Chapter 4

The Surprise Present

"Well, it really was about time I made an appearance in this thing, wasn't it?"

General (ret.) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk

"Happy Birthday!"

"OW!"

Harriet sat up quickly in her bed, clutching the top of her head.

"Don't hit her, Ronnie!" Hermione chastised.

"She's a Quidditch player, she can take it," Ronnie said.

Dora laughed.

"What's going on?" Harriet asked looking around.

"Uh, it's your birthday, duh," Ronnie said standing up. "So wake up, the party's gonna start soon!"

Harriet blinked. "Party?"

"Yeah," Dora beamed. "Your first surprise birthday party."

Harriet flushed brightly. In all of the worries over the testimonies and Sirius' trial, she had completely forgotten all about her birthday.

"We invited a whole bunch of people," Hermione said, beaming too.

"Who?" Harriet asked.

"Well get cleaned up and dressed and you can find out," Dora said, her eyes twinkling.

"We're going to go help Mum set up some more," Ronnie said.

The three left and Harriet got up. She spent a while fussing over her hair and then ran back up the stairs to get dressed. She decided on Jess' old floral sundress and sandals for a festive, summery feeling and headed down the many flights of stairs to the kitchen.

No one was there. There was an odd rasping noise and Harriet turned to see the Weasley family owl, Errol, sitting on his perch. Hedwig was sitting next to him, nudging a dead mouse she must have caught the night before towards him.

"Good girl, Hedwig," Harriet said reaching up to rub the back of Hedwig's head gently.

Hedwig gave a little hoot and she tried to rub Errol's scruff too but he winced as if in pain. "Poor Errol," Harriet said.

Errol gave a very tired hoot and Harriet sighed before heading out into the back garden to find the rest of the Weasleys and her friends.

As she stepped out, Harriet gasped. The back garden had been completely transformed. The grass was trimmed and all the random items cleared away. The Weasleys had set up a marquee with more tables and chairs. There was the sharp smell of barbeque smoke and Harriet saw Charlie standing next to a barbeque pit, slowly turning chicken legs and ribs.

Ronnie, Dora, Ginny and Hermione were helping Mrs Weasley set out plates on the tables, while the boys were bringing over some more chairs. Mr Weasley and Percy were setting up a line of tables against the side of the house.

Harriet walked over to the marquee to pick up a stack of plates to start setting them up but Mrs Weasley quickly bustled over and took them from her hands. "No, no, dear," she said smiling. "This is your special day. You can sit and relax."

"O-okay," Harriet said, uncertainly.

She looked around a bit more as Mrs Weasley started setting the plates out. She was suddenly wondering just how many people the Weasleys had invited.

Not knowing what else to do and not wanting to be a nuisance, she walked over to the grill.

Charlie shut the lid as Harriet approached and smiled. "Give them a bit more and they should be ready," he said.

"O-oh good," Harriet said awkwardly.

Charlie chuckled. "Not that used to such big to-dos, eh?"

Harriet shook her head.

Charlie smiled wider. "Hey, well, got something to show you, 'round here," he said and gave a nod to the old Weasley family broom shed.

Harriet looked around and realized no one was looking. She followed Charlie and he smiled at her, opening the door. He reached inside and pulled out a parcel wrapped in burlap, shaking some spiders off of it.

"What's that?" she asked.

He grinned more. "For your friend, Kieran, actually," he said and pulled off the wrapping.

Harriet tilted her head looking at the contraption in his hands. It looked like a big golden bicycle kick-stand, with a foot pedal on it.

"For a broomstick," Charlie said taking out one of the brooms, and shaking even more spiders off of it. "You fit it on the broomstick like this," he said sliding the handle of the broom into a slot in the contraption. "Tighten down these nuts here to hold it on, then swing your leg over and put it into the foot pedal down there."

He showed Harriet how it fit. Harriet felt her heart lifting as she realized how it worked.

"And so when he comes in for a landing…" Charlie grinned and pressed a little lever on the base of the contraption and it sprung down.

"Yep, just land normally. It's got a spring in it so it doesn't make too jarring a landing," Charlie explained. "What do you think?"

Harriet bit her lip and without thinking gave Charlie a hug. "It's wonderful, he'll love it!" she said.

