The Austere Stonewall, Book 1: Hermione
Chapter 4: A Birthday Shindig
July 31st, 1998 was a Friday night and the party Ginny had planned was scheduled to be a big event as evidenced by all the owls that had gone around among the invited parties for the days preceding it.
Hermione had been managing her new life in her cottage well aside from the nightmares that still plagued her. She had thought living alone might be a little scary at first but she was coping well. After all, it wasn't as scary as living in a tent with her name plastered everywhere with "Undesirable No. 2" above her photo. She had room to cry and scream from her nightmares without disturbing anyone. She had places to go and things to do without fear of someone seeing her mood and asking her what was wrong.
The morning of the party had flown by. She and Ginny had been shopping in the muggle world for most of it. Molly had relaxed her grip on Ginny after the battle when it became apparent that her daughter could fight as well as most of her sons and that if she kept too tight a leash on her, she would leave as soon as she came of age. Hermione had overheard that conversation one day when Mrs. Weasley and Andromeda were talking over tea. Secretly, Hermione agreed with their assessment. Ginny had proven herself to be capable and she had never been the type of witch to allow others to put her on a shelf for very long.
Hermione had let Ginny pick her out a few new dresses while she purchased herself a couple sets of pajamas. She blushed when Ginny insisted they both get some new knickers but allowed the younger witch to pick out whatever she thought Hermione would look good in. Hermione wasn't planning to have anyone see her in them so she cared not what color they were or how they looked. It was a jarring thought to remember that in a few days, the law might require her to allow some man to see her in them, though. She gave up her resistance and gave Ginny carte blanche on her wardrobe as long as she could afford it.
Harry had discreetly slipped her some gold to help make sure Ginny had what she wanted and needed. She and Harry had both noticed money being less of an issue for the Weasley's as of late and they both had different theories on why. Hermione thought that with Bill, Percy, Charlie, Fred, and George no longer being reliant on Mr. Weasley's paycheck, it left only Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny to provide for. She figured he may have gotten a raise when the Ministry sacked everyone that had associations with Voldemort once the final battle was over and Kingsley was voted interim Minister.
The Boy-Who-Lived, though, thought that after the war was over, Dumbledore's will might have been fully released. The Weasleys were a loyal family to Albus Dumbledore and to the Order. No one else that the former Headmaster might have left things to would be in need of gold.
Harry's housewarming gift had been the easiest part of her shopping trip. She followed his line of thinking and used one of their conversations during their time on the run to fuel her idea. She purchased a set of three beautiful silver and white frames that would hold some large pictures. She was able to get two of her favorite photos enlarged and placed into the frames for Harry to put on his walls in his new home. The other she had needed Ginny's help distracting Harry so she could borrow his photo album. All three new frames now had a frozen wizarding photo in black and white of a time that Harry would want to remember and display.
The first photo was the most recent photo she had of herself, Harry and Ron. It had been taken weeks ago at Hogwarts, probably only days after the battle. They were eating lunch by the Black Lake, while they breaked from the reconstruction efforts. Harry was leaning against their favorite beech tree while Hermione sat in the middle of him and Ron, her head leaning on Harry's shoulder while Ron had arm around her shoulders. The boys were sporting scruff on their faces as they had been for the past year. Ron's hair was long enough that a lock of it had flopped in front of his eyes in the photo giving him a very mature and attractive look. Hermione thought it looked good that way and she regretted that Molly had convinced him to cut it only a week later.
Harry's hair had always been messy but the length had helped it to behave a little. It looked very messy still but in a deliberate "I just rolled out of bed looking this good" sort of way. His scruff was just shy of being considered a beard and even though Hermione thought it looked good on him, he'd returned to clean shaven. She had a feeling Ginny was the reason for this.
Photo-Hermione in the center was smiling and basking in the ability to sit outside without first casting a dozen protection spells. Her smile was genuine in the photo as one of the boys had made a funny joke just seconds prior to the photo. The picture had turned up in the Daily Prophet the next day with an update on the reconstruction but thankfully, the article held no lies, rumors, or discrepancies.
