My second Arthur's birthday fic. It's not even from his POV... ^^"

As usual, Arthur Kirkland was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, a book propped up against a jug of juice and a dripping spoon in his hand. His friends were nowhere to be seen and the rest of his House had left him space. It was a golden moment for anyone to go up and talk to him.

Unfortunately for Gilbert, he couldn't quite stop when he walked up to him so he ended up walking the length of the table and down the other side to strategically retreat to the Slytherin table. There, Elizaveta, Ludwig, Francis and Antonio, watched him approach, each with varying expressions: Liz was smirking; Luddy looked disinterested, as normal; Franny rolled his eyes when Gilbert caught his gaze; Tonio grinned at him, looking rather amused.

"Shut up," he grumbled as he collapsed onto the bench beside Francis.

"Couldn't do it, hm?" asked Liz, her smirk becoming smug. Gilbert scowled at her.

"It was a strategic retreat. He- It- See!" Gilbert waved his hand in the direction of the Ravenclaw table to draw their attention to Kiku Honda who had settled beside Arthur. The Slytherins watched as Arthur and Kiku spoke for a moment before gathering their things and standing. "If I'd spoken to him, Kiku would've turned up and I don't need him cramping my style!"

"What style?" asked Francis, scoffing.

"My style is awesome," Gilbert protested.

"Well..." Tonio piped up, eyeing his clothes. Gilbert looked down at himself: his robes were barely hanging onto his shoulders; his tie was crooked and his shirt rumpled; his trousers were ripped in several places – intentionally – and the hems of the legs were fraying – not so intentionally. When he looked back up, Tonio was grimacing.

"My style is awesome," Gilbert repeated, eyes narrowed.

Across the table, Gilbert's brother sighed. "I still don't understand what's so great about Kirkland, anyway. Why is it you're doing this?"

Gilbert couldn't hide his blush, his pale skin making it show up immediately. So he ducked his head and tried not to let the question get to him. Beside him, Francis hummed and said, "Why indeed..." and that was that. Gilbert grabbed his bag, shrugged it over his shoulder (causing his robes to fall off one shoulder) and stood.

"Screw you lame-ass guys. I'm going to class." And, with that, Gilbert stalked off, ignoring the jeering and laughter from behind him. Sometimes his friends were jerks.

After grumbling to himself while he made his way out of the Great Hall, Gilbert let himself sigh and slump. He wasn't quite sure how he had become infatuated with Arthur in the first place but, somehow, it had morphed into a full-blown crush. Gilbert had first seen Arthur on the Hogwarts Express when Gilbert had been exploring the train for something to do and definitely not because he had ended up on his own in his compartment. He had spied Arthur and Kiku with books on their laps and chatting. Thinking that was boring when he was eleven, he had moved on and soon found Francis and Antonio and formed a close friendship.

At least, most days it was a friendship. Sometimes they were just jerks.

When Gilbert and Arthur shared classes, Gilbert had been a little annoyed at the know-it-all attitude Arthur had. It was only exacerbated as Kiku and Yao, the two smartest kids in their year bar Arthur, would keep quiet most of the time. So Gilbert hadn't liked him and, apparently, he hadn't registered much on Arthur's radar until their first flying lesson.

And what a flying lesson it was. Both Arthur and Gilbert were naturals but Arthur didn't seem all that bothered by being the best in that class, too. He had asked Gilbert's name which, at the time, Gilbert chose to mean Arthur had been too wrapped up in his books to pay any attention. Most likely, he'd forgotten.

Then, during the few times Gilbert couldn't find Francis or Antonio (or Liz and, later, Ludwig), he would sometimes come across Arthur, also on his own. Over their first year and afterwards, though Arthur and Kiku were close, Kiku began to hang out with Yao, leaving Arthur on his own. Gilbert wasn't sure of the specifics but rumour had it that Arthur had shown Yao up in class one day and Yao had been furious. They hadn't gotten along since. Gilbert felt it was a shame – imagine sharing your best friend with your worst enemy. And all of this was happening in one of the most boring Houses in the history of Hogwarts!

