Chapter Thirteen a Birthday Celebration

Disclaimer: Any characters other than Athena and any situations related to the book or any other Harry Potter related items belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I do not gain any money from this. I only write to relieve stress and to get the ideas out of my head.

A/N. Feel free to leave a review or comments on anything I messed up on or if you have a suggestion for the story. Don't feel obligated to give me a review though. I appreciate everyone who reads my stories. Reviews are bonuses in my eyes so like I said don't feel obligated to leave one. Thank you also to those who have added this story to favorites or following I appreciate it. ".."=talking '..'=thinking *..*=text message/notes

Athena sat up in her sleeping bag still at Hermione's flat hearing her phone ring before groaning noticing it was noon "hello?"

Athena's mom's voice answered from the other side "hello darling I hope you didn't forget what is occurring today."

Athena rubbed her eyes trying to think what could possibly be going on not even thinking of what day it could possibly be other than Sunday "I don't know mom will you please enlighten me about what is occurring today?"

Athena's mother tsked "my dearest Athena being in London has made you a tad forgetful. Today is my birthday party since yesterday was my birthday not that my only child could be as kind as to text or call her mother to wish her happy birthday. Oh well I can't say I blame you for forgetting with the hours you keep for your job but I do expect you here in an hour to help set up. Love you dear! Goodbye." She hung up with a click.

Athena sighed softly setting down her phone as she looked around slightly ashamed that she had forgotten her own mother's birthday before getting up and disappearing. She landed in her own apartment before sending Hermione a text *sorry to leave without a goodbye but my presence was requested elsewhere this morning and I didn't want to give the other person any other reason to be upset with me.-Athena* she hopped in the shower trying to hurry to make herself presentable before she headed back to her old home flinching at the thought of the various guests she'd have to mingle with.

Flashback

Little five year old Athena stood hidden behind her mother's leg as she peered around at the blonde little boy standing next to her parent's friends. She looked at him still hidden surprised when he walked over and offered her his hand.

Athena blinked coming out from behind her mother's leg and taking his hand "I'm Athena and I'm five."

Alexander smiled "I'm Alexander but I go by Alex and I'm also five. Would you like to go play? They are only going to talk about boring grownup stuff."

End of Flashback

Athena sighed softly remembering how Alex's parents and her parents were best friends and that the play dates had continued over the years and had turned into more than friendly dates when they got older eventually leading to their relationship which had ended a few months ago. She wrapped the towel around herself before reaching for her phone and texting Harry *hey Harry are you busy today?*

Harry was finishing lunch planning on heading over to the Weasleys in a little bit to hang out with the guys when he heard his phone buzz before looking at the text *I was going to head over to the Burrow and hang out with Ron and his brothers but I can always do that next weekend. Why what's up?*

Athena was halfway dressed hearing the reply she opened the text *it is my mother's birthday party today and I was wondering if you would be my date? It unfortunately will be a formal event and I will be forced to mingle with a decent amount of guests if I go alone. You could meet my mother this way and there is a high chance that my ex-boyfriend will be there with his fiancé since our parents are really good friends. I understand if you would rather hang out with Ron and his brothers though.*

Harry blinked surprised that she was inviting him to her mother's birthday party but continued to read before replying *I would be honored to accompany you to your mother's birthday party. I'm sure it will be nice to meet your mother and rub it in your former boyfriend's face that you are dating someone better than him. So I'm guessing a suit and tie would be necessary for this event?*

Athena smiled as she replied looking through her closet for the dress her mother would want her to wear. *yep think almost the level of formality you are used to with the ministry balls and make it more suitable for muggles. She usually turns it into a charity event so don't be surprised if she tries to get you to donate to her cause of the year.*

Harry texted back as he searched his closet for the suit he had bought for Bill and Fleur's wedding *I don't mind donating to a good cause and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she turns it into a charity event or that it is formal considering the status your family has in both the muggle and wizarding world. When do I need to be there?* he found the suit before muttering spells to clean and erase the wrinkles from it.

