Disclaimer: Don't own any characters. They all belong to JK Rowling. This is a work of fiction.

Chapter Three: Waking up the Birthday Boy

Over the course of the next few days Harry and I didn't speak about what happened that first night. It's not that he was embarrassed about it, or that I was uncomfortable with what happened. After Harry fell asleep I sat there for about an hour and a half, thinking about the past five years and how much my life had changed because of this one young man. Finally I prodded Harry a little and helped him into the house. He was still half asleep, so I grabbed his pajamas for him that were lying on his bed and told him to go change in the bathroom. After he changed he came back in his room and climbed into his bed. We whispered good night to each other and I left, going back to my own room.

Harry and I seemed to have reached an understanding after that night. He wasn't totally perky after that, but his smile seemed to reach his eyes now. His attitude wasn't the only thing that changed either. He has become seemingly more affectionate with me. Over the past several days it has become routine to kiss each other on the cheek before bedtime, and it is not uncommon to find us on the couch with Harry's head in my lap, or his arm around my shoulder as we walk around.

We have never really spoken about this change; it really isn't anything too extreme. We still remain just friends, but it seems like we connect on a deeper level of friendship now. I have to admit that I have caught myself looking at him differently, or sometimes a strange thought will pop into my head about him. But the two of us aren't seeking anything romantic or even any different type of relationship. We're just content spending time together as friends.

Harry's birthday rolled around three days after his arrival at my house. That morning I made sure I got up early so I could wake him and we could get an early start on our day. However, I thought about it and decided to let him sleep as late as possible, seeing as it is his birthday and all. He should get to relax.

Finally at about 9:30 in the morning I snuck into his room, intent on waking him up so we could eat breakfast. I didn't bother peeking into the room to make sure he was properly covered, because I know he sleeps in a pair of jogging pants and a wife beater just about every night. I quietly entered the room, laughing silently at the sight before me. There lay Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, defeater of Voldemort, one third of the Golden Trio, with half of his body hanging off the bed and the bedcovers on the floor beneath him. His arms were splayed out under his head, and his legs were dangling off the edge of the bed. His hair was in even bigger disarray than normal, and his face was slack with sleep.

I crept over to his bed and poked him in the side. "Harry...Harry...wake up Harry."

No answer.

"Come on.... hello...Harry?" I poked him a little harder this time.

No sign of movement.

"Harry, come on, get up. It's your birthday!" I said, trying to wake him up again. Finally I gave up and reached over him, grabbing a pillow. Raising it over my head, I lightly smacked him in the side with it.

"Oof!" He strangled out, eyes opening wide. I laughed at the expression on his face, and he just gave me glare.

"Come on Potter, get your arse out of bed! Oh my gosh, I just sounded like Ron!" I realized with horror. Harry laughed at this and sat up, a blush rising to his face as he realized how funny he was laying.  Getting a bit nervous about my plans for the day, I began to ramble a bit:

"I let you sleep as late as possible, but we need to eat breakfast so we can get started. I've got a few surprises in store for you today. Unless of course you would rather stay here and celebrate your birthday? Cause I mean we could totally do that if you don't feel like being out and about all day, really, I mean...."

Harry interrupted me by laying a hand on my arm. " 'Mione. Breathe. Whatever you have planned for today is fine. Considering I've spent many years cooped up at the Dursleys for my birthday, anything sounds good to me. And you didn't have to plan anything special for me, you know. It's not that big of a deal."

I just gave him a look as if to say, 'What planet are you from?'

He chuckled and grabbed me by the shoulders, steering me out of the room.

"Go, go so I can get my shower and get dressed. I'll be down in a few minutes, alright? Are jeans and a shirt okay for the today?" He asked, leaning up against the doorway. The sight of him, his hair all rumpled and looking like he just got out of bed (which is technically true) standing there against the doorframe looking down at me with those green, green eyes.....

I managed to snap myself back to reality, wondering once again where these random thoughts about the boy-who-lived were coming from.

"Yeah, that's perfect. See you in a few."

I went back to my room and straightened up; I cannot stand a messy room. This only took a few minutes, so I went ahead and went downstairs, where I saw my mother making pancakes at the stove. My father was at the table, reading a copy of the local newspaper and drinking coffee.

" 'Ello Mum, Dad," I said grabbing two glasses and setting them out on the counter.

"Morning dear. Did you wake Harry up?" My mum asked, flipping the pancakes over in the pan. I grabbed the bottle of orange juice and poured some into each glass.

"Yes. He should be down in a minute."

My dad folded the newspaper down and pointed out the window. "When he does come down, there are about seven owls out there waiting to be let in. Birthday presents I suppose?"

I nodded and went over to the window. I opened it up and in swooped the owls just as Harry was walking down the stairs. They all flew over him one by one, dropping presents and cards in his hands. I rushed over and helped him get hold of all the parchments and envelopes, moving them over to the table.

"Gosh, I didn't think this many people would remember my birthday," Harry said, looking at all the presents.

"Harry Potter, of course everyone remembered! We are your friends, after all!" I exclaimed, putting my hands on my hips.

"Do you care if I go ahead and open them?" He asked, gesturing to the pile.

"Go ahead Harry, the pancakes still have a few more minutes," My mother said, smiling.

The first present was a box of practical jokes, including dung bombs, canary creams, whizzing worms and stink pellets-of course it was from none other than Fred and George Weasley who wrote:

Harry,

Merely wanted to give you a preview of what is to come at W3. Hope you find use for them, hopefully on gits like Draco Malfoy. Happy Birthday!

F&G

I explained the purposes of these gags to my parents, who couldn't decide whether to laugh or be appalled. Harry just grinned and put the box on the chair next to him.

The next gift was from Ron, who sent Harry a book (I almost fell over when he opened it!) called The Origins of Quidditch.  Lavender and Pavarti sent Harry a gift certificate to Honeydukes, and Neville sent him a remembrall. From Remus he received a pocket watch that looked like the clock on the Weasley's wall. It had Harry's name along with my own, and Ron's. Instead of numbers there were the words 'Mortal danger', 'Hospital', 'Hogwarts', 'Home', etc.  These were only a few of the presents that the boy-who-lived received on his birthday. He also got things from Ginny, Seamus, Luna, and even Dumbledore, who sent him a journal to write his thoughts down in.

Finally all the presents were opened, and the pancakes were done. My mother brought out a stack of three first, with a candle in the center. Harry beamed and blushed a little as we all sang Happy Birthday to him. He good-naturedly blew out the candle and thanked us.

Breakfast went by fast as we talked about different things. One question popped up in my head though as I observed Harry, who was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark red short sleeved shirt.

"Harry, when did you get so many pieces of muggle clothing?" I asked, knowing that most of his attire was meant for the wizarding world.

"Ah, noticed that, did you? Aunt Petunia actually bought me a few new things at the start of the summer. I think part of the reason was because of the scare Moody and the rest of the wizarding lot gave her and my uncle. Suppose she didn't want me telling them that my aunt and uncle weren't providing for me. Of course I still had to do lots of chores this summer, so I don't really understand all that. Anyway, I've only got a few shirts and a couple pairs of pants. I actually was wondering if we could go clothes shopping in the next day or two? I got sent Ron some wizarding money to exchange for muggle money at the start of the summer. I've got a pretty good bit."

I nodded my head as I finished off the last of my breakfast. I took my plate and likewise, Harry grabbed his own, both of us headed toward the sink.

"No no no! I will take care of this. You two go off and have fun," My mom said, taking the plates from us.

"But Mrs. Granger, I feel so bad about leaving you to clean up after us. It won't take us long," Harry said.

My dad spoke up from the table. "Harry, it's okay. I'll help Sarah...and I thought we said no more of this Mrs. and Mr. Granger stuff! John and Sarah, all right? Or at least Mr. John and Mrs. Sarah. I feel like my parents with that Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

I laughed and put my hand on Harry's arm. "Come on Harry. We can do the dished tomorrow. Let's go upstairs and I'll give you my present."

Harry just looked at me, defeated. "Hermione, you didn't have to get me anything. Just staying here and being around you and your family is enough. You know that."

I just rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him up the stairs. "Let's go, Potter."

He followed me to my room, where he stood examining the pictures as I dug his present out of my desk drawer. It came in a rather small box, which I think he was surprised to see. Usually I give him some sort of book for a present.

"Well go on, open it," I told him. He undid the green wrapping and gasped at what he saw.


"My own snitch? Hermione, where did you get this? How did you afford this? I can't accept it!" He said, looking it over.

"Of course you can silly. It's a birthday present. Besides, it's already been engraved. See?" I told him, pointing to the side of the gold ball. There it read:

Harry Potter

Gryffindor House

Seeker

"Hermione. This is too much, there's no telling how much this cost," He said, looking at me in amazement.

"Really Harry, it's fine. I have plenty of money in the bank from trust funds and stuff from my grandparents and aunts and everything. Plus money I've made over the summer babysitting and doing stuff for my parents at the office. Now I'm not sure how a regular snitch works, but this one has a way to activate it so that every time you have it out it doesn't go flying off if you don't want it to. You just hold it and say "Considium" to make it fly, and "Desidium" to make it stop. You can't really play with it until school because of the anti-magic law while we're not at Hogwarts. But I thought you might like it, better than a book, anyway."

"I love it Hermione. I would have loved anything you got me, even a book. Thank you so much," Harry said, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him for a second before pulling back. Harry leaned down and kissed my forehead lightly.

"You're something, you know that?" He told me, smiling. I just blushed and looked away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the clock, which read 10:45.

"Well, since it's almost afternoon, are you ready to get going? Surprises await you, Harry Potter," I said, trying to do a good Trelawney impression. Harry laughed and nodded.

"Sure. Ready to go whenever you are."

I smiled and led the way downstairs. "Just think of this day as a day for first experiences Harry. I don't think you'll be disappointed."

Harry grinned and followed me to the living room. "I can't wait!"

I laughed at the child like expression on his face. "Yes, well, you might be cursing be by t the time the day is over."

He grabbed my arm and turned me to him. "I would never curse you Hermione. You mean so much to me," He said softly. I squeezed his hand and looked back up at him, deciding to change the subject before we became uncomfortable.

"And you to me.  Now, let's party!" I exclaimed, making my way outside to the car where my dad was waiting for us. The whole time I couldn't help but wonder:

Was there something going on between Harry and me?