I was enjoying a cup of coffee on the couch when Fiona flew through the open window, a note clamped in her beak. I smiled as she fluttered over to perch on my leg.

"How was your flight?" I asked, stroking her feathers. She clicked her beak after dropping the letter, drinking some of my coffee in response. "Good. I've left you some treats in your house," I said, and she was off to her cage without protest. I set my mug on the coffee table so I could read Ophilia's response.

"What's the verdict?" Brittany said from the kitchen.

"Ophilia said yes," I replied, my eyes scanning the note. "They'll get their place cleaned up."

"Thank goodness." She appeared in the doorway, hair pulled back and clothes dusty with flour. "I know it's not going to be a big gathering, but this place is far too small for any more than just us."

"Who all did you invite anyways?"

"My parents. Cho. Sarlanda, but she said she's busy. Colin, Jared, and… um…"

"It's okay if you invited Cedric," I said, looking up at her. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's your party. You can invite whoever you want."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable, that's all."

I shrugged. "We're… okay. I think. At least, enough for us to attend the same birthday party."

"I can tell you've been better." Brittany looks at me with pursed lips.

"Since I got to talk to Cedric I haven't felt as terrible." I drank more of my coffee. "Not… the best, still. I've been anxious about Lance's plans. But at least… I've been talking to Ophilia more. That's been helping."

"Good."

We left our conversation in quiet. Diana was napping in the next room. Brittany had the cake in the oven, and joined me to read on the couch. I was nearly finished with the ridiculous adventure novel I had picked up at work – the first book I had read in nearly two months. When the timer went off, Brittany pulled the cake out of the oven and went back to reading.

"Did you still want me to frost it?" I asked, replacing my bookmark in the nearly finished novel.

"Sure, if you're up for it. Diana's going to wake up soon, I imagine." I nodded and went to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients to make the frosting. I pulled out my wand and started mixing everything to a smooth consistency, then used a charm to cool the cake quicker. I flinched at the memory of the last time I made a birthday cake, and I was determined not to mess this one up. Granted, Cedric's cake had tasted good, but the outside decoration was something to be desired.

I took great care with my charm work as I frosted the cake, creating tiny roses of different colors and carefully placing them all around the cake. It took me nearly an hour to finish, long enough that Diana was awake again and Brittany was feeding her a snack.

"Wow," she commented, eyeing my creation. "I don't want to eat it, it's too pretty."

I smiled at her. "That would be a shame, but I don't think Diana's going to have any qualms eating her piece tomorrow."

"No, she definitely won't," Brittany chuckled. "Thank you though, it's beautiful."

"No worries. Tomorrow will go smooth, I promise."

"I have no doubts."

We arrived in Diagon Alley on Sunday afternoon, Brittany carrying Diana, and myself toting a large baby bag and the cake. The door to the flat above the joke shop was around the side of the building, painted a bright turquoise and orange. We made it up the set of steep stairs to another door where I knocked. There were quick footsteps, and then Ophilia flung open the door, a huge grin on her face.

"The guest of honor!" she said, cooing over Diana. Diana beamed at her, babbling, and Brittany handed her over. "The Twins are downstairs, they'll be up in a minute."

"I don't know if that's good or bad," I joked, looking around. Their flat was decorated with flowers and bouncing firework stars. Ophilia had made a banner that read Happy Birthday Diana! in big, colorful letters. They had arranged all the chairs they could find in a big cluster in the living room. Colin and Jared were already there, and I nodded to them as I followed Brittany and Ophilia into the kitchen. Judging by their stiffness, they were still upset about Cedric. I didn't blame them.

"Oof, she's gotten so big!" Ophilia said, sitting Diana on the kitchen table. I set the cake down on the counter and passed the bag off to Brittany.