Athena pulled on a simple sweater dress after grabbing her formal gown and placing it in the bag to keep it from wrinkling and protect it until it was time to get ready. She read over the text laughing quietly before replying *well the party is at 7pm Boston time which would be near 11 pm here but mom wants me to help set up and spend time with her beforehand so if you want to show up around 4 London time which would be noon there I think it would be ok. * she sent him a link with a map and address to her parents house before finishing getting ready and appearing in her parents' home in Boston.

Athena's mother looked up as her daughter appearing in the living room "good you've made it just in time for breakfast. We have a long day to prepare for the party which as always will turn into a charity event for cancer research." she took her daughters arm heading into the kitchen looking much better since she was attacked. It was 9:30 am Boston time which was the equivalent of 1:30pm in London.

Athena's father looked at his wife and daughter as they walked into the kitchen where he was making breakfast "good morning my lovely ladies. I am surprised to see my daughter of course but happy regardless. Are you hungry my little bookworm?"

Athena sat down at the bar watching her father cook "of course I am dad. Mom woke me up to remind me of the party and when I was expected to be here so I hurried and got ready. My dress is up in my room as I started there before I appeared in front of mother."

Meanwhile in London Harry had gone over to the Burrow to talk to Ron. He looked at his best friend already informing him of the party he was attending "I'm slightly nervous about this party since not only am I meeting her mother but also attending a formal event with her."

Ron rubbed his neck "well this is important to her and she wants to have you with her is a good thing. I mean if her ex is going to be there wouldn't you rather be there to make sure he doesn't hurt her or try and win her back if he realizes his mistake?"

Harry nodded "I guess you are right. This is important to her and it does show that she sees us together for the long run if she wants me to meet her parents. As for her ex I'm hoping he won't be there but if he is it is a chance for her to get closure with him like I did with Ginny."

Later on in the afternoon Athena was beginning to set up slightly worried since it was around 2pm Boston time and Harry hadn't shown up yet. Her mother watched the set up smiling as some of the more difficult decorations went up looking perfect.

Harry had appeared down the street from the house in a wooded area he walked holding his suit bag as he looked at the house numbers before stopping in front of a mansion. He looked back down at the address on the phone before looking up at the house again realizing he was at the right house. He texted Hermione and Ron *I knew she was rich but her family home is probably bigger than the Malfoys.*

Hermione texted back *if you read about her in the papers like I did before she came you would have seen pictures of her family home and know that it is indeed bigger than the Malfoys.*

Athena looked at the decorations that were being hung up thinking back to the last birthday party she had gone to before turning back to working on setting up the centerpieces for each of the tables. 'I wonder where Harry is. I hope he hasn't changed his mind.'

Harry knocked on the door not surprised when a butler answered before walking into the living room only to be directed by a maid to a ballroom. He looked up spotting Athena heading over to give her a kiss on the cheek "sorry I'm late Ron and I lost track of time and I had to ask Hermione for help with my outfit for later."

Athena smiled she looked at Harry "I'm glad you made it. Come on I'll formally introduce you to my parents before the chaos that is decorating begins its final preparations." She led him over to her parents smiling "mom, dad this is Harry Potter my boyfriend that I've told you about. Harry this is my mother, Audrey and my father, Axel."

Audrey Blaze looked at Harry scrutinizing him like she did with all of Athena's boyfriends and friends "well it is nice to meet you Mr. Potter. My daughter doesn't stop talking about you when I hear from her. We are thankful for your part in the defeat of the dark wizard plaguing us all." She whispered the last part softly careful of the muggle staff helping out with the party. She held out a hand to him in greeting still protective of her daughter's heart after the breakup with Alexander.

Harry took the offered hand kissing it gently like he had been taught "it is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Blaze. Your daughter is very important to me and it is great to meet the people who helped her become the person she is today."

Axel Blaze smiled as he offered his hand to Harry "Mr. Potter it is nice to see you again and in much better circumstances. I hope you are keeping my daughter happy." He shook Harry's hand keeping a tighter grip when he made the statement about his daughter as a warning of what could happen if things went bad between Harry and Athena.

Harry nodded at Axel as he shook his hand "it is nice to see you again Mr. Blaze." He acknowledged the warning he was given before turning to Athena "so what's the plan for this afternoon?"

