Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer:- I don't own Harry Potter and anyone or anything related.

A/N:- Thank you auror_lumos09 for putting up with my mistakes and editing this chapter.

Here comes the chapter

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Ginny Weasley's Birthday Party

"We better leave. The venue is a little far from here." Harry said, looking at Hermione.

"Ok then, bye mum, bye dad" Hermione said.

With that, Harry and Hermione left for the party.

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Once Harry and Hermione were in the car, Harry started the engine.

"So, how have you been doing?" Harry asked, as car started moving forward.

Hermione looked at him, but he wasn't looking at her.

"I'm doing great." Hermione replied nonchalantly.

"You are looking very nice." Harry said out of the blue.

Hermione looked surprised at his compliment. "Thank you." she replied softly.

"You're looking nice as well." She said. He was looking quite dashing in his form fitting dark blue jeans, white collared shirt and black blazer.

They both were silent for some time, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

Hermione had started to feel a bit restless, as they had not spoken for 15 minutes. Harry was focused on the road so Hermione decided to break the silence.

"How long will it take to reach the venue?" Hermione asked.

"I think 30 minutes more." Harry replied, though his eyes were still on the road.

Hermione was getting frustrated.

`What's wrong with him? He was all right when we talked last time. Now he can't even spare a glance towards me.' Hermione thought sulkily.

Unknowingly she groaned with aggravation, not too loudly, but Harry was able to hear it.

Harry looked at her curiously; he smiled and then started laughing.

Feeling Harry's eyes on her, Hermione looked at him.

"Why are you laughing?" Hermione asked indignantly, thinking that Harry was laughing at her.

"Sorry." Harry said as he tried to control his laughter. Hermione waited for him to continue, looking ahead on the road.

Being Sunday, roads were not crowded as they would be on any normal working day. Therefore, Harry was able to keep the ride smooth while talking to Hermione.

"Isn't it strange? We're both are acting like nervous teenagers, going on their first date." Harry said with amused voice.

"Well technically, this is our first date." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, but we are just pretending. This isn't even real and we're acting nervous." Harry said without thinking.

Hermione's head jerked in his direction. She didn't catch the sentence completely. Only one thing registered in her mind.

"Why are you nervous?" She asked curiously.

Harry looked at her unblinkingly.

"Uhhh…I am not saying I am nervous. I am just saying that we are acting nervous." Harry said, trying to cover his slip up from earlier.

Harry hadn't thought for a second before he spoke about his nervousness. It just slipped out with the rest of the sentence. Though he doubted that, more than the slip of the tongue, it had something to do with the presence of the brunette sitting next to him in the car.

Harry had started to feel that he wasn't completely on guard whenever he was around Hermione. He wasn't doing it intentionally, but there was something about Hermione that made him feel comfortable. As if she were a very close friend, with whom you didn't have to pretend.

Sure, he felt a bit jumpy around her. However, she had a kind of easy presence about her. One could easily slip into their comfort zone around her without even realizing it.

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"Tell me something about your friends. What can I expect from them?" Hermione asked, after a couple of silent moments.

"Well, you already know about Ron. He's my only best friend. The rest are good friends, but not very close." Harry said.

"There is Seamus, Dean, Cedric, Oliver, Angelina, Katie, Fred, George and some others as well. Fred and George are Ron's brothers, they're twins." Harry continued.

"You have quite a group." Hermione said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, they're nice. Most of them are on the Hogwarts football team, so we usually hang out together." Harry replied.

"So what are we going to tell them? You know, about you and me?" Hermione asked.

Harry thought for a moment and then replied.

"We can tell them that we first met at the Christmas party at your place and then hooked up together at the New Year's Ball at my place." Harry said thoughtfully.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, that would be perfect. It won't raise any kind of suspicions either. We did dance together at the New Year's Ball. It would look like perfect timing for us to get together since the bet took place the same day. They would believe that you just worked your magic on me." She said the last part a little playfully.

Harry just smiled and nodded his head in acceptance.

"So are you still feeling nervous with the idea of meeting my friends?" Harry asked with an amused voice.

"Not as much as the first time when you mentioned your friends wanting to meet me." Hermione replied with a smile.

"Don't you like making friends?" Harry asked curiously.

Hermione stared at him as though if he had gone mad.

"Luna is my best friend." Hermione replied, as though if it was enough for his question.

"Yeah, but don't you want to make more friends?" Harry asked.

"Luna is enough for me. It's not that I don't want to make friends; others don't want to be my friends. And to be honest, I am better off without them. I don't want friends who enjoy making fun of others and tease others to hurt them." Hermione replied with a faraway look in her eyes.

Suddenly she looked at Harry, who was looking back at her with a peculiar expression on his face. She couldn't believe herself. She was telling all these things to the last person she would have expected herself to tell.

To her relief Harry didn't say anything. He simply looked at her for a couple of seconds before turning his eyes back to the road.

"You know, you just need the right people in your life to be friends with. Although, it's nice to know that you have a friend like Luna." Harry said after a silence of few minutes.

Hermione didn't know what to say, so she simply settled for a nod.

