Chapter Six  ::  Happy Birthday, Harry

            The next week of planning went by very quickly.  Hermione couldn't find a spare moment to do anything but prepare, and it was tough not letting Harry get suspicious.  Luckily, Harry did a very nice job of being completely clueless.  The hardest part of the whole week however, was thinking of a good present for Harry.  Hermione couldn't think of anything to get him.  Harry already had almost every Quidditch item in the book (and he was likely to get more from the Gryffindor Team, they had all replied and said that they were coming) and Hermione knew he wouldn't enjoy a book like she does, so she was stumped.  Finally, while she was downstairs in the kitchen, looking for a large cake recipe, she thought of the perfect present.  A picture! Hmmm…but what of? Hermione didn't have any pictures of Harry, so she knew exactly who to write.  Of course! Colin Creevey!  He was one of Harry's biggest fans, and he was always carrying a camera around with him and took every chance he could to get a picture of Harry.  He had to have some good pictures for her…

Dear Colin,

I'm sure you are wondering why I am writing to you.  I am in need of a picture of Harry, one that would mean a lot to him. I know you take a lot of pictures and I was hoping that you might have one that I could use.  I was thinking of perhaps a picture of him with Ron and me, or maybe one of the Gryffindor team after they won the Quidditch Cup.  If you have any others that might work, I would be more than willing to look at them.  Thank you so much for your help!

Hermione Granger

Considering that she had never been mean to Colin, Hermione was sure that he would assist her.  And it also helped that the pictures were for Harry, Hermione was sure that Colin would do anything for him.  She sent the letter off with Pig; he looked like he needed something to do.

"Now, make sure that this gets to him ok? It's very important!" she told Pig.  He looked at her with a glazed look that worried Hermione, but before she could change her mind on sending it with him, he flew out the window. 

Hermione found the perfect cake to bake Harry…and it was really big too.  It had a yellow and chocolate swirl cake, and deep red frosting for the top.  She decided she would decorate it with little snitches on top too, and of course, write "Happy 15th Birthday, Harry" in the center.  She hoped it wasn't too childish, but at least it would taste good. 

Later that afternoon, Pig returned with Colin's reply.  Hermione couldn't help but laugh when she saw Pig flying in towards the window.  Colin had apparently sent an incredibly large package back with the little owl, and Pig kept losing height as he came closer to the window.  Then, he went in through the wrong window and ran into the screen.  Realizing his mistake, Pig just flew right in through the open window next to the one he ran into.  Hermione ran over to him and gave him a few owl treats and opened Colin's package.  She was awestruck.  She always knew Colin loved to take pictures, but she never realized what a talent he had.  Colin had sent her both pictures she had mentioned, along with a whole photo album starting from Harry's second year.  As Hermione looked through all the pictures, she couldn't help but take a little trip down memory lane.  The very first picture on the first page was of Harry, Ron and her sitting on one of the Gryffindor couches.  She could tell it had been taken last year, right after the first task because in the background, she saw a very large and plump canary[BM1] .  Poor Neville. The twins really did trick him…although, it's not very difficult to trick Neville… Hermione smiled as she looked at the picture. She was sitting in between Harry and Ron and they all had huge smiles on their faces.  Just before Hermione turned to the next page, Ron got up, walked over towards Neville and burst out laughing.  On the next page, was the second picture Hermione had mentioned to Colin, the one of the Gryffindor Quidditch team after they won the Cup.  It was better than she expected.  In one row, all of the teammates had their arms around each other's shoulders and were grinning, laughing and yelling.  Harry's smile slightly out did Oliver's…which is hard to believe…and Harry was holding the Quidditch Cup.  As Hermione went through the rest of the album, there were assorted pictures of Harry, Ron and Hermione, but also ones of other Gryffindor residents. There was even a photo of Nearly Headless Nick, and he had obviously not been ready for the picture, because, as Hermione looked at the photo, he was trying to put his head back into place.