Audrey looked at Harry before turning to Athena "Athena darling I have some things that need to be picked up. Why don't you take Mr. Potter and get the last few things. I need to speak with the caterers about when the food will be delivered and your father is working out the last few details for the silent auction tonight."

Athena looked at her mother "of course mom I know how you are about the details." She took Harry's arm and led him to the garage grabbing a pair of keys by the door before heading in the garage.

Harry followed after Athena "is it a good thing that she is trying to get us out of the house for a bit or a bad thing?" he asked once they were out of hearing not sure if Audrey was purposely trying to get them away or if she really did have a list of things she needed to get.

Athena looked at Harry as she headed over to a black BMW "believe me it is a very good thing that she is sending us out of the house. You don't want to be here when she is dealing with the caterers or the decorators especially since right now both are running behind. She's about to start yelling and possibly screaming if a solution is not reached soon. I'd rather get out of the house during this time and pick up a few items rather than be the one who has to deal with things going wrong. So be happy she wants us out of the house." She got in the car before looking at the list her mother had given her of the stores they needed to go to.

Harry got in on the right side slightly surprised to see the steering wheel on the left side but remembering that driving in the US was basically the opposite of driving in England. "Is she very particular about the set up for her party? If so then I am glad we got out of the house even though I didn't get a tour first." He said teasingly.

Athena hit the garage door opener waiting until it was completely open before pulling out the garage and heading down the long driveway to the street "she is super particular about her party especially since she is known around here for her parties. I'll give you a tour when we get back it just wasn't the right time to give you a tour when you walked in."

Harry looked at the other houses around the neighborhood still in shock of how big Athena's family home truly was before taking in the scenery as they headed into Boston "so your parents don't actually live in Boston then?"

Athena drove conservatively not wanting to scare Harry with her driving "they have an apartment in Boston near where I lived for when they have business in Boston but when they come home they live in a suburb of Boston. It was easier to get a house big enough for all the children they wanted to have and also have enough space for a library and office for both of them. They wanted to have 5 kids but I had a complicated birth and prevented my mother from giving me any siblings. So now we just have this big house for the three of us rather than for the seven member family that was planned. If you want to live in Boston you either have to give up space or you have to have a decent amount of money to get a nice big apartment."

Harry looked at the scenery as they went from the suburbs of Boston into the actual city of Boston "of course that makes sense. Someday I want to have a home out in the country. I don't want to live in the city for much longer but I use Grimauld Place for now since it is close enough to the office."

Athena pulled up to a decorations store parking in the parking lot before glancing at Harry "ready to begin the long list of errands?"

Harry got out of the car taking her hand as they headed into the store "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Three hours later it was officially 5pm and Harry and Athena had just arrived back at her house. Athena carried a few bags with items from the list setting them down in the ball room where her mother stood waiting before turning to Harry "we have an hour for the tour before we need to get ready for dinner and the party."

Harry set the bags he was carrying down by the other items before following after Athena for a tour of her home "let's get the tour started I would rather not screw up any plans your mother has."

Athena began to lead him around giving him a tour of the library first before heading into her parents' offices. She continued the tour into the dining room and the kitchen before heading up the first staircase which led to a few ballrooms not located on the first floor. Eventually they ended up on the top floor starting with her parent's bedroom and wing before heading over to her wing. She opened the door to her bedroom leaning against the door as Harry walked in "well this is my room."

Harry looked around the room with pink walls and roses bordering the ceiling not surprised to see the room looked fit for a princess. "it's a big room that looks like it was made for a princess." he glanced at the time noticing it was getting close to six "well I guess we should get ready for the party now that it is practically six."

Athena looked at the clock before nodding "there is another room next door to my room that you are welcome to use to get ready." she opened the door to the adjoining room slightly nervous about the party now that it was getting closer to time to welcome the guests which would most likely include her ex-boyfriend and his new fiancé. She headed over to her closet once Harry had gone into the other room and shut the door. She looked at the outfit she had brought with her debating if it would be enough or if she should choose something else. Eventually she walked out of her room waiting beside the other room for Harry dressed and ready for the evening.

