A/N: For those of you who celebrate it, Happy Easter! For everyone else, Happy Spring! I hope your weather is far better than mine (So. Much. Wind!) and I hope you all have wonderful spring breaks for those of you who are on them right now!

Tallyho!


Chapter 7: Harry's Birthday

Harry comes over the next morning, bouncing with excitement. "What's got you in a good mood?" I ask.

"Nothing in particular," he smirks.

I roll my eyes. "Uh huh, sure. So birthday boy, what are we doing today?"

"You'll see," he smirks.

I barely have time to register that the smirk on his face means trouble when he grabs my hand and floos us out of my house and to- "QUIDDITCH?!" I say, as we arrive at the stadium. "Really Harry?"

He shrugs. "Hey, it's my birthday. I can do what I want!"

"Your birthday isn't until tomorrow, though!" I argue.

"Same difference," he jokes and I roll my eyes, accepting my defeat. "Is Ginny playing at least?"

"Ginny and Ron!" he says, far more excited than he should be.

"Oh shit," I say. Ron's team, the Chudley Cannons, has been doing fairly well this season but the Holyhead Harpies are number one in the country right now. This might not end well.

Harry leads us to the box he reserved where we find Neville and Joanna already there. I smile and pull Neville into a bear hug when I see him. "When did you get back from California?" Neville took a year off to live in the states and learn about American wizard culture.

"About a week ago; I've been hiding out at my flat, adjusting to the time change."

I laugh at that and nod. "Jet lag is the worst. Either way, I'm glad to see you!"

I give Joanna a quick hug then we all sit and begin to watch the game. We cheer as Ron and Ginny walk onto the field and a few minutes later, the game has started and Harry and Joanna are immersed in what's happening on the field, allowing me to chat with Neville uninterrupted.

"So what are you going to do now that you're back in England?" I ask.

"Well, I've actually been offered a job at Hogwarts to be the new Herbology professor," he smiles.

"Really? That's great, Neville! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Hermione." His smile falters a little bit and he squeezes my hand. "I heard about your parents; I'm sorry."

I shake my head and give him a small smile. "It's okay; the important thing is that they're safe."

He nods in agreement. "I also heard you've been holding out on me, Miss Scamander."

I laugh at that. "Hey, in my defense, you've been gone for a year!"

"But you couldn't at least send me a letter? Merlin, woman! I've been trying to get the most recent update of Newt Scamander's book for weeks and I come back home to find out my friend is his bloody granddaughter! Where's that Gryffindor loyalty?!"

I'm crying tears of laughter by the end of Neville's rant and I have to lean on him for support. "I'm sorry, Neville," I say when I manage to calm down. "If it's any consolation, he'll be at yours and Harry's party tomorrow at the Weasleys. You can meet him then. I'm sure he'll find a way to get you a copy of his updated book too."

His face lights up at that. "You think so?"

I nod and smile. "Although, I must warn you that Tina is more into Herbology than Newt is. If you were teaching Care of Magical Creatures, I'd say Newt would be your go-to but since it's Herbology, Tina might have some more insight into the workings of plants than Newt."

He laughs. "Duly noted."

We continue to chat about his trip to California and I update him on my new family and the bookstore as the game continues. When Harry leaves to get food, Joanna moves to sit next to me and I wink at her before I turn my attention back to Neville. "So, Neville, what brings you here today?"

He looks at me confused. "What do you mean? I'm here for the Quidditch game."

"I know that," I smirk; "I mean here, at this game?"

He shrugs. "I wanted to see my friends play."

"You sure it has nothing to do with seeing a particular redhead play?" I say, playfully.

By the surprised look on his face, I know I've got him. "W-what do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Neville. We know you're here for Ginny; unless you're here for Ron which, if you are, Joanna, I've got some bad news for you," I say, looking to her.

She laughs and shakes her head. "Well, if Ron does leave me for Neville, at least I can be satisfied that they'll treat each other well."

We break out into a fit of giggles at that while Neville just rolls his eyes in exasperation. "Don't worry, Joanna, I like Ron but he's not really my type."

"But his sister is," she jokes and I laugh. Neville blushes at her comment and I take his hand and squeeze it reassuringly.

"Don't be embarrassed, Neville, we're just teasing you. If you and Ginny are together, I think it's great!"

He shrugs. "That's just the thing; we're not together. Well, not yet, anyway. I think we're heading in that direction, though."

"What do you mean?" Joanna asks.

"Before I left, we spent a couple of evenings together." I glance at Joanna and I can see the recognition in her eyes at what he's alluding to. "We decided to put whatever we had at the time on hold since I was leaving for a year. About a month ago, while she had a break in training, she came to visit me in California. While there, we spent a lot of time talking and agreed that when I got back, we'd try dating for a while and see if it goes anywhere."