Charlie chuckled hugging her back. He quickly removed the device from the broom before rewrapping it and placing it back in the shed. They went back to the back garden, pausing to let a little gang of gnomes pass, being chased Crookshanks.

"Well, we're just about set. Our first guests should be arriving any minute now,' Mrs Weasley said.

"Bet you it's the Lovegoods," Ronnie said. Sure enough, there was a squeaking at the gate to the back garden.

"Hello Weasley family and friends!" called the cheerful voice of Xenophilius Lovegood as they rounded the corner of the house.

Ginny grinned and ran over giving her friend Luna a hug. Luna was dressed as eccentrically as ever, today wearing a lurid pink romper, yellow tights, and rainbow patterned legwarmers over purple combat boots.

"Hi, Luna," Harriet said cheerfully.

"Hello, Harriet. Happy birthday," Luna said in her dreamy voice. She was carrying a small package with a card, and Mr Lovegood was holding a large bowl.

"Oh, my, what have you brought for us, Xeno?" Mrs Weasley asked cheerfully, taking the bowl from his hands.

"Ah, infusion of Gurdyroot," Mr Lovegood said, proudly.

Mrs Weasley's smile faltered very briefly. "Oh, how nice," she said and hurried over, setting it on one of the tables Mr Weasley and Percy had set up.

The next group to arrive was made up of parents. Kieran's, Scott's, Dora's, and Hermione's parents, along with Marcus' father and Dora's little sister, Emma.

"Oh good, we did get here early then," Mrs O'Brien said looking around. "It's a wonderful garden you have, Molly."

"Oh thank you, Irene," Mrs Weasley said waving a dismissive hand.

"We stopped into the town for a spot of coffee and to meet up," Mrs Granger said warmly.

"Good morning!" Mr Weasley said hurrying over at the sight of the Grangers and Marcus' father.

"Well, we all brought some goodies as requested," Mrs McIntyre said.

"Hi, Emma," said Harriet, cheerfully.

To Harriet's surprise, instead of looking away or being bashful, Emma smiled as well. "Hello Harriet, happy birthday."

"Thanks, Emma," Harriet replied.

At that moment, Ginny waved over to Emma who continued to smile and walked over to join them.

The McIntyres had brought some smoked fish that Dobby had caught from the river at their estate, while Dora's family supplied entrees of French cuisine. Harriet was most excited to see treacle tarts, the same kind she had hidden underneath her floorboards, brought by the O'Briens. And finally Marcus' father had brought some sliced smoked ham.

"Anyone 'ome?" asked a friendly and all too familiar voice.

Harriet beamed seeing Hagrid stick his large, shaggy head around the corner of the house's second story.

"Welcome, Hagrid!" Mrs Weasley said.

Harriet smiled and ran up to hug Hagrid too. He blushed a little awkwardly but smiled. "Heh, oy now, still a teacher yeh know?" he said chuckling.

"Yeah, don't care," Harriet said.

Hagrid laughed more and put a big hand on her back in his version of hug.

Bit by bit, the rest of the guests arrived. Harriet couldn't' help feeling surprised to see Parvati, her twin sister Padma, and Lavender. They all gave the Weasleys' house apprehensive looks, but smiled warmly as they were greeted.

After another twenty minutes, the next group arrived. This time, it was Jeremy, Isabella, Isabella's little sister Carmina, along with a group of adults who must have been their parents. Jeremy's parents were very friendly. Jeremy looked much like his father, except he had his mother's mouth and ears. There was another boy with Jeremy who Harriet had seen at school but couldn't remember by name. Jeremy's parents introduced him as Kyle Conner, one of his cousins. Harriet wondered if he was also a blood wolf, but wasn't sure how to ask.

Meanwhile, it seemed only Isabella's mother had come. She was very pretty, like Isabella and Carmina, and all three were already the same height. Carmina and Kyle hurried off to talk with Ginny, Luna, and Emma. Harriet felt slightly awkward at this introduction. She had been sort of taken with Jeremy ever since meeting him in wolf-form after casting her Patronus to drive off the Dementors the night she and Hermione helped Sirius escape. It wasn't so much that he was in wolf form, as how he had written in the dirt that he thought the world was a better place with her in it, and how she gave people hope, even him.