It was strange that Harry would care about whether she had friends or not. Over the past few meetings that she had with Harry, Hermione figured out one thing. That Harry wasn't a self-absorbed git, like she had thought about him before she met him. What else could she have expected from someone who dated Cho Chang?

He had been good to her so far. In fact, he was, quite understanding. He hadn't made fun of her for not knowing how to dance, or for the lack of friends in her life. Most importantly, he stood by her side and supported her while she defended herself against Cho. Besides, who could forget those wonderful kisses?

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Hermione, so desperately wanted to talk to Harry about those kisses. However, she was very afraid to bring them up in their conversation.

`Who knows how he would react?' Hermione thought.

She decided not to ask him about the kisses they shared and whether he felt something or not.

"Tell me about Ginny Weasley?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

Harry groaned at the mention of Ginny Weasley. Hermione looked at him intriguingly.

"What?" She asked.

Harry took a deep breath. `It's better to tell her what to expect from the birthday girl at the party.' Harry thought.

"Well, Ginny has a crush on me." Harry cringed at his own words.

Hermione laughed at his expression.

"Is it so bad to have a crush on you?" Hermione asked teasingly.

"Trust me; if it's Ginny Weasley who has a crush on you, it's really, very bad." Harry said, remembering how clingy Ginny was.

"So should I expect some kind of war from her side?" Hermione asked in same teasing fashion. To her surprise, she wasn't feeling any kind of anxiety over meeting Ginny Weasley.

Harry looked at Hermione with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"You're not worried about meeting her?" Harry asked.

Hermione took her time to answer. After thinking for few minutes, she answered "No."

Harry simply chuckled. "Wait till you meet her. She'll be good to you as long as she doesn't know you're my girlfriend." Harry said.

"But, you will be by my side. Won't you?" Hermione asked tentatively, staring into Harry's emerald green eyes.

"Are you really scared to go to the party?" Harry asked in a serious voice.

Hermione didn't know whether she should tell him or not that she was terrified. She was trying her best not to think about what could happen at the party. She was afraid that she might make a fool out of herself there in front of everyone. Finally, she decided to tell Harry some of what she actually felt.

"Not really scared. However, I don't want to be there alone. Luna will be there. If I ask her to, she would stay with me. But I think she would want to spend her time with Ron." Hermione replied.

"Don't worry. I'll be there with you.Promise. I'll try my best, not to leave your side." Harry said with a smile. Hermione smiled in return, feeling relaxed.

They spent rest of their time in silence, each of them lost in their thoughts.

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Harry was surprised that Hermione was sharing her personal thoughts with him. Moreover, she was willing to admit that she was depending upon him for support to get through the party.

For Harry, Hermione Granger was full of surprises. It was difficult to figure her out. When he had met her for the first time, she was in no mood to cooperate with him. Whatever he did or said, she took it the wrong way.

Sometimes she was stubborn, sometimes she was like a little girl and sometimes she showed the deepness of her thoughts through her words and actions.

Harry also realized that she was insecure as well. He remembered when Cho said that he was dating Hermione just to make her feel jealous. He just couldn't forget the uncertain look that had appeared on Hermione's face. At that moment, he knew what he had to do.

Harry had come to the conclusion that it was difficult for Hermione to trust people immediately and that's why she had doubted Harry's intentions towards her. But Harry wanted her to trust him.

Harry wanted Hermione to believe that he was not going to hurt her. Looking back at whatever had happened between him and Hermione this past month Harry had realized that he had become a little protective of Hermione. He didn't know where this fake relationship between him and Hermione was going to end. However, he knew one thing. Now, it was not just about the bet. Something else was going on under the cover of their fake relationship.

He had felt it and he knew Hermione was feeling the same.

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"Here we are." Harry said as car entered through two big iron gates.

"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed, seeing the farm house.

It was a pretty large area. Fields were on both sides of the road with lush green surroundings, slightly covered with snow.

"The Weasleys usually play football and cricket here." Harry said, as he drove the car further.

"It's amazing." Hermione said in awe. She could see a large house from the distance on the hillside as they were moving further up the road. Harry turned the car left, a little away from the house, where other cars were parked.

Before Hermione could open the door, somebody else opened it for her. Hermione looked towards Harry who was already getting out of the car.

Hermione too stepped out of the car. As she stepped out, she found herself face to face with a tall, thin man who looked like about the age of 18 or 19. He had large, protruding ears and quite a few pimples all over his face. He was wearing a white colored shirt, black pants and a green colored jacket.

"Good afternoon madam," He said with a broad smile. Hermione noticed that one of his front teeth was missing.

"Good afternoon." Hermione replied politely, as Harry came and stood next to her.

"Good afternoon Mr. Potter," the man said to Harry.

"Hey Stan." Harry said. Looking at Hermione, Harry made introductions.

"Hermione, this is Stanley Shunpike. He works here on the farmhouse." Harry said, "And Stan, meet Hermione Granger, my girlfriend." Harry finished the introduction.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Granger." Stan said gleefully.

