AN: BLAH BLAH!

A Few Brownie Points

!A Week in a Magic World, 7 Minutes in the Real one!

"It's been a week Nik, what have you figured out?" Shona was starting to worry; Nik had forgotten to fill her in on her discovery. Of course it wasn't Nik's fault, she had been running around a lot lately learning to fly a broomstick and everything. It seemed Niki had other thoughts on her mind to, she and Fred were hanging out a lot and she and Harry seemed to have some sort of friendship thing growing.

"Well according to what Remus, Molly, Fred, and I have come up with it has only been seven minutes in our world, so stop worrying. You haven't missed anything, and I'm pretty sure you won't miss school or your parents. I bet they are still out buying food as we speak." Niki smiled as she sat outside the Burrow watching some birds fly by.

"Only seven minutes? Wow, I guess I can stop worrying so much then. I thought I'd miss school, but seeing as how it is only the middle of July there and the end of it here, I should be fine. Right?" Shona flopped down on the grass beside Niki finally being able to breath again.

"Yep. Wait, the end of July? Harry's birthday should be coming up, if I haven't missed it!" Niki jumped up quickly and ran inside to find anyone, other then Harry of course.

"What, who's birthday?" Shona said only half listening; Crookshanks chasing a gnome around the garden had distracted her.

"Oh, so I haven't missed it? Thank God!" Niki sighed leaning against the wall. She was talking with Hermione up stairs in Ginny's bedroom

"No, not yet, it isn't for a few more days. Did you want to get him a gift or something?" Hermione was kitting elf hats again.

"Well, yeah, though I wouldn't know what to get him. I mean, I can't rightly get him books, he doesn't need them anymore." Niki rubbed the back of her neck; she hadn't slept well that night so there was a huge knot in her neck.

"You could always make out with him." Came Fred's voice as he poked his head inside.

"Oh, shut up you. Last I checked you wanted me to do that to you." Niki teased still rubbing her neck.

"What's wrong with your neck?" Hermione asked looking up finally.

"Nothin' just slept wrong is all." Niki sat down in the chair in front of Ginny's desk. "There is just something uncomfortable about having to sleep on a hard cot." Niki sighed trying to pop her neck, and then she felt someone's hands on her neck. "Whoa?" She turned to see Fred rubbing her neck. "Okay, what do you want Fred?"

"Nothin', just felt like being nice is all." He said with a grin, still rubbing her neck. "Maybe I can win some 'brownie points' as Shona puts it by doing this." He thought with a smile.

Hermione laughed as she sat her knitting needles down and walked out of the room "I think I'll leave you two alone." She giggled with a wink as she closed the door behind her.

"Shut up 'Mione." Niki hollered after her, hearing Hermione yell that that wasn't her name. "Boy, when did you learn to do this?" Niki asked turning her attention back to Fred.

"Sort of had to, Quidditch is a rough sport. So have I won any brownie points?" Fred asked stopping rubbing her neck to look down at her.

"Ha, I knew you were up to something." Niki felt her neck and felt the knot gone. "You have won some points though." Niki laughed as she stood up and looked at Fred. "Would you like to cash them in now, or wait till you earn more?"

"Now, would be nice." Fred beamed rubbing his hands together.

"Well, okay then." Niki grinned and kissed Fred on the cheek. "There, you just cashed them all in. What a shame huh?" With that she left the room laughing.

Fred watched her leave with a pout on his face. "No fair."

!A Birthday Surprise!

"Did you finish it Shona? We have to have it wrapped before he and the others get back." Niki was saying as she paced the living room of the Burrow.

"Chill Nik, it is done. Took a while for Lupin to track down what I needed but I did get it done, thanks to Hermione and Molly they added the final touches." Shony was saying as she summoned pretty wrapping paper to wrap around the gift. "You sure he will like it?" Shony looked over to her friend who FINALLY stopped pacing.

"Oh he will. I just hope it doesn't upset him, you make him get teary eyed. I would fell kind of bad." Niki said looking around. "Okay, now that that is wrapped we need to decorate. Get your wand ready." Niki laughed as she stood up.

Shony nodded as she placed the gift with the others and readied her wand. "Alright, so how we doing this. A lot of decorations, or only a bit?" She knew Nik, she would go with a lot, but she didn't mind she liked a lot of balloons and stuff too.