Sometimes, Gilbert saw Arthur curled up on himself, not reading, looking upset. Every time he did, Gilbert wanted to stroll up and befriend him. However, something always held him back and Arthur would shake himself out of it and wander off. Gilbert was usually thankful for that, seeing as he had the feeling he would embarrass himself with his red cheeks.

Then fifth year happened.

Not only did Arthur gain an Outstanding in all classes bar Transfiguration where he got an Exceeds Expectations, he joined the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as their new Seeker after being urged to try-out by some of the older students. Since Gilbert had been the Beater for two years before that, he was startled when he heard the news. It was also rather difficult to hit Bludgers in his direction. But watching him play...? Now that was something else. Gilbert always felt like he didn't breathe for the entirety of the time Arthur was on the pitch. Apparently, he was just as great off the pitch, providing new tactics and strategies – that was why the Quidditch final in a few weeks' time was going to be between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Gilbert couldn't wait to see more of Arthur playing, the wind ruffling his hair and the gleam in his eyes as he caught the Snitch a few feet above him...

Stopping himself before he could sigh, Gilbert shook his head and hurried off, hoping no-one had noticed him hovering around the Entrance Hall and hurried outside. His first class today was Care of Magical Creatures in which he hoped he could get a good grade in his N.E.W.T.s – he had already gained an Exceeds Expectations and had been pleasantly surprised with that. He'd love to work with dragons. However, that was only half the reason he took the class...

Back in third year, Gilbert had found a love for the subject and, occasionally, slipped out at night to go find the animals he had seen that day. When they had been learning about unicorns, Gilbert made an extra effort to return to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Once there, he had found the paddock they had been put in – and Arthur Kirkland, smiling up at the biggest one. Somehow, he had charmed the foals as well as the adult for, as he patted the adult's nose, the golden foals butted their heads into his legs. He had nearly fallen over but had laughed and offered them small pieces of apples. Gilbert had been mesmerised. Afterwards, whenever he went out at the same time as Arthur, he contented himself with just watching. Every time it happened, the urge to speak to him grew stronger – but he just couldn't bring himself to, thinking it would be humiliating to give into the desire.

Both of them had continued with the class and Gilbert was relieved when the small group of students were put together for the class. So he found himself in a class with Arthur, close enough to talk. Not that he could get a word in edgeways with the irritating Alfred F. Jones around. Somehow, Arthur and Alfred had become friends. Not the kind of close friends Gilbert was with Francis and Antonio but the sort of passing friendship Gilbert had formed with Matthew who, thankfully, was also in the class and kept him company. Gilbert was grateful Matthew didn't seem to mind that he stared at Arthur for most of the lesson.

When Gilbert reached the paddock, he shook himself from his reverie – and realised that he was the second one there. Arthur was leaning on the fence, watching the hippogriffs grazing quietly. Gilbert faltered for a moment but ultimately continued walking until he was within a few feet of the fence. He stopped there, shifting his weight slightly as he debated standing next to Arthur. Before he could decide, Arthur turned to him, a pleasant smile on his face which instantly floored Gilbert. The Ravenclaw's expression faded, turning to surprise.

"Oh," said Arthur, blinking at Gilbert. "Hello."

"Hi," Gilbert breathed, practically forcing the word out.

"I'm not sure if the hippogriffs are for us," Arthur continued, turning slightly to look back at them. A smile flitted across his face before he turned back to Gilbert, expression neutral. "I think they're for the third years. Professor Nugent said something about going a little ways into the forest when I asked him what we'd be doing. He said it's a surprise, though."

"Oh?" Gilbert honestly couldn't think of anything to say. His mind had gone blank and he was fairly sure he could feel his cheeks warming.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked, frowning at Gilbert.

"I-"

"Artie!" came a shout from behind Gilbert and they both looked around to find Alfred sprinting down the hill, Matthew was following, huffing and puffing. Alfred barrelled past Gilbert and Arthur smartly stepped out of the way. The Gryffindor ran straight into the fence, using it to stop himself, though it looked for a moment as though he would topple over it and fall into the field with the hippogriffs. "See?" Alfred said to Arthur as soon as he had straightened up, panting slightly. "I made it on time."

"Well, get up at a decent time instead of rushing everywhere," Arthur told him, finger wagging.

