Chapter 4 Planning the Party
Harry groaned miserably as he sneezed for at least the twentieth in the past hour and a half. He sat at the oval dining room table with Sirius and Hermione a few afternoons later. They had a pad of paper and were creating a list of people to invite to the party (a surprise party, Hermione and Sirius decided, would probably be too taxing on Harry's health) and what to have food-wise.
"Bless you." Said Hermione, putting her chin in her palm. She hated hearing her boyfriend sneeze so much and feel so miserable. "I think you need to go and get an allergy test or something, Harry." She added as Harry proceeded to sneeze again. "This is rediculous. It can't possibly be a cold, can it, Sirius?" she looked at the former convict, who was rubbing his chin and watching his godson with worry.
"Im not sure...it's hard to tell sometimes," he admitted, "though you're right, Hermione...that may be on the list of things to do this week."
Harry sighed...he was so tired of doctors. Sirius had taken him to a muggle hospital during his bought of bronchitis, and it had been absolute torture. He sniffed and reached for a napkin to blow his nose on. "So what have we come up with so far?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"You wanted to invite Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Katie, Alicia, Angelina and..." Sirius jumped when Harry sneezed AGAIN.
"God Bless you!" said Hermione with a laugh.
"Sirius-I can't take this sneezing anymore." Harry choked.
"I think I'm going to take you to the doctor again tonight and get this taken care of," Sirius replied, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry you're feeling so lousy."
Harry nodded, laying his head on the table. Hermione stroked her boyfriend's messy black hair and leaned her cheek against it. "I love you." She whispered, causing Harry to smile weakly.
"I love you too." He replied.
Suddenly something squawked and hit the window, and Hermione quickly stood to go and inspect what the noise was. "It's Pig!" She cried. "He probably has Ron's answer!" She opened the window and allowed the owl to flutter in. Harry stood up and joined her and watched with asmusment as the tiny owl flumped to the rug.
"Some owl you got him, Sirius." Harry laughed when his godfather joined them as well.
"Well-what does the note say?" Sirius asked, once Hermione opened it. "He's coming!" She cried. "Oh that's great!" She threw her arms around Harry. "Now we just have to send out invitations to the rest of the gang and hope that they're all going to be able to come too."
Harry kissed her, making Sirius laugh. "Geeze, you two. Get a room!" He joked. "Oh shut up," Harry replied. "I really want to thank you for letting me have a birthday party."
Sirius ruffled Harry's jet-black hair. "You deserve it, kiddo. With how sick you've been and the treatment you've received most of your life from the Dursley's. I'm so glad I could take you in with me."
Harry smiled and then looked at Hermione who was smiling too. "So what did you want to do for dinner? I think we should order ten pizzas, knowing how much those guys eat. I swear, Harry, Dean could wolf down an entire large everything!"
Both Harry and Sirius laughed as they flopped down on the living room couch. For a while neither of them spoke, and they just sat staring at the blank television set in front of them. Hermione pretended to faint and fell across both of their laps, laughing when both of them proceeded to tickle her. "Stop it!" She squealed, curling into a ball. "Stooooop!" She practically squished Harry against the back of the couch. "If I could use magic outside of school I'd get you back SOOO badly," She snapped once they let her go.
"Is that so, now?" Sirius asked with a mischevious grin.
"It is. I am the cleverest witch in our year anyway, right Harry?" She turned to him.
"And the witch with the biggest ego on the planet as well," Harry teased.
"Hey!" Hermione slapped him on the arm. "I do NOT have an ego, thank you very much!" She folded her arms, still lying on her back so she looked rather like a mummy. "You've seen me at work, so don't even THINK about contradicting me. I've saved your butt plenty of times, Harry." She stuck her tongue out at him, but he bent over and kissed her.
"I'm just kidding. You are a clever little witch, and you're MY clever little witch."
"Gag me," Sirius joked. "Harry-I think we'd better schedule a doctor's appointment just to be on the safe side. You need SOME relief from those allergies."