"You already know, so lets get to it." Niki smiled as she began to wave her wand around sending pretty streamers from the tip of her wand to hang onto the walls. She summoned little baubles and sent them sailing across the room to hang off some of the streamers.

"How do you like my banners?" Shony asked as she hooked the end of it to the top of the doorway. It had Harry's face at each end of the banner with 'Happy Birthday Harry!' written across it with all sorts of funny little pictures and shapes drawn on it.

"Not bad, but what is with all the other stuff?" Niki tilted her head to one side then the other.

"You get to find out with everyone else!" Shony teased as she added the finishing touches to the living room, then went to decorate the kitchen.

"Oh honestly girls, the kitchen doesn't need to be decorated to." Molly sighed exasperatedly trying not to smile.

"Sure it does mum, don't want it to be the only room on the first floor with out anything." Fred laughed as he popped into the kitchen holding two boxes.

"FRED? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Harry and the others, don't tell me he is here already?" Niki gasped as she entered the kitchen behind Shony.

"Calm down, they wont be back for awhile. I told them I had to go to the shop to check on Lee." Fred laughed as he sent one of the packages into the living room.

Shony stifled a giggle as she finished decorating. "Yeah Nik chill, Hermione said they would keep him busy for hours. She also said she would send a signal ahead of them so we knew, remember?" Shony sat down grinning at her friend.

"Yeah you're right, I forgot. Fred, what's that little box?" Niki had just noticed the package in his hand.

"Oh, this? It's for you; Shony said your birthday was this month too, so I thought I'd get you something. George and Charlie should be brining Shony something too, but I'm not supposed to say anything." Fred grinned with a wink.

"Fred, you didn't have to." Niki fought a blush rising in her face. "Working on Brownie Points again are we?" Niki laughed as Fred nodded with a silly grin on his face.

"How'd you guess? I have to make up for the last time I wasted them, I'm gonna save up this time." Fred winked as Errol flew into the window.

"Oh, that poor bird." Niki moaned as she picked up the bird and laid him on the dish drainer. She untied the two packages tied to his leg and handed them to Shony, she knew who they were for. "I thought you said he wasn't allowed to make such trips?" She looked at Molly who was busy topping the cake with her back to them.

"Yes, but they don't seem to listen to well." Molly said off handedly.

Niki looked to Fred and Shony and they all snickered. "So do I get my present now or do I have to wait?" She smiled sweetly at Fred.

Shony grinned as she opened both of hers. "You wait!" She giggled as she looked into one of the boxes, the one from Charlie. "Pretty!" She exclaimed as she held up a pretty necklace with a gold pendant that looked like a dragon's tooth hanging from it.

Niki looked over. "Wow, nice, must be the one from Charlie." Niki smiled looking at her box. "Can I open it yet Shony?" Niki sighed as Shony shook her head.

"No, not till I see my other one!" Shony laughed. She opened George's gift, which was a bit larger and squealed loudly. She held up a pair of earrings and bracelet, the earrings were in the shape of small unicorns and the bracelet had a unicorn standing in front of full moon carved in it, both were silver. "I've got pretties!" Shony yelled putting the earrings and bracelet one. She then draped the necklace over her head.

"Yes Shony very nice." Niki rolled her eyes and began to open her gift.

"Sorry, I didn't pull for a whole jewelry store." Fred teased with a grin.

"That's okay, I have bad luck if I have to much jewelry." Niki laughed. She opened the pretty gold box and looked inside, it was a small mirror attached to a chain. "Wow, pretty. I have a feeling this does something important." She smiled as she put the necklace on and looked into the mirror.

Fred nodded. "Bright one, aren't you? It is a magic mirror; I have the other one, if we are lucky when you go back to your world we can talk to each other thru it. I'm just hoping it works." Fred smiled weakly.

"So do I." Niki grinned standing up and hugging Fred around the neck. "Thank you. You just won a lot of Brownie Points, and if it works you will earn more!" She laughed as she sat back down.

!A Few Hours Later!

"Happy Birthday Harry!" Everyone yelled as Harry entered the kitchen, the table covered in finger food and one large cake, which was covered.

Harry blushed as Niki ran up and hugged him around the neck. "Thanks everyone."

"Not a problem, do you like the decorations? Me and Shony worked hard on them." Niki smiled still holding onto Harry's shoulders with one arm and using the other to show off the décor.