Hermione smiled at the overexcited man, although a bit awkwardly.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley Jr. Most is waiting for you in the house. He asked me to take you in the house as soon as you arrived here." Stanley said, saluting Harry and taking a stance like that of a soldier on duty.

Harry had to stifle a laugh at Hermione's incredulous expression.

"Umm…that's alright Stan. We can make our way inside." Harry said. Before Stan could say anything, Harry took Hermione's hand and pulled her towards the wooden staircase leading into the house.

"What was that?" Hermione asked with a flabbergasted look on her face.

Harry simply burst out laughing and he continued laughing as he led Hermione in the house.

"That's Stan for you. He wants to become a soldier in the British Army. That's why he keeps practicing the army manners or at least he thinks that's what he is doing." Harry explained.

"Oh!" was all that Hermione managed to say.

As they entered the house, Hermione noticed the beauty of the house. It was made of rich wood and looked quite luxurious.

"Harry, there you are." Ron said as he came and joined Harry and Hermione in the hallway leading to the inner part of the house.

"What happened? Stan said you wanted to meet me." Harry said as Ron led them inside a room.

"What is it?" Harry asked once the three of them were in the room. Harry and Hermione sat next to each other, while Ron was pacing in front of them.

Ron stopped and looked at Harry and Hermione.

"Cho is here along with Romilda, Lavender, and Parvati." Ron said in a rushed voice.

"What? How?" Harry asked looking perplexed.

"Ginny invited them. I don't know when she became friends with Cho and her minions." Ron said looking a bit tense.

"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked.

"She's outside with Fred and George. But don't worry, Cho didn't bother her." Ron replied absentmindedly.

"Really?" Harry asked curiously, catching the first part of Ron's reply about Fred and George.

Ron looked at his best friend and smiled. "Yeah, they hit off straightaway. I was a little scared that Fred and George would tease her for dating me. However, they just clicked together." He said with a relieved look in his eyes.

Then Ron looked at Hermione. "Will you be alright Hermione, with Cho and her friends?" he asked tentatively.

Hermione simply shrugged and looked at Harry. "I was surprised when she didn't do anything serious against me after you ki…." Hermione just stopped herself in time before she mentioned about the kisses, "I mean when you dropped me off at my school." Hermione hastily finished her sentence.

Hermione just hoped that Harry didn't catch her slip of the tongue. He did, but refrained from mentioning it.

When nobody spoke she continued, "She was just laying low after that. Now we know why she didn't do anything that time." Hermione said.

"Look, if you don't want to attend the party, we can go back." Harry said.

"No, it's alright. I want to show them they don't scare me." Hermione said resolutely.

Even though she was putting a brave front on the outside, inside she was petrified.

It was the first time she was going to meet Harry's friends and she didn't want to look like a fool in front of them.

"I just hope Ginny doesn't throw any tantrums." Ron said, looking a bit unhappy.

Hermione nodded. "I'll try my best to avoid any kind of confrontation with her." She said.

"Let's go then." Harry said.

Ron led Harry and Hermione out of the house and then to the path leading to the back of the house.

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Harry took hold of Hermione's hand as they reached to an open area. Hermione's jaw almost dropped, seeing the opening in front of her.

"What the hell?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.

Hermione looked at him and burst out laughing.

"So much for the pool party," She said, her eyes shining with laughter.

"Well you know, Ginny recently learned how to ice-skate. So she wanted to show it off in front of everyone, not that she would admit it." Ron said with a chuckle.

At the back of the house, there was a huge open area, a large part of which was taken by a huge rectangular swimming pool. It was even larger than an Olympic-sized pool. Except that this time, instead of the pool being filled with water, it was frozen, just like a natural frozen lake in winter. The area around the pool was lush green with light covers of snow.

The lighting was dark due to heavy clouds in the sky, so some lights were put around the frozen pool which was illuminating the frozen surface. The pool actually looked like a small frozen lake between the natural surroundings. Music was being played and everyone was enjoying the party while eating, drinking, dancing and chatting. However, nobody was dancing on the frozen surface.

It looked like all the guests were teenagers. Around the pool, many round tables along with chairs were placed, which were occupied by some of the guests who were enjoying their foods and drinks.

"Are you up for the challenge Ms. Granger?" Harry asked playfully.

"Definitely, Mr. Potter," Hermione replied with amusement evident in her voice.

"Harry, there's one more thing." Ron said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What is it?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Ginny has been waiting for you since the party started. She wants to have her first dance with you on the ice. She hasn't let anyone dance on the surface yet." Ron said in laughing voice.

Harry glared at his best friend. Ron just laughed and left to find his girlfriend.

"Let's go." Harry said, leading Hermione towards the gathering.

Harry saw Seamus, Dean, Cedric, the Weasley twins and Oliver sitting around a table. Hermione followed his gaze.

"Are they your school friends?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Yeah, but don't worry. They're nice." Harry said, squeezing her hand, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. However, she didn't say anything or things might have gotten awkward between them.

"Hey Harry," Seamus said, getting up as he saw Harry coming towards them with his girlfriend.

"Hey guys." Harry said as he reached to the table.