Alfred laughed and began to chatter to Arthur quite excitedly: Gilbert knew his brief conversation was over. With a sigh, his shoulders slumped a little and he turned to Matthew who had bent over, hands on knees to try to catch his breath. He hoped they would have another chance to talk at some point but Gilbert wouldn't count on it...

It was the next day before the subject of Arthur was brought up, this time by Elizaveta at breakfast. Gilbert was bleary-eyed and slumped on the table, having eaten half a bowl of cereal before giving up on being upright. His fellow Slytherin poked him when she sat down and, when he didn't move, she continued to poke him till he'd had enough and he jerked upwards.

"What do you want, devil woman?!" he snapped, glaring at her.

"I wanted to ask you about Arthur," she said.

Gilbert groaned. "It's way too early in the morning for you to be teasing me."

"Actually, I was just wanting to ask what you were going to do for his birthday this year?"

Eyes widening, Gilbert's head jerked around to stare at her incredulously. "Eh?!"

"His birthday's coming up, Gil," Liz sighed, rolling her eyes. "Next weekend, actually. Since you always forget while you're pining over him, I thought I'd remind you in advance – and the day before going into Hogsmeade. All because I'm a good friend, by the way. Are you going to get him something?"

For a few moments, Gilbert could only stare at Elizaveta in silence. It took her waving her hand in front of his face for him to snap out of his shock. "Of course I am!" he cried. "And it's gonna be the best present ever!"

"Oh? What're you going to get him?"

Opening his mouth to retort, Gilbert froze. Then he deflated. "I have no idea," he sighed, slumping over the table again.

"There are plenty of shops in Hogsmeade," Liz said. "Pick a theme and go with it. Or ask one of his friends while you're in the village."

"Huh." Gilbert gave Elizaveta a thoughtful look. "You're actually useful for once."

Gilbert subsequently had to scramble away from the table to avoid a vicious jinx.

Although Elizaveta had suggested asking Arthur's friends, Gilbert decided to ask his own first. So, when they woke up, Gilbert turned to Francis and Antonio and asked them for their ideas. Francis immediately lit up which Gilbert wasn't sure was necessarily a good thing.

Francis's suggestions turned out to be rather clichéd ("Roses? Really?") or too extreme for Gilbert's tastes. It took some time but, when Francis paused for breath, Gilbert managed to get a word in edgeways and quickly shifted the focus from Franny. "Tonio!" he cried, giving his friend a pleading look. "What would you give someone for their birthday?"

"Oh!" Antonio beamed at Gilbert. "I thought you liked Francis's idea – you seemed awfully interested."

"I want lots of ideas. Birthday ideas," Gilbert said, hastily, glancing at Francis who sat upon his bed, pouting. "So? What would you get?"

"Well, have you seen Muggle t-shirts?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Sometimes they have pictures on them and I would get one that matches the person. Like a tomato for Lovi and maybe some flowers for Feli."

"I... see..." said Gilbert, giving Antonio a blank look. "Let's... Let's just go down to Hogsmeade." The very non-Muggle village, Gilbert thought to himself.

They made their way out of the dormitory and down the stairs to the common room. As they passed through it, dodging first and second years, Gilbert spotted Ludwig sitting alone on one of the couches, reading some sort of book. He diverted his path to pop up behind Ludwig, throwing his arms around his younger brother's shoulders.

"Luddy!" he whined. "Help me!"

His brother barely reacted, only jolting in surprise before sighing heavily. "What do you need help with now?"

"Don't say that like you help me all the time!" Gilbert pouted. "You only help me about ten percent of the time."

Ludwig snorted. "What do you need help with, Gilbert?"

"A present for Kirkland. What do you think I should get him?"

For a while, Ludwig was silent, staring down at his book. Finally, he said, "A step-by-step instruction book on how to transfigure something. You know how bad he is at that."

In fact, the whole school knew. Arthur often had extra ears or tails from his Transfiguration lessons and no-one could figure out how using switching spells resulted in him barking like a dog or purring whenever someone had the courage to stroke his tail. It was the only class he hadn't gotten an Outstanding in and no-one had been particularly surprised. That being said, Gilbert didn't think a How-To book on Transfiguration would go down well.