As a result, she had felt a slight sense of jealousy towards Isabella ever since, as Jeremy and Isabella seemed to be such close friends. However, Harriet felt a little confused that deep down, what made her feel most awkward around Isabella wasn't that she was jealous over Jeremy. It was the way she couldn't help but notice how attractive Isabella was. And it wasn't jealousy over that either.

After the Owens and Martinezes, the next to arrive were Remus and Daniel. Despite having only seen them a few days ago, Harriet was still excited enough to give them running jump hugs, though this time she was smiling instead of terrified.

The next to arrive after Remus and Daniel were Dean and Seamus. Unlike Parvati and Lavender, they didn't seem at all bothered by the Weasley house and instead were eyeing the nearby Quidditch paddock with interest.

After Dean and Seamus came Basheera. Mrs Weasley looked as though she was going to have a nervous breakdown on the spot when Basheera's father introduced himself as a Prince. Parvati and Lavender meanwhile were going spare as Basheera's brothers came into view as well, much to Dean and Seamus' disgust.

The last to arrive was, of course, Neville. Neville's arrival caused the Gryffindors in particular to bite their tongues trying not to laugh. Neville arrived with his grandmother, who was wearing the very same outfit that Neville had forced his boggart of Professor Snape to wear during their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Lupin.

"Well, that looks like everyone," Mr Weasley said, cheerfully. "How's the grill coming, Charlie?"

"Oh we're all set," Charlie said.

"Then let's eat!"

Everyone grabbed plates and lined up at the pot-luck table. As the birthday girl, Harriet was ushered to the front of the line to go first. She paused as she took in all the food.

"Something wrong, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"I just… don't know where to start," Harriet admitted awkwardly.

"Start at the beginning, take as much as you want, and when that's not enough go back up for more!" George said eagerly.

Everyone in the line laughed, even Harriet.

By the end of dinner, everyone was too full to move. They were all lounging in their chairs in the summer sun. The parents all talked merrily about the magical events of the day. The kids all talked about their summers so far.

"So, is it true?" Seamus asked Harriet. "Sirius Black's really innocent?"

"Well, yeah," Harriet said.

"Wow," Lavender chimed in. "It still must have been so scary being kidnapped like that."

"I don't know… if Black's story's true, one could find it romantic," Parvati said dreamily.

Her twin sister, Padma, rolled her eyes. Clearly Padma was not as inclined towards romance as Parvati was. Harriet then gave a glance in Charlie's direction before looking back at Parvati. Maybe Parvati would have some good tips on how to attract boys' attention. Then she took a glance at Fred who was chatting with George and the elder of Basheera's brothers. Maybe she didn't need Parvati's advice after all?

She puzzled after Fred for a bit. He had always been so much nicer to her than anyone else, even Ronnie. Yet, somehow, Harriet had never looked at him as much more than a brother she'd never had. Fred was always just, Fred, wasn't he? He was loud and rambunctious and always getting into trouble and neglecting his studies and always there for her.

But it wasn't just Fred. Kieran had always been there for her too. He'd injured his leg the year before trying to get to her after she fell from her broom. He was the one person in the world who knew her secret. Harriet's head started to swim as she looked back and forth between the two boys and suddenly both of them seemed completely unrecognizable to her.

"Here we are!"

Harriet was distracted from her whirling thoughts when Mrs Weasley came walking over to the group, floating Harriet's birthday cake before her. It was shaped like a Snitch and had "Happy Birthday, Harriet" on top in red icing. Harriet flushed and blew out the candles.

After that came the presents. She had to laugh as nearly everyone got her new items for Quidditch. Shin guards, goggles, scarves, and gloves. The exception was Dora, who had continued her theme of finding Harriet more of the Nancy Drew books she liked so much.

After the cake and presents, a lull came over the table once more and quiet conversation broke out as everyone was now completely full. Harriet was still having a hard time focusing on the conversation. She kept stealing little glances at Kieran and Fred. She decided to distract herself by turning her attention to the rest of the party.

Basheera's father was deep in conversation with Mr Weasley and Mr Lovegood about muggle-life in his home country. The mothers were all gathered around talking about home life and how Mrs Weasley kept her garden so neat. Mrs Weasley seemed deeply impressed at the muggle-tips that Mrs Granger was giving. Dora's mother, however, seemed a bit lost in this conversation. Dora rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper to Harriet that her mother worked, and all their house-work was done by their family's three house-elves; Beauregard, Castillon, and Snickers.