"I know, it's mad, isn't it?" Brittany replied. "She's on her way to walking, before you know it I won't be able to catch her—"

I left the kitchen when I heard the door again, hoping that it was Fred and George. Instead, a group of four people walked in that made my stomach drop out. Leading the way was Brittany's younger sister, Cho, her hair straight and shiny and falling half way down her back. She was laughing at something that Cedric had said to her, giving her that half-smile that I always liked. Following them up the stairs was a man and woman who could only be Cho and Brittany's parents, both of them giving me looks of distaste when they saw me. I pretended I didn't see any of them and made a beeline for the bathroom before I went into full anxiety mode. I locked the door behind me and gripped the sink to stop my shaking. I thought I would be fine today, but apparently not. With Ophilia and Brittany occupied, I felt like every person in that room was against me. My shoulders shook as I tried to block out terrible thoughts from swallowing my mind. This couldn't happen, not today, not when we're supposed to be celebrating

"Oi, I'm coming in," said a chipper voice, and before I could protest, George had unlocked the door and pushed inside. He hugged me without question in their tiny bathroom. "So, what's up?"

"I just, er, I don't feel well," I mumbled into his shoulder.

He laughed. "Trust me, I don't fancy spending my afternoon with the Chang family, but Ophilia insisted." I looked at him, and he smiled. "I mean, nothing against Brittany, but her parents are mad."

"So they do hate me? I got the impression they weren't terribly fond of me."

"Something about you being a terrible influence, going on about stuff Skeeter wrote about you ages ago, you know, the usual." His smile turned a bit wicked. "Little do they know they've entered the palace of the tricksters…"

"George, don't."

"It won't be anything serious, promise. In my defense, they should know better to trash talk a dear friend around us, even if all they're trying to do is rekindle Cho and Cedric's romance."

I felt the color drain from my face. "What?"

"I can only assume," he said, shrugging. "Don't worry though, I know you're not on the best of terms right now, but he looked really awkward about the whole situation."

I swallowed. "Great."

"I know Ophilia offered to hex him, but—"

"No, don't worry about it. We're… well, I think we'll figuring things out."

George didn't look terribly convinced, but he raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Right, well, just give me a signal if you want me to put some Nosebleed Nougat in Diggory's food as well."

I rolled my eyes but smiled anyways. "Yeah, alright."

"Great. Come on, Fred's missing you."

We left the bathroom together, ducking into the kitchen to find Fred and Ophilia sorting out treys of snacks, sneaking food into each other's mouths. Fred beamed when I came in and gave me a hug. "There you are! Ophilia said you'd vanished."

"She had to go make sure her nose was right and powdered," George said, giving me a wink.

"I figured you'd be making your scars more prominent," Fred snorted, eyes darting between the white cuts on my jaw and collarbone. "No better way of intimidating middle-aged wizards than reminding them you're a hardened warrior."

"We could go bloody up George's face, make him look like you're given him the old one-two," Ophilia offered. "Bet that would shut Chang's mouth real quick."

I let out a short laugh, but shook my head. "No, I've got it. Ophilia, your kettle is about to boil," I said, pointing to the stove. I shrunk into the corner as the three of them finished making tea, and Ophilia and Fred started bringing out all the food to the guests. I closed my eyes, thinking through everything I had to endure before I could go back to the quiet of my own presence. Tea. Presents. Cake. Home.

When I opened my eyes, George was offering a hand to me. "You've got this," he said. "Beside, I'd like to see them try and save the entire wizarding world."

I laughed again, and we walked together back into the living room. Brittany was the center of attention with Diana on her lap, and Mr. and Mrs. Chang on either side of them. Cho had her own armchair, next to the couch were Cedric and Jared sat. Colin was on the other side, between the Changs and Fred, while Ophilia served up the tea. George steered me into the seat between himself and Ophilia's empty chair, and I sat, feeling self-conscience in my worn jeans and slightly wrinkled blouse.

