As Harry made himself comfortable inside the magical bubble, he heard multiple voices sing out.
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Harry. Happy birthday to you."
"That was beautiful, thank you, " said Harry warmly, "I'm fourteen today. If I were a muggle, I'd be starting High School this fall."
"Oh, how the years go by, " said Hermione with a smile.
"It does feel like I've zipped from being in Kindergarten to being of High School age, " smiled Harry, "What have you lot got planned for my birthday?"
"You'll see as we go along, " smiled Ginny.
"Our first order of business is to decide who gets to present you with your birthday cake, " explained Hermione.
"We're going to play a game to decide that, " said Susan eagerly.
"And what if I won the game?" asked Harry curiously.
"Then it becomes your choice who presents it to you, " explained Tracey.
"We should note," added Luna kindly, "That if you have a clear cut preference for who presents your birthday cake to you, then we will respect your wishes. You are the birthday boy after all."
"Okay," admitted Harry, "I have a VERY strong preference for who presents my birthday cake to me because of how much it would mean to me to have these particular people be the ones to present my birthday cake to me and how special a moment it would be for me if these people were the ones who presented my birthday cake to me."
"Thank you for being honest about that up front, Harry," said Luna gratefully, "In that case, we're still going to play the game for fun. When the game is over, you can reveal who you want to present your birthday cake to you and they will be the ones to do it."
"So, " said a blonde girl Harry had never talked to but knew to be Daphne Greengrass, "We're going to be playing an ancient wizarding game called Shuntbumps."
"Shuntbumps, " explained a an average sized average heighted girl with a deep tan, brown eyes, and really light brown hair standing with Tracey and Daphne who Harry assumed was Lily Moon, "Is a simple broom game where the object is simply to knock your opponents off their brooms. Last person still on his or her broom is the winner."
"Well, " said a younger looking Daphne who Harry assumed was Daphne's little sister Astoria, "We need broomsticks to play Shuntbumps."
Next nanosecond, everyone present found a Firebolt standing in front of him or her.
"Don't get too excited, " warned Hannah, "These Firebolts are temporary and will disappear when the game of Shuntbumps ends."
"It's part of the magic of the bubble that it can create temporary material things, " explained Angelina, "But the key word is temporary."
"The objects will only exist for as long as they are needed to complete whatever they were asked for, " added Alicia.
"Which means, " piped up Katie, "If we play another broom game later, we'll have to ask for brooms again."
"Let's play, " said Harry excitedly.
So, everybody kicked off from the ground hard and the game of Shuntbumps began.
From the very start there was a "I want to one up those closest to me, " thing going on.
Harry, wanting to get one on his best friends and wanting to be able to rib and raze them a bit later, targeted Hermione and Ginny first.
Harry, knowing that Hermione was the worst flier present, shot his broom directly at Hermione first and knocked into her.
To no one's surprise, Hermione fell off her broom instantly and became the first player eliminated.
Harry then pursued Ginny from behind and knocked into her as hard as humanly possible. Ginny was unable to keep her balance and fell too, also being quickly eliminated.
"I got you both so good!" Harry smirked to Hermione and Ginny standing below.
Hermione looked a little haughty, but Ginny was actually grinning. There were few people in the world who could take ribbing and razing better than Ginny Weasley.
The same type of idea applied elsewhere in the game.
Colin had eliminated Dennis and Fred and George had teamed up to eliminate Lee Jordan while Ernie had gotten rid of Hannah.
Daphne, meanwhile, had taken out Astoria, Tracey, and Lily within a minute of each other.
Oliver Wood had likewise made quick work of Angelina, Alicia, and Katie.
As the game progressed, Harry ended up knocking off Susan, Luna, and Daphne along the way.
The most random elimination came when Colin got rid of Ernie despite having only bumped him lightly. Ernie hat let his grip become too loose as the game had gone along.
Oliver eventually eliminated Colin by pure accident. But Oliver's pride came crashing down a bit when Fred and George teamed up to eliminate him.
The game then slowed down as Harry stood on and watched an epic battle between Fred and George to see which twin could last longer.
This was a mono e mono that went on for several minutes and several nanoseconds. Fred and George kept ramming into each other as hard as they physically could, but neither would give.
Incredibly, and perhaps fittingly, Fred and George eventually knocked into each other in such a way that they fell at literally the exact same nanosecond.
"I WIN!' shouted Harry ecstatically as he was indeed the only person still on a broom.
Harry dismounted his Firebolt and all the Firebolts vanished and were replaced in the center of the room with a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on it with Harry Birthday Harry laid over the chocolate frosting with mint green frosting.
"I am going to choose two people rather than one to present me with my birthday cake," said Harry fiercely, "Hermione, Ginny, do the honors!"
Hermione and Ginny both felt their eyes well up with tears of emotion.
Harry could have chosen anyone there to present him with his birthday cake and of everyone he had chosen them. But he hadn't chosen between them. They truly were Harry's best friends and on an equal level at that.
Hermione and Ginny slowly walked up to where Harry's birthday cake lay, and Hermione picked it up by the left side and Ginny picked it up by the right side.
Hermione and Ginny walked slowly up to Harry and Hermione and Ginny placed the cake in Harry's hands, letting go at the same time.
"Hermione, Ginny, I could not have chosen two better people to present me with my fourteenth birthday cake, " said Harry in a heartfelt voice.
"We are very touched you would choose us as the people to present you your birthday cake, " said Hermione emotionally.
"This means so much to us, " said Ginny with equal emotion in her voice.
"It means just as much to me, " said Harry genuinely.
Turning to the gathering as a whole, Harry said fiercely, "I am the luckiest fourteen year old in the world to have Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley be my two besties, my two BFFs."
Everyone smiled.
It was a pure moment. Two best friends meaningfully presenting a birthday cake to their best friend.
And for Harry, it was the best and purest way possible to receive his birthday cake.
His two close BFFs, Hermione and Ginny, presenting his birthday cake to him.
There could be nothing purer for Harry to experience as he hit fourteen.
Harry now placed a Binding Charm on his birthday cake so that it set itself over his heart without falling. Hermione was standing to Harry's left and Ginny to his right.
Harry now placed his left arm around Hermione and his right arm around Ginny.
"Can the bubble at least create a permanent picture?' asked Harry, "It would mean so much to me if I could have a picture of myself holding my fourteenth birthday cake with Hermione and Ginny standing on either side of me."
"The bubble can't, but I can, " piped up Colin eagerly.
"You have a camera with you?" Harry asked Colin.
"Oh, yes, " said Colin as he pulled a camera out of his left hand pocket.
"Stand still, " Colin instructed Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all stood still, and Colin took the picture.
Colin handed the picture to Harry, who felt tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks.
"Thank you, Colin, " said Harry gratefully.
Harry looked down at the picture of himself holding his fourteenth birthday cake as he was surrounded by Hermione and Ginny.
"This picture, " said Harry emotionally, "Is now one of my most prized possessions. To stand holding my fourteenth birthday cake surrounded by my two BFFs is just such an incredibly special moment for me."
After a few minutes and a few nanoseconds of meaningful silence, Harry removed the Binding Charm from his birthday cake and held it out for everybody to see.
"LET'S DIG IN!" declared Harry.