Chapter: Chapter Nine: The Best-Ever Birthday
Author: King Harrison
Category: Action/Adventure
Sub-Category: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP,
Summary: Wherein a party is held.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author Notes: Chapter Nine is here! RR!
"A point for your cheek, Potter."
Snivellus Snape, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (A/N: I bet most of you will like the upcoming scene in this chapter involving Snape. When Hermione invited 'All Hogwarts Professors' to the party, she forgot entirely about Snape. Not very Hermione–like, but then, who likes to think about Snape anyway?)
Chapter Nine: The Best–Ever BirthdayWhen they arrived at Elizabeth Lane, Harry and Hermione pretty much went right to sleep, since they had had such an exciting day.
Harry woke up to a bouncing on his bed. He groggily opened his eyes to a mass of curly brown hair.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!"
Harry sat up quickly and put on his glasses, knocking Hermione off the bed. "HEY!"
"Sorry, you startled me, Hermione."
"Duh, that was the point, Harry." Hermione grinned at him. "Here's your present." She held out a Chocolate Frog card.
"You got me a Chocolate Frog. Wow. Thanks. Of course, at least it's not another organizer…"
Hermione whacked him upside the head with a pillow. "Just look at the card, you nitwit. Besides, this is only a part of your present."
Harry tore open the wrapper and looked at the card. And then dropped it. Harry sat dazed until Hermione whacked him again. The front of the card was a picture of him holding his wand out in a defensive stance. The back read:
Harrison James PotterHarry Potter is one of the most well–known wizards of the age. Harry Potter, called 'The–Boy–Who–Lived' in contrast to his arch–nemisis' He–Who–Must–Not–Be–Named, Harry Potter has defeated You–Know–Who on several occasions. At the age of one, on All Hallows Eve of 1981, You–Know–Who attacked Harry's family in the small village of Godric's Hollow. Harry survived the killing curse, and so earned the aforementioned nickname. Over the years, Harry has also survived You-Know-Who three more times, and killed a basilisk placed in the school by Salazar Slytherin himself. Harry is a Parselmouth, a very uncommon trait in good wizards, and is often said to have a "Saving People Thing." Harry spends much of his spare time roaming the halls of Hogwarts, and has been added to the honored ranks of both 'Tempus Olympus' and the Order of Merlin, First Class, which is to be presented to him upon his return to the school by the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Albus Dumbledore.
"Judging from the saving people thing mentioned in this, I suppose that you did all of this?"
"You bet. The other part of your present is this." She handed him a thick binder. Inside were dozens of Famous Witches and Wizards cards.
"Hermione! These are some of the rarest cards in existence!"
Hermione grinned. "I know. Oh! We need to go over to my parents' mansion." When Harry didn't get up, she added hurriedly "Come on!"
"Er, Hermione, would you mind leaving the room? I don't exactly have pajamas on." Hermione blushed vibrantly and fled towards the door. Before she left, she turned back.
"Wear your robes, Harry. They're the nicest things you have." For the first time, Harry realized that Hermione was dressed up.
When Harry was dressed, they left for the main mansion. Harry heard Hermione muttering the entire way. "Of course, he would need to change! Ooh, that was embarrassing." Harry grinned and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked into the foyer of the main mansion.
"SURPRISE!"
Harry staggered. There were several dozen people in the room and a big banner hung across the ceiling. On it the words 'Happy Birthday Harry' were painted in bright green.
Ron walked over to Harry. "Damn! I owe Fred and George a Galleon now. I betted that you'd have a heart attack."
"I nearly did."
Harry went around the room, greeting the guests, including the entire Weasley clan, even Percy, as well as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, most of Harry's classmates in Gryffindor, the entire Order of the Phoenix, and, unfortunately, Snape.
When Harry saw Snape, he went over to him. "Hello, Professor Snape, I'm rather surprised to see you here."
Snape sneered at him. "As usual, Potter, craving the attention of everyone around you, just like your father."
Snape suddenly flew back across the room. Everyone in the party stopped and stared. "As usual, Snivellus, craving the pity of everyone around you and degrading yourself by attempting to degrade others. Do you know, Snivellus, that this is the only birthday party I've ever had in my life? Of course I would be getting attention. So you can just go back to the cesspit you came from.
"I've had enough of your insults, and if you EVER say that I crave attention, or that my father craved attention, or anything else of the sort, you will receive my full attention, and let me tell you, the result wont be pretty. I pity you, Snape, more even than when I saw that memory of yours."
Harry spun on his heel and walked away from the crumpled form of Snape.
