A Very Happy Birthday

Calypso's Room, Dec 19th

"Aww, Krum, you shouldn't have," Calypso said, accepting the small present from Viktor. Looking at the box, she was almost certain that it was probably something Quidditch related.

Her relationship with Viktor Krum was... contentious. The only thing that the two really had in common was Harry, and, as much as Calypso hated to admit it, the large Bulgarian had started to grow on her this year. Being the first to find his animagus form had improved her opinion of his magical ability, and, with all the private tutoring the professors were ordered to give him, Viktor was slowly becoming one of the more respected 6th year students. Still, Krum could frustrate her to no end, and it was a testament to her revised opinion of his skill that she hadn't tried to hex him at some point.

"I told him not to bother," Kira said, walking into the room and looking distastefully at the small cake on the table. "I mean, pity should only go so far, and we wouldn't want you to actually think Viktor is your friend, Rosier."

"Megara, looking forward to the holidays? All your talentless family members standing around the yule tree, trying in vain to correctly cast a fairy lights charm. It must be quite the pathetic sight," Calypso casually responded.

"I hope you have a good holiday, Rosier," Viktor said formally.

"The same to you, Krum. I'd invite you to stay for the party, but I'd hate for that shrew on your arm to think she is allowed to remain in my room."

"Oh, yes, some party." Kira snorted. "You and Potter sitting in your room. Where is Potter by the way? Did he get bored of you already?"

"None of your business, Megara. Now get out before I decide to start my holiday early by cursing you."

"Rosier, I have to be going. Please tell Harry I wish him a happy holiday," Viktor said, guiding Kira from the room.

Nodding her head in acknowledgment, Calypso closed her door and lazily relaxed on her couch. She glanced to the side and smiled at the small cake Harry had gotten to celebrate her birthday. He had been acting more relaxed around her lately, and she took that as a very good sign. Her father told her that he briefly talked to Harry about 'their relationship', though he refused to say what was said. The fact that Harry wasn't acting jumpy or considerably freaked out put Calypso slightly at ease. In fact, had her father not told her that he and Harry had talked, Calypso wouldn't have thought anything had happened at all. While she had noticed Harry utilizing Occlumency more frequently than before, she hadn't thought much about it.

Hearing her door open, Calypso looked up to see Harry walking into her room, a smile on his face.

"You know, I swear the founder of this school must have been a genius. Not putting any boys' restrooms on the girls' side of the corridor is a better deterrent than the charmed staircases they use at Hogwarts to keep boys and girls separate.

Calypso sat up and made room for him on the couch. She hid a smile when he sat next to her and left the chair across from the couch unoccupied.

"So have you thought of a birthday wish yet?"

"I still don't understand this," Calypso admitted. "You say it's a muggle thing?"

"Yep. It's a tradition my mum's family had. Every year on my birthday my parents would put candles on the cake and tell me to make a wish before blowing them out."

"But what about the anti-extinguishing charm?"

"My mother is a charms mistress, Calypso. It's not like she doesn't know how to use a simple charm like that, and these candles aren't enchanted," Harry explained patiently. "Now, stop stalling and make a wish."

Knowing exactly what she wanted, Calypso took a deep breath and blew out the candles.

"Happy birthday," Harry said, giving Calypso a hug.

Calypso leaned into the embrace and wrapped her arms around Harry's back. "Thank you," She whispered softly in his ear.

Harry felt his face and neck begin to heat up, and he slowly pulled out of the hug. "You're welcome," he said awkwardly. "Do you, err, want to open your gift now?"

"I suppose. You have to Portkey home soon, don't you?"

"Not for another hour or so."

"Well, it'll probably take you at least fifteen minutes to get outside the school's wards, so I might as well open the gift now. Oh, and Krum stopped by to drop off a gift as well. He wishes you a Merry Christmas by the way."

"I know, I ran into them in the hallway. Open Viktor's gift first. Let's see what he got you."

"Alright." Calypso quickly unwrapped the small wrapped parcel and opened a brown box. Inside was a small gold pocket watch. "That's nice of him, I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess," Harry said, inspecting the watch.

Putting the watch to the side, Calypso turned to Harry. "So can I see my gift now?"

"Well, you know, I was thinking. Maybe I should wait to give you your gift," Harry said, putting the present to the side. "I mean, it's really close to Christmas, I could just send it along with your Christmas gift."

Calypso looked at Harry like he had momentarily lost his mind. "Today is my birthday, and you have my gift right there. Why would you go home and send me my gift when you have it here?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Harry handed over his gift.

Calypso quickly tore into the wrapping to find a small leather bound book, and, judging by how some of the pages were not correctly lined up with one another, it was clearly held together by magic.

"I know you've wanted to know how to make enchantment receptacles for a while now, and those are my notes from when I first learned how to make them," Harry explained. "I've also added the information that Professor Kosarev and my mum gave me to help extend how long they last."

Calypso opened the book and saw that it was full of Harry's typically terrible quillmanship. "Harry, this is great."

"Err, I know it might not have cost as much as Viktor's gift-"

"Harry, this is way better than Viktor's gift," Calypso said seriously. "Like you said, I've wanted to learn how to make receptacles for a long time now. I know you don't have the time to teach me with everything else we're doing, and I really don't want to set my room on fire by miscasting a spell. This should help me figure it out over the break. Thank you." Calypso leaned forward and gave Harry a soft kiss on his cheek. She placed her hand on his other cheek and let her lips linger for a moment before pulling away.