Harry walked out adjusting the cuff links on the tuxedo Hermione had helped pick out when he had gone to visit her. He looked at Athena taking in the long grey dress with beading along the shoulders "you look gorgeous tonight." He placed a soft kiss on her cheek before offering her his arm smiling.

Athena looked up at him taking his arm as she kissed his cheek in return only to have to remove the bit of lipstick that made its way onto his cheek. "Thank you Harry you look handsome tonight. So I should probably warn you that there will be both muggles and wizards here so try to avoid talking about wizarding things to muggles and talk about whatever to the wizards. I'm sure you'll do fine and I'll try to stay by your side unless you would prefer otherwise."

Harry looked at her as they headed down the stairs "well you know most of these people since they are friends of your mothers or clients so I'm sure having you by my side would be to my benefit. I'm sure you could inform me if they are muggle or wizard/witch. Besides I'm here to be your date and escort so I would like to stay with you so you can show me off if that is what you want." He walked over to her parents joining them noticing the ballroom had been completely transformed into something you would expect of a charity gala rather than a birthday party. He smiled at Audrey "you look beautiful Mrs. Blaze I can see where Athena gets her stunning looks and fashion sense from."

Audrey smiled at Harry before taking in his outfit and her daughter's "thank you Mr. Potter you and my daughter look wonderful together tonight. I hope you have a good time tonight." She headed to the entryway with her husband planning on greeting guests after hearing the doorbell ring "I bet that would be Mr. and Mrs. Jones." She glanced at her daughter "I hope you don't mind we sent out the invitations to them and Alexander before you broke up."

Athena forced a smile "it is ok mother. They have been family friends and it would be rude of you to not invite them. Besides I have Harry here to keep me company and if it is necessary I will go out of my way to be civil to Alexander if he is here." She held onto Harry's arm working on finding her courage.

Harry wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her into his side he kissed the top of her head as her parents disappeared from sight "I'm here for you. If you need to escape or feel uncomfortable because of him just say the word and I'll create an escape plan for you." He gently rubbed her back trying to help her calm down from her tense state.

A man that appeared to be Athena and Harry's age walked in his hair a golden hair with piercing blue eyes walked into the room his arm around a pretty brunette. He smiled seeing Athena as he walked over with his fiancé "well if it isn't the ever busy Athena Blaze. I'm surprised to see you here since you are usually always working."

Athena faked a smile "It is my mother's birthday party Alexander. I can make time for things that are important such as attending my own mother's party. Madison it is good to see you considering I haven't seen you in a while." She looked at the diamond on the girl's hand "I guess I should congratulate you on your engagement. If you'll excuse me some other guests have arrived that I need to talk to." She looked up at Harry smiling before heading off to greet Alexander's parents not bothering to introduce Harry to people she deemed unworthy.

Harry walked with Athena linking the name Alexander with stories Athena had told him about her ex and her mother's earlier comments. He stood by her side as she greeted Alexander's parents greeting them politely as she introduced them to him. He glanced over at Alexander frowning when he noticed the other man was watching his date.

Audrey walked back in after she had greeted more guests she looked between her daughter and her friend's son not surprised to see Alexander keeping an eye on her daughter. 'He can pretend that he is happy with Madison but I can tell from the looks that he wants my daughter. Now that he sees she is with someone else he can't keep his eyes off her.'

Athena looked up at Harry after they had greeted a few more guests "I'm sorry for all the attention you get. I'm sure you would rather not talk about saving our world." She flagged a server down asking politely for a non alcoholic beverage for her hand Harry and giving him a tip. When he returned she took the two glasses of apple juice off the tray before handing a glass to Harry.

Harry took the offered glass smiling "it's ok if it takes some of the attention off your breakup with Alexander then I'm happy to talk about saving our world. It isn't my favorite thing to talk about but I can see that talking about your breakup is painful for you." He kissed her cheek before shifting noticing Alexander was walking their way without his fiancé.

Alexander walked over to the couple now that the guests they had been talking to had left "so Athena are you going to introduce me to your date?"

