CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

I wake up at about 10 o'clock in the morning. The first thing I noticed is how squished I feel. This is because Rikki and Mel have somehow crammed themselves in to my bed beside me. I shuffle myself slowly, trying to get comfortable without waking them up. But Rikki's already awake. She grins at me, her panda eyes twinkling.

"Hey, Birthday Girl. How are you feeling?" She asks, but there's no pity in her voice. That makes me feel better.

"I'm OK. How are you?" I sit up and Mel mumbles in her sleep. Rikki looks at her and laughs softly.

"I'm good. Now let's wake up Sleepy-Head here and start opening some prezzies." And before I can stop her she is shaking Mel and saying, "Wake up, Wake up."

Mel sits bolt upright, her hair a mess, and frowns at Rikki.

"Hey, I was having a good dream." She pouts.

"What was it about?" I ask her and she frowns again.

"...I don't remember now. Damn. Oh happy birthday Lil." She tries to hug me akwardly then falls out the bed with a loud THUMP. We burst out laughing, which wakes up Molly.

"Morning." We all say.

"Mornin'" She mutters back then rubs her eyes, "Happy birthday Lily. Are we opening presents?" She asks, noticing the small purple package that Rikki just pulled out from under my bed.

"Uh hu." Nods Rikki, "This is from me." She smiles handing it to me. I open it and inside is a beautiful, intricately designed silver ring with a round pink stone on it. Almost like a Rose Quartz. I gasp.

"Oh Rikki it's gorgeous, than-" I start to thank her but she puts up a finger to stop me.

"It's more than just a pretty ring, Lil, it's a friendship ring." She shows me an almost identical ring on her left hand except with a light blue stone, "When you are upset or need a friend mine will turn pink. And if I ever need a friend then yours will turn blue. And the closer we get to each other, the more it fades back to it's original colour - so we can always find each other! Cool, huh?"

"Oh Merlin, thank you so much Rikki. That's amazing." I grin and give her a hug.

"What about me? What if I need a friend?" Says Mel, putting on a pretend sad face. We just ignore her and she rolls her eyes, "Okay, Okay my turn." She tells us and Rikki pulls out a larger, squidgey-er parcel. It's wrapped in shiny ice-blue paper, which I love.

Inside are a few things. A gorgeous silky, silver nightdress with a matching silky pink dressing gown, covered in sliver stars, A pair of fluffy pink slippers, A teddy bear with the words "Worlds Best Friend" printed on it's little pink t-shirt and, at the bottom, a pair of lacy black bra and pants with hot pink trim.

"Mel! What if my Mother sees these. God knows what she'll think I'm doing!" I gasp, as eveyone laughs.

"I - I thou-thought that Caleb might like them!" She hiccups and they all burst out laughing while I blush.

"Well, thank you - everything is beautiful." I say, a little grudgingly. Then Molly grins at me.

"Well I don't have anything you can open ... but I thought we could go out shopping today, just me and you, and I'll treat you to a few tops. I thought you might like to get out of the house after ... you know."

"Oh, Thank you." I say, and then I remember... " Oh, I have to open Calebs present! I almost forgot" I tell them, then I hop out of bed and run over to the dresser to get it. I sit back down on the edge of my bed and look at the little black box before opening it. Lying on a bed of blue velvet is a silver heart-shaped locked. A cliche, some people might say. A classic in my opinion. When I open the locket I am met by Calebs voice telling me happy birthday, and then I look at the engraving on the left side. It says "To Brown-eyes, No Regrets, Love Caleb." The space for a picture is empty.

"Awwww" Says everyone in a sing-song voice when I show them and Rikki nods in approval.

"The boy has taste, I'll give him that. Wish James had given me a locket for Christmas." She rolls her eyes.

"Why, What did he get you?" Asks Mel, curiously.

"Well, the second I walked through the door last night he handed me a chocolate frog, a gift card to WWW and kissed me into oblivion, which, I mean, hey, I'm not complaining, but it's not exactly romantic. What did Louis get you?"She asks and Mel blushes.

"He bought me a furry jacket and a bunch of flowers, but he send me those in the mail on Christmas day. Last night he didn't give me a gift but he, um..." She trails off going red again.

"He what?" We all question her.

"He told me he loves me."

"Awwwww. What did you say?" Gushes Rikki,while Molly and I look at each other and pull an ew-that's-our-cousin face.

"I told him I love him too." She smiles. I'm glad Mel's happy, even if it is with my cousin. I think they are good for each other.

After an hour Mel and Rikki's parents come to get them so we all get dressed and say goodbye. Molly and I pull on warmer clothes, knowing we will be going shopping soon. I'm wearing an old scarlet jumper, over my black t-shirt, and my favourite blue jeans with brown boots and Molly is wearing black woolen tights and a long sleeved, knee-length black and white dress, with white pumps. It hides her little bump quite well. Then we go downstairs for a late breakfast.

My Mum and the rest of the adults are all in the kitchen, clutching at their coffee and trying to hide their hangovers. Roxie, Vic, Lucy and Dom are also there, eating breakfast and talking. They shut up when they see me so we can guess what they were talking about. Luckily James and Al seem to still be in bed. Molly and I go over to the table and pile our plates with toast and eggs, which are layed out on the table.

"You look nice girls. Going out?" Asks Aunt Audrey.

"Yeah, We were planning on going to muggle London for a bit of shopping." I nod. My Mum gives me a look.

"I'm not sure if I'm ok with that. It's your birthday and usually we spent time together on birthdays. It's kind of a tradition." She points out.

"I respect that, Mum, I really do. But to be honest, after last night, I'm not sure the family will be wanting to spend time with me. And I kind of just want to get out of the house for a bit." I tell her, and she puts on her thinking face.

"Come on Ginny" Says my Dad, nudging her, "I think it's a good idea. I went in to check on Al this morning and I get the feeling he won't be, um, particularly nice even if it's her birthday." This makes me sad, but I try not to show it. Finally my Mum nods.

"Okay, but let me apparate you there. I do trust you Mol, but I have more experience apparating than you" She half-jokes. I think this is fair, so I nod. Molly and I finish our breakfast and we go.

I have a really good day actually. We talk and laugh and get cakes in a little cafe. And by the time we are ready to go home, I have 3 new tops and a skirt, curtosy of Molly. We apparate home just in time for dinner, despite my begging to stay out.

"We can't" Molly had said, "I'm glad you had fun Lil, but you can't avoid him forever."

But it turns out, even if I can't avoid him, he can avoid me. He didn't show up for dinner, though James did (and said nothing the whole time). After an akward meal there was a cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday and I got presents and hugs but it all felt ... sad. Because my brother wasn't there.

I went to bed as early as I could without seeming rude. Right before I went to sleep I thought bitterly, Happy Birthday To Me.

I know, I know, It's been forever. SORRY. To be honest, Ive been having massive writers block. This chapter is just a filler, and I plan on going back to Hogwarts in the next one. xxxx Thanks for sticking with me