This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but it was a lot of fun to write. Thanks to all of you who've reviewed. I'll try to keep updates pretty frequent, but I have a busy schedule coming up. Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 6
Over the next few weeks, the students got their letters, with wonderful news for Hermione and Ron.
"Oh! I'm so proud of you, Ron!" Mrs. Weasley said, hugging her youngest son. "The third Prefect in the family."
"Mum! Get off!" Ron yelled in protest.
"Come on, Ron, it's a great honor to be chosen as a Prefect," Hermione added, admiring her prefect badge.
"Yeah, but why wasn't Harry chosen over me? He gets higher marks," Ron asked.
"True, but to be chosen as a Prefect, all of the teachers have to agree on the person. It has to be a unanimous decision on who it should be. And Snape's had it in for Harry since our first year. So obviously he wouldn't be chosen," Hermione explained logically as Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny came into the kitchen.
"Wow, Ron! You're a Prefect," Ginny said as she started opening her letter.
"Congratulations, Ron," Harry added, "I'm really happy for you. I'm glad I wasn't made a prefect, what with Quidditch and the O.W.L.'s and all."
"Ooooh! Our little Ronnie-kins is a Prefect," Fred said in his best 'mommy' voice.
"Our little boy's all grown up!" George added, but quieted when Hermione smacked his arm playfully.
"At least he was made a prefect, which is more than I can say for you two," their mother scolded.
"Maybe the teachers didn't want to choose only one of the two, Mrs. Weasley, and since they choose only one boy for the job, they didn't want to make the other feel bad," Hermione defended. Her friendship with George had grown, and she didn't want to see him get into trouble.
"Maybe you're right," Mrs. Weasley agreed eventually, then set about getting breakfast for everyone, not seeing George mouth a "thank you" towards Hermione, who just smiled.
"So, Harry," Fred said, changing the subject, "are you excited about your birthday tomorrow?"
Harry had almost forgotten that the next day was his birthday since he'd never really celebrated it before.
"That reminds me, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, "what would you like me to fix for dinner tomorrow night? It's a Weasley tradition for the birthday person to choose what we'll be having."
"Oh, I don't mind what we have," Harry said, "Whatever you want to fix is fine with me. I normally just end up eating whatever the Dursley's are having. I've never gotten to choose before."
"Well, think about it today, dear, and get back to me tonight."
"So what's everybody doing today? Anyone up for a game of Quidditch?" Fred asked the group, who, all but Hermione, agreed to play.
"Oh, come on, Hermione, you can be on my team," George said, giving her a wink.
"But I'm terrible at Quidditch," Hermione replied.
"So what? Come on, you can use Percy's old broom," he said grabbing her hand and pulling her off to get Percy's broom, while everyone else went to get theirs.
"Let's play without Seekers," Fred said, once everyone had assembled out on their 'field,' "since we don't have a Snitch, and we'll only use one bludger, since we've only got one beater per team."
Everyone agreed, and the game commenced, with George, Hermione, and Harry, as Beater, Chaser and Keeper, against Fred, Ginny, and Ron in the same positions.
The game went of for around three hours, stopping every once in a while so George could help Hermione, since she pretty much sucked at the game. He would tell her tips to help her out, and by the time they quit the game, she had gotten pretty good.
Harry was surprised to find that Ginny was actually good at the game as well as Ron. They actually ended up beating George, Harry, and Hermione 100 to 30. It turned out that Harry just wasn't Keeper material.
When they all went inside for lunch, everyone agreed to not continue the game that afternoon. So Fred and George went off to their room to work on another new prank of trick, dragging Hermione along, claiming they needed some extra help.
That left Ron, Harry, and Ginny to hang out together. And since they really had nothing to do, Mrs. Weasley told them to go de-gnome the garden. (AN: I know there are other things they could do, but my mind went completely blank)
"So, Harry," Ron said, as they were throwing the gnomes into the field, "have you decided what you want Mum to fix for dinner tomorrow? You really should choose soon, so she'll have time to make it."
"I haven't really thought about it," Harry replied.
"Ron's right," Ginny added, "You really should decide. Mum won't mind what it is. She always enjoys making birthday dinners, even when Fred and George ask for two different things."
"What do you think I should ask for?" Harry asked the siblings.
"It's really just up to you, Harry," Ginny replied, "Just pick your favorite food, and mum will find a way to make it. Even if it is a Muggle food. I usually pick pizza, and she's always been able to fix it for me."
"I usually choose a big, five layer birthday cake," Ron piped in, licking his lips, "and she doesn't even complain about it not being good for you. But, like Ginny said, it's up to you."
Harry continued to think about it while they finished de-gnoming the garden. When they went back inside, and Mrs. Weasley asked him if he's decided, he finally made up his mind for Chicken and Broccoli Fetticini Alfredo. She went off to fin a recipe in one of her Muggle cookbooks.