Once the greetings were exchanged, Cedric spoke.

"Won't you introduce your companion, Harry?" Cedric asked, gesturing towards Hermione in a friendly manner.

Hermione got nervous. She could see everyone on the table looking at her curiously.

"Hi, I am Hermione Granger." Hermione spoke tentatively.

"My girlfriend." Harry added, looking at Hermione with a smile. Hermione smiled back and looked at others. Except for Dean and Seamus, rest of them looked a little surprised.

`One of these 2 must be Seamus.' Hermione thought.

Hermione was sure that Harry's friends would have already heard about her. However, they were probably expecting a grand beauty like Cho, Lavender or Parvati to be with Harry. The thought made her feel a little depressed. Nevertheless, she felt a little relief in Harry's warm touch, as he was still holding her hand.

"Hermione, this is Seamus, Dean, Fred, George, Oliver and Cedric." Harry introduced, gesturing towards each respective persons as he said their names.

Hermione noticed that Seamus was a little on the stocky side but fairly tall. Dean, Fred, George, Cedric and Oliver were on leaner side, just like Harry and Ron and tall as well. They all were quite handsome but she didn't get the vibe of arrogance from them. She was sure they were some of the most popular guys of Hogwarts.

"Hello Hermione, it's nice to meet you." Oliver said nicely and rest of his companions nodded their heads in consent.

"Thank you and it's nice to meet you all as well." Hermione replied politely.

`Maybe it's not going to be bad as I thought.' Hermione thought as she sighed with relief.

Harry seemed to hear her thoughts, as he leaned towards her and whispered in her ear "Not as bad as you expected. Huh?"

Hermione raised her eyes to look at him. He was so close. She could practically feel his warm breath on her face. "No." she replied, albeit a little shyly.

For a moment, they both forgot about anyone else. They might have even kissed, had Seamus not disturbed them with his coughing noise.

"Look at the love birds," Seamus said with amusement. Hermione blushed at this. Harry being so close brought back the memories of the kisses they shared during first day of her school after Christmas vacation.

Harry looked at Seamus with raised eyebrows. Seamus simply smirked in return.

"Why don't you and Hermione join us?" Seamus said to Harry.

"Sure," Harry replied smoothly.

Harry knew why Seamus wanted them to join the table. He was sure Seamus would try to interrogate Hermione and would be looking for any kind of loopholes in their story. It was a good thing that they had prepared their story beforehand.

Since there was only one empty chair on the table, Harry offered it to Hermione and went to get a chair for himself, which left Hermione alone with his friends.

"So Hermione, how did you meet Harry?" Seamus asked conversationally as he took his seat.

"First time we met was at the Christmas dinner party at my place." Hermione replied without any hesitation, after all, it was true. Just then, Harry came back with a chair and sat next to Hermione.

"What are you talking about?" Harry said casually, though he had a little idea what that could be.

"Harry, we all are waiting for your story about how boy met the girl?" Fred said teasingly.

"Well we met at Christmas Party at Hermione's place and got together at New Year's Ball at my place." Harry replied.

"Oh wow! What a fairytale. It's just so romantic." Fred and George said in unison, looking at each other and swooning like a lovesick girl.

Hermione giggled at twins' comic behavior.

"See, the woman appreciates good humor." Fred said proudly. At this, everyone else burst out laughing as well.

Hermione instantly felt at ease. At any other time, she might have thought that they were laughing at her, but today she felt like a part of the group, laughing along with them.

After that, Hermione didn't shy away from talking with them. They chatted amiably for sometime which Hermione enjoyed immensely. She found that she actually enjoyed their company, especially the twins.

"Here comes our lady dearest." Twins spoke in dramatic fashion, as they both got up to welcome their newest friend.

Hermione turned to see who they were talking about.

"Luna!" Hermione exclaimed, getting up from her seat.

Ron and Luna were standing behind where Hermione was sitting. Then she remembered that Ron had told her and Harry. Luna and twins had just hit it off straightaway.

Luna came forward and hugged Hermione.

"Hi Hermione," She said.

"You know each other?" Oliver asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah, Hermione is my best friend." Luna replied in her trademark dreamy fashion.

Fred and George grinned at this. They both came to where Hermione and Luna were standing.

They both stood in front of Hermione at attention and started speaking…

"Lady Hermione Granger," Fred spoke in a perfect formal tone.

"Since you are the best friend of our dearest lady friend," George spoke.

"We Fred and George Weasley give you the honor of being our first-class friend." The twins spoke together, both of them extending their right hands for a shake.

To say that Hermione was shocked, would have been an understatement. She looked at others. They all were rolling with fits of laughter.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Fred and George had a mock affronted expression on their faces.

"That hurts Miss Granger." They both said.

"They're very good friends Hermione. They don't laugh at you but they laugh with you." Luna said, looking at Hermione with wide and clear eyes. Hermione and Luna shared a look of understanding between them.

"Okay. I Hermione Granger, accept the honor of first-class friend from the very great Weasley twins." Hermione said in a formal tone and finished with shaking their hands.