Athena took a sip of her juice before looking at Alexander "Alexander this is Harry, my boyfriend. Harry this is Alexander, my ex-boyfriend."

Alexander offered his hand out to Harry "pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. Is she still the same girl who has little time for anything but work? The same girl that puts everything above her boyfriend and doesn't even pay attention to her boyfriend's needs and is more concerned with her career than her boyfriend."

Harry took the offered hand giving it a painful squeeze before he let go "nice to finally put a face to a name. Actually no she isn't the same girl. She has plenty of time for us and for friends. She just needed the proper man to see her for who she was and someone who was worthy of her giving up work time to spend time with. I also admire the fact that she works hard for her career as I want her to be successful. I'm sure your fiancé is lonely so you should probably go back to her side." He pulled Athena close leaning down to drop a kiss on her lips purposely sending the message that Athena was his and that Alexander needed to back off.

Athena returned the kiss before backing away as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment noticing the looks the other guests were giving the three of them "Alex I think it would be best if you go back to Madison's side. Right now you are just trying to cause a fight and my mother would not appreciate it." She said as calmly as possible not letting his insults about her working all the time and not paying attention to his needs affect her.

Alexander gave one last look at Athena and Harry before heading back over to his fiancé not saying a word to her about what was said while he was talking to them. His fiancé clung to his arm glancing between him and his parents as she did her best to be the perfect bride to be. Harry rubbed circles on Athena's back keeping an eye on Alexander as he walked around with Athena mingling when necessary otherwise listening to the conversation. Athena excused herself after a few minutes noticing her mother was signaling for her attention.

Harry continued to mingle until dinner was announced before heading over to the table that Athena had showed him earlier was theirs. He took the seat labeled as Athena's guest smiling as Athena sat down next to him "everything ok?" he asked softly since she hadn't returned to his side after talking to her mother.

Athena looked at him before nodding she gave him a quick but chaste kiss smiling "sorry mom wanted to ask how I was doing after seeing him talking to us and to ask about a couple of auction items that I added." She looked at her mother and father as they joined the table followed by Alexander, Madison, and his parents.

Dinner was full of conversation mainly between the parents and Harry. Athena focused on eating occasionally giving her opinion on a law or a case she had worked on before she left for London. Harry ate smiling as he noticed the fire in Athena's eyes as she talked about laws and cases reminded of Hermione but also glad to see it back in her eyes after it had gone out while they talked with Alex.

Soon enough dinner had finished and the auction had begun. Athena had run up to her room to get the items for the auction she blinked running into a wall of muscle before looking up "can you please move Alex I have to deliver these items to the auctioneer before they get called."

Alexander looked down at her "so you've moved on to Harry Potter? Is this some twisted revenge plot where you bring in a more famous person than yourself to be your date to make me regret breaking up with you and ask for you back? I find it odd that you couldn't make time for me but apparently you can make lots of time for him. What makes him so special?"

Athena tried to get around him frowning when he moved in front of her "it isn't a revenge plot. I was honestly hurt when you broke up with me after two years of being together. It took me a month to even agree to go out on a date with him and that was three months after you broke up with me. He encourages my career and is supportive. When my mother was attacked he came with me to the hospital to be my moral support something you had never done when anyone in my family was sick or in the hospital. He makes me happy and it isn't a pain to leave work to spend time with him. I feel comfortable being around him not made up or just rolled out of bed something I couldn't do with you since you expected perfection. I can be myself and not hiding or being the perfect daughter and girlfriend I had to be. He's not you and I guess that makes him a lot better than you ever were." She walked away with the items.

Alexander watched her walk away following her back to the auction "we used to be friends Athena why do you have to be so cold now? Remember all the fun we used to have before we decided to date? Can we at least try to be friends now? I don't want it to be awkward or tense every time we have to be around each other." He opened the door.

Flashback

Thirteen year old Athena sat under a tree reading a book on a sunny summer day. Alex walked over snatching up her book before running off with it smiling. Athena got up giggling as she ran after her best friend. She frowned when he climbed into the tree house before she ended up climbing up the rope ladder to join him in their tree house in her back yard.

Alex "it is summer vacation why are you reading when we could be playing games and hanging out with the other kids."