Hermione immediately wrote Colin a thank you note, she couldn't believe all the work he did in such a short amount of time, but, as Hermione thought, he has probably had it ready since his first year.

As the next few days flew by, Hermione didn't really remember anything that happened specifically.  All she remembered was how funny it was to see Harry so completely oblivious to all the planning that the rest of the gang was doing.  Before she knew it, the eve of the 31st had arrived and she was getting her last minute plans into place.  It was set. Tomorrow at 3:30, everyone except Ginny and Hermione were going to go and play more Quidditch, and at 3:45, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and her parents would be arriving to help decorate and get everything else in order.   At half past five, the guests would arrive.  Dumbledore, Hagrid, Lupin and Sirius (in his animagus form[BM2] ) would be coming together.  Oliver would be arriving a little late; he has Quidditch practice with the Puddlemere United Reserve team during the early afternoon.  Harry and the gang would come back from the clearing at 5:45; and then the party would begin. 

The morning of the party, Hermione's stomach was in knots.  She kept checking the time, or glancing in the kitchen pantry to see if they were missing any food, or looking at Ginny, who gave her a reassuring look that told her everything would be fine.  Harry, however, was not making the situation any better.  Something had finally clicked in his mind.  The twins tried to keep him occupied with games of exploding snap, but Harry seemed to know that something was going on.  Things were made even worse when Harry stumbled upon some of the party supplies.

"Hey, Hermione, what's all this stuff?"

Hermione's heart stopped for a second as Harry was standing over the supplies.

"Oh, well…it's just…" she stuttered.

"Obliviate!" yelled Charlie.

            Hermione rushed over and moved all the supplies as Charlie modified Harry's memory. 

"Thanks Charlie. He's really trying to make this difficult for us isn't he?" Hermione whispered.

"Yeah, I just hope I don't have use the Memory Charm all afternoon.

            The rest of the morning went quite smoothly.  Bill had to perform the memory charm on Harry once more since Harry stumbled upon some of the party food in the fridge.  Hermione suspected that he went looking for it, seeing that the food was hidden in the back. 

            Three-Thirty didn't come quick enough for Hermione.  The boys went off to play Quidditch; Harry completely believed that Hermione had to work on her History of Magic essay.  As soon as Hermione saw them enter the forest, she started to get out everything.  She and Ginny had created an efficient plan the night before of the quickest way to get everything ready.  Hermione got all of the food out that would need to be prepared, and Ginny began putting up all of the party decorations. 

"Too bad we can't use magic," said Ginny, "it would make things a lot easier."

"I have a feeling that when you parents arrive, they'll use a lot of magic for us."

            After about fifteen minutes of working, two 'pops' in the family room signaled the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. 

"Hello Hermione! Hi, Ginny, how are you both doing?" Said Mr. Weasley.

"Looks like they've got a good start going." Mrs. Weasley replied.

It was true. Ginny and Hermione had frantically been putting up streamers, mixing cake batter, writing signs and doing as much as each of their two hands could do at once. 

"Well no need to worry! Mrs. Weasley and I are here to help!" said Mr. Weasley. But suddenly he became very distracted by something.

"OOOH! Look at this! What do you call this thing Hermione?"

"That's a toaster, Mr. Weasley."

"Oh! I have heard about these! You put some bread in it and it sort of, warms it up right?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley."

"Can I light your stove? Can I use the matches to light it? I really want to try those matches out again!"

"We have an electric stove, Mr. Weasley. It is heated by electricity."

"An eclectic stove? With plugs?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley."

"Can I see the plug? I have a collection of them at…."