The second framed photo Hermione was giving to Harry was a photo of himself and Ginny. She'd taken it herself by the quidditch pitch about a month before Dumbledore had died. She'd angled the muggle camera so that Harry and Ginny were silhouettes in front of the setting sun. Harry had picked her up and spun her around before lifting her above him in the air. Ginny's practice robes looked like a simple dress as a silhouette. It was a little artistic but it was timeless and she was certain Harry would know who it was in the photo.
She juxtaposed the second picture with the third, a photo of James and Lily. It was a photo of James and Lily sitting together on the step outside the Great Hall of Hogwarts. It was taken from behind so all you really could see, aside from the stone walls of the castle, were James with his arm around Lily. Lily's long hair spilled over the top of James's arm and their heads were leaned together. Hermione made a copy and was able to manipulate the photo into a silhouette so that Harry could place it next to his and Ginny's photo. She was certain that Harry was going to love it.
HIs birthday gift, however, had been much more difficult to decide on. Harry could afford to buy anything he needed so Hermione had to choose something he didn't know he needed. In the end, Hermione had gotten him a leather wand holster for his forearm. She ended up getting herself one as well. It was such a nifty find that she'd had Harry's initials etched on the soft leather of his, placing a lightning bolt in between the H and the P.
Ginny had been very helpful in getting Hermione to purchase the things she needed rather than allowing her to say she didn't need it. She did need new knickers and she did need a dress to wear for the party. She just hated shopping. With Ginny, it wasn't as painful since she didn't have to make any decisions of what to buy and which one to select. The clothing was bought and her gifts to Harry were wrapped up in time for both girls to return to Hermione's cottage to dress before flooring to Grimmauld Place to play hostesses.
Hermione had allowed Ginny to force her to buy a dress that was beyond her realm of comforts. It was a shiny plum color and it fit her well with a modestly high neckline and a full skirt, it covered all of her assets well which was a factor Hermione had made clear to Ginny was a must have. Casting a glamour on her forearm was not so bad for an evening but to also cover up the scar on her front from the Department of Mysteries was another entirely. Dolohov had left a scar that ran from the top of her left breastbone, between her breasts, down her abdomen, and it ended at the top of her right hip bone. She felt that showing it off was inelegant and unnecessary. This plum dress, though, covered all of her front but left most of her back exposed. There were a few criss crossing straps that went over her lower back but it was more for decoration, rather than covering up skin. Ginny had said it was perfect so she did not argue.
She charmed the dress to be wrinkle resistant, spill resistant, and body odor resistant. As she was putting the dress on, Ginny said, "You better add a boob lifting spell since you're not able to wear a bra. Maybe a no-knicker line charm, while you're at it. Do all those to mine, too, yeah?"
Hermione cast all the same charms on Ginny's dress, a royal blue number that had blue lace laid over the blue cotton underneath. She had opted to wear her hair in a low chignon situated to the side of the back of her neck and had already completed her make up for the evening. She was simply stunning in it, Hermione thought as she admired her friend. The long sleeves of Ginny's dress were made only from the lace and Ginny peaches and cream skin was flawless underneath it. The way hers had once been before her scars took over her body.
Hermione opted to leave her hair down and to do nothing to it other than to smooth a bit of serum through it to give her curls some more definition but Ginny had taken some of the top of Hermione's hair and poufed it up a bit before pinning it.
Ginny was sliding on a pair of heels and gave her a nod of approval and a smile when she saw Hermione in the dress. Hermione grabbed a pair of low heeled boots made from suede and cast some toe scuffing protection spells and a cushioning charm on her boots and then Ginny's. The relief on her friend's face was instantaneous despite only having worn them for under 5 minutes.
The girls laughed and gathered up their gifts and things to floo to Grimmauld Place. Hermione transfigured her beaded bag to a black suede to match her boots and followed her redheaded friend.
Her first thought upon stepping out of the floo was that someone must have cast a powerful lumos on the room because the drawing room was so bright. She gazed around at all the white walls that had replaced the old, dark wood paneling. The ugly carpets were gone and rich hardwood floors were in place. The creepy decor had vanished and what replaced it was minimal but tasteful. She hadn't been here in a few weeks and the changes were nice.
