Happy Birthday, Cho
By: ruhnas
A/N: First off I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters created by Jo Katherine Rowling. Second off this is my first story in a while that I've posted here. Please review.
Harry Potter's mind was racing. He had thought about this for months and now that it was almost upon him he had no clue what to do. He was at an absolute loss. No instinct could be channeled for this. He couldn't ask Ron or Hermione about it either.
In fact he couldn't ask Ron or Hermione anything while the other was in the room. Ron and Hermione were deeply in love. Ron and Hermione went almost everywhere together so it was difficult to talk to one of his best friends on a personal level anyway. Not that they had any better ideas about this than Harry did. Or did they? Nah! They didn't have to work at love. They bickered at each other for five years only to find out they were soul mates. It made Harry mad.
Not the fact that they were soul mates because Harry always wanted his best friends to be happy. It was the fact that they didn't have to work at it. Harry was constantly worrying about his love life because he only had one year to patch things up with the girl he loved. Now that time was slipping away.
It was mid-April in Harry's sixth year. He did have other things to worry about than his relationships with the opposite sex. Voldemort was out there more powerful than ever and of course somehow he got involved. Quite a few interesting things had already happened that year concerning the Dark Lord and his minions but he was getting of track of what he had originally sat down to think about.
Cho Chang's birthday was two weeks away. Harry and Cho had been friends the whole year but Harry was afraid to get too close to Cho for fear of bringing on one of her crying fits. Harry knew he'd never completely understand girls but at least they could make it easier on him by being more forward with their feelings. Maybe she was forward with her feelings but the way she expressed them made little sense.
Harry wanted to give Cho an amazing 18th birthday. He wanted that to be the time when he got to express his deepest and truest feelings towards that Raven haired beauty. It would have been much easier had Cho's birthday been on a Saturday or a Sunday but it wasn't. It was smack dab in the middle of the week. Wednesday the 27th.
Harry put his head in his hands and wished that there was somebody who he could talk to about all of this. Somebody who could help him out. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He slapped his forehead when he realized that the one person that could help him was probably downstairs in the common room right now.
"Ginny," he said to himself
She'll know what to do he thought. Harry jumped off his bed and raced downstairs to the Gryffindor common room, but Ginny was nowhere in sight. He scanned the room again and there was no sign of her red hair. Harry walked over to Ginny's boyfriend Dean Thomas to see what was up.
"Hey Dean," Harry said
"Hi Harry. Whats up?" Dean replied
"Not much. Do you know where Ginny's at?"
"I think she's down in the library studying for her O.W.Ls. Why do you ask?"
"Im having relationship trouble and I need to talk to somebody female about it," Harry replied
Dean laughed. "Why don't you talk to Granger?"
"I would except…." Harry indicated the couch next to the fire place in which Ron and Hermione were cuddling
"Ah. I see," said Dean
"Yeah. Well thanks, Dean"
"No problem," Dean said and Harry left through the portrait hole
Harry walked down the corridor and down some stairs. He then back tracked and went down a different corridor in order to avoid Filch who was in a particularly foul mood cleaning up yet another one of Peeve's mishaps. Harry eventually made his way to the library and walked in and silently scanned the room for Ginny. He saw her sitting at the table that was often occupied by Harry Ron and Hermione. He went over and sat down directly across from her and she looked up from Great Italian Warlocks of the 14th Century by: H. U. Kaersi seeming mildly surprised to see Harry sitting there
"Oh Hi Harry," she said, "Needed to get away from my brother and his conjoined twin?"
Harry chortled at this. "No. Well… No. Actually I have a problem that I need to talk to a girl about"
"Oh. Ok" Ginny said. "How about we go outside and talk about this? This isn't really the greatest place to have a conversation. You wanna go and sit under a tree or something?"
"Sure," Harry said
They got up and Ginny returned her book.
"That stuff is unbelievably dull," she sighed
"Beats Binns droning about it," Harry said
"Not by much"
Harry and Ginny shared a laugh over this and walked out of the library and eventually outside purposefully avoiding Filch who seemed, if possible, in an even fouler mood than when Harry had first encountered him. Harry and Ginny strolled at a leisurely pace outside to the Hogwarts grounds towards the lake. They were talking about every day things like teachers and friends until they reached an oak tree that Ginny said was a rat place to go if you wanted to get away from it all so they sat down.
"Ok Harry," Ginny said, "What did you need to talk about?"
"Well," Harry said wondering whether or not this was such a good idea. "It's about Cho"
Ginny giggled drawing a dark look from Harry. "Sorry," Ginny said, "It's just that you worry too much about this. I know that she likes you and I think you know that she likes you so why worry about it?"