"Arthur! You can wait to see that! We have a party to get ready for now!" yelled Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione was glad Mrs. Weasley spoke up.  As much as she loved how Mr. Weasley was so interested in Muggle utilities, there was a lot of work to be done.  Mrs. Weasley was a huge help.  She was able to frost a cake, blow balloons, and vacuum the carpet in the living room all at the same time.  This was of course, all with the help of a little magic.  Hermione's parents arrived at 4:00.  A patient had come in with a broken tooth and her parents had to stay late to fix it. Over the next hour, everyone worked extremely fast.  Hermione had only worked harder for two things, her end-of-year exams during her third year (when she had extra classes with the Time-Turner) and preparing for her upcoming O.W.L.'s that she will take this year. All the guests began to arrive promptly at 5:30.  Seamus and Dean Thomas were the first to arrive.  They both had large presents in their arms for Harry.  Angelina and Alicia arrived next, followed closely by Lavender, Pavarti and Padma.  Dumbledore, Hagrid, Lupin and Sirius, who was trotting along side Lupin as Snuffles, arrived right after Padma stepped through the doorway.  Neville arrived about ten minutes late, apologizing profusely, saying he had had difficulty finding where he put Harry's present.  Oliver and Katie arrived together right after Neville. 

            The tension in the air was great.  Everyone knew that this would be Harry's first party and everyone was excited.  Hermione and Ginny felt proud as countless people approached them telling what a wonderful job they did preparing the party. 

Right on schedule, Hermione saw the boys coming back from the forest.

"There back! Everyone hide!" she yelled.

Everyone ran around and frantically looked for places to conceal themselves. Hagrid was having trouble finding a spot that hid him.  He settled himself behind the food pantry door.

"Yer house isn't big 'nuff, Hermione!" He whispered from behind the door.

 Hermione found a spot next to Oliver, behind one of the family room couches.

"Where are they coming back from, Herm?" Oliver asked.

"They were playing Quidditch in a hidden field in the forest behind my house."

"AWW MAN! I WISH I COULD HAVE PLAYED QUIDDITCH WITH THEM!!" he shouted.

"SHHH!" Everyone whispered as they all shot warning looks to Oliver.

"Sorry!" Oliver whispered back.

Hermione peeked over the couch.  She could see Fred and George walking up to the back door.

"…man, Charlie. That was a great dive you pulled off. "

"No kidding, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to pull out of it in time…"

Then Hermione heard Harry's voice.

"I would have seen it if Fred hadn't been doing such a wonderful job as a beater."

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled as they jumped up from behind their hiding places.

"Wha…What's going on?"

"Well, let's think Harry," Ron said. "It's your birthday, people are here, there are decorations everywhere and a big cake that says 'Happy 15th Birthday, Harry' on it sitting on the table. WELL DUH! IT'S A BIRTHDAY PARTY!"

"A birthday party? I've never had…." Harry started.

"Well, we knew that dear, so we decided to give you one, unlike that other family of yours." said Mrs. Weasley.

Sirius, in his animagus form, suddenly ran up to Harry and wagged his tail. 

"Hi, Snuffles, it's good to see you here!" said Harry. "From the looks of it, everyone is here, aren't they?"  Harry looked around the room and stopped at Hermione.  "Did you do all this?"

"Ron and I had the idea. I got a lot of my help from Ginny, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley too."

"Thank you, everyone."

"Well! Enough standing around! Let's eat!" yelled George.

            Harry looked happier than Hermione had ever seen him.  As everyone sung "Happy Birthday" to Harry (Even though it took a little longer because the twins added their own improvisation at the end) Harry looked like he was going to cry out of happiness.  After everyone had their fill of cake and snacks. Harry opened his presents.  First, he got a new set of quills from Neville.  Seamus gave Harry a book called "Curses and Countercurses" that Harry mentioned way back in their first year.  Dean gave Harry an assortment of candy from Honeydukes.  Angelina gave Harry a book on different seeker techniques.  Alicia bought Harry a book on Quidditch teams of the world.  Lavender, Pavarti and Padma bought Harry a new dress robe (Of course they had to get him clothes…) that was like Harry's other robe, except it was forest green with gold shimmer to it.  Katie got Harry a special broom repair kit, made especially for Firebolts. Fred and George's present was the funniest.  They got Harry a magic set, called "Divination for Beginner's." Harry read the sticker on the box out loud.

"Great for those without the 'Inner Eye!'  Includes tealeaves, crystal ball, in-depth planetary movements chart, and personal tea cup!"