"Well," he said, drawing away from his brother, "thanks." He eyed Ludwig for a moment. "Not going to Hogsmeade? What are you reading, anyway?"

"Nothing," said Ludwig, far too quickly. He tilted the book against his chest in a way that made it impossible for Gilbert to see the contents. "And I'll be going down later."

Shrugging, Gilbert decided to leave his brother be – he had more important things to be worrying about. "All right. See you later."

Catching up to Francis and Antonio outside the common room, they all began the journey through the dungeons and to the freedom of the outside. Along the way, Francis attempted to cajole Gilbert into buying one of the things he was promoting while Antonio pondered on the best t-shirt to give to Arthur. Gilbert tried his best to ignore them and was almost grateful that they ran into Elizaveta and her Ravenclaw boyfriend, Roderich, in the Entrance Hall. In fact, all Gilbert did was roll his eyes at the prissy pants before rushing over to his fellow Slytherin instead of casting the Jelly-Legs Jinx.

"Liz!" he cried. Once he got close enough to lower his voice and still be heard, he asked, "What should I get for Kirkland?"

"Why on Earth are you asking me?"

"'Cause all the suggestions I've had have been horrible!"

"Hey!" said Francis. "Mine are perfect – it gets your desires across to him clearly."

Gilbert turned red. "I'm not getting them!"

Elizaveta shrugged a shoulder. "You could always get him something to do with Quidditch. You're both good players and I'm sure he'll need polish or something." She glanced at Roderich who was watching the scene with bemusement. "Or you could compose a song, like Roddy did for me."

Rolling his eyes again, Gilbert turned to go. "Yeah. Whatever."

Grumbling, Francis followed him, barely acknowledging Gilbert's musings as they journeyed to the village. Antonio, meanwhile, approved every idea Gilbert had which wasn't entirely useful. By the time they reached the main street, Gilbert felt both exhausted and that he was in need of some new friends. Speaking of friends, as Francis and Antonio discussed where to go first, Gilbert spotted a flash of red and managed to catch sight of Alfred heading into Honeydukes.

"I'll see you two later," Gilbert told them before running off, rushing into the shop. As usual, it was packed and smelled delicious, chocolate and strawberry and mint drifting towards Gilbert. The more active sweets jiggled and caught his eye; he had to remind himself why he was there several times. It took a few minutes but, finally, he was standing just behind Alfred whilst he decided on whether to get some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans or Cockroach Clusters. Before Alfred could disappear again, Gilbert quickly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey, dude!" Alfred said when he had turned around. "You wanting some Beans?" He helpfully held out a box for Gilbert to take but Gilbert quickly shook his head.

"No, I wanted to ask you something."

"Huh?"

"I just want to know what would be the best present to give to Kirkland," Gilbert explained. Realising that he probably sounded overly serious, he scrambled to cover himself. "Just, haha, I always forget but Liz reminded me and we're in Hogsmeade, so. Yeah."

Alfred stared at him, obviously surprised. "I dunno. Candy? Probably books, too. He loves books."

"But he spends all his time in the library-" Gilbert began.

"He usually only uses the non-fiction books in there," explained a voice from behind Gilbert. He spun around to find Matthew smiling kindly at him. "Arthur uses the library for studying, for the most part. He reads a lot of wizard and Muggle fiction, though, if that helps you."

"Not really," Gilbert said, glad his heart had slowed back to its normal rate. "What happens if I get him something he doesn't like or that he already has?"

"I'm sure he'll appreciate the effort," Matthew said; his smile turned knowing and Gilbert frowned at him.

"Just get him candy," Alfred piped up, having finally decided to get some of each, judging by the pile he had in his arms. "That's what I do. Ah, but I usually get something different each year and one of the gift packs." Alfred nodded towards the larger boxes of Every Flavour Beans which declared, New Amazing One Time Only Flavour!

"Right. Well. Thanks, I suppose," said Gilbert, a little dejectedly. Both ideas had been things he had thought of and dismissed as being too general. Neither would make a big enough impact. He wanted his present to be Arthur's favourite this year. And next year's too... Sighing, he decided to go find Francis and Antonio. "I've gotta go. See you."

