"They're late."

"Did you expect them to be early?"

"No."

"It is our birthday, though."

"They at least better come soon."

"Maybe Harry chickened out?"

"Maybe. He did seem nervous about the whole thing."

"At least he changed his mind at all."

"Fred! George! Happy birthday!"

The two were pulled from their monologue when they heard Katie Bell's voice, turning to see her coming over.

George grinned. "Damn, Katie."

"You look great," Fred agreed, taking in her sailor uniform, miniskirt, hat and all.

"Thanks," Katie laughed, shoving a package into Fred's hands. "It was lots of fun to make. Well I'll see you later, okay? I'm just going to get a drink."

The two watched her trot off.

"We are geniuses."

"We really are."

"I love this theme."

"Me too."

"Damn it, Ron! Let me go! I'm not going in there!"

Fred grinned, turning to the doors and finding three bodies, two blushing faces, and one skirt entering the room. "Finally, they're here."

--------------------

Harry was not blushing. He was not embarrassed nor devastated, and he certainly wasn't letting all those stared get to him.

Okay, so that was a lie, but wasn't he entitled to one little lie to save his ego, even if it had been destroyed beyond all salvation already? Damn skirts and their mind bending powers to ruin his life.

"You're blushing," Hermione muttered at him.

"So are you," Harry retorted sharply. "I can't believe you talked me into this. I can't even believe you agreed to come in the first place."

"Shut up," Hermione snapped. "We're both doing it to boost our confidence. Nothing else."

"Witch."

"Of course."

"Will you two shut up?" Ron hissed. "Everyone's looking at us."

"We are showing up late," Harry said.

"Your fault!" Ron replied.

"Took you three long enough," a familiar chorus sang, Fred and George popping out of nowhere.

"Nice outfit, Mione," Fred grinned.

Hermione blushed even harder at the comment. She wore fishnets and a black bunny suit, bunny ear headband on her head, white gloves on her hands. It had taken a few drinks and a lot of convincing before he stepped into the outfit, but she had eventually worn the thing when she had to promise Harry they would both wear their costumes for confidence building only. She narrowed her eyes at the twins. "I hate you."

Fred chuckled and the two turned towards Harry.

"Nice," George commented.

"Very nice," Fred agreed with a snicker. Harry scowled and pulled the skirt lower around his knees.

"What about you two?" Ron barked. "What the hell are you wearing?"

George grinned and cracked his whip. The two of them were wearing matching leather pants with matching open-chested vests, whip in George's hands, handcuffs around Fred's waist, and thick spiked collar around his neck. "It's called bondage, you idiot. Ever heard of it?"

"Leather, whips and chains," Fred grinned. "Lots of fun."

"R-Right..." Ron mumbled. "We're going to leave now."

"You haven't given us your presents yet, though," Fred reminded them.

Harry paled as Hermione handed over a large bottle of wine and an engraved bottle opener. "M-My..."

"You forgot it, didn't you?" Ron asked.

"Why didn't you remind me?" Harry snapped. "It was on the foot of your bed."

"Well considering we had to literally drag you to the car, there wasn't a lot of time to remember your present!" Ron snapped. Harry simply glared at him and pulled at his skirt again.

"You pull that thing any lower and it's going to fall off, you know," George commented.

"Shut up! This is all your fault anyways!"

"It's Fred too."

"Yes, don't forget me."

"Whatever," Harry grumbled. "I'm going to get a drink."

Fred and George eyed him as he stormed off towards the buffet. "He's so fun to tease."

"Just don't tease him too much, all right?" Hermione asked. "He's upset enough."

"Sure. Do you want to dance?"

"Wh- Umm..." Hermione stuttered, taken off guard.

"Stop teasing her too!" Ron barked, leading her away. "Bugger off!"

Fred eyed George out of the corner of his eye. "Want to?"

"Of course," George grinned. "Once more dance, though."

"Whatever you say."

--------------------

Ten minutes later, Harry sighed as he eyed the plastic cup in his hands. Should he really drink it? It was a risk, considering who was throwing the party, and Harry was sure most things on the table were hexed. Cho had already accidentally discovered the Breast Enhancing Cookies and spent the next twenty minutes in a bathroom stall until her kimono fit again.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!"

Harry was jolted back to reality at the slurred shout of his name. He turned and found Ginny, leather catsuit and all, waving at him and falling into his arms when she got close enough. Harry caught her. "Are you okay?"

"The punch is really good!" Ginny said urgently before her expression took a turn for the worst. "But I've lost Neville!" she wailed.

"Did they curse the punch?" Harry asked, setting her into a nearby chair.

Ginny shook her head so hard she almost fell off, bursting into giggles. "No, just the snacks."

"Good," Harry said and drowned the contents of his cup. It was the good Firewhiskey, too, if the burning sensation down his throat was any indicator.

"I wish Neville was here," Ginny said. "Have you seen him, Harry? He's a vampire. He even bit me last- yesterday. I wish I knew where he was. Neville! Will you help me look for him?"

"Er, I was going to stay here," Harry said.

Drunk or not, Ginny tactfully let the 'to hid from the rest of the world' remain unsaid. Instead she asked, "Where are the birthday boys?"

"Dunno," Harry replied. "I haven't seen them for about twenty minutes."

"Will you please help me look for Neville, then?" Ginny pleaded.

"Well, okay," Harry agreed and helped her up. "Just for a little while..."