"Now I know, from where Stanley learned his manners." Hermione said with a chuckle. At this, everyone burst out laughing. It looked like Stanley Shunpike was quite popular among the guests.

"Uh…Harry you're in trouble mate." Seamus said, giving Harry a smug look.

Harry looked confused for a minute, but soon his confusion evaporated and irritation took place.

"Harry!" Ginny shrieked, from behind Harry. Harry tensed a bit and looked at Hermione. She was trying hard not to laugh at his expression. He scowled at her as he got up, turning around to see the redhead beauty coming towards them, followed by Cho and her friends, (including Hermione's cousin.) Hermione too noticed them and growled under her breath.

Hermione noticed that Ginny was very pretty and her flaming red hair gave her an appealing look. She was wearing a shimmering short light blue dress, along with a stylish white jacket and white knee-high, high-heeled boots. She was looking beautiful in her complete attire, which made Hermione feel plain in front of her.

"Hello Ginny, happy birthday." Harry said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Thank you Harry." Ginny replied and hugged Harry tightly. Harry looked uncomfortable and quickly rearranged his features as Ginny pulled back.
Ginny's eyes turned to Hermione and her happy expression turned into a frown.

"And who are you?" Ginny asked with a look of disdain on her face as she looked Hermione up and down.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Ginny interrupted.

"Never mind." she said dismissively, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Come on Harry, let's dance." Ginny said giddily as she tried to pull Harry with her towards the counter where skates were available. However, Harry resisted her attempts to pull him away from Hermione.

"Ginny, meet my…" Harry started. However, Cho interrupted Harry.

"She's Harry's girlfriend Ginny, remember? I told you about her." Cho said as she took her place next to Ginny.

"Girlfriend? So you're Hermione Granger?" Ginny said with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, is there any problem?" Harry asked, as he slipped his arm around Hermione's waist pulling her a little closer.

"Of course not." Ginny replied laughing nervously. Everyone was quiet for few seconds. Tension was palpable between Harry and Ginny. Everyone was expecting Ginny to throw tantrums but none came.

Ginny was the first to recover.

"Oh Harry, let's go and dance. You know I always have my first dance on my birthday with you." She said grabbing hold Harry's free hand.

Harry was a bit taken aback by the change in Ginny's demeanor. He looked at Hermione who gave him a short nod in return.

"Ok Ginny, let's go and dance." Harry said grinning widely.

Ginny squealed in delight, but frowned when Harry pulled his hand out of Ginny's grasp.

Hermione looked surprise when Harry gathered her in his arms.

"I'll be back soon love." Harry said to Hermione in low voice but loud enough for Ginny and Cho to hear. Then he leaned towards Hermione, capturing her lips in brief and passionate kiss.

Hermione felt a little dazed but nodded.

"Let's go Ginny." Harry said, though he was still looking at Hermione with a dreamy smile on his face.

Ginny was almost fuming with anger but didn't say anything.

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Harry didn't want to leave Hermione since he promised her he wouldn't. However, he agreed to go with Ginny for Ron's sake. Whenever Ginny didn't get her way with Harry, it was Ron who had to bear all the scolding from his mother. Since Ginny was the youngest and the only girl in the Weasley family, she was spoiled rotten by her mother.

As Harry passed by Ron, he whispered, "Look after her Ron." with a meaningful glance at his best friend.

Ron understood and nodded as he saw his best friend being dragged by his sister.

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"What did you tell to Ron?" Ginny asked innocently as she and Harry started putting on their skates.

"Nothing important, it's just a guy thing." Harry replied casually with the shrug of his shoulders.

Ginny nodded, but from the look on her face, it was obvious that she wasn't convinced.

"So when did you learn how to ice skate?" Harry asked, changing the subject of their conversation.

"I've been learning since last summer." Ginny said adoringly, "I learned it for you. I know you love it." She finished with a dreamy smile on her face.

Harry felt a little uncomfortable at what Ginny said. He never felt anything for her except brotherly affection. However, Ginny didn't want to understand it. She was adamant that one day Harry would fall in love with her and that she just had to keep trying until the time was right.

Harry saw that people had started gathering around the pool to see him and Ginny. It was always like this on Ginny's birthday. She would never let anyone else dance until she had her first dance. In fact, since her 11^th birthday, it was like this. Sometimes Harry wanted to be rude and refuse the dance. However, there were family relations between the Weasleys and the Potters. On the top of it all, Molly Weasley, Ron's mother, wouldn't leave him alone until he granted her daughter's wish.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded and pulled Harry towards the frozen pool. Stepping on the surface carefully, Harry followed.

The DJ started playing music and the couple on the frozen surface started to dance.

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Hermione, Ron, Luna, Cedric, Cho and her friends, twins and Seamus were sitting together. Oliver and Dean had left to dance with their dates.

"Don't they look great together?" Parvati said admiringly, looking at Ginny and Harry dancing together.

Hermione had to agree. They both looked great together, just like at the New Year's Ball. They were gliding easily on the smooth icy surface.

"They have been doing it for years." Cho said looking at Hermione with smug smile on her face.