I made it through tea relatively unscathed, ignoring the few clipping comments from the Changs. Ophilia's hand brushed mine every time it happened. Granted, I doubted anyone besides my immediate friends knew the full scope of the situation. That didn't stop my blood from boiling at every slight suggestion that being sexually assaulted was cheating. I fell into an old routine of forcing myself to recite spell book passages in my mind, something I hadn't done since I left the Dursley's. It seemed to work well, though I eventually caught some sideways glances aimed at my vacant expression.

Tea. Presents. Cake. Home.

I had picked up several children's picture books from the shop for Diana, including a brilliantly drawn copy of Tales of Beedle the Bard. Blotts had actually recommended it to me, and Brittany thought it was a brilliant present. Clearly, her parents thought their toy broomstick was superior, but it wasn't like Diana would be able to ride it unless she was out at their place anyways. Clothing, toys… the twins and Ophilia had produced a lovely crotchet blanket, most likely courtesy of Mrs. Weasley. Brittany was pleased with everything, and I knew Diana was going to love all of her new things.

"Oh, Brittany dear, what a beautiful cake!" Mrs. Chang exclaimed when Ophilia brought it out.

"Jennifer decorated it, actually," she said, smiling at me. I answered with a smug smile of my own when her mother gave me an incredulous look.

"Incredibly, my talents somehow manage to go beyond lying, trouble making, and breaking hearts," I said under my breath, keeping eye contact with George. He grinned, and somewhere across the room I heard Cedric snort in amusement. I glanced over to see that he was fighting very hard to keep his face straight. I busied myself helping Ophilia cut and serve the cake. We sang, we ate, and Diana made an absolute chocolate mess out of her hands and face. By the time we had all finished eating, the sun was starting to set, and I was itching to leave. Besides, Brittany had patrol a bit early tonight. We would need some time to get Diana settled with me before she left. I left everyone to his or her conversations to help Ophilia clean up in the kitchen.

"Thanks again for hosting," I said, waving my wand to start the dishes cleaning themselves.

"Not a problem. We've got the biggest flat, it only made sense."

We were quiet while we worked, using charms to tidy up in no time.

"You look a lot better," Ophilia said, smiling at me. "Really. I know you're not better, but you're getting there."

"Thanks. I don't feel quite as bad. I still feel a bit jumpy about Lance coming into the store."

"Have you talked to Cedric since you were in hospital?"

I hesitated. "No, not… not really." I sighed. "I haven't worked up the nerve yet, to be honest."

"Well, if I were you, I'd have half the mind to snog him right in front of the Changs," she said, an impish grin on her face. "Since they're so keen on him getting back with Cho, anyways."

I snorted. "I've already had that thought. No, just let them think whatever, there's probably a million reasons they don't like me."

Brittany appeared in the kitchen, Diana drifting to sleep in her arms. She was cleaned up and in fresh clothes now.

"Ready? Sorry, my parents take ages to leave anywhere."

"Yeah, let's go." I gave Ophilia and the twins each a parting hug before following Brittany down the tiny staircase and back through the alley.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "About my parents, I forgot—"

"Don't worry about it," I said, waving a hand at her. "I'm plenty used to it by now."

"I just, I forgot to warn you that they're not your biggest fan—"

"Figured."

I almost asked her why they didn't like me, but stopped myself. I didn't care. I didn't need to care. It was beyond pointless wasting my time trying to convince people to like me. Instead, I thought about when I might try and patch things up properly with Cedric, what I would say. I'd have to consult with Ophilia. She always knew the best things to say. I would wait, though, until after my next meeting with Dumbledore. I wanted more than to talk to him about our relationship.

'Next weekend,' I promised myself. 'Next weekend I'll go talk to him.'

And I left the thought at that.


(one day late, and from a coffee shop...)

Thank you so much for you lovely feedback! It really means a lot to me. We are SO CLOSE to the end of HBP. DH is going to get very dark, so I'll probably change the rating when we get to that half of the fic.

Thanks!