She allowed Ginny to guide her from room to room to look at all the changes. Harry had completed the basement kitchen and the first floor and had managed to do about 3 bedrooms so far as well as all the stairs and hallways and bathrooms. She knew that there were plenty of bedrooms that had yet to be done but Harry could do those at his leisure or when there came a need. She was proud and impressed with the choices Harry had made. It felt more like a home and less like a pit of despair.
Without magic, Ginny was more or less just running around bossing Hermione with what she wanted done but Hermione found herself happy to not be in charge for once. She cast what was asked of her and made suggestions for things when she thought of them. Harry stayed out of the way, as promised for the most part. Hermione kept turning around to Harry ogling Ginny in her blue dress. Once she'd left the room and returned to witness what was likely the start to a snog. That was when Hermione ordered Harry to go bathe, and dress and to not return for at least an hour. Ginny, who knew no shame, had just shrugged and grinned.
By the time guests were due to arrive, Hermione and Ginny were tired. She had finished charming a tablecloth on the round table that was set in the drawing room by the floo so guests could set down their gift upon entrance. Hermione spelled the wireless radio to play music softly in the background of all the rooms that were to be used for the party while Ginny asked Kreacher to fill the food table with the agreed upon finger foods and drinks for everyone.
The party was most certainly more than just a small get together. Everytime the floo flared to life, Harry would give Ginny an incredulous look at how many more people were coming and Hermione laughed at his shyness.
In one corner of the room a group of the DA were playing some sort of a game that Hermione didn't understand but it involved a few knuts and an expensive crystal highball glass that Hermione was sure had been a Black heirloom. She watched for a moment as Seamus and Dean encouraged Cho Chang to take a drink of what she hoped was only a butterbeer while Susan Bones and Terry Boot cheered. Next to them she could see Kingley sitting on the settee with Arthur Weasley and Percy Weasley. She could see that they weren't as boisterous as the others but they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation rather than allowing talk of the Ministry to ruin their evening. The other side of the room had Harry and Ginny and George talking to Lee Jordan who had just arrived.
Quietly exiting the room, Hermione went down to the kitchens to check that Mrs. Weasley wasn't overworking herself. She turned the corner only to find herself face first in a hard chest. She registered the sound of the air leaving their lungs and immediately pulled back.
"I am so sorry, I didn't see you there! Are you-" she trailed off as she looked up to see that Severus Snape was the person she had run into. He was dressed as he had always dressed but he wasn't wearing his teaching robes over the top. What really threw her was the hair. He had his hair cut shorter, much shorter, since she last saw it. The top was still a bit long but it was cut in such a way that it was floppy. Floppy seemed the wrong word to describe anything about the severe and stern professor but this hair cut seemed to allow his hair to be finger combed backwards, as though all he had to do to style it was to run his fingers through it backwards and it would stay that way for the day. The change from his older shoulder length curtains of black hair was huge.
"Miss Granger," he replied as he stepped away from her, a scowl on his face as he stood stiffly.
"It's nice to see you here," Hermione said, surprised to see him of all people, at Harry Potter's birthday party.
He scowled. "It wasn't a choice, Miss Granger. I was led here at wand point by Pomfrey."
She felt her eyebrows raise in surprise but decided not to comment on it. "Well, I am pleased to see you up and about, even if this is the last place you'd like to be. I believe Harry made improvements to the library and I know it wasn't included in the party set up. If you'd like to see it, I could show you?"
Snape's scowl disappeared but he did not smile at her. "That is a decent plan. I remember the way. Thank you." He dismissed himself from her and fled.
She watched as he disappeared, intent on hiding in the Black family library. Hermione called Kreacher and asked that he serve a selection of the party's food and drinks to the library for Snape to choose from while he was there.
He looks good with his hair cut. Even a slight 5 o'clock shadow gives him a masculine appearance that suits him.
Shaking the thoughts of her former professor from her head, Hermione continued on her errand. In the kitchen she found that Mrs. Weasley was not cooking up a storm but conversing with Madame Pomfrey and so she left the room quietly to make the rounds and play hostess. She knew Ginny and Harry were capable hosts but she was trying to keep herself busy and this way it allowed Ginny and Harry time to enjoy the party.
