That night at seven, Cherry made her way down to Snape's office. She'd made
an excuse to Logan that she wanted to discuss potions with him and
thankfully, Logan accepted it. As she knocked on his door, his usual sneer
called out.
"Come in"
She opened the door to see Snape shuffling papers and looking extremely bored. She bit her lip as she entered the room.
"I am still allowed to talk to you, aren't I?" she questioned hopefully. Snape's head shot up and he actually smiled (yes, smiled!).
"I was wondering what was taking you so long. Sit down. I assume you want to talk about what's been happening between now and the last time we saw each other?"
Cherry sat down opposite Snape and nodded.
"Well, the same old, same old really. Nothing much has changed apart from the Dark Lord's returned and the Death Eater's are being tortured if they don't bring information on Potter" Cherry winced.
"Does it hurt when he tortures or have you never experienced it?" she whispered.
"I've experienced it once or twice, and yes, it does hurt" Cherry pulled a face.
"I'm amazed that you've managed to keep up this double act for so long. You're working for Dumbledore, but you're very good at being evil" Snape smirked.
"It's one of my talents" he told her. Cherry smiled weakly.
"I'm sure it is"
"Anything interesting happening in your life? We haven't seen in each other in five years" Cherry nodded.
"I know, by the way, I meant what I said earlier. It hasn't been the same without you. It's just been . . . different" Cherry said in a quiet voice.
Snape leaned back in his chair and surveyed Cherry as if trying to see if she was joking or not, but he realized that she was being serious. It was the sort of person she was. Cherry walked around to Snape's side of the desk and she hugged him again. Snape hugged back and closed his eyes, while smiling. He hadn't seen this girl in five years. She'd grown so much since he'd last seen her.
A knock and the opening of the door caused both Snape and Cherry to jump away from each other, looking guilty. It was Lucius Malfoy. He took one look at Cherry, Snape and their guilty looks and his lip curled.
"Oh Snape, you were busy. I'll come back and talk to you later" he made to shut the door, but Snape stopped him.
"Malfoy, you can talk to me now" he said in a stern voice. Malfoy sneered as he walked back into the room and shut the door.
"You!" he said, pointing to Cherry "You can leave. This doesn't involve you!"
"You can't tell me what to do" Cherry replied defiantly.
"Get out!" Malfoy glared. Cherry turned to Snape, who simply nodded. Cherry nodded in reply, shot Malfoy one last death glare and left the room.
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The next morning, Harry awoke to Ron sitting next to him. Harry looked at him questioningly.
"It's Ginny's birthday today and we were hoping to hold a surprise party for her in the Room of Requirement" Ron told him. Harry nodded enthusiastically.
"Great idea!"
"Everyone's invited and we've already got most of the decorations done, but we just need a distraction . . ." he trailed off, looking slyly at Harry. Harry's eyes widened.
"You want me to spend some time with her?" he asked. Ron nodded.
"If that ain't a problem with you mate, it's just, she still really likes you and all . . ." Harry grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, alright. I'll distract her for a bit" Ron clapped Harry on the back.
"Thanks mate"
Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail were all looking excited.
"Can we help out?" they asked. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, we're gonna need all the help we can get" Jay was grinning madly.
"How long do I have to distract her for and what time do we have to be there?"
"You have to distract her for about an hour and be there at exactly three o' clock on the dot" Harry nodded in understanding.
Harry walked downstairs and saw Ginny ripping off some wrapping paper from a gift that Hermione had got her. She grinned when she saw what it was.
"Oh Mione, you shouldn't have! "Hexes to use on your enemies" she read out loud from the book cover. "I'll have some fun with Sam Gregory this year" Hermione giggled. Emily grinned.
"Morning Gin, Happy Birthday!" Ginny looked up and saw Harry and she blushed.
"Oh, h-hi Harry" she smiled nervously. James was grinning broadly at the look on Ginny's face.