"It's not the fact that Im worried whether or not she likes me. It's just that her birthday is coming up and I have no idea what to do for it," Harry replied
"Ok, Harry, not to make this seem any worse but a birthday is really important to most girls and I can't think of Cho as and exception. Plus the fact that she's turning eighteen will make it even more important for her."
Harry sighed, "Thanks for making me feel better about this Ginny."
"Hey," Ginny said sharply. "I wasn't finished and there's no need for sarcasm, Mr. Potter. Now Cho probably wants something romantic because you do plan to confess your love to her, right?"
"Of course."
"Well, I suggest an intimate candle dinner. Guaranteed to give a girl a happy birthday."
"You sound like someone who's selling something. Beside, I don't know how I can give her a dinner like that. I mean you can't really be intimate in the Great Hall can you?
"No, of course not you have to find somewhere that the two of you can be alone," Ginny said
"And where exactly would that be?" Harry asked
"That's an interesting question. You could go to Hogsmeade."
"I don't think I could get to Hogsmeade on a Wednesday without being noticed," Harry replied still wondering if Ginny had a clue about what to do.
"Oh, that is a problem. I need to think about this," Ginny said and then put her chin in her hands and thought for a minute. Harry sat and stared out into the Forbidden Forest and still had no idea about what to do. Ginny's eyes then lit up. "Oh, Harry, I know what you can do now."
"What?" Harry said as his heart leaped
"The room we had the D.A. meeting can change to accommodate your needs right?"
A light bulb went off in Harry's head. "Of course. The Room of Requirement. That'll be perfect. Thanks Ginny!"
"Hey, what are friends for?"
Harry got up and ran inside and up to the common room. He was ecstatic. He just had to think of the perfect present for Cho
Harry woke up the next Saturday and still had no clue as to what to get Cho for her birthday. He decided he would have to talk to Ron about it so he woke up earlier than usual so he'd get time to talk with his best friend before he went down stairs to Hermione.
"Ron, Ron wake up," Harry whispered. It was only six o'clock in the morning but he really needed to get an idea for a present. This would be his last chance to sneak over to Hogsmeade before the twenty-seventh.
"Whaisit?" Ron said sleepily
"I need to talk to you. So wake up"
"Just a second," Ron sat up and looked over at his watch. "It's six the bloody morning, Harry. This is the day to sleep in."
"Not for you now GET UP!"
"All right. All right. Keep your robes on. Can this be quick? Im supposed to go on a stroll with Snugglepuff."
"Snugglepuff?" Harry said disbelievingly.
"Yeh," Ron said
Harry sighed and shook his head. "You get dressed. Ill be right back"
"Ok but its still six in the bloody morning," Ron muttered under his breath and probably said a few more things but Harry was already half way down the stairs towards the common room
He looked around the room and saw Hermione sitting on her usual couch. Harry went over and sat in a large wingback chair across from her. She was looking at the fire and didn't notice Harry right away. Finally she looked up and saw her friend sitting there
"Oh. Morning, Harry. You're up early," she said
"Yeah. Listen I need a favor from you," said Harry
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I need you to clear out of here."
"Why?" said Hermione slightly taken aback
"Because I need to talk to Ron without any Snugglepuffs distracting him"
Hermione laughed. "Ok, Harry, I have been hogging your best friend. Ill go down to the library and help Ginny study for her History of Magic O.W.L."
"She's still working on that"
"Yeah. Even I don't like reading about Italian warlocks that much"
Harry and Hermione shared a laugh and she left through the portrait hole. Harry then walked back upstairs and got Ron. Ron was still shaking the sleep out of his eyes as he sat down on the sofa that Hermione was just on.
"Ok, Harry. What is it?" he said still sleepily
"I need ideas for a birthday present for Cho"
"Oy," Ron said. "Not her again. That's all you think about nowadays."
"Ok Ron. A. It helps me keep my mind of the fact that hundreds of people want me dead. And B. you shouldn't be talking because I have had to deal with you a Snugglepuff for WAY TOO LONG."
"You make a good point," Ron said. "Anywho, I have no clue what to get Cho for her birthday. Flowers is always good though."
"Ok Ron. How about you come to Hogsmeade with me this morning. WE can stop by Three Broomsticks and get something to drink and I promise we'll be back in time for your stroll," he added noting the dejected look on his friends face. "Besides. Ill owe you one"
"No, mate," he said. "You've saved my life enough times that Ill do this for you. We have to wear the invisibility cloak though"
"Righto," Harry said and he jogged up the stairs and about a minute later. He and Ron were on their way to Hogsmeade.
A/N: That's the first chapter. I was planning to write more but I have writers block and I wanted to post this ASAP. How you liked it. PLEASE review. For my sake. Thanks a lot