When she arrived back in the drawing room, the game with the knuts and the glass had garnered more attention and most of the younger people were partaking. After watching for a moment, Hermione surmised the point was to get the knut into the glass but the person doing the maneuvering had to succeed by accepting whatever obstacles were set to them. She watched as Hannah Abbot levitated her knut up into the air before she flicked her wand and bounced it off a spot on the wall near the fireplace. The knut clinked the outside of the glass but did not go in and a round of yelling echoed around the room as Hannah took a drink.
An arm settled on her shoulders and she looked over to see Harry smiling as he watched Hannah challenge Luna Lovegood.
"I think Sirius would be happy to know that a group of teenagers who helped fight Voldemort were playing a wizarding version of a muggle drinking game in his parent's drawing room. Don't you think?"
She laughed at the thought and nodded her head.
"How's your birthday so far?" she asked him.
He grinned. "I've never really had a party before so it's safe to say that this is the best one!"
Hermione wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed but said nothing. She knew Harry didn't make comments like that to anyone other than her and she didn't want him to clam up because she was making him uncomfortable with her pity.
"I think it must be time for presents by now. Don't you?"
He nodded a bit reluctantly. "It might be best to break up the game a little or otherwise I'll be hosting overnight guests who are too drunk to even floo home."
Hermione found Ginny and got her to make an announcement that they were going to let Harry open gifts and then cut his cake and that they could gather round to watch or continue enjoying themselves. Some of the rowdy bunch ambled over and some stayed to continue playing. She got a glimpse of Ron in the group of drinkers and noted that he was opting to stay in the group playing rather than watch Harry open his gifts.
She grabbed her camera and took a few photos of the party including Harry beaming ear to ear as he opened gift after gift. By the time he got to hers, she knew he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. From receiving no gifts or well-wishes on his birthday to an entire house filled with people who wished him well and were showering him with affection and presents. She felt for him, but he needed to feel this uncomfortable in order to get used to it. It was the first step in overcoming the emotional abuse and neglect that the Durselys had heaped on him in his formative years.
"That's from me, Harry, but those are actually a housewarming gift. The birthday gift is still in the pile somewhere."
She saw Harry's eyes widen at being told she'd given him more than one present but after the git gave her a baby grand piano for her house and birthday, she didn't feel sorry one bit for him feeling uncomfortable.
When the wrapping was off of the pictures, she saw his eyes shine a little more but Harry was well-practiced in the art of not crying. She'd only seen him tear up a few times in the 7 years she'd known him.
He was smiling at the gift so happily that people started to ask what it was. Ginny turned one of them around and she could see herself, Ron and Harry's black and white photo now facing the crowd. There was a chorus of 'oohs" and "awes" but Harry was staring at the other two pictures and wasn't really paying attention to the third after he'd seen the second and third frames.
Ginny gently grasped one of them and turned it for the crowd to see. It was the silhouette of Harry and Ginny. Some of the girls came up to coo over it while Ginny coaxed Harry into snapping out of his stare at the third picture. He turned it around proudly to show the picture of Lily and James, silhouetted in their embrace. The smile on Harry's face said it all. He propped the frame up and came over to her and hugged her tightly. Neither of them said anything but neither of them had to. She could hear Molly sniffling at Arthur somewhere off to the side about how sweet the pictures were.
People complimented Hermione on her gift while Harry promptly strode over to the blank wall in the drawing room between the two large windows facing the street. He levitated the portrait of James and Lily up to the left and placed it with a strong sticking charm before following suit with the frame of himself and Ginny. He stood back to argue with Ginny over whether they were level before Minerva McGonagall used her wand to move it up about an inch and proclaimed them perfect. Harry grabbed the last picture of the "Golden Trio'' and took it to the floo and propped it up on the mantel, dead center with the only other two items being the floo powder container on one side and an oil lamp on the other. A charm from Arthur Weasley had the frame stuck in place and fire-retardant. Chattering took place quietly while everyone whispered to each other allowing Harry and Hermione to stand in front of the picture of themselves. Ron joined them after a minute. While Harry had an arm around Hermione's shoulder, Ron simply stood next to Harry on the other side, punching his shoulder. No one said anything to them as Harry clapped a hand on their shoulders after a moment and grasped them tightly before returning to his gifts.