"So, um, wanna hang out later on?" he asked her. Ginny hesitated, then slowly nodded.
"Yeah, alright then"
"Oh, and I got you this as well. It isn't much" he added hastily "Sorry, I didn't really know what to get you" he told her apologetically.
Ginny smiled when she saw what it was. It was a package full of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
"Thanks Harry" she said with a smile. Harry smiled back.
"Hey, good morning all!" Everyone looked to see Cherry standing there, beaming at them all.
"Ah, it looks like a certain somebody's birthday! Ah man! If I'd have known, I would've got you something!" Cherry said, looking upset "Sorry sweetie" she said, looking apologetically to Ginny.
"It's alright. As long as I'm with my friends, I'll be having a wonderful birthday"
"Hey, where's Sirius and Professor Lupin?" Hermione questioned suddenly, realizing that they weren't in the room. James shrugged and glanced at Lily knowingly.
"We've no idea"
"Rose and Mum aren't here either. Is there something that we should know about?" Emily questioned them. James snorted with laughter.
"No, not in the way you think anyway"
"Oh"
The time was edging on and Harry realized that it was the hour that he had to spend with Ginny. He approached her cautiously in the common room.
"Hey Gin? Wanna hang out now?"
"Yeah sure, hang on, where's everyone else?" she asked, looking around. Harry felt his heart jolt.
"Um . . . Hermione and Ron are in a Prefect meeting, my dad, Sirius and Professor Lupin are planning out their classes, I think my mum, Rose and Sally are helping out too. Lils, Jay and Emily are exploring Hogwarts. The Marauders are trying to find a way to get into Snape's room and I think Logan and Cherry went down to Hogsmeade to get you a birthday present" Harry congratulated himself on having his mind work so quickly.
"Oh" she said quietly "I guess that just leaves you and me, huh?"
"Uh, yeah. I don't mind hanging out with you, ya know"
"Yeah, I know. Listen Harry, there's something I want to tell you" Harry looked her in the eyes to see that she was looking worried, but determined at the same time.
"Okay, shoot, what is it?"
"I just want to tell you that I'm over you. Completely. Isn't that great?" she questioned with a smile. Harry felt like grinning, but didn't.
"Well, that's a real shame" Harry said, looking sad. Ginny eyed him suspiciously.
"Why's that?"
"I was gonna ask you to the Valentine's Ball next month, but seeing as you're over me, I guess I'll have to find someone else" he said with a sigh. Ginny's eyes widened.
"Well, if you really need a partner, I'll be more than happy to go with you!" she exclaimed excitedly. Harry chuckled as he put an arm around her.
"Gin?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think you're quite over me yet" Ginny, realizing what had just happened, smacked Harry round the head.
"Damn you Potter!"
"But I was being serious when I asked you" Ginny stopped a minute and eyed him.
"Why?"
"Well, if you want. It can be your birthday present, how's that sound?" Ginny nodded and smiled, then she jumped up.
"Wait till my friends hear that I'm going out with the famous Harry Potter!" Harry laughed, then quickly checked his watch. It was 2:50pm. He needed to get Ginny to the Room of Requirement!
"Gin, will you come and walk around the school with me?" Harry questioned her.
"Why?"
"I'm just bored and I wanna stretch my legs" Ginny nodded.
"Okay"
They made their way to the Room of Requirement and at exactly three o' clock; they entered the room to streamers being thrown up in the air. Everyone was there from different houses. (Well, apart from Slytherin of course!)
"Happy Birthday Ginny!" Everyone yelled out. Ron enveloped her in a hug, while Fred and George were setting off fireworks. Ginny turned around to face Harry.
"You were in on it, weren't you!" It was more of a statement than a question. Harry grinned.
"Yup!"
Lupin, James and Sirius grabbed a hold of her and led her over to the table where there was lots of Firewhiskey and red punch.
"You can drink as much as you like" Sirius told her "It's the weekend anyway" he added.
