Birthday

The sky was a beautiful shade of pink when Chris reached the tree near the black lake. Chris smiled as she saw a black figure sitting under the tree, lighting his wand and darkening it repeatedly