January 2nd, 1992 ~
Garnet woke up with a smile on her face. She got up, showered, braided her hair, put her favorite green sweater and black jeans on, and left the Common Room, making her way to meet with Fred and George in the Great Hall.
She walked in and spotted Harry and Ron playing Wizards Chess.
"Again? Really?" she laughed, "Have you gotten any better Harry?"
Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"...and Checkmate." Ron smiled triumphantly when his Queen destroyed Harry's last Rook, making it impossible to move any further.
"Wonderful, can we put it away now, so we can eat?" Harry begged.
As they cleaned up, Fred and George came into the Great Hall.
"Ah! There she is, the birthday girl!" Fred announced, hanging his arm over her shoulder.
"Shhh!" Garnet laughed.
"Happy Birthday!" Ron and Harry smiled at her.
"Any plans for today?" Harry asked.
"Nothing really, just another day." Garnet shrugged.
Ron chuckled.
"What?" George looked at his brother.
"She's older than you for a full three months." Ron smirked.
"Ah, we've found ourselves an older woman." Fred wagged his eyebrows.
Garnet shook her head laughing.
"Well I will let you know, that we have a day full of birthday antics planned for you today." George smiled.
"Oh do you?" Garnet asked as she raised her brow curiously.
"Naturally, we'll need your assistance for part of it, of course." Fred grinned.
The Twins each hooked an elbow with Garnet as they ushered her out into the corridor.
"You need to go get your coat and gloves and a hat, and meet us in the Courtyard in 15 minutes." George ordered her, "And don't forget your wand."
"Are we going outside then?" she asked.
"No questions, just go do as your told." Fred laughed.
More intrigued than anything, Garnet rushed to grab her outdoor attire and get back down to the Courtyard Corridor.
Fred and George were already outside, packing snow to make snowballs.
"Are we going to have a snowball fight?" Garnet crossed her arms over her chest.
George grinned mischievously. "Perhaps, but first..." Fred and George stood back and faced the pile of snowballs.
Fred looked around at the students milling around, pulled a piece of parchment out, raised his wand, and read the words, "Viburnus sequiteris proicio!"
Nothing happened.
"Um..." Garnet was about to ask what was supposed to happen, but George grabbed the paper next.
"I'll try." he looked around, found a preferred target, then he tried, "Viburnus sequitaris proicio!"
The snowballs moved a little, but still, nothing spectacular happened. The Twins were both deflated.
"Give it here." Garnet rolled her eyes. She looked over the spell they were trying to cast. "Here's your problem... you're pronouncing the second word wrong." She pulled out her wand, and recited the spell, "Viburnus sequituris proicio!" she said and then looked up as Professor Quirrell was walking by. The snowballs flew out of the snow and began pelting Professor Quirrell in the back of the head. Garnet froze as the man began screaming and running from the snowballs that were now chasing him down the corridor.
"What in the bloody hell does that spell do?" she read over the spell again.
"Those snowballs will be following Quirrell around all day and hitting him randomly." Fred said as he and George were holding their sides from laughing so hard.
"Why him?" Garnet moaned.
"You must have looked at him after you finished the enchantment." George smirked.
"Oh come on, it's funny!" Fred said.
Garnet, trying her hardest not to smile, shook her head, then picked up two snowballs that were remaining, and threw them at the Twins, hitting them in the face.
They both stood there, shocked. Then they turned to each other, raised a brow, and Garnet didn't wait, she took off running.
She ran out into the vast clearing towards the lake. No one for miles, no footprints marring the beautiful white snow, she paused to take in it's beauty.
And that's when George tackled her to the ground with a thud.
"Oi! George! Fred!" Garnet was laughing as the Twins were practically dumping snow on her. "No!" she was giggling now.
She was throwing snow back up at them as best she could. After a few minutes, the Twins stopped, and helped Garnet back up. Her hair was now soaking wet, as was her hat, scarf, gloves and jeans. She stood there shivering.
"You're a c-c-couple of nutters, you know that, right-t?" she was shaking as they walked back towards the school. "I hope I d-don't fall ill."
George felt a little bad, so he pulled her soaking wet hat off, and put his dry one on her head. Then he put his arm around her and walked a little faster. "Let's get you inside to warm up."
Garnet's cheeks warmed up real quick when George's hand rested on her hip.
Fred followed behind them, smirking at his brother's moves.
They got into the corridor and stomped the snow off their shoes and shook their coats off.
"Go get changed, and meet us in the basement." George turned to her, and pushed away a stray hair that was sticking to her cheek.
Blushing terribly, she tried to cover up her jitters. "Basement? We aren't breaking into the Hufflepuffs common room are we?"
Fred and George looked at each other then shook their heads, "Maybe another day." Fred laughed.
"We have a surprise. Just go. We'll meet you there in about 20 minutes or so." George gently pushed her forward as he and Fred ran up the staircase.
Garnet wasn't about to argue. She was freezing. The small distraction of George's closeness now over, she was shivering again.
Garnet changed quickly into dry jeans. She was one of three Slytherin that were still at school over Holidays, so no one minded that she placed her coat and items in front of the fireplace in the Common Room.
As she made her way to the basement, she ran into Cedric.
"Hello Diggory," she leaned against the wall, waiting on the Twins.
"Hello Prince...what are you doing down here?" he asked, brow raised in suspicion.
"Waiting for the Twins." Garnet shrugged, "Not sure why. They won't tell me, part of my day full of Birthday antics." she smiled.
Cedrics' face lit up in surprise, "It's your birthday?" he asked. Garnet nodded. "Well happy birthday!" He got awfully close.
