Hey peeps! Thanks for all the great reviews! This chapter is mostly just fluff and a bit of filler. And the question of why Hermione's birthday never gets mentioned.

SIX: THE SURPRISE

The next week, Hermione found herself in a mire of confusion. Harrison had been a little distant, and frequently Hermione found herself alone as her best friend would go and confer in whisper with the Gryffindor boys, particularly the Weasley twins.

Whenever Hermione approached anyone, however, they would immediately fall silent. Hurt and confused, Hermione tried to let the feelings slip by her, but found that she really hadn't been expecting for Harrison to turn on her.

Even after her experiences during primary school, and having her peers turn her away, she found that this betrayal was so much worse.

What made it even more confusing, however, was that during class, Harrison was his regular friendly self. He'd slap high fives with her, and whisper to her, and write her notes when the teacher wasn't looking. After class, they would go to the library and do their homework, as well as continuing their project on working towards an answer in regards to Dudley's health problems. But the moment they were back in the common room, Harrison would shoot off to talk to everyone else.

By the end of the week, Hermione had had enough. The previous two Friday afternoons, she and Harrison had continued their expeditions of Hogwarts, and she found herself extremely disappointed when he proclaimed that he'd made arrangements to hang out with Seamus and Dean. Thus, Hermione found herself wandering the hallways of Hogwarts alone for the very first time. She could only hope that it would also be the last.

She wondered if she should tell Harrison that he'd upset her, however inadvertently. Then again, she didn't want to appear to be too dependent upon him, however true it was.

She wished she could talk to her mum about it all. With that thought in mind, she made her way to the owlery, and found a quiet nook to compose a letter, pouring out her sadness and frustration into the letter. When she was done, she tied the letter to one of the school owls, and gave it a few treats that were kept in the owlery for students to give to their delivery birds.

Hermione watched the brown owl fly away, watching him as he moved further and further away until she could no longer see him.

Feeling better for having vented her frustrations into the letter, Hermione made her way back to the Grffindor common room. She'd never noticed how long the walk was between the grounds and the dorms. She'd always had someone to talk to in her travels.

She finally found herself in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and gave the password of 'Caput Draconis', and was given entrance after a longer pause than was usual.

She stepped through the portrait door, and was greeted by a massive cheer.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Hermione stuttered to a halt. Balloons and streamers decorated the common room, and a banner reading 'Happy Twelfth Birthday Hermione' was hung above the stairway. The tables had been moved to one side, and were covered in food and drinks, a large birthday cake in the centre of the table.

Hermione's eyes found Harrison in the crowd, his blue bandana immediately recognisable. He grinned at her as she finally remembered to breathe again.

"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed. "I never expected..."

Harrison stepped forward, a gaily wrapped gift in his hands.

"Happy birthday Hermione," Harrison said, wrapping her in a hug.

She was startled to find that she was shaking, and smiling like a loon. She'd never really had a birthday party like this.

The Weasley twins were singing a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday', which many of the Gryffindors joined in. When they then descended into 'For She's A Jolly Good Fellow', Hermione could feel her cheeks hurting from too much smiling.

Harrison handed over the gift. "This is from all of us," he explained. "The firsties, anyway."

Hermione took it gingerly, and carefully unwrapped it, much to the general protests of the audience.

"Rip it!" George yelled impatiently.

"Tear into it," Fred added.

"Use your teeth," Lee Jordan advised.

Hermione ignored them all, and finished pulling off the wrapping paper to find a white box. She slipped the lid off, and her eyes widened in delight. A fluffy white cat lay curled at the bottom of the box.

She reached in, and immediately pulled her hand back when the cat moved.

"Is it real?" she asked in surprise.

But the moment her hand was away from the cat, it stopped moving, and immediately looked more like a plush toy.

"She's magic," Harrison explained. "We all pitched in for the most real looking cat we could find."

"That you could find, mate," Seamus called out.

Harrison shrugged modestly.

"Anyway, we all chipped in for the cat, and then the Quidditch team worked out how to enchant her. It was way beyond first year magic, so Oliver, Angelina, Katie, Alicia and the twins all helped to get the charms right. Whenever you touch her, she'll come to life."

Hermione was astounded at the thought and effort that had gone into the gift. Usually for her birthday she received books, which wasn't unwelcome, but this was the first gift that had really required some effort.

Hermione threw her arms around her friend and kissed his cheek. Harrison's face went red, and there were loud catcalls from the upper years, and much whistling from the twins.

The birthday girl held the cat gingerly in her arms, marvelling at the magic that had gone into making the cat so realistic. The little cat purred, and moved and blinked; and when the cat yawned, there was a little pink tongue and tiny sharp teeth.

"This is so great, everyone," Hermione said. "Thank you so much."

The party continued for the rest of the afternoon, Hermione accepting the well-wishes and congratulations of her fellow Gryffindors, and trying not to jump every time she was hugged by people she didn't know very well.

The cat sat in her lap, purring away as she and Harrison claimed a spot on a couch in the middle of the common room. It was the first time that Hermione had really seen the common room so full. There were representatives from each year, and Hermione was startled by how many faces she didn't recognise. It was strange to think that she really didn't know many of the upper years, except the Weasley twins.

As the students began to taper away from the festivities, Harrison and Hermione fell into a quiet conversation.

"I can't believe you did all this," Hermione said.

"It's your birthday," he replied charmingly.

"I'm surprised you even remembered."

Harrison shrugged. "I'm sure you remember when mine is."

"July 31st," Hermione replied. She supposed he had a point. "Is this why you've been disappearing so much?"

Harrison nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. Plus, everyone here sucks at lying," he said. "Every time you came near, I'd be all 'be cool, guys', but they'd just go silent."

Hermione felt herself relax in relief. She'd have to write another letter to her parents explaining how great a friend she had in Harrison, and how much she had misjudged him.

"Thank you, Harrison," she said. "I've really never had a friend like you."

Harrison grinned. "I've never had a friend like you either."

"Don't think you'll be getting away scot free just because your birthday's in the holidays," Hermione warned. "I'll just barge into your house and take over. You know I will."

Harrison grinned happily. He completely believed her.

"So, what are you going to call your cat?" Harrison asked, reaching over to pet the fluffy white bundle in Hermione's lap. The cat rumbled happily and twisted around to present its belly for a thorough scratching.

"You named her, Harrison. She's Magic," Hermione pronounced.

He grinned. "Freakin' Magic."

Hermione laughed, carefree and genuinely happy. "She's freakin' Magic."

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A/N: Like I said, mostly fluff. I do love Harry and Hermione, as you can probably tell. :)

Re-edit: Thanks everyone who answered my question I had originally posted, re: first year age differences. Many thanks!