"Have you told Harry?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I haven't quite found the right time to tell him."

"There isn't really a proper time to tell someone something like that, Neville. Sometimes, you just have to do it," I say.

He nods. "I know."

"Just be sure to tell him soon, okay? I know Harry will take it a lot better if he hears it from you rather than from someone else."

He smiles. "Thanks, Hermione. How'd you two find out anyway?"

"She told us," Joanna and I say at the same time.

Neville rolls his eyes. "Of course she did."

Harry comes back with his hands full of popcorn, hot dogs, and four butterbeers floating behind him. I laugh and help him set everything down. "I knew I should have gone with you."

"In my defense, it seemed like a good idea at the time," he argues.

"That's your argument for everything, Harry," I reply, still laughing. Once everything has been split up between us, we sit back down and enjoy the rest of the game. In the last quarter of the game, Neville pulls Harry aside to, I assume, tell him about him and Ginny. By the grin that appears on Harry's face, he takes the news well and is happy for them. Joanna and I smile at one another as Neville's shoulders drop in relief and Harry pats him on the back.

"If only everyone handled news like that so well," Joanna says.

I laugh. "I know; imagine how Dean Thomas is going to feel when he finds out!"

Joanna laughs at that idea. Joanna was a fourth year Ravenclaw during what would have been my seventh year in Hogwarts so even if she doesn't know everyone in our year personally, she knows them by name and might be able to pick them out of a crowd.

The boys rejoin us just in time to see the Holyhead Harpies Seeker catch the snitch, ending the game with a 380-220 win in the Harpies favor (no surprise there). After the celebratory cheer for Ginny's team, Harry and I say goodbye to Joanna and Neville before we apparate out of the stadium and to muggle London, stopping at a small cafe for lunch.

"So, Neville and Ginny," I start.

He smiles. "I know what you're thinking," he says, "and you don't need to worry; I'm fine. If anything, I'm happy for them. They always seemed like they'd be good for each other."

I return his smile and squeeze his hand but don't respond, knowing that nothing else really needs to be said in regards to that topic. Where Ron and I had a huge blowout that led our breakup, Harry and Ginny had a much more amicable split, agreeing that they were better off as friends. It took a while for Ron and I to start talking again after our breakup but eventually, we apologized to one another and agreed that our friendship meant more to each other than to drop everything over one bad fight.

"So, have you heard from Rolf or Luna?" Harry asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shake my head. "Not yet; I'm taking the mindset that no news is good news."

He laughs. "That's usually how I look at it."

I smirk. "So, what's next on our to do list, birthday boy?"

"Well, I figured since I tortured you with Quidditch this morning, you could choose the afternoon activity and then I was thinking another movie night tonight?"

I smile. "That sounds great. Now, let me think of what we can do this afternoon…" I bite my lip in concentration as I think about something to do in the afternoon. After about five minutes, I grin as an idea pops into my head and look at Harry. "When was the last time you went bowling?"


We arrive back at my place after three games of bowling (I won two games while Harry won the last one). "Any dinner requests?" I ask as we walk into my living room from my fireplace.

"Hmm… surprise me!" he says.

I laugh. "You might wish you hadn't said that," thinking of the last time I had surprised him with food, I made him eat some American concoction called a Frito Pie. Needless to say, it was a disaster. Funny, but not necessarily pretty.

His eyes widen as he remembers that. "Good point. How about pizza?"

I nod at that suggestion. "Sounds good. Will you call it in?" He nods and I smile. "I want to give you your present now. Is that okay?"

"You know you didn't have to get me anything, Hermione," he argues but I shake my head.

"I know, but I wanted to. Stay here," I say as I run upstairs to grab his present. As I come downstairs, I peek into my kitchen and smile at what I see before going back into my living room and handing Harry his present. "Happy birthday, Harry."

I sit next to him on the couch as he unwraps the box and opens it. I can't help but grin at his awed expression as he pulls out the red and gold jersey. "Is this… is this my old Quidditch jersey?" he asks.

"Actually, it's your father's," I say. He drops his arms and stares at me in shock. "I called in a favor with McGonagall; initially I asked for your jersey but she said she gave it to you for your twenty-first birthday," he nods in agreement with that, "so she sent me the next best thing. I hope that's okay?"

He smiles and tears are forming in his eyes. "Hermione, this is the best birthday present anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much for this; really. This means more than I could ever say."

I smile and kiss his cheek. "I have one more thing for you; come with me." I take his hand and lead him to my kitchen where his other present is sitting. Next to my owl Athena, is the beautiful Snowy Owl I saw at Luna's Sanctuary. Harry had tried to search for a new owl after Hedwig died but none of them ever seemed to be the right fit for him; he's been using Pigwidgeon or one of the Ministry owls if he ever needed to send a letter but I think it's time he had a new owl; and yes, I picked a Snowy Owl because they're Harry's favorite.