This brought Harriet's attention back to the conversation going on at her own table. The topic had drifted to Quidditch and the World Cup. Ginny was attempting to explain the rules to Basheera's baffled looking younger brother. As discussion about the World Cup started taking over, and her interest in trying out her new Quidditch gear grew, Harriet found herself forgetting just how full she was.

"Hey, let's all play a match," Dean said, eagerly. "Seamus and I brought our brooms."

"Brilliant," Dora said getting up quickly.

Kieran smiled and got to his feet with the help of his stick. Harriet remembered the stand that Charlie had made and looked around for him. He didn't seem to be around. She bit her lip and the group of fourth years, along with Fred, George, Ginny, Luna, Emma, Isabella's little sister and Jeremy's cousin, all made their way to the Weasleys' Quidditch paddock.

They stepped through the little gate in the tall hedge and everyone paused. Harriet's mouth fell open. Charlie was already there. He was kneeling and fiddling with something on the ground. He looked up at the group and grinned. He stood and held up a broomstick that he had just finished fitting with the stand.

"Hey Kieran, mate," Charlie said, holding out the broomstick. "Thought you might like to try this on for size."

Kieran's jaw dropped. "But, but I can't, not with…" he patted his leg, trailing off.

Charlie beamed. "You can with this, mate. Here, I'll show you."

Charlie brought the broomstick over and held it in front of Kieran. "Here, stand on your good leg there, and swing the hurt one up and over."

Kieran's face was scarlet as he awkwardly did as told. He did wince briefly in pain as he swung the leg over, but it passed as soon as he lowered it again.

"Now, just stick your foot in that there," Charlie said pointing to the pedal.

Kieran stuck the toe of his trainer into the pedal which tightened itself down.

"Uh, how do I get my foot out again?"

"Just give your ankle a little twist and it should come loose."

Kieran tested and sure enough the straps loosened up at once and his foot could slide out.

"Perfect," Charlie said. "Now, just kick off. When you land, the spring in the stand will bend just enough so you don't slam into the ground, but also won't just collapse under you, hurting your leg more."

Kieran was speechless. He just kept staring at the stand, his mouth open.

"Uh, I think he said "kick off," mate," Marcus said, beaming.

Slowly, Kieran closed his mouth, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and kicked off with his good leg. The broomstick shot into the air. Dean whooped and Scott jumped up and down, cheering his friend on as Kieran did a very wobbly circuit around the paddock. Dora was cheering too and Hermione was clearly fighting back tears of happiness.

"Well what the blazes is going on here?" Harriet heard Mr O'Brien's voice asking cheerfully.

"Aye, Quidditch fun and no one… invited… us…" Mrs O'Brien chimed in though she trailed off.

"Mum!" Kieran shouted from the broom, his face more alight with glee than Harriet had ever seen it. "Da! I'm doing it! I'm flying!"

Kieran's parents were speechless. "Kieran!" Mr O'Brien shouted moving past the gathered teens and staring blankly. "Kieran you're going to—"

"No I'm not, Dad!" Kieran shouted.

Mr O'Brien froze and Charlie put one of his muscular arms around Kieran's father's shoulder.

"He'll be fine," Charlie said. "Did it in secret. Mum was doing his laundry so got his measurements from his jeans."

"H-how… how…" Mrs O'Brien stammered.

Charlie beamed. "Well, got the idea from going down into the town. Saw a muggle bicycle leaning on something called a kick-stand. It just clicked. Anyway, my brother Bill owed me a favour, and in turn one of his goblin friends owed him a favour."

"That's Goblin made…?" Mr O'Brien asked. Harriet noted that he had tears welling up in his eyes too.

"Yep," Charlie said patting Mr O'Brien's shoulder.

"How can we ever thank you, or pay you?" Mrs O'Brien exclaimed, her eyes never leaving her son's gleeful face.

Charlie laughed. "I told you, it was a favour. We were out here flying about last week and couldn't stand seeing him and Scott there left out."

Charlie looked back up at Kieran who was flying higher and higher, and steadier and steadier. "Everyone should get to fly, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mr O'Brien said, tears pouring down his cheeks now.

"Yes," Mrs O'Brien sniffed and gave Charlie a hug so tight he grunted. "Everyone should get to fly."