Week 31

"Are you going to hang out with your girlfriend today?"

Harry looked away from his coffee. "Hm?"

Sirius quirked an eyebrow. "Your girlfriend? Are you going to see her today?"

"Oh," Harry slumped in his chair. "No. I don't even know if she has plans for the weekend." He turned his attention back to his food and didn't see Sirius's face morph with concern.

"Are you going to see Hermione today?" Sirius asked.

"No." Harry traced his finger around the rip of his coffee. "She's at the Wimbledon final with her mum and dad."

Sirius perked up. "I didn't know she liked tennis."

Harry sat up and served himself some food. "I was surprised when I found out."

"It's like I learn something new about her every day," Sirius commented.

"Tell me about it." Harry stabbed the bacon with his fork. "Did you know she took tennis lessons until she was fifteen?"

"No!"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, and football. She's not a huge fan, but she watches and goes to matches with her dad."

Sirius swallowed the food in his mouth. "Speaking of Hermione. What should we get her for her birthday?"

"Her birthday? It's still three months away."

Sirius simply rolled his eyes. "Sure, but it'll be here before we know it. She's turning twenty-five. It should be something special."

Harry pushed his eggs around. What should he get her? He hasn't been paying attention to the books she's been reading or wanting to read. He could get her another piece of jewelry, but wasn't that a little too intimate?

"I know." Sirius slapped his hand on the table. "A weekend in Paris!"

Harry blinked. "Isn't that too much?"

"Nope. Besides, why have all this money unless we can spend it on the people we love. Let's give her this trip. It doesn't have to be a long one. A weekend is enough."

"I don't know." Harry stared at his godfather. "What about tickets to the theatre? She hasn't gone in a while."

"Perfect! Tickets to the theatre in Paris. It's settled."

Harry groaned.

"If you're so worried, you should go with her. You need a holiday too."

"I'm not worried," Harry snapped.

"Sure you're not." Sirius used his fork to point at him. "You don't want her to run off with some French bloke."

"I do not," he stared at his food. "You're being ridiculous. Fine. If that's what you want, we'll book her a trip to Paris."

"Excellent. A trip for two."

Harry groaned again.

Harry laid on a soft blanket, out in the back garden of his home. The sun was low in the sky, barely any sunlight trickled over the horizon, day giving way to night. He took a deep breath.

The calm silence was broken up by the shrill ringing of his cellphone. He answered it without checking the caller ID.

"Yes?"

"Oh, you don't sound very happy," Hermione's voice traveled into his ear.

"Hermione, hey. How was the tennis match?"

"Amazing! I was rooting for the other player, but it was a good match. We're heading to the men's final tomorrow."

"Oh." Harry scratched his belly.

"So, I was thinking about you today."

He sat up. "You were?"

She giggled. "Yes. Your birthday is in a few weeks and I've been wondering what to get you."

He grinned. "Yeah? So, what are you going to get me?"

"My dad won tickets to a music festival. He doesn't want to go and gave them to me. It's during the weekend of your birthday so I figured, maybe you'd like to go. It's pretty much a bunch of concerts. Something you've never done before, remember?"

A music festival. Outdoors. Live music. That's definitely something he's never done before.

She continued, "I know it's totally different from what you're used to, but it's something new. I thought it could be fun."

"It's still a few weeks," she sighed over the line, "and I'll understand if you make different plans. Just let me know."

"Thanks for thinking of me, Hermione."

She scoffed. "Of course, Harry. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

She hung up. He set his phone aside, laid back down and stared at the newly darkened sky.

Week 30

"Harry, are you listening?"

He blinked and turned to face Astrid. Her brown eyes narrowed. "Yeah, what were you saying?"

Astrid set her pencil and notebook down. "Is everything alright?"

He nodded. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You seem distracted," she answered simply. She stood up from the armchair and joined him on the loveseat. One knee nudged against his leg, while she rested her hand on his thigh. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Harry shook his head. He concentrated on the cup of tea Astrid had set on the coffee table for him. The heat trails had long since disappeared. How long had he been sitting there?

Something was tickling his jaw. He turned slightly and discovered Astrid placing soft kisses down his throat. The hand previously on his thigh was now reaching under his shirt.

"Astrid," he strained.

She jolted back and jumped to her feet. "Not even that?" She threw her hands in there air. "Merlin, Harry, do you even want to be here?"

His mouth felt dry. Did he?

She let out a frustrated yell at his silent answer. She stalked around the coffee table. "Right, you obviously want to be somewhere else, with someone else."

He looked up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She pursed her lips. "Exactly what it sounds like. You'd rather spend your time with someone who is not your girlfriend, like Hermione Granger or that Luna whatever her last name is."

"What?"

She lifted an eyebrow. "Come on, Harry. Hannah Abbott is my friend. Don't you think she'd tell me that she spent a morning with all of you and that you and Hermione Granger spent the rest of the day together?"

"It wasn't the rest of the day," he corrected.

"Does it matter? You spend more time with her than you do with me, your girlfriend."

He stood, clenching his hands at his sides. "You can't honestly know that."

"Oh, sure. You talk to her more than you talk to me. You probably see her almost every day."

"We work in the same building," his eyes blazed, "of course I'm going to see her often. Are you mad that I see Ron and Neville every day too?"

She screeched and fumbled over her words. "That's not the same and you know it." She stamped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing for your birthday, hm?"

He came around the love seat and headed toward the front door.

"Harry!"

He grabbed the doorknob. "I'm spending it with my friends," he answered coldly. "Bye, Astrid."

He wrenched the door open and slipped out, slamming the door behind him.