When I see the smile on his face, I know I made the right decision. "Is he for me?"

I nod. "I found him at Luna's Sanctuary and thought he looked like he needed a spectacled friend who would feed him far too many treats."

Harry laughs and walks towards the owl. Within the first few seconds of them meeting, I can tell they're perfect for each other. The owl nips Harry affectionately and begins to nuzzle against his hand as he scratches him. "What are you going to name him?" I ask, joining them at the perch and scratching Athena's head.

Harry shrugs. "I'm not sure." He looks to me and smiles. "Wanna help me choose one for him?"

I smile and nod before looking at the owl. "How about… Hamlet?"

The owl makes an unsatisfied noise and Harry laughs. "I guess not. What about Snowball?" This time both Athena and the owl make noises that suggest they're not too happy with that one.

I look to Athena and the name Achilles comes to mind but before I can voice it, I'm inspired by another name. "Atticus," I say.

The Snowy Owl perks up at that and when I say it again, he hoots quietly in satisfaction.

"I like Atticus," Harry replies. "Good one," he smiles.

I scratch the top of Atticus' head and smile. "It just seemed to fit him."

Harry takes my free hand in his and squeezes. "Hermione, you've just made this one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Thank you so much for both of the gifts. I love them."

"It was my pleasure, Harry. Happy birthday," I say, pulling him into a tight hug which he returns wholeheartedly.

We pull out of the hug but we don't let each other go just yet; we just stand and enjoy each other's company. I look up into his green eyes and see something I haven't seen there before but I don't have a chance to ponder what it is as next thing I know, Harry's kissing me.

And I'm kissing him back.

It's very rare that I let anything other than logic rule my brain but this is one of those times where I just let go. Everything else fades away as Harry's lips fit with mine perfectly and I run my fingers through his hair while trying to pull him as close to me as humanly possible. I don't realize that we've moved until he's got me pinned against the kitchen wall.

He opens his mouth slightly and I take the opportunity to meet his tongue with mine. He moans into my mouth and I pull him even closer to me, despite the fact that our bodies are already as close as they can get.

His kiss is magnetic. I can't get enough of him and by the way his hands are running up and down my body, he can't get enough either. It's only as we kiss that I realize that Tina was right; there is something between us. I think there has been for a while but I've been in denial about it for fear that he doesn't feel the same about me. Obviously, I was wrong. I was very, very wrong.

And thank Merlin for that!

We break for air when we hear a knock at the door. "That must be the pizza," I say, opening my eyes to meet Harry's green ones. I chuckle as I get a clear view of his appearance: his glasses are askew, his lips are swollen, his hair is messier than usual and the first couple buttons of his shirt have been unbuttoned. I hadn't even realize I had done that while we were kissing.

By the smirk on his lips, I imagine my appearance isn't far off from his. He brushes some curls behind my ear and kisses my lips softly, a drastic difference to what we were just doing. I give him a small smile before I adjust my appearance and go to the front door to pay for the pizza. I bring it back into the kitchen and place it on the counter before looking at Harry, who's also readjusted his appearance.

I lean against the counter with my arms wrapped around myself tightly and I look away from him, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. "We should probably talk about what just happened," I say.

He walks over to me and stands in front of me, touching my chin to move my face so I have to look at him. "Are you okay?" he asks.

I can't help but smile at that. Always thinking of everyone else first before himself. I shrug. "I'm not sure what I feel right now."

He nods in agreement. "Do you regret it?" he asks, a little quieter this time.

"No!" I say, squeezing his arms reassuringly. "That's not what I meant, Harry, I swear. It was just a little unexpected is all and it's just a lot to take in right now."

He smiles and caresses my cheek with his hand while his free hand wraps around my waist. "I don't regret it either, you know. But I do agree, it is a lot to take in."

I rest my hands on his arms and sigh. "So, what now?"

"What would you like to do?" he replies. "If you want to forget this ever happened, I can do that. I admit, I won't be too happy about it but I can do that." He chuckles at my shocked expression. "Or, we can try to be a- a couple, if that's what you want?"

"I don't want to forget it, Harry," I say confidently. "I- I liked it. I just- I'm scared, I guess. I don't want whatever this is to end how it did with Ron."

His eyes soften in understanding. "Do you trust me?"

I nod. "With my life."

He steps closer to me. "But with your heart?"

My pulse begins to beat faster in response to that. "Y-yes," I say, glancing down to his lips before looking back to his eyes.

"I won't hurt you, Hermione," he says quietly.

My breathing is shaky but when I speak, my voice is confident. "I won't hurt you either," I say.

And then all thoughts are gone as our lips meet again.


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