Hermione let Sirius up and watched as he headed into the kitchen to use the telephone. When Sirius was out of earshot, Hermione let Harry lay down on the couch and squeezed in so she was lying beside him.
"I could stay like this forever," Harry whispered, brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Hermione's eyes.
"I wouldn't mind that." She replied. "I'm so glad we finally decided to date each other, Harry. I'm just sorry I didn't realize how perfect we were for each other till last year."
"I was at fault too you know." Harry replied. "And I'm going to sneeze again so I'd move out of the way." Hermione quickly sat up and watched as he covered his mouth with his hands.
"Well?" She asked when nothing came.
"It's coming." Harry insisted. "I think."
When it did come, Hermione shook her head. "You HAVE to feel better by the time the party comes. Otherwise we'll have to have you in a bed outside and what fun would that be? I'm sure in the mood to have some dancing."
"I won't be in a bed outside. I promise you that. Maybe I could convince Sirius to put a well-spell on me so I feel fine by then." He leaned against her. "I hope so, because-because it feels as though every day I loose a little. I'm so tired-I'm so tired of fighting."
Hermione hugged him. "I know you are, Harry. You're fighting so hard, but you have to keep the battle going-for Ron and I. We couldn't go on without you."
Harry hugged her tight, just as Sirius came into the living room again. "It's all set, Harry. Unfortunately the doctor cant see you today, but you have an appointment at 7:30 in the morning. Hopefully this will clear things up."
"Thanks," Harry replied, yawning.
"I should give my parents a call-" Hermione began, chewing on her lower lip nervously. "I don't want to be in the way tomorrow."
"No," said Harry, taking her hand. "You can sleep over if you like...I want you to come with me." his eyes searched hers, full of pleading, and she settled back into her chair, fiddling with her bracelet.
"Oh-well..." she stuttered, and Sirius smiled.
"Whatever you want to do, Hermione, is fine with us," he insisted.
Hermione smiled, deciding it wasn't worthwhile to argue. She and Harry hadn't seen each other most of the summer, and she was pining for some alone time with him. Preferably in his bed, she thought wickedly, hoping the thought didnt show on her face. "I'll see if I can sleep over. Sirius, can I use your telephone?" Despite the fact that many of the items in the small flat were of magical background, Sirius made sure to have a telephone due to his being in a muggle area of London. This resulted in the lack of vacant flats in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, and Sirius had used an invisibility spell on his flat, to prevent the muggles in the city from witnessing any of his magical use.
"Of course," he insisted, and pointed in the direction of the phone hanging on the wall. Harry watched as she stood and walked over to it, giving a slight shiver.
"I'm sorry, Sirius," he whispered, and his godfather raised an eyebrow.
"For what, Harry?" he asked, and Harry frowned, hugging his arms around himself.
"For all of this...for making you worry so much."
Hermione glanced out of the corner of her eye as she spoke with her mother, and watched Sirius envelope her boyfriend into his arms. Harry nestled against his godfather's chest, and she had to quickly turn away before she started crying.
"Thanks, Mum," she squeaked. "I promise I won't be home too late tomorrow." after hanging up, she turned back to the two of them, and watched as Sirius encouraged Harry to go and lie down in bed.
"My parents said it was fine that I spent the night," Hermione insisted, and Harry grabbed her hand, encouraging her to follow him upstairs.
"That's great," he replied, smiling weakly. "Come on, we can catch up in private for a bit."
Sirius smirked as they headed down the narrow hallway towards Harry's bedroom, and Hermione watched as he flopped backwards onto his bed with a grunt. She joined him, and he immediately pulled her towards him, placing his lips against hers. She groaned with pleasure and snuggled close to his side, smoothing his bangs out of the way so she could look at his lightening shaped scar. Many girls at Hogwarts would have committed murder to be in the position she had now, and it made her laugh to think about it.
"What is it?" Harry asked, his voice somewhat hoarse, and Hermione shook her head.
"Nothing," she insisted, caressing his cheek. "I'm just thinking about how lucky I am." she kissed him once more.
"I know I am," he replied, and she beamed.