Garnet's cheeks got red. "Thank you." she said.
"You get anything neat for your birthday?" he asked, leaning against the wall beside her.
She nodded, "My mum and dad sent me a couple new books, one is third in a series I've been reading. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. The other is The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney."
"Nice," he smiled. "Don't think I've ever heard of them before."
"Well Cooney is a Muggle author, Dad and I have our suspicions that Card is a Wizard publishing as a Muggle." Garnet shrugged.
George and Fred were making their way to the basement, when they heard talking.
"Is that Cedric?" Fred asked.
"And that's Garnet." George took a deep breath.
"Calm down Georgie." Fred commanded his brother.
George looked at him, "Are you kidding me?" he sounded exasperated, "You've heard that he likes her, right?"
Fred sighed, "Yeah, I heard that rumor too."
"Then let's go." George picked up the pace.
They rounded the corner as Cedric was laughing.
"Good morning Diggory," George said, standing there.
Cedric was smiling at them. "G'mornin' Weasley's." Cedric smiled, "I'll leave you three to your antics." He touched Garnet's elbow briefly, "You'll have to tell me more about that Xeno book later." and with that he walked away.
The Twins looked at Garnet with eye brows raised. "Xeno book?" George asked.
"Xenocide... I told you about it." she crossed her arms when he still looked confused, "Or weren't you paying attention to me?"
"Oh, the third Ender's Game Book, right?" Fred interjected, trying to help out his brother.
With that acknowledgment that at least one of the Twins pays attention to her when she speaks, Garnet's stance relaxed.
"So where are we going?" She smiled at the red heads.
They grinned real big, "You'll see!" they said and pulled her along with them.
They stopped in front of a big portrait of a bowl of fruit. George smirked at her. "Tickle the pear."
Garnet blushed, "Excuse me?"
Fred pointed at the pear in the bowl of fruit. "Tickle the pear." He repeated what his brother said.
Garnet looked to the painting then back at the Twins. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Just do it!" George urged her.
Garnet rolled her eyes and reached up and tickled the pear. She pulled her hand back quickly when it giggled. Then it turned into a big green door knob.
"Whoa!" she grinned, "Where does this take us?"
The Twins said nothing, they just watched her, waiting.
She shook her head, and opened the door hesitantly.
When the door swung open, she saw house elves, loads of them, scurrying around.
"Is...is this the kitchen?" She looked up, "We're directly under the Great Hall, aren't we?"
She looked around in awe, and saw the large room with four long tables, placed directly under where the House Tables would be in the Great Hall.
"This is amazing!" She smiled. "House elves? They're getting lunch ready, right?"
The Twins didn't say anything, they just smiled and let her look around in amazement.
Suddenly a couple house elves noticed the students.
"Masters Weasleys," a house elf in a stained potato sack looking attire bowed slightly, "What can Grizzle get for sirs?"
The Twins smiled, George ushered Grizzle away from the others to speak with him.
A young house elf with a Hogwarts tea towel wrapped around her like a dress and big blue eyes approached Garnet.
"Can Pearl get something for Miss?" she asked timidly.
Garnet smiled. "Um..." She knew some people that had House elves, her own Grandfather even, had a House elf. And she knew they were most happiest when they are doing something for someone else. "Could I have a glass of juice, please Pearl?"
Pearl smiled, having been spoken to with such manners, bowed, and raced off to get Garnet some juice.
"Wow..." Garnet glanced at everything. Then a thought struck her and she turned to Fred just as George was rejoining him. "How do you two know about the obviously secret door to get in here?"
George pulled out the seemingly blank piece of parchment. Garnet smirked. "I should have guessed."
Pearl came back with a tall glass of orange juice and held it out for Garnet.
"Thank you Pearl, that will be all, I know you're all busy." Garnet nodded at the young elf.
Pearl bowed again and ran off to finish what she was working on before the arrival of the trio.
"This is so cool." Garnet said under her breath.
The Twins led her back out into the corridor.
"Ready for lunch?" the Twins asked in unison.
Garnet nodded. "It feels so weird with most of the school gone, but I guess they'll all be back Saturday, right?"
"Yeah," George sighed, "We would have gone home if our folks didn't go visit Charlie in Romania."
"How's he doing, by the way, I haven't had a chance to send him an owl lately." Garnet asked as they made their way to the Great Hall for Lunch.
The Trio sat down with Harry, Percy and Ron to wait for lunch to appear.
As platters started showing up with warm sandwiches and soups, fruit salads and a vegetable tray with dips, Garnet's eyes widened when she saw a big two tier cake, complete with candles, sitting in front of her seat.
"Is that what you were doing?" she laughed and looked at George.
George shrugged but smiled, "Happy Birthday Garnet."
Their little group sang Happy Birthday to her, and she blew the candles out in one breath.
Fred served everyone at their table a piece of cake, then looked around at the Great Hall at the eight other students that didn't go home for the Holidays.
"We have plenty of cake here if any of you want to join us!" Fred shouted.
Dumbledore was the first to get up from his table and make his way over to them. Garnet laughed, but there was plenty of cake to go around. Cedric made his way over, as did Hagrid, Professors Flitwick, Sprout, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey, and the rest of the students.
Garnet watched as everyone mingled and ate cake, but she saw Professor Snape still sitting at the table with Professor Quirrell, so she stood up, grabbed two pieces, and walked them up to the two professors. She sat them down in front of them, earning a th-th-th-thank you from Quirrell and a nod from Severus.
She sat back down at the table with her friends and enjoyed herself.