Athena looked at him sitting down beside him and leaning up against the wall "the other kids don't really like me because my nose is in a book and most of my friends from school live far enough away. I can't help that I like to read about things and want to learn more."

Alex tweaked her nose "come on my favorite bookworm we should go to Madison's party tonight so you can do something besides sit at home and read a book."

Athena rolled her eyes "why should we go so we can play spin the bottle and seven minutes in heaven like we all did last year? The games just seem so boring and gross."

Alex poked at her side smiling "you didn't seem to mind when we got locked in the closet last year not that anything different from normal happen but still last year you and I went to a lot of parties. It has to be the all girls school you go to that is making you so dull. Well that can't be all true since Madison goes there as well and she's your other best friend she isn't dull."

Athena stole her book back "hey not everyone can get to go to Hogwarts like you did. I wanted to go but mom said no. Sure Madison is my other best friend but I never get to see you other than breaks because you are at Hogwarts while I'm stuck at the school nearby. Besides I would rather just hang out with you this summer before you go away again."

Alex ruffled her hair "ok I'm sure we can find fun things to do like always." He began planning activities out loud chuckling at the protests from Athena about some of them.

End of Flashback

Athena looked at him snapping out of her memories "we can try to be friends and I'm cold because you hurt me. I mean Madison and I used to be good friends until I started to date you then I lost her as a friend. The pain from our breakup became even worse when you told me you were cheating on me with my ex friend. You know what I forgive you for hurting me because if I don't I won't be as happy as I want to be. Think of this as our closure and now we'll try to be friends and if that doesn't work out we can be civil if nothing else. Goodbye Alex." She headed up to the auctioneer feeling a lot better now that she had finally got out the negative feelings she held every time she had looked at her ex. Once she handed over the different paintings and sports memorabilia she had purchased after graduation she returned to Harry's side.

Harry looked at her "you seem happier." He took her hand not sure if he should be worried or not gently rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand.

Athena smiled softly holding his hand "I had it out with Alex. I got the poisonous feelings off my chest about how he hurt me and why I'm glad I'm with you. I feel a lot better now that we've talked about it after harboring those feelings for six months. We agreed to try to be friends like we used to be."

Harry moved his chair closer to hers gently wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him "I'm glad you finally got those feelings out your system. I know after I got my closure with Ginny I felt a lot better and I'm glad you finally got it with him. Tonight has been a lot fun meeting all these people and your parents. Your parents are lovely people by the way and they have very interesting conversations. I can see why you have the thirst for knowledge that you do after interacting with them. He kissed the top of her head keeping his arms around her as the auction continued in the background glancing down at her occasionally.

The clock struck 10 in Boston and most of the guests had left. Alex turned to look at Harry after he said his goodbyes to the Blazes "take care of her. She's a special girl and deserves the best and I know now that I was never able to give her what she deserves."

Harry shook his hand "I'll do my best. It was nice to meet you and your fiancé." He let go after a bit watching the other man leave with his family before turning to Athena now that all the guests were gone. "Shall we head back to London or are you staying the night here?"

Athena smiled looking up at him "let me grab a few things from my room and change and then we can say goodbye to my parents and leave for the night. It's going to be around 3am when we get back to London so we may want to consider a sick day or something due to the late arrival time." She headed up the staircase to her room.

Harry looked at Audrey and Axel "it was nice to meet you both and I had a wonderful time tonight. Hopefully we will see each other soon. I care for your daughter and will do my best to keep her happy. Thank you for allowing me to come and now I must leave for the night." He headed up to the spare room he had changed in earlier getting back into his more casual clothes before waiting down at the entrance for Athena.

Athena was down a few minutes later with a bag of her belongings and back in casual clothes as well. She looked at her parents "good night mom and dad. I'm heading back to London and will call you during the week. Love you both." She took Harry's arm and apparated back to her place before giving him a kiss goodnight.

Harry smiled returning the kiss before kissing her cheek then her nose then her forehead before apparating back to his place and going to bed immediately. Athena crawled into bed exhausted from the party and apparating long distances with changing time zones.

Song Choice: Jem-24