All of the Gryffindors, including Hermione, as well as several members of the Order of the Phoenix clapped Harry on the back. Ron winked at Harry and said, "Good show, mate. Good show."
After a little more talk in an atmosphere that had become infinitely cleaner when Snape disapparated a moment after Harry's outburst, Drs. Granger came over to him and asked, "Which first, Harry? Cake or presents?"
Harry grinned at said loudly, "Let them eat cake!" causing Hermione to giggle madly and Ron to look at him oddly. "Honestly, Ron. Are you totally oblivious to Muggle History? Marie Antoinette of France once said that."
"Bloody hell, mate! You've been spending too much time with Hermione! You sound just like her!"
Harry grinned, but said nothing. After the cake, a monstrous ten-foot long chocolate one in the shape of a lightening bolt, was eaten, everyone got Harry's presents and put them on the table. There were a lot of them.
From Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Harry received two small crystal bottles, one blue and one green. At Harry's inquiry, Moody explained, "These are very rare magical eye drops. The blue one has two drops in it. Put one in each eye, and it will correct your vision problems. The green vial is even more rare. It contains one drop, which I recommend you put in your less dominant eye, and allows the eye to revolve 360 degrees and, when you want to, see through things."
Harry stared at Moody, took off his glasses and administered the drops. Harry could see so much better. He looked at Hermione, and a cloud came over her face. "Look down, Harry, and I'll kill you."
Harry grinned at her, and turned to his next present. It was from Dumbledore. Inside a simply wrapped package was a golden bowl with silver runes around the side, and it was filled with a colorless liquid.
"Professor, is this a pensieve? It looks different than yours."
Dumbledore smiled benignly and said, "It's a newer model. Not only can it store memory, but it can also display its contents at the owner's will, much like a muggle projector. I didn't ever upgrade my own, not entirely trusting the newfangled technology."
"So the liquid stays clear?"
"Oh, no. Mine came as clear as well, but turned silver the first time I put a memory in it. If memory serves me well, although it might not since half of it is in my pensieve, Voldemort's," nearly every wizard present gasped or flinched, "pensieve that he used at school-he wasn't totally bad off-turned a dark green color that quite matches the Killing Curse. Go on, put a memory in. It will show itself if you succeed."
Harry knew exactly which memory to put in. Harry grinned, put his wand to his temple and concentrated on a memory. Harry removed his wand from his temple and saw a glimmering strand of gold. Harry placed the memory inside, and the clear mixture turned golden and a scene began to play on top of the pensieve.
It showed Malfoy being turned into a ferret. Ron began to laugh uproariously.
After a moment, everything calmed down, and Harry took a present from Tonks.
It contained a nice leather wand holder that would look good with Harry's battle, and regular, robes. "So you don't burn a buttock." She whispered teasingly.
"Thanks, Nymphadora!"
Tonks' eyes narrowed. "just joking!" Harry said hastily.
Mrs. Weasley made him some fudge. Bill gave him a fang earring. At Hermione's dubious look, Bill said, "Don't worry. You don't actually have to pierce your ear. It goes in magically and comes out without a hole being left."
"Cool!" Harry immediately put the earring in his right ear.
Fred and George (or was it George and Fred?) gave him a box labled "WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES."
One of the twins whispered to Harry, "Don't open it until later."
Ron gave Harry a 100-pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans boxes.
Professor McGonagall gave him a pendant that she said could transfigure small objects without using a spell.
Hagrid gave him another package of rock cakes, which Harry mentally told himself to dispose of discreetly.
The Grangers gave him a magical retainer. "Hermione helped us pick it out. Put it in for five minutes every night before bed, and it will fix your teeth and clean them. Not that you need any extra care for your teeth. They are very well taken care of," Drs. Granger told him when he had opened it.
The other professors and members of the Order of the Phoenix gave Harry various dark-detectors (the order) and items pertaining to their subjects (the professors).
After another hour of fun, the guests slowly drifted out, and Harry and Hermione retired to the other mansion.
They sat on a loveseat (A/N: Don't hate me for ruining this, but here's an interesting part!) in the imitation Gryffindor common room.
Hermione smiled at Harry. "So, how'd you like the party?"
"It was wonderful. It really was the first birthday party I ever had."
Hermione's smile turned down. "Your birthday parties should be with your parents."
Harry cupped Hermione's cheek in his hand. "There is no one I would rather spend it with than you, Hermione." Harry felt himself pulling closer to Hermione. Their faces came near to each other, and their lips touched.
"Hem-hem!"(A/N–Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…anyway, no, it isn't Umbridge. It's about time I gave you a cliffhanger!)