Rose, Sally and Lily were beaming at her. The music was blaring, there were balloons everywhere and Ginny was the one getting all the attention. Not her brothers! Her!
After about six hours of partying, one of the Ravenclaw girls who had a huge crush on Harry and had been trying to get him to like her for the last six hours, stood up and walked over to Ginny.
"You know something Weasley, your party sucks! The only decent thing here is Harry Potter" the girl said. She had blonde curly hair and green eyes and she was glaring at Ginny.
"Well, I've sort of liked Harry for a while now and I was hoping that you would leave him alone" Ginny said in a small voice.
"Not happening firehead!" The girl snapped at her. Ginny looked taken aback, then she growled.
"Listen here, Sam Gregory, I don't know who you think you are, but you're acting like a spoilt brat!" Ginny snapped. Sam smirked.
The music had stopped playing to watch the scene in front of them and it was clear that Sam was hoping to get what she wanted.
"Harry, will you be so kind as to walk me to my common room?" Sam said in her sweetest voice. Harry felt himself smirk.
"I don't think so. I think I'll just hang out here with my girlfriend" Harry said, slinging an arm around Ginny's shoulders, then kissed her on the cheek. Ginny blushed bright red as she shyly put her arms around his waist. Sam's eyes almost popped out of her head.
"Oh, and Sam?" Ginny had adopted a sweet voice too. She picked up the red punch and dumped it over her head.
"That colour really suits your dress" Sam screamed, then fled from the Room of Requirement. Everyone burst out laughing.
"Nice one Gin!" Ron, Fred and George said in unison.
"Hey, you don't mess with the Weasley's!"
"You said it!" Everyone burst out laughing again.
"Hey Harry. Thanks for helping me out there" Ginny said with a blush. Harry smiled.
"Anything for a friend" he told her and winked at her, then he walked off to talk to Ron.
"That was a really sweet thing that Harry did for you" Lils told her with a smile on her face. Ginny kept her eyes on Harry as he laughed at something Ron had said.
"Yeah" Ginny said with a grin "It was"
"Come in"
She opened the door to see Snape shuffling papers and looking extremely bored. She bit her lip as she entered the room.
"I am still allowed to talk to you, aren't I?" she questioned hopefully. Snape's head shot up and he actually smiled (yes, smiled!).
"I was wondering what was taking you so long. Sit down. I assume you want to talk about what's been happening between now and the last time we saw each other?"
Cherry sat down opposite Snape and nodded.
"Well, the same old, same old really. Nothing much has changed apart from the Dark Lord's returned and the Death Eater's are being tortured if they don't bring information on Potter" Cherry winced.
"Does it hurt when he tortures or have you never experienced it?" she whispered.
"I've experienced it once or twice, and yes, it does hurt" Cherry pulled a face.
"I'm amazed that you've managed to keep up this double act for so long. You're working for Dumbledore, but you're very good at being evil" Snape smirked.
"It's one of my talents" he told her. Cherry smiled weakly.
"I'm sure it is"
"Anything interesting happening in your life? We haven't seen in each other in five years" Cherry nodded.
"I know, by the way, I meant what I said earlier. It hasn't been the same without you. It's just been . . . different" Cherry said in a quiet voice.
Snape leaned back in his chair and surveyed Cherry as if trying to see if she was joking or not, but he realized that she was being serious. It was the sort of person she was. Cherry walked around to Snape's side of the desk and she hugged him again. Snape hugged back and closed his eyes, while smiling. He hadn't seen this girl in five years. She'd grown so much since he'd last seen her.
A knock and the opening of the door caused both Snape and Cherry to jump away from each other, looking guilty. It was Lucius Malfoy. He took one look at Cherry, Snape and their guilty looks and his lip curled.
"Oh Snape, you were busy. I'll come back and talk to you later" he made to shut the door, but Snape stopped him.