Hermione didn't respond. She wanted nothing more than to hit Cho across her face. But that's what Cho wanted. Hermione had to make sure that Cho didn't get the satisfaction of getting a desirable reaction out of her. It was a contest of their wills and she, Hermione, was going to win. She wasn't going to let Cho ruin her day.

"So Hermione, tell us. How did you manage to convince Harry to date you? I mean, you know, everyone in our school is eager to know how a mousy bookworm could get her hands on the famous Harry Potter." Lavender said flippantly.

"Hey, that's not fair." Ron spoke, a little angrily.

Hermione looked surprised at this. Her eyes met Ron's. She could see that even Ron was surprised at his outburst. He grinned sheepishly at Hermione but didn't back away from the support he showed for Hermione. Hermione simply smiled back in return. She also noticed the guilty expression on Seamus' face. However, he wasn't looking at her so she let it go. Hermione knew that he was probably thinking about the bet.

"Yes Hermione, we would like to know." Romilda said speaking for the first time.

"Aha! I was waiting when you would speak, dear cousin." Hermione said as though if it was the greatest pleasure to talk to Romilda.

"She's your cousin? You both certainly don't act like you're related." Cedric said.

Hermione nodded. "Well you see… my cousin here has a little problem…" But before Hermione could finish her sentence, Romilda interrupted.

"Oh it's nothing Cedric." She said frivolously, "Sometimes my cousin doesn't feel comfortable around my friends." She said looking at Hermione. Hermione knew Romilda didn't want to make a bad impression in front of the Hogwarts boys.

Romilda then turned her attention to Cedric and smiled very sweetly.

"You know, she has been in the same classes with Cho, Lavender and Parvati for so long, and still she couldn't befriend them. I mean who wouldn't want to be their friend. They're popular, smart and are liked by everyone. I became friends with them on my first day of school here and Hermione got a little jealous of it. Not that I blame her. She's my cousin after all." Romilda said as though if she was being the bigger person by not blaming Hermione.

Everyone at the table was shocked at Romilda's little speech. Even Cho, Lavender and Parvati were surprised as well.

Hermione looked at everyone. Ron was looking confused while Luna was looking angrily at Romilda. Cedric, the twins and Seamus were looking at her with anticipation.

Hermione just couldn't control her feelings anymore and burst out laughing. She just covered her face and kept laughing.

After a couple of seconds when her laughter was in control and she could breathe properly, she removed her hands from her face, only to find that everyone was looking at her with stunned expression on their faces, including Luna.

Hermione ignored the rest of them and looked at Romilda with a smile on her face, which made Romilda scowl at her.

"Wow Romilda, that's the longest speech I have heard from you, talking about me, in public. Usually you don't say anything when Cho antagonizes me." Hermione said casually.

"In fact I should thank you for saying that I am jealous of you. It's because you befriended Cho on your first day of school. I mean poor me, couldn't befriend Cho even after sharing classes with her for so many years." Hermione said sarcastically.

Romilda turned red at this. She hadn't expected Hermione to react like this.She was expecting either an angry or no response at all. But sarcasm?Nah.

The twins, Ron and Luna were sniggering, while Seamus, Dean, and Cedric didn't know what to do.

However, Hermione wasn't done yet.

"Cho, to answer your question about how I managed to convince Harry to date me, well, figure it out. After all you are smart, like my cousin said." Hermione said coolly.

Cho was getting very angry now. Here she was, popular, beautiful and a dream girl of every teenage boy around her. Then there was mousy, ugly, bookworm Granger. In the school where everyone almost worshipped the ground she walked on, Granger questioned her authority at every step.

If Cho ever insulted anyone in school, that person would never try to cross her path again and would treat her like a princess. But Granger defied all the rules of the school. Time and again, she confronted Cho for doing wrong things to her or Luna. Hermione Granger just didn't understand that popular students of the school had every right to insult or bully unpopular people or bookworms. She just didn't understand.

And then Hermione did the most unthinkable thing, she started dating Harry Potter. Cho's ex-boyfriend, and one of the most popular teenage guys in all of London. For the last month or so, she had become as popular as Cho in the school and now everyone there treated Hermione like she was a supernatural being.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Cho spat angrily.

"How many times are you going to ask me the same question, Cho?" Hermione asked in a bored tone.

Cho stood abruptly, throwing her chair backwards.

"You…you're just an ugly boring duckling, who doesn't even know how to make friends, whom nobody likes! You have no fashion sense, with this bush you call your hair and with no proper figure. Do you think Harry would ever fall for you? I know you've done something to him. He would never even stay in the same vicinity as you of his own will!" Cho shouted. People around them had started watching the scene Cho was creating.

"Hey. She's our friend and we like her." Fred said as he stood up.

"Fred or George who-ever you are. Thank you for your support. But please don't meddle. This is between me and Cho." Hermione said politely. She smiled at Fred when he sat back.

"If you say so… Anyways, I'm Fred." Fred replied with a grin. Hermione grinned back at the twins. At least they were supporting her.

