A/N: Wow guys chapter 18 this is unexpected well over 100 reviews. Thanks to all of you who do.
"Why are we up this early again?" Ron asked.
"Making Hermione's birthday cake." Harry said while cracking an egg into the bowl.
"Why doesn't Winky just make it for us." Ron said.
"Because it has to be special for her. Thank you for telling what you'd do for my next birthday if I even live that long." Harry said.
"Let me help." Ron said trying to get off the subject. Ron started adding random things to the bowl.
"Ron you can't asdd cayenne pepper it's spicy."
"What then?"
"You just sit in the corner and put it in the fire to bake that's the one thing I don't know how to do. That's your own part in the present not hurting yourself and not killing her."
Ron sat down and when it was time to put it in the fireplace to bake he put it in successfully. An hour later Harry poked it an proclaimed it ready.
"Now for the icing."
He put it in both blue and green her wrote: Happy Birthday Mione.
"Now to wake her up." Harry said.
"You want me to do it." Ron asked a bit to eagerly.
"Sure I'll go set this up and get everyone else she might want there."
Harry and Ron sneaked to Gryffindor common room with the cake. He conjured a table and 17 candles which he placed in the cake. Meanwhile Ron went up the stairs to get Hermione.
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"Hermione…wake up." Ron said shaking her.
"What's up."
"Happy Birthday Hermione."
"Thanks."
Ron put a frown on his face.
"It's so sad that Harry has to be in the hospital wing today."
"Harry's where...move out of my way."
Hermione ran down the stairs with Ron behind her grinning and jumped back in surprise.
Everyone was down there waiting for her and singing Happy Birthday.
"Wow you guys surprised me." Hermione gushed then turned to Ron.
"…and you lied to me saying Harry was in the hospital wing how dare you."
"He told me to get you down here and it did."
"Okay then."
"Here cut the cake." Harry said passing her the knife. Hermione cut a piece and set it aside for herself. Then she cut one for Harry and Ron and gave it to them and repeated the same process with Seamus, Dean, Neville, Ginny, Parvati, and Padma a piece.
"Thanks guys this is a really special thing you've done for me and this cake is so damn good." Hermione said taking another bite and talking inbetween chews.
"Your welcome Hermione but as part of our friendship can I ask something?"
"Sure Neville what is it?"
"Did you really mean to dress like that?" Neville said pointing at her.
Hermione looked down at herself and murmured "…Shit…and you wait until now to tell me this."
"We thought you were well expressing your womanly side." Parvati said.
"…and the rest of us just like the view." That came surprisingly from Harry. Hermione raised her eyebrows before going upstairs to change into something more suitable.
"Like that's any better." Ginny said.
"You know what Ginny…" Hermione started.
"Um…let's not argue right now." Hermione corrected herself in an effort to remain chipper. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief but it still continued.
"I'm sick and tired of you why do you hate me?" Ginny asked.
"I don't hate you….Okay I hate you but not the way you think."
"Why though?"
"Because you like Harry!"
"How is that different you helped me get Harry in the first place."
"That was then this is now. It was stupid do you have any idea what you were getting into. Do you even really like Harry for Harry? I don't even know what I was thinking back then when you walked up to me about your pinning for Harry. You don't pine for someone you go out there and you know the person before you jump in and say hey I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Not that stupid dopey look you get just by looking into his eyes. Does he even give you that same look?" Hermione was fuming at that point.
"I still don't get it." Ginny said.
"How do I make you understand this without hurting your feelings."
"Spare my feelings just tell me." Ginny demanded.
"Okay then…I honestly feel from the bottom of my heart that you are chasing a dream. Just that a dream and that you will never find happiness in Harry because he'll never be happy with you. Everybody loves 'Harry' they all love 'Harry' and you love 'Harry'. You know 'Harry' but you don't know the one standing right in front of you."
"I get it now it has nothing to do with me liking Harry. This is all about you mad or scared that Harry is going to be with me instead of you. He'll never love you no one ever will all you'll have for the rest of your life is your books and what will your books do. Keep you warm at night, have kids with, grow old with. Face it Hermione what's the rest of your life going to be like..."
Hermione was silently crying and her voice was low as she told Ginny what she thought about her previous statements "Ginny I was your friend since my second year and have been nice to you ever since…b..but when you go and talk about me like that…I have done nothing but told you what I felt…you know what just leave me alone right now…thanks for ruining my birthday."
Hermione ran up the stairs and cried in her bed.
'It's not right it's not fair at all I just want to tell the world and get it over with. I can't take this and Ginny and her picking at me like she does. It's like a flashback to Monique and the way that she picks at my self esteem. I just don't know where to go from here.'
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"Well that was interesting." Dean said still slightly shocked from Hermione and Ginny's row.
"That wasn't interesting that was downright cruel and unlike Ginny?" Harry said turning to her. "Why the hell did you say that to her? Do you know what that did? It's her birthday for god's sake at least give her one day of peace from your bickering. Just try and you made her cry. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I…She likes you." Ginny stuttered
"So what if she likes me. Do I look like I care at this point? All I care about is the fact that you made her feel like total crap right now. If I catch her with Dobby working out a food sneaking schedule. You fix this later."
"Ron, you make sure she fixes this. The rest of you can finish eating and go do whatever you were planning to thanks for coming to the almost great 17th surprise party" Harry said glaring at Ginny still. She really looked sorry but right now he made Hermione cry and he had to go see about her. Harry ran up the stairs to his dormitory and saw Hermione in the bed. She didn't look alright either. She was sitting there crying to herself.
"Hermione."
"…"
"Come on talk to me."
"…."
"You know that if you don't who else will you talk to."
"I…can't..s.s..stand her…she gets on my nerves…she's just like Monique…just like her and I can't stand that…about her…sometimes I just want to rub it in her face…but other times…I can't face her…because a part of me thinks that she might be right…no matter what she…might…always…be right."
"No, Mione, no she's right about some things and others she's dead wrong about. Like this one you are the most beautiful person I know both inside and out. Don't forget for a second that I married you and not her. We're together until our dying day. It's alright to cry sometimes but watching you beat yourself over this. You can't be stressed like this…you can't be put through this and I don't know what to do."
"Hey…it's alright you've done enough. You've made me feel better and that's enough. Right now though I'm just super hungry."
"We still have some left over cake." Harry said.
"Sure but just this once."
Hermione and Harry eventually went downstairs and sat on the couch and ate the leftovers of the cake for a very strange breakfast.
"So what are we going to do the rest of the day?" Hermione asked.
"Just talk I guess unless you want to do something else." Harry said.
"Not really."
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"What do you mean you can't find the stone." Voldemort said.
"We can't find it sir. It was abandoned last mission that we had."
"What happens if they discover it and destroy it. It's the last one in the world."
"What are you people coming to. You were once reliable and I was able to call you my loyal servants. I have Snape dead, Malfoy's son unable to do his tasks, and what else can possibly go wrong. Things are going to change around here or else I'll step up and take care of everything myself…and trust me you won't like it when I take care of it myself. Spread the word to the other Death Eaters. Maybe it'll motivate them to actually do something right…and try to retrieve that stone."
A/N: I know before you say what stone! Just wait you find out in the next few chapters. I won't say where though. I have no idea when the next chapter will be up either. I'm trying to work out the kinks in some other stories that aren't up yet. But I'll see what I can do for it