"Bye!" said Alfred, cheerfully. Matthew, though, looked a little worried, like he wanted to say something. Gilbert hurried to get away from them – he didn't want Matthew asking him questions.

Once he had managed to squeeze through the crowd, Gilbert exited the store with an accompanying jingle. He stepped out of the way of some fourth years, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was disappointing that he hadn't been able to come up with something. Maybe a card would do, for this year at the very least.

When he opened his eyes, he blinked at the sign across the road. Then he blinked again, surprised. "'Specialist'?" he murmured, his gaze taking in the windows of the shop. Grinning, he rushed forward, barely avoiding sending some goblins flying.

For the next week, both Francis and Elizaveta questioned Gilbert, in the dark on whether he'd bought something or not. Gilbert kept schtum, waiting until the day of Arthur's birthday to take the magically wrapped parcel to breakfast. Pulling it from his bag, he placed it on the table in front of Elizaveta and Francis and proudly said, "Tada!"

"Oh, so you got him..." Elizaveta began before pausing, staring down at it. "You got him a book?"

"Yeah. It's a special book, too!"

"Do you know he'll like it?" asked Francis, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm, like, ninety-nine percent sure."

"Ah, so there's a chance he won't."

"Shut up," said Gilbert, rolling his eyes and grabbing some toast.

"So," said Liz, watching him spread marmalade on his chosen piece. "When are you going to give it to him?" Gilbert dropped his knife at the comment and she sighed. "You didn't think about the fact you had to hand it to him, did you?"

"I, er," Gilbert murmured. He glanced over at the Ravenclaw table where Arthur was surrounded by well-wishers. The birthday boy had an adorable, pleased smile on his face and it made Gilbert blush before he forced himself to look away.

At that point, Francis decided to weigh in. "Why don't you go over now and declare your undying love?"

Annoyed, Gilbert grabbed the parcel and his toast. "I'll do it in my own time," he snapped. "And when he's alone." With that, he stormed off, sparing Arthur a final glance as he passed.

Arthur was too preoccupied to notice him.

Somehow, he managed to find Arthur alone. He knew Arthur usually sat alone in the library to find peace which is why Gilbert had gone there. But Gilbert still hadn't approached him, hiding behind a nearby shelf. He was hesitating, making up excuses such as Arthur wanting to be left alone or that he could just find Gilbird and send it via him. However, Arthur was right there, no-one was around, the silence pressing down both of them.

He took a deep breath. What did he have to lose, after all? Gripping the parcel tightly, Gilbert stepped forward, the movement catching Arthur's eye. The Ravenclaw glanced up, spotted Gilbert and smiled: Gilbert stopped breathing. Then Arthur blinked and Gilbert managed to shake himself from his thoughts. "Hi," he managed to say.

"Hello," Arthur slowly replied, seeming confused. "Do you need some help?"

"Er, no," said Gilbert, nervously. He could feel himself beginning to blush and ducked his head, looking down at the present. "Ah. Um. This is for you," he blurted out, thrusting the package in Arthur's direction. Realising belatedly that he was still several feet from the table, he hurried forward and put it on top of the book Arthur had been reading.

"Oh. What is it?"

"It's a birthday present," Gilbert explained. He watched as Arthur's eyes widened and a light blush appeared on his cheeks. If Arthur never wanted to speak to him again, Gilbert was definitely going to treasure the sight. "For you," he added after a few moments of silence.

"Really...?" Arthur looked down at the gift, his eyes taking in the sight and the implications.

Surrounded by books, Gilbert felt a wave of nerves hit him; his chest seemed to tighten and his stomach churned. Quickly, he began to defend his choice. "I mean, I know it's a book – it's kinda obvious – but I just- Well, it's- I hope you like it."

"I do generally like books," Arthur commented, seeming amused. He picked up the parcel and quickly unwrapped it. When he saw what the book was, he dropped it, letting the caricature of Shakespeare on the front cover wave at the ceiling. "Is this-?"

"It's a special version of Shakespeare's Tragedies. I've never read any of that myself but they said it was a Muggle thing, with a special wizarding touch."

"But..." Arthur stared up at him, eyes even wider. "That's really expensive," he whispered, chancing a glance at the thing.