Hermione turned back to Cho and stared at her for few seconds. Things were getting out of control. She was having a hard time controlling her tongue from saying nasty things to Cho that were going through her mind right now. She stood up and looked down at Cho. Hermione was at least an inch or two taller than Cho.

"Are you done Cho or is there anything else you have to say? We have had this same conversation at the beginning of the month as well and you said pretty much the same things about me. If you have anything new to say about me, be out with it. If not, then mind your own business. Do I make myself clear?" Hermione said calmly, though her eyes were not calm. (Cho could see that Hermione's eyes were not calm at all.)

To Hermione's surprise, Cedric and the twins started laughing.

"Way to go Hermione." Cedric said cheerfully.

Cho glared at him; in return, he glared back.

"You know, that's not going to work on me anymore." Cedric said coldly.

Cho stared at him open-mouthed. Then she turned back to look at Hermione and smiled smugly.

"If you think you're going to have a great time here with Harry, then don't forget Ginny will be around to make your day a complete hell." Cho said glaring at Hermione.

"Let's go girls." Cho said, turning towards Romilda, Lavender and Parvati. With that, the four of them left.

Hermione and Luna were confused by Cedric's statement, but the twins, Ron and Seamus had serious expressions on their faces.

`Wow it hasn't even been half an hour since I arrived here and I already got into a spat with Cho. I wonder what the birthday girl will have in store for me.' Hermione mused.

"Way to go Hermione." Cedric broke her musings with his compliment. Hermione blushed at this. Soon Fred, George, Seamus and Ron were also agreeing with Cedric and were looking at her in awe.

"Hey, did I miss something?" Harry said, as he dropped on the empty chair next to Hermione.

"Yes! Hermione just put the Cho in her place." Ron said with a grin.

"You've got a feisty one as your girlfriend, Potter." Cedric said lightheartedly.

Harry laughed at this.

"I have, haven't I?" Harry's laughter was evident in his voice. Soon Cedric and Seamus started talking about something and the twins left to get something to eat. Ron and Luna left to dance.

He looked at Hermione. "Did she hurt you?" Harry asked in a low voice.

Hermione shook her head. "No she didn't. She just said what she usually says." She replied.

"I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't leave you alone, but I still left you." Harry said keeping his voice low so that only Hermione could hear him.

"It's ok Harry, I'm not angry." Hermione said in a calm voice.

"So what do you think of my friends?" Harry asked.

Hermione smiled. "They're great. I am glad that I got a chance to meet them, especially the twins." She said.

Harry chuckled. "They are the biggest pranksters at Hogwarts, on second thought, probably in all of England." He said.

"Yeah. But, there are so many differences between Ginny and her brothers." Hermione shared her observation with Harry.

"You know, Ginny is the only girl, born in the Weasley family in last 7 generations. Also she is the youngest in the family, so her parents are bound to spoil her rotten." Harry said.

"Wow! 7 generations?" Hermione said with awe.

"Mrs. Weasley is the one to spoil her. She doesn't deny anything to her daughter. That's why I have to put up with Ginny, for Ron's sake." Harry said. Hermione simply nodded in understanding.

"Would you like something to eat?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Hermione said getting up.

Without noticing, Harry took her hand again.

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Hermione noticed that frozen pool was filling with dancing couples now.

"Wow I didn't know so many people could dance on skates." Hermione said in amazement. It was true because almost all the couples on the icy surface were moving smoothly.

"Yeah, most of the students here are from Hogwarts. There, we have a huge lake, which usually freezes around an extremely cold period of winter. We use that surface for ice-skating. We even have an inter-house competition for it." Harry explained to Hermione.

"That makes sense." Hermione replied as they reached to the food table.

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After filling their plates with food, Harry and Hermione sat on an empty table and started eating. Hermione could feel many eyes on her.

"People are watching us." Hermione said.

"Let them, when they get bored, they will find someone else to stare at." Harry said casually.

"Ok." Hermione said noncommittally.

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Harry and Hermione were sitting at the same place for quite some time now. Harry was telling her about his friends and other Hogwarts students.

Harry wanted to ask Hermione for a dance but wasn't sure how she would take it. She was looking quite pretty and cool in her outfit today. Moreover, he had this strong desire to kiss her. Earlier he had given into his desire to kiss her when he was leaving to dance with Ginny. The opportunity was there and he took it. If Hermione had asked, he would have easily told her that he was pretending to be her boyfriend. However, this idea wasn't on his mind when he was kissing her.

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Harry found that sitting with Hermione was quite comfortable and peaceful. Nevertheless, his peace was soon disturbed.

"Harry, I have been looking for you all over the place." Ginny said as she came and stood where Harry and Hermione were sitting.

"Hi Ginny." Hermione said.

"Hi." Ginny replied coolly.

"Harry let's go and dance again. We were having so much fun earlier." Ginny said throwing a winsome smile at Harry.

"Sorry Ginny, but I was going to take Hermione for a dance." Harry replied standing up from his chair.

Harry looked at Hermione with an expression, telling her to go along with him.

"Yeah, we were going to dance." Hermione said, getting up from her seat.