Harry nodded almost going redder. "Yeah, it's nice." He walked over to the table with everyone gathered around him. "This is so embarrassing."

Niki grinned as she stepped back. "I know. I planned for it to be this way. So don't blame anyone but me!" She told him secretly. "Come on Harry take a look at your cake."

"Not just his cake, you and Shony get up there too." Molly smiled pushing the two girls next to Harry as she uncovered the cake. It read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY-HARRY-TASHONA-NICOLE

All three of them blushed crimson and mumbled their thanks as they all had to blow up candles one by one. Each time one set of candles went out it was replaced by another set of a different number.

"Come on Harry open your last gift, it is from me and Shony. Well in a way it is from everyone. Come on now, open it!" Niki smiled handing the large package over to him.

"Wow, thanks." Harry said before he opened it. The moment he opened it all the way and saw what it was he could feel the tears well up in his eyes. It was a painted magical portrait of his mom, dad, and Sirius all smiling up at them; looking the way they did before all the awful things had happened. "Nicole, Shony? How did you mange this?" He said thru a knot in his throat.

Niki almost felt herself want to cry. "Well, we talked to Lupin and everyone else we knew who knew them and got a hold of some of the old pictures of them. Shony drew and painted it all, I picked the pictures, and Hermione and Molly enchanted it." She smiled weakly.

Shony nodded beside Niki feeling kind of small. "You don't like it?"

Harry shook his head quickly. "No, no, I love it. I just wasn't expecting anything like this." He quickly rubbed a tear from his eye.

Ginny went over and hugged Harry despite herself. "Oh Harry! It's a nice gift and an even nicer thought. Don't cry you will make us all upset." She tried to smile. She hated to see Harry upset; she still cared about him, and probably always would.

Harry smiled weakly. "You're right, I'm sorry. Thanks everyone." He then whispered into Ginny's ear. "Thanks Gin, thanks a lot." He then slipped an arm around Ginny's waist to give her a half hug.

Niki smiled to herself seeing what had just transpired between Harry and Ginny. "Knew things would turn about." She mumbled to herself before the conversations all around changed.

!Real World!

"Shona, we're home!" Shona's father yelled from the kitchen. "Where is she? Ah, well her lose, more ice cream for me." He grinned to himself as he started to dig into the ice cream

"No you don't, put the other food away." Her mother ordered with a grin. "Niki and Shony are probably outside or something, playing on the four wheeler." She figured that was what it was.

!Harry Potter World, the Fallowing Day!

"Seems Harry and Ginny have finally come around, about time really." Ron was saying to Hermione as they sat on the grass holding hands and talking.

"Yeah, it is about time. What do you think about Niki and Fred? They seem perfect for each other, and what about Shony she seems stuck." Hermione was tracing circles on the top of Ron's hand.

"Yeah, poor Shona doesn't know which is better. I say she should go with Charlie, they have more in common." Ron was actually being mature about it, well a little bit. "I mean if she gets with George she might forget how to tell him and Fred apart and make a mistake."

"Honestly Ronald, she can tell them apart. She is smarter then she lets on. She is just a more relaxed person then others. I think her and George would make a cute couple." Hermione sighed looking up into Ron's eyes.

"Okay, okay. Relax 'Mione, I was just saying." Ron smiled weakly under Hermione's glare.

Niki and Fred stood hiding behind a shrub watching Harry and Ginny, who seemed rather busy talking about something. "What are those two talking about? I can not believe you forgot to bring the E.E.s Fred." Niki moaned and leaned back against the shrub, admitting defeat.

"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry." Fred moaned along with her and leaned beside her. "I'll remember next time okay?'

"What if I'm not here next time we can catch them alone? I want to know what is going on with those two!" Niki whimpered and stood up straight and poked Fred in the nose grinning.

"If the mirrors work, I'll tell you all I find out." Fred smiled wrapping his arms around her middle. "Can I cash in my Brownie Points yet?"

Niki rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Oh, I suppose so." With a wink she leaned in and kissed Fred sweetly on the lips.

"Are we interrupting something?" Came voice from beside them, Fred and Niki both jumped back looking embarrassed. "Hm, guess not." Ginny laughed as she and Harry walked away.

"I'll get them back." Fred mumbled, his kiss ruined before it even really got started.