every kind that had a wrapper and wouldn't pick up dirt. Seamus had gotten the Flavor Beans and found a fur-ball flavored one that grossed every one out. Oliver had gotten taffy that he loved. It was great.
Harry turned to Hermione and started to say something. She put her finger to his lips. "I want the finished letter. No excuses." She smiled.
"Stunningly beautiful," he said.
She smiled. "If this turns out to be a joke, I will hex you. You know that right. You're kind of cute too, you know." She walked away with a giggle.
"Okay, next we break up into groups for pin the tail on the donkey or whatever you used to call it," said Hermione.
Harry never got close to Hermione again. Every little event seemed to pair him and Cho while Hermione took Ron. There was: the egg carry, hide and seek which they called after five minutes because people kept using magic to not be found and kick the can with variations for broomsticks. When it came time to go to supper at four-thirty it was announced that the three-legged race and then spin-the-bottle would come later and then the presents. Harry had had enough. He was tired of seeing Hermione laughing and having fun with Ron. He didn't have anything against Ron. He just wanted to be with Hermione.
"Look, I don't get it. This isn't fun anymore. Why am I with Cho?" asked Harry.
"I don't know; why are you?" asked Hermione with a smile and no anger or malice. "I'm not trying to make you jealous either. I asked you for one thing this weekend. Your honest and completed letter is all it takes."
"Don't tell me you would play spin-the-bottle with Ron," said Harry.
For the first time, Hermione took offense. "What's wrong with Ron? He said something about how close you and I looked during the piñata thing and I just said we got carried away. We know it's not true. Ron cares for me and the other day at the movies I was devastated when he started talking about what it would be like if he and I were to start really seeing each other. Have you guessed where my heart is yet? I can't hurt Ron over some incomplete letter out of the blue. He may be slow, but he's not expecting me to be madly in love with him overnight either."
Harry's expression changed from annoyance to complete shame. How had he forgotten all the things she'd done for him only because he couldn't be with her for the last few stupid games. He had just gotten a variation of the same admonishing speech she'd given Ron after the Yule Ball. He'd realized Ron deserved it then and he deserved it now. "Hermione, I'm sorry."
"Harry, I know you finished the letter. You've been toying with me all day. It is wonderful to know that you like me. But believe it or not, there are more guys than just you and Ron who will like me in my lifetime. Just like there will be more Cho's and Ginny's for you. If you want me, you have to finish it and give it to me. I had pushed you out of my head long ago until I read that…oh, hi, Cho." Hermione said with a smile.
"Did I interrupt anything?" asked Cho. She waited for a response. When there was none, she asked, "Will we be together for the three-legged race and spin-the-bottle, Harry?"
Harry didn't want to answer. "Can I get with you in a few minutes? But I don't think so, no."
Cho smiled. "Yeah, you two should probably pair up for that one," she said unapologetically.
"I hope you're getting the letter together, because if you have to team up with Neville…well, people will talk," she smiled.
"If you know how I feel, what does the letter mean? Why is it so important?" asked Harry.
Tears formed in Hermione's eyes. "Look, I'm not answering. If you didn't want to take the challenge you should have said it was a joke and sent it to me the way it was. You took it and you've got me crying. The sun goes down at eight. Presents will be opened then. The games start at seven. Find me before then or find Cho and tell her you changed your mind."
Harry had a little less than two and a half hours to do what he'd been trying to do for four days. He knew what he'd written was every emotion, thought or feeling he'd ever had crammed into nearly a roll of parchment. She wouldn't buy that for the answer. He had to do something. He owed it to her.
He saw Ron on the way to the house. "Girls, I don't get it," he said.
"What are you talking about?' asked Harry thinking he really didn't have time for this right now.
"Cho asked me to pair up for the three-legged race and spin-the-bottle," said Ron. "Why? Then like a minute later, I start to ask Hermione and she said she was busy. Then she comes back teary-eyed and tells me that she didn't know what she'd do about it. She said she might sit that one out."
Harry had no explanation for his best mate. He realized now how cruel love was. He had two girls who liked him. Hermione had two guys who liked her. Now he understood the pressure she'd been under since his letter. He didn't feel it the same way. He knew that but the concept had been foreign to him until now. Love with your whole heart was one thing; love with the idea of just having fun and someone to talk to was another. How could he be so stupid?
"Ron, I think you should ask Cho again," said Harry.
"Yeah, maybe. Snogging with a pretty girl isn't a bad alternative to snogging with the one you like," grinned Ron unaware of what he might see just a couple hours from now.
"I got to go now, mate. There's something I have to do," said Harry. He went off toward the room to face the quill and parchment one more time.
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