"Malfoy, you can talk to me now" he said in a stern voice. Malfoy sneered as he walked back into the room and shut the door.
"You!" he said, pointing to Cherry "You can leave. This doesn't involve you!"
"You can't tell me what to do" Cherry replied defiantly.
"Get out!" Malfoy glared. Cherry turned to Snape, who simply nodded. Cherry nodded in reply, shot Malfoy one last death glare and left the room.
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The next morning, Harry awoke to Ron sitting next to him. Harry looked at him questioningly.
"It's Ginny's birthday today and we were hoping to hold a surprise party for her in the Room of Requirement" Ron told him. Harry nodded enthusiastically.
"Great idea!"
"Everyone's invited and we've already got most of the decorations done, but we just need a distraction . . ." he trailed off, looking slyly at Harry. Harry's eyes widened.
"You want me to spend some time with her?" he asked. Ron nodded.
"If that ain't a problem with you mate, it's just, she still really likes you and all . . ." Harry grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, alright. I'll distract her for a bit" Ron clapped Harry on the back.
"Thanks mate"
Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail were all looking excited.
"Can we help out?" they asked. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, we're gonna need all the help we can get" Jay was grinning madly.
"How long do I have to distract her for and what time do we have to be there?"
"You have to distract her for about an hour and be there at exactly three o' clock on the dot" Harry nodded in understanding.
Harry walked downstairs and saw Ginny ripping off some wrapping paper from a gift that Hermione had got her. She grinned when she saw what it was.
"Oh Mione, you shouldn't have! "Hexes to use on your enemies" she read out loud from the book cover. "I'll have some fun with Sam Gregory this year" Hermione giggled. Emily grinned.
"Morning Gin, Happy Birthday!" Ginny looked up and saw Harry and she blushed.
"Oh, h-hi Harry" she smiled nervously. James was grinning broadly at the look on Ginny's face.
"So, um, wanna hang out later on?" he asked her. Ginny hesitated, then slowly nodded.
"Yeah, alright then"
"Oh, and I got you this as well. It isn't much" he added hastily "Sorry, I didn't really know what to get you" he told her apologetically.
Ginny smiled when she saw what it was. It was a package full of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
"Thanks Harry" she said with a smile. Harry smiled back.
"Hey, good morning all!" Everyone looked to see Cherry standing there, beaming at them all.
"Ah, it looks like a certain somebody's birthday! Ah man! If I'd have known, I would've got you something!" Cherry said, looking upset "Sorry sweetie" she said, looking apologetically to Ginny.
"It's alright. As long as I'm with my friends, I'll be having a wonderful birthday"
"Hey, where's Sirius and Professor Lupin?" Hermione questioned suddenly, realizing that they weren't in the room. James shrugged and glanced at Lily knowingly.
"We've no idea"
"Rose and Mum aren't here either. Is there something that we should know about?" Emily questioned them. James snorted with laughter.
"No, not in the way you think anyway"
"Oh"
The time was edging on and Harry realized that it was the hour that he had to spend with Ginny. He approached her cautiously in the common room.
"Hey Gin? Wanna hang out now?"
"Yeah sure, hang on, where's everyone else?" she asked, looking around. Harry felt his heart jolt.
"Um . . . Hermione and Ron are in a Prefect meeting, my dad, Sirius and Professor Lupin are planning out their classes, I think my mum, Rose and Sally are helping out too. Lils, Jay and Emily are exploring Hogwarts. The Marauders are trying to find a way to get into Snape's room and I think Logan and Cherry went down to Hogsmeade to get you a birthday present" Harry congratulated himself on having his mind work so quickly.
"Oh" she said quietly "I guess that just leaves you and me, huh?"
"Uh, yeah. I don't mind hanging out with you, ya know"
"Yeah, I know. Listen Harry, there's something I want to tell you" Harry looked her in the eyes to see that she was looking worried, but determined at the same time.
"Okay, shoot, what is it?"