"You're welcome," Harry said, doing his best to act normally after the kiss.

"Did you think I would like Viktor's gift more?" Calypso asked, very amused.

"Well, it definitely cost more. All I did was ask my mum to send my old notes from home."

Calypso reached out and held Harry's hands in hers before looking deeply into his green eyes. "You also cast several copying charms, added information given to you by your mother and Professor Kosarev, and put it all together. That takes way more effort than buying a stupid watch, and it means a lot to me."

When Calypso first looked into his eyes, Harry was prepared to immediately clear his mind. Ever since his meeting with Calypso's father, he'd been trying to act as normal as possible while being constantly prepared to use Occlumency. It was incredibly difficult to remain vigilant, especially when no Legilimency attempts ever seemed to come. Even now, as he anticipated a Legilimency probe from Calypso, it never happened.

As she spoke, Harry couldn't help but stare deeply into Calypso's pale gray eyes. There was a brief moment where Harry felt himself become momentarily disoriented. A half-second later an overwhelming amount of desire seemed to hit him like a wave. He could practically sense a great deal of uncertainty as he continued to look at Calypso, and the longer he stared into her eyes, the more certain he grew that the uncertainty was somehow connected to the initial desire.

As quickly as these feelings and emotions came, they vanished. The sudden emptiness felt wrong, and Harry found himself wanting to reach out and sense those feelings again.

He was about to ask Calypso what was wrong when he really looked at her. Calypso seemed to be struggling somehow. Her face seemed closed off, her eyes cold and judging. There was just something strange happening, she was upset, but he didn't know why.

Harry was about to ask what was wrong when Calypso's eyes seemed to widen, as if suddenly realizing something. Immediately, there was a flood of thoughts and emotions that seemed to assault his senses. He remembered the two of them sharing their first kiss. How her heartbeat quickened as they grew closer together. Leaning forward slightly, Harry had the strongest desire to reach out and...

Letting out a gasp, Harry felt the world momentarily realign although nothing seemed to actually change. There was a sudden rush of blood to his head, quickly followed by brief dizziness.

"Wow," he said softly.

"That was your first real burst of Legilimency, wasn't it?" Calypso asked hesitantly.

"I-what? Legilimency?" Harry asked, slightly confused. "That's what Legilimency feels like?"

"A feeling that everything is different, but somehow the same? A sense of displacement, accompanied by a rush of foreign emotions and thoughts. A yearning to learn more, to seek out those feelings?"

Still looking into Calypso's eyes, Harry could only nod.

"Yes, that's Legilimency," Calypso explained. "The displacement becomes less and less noticeable the more you do it. My father says he doesn't even feel it anymore."

"And, the feelings?" Harry asked to brush some hair away from Calypso's face. "The overwhelming desire to..."

Calypso looked away. Not even bothering to try using Occlumency again. "My immediate surface emotions."

Harry slowly turned Calypso's face back towards him. "You felt all of that?"

"Yes," She said softly.

Leaning forward, Harry placed a feather light kiss against Calypso's lips. It was nothing like the first kiss they shared. Where the first kiss was short and awkward, this kiss felt right. Harry instinctively wrapped his free hand behind Calypso's back and held her against him. He felt Calypso stiffen for a moment before she relaxed against him. Harry let his lips linger against Calypso's for a few more seconds before pulling back slowly.

"Wow," He said, smiling.

Calypso returned his smile. "Wow is right."

"Calypso about the contract...," he said uncertainly.

Placing a finger against Harry's lips, Calypso stopped him from talking. "Don't," she said. "That was the most wonderful kiss I've ever had. Don't think about the contract. Not now."

Nodding, Harry leaned back to relax on the couch, Calypso leaning against him slightly.

"This has been a wonderful birthday, Harry," Calypso said before initiating another brief kiss. "Thank you."

There was a prolonged silence where the two teens just leaned against one another on the couch. It wasn't awkward or tense, rather it was the kind of comfortable silence that only the closest of people could enjoy. Finally, it was Harry who spoke. "Are we still friends Calypso?"

"Of course," she replied immediately.

Calypso saw a look of relief cross Harry's face before it was replaced by confusion. "But...are we, um, dating?"

"I don't know, Harry. Does it really matter if we are dating or not?" She asked. "I will say that I enjoyed kissing you, and I don't think I'm going to stop anytime soon."

Harry smiled at the thought of more kisses. He certainly enjoyed kissing Calypso, and he was glad that she wasn't going to stop kissing him. Would it really matter if they were just very close friends or girlfriend/boyfriend? He knew that Calypso ultimately wanted to marry him, and she knew that he was freaked out by the idea of a marriage contract. Would their relationship be any different if they were officially 'dating' or just friends that kiss? Probably not.

"I guess it wouldn't matter," Harry said, wrapping one arm around Calypso's waist and bringing her closer to him.

A look of triumph appeared on Calypso's face as she leaned into the embrace. As Harry held her, Calypso decided to someday examine Muggle society. How the Muggles discovered that wishing for something on your birthday by blowing out a series of candles caused the wish to come true she didn't know, but she would definitely find out.