At that look, Gilbert panicked. "I-If you don't like it, it's fine. I can take it back." He laid his hand on the present, intending to hide it behind his back and hide himself for the next few millennia.

"No!" cried Arthur, slapping his hand on the book. However, Gilbert's hand was in the way so Arthur's hand ended up on top. Gilbert froze and glanced up at Arthur who had also stilled, gazing back with a mixture of emotions swirling in his eyes.

"Really," Gilbert said, hurriedly. "I don't mind if you don't like it. It was stupid. You probably already have it, haha. I'll give you something else like... Like..." His brain shut down then and he dropped his gaze, focussing on their hands. "Me," he murmured, without really thinking.

"Eh?" said Arthur. "Did-Did you just-?"

"Ah!" shouted Gilbert, jerking his hand away. "I-I just remembered I have homework! In my common room! With things and stuff and-! Gotta go!" He fled, his face bright red.

Gilbert wondered if he could skip dinner so he could avoid facing his embarrassment.

Unfortunately for Gilbert, after his friends had laughed at his story, comforted him and laughed some more, they dragged him to face the music. At least, that was what he'd thought till he reached the Great Hall: Arthur, thankfully, wasn't there yet so Gilbert relaxed. Sometimes, Arthur would be late to dinner so, if he ate quickly, he could avoid Arthur altogether.

"Maybe he's embarrassed," suggested Elizaveta as they piled food onto their plates. "Maybe he's avoiding you."

"Urgh," grunted Gilbert, putting extra sausages on his plate in an effort to cheer himself up.

"He's probably so wrapped up in his books, he didn't understand what you said," Antonio suggested.

Francis gave their friend a look. "From what Gil tells us, he'd have to be rather dense."

"Arthur's not stupid," Elizaveta told them. "Arthur's cleverer than Gilbert so he's sure to- Arthur's coming over."

Choking on his mouthful of sausage, Gilbert spun on the bench, wide-eyed. Evidently, Elizaveta was not pranking him as Arthur was striding across the Great Hall in a straight path to the Slytherin table. Gilbert's jaw almost dropped but he remembered just in time that he had food in his mouth. Furiously, he chewed the mouthful and watched as Alfred suddenly appeared beside Arthur, speaking with him. Arthur paused in his quest and said something back. Gilbert swallowed and celebrated the reprieve, swallowing hard.

The floor should definitely be able to open up and swallow me in a magic school. So not fair.

When Arthur reached them, he glanced over the group Gilbert was sitting with. Gilbert didn't dare turn around but he heard Francis cough. "Um," he said. "I'm sorry about earlier..."

"You damn well should be," Arthur snapped. "Running off like that!"

"Er?"

"I didn't get to say 'thank you'. Which is why... I'm here..." Arthur seemed to run out of steam as his cheeks turned red.

"You... It's fine," said Gilbert, a tad weakly.

"No. I... Thank you," Arthur said, firmly. "I love the present, I really do. But, as for the other present..." Arthur scowled at Gilbert and Gilbert's heart sank.

"That was- Please just-"

"You can't just dangle a present in front of someone and run off with it!" hissed Arthur, leaning closer in an attempt to stop the others hearing.

"Um," said Gilbert again. He frowned, thinking back. No, the two presents had definitely only been the book and a stupid offer of himself. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur folded his arms across his chest, almost as if he was hugging himself. "I'll admit, I was surprised when you said... that. But I rather like the look of- Wai-! I-I mean, um, that it sounded... nice?" Arthur's face was turning a deeper shade of red and he winced at what he had said.

Gilbert could only gape at him. "Y-You..."

"A-Anyway, if you're going to give me the present, I'll meet you outside the front doors and we can go for a walk..." That said, Arthur spun on his heel and hurried off, obviously relieved to get it over with.

For his part, all Gilbert could do was stare after him. And then, when he heard Liz giggle and Franny snicker, he wolfed down the rest of his food.

The shop Gilbert saw is, apparently, only in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the LEGO games and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) game. It's a bookshop called Tomes and Scrolls. Seeing as there's no mention of a bookshop in the books, I decided it was practical to use it. I mean, a village near a boarding school would probably have a bookshop, right?