Fred and George burst out laughing.

"Ah yes dear!" Fred said in a misty voice, very similar to that of their Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney. "Now you can predict your death in the comfort of your very own home!"

Everyone, including Professor Dumbledore, laughed in the room. Harry continued on with his presents. Oliver's gift to Harry seemed odd at first. It appeared to be an ordinary snitch in a glass box.  Oliver looked offended when Harry asked about it.

"Harry! That isn't an ordinary snitch!" Oliver said. "That is the very snitch that you caught in the Quidditch Final! I had to convince Madam Hooch that I was going to give it to you. And I had to buy her a new one."

"Are you serious Oliver?" Fred asked.

"Yeah. Now you better appreciate that little snitchy."

Harry looked down in the box.  The snitch was hovering inside, flapping it's golden wings so quickly that it looked like a golden blur. 

"Thanks, Oliver.  This is really cool."

Hermione watched as Harry continued to open his presents.  He opened a large box from Hagrid that contained each of Hagrid's food specialties.  Lupin gave Harry an assortment of jokes and tricks that Hermione had never seen before at Zonko's in Hogsmeade.

"Those were your father's.  We had a lot of fun with those back in our Hogwarts days.  But, I'm sure you would never think of doing any sort of tricks now would you?" Lupin winked at him.

"Oh, of course not." Harry laughed.

Dumbledore's present was the oddest of all.  A pair of socks, that didn't even match.  One was orange with yellow stars around the ankle, and the other was black with blue stripes.

"Your friend Dobby, wanted me to give them to you.  He wouldn't come himself though, he insisted that he say behind at Hogwarts and prepare for the upcoming school year with the rest of the house elves."

"I'll have to thank him when I get back to school."

Harry had finally reached the Weasley's family present and Hermione's gift.  After Harry tore off the paper covering the small box the Weasley's gave him, he sat there, in complete awe of what he held in his hands. 

"How…How…did you get these?"

"Well," Mrs. Weasley began, "Arthur was able to do another favor at work, for one of the team members."

"This is so cool.  I don't know how to thank you guys."

"Well, what is it?" Dean asked.

"Ten tickets to see the Chuddley Cannons."

"I'm so excited.  I mean, I know they aren't as good as they used to be, but still…" Ron said.

"I really can't thank you guys.  There is no one in the world that I would rather see the Chuddley Cannons with"

"We're glad you like them." Mr. Weasley said.

With his hands still shaking, Harry began to open Hermione's gift. 

"Holy cow, Hermione!"

He pulled off the remaining paper and began to flip thru the photo album.  He laughed to himself as he looked through all the pictures.  After he realized that he had fallen into his own little world again, he apologized and told everyone what it was.

"Thank you so much, Hermione. This is really great."

"Your welcome, Harry.  My favorite picture is the very first one.  Neville, you are in that one too, although, you have a few extra feathers on you."

"Oh, is that when I ate one of the Canary Creams?"

"FRED! GEORGE! YOU USED THOSE AGAINST ONE OF YOUR OWN SCHOOL MATES?!?!"  Mrs. Weasley didn't look to pleased.

"Oh no, Mrs. Weasley! It's quite alright!" Neville said. "Actually, it was really funny and the feathers wore off after about a minute."

"Here, Mrs. Weasley. Look at the picture, it really is quite amusing." Harry said.

After about a minute of looking at the picture, Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Well, I have to admit, you make a very funny canary."

Fred and George sighed with relief. 

The rest of the night was more fun than Hermione had ever had.  Fred and George had a fantastic display of fireworks once again, although, Hermione suspected that there were a few muggle fireworks in the display as well.  But most of the night was spent just talking, laughing and having a good time.  After only Dumbledore, Lupin, Sirius, Hagrid and the Weasley's were left, Sirius changed back into his human form. 

"I'd like to have some of that cake, now that I can eat it with a fork instead of my paws!"

Mrs. Weasley at first seemed a little nervous, but it looked like she remembered the end of the last school year, and knew that Sirius was on their side. 

