And I'm back! Woohoo! Finally an update from me and it's a happy one. Ron's Birthday!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

By Rosa241

Percy POV:

"At bloody last." Ginny huffs as Ron finally leaves the common room. "So bloody stubborn."

I'd chastise her for her language if I wasn't thinking the exact same thing. Honestly most days it's impossible to keep him inside for any length of time, unless he's in bed of course, but today is the day he choses to be difficult. I know why though. He's upset.

Since we wanted to make this particularly special Harry had suggested that we don't mention his birthday. I feel bad making him think we've all forgotten but it would all be for the best this afternoon. Once he walks in and realises what we've been planning he'll feel on top of the world. It didn't however make the look on his face any better however when he woke up and once again none of us mentioned it.

"Where do you want these?" Neville asks as he gestures to the banners on the other side. I gesture to the roof above him and he pales for a moment. "Problem?"

"How exactly do I get them up there?" If it were anyone else I'd roll my eyes at them before gesturing to their wand but Neville's different. We all know just how difficult it is for him to do magic. Some people naturally find magic more difficult than others and add into that how nervous he got and it was understandable how much he struggled.

"Look just follow my lead. Wingardium Leviosa." The familiar swish and flick comes easily and the banner quickly levitates up to the ceiling where the glue sticks it to the ceiling. "Give it a try."

He looks uncertain for a moment before sighing and pulling out his wand.

"W-W-Wingardium Levio-osa" Naturally nothing happens as he flicks his wand but then it wouldn't. "It never works when I try it."

"Neville it's not going to work if you stutter so much." He tilts his head in confusion before I speak again. "Look when casting a spell the words are just as important as the wand movements. You've got the wand movement down but you're stuttering over the words. The words need to be clear otherwise you essentially interrupt the spell. Try again and this time try not to stutter."

It takes a couple of attempts but eventually he manages to get the words out without stuttering.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Much to his surprise the banners flies up and attaches to the ceiling. "I did it!"

It's lopsided and not exactly where I would have liked it but the smile on his face at casting the spell is too bright to say anything.

"You see. Now why don't you get the others stuck up and I'll get the balloons sorted."

Ron POV:

Unbelievable.

This is just totally unbelievable.

They've all forgotten.

How can they all forget about it?

It's not like it's something that happens every day. It's a birthday. My birthday. It comes around once a year, you think that they'd remember that something like this but no. It's bad enough that everyone else has forgotten. Percy I can understand, I mean he's got enough going on right now to worry about my birthday but Fred, George, Ginny? Is it so hard to remember my birthday? No. It's one bloody day but do they care? No!

"Ron come on. We've got to find this book." Harry rolls his eyes as Hermione snaps at us but he carries on looking.

I thought we'd spend this weekend doing something fun. Hanging out and celebrating but no. No instead we're spending it in the bloody library. It was bad enough that she'd dragged us to the library yesterday having decided that we absolutely needed to get our homework done right there and then. I could have left it but then Harry spoke up.

"I mean with the tournament and everything I've gotten a little behind." He'd said as he rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish look.

"But don't the teachers give you extra time and everything?" Surely we didn't need to do this today.

"Well yeah but you know Snape. His version of extra time is making me hand it in on Tuesday instead of Monday. Come on it won't take that long Ron." Clearly you don't know Hermione as well as you think you do.

Of course it had taken a lot longer than Harry had assured me. In fact we'd spent most of the afternoon getting homework done. An entire afternoon in the library was bad enough but now we're back again! Hermione had apparently forgotten all about a piece of homework that needed handing in tomorrow and was now desperately looking for a particular book she absolutely needed.

"Why don't you just say that you've forgotten it and hand it in on Wednesday. Flitwick won't mind, with all the extra work you do there's no way he won't give you a bit of leeway."

Yep. Bad idea.

My suggestion had gone down like a lead balloon and the glare she'd given me was enough to turn my blood into ice.

Note to self don't ever suggest that Hermione forget about homework again.

Two hours!

It doesn't take two hours to find a bloody book!

Every single book we'd shown her had apparently been the wrong one until she'd finally, finally, found the right one. The right one which just so happened to be the very book I'd shown her forty minutes earlier. Not that she'd appreciated me saying so. Thankfully she wanted to go back to the common room to get it finished. I'm almost relieved. Almost. Going back to the common room however means being surrounded by a bunch of people who've totally forgotten my birthday.

"SURPRISE!"

Wait what?

"Hah! Told you this was a good idea. Pay up!" That was definitely Georges voice but I wasn't really paying attention to it. Looking around the room my eyes took in the various balloons and streamers decorating the place, along with a particularly large banner that read 'Happy Birthday Ron' in large letters that went from gold to red and back. An arm around my shoulders makes me jump.

"You didn't actually think we forgot about your birthday did you?" Turning to Percy I realise with a jolt they'd planned this.

"You planned this?" He rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"Of course we did. We're not actually going to forget about your birthday you dolt." I can feel myself going red as I realise that I've been played.

"Thanks." Judging from the grin I can see that this played out exactly as he wanted it to.

"FYI Neville did the banners please don't comment on how wonky they are." He whispers as he leans in closer for a second before pulling away and moving into the room.

General POV:

"So you think they look okay?" Seamus rolls his eyes in tandem with Dean as the two shake their heads.

"The banners look fine Neville stop worrying and relax." Boosted by his friends words the lad shakes his head and turns his attention back to the party. With Neville's attention elsewhere Seamus gives Pavarti a glare and silently reminds her not to mention it again. She drops her head with a guilty frown and goes quiet about the wonky banners. It's not her fault she'd been in the bathroom when Percy had warned everyone to keep quiet.

On the other side of the room Ron laughs as something Fred says whilst Percy shakes his head in both amusement and frustration. George however takes the his twins distraction as the chance to slip something into Ron's pocket. The act doesn't go as unnoticed as he thinks but apparently his older brother is feeling generous and doesn't tell him to take the gift back. No doubt it's filled with things that Percy would feel the need to confiscate. Hopefully Ron won't be daft enough to open it until he's somewhere more secluded.

For the first time in a while Harry feels like there's a weight that's been lifted from his chest. Ever since Percy had pointed out that he's been unintentionally neglecting his friends he's felt like the worst person ever. Watching Ron smile and finally have the attention all on him makes him feel better.

The party lasts for most of the afternoon and if Percy lets it go on slightly past curfew then no one needs to know. Professor McGonagall is clearly feelings generous since she arrives forty-five minutes later to check on them than she normally would. As the students drift off to bed and McGonagall heads back to her office none of them are aware of an invisible figure slipping out behind her. An invisible figure that had been present in the common room all day watching and observing. With a grin on his face the figure had slipped out of the room with an idea present in his mind.

And that's that one.

Sorry that this is a little short but I hope it was enjoyable all the same. Until I was writing this I never really thought too much about how little Ron and Hermione's birthday were mentioned. I get it, Harry's the main character but the others were important too.

Until next time,

Bye x