"So, what's the problem? She can wait." Ginny said arrogantly.

Hermione frowned at this. "And why would I wait? As far as I remember, Harry's my boyfriend." She said keeping her voice as calm as possible.

Ginny narrowed her eyes in anger.

"It doesn't matter who his girlfriends are. I am more important than them." Ginny said smugly.

"Why don't you dance with other guests? Michel Corner asked about you earlier." Harry said, remembering that when he had finally managed to free himself from Ginny and was coming back to the table where Hermione was sitting, Corner had stopped him to ask where Ginny had gone off to as she was nowhere near the pool.

"Oh he's just annoying." Ginny replied pompously.

Hermione couldn't believe the nerve of the girl in front of her. It looked like Ginny Weasley lived in a world of denial where she could do nothing wrong and everyone was at her beck and call. Everyone would put up with her while she would treat everyone the way she wanted and act like she was the queen of the whole universe.

"Now come on Harry, let's go." Ginny said in childish manner, grabbing Harry's hand to pull him along with her but Harry pulled back. He was getting angry now.

"I am not leaving my girlfriend alone." Harry said in a firm voice, pulling Hermione a bit closer. Looking at Ginny's face, he knew she was going to create a scene in front of everyone. But they were saved from her tantrums from the most unexpected guest.

"Ginny." somebody called Ginny from behind her.

"What?" she said annoyingly as she turned around to see who it was.

"Neville?" Ginny said in a surprised voice.

"Hi Ginny.Happy Birthday," Neville told the birthday girl.

"Thank you, Neville." Ginny replied pleasantly.

Hermione was astonished to see Neville there. Never in a million years had she thought of meeting Neville Longbottom at the party of Ginny Weasley.

"Neville?" Hermione said, shaking herself out of her stupor.

Neville smiled shyly at Hermione.

"Hi Hermione, Harry" Neville said.

"Hi Neville," Harry replied extending his hand for a shake. Neville shook his hand firmly.

"You know each other." Hermione asked.

"Yeah, our parents…Um… kind of work together. You see, my parents work in the Government's law enforcement department." Neville replied timidly.

"And how do you know each other?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between Hermione and Neville.

"We're classmates." Hermione replied. Harry simply nodded.

"She has to know everyone." Harry heard Ginny grumbling under her breath but ignored it.

"Ginny, this is for you." Neville said handing a wrapped box to Ginny.

"Oh Neville, you didn't had to get me anything." She said smiling sweetly.

Hermione noticed that this time her smile seem genuine. She had to smile.

`May be Ginny is not as bad as I thought. But still, I am not going to put up with her tantrums.' Hermione thought with an inward chuckle.

"Um…Harry" Hermione whispered to Harry who was standing close to her. Ginny was busy talking to Neville, so she didn't notice the conversation between Harry and Hermione.

"Yeah?" Harry whispered back, his eyes still on Ginny and Neville.

"I didn't bring any gift for Ginny." Hermione said nervously.

Harry looked at Hermione. "Don't worry. I've already given her a gift this morning, from you and me. She wasn't very pleased but said thank you." Harry replied.

"Oh, thank you." Hermione said gratefully.

"You're welcome." Harry replied, grinning at her roguishly. For a minute, Hermione forgot to breath.

"Ginny would you like to dance with me?" Neville asked boldly, yet one could see his cheeks turning red.

"Do you know how to ice skate?" she asked, looking a little doubtful.

"Oh he does." Hermione said with a bright smile. She knew that in fact Neville was a very good ice-skater. He was just a tad too shy to show it. Or more like, he never got an opportunity to show it.

Ginny glared at Hermione, which Hermione ignored blatantly and continued. Here was an opportunity to get rid of Ginny. She wasn't going to let it pass. Moreover, Neville seemed to like Ginny, so why not give him a chance to spend some time with her.

"So would you like to?" Neville asked once again, even though a little nervously this time.

"Of course Neville." Ginny replied, taking Neville's hand and leading him towards where skates were available.

"Wow! That was easy." Harry replied with a laugh.

"Yeah," Hermione replied, looking at retreating back of Ginny and Neville.

"Neville's a nice bloke." Harry said.

"Yeah, but he is very shy. He just needs a little push, and he would be as charming as you." Hermione said the last part teasingly.

Harry looked at Hermione with a teary look on his face but his eyes looked amused.

"Are you trying to replace me Ms. Granger?" He asked with a sad voice.

Hermione looked stunned for a second and then started laughing. She hit Harry on his arm playfully.

"You are such a guy." Hermione said with a playful smile.

Harry grinned at her, his eyes shining with mirth.

"So would you like to dance with me?" Harry asked Hermione, extending his hand towards her to take it.

"Sure," Hermione replied taking his hand.

Together they left the table to get their skates and dance on the frozen surface which was now filled with lots of dancing couples, enjoying, laughing, falling and moving together.

On the dance floor, Harry helped Hermione to create her balance on the surface and then started moving to the rhythm of the music.

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A/N:- So what you guys think of this chapter and also of the story so far? What do you think after reading the 12 chapters so far. Tell me through your reviews.

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