Harry loved the wand holster Hermione had given him. It was nearly the best birthday gift next to the tickets to the Cannons quidditch game from Ron and the broom traveling case from Ginny. Harry had told her he was planning to buy himself a new broom for his birthday but had yet to do so. The traveling case would protect it from injuries when taking it to the Burrow and other places for pick up games. The sloppy kiss he placed on Ginny's cheek was so sweet that Hermione felt her own heart ache a bit at knowing she was missing that from her own life.
Everyone rotated around and spoke to everyone else well enough that Hermione was able to avoid speaking directly to Ron. She caught up with Kingsley who once again offered her a job at the Ministry but she declined it stating that she needed to finish her education first. They reminisced about the thestral ride they had taken together a year ago as Kinsgley pointed out her talents and how he could use them on his side straightening out the Ministry but Hermione managed to politely refrain from saying anything to him about the garbage marriage law that was on the agenda next week, knowing she wasn't supposed to know about it.
She spoke to Madame Pomfrey who asked her about Professor Snape and when told where he was, she rolled her eyes and confessed that she told him if he could stand 2 hours of the party without any illness, she would release him from her care. Hermione thought his demeanor was definitely in line with being forced to attend a party to barter for his freedom.
Hermione did not get a chance to speak with Minerva McGonagall privately but she watched Minerva and Severus Snape leave the party from her spot descending the staircase as she bustled about doing her duties.
She returned to the drawing room after most of the adults had shaken her hand on the way out the door to apparate home. Andromeda had just left with Teddy on her hip having made a short appearance at the party in order to not disrupt the baby metamorphmagus' sleep schedule.
By the time Hermione re-entered the drawing room, the drinking game was raging. Hermione felt a glass being placed in her hands by Ginny as her arm was tugged toward the settee where she and Harry were sitting. Most of the young folk were gathered around the coffee table with drinks in their hands.
The game it seemed, was a version of truth or dare but modified. A mild truth spell was used on a person answering a truth.
During the first five minutes that she sat there, she learned that Justin Finch-Fletchley had a tattoo on his arse but would not say what it was. Luna Lovegood had never been kissed, and Alicia Spinnett was currently dating Oliver Wood who was absent from the party due to his current quidditch season.
Ron was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room by Parvati and Hermione held her breath as Ron leaned over the coffee table to give a chaste kiss to Lavender Brown. Lavender blushed rather than squeal as she would have only two years ago. She had a long scar across her jaw from the werewolf attack Hermione had personally saved her from during the final battle and Hermione knew from years of being her roommate that the scar would have shook her self-confidence badly.
Thankfully, Ron didn't try to turn the kiss into a snog, Hermione was getting a lot of side eye from the crowd after the dare. Seamus and Dean were already slurring and walking with difficulty. Hermione silently filled their empty cups with water and urged them to drink or be sorry tomorrow.
"I'll drink but I think you have to take a turn if I do," Seamus shouted at her.
Hermione sighed and held up her glass of firewhisky in return. She'd always been a modest drinker and was fairly sober.
"Truth or dare, Granger?"
"Truth," she answered. She wasn't doing a dare from these hooligans. She'd end up having to ride a broom or get naked. Or both.
"Alright, where's the wildest place you're had sex?"
The room quieted as everyone strained to hear what Hermione Granger would say. The question wasn't actually that bad compared to a few of them that she had heard already but Hermione wasn't going to be able to give an answer that didn't embarrass her. She was a virgin and people obviously assumed she was not. Most young adults her age were not and while they assumed she had some experience, they probably thought her answer to be a boring answer like "the foot of the bed". By the rules, she could accept a dare instead but if she failed to do the dare, she would never be respected again. It was Seamus who was giving the dare so she summoned up her courage, she smiled weakly and said, "Dare."