"Of course, dear. You look like you could use some other food too!"

Sirius filled his plate with all the food it would allow, and walked over to where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lupin were seated in the family room. Lupin was telling the three about some of the tricks Harry's dad, James, used to pull on Snape.

"I remember this one time, during our third year, your father beat Snape on one of the large essays that we had to write for potions.  Snape practically failed he did so horribly. Then again, everyone did really badly on that essay, except for your father and mother.  But you mother always did well, so that's another story.  But Snape got so mad he challenged your father to a wizard's duel right after class, when the teachers weren't around.  Your father was never one to turn down a duel, but Snape was a lethal opponent because he already knew more than half of the hexes in the book.  But what Snape didn't know was that your father also knew a few hexes himself.  He, Sirius and I were often some of the top students in our year, other than Lily.  I'll never forget the hex he put on ol' greasy-haired Snape.  So simple yet combined with Sirius's leg-locker curse, James's jelly-legs curse did something no one expected.  It made Snape's legs disappear all together.  We left him there in the hallway, oh man we laughed for days on end.  Then again, we had so many detentions after that…but the look on his face after his legs disappeared made it all worth it.

"You bet!" Sirius said. "Now, of course, I wasn't exactly supposed to be 'involved' in the duel, but who am I to obey the rules? Don't tell Dumbledore that we told you this…"

"Oh, it's too late for that Sirius." Dumbledore said behind them, his eyes sparkling with laughter. "I remember all the tricks you pulled on Snape and his fellow Slytherins.  Although, they were all quite dangerous and definitely broke all of the Hogwarts rules, it was amazing to see how much you three knew.  Without a doubt you were some of the best trouble makers Hogwarts has seen in it's many years.  Though, Fred and George are sure to have a few more memorable moments in their last year I'm sure. "

Everyone stayed up until the wee hours of the morning. Around 2 o'clock, Dumbledore announced that they should be going.  Sirius told everyone he was still staying at Lupin's, and they would see him again soon.  Hagrid said his good-bye's in a very loud and booming voice, Hermione guessed that he added a little bit of spirits to his punch.  Bill, Charlie, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley all hugged (and kissed in Mrs. Weasley's case) everyone good-bye and apparated away with a "pop."  After they all left, Hermione flung herself into the closest couch. 

"What a day. I don't think I've ever had that much fun."

"Can you believe all the trouble your dad, Sirius and Lupin used to get into?" Ron said excitedly.  "They gave me some good ideas though to used against Malfoy…"

"I can't thank you guys enough.  This has been such an amazing day.  But I'm tired.  What do you say we hit the sack?" Harry said with a yawn.

"Sounds good to me. " Ginny replied.

Hermione walked over to Fred and George, who were asleep in the two lazy-boy chairs.  She shook them awake and they walked up to their bedroom, looking like zombies.  She watched as Ron and Ginny both walked up stairs, and began to tidy the kitchen. 

"Herm, I really can't thank you enough.  This was such a cool day." Harry said quietly.

"Harry, I'm so glad you liked it.  So what's it like being fifteen?"

"Same. Can I help you clean up?"

"Suit yourself.  I'm just getting it in some what in order, so my parents won't freak out in the morning."

In silence, they cleaned up all the food and took down some of the decorations.  After the kitchen looked better than it had, together they walked up the stairs to their rooms.  Just before Hermione was about to say good night, Harry walked up to her and gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you!!!" He said, as loudly as he could without waking up the sleeping household.

"Harry…I…can't…. breathe!"

"Oh sorry."

"Good night, Harry."

"Night, Hermione."

A/N: Awww. I love birthday parties.  Anyway, chapter seven is on it's way. Expect a major change to happen….(dramatic chord).  Anyway, R/R.  Thank you very much!

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'"  [BM1] Neville ate one of the twins' Canary Creams.

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'"  [BM2]As Snuffles of course! (The large black dog) And if you are wondering, it is not the night of a full moon.