"I just want to tell you that I'm over you. Completely. Isn't that great?" she questioned with a smile. Harry felt like grinning, but didn't.
"Well, that's a real shame" Harry said, looking sad. Ginny eyed him suspiciously.
"Why's that?"
"I was gonna ask you to the Valentine's Ball next month, but seeing as you're over me, I guess I'll have to find someone else" he said with a sigh. Ginny's eyes widened.
"Well, if you really need a partner, I'll be more than happy to go with you!" she exclaimed excitedly. Harry chuckled as he put an arm around her.
"Gin?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think you're quite over me yet" Ginny, realizing what had just happened, smacked Harry round the head.
"Damn you Potter!"
"But I was being serious when I asked you" Ginny stopped a minute and eyed him.
"Why?"
"Well, if you want. It can be your birthday present, how's that sound?" Ginny nodded and smiled, then she jumped up.
"Wait till my friends hear that I'm going out with the famous Harry Potter!" Harry laughed, then quickly checked his watch. It was 2:50pm. He needed to get Ginny to the Room of Requirement!
"Gin, will you come and walk around the school with me?" Harry questioned her.
"Why?"
"I'm just bored and I wanna stretch my legs" Ginny nodded.
"Okay"
They made their way to the Room of Requirement and at exactly three o' clock; they entered the room to streamers being thrown up in the air. Everyone was there from different houses. (Well, apart from Slytherin of course!)
"Happy Birthday Ginny!" Everyone yelled out. Ron enveloped her in a hug, while Fred and George were setting off fireworks. Ginny turned around to face Harry.
"You were in on it, weren't you!" It was more of a statement than a question. Harry grinned.
"Yup!"
Lupin, James and Sirius grabbed a hold of her and led her over to the table where there was lots of Firewhiskey and red punch.
"You can drink as much as you like" Sirius told her "It's the weekend anyway" he added.
Rose, Sally and Lily were beaming at her. The music was blaring, there were balloons everywhere and Ginny was the one getting all the attention. Not her brothers! Her!
After about six hours of partying, one of the Ravenclaw girls who had a huge crush on Harry and had been trying to get him to like her for the last six hours, stood up and walked over to Ginny.
"You know something Weasley, your party sucks! The only decent thing here is Harry Potter" the girl said. She had blonde curly hair and green eyes and she was glaring at Ginny.
"Well, I've sort of liked Harry for a while now and I was hoping that you would leave him alone" Ginny said in a small voice.
"Not happening firehead!" The girl snapped at her. Ginny looked taken aback, then she growled.
"Listen here, Sam Gregory, I don't know who you think you are, but you're acting like a spoilt brat!" Ginny snapped. Sam smirked.
The music had stopped playing to watch the scene in front of them and it was clear that Sam was hoping to get what she wanted.
"Harry, will you be so kind as to walk me to my common room?" Sam said in her sweetest voice. Harry felt himself smirk.
"I don't think so. I think I'll just hang out here with my girlfriend" Harry said, slinging an arm around Ginny's shoulders, then kissed her on the cheek. Ginny blushed bright red as she shyly put her arms around his waist. Sam's eyes almost popped out of her head.
"Oh, and Sam?" Ginny had adopted a sweet voice too. She picked up the red punch and dumped it over her head.
"That colour really suits your dress" Sam screamed, then fled from the Room of Requirement. Everyone burst out laughing.
"Nice one Gin!" Ron, Fred and George said in unison.
"Hey, you don't mess with the Weasley's!"
"You said it!" Everyone burst out laughing again.
"Hey Harry. Thanks for helping me out there" Ginny said with a blush. Harry smiled.
"Anything for a friend" he told her and winked at her, then he walked off to talk to Ron.
"That was a really sweet thing that Harry did for you" Lils told her with a smile on her face. Ginny kept her eyes on Harry as he laughed at something Ron had said.
"Yeah" Ginny said with a grin "It was"