Excitement spread through the atmosphere as Seamus and some of the boys put their heads together to try and think up a dare she would refuse. She saw them call Ron over and saw him smile and shake his head as he held his hands up in defeat and went to sit next to Lavender.
She took a few gulps of the stinging whiskey as she waited for the verdict.
"Ok, Granger, since you've obviously been so naughty that you don't want to tell us the details, we're going to dare you to do something naughty provided we have agreement from the second person. If not, we will offer a second dare."
"Just spit it out, Finnegan," Hermione said through her teeth.
"I dare you to give Luna her first kiss."
Everyone in the room snapped or swiveled their head to look at the dreamy blonde awaiting her answer.
"Well, that would make my first kiss special," she said wide eyed.
With Luna's verbal permission, there was no way to get out of the dare. She would either have to complete it or lose face, a terrible fate for a Gryffindor.
Treating it like the high dive when she was 7 and was jumping off for the first time, Hermione stood quickly before she could second guess herself.
"Woah, Hermione, this is a witch's first kiss. You have to make it special. You can't just smack her lips and back away. Make it good!" shouted Ernie MacMillian.
She nodded her head knowing that from Luna's perspective, Ernie was right, even if he was only saying it so he could perve on it better.
She reached out for Luna and wrapped a hand around Luna's hip. She used her other hand to smooth the hair away from Luna's face. She looked into her blue eyes just to be sure that Luna wasn't feeling pressured. When Luna smiled at her and placed her hands on Hermione's shoulders, Hermione wet her lips and leaned in.
The kiss was...soft but not really anything to write home about. Hermione felt awkward cupping another witch's face and pulling her body closer but she did so because that's what Victor had done for her on her own first kiss. She moved her hand to the back of Luna's head and deepened the kiss so that Luna could have a true experience. No one could say that Hermione Granger did anything by half-measures.
Luna tasted like firewhiskey as she was sure she did too. When Luna's tongue met her own, Hermione was surprised as it was Luna's first kiss and she was initiating tongue action. Clutching Luna's hip tightly, Hermione ignored the cheers and whistles as she switched the angle of her head. Luna moaned softly in appreciation as Hermione finished the kiss and pulled away.
Both girls stood there for a moment longer, hands still on hips and shoulders, as the boys were pushing and shoving each other with wide eyes. Hermione prayed she hadn't just become wank material for every male in attendance.
Luna gave her a final, chaste kiss and dropped her arms.
"Thank you, friend. I'm fairly certain I'm not into girls but that was a lovely first kiss," she told Hermione breathily.
"You'll make some poor guy crazy," Hermione laughed with Luna as they found their seats again.
It took a few more rounds before people stopped staring at Hermione and Luna. Finally a dare that topped it happened and the crowd jeered at Padma Patil when she was dared to flash Neville.
The party wound down around 3 am when enough people had left and it was only a few of them sticking around to help Harry decide what broom to buy or to continue trying to argue which defense professor had been the worst teacher (Umbridge).
Harry carried a sleeping Ginny to the floo and disappeared for a moment to put Ginny to bed and Ron gave Hermione a look from across the room as he followed Dean out the door, both intending to apparate despite their staggering. She bit her tongue at warning them it might be a bad idea in their state. They were adults and could decide for themselves.
Finally only Hermione and Neville were left behind. She tried to wave Neville home as she started to clean up Harry's house so it would be done when he returned but Neville insisted.
Harry was red faced when he came back from the Burrow and Hermione snorted when she was told Harry had been lectured at letting Ginny drink despite being a week and a half away from her majority.
As if Harry ever lets Ginny do anything.
It seemed Kreacher had been cleaning up behind them all night long aside from the drawing room so once they had vanished all the empty Butterbeer bottles and siphoned off all the droplets of spilled whiskey, there wasn't much to do. Neville and Hermione bid Harry goodnight and flood to their respective homes.
The first thing she noticed when she arrived inside her cottage was a scroll of parchment waiting for her on her bed. It had no signature and the handwriting was the same she'd been seeing. This time the message was more obviously a threat.
Almost mine.