That night, Harry went to sleep thinking of how much fun he was going to have the next day, spending his birthday with his family.
Chapter 6
Over the next few weeks, the students got their letters, with wonderful news for Hermione and Ron.
"Oh! I'm so proud of you, Ron!" Mrs. Weasley said, hugging her youngest son. "The third Prefect in the family."
"Mum! Get off!" Ron yelled in protest.
"Come on, Ron, it's a great honor to be chosen as a Prefect," Hermione added, admiring her prefect badge.
"Yeah, but why wasn't Harry chosen over me? He gets higher marks," Ron asked.
"True, but to be chosen as a Prefect, all of the teachers have to agree on the person. It has to be a unanimous decision on who it should be. And Snape's had it in for Harry since our first year. So obviously he wouldn't be chosen," Hermione explained logically as Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny came into the kitchen.
"Wow, Ron! You're a Prefect," Ginny said as she started opening her letter.
"Congratulations, Ron," Harry added, "I'm really happy for you. I'm glad I wasn't made a prefect, what with Quidditch and the O.W.L.'s and all."
"Ooooh! Our little Ronnie-kins is a Prefect," Fred said in his best 'mommy' voice.
"Our little boy's all grown up!" George added, but quieted when Hermione smacked his arm playfully.
"At least he was made a prefect, which is more than I can say for you two," their mother scolded.
"Maybe the teachers didn't want to choose only one of the two, Mrs. Weasley, and since they choose only one boy for the job, they didn't want to make the other feel bad," Hermione defended. Her friendship with George had grown, and she didn't want to see him get into trouble.
"Maybe you're right," Mrs. Weasley agreed eventually, then set about getting breakfast for everyone, not seeing George mouth a "thank you" towards Hermione, who just smiled.
"So, Harry," Fred said, changing the subject, "are you excited about your birthday tomorrow?"
Harry had almost forgotten that the next day was his birthday since he'd never really celebrated it before.
"That reminds me, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, "what would you like me to fix for dinner tomorrow night? It's a Weasley tradition for the birthday person to choose what we'll be having."
"Oh, I don't mind what we have," Harry said, "Whatever you want to fix is fine with me. I normally just end up eating whatever the Dursley's are having. I've never gotten to choose before."
"Well, think about it today, dear, and get back to me tonight."
"So what's everybody doing today? Anyone up for a game of Quidditch?" Fred asked the group, who, all but Hermione, agreed to play.
"Oh, come on, Hermione, you can be on my team," George said, giving her a wink.
"But I'm terrible at Quidditch," Hermione replied.
"So what? Come on, you can use Percy's old broom," he said grabbing her hand and pulling her off to get Percy's broom, while everyone else went to get theirs.
"Let's play without Seekers," Fred said, once everyone had assembled out on their 'field,' "since we don't have a Snitch, and we'll only use one bludger, since we've only got one beater per team."
Everyone agreed, and the game commenced, with George, Hermione, and Harry, as Beater, Chaser and Keeper, against Fred, Ginny, and Ron in the same positions.
The game went of for around three hours, stopping every once in a while so George could help Hermione, since she pretty much sucked at the game. He would tell her tips to help her out, and by the time they quit the game, she had gotten pretty good.
Harry was surprised to find that Ginny was actually good at the game as well as Ron. They actually ended up beating George, Harry, and Hermione 100 to 30. It turned out that Harry just wasn't Keeper material.
When they all went inside for lunch, everyone agreed to not continue the game that afternoon. So Fred and George went off to their room to work on another new prank of trick, dragging Hermione along, claiming they needed some extra help.
That left Ron, Harry, and Ginny to hang out together. And since they really had nothing to do, Mrs. Weasley told them to go de-gnome the garden. (AN: I know there are other things they could do, but my mind went completely blank)
"So, Harry," Ron said, as they were throwing the gnomes into the field, "have you decided what you want Mum to fix for dinner tomorrow? You really should choose soon, so she'll have time to make it."
"I haven't really thought about it," Harry replied.
"Ron's right," Ginny added, "You really should decide. Mum won't mind what it is. She always enjoys making birthday dinners, even when Fred and George ask for two different things."
"What do you think I should ask for?" Harry asked the siblings.
"It's really just up to you, Harry," Ginny replied, "Just pick your favorite food, and mum will find a way to make it. Even if it is a Muggle food. I usually pick pizza, and she's always been able to fix it for me."
"I usually choose a big, five layer birthday cake," Ron piped in, licking his lips, "and she doesn't even complain about it not being good for you. But, like Ginny said, it's up to you."
Harry continued to think about it while they finished de-gnoming the garden. When they went back inside, and Mrs. Weasley asked him if he's decided, he finally made up his mind for Chicken and Broccoli Fetticini Alfredo. She went off to fin a recipe in one of her Muggle cookbooks.
That night, Harry went to sleep thinking of how much fun he was going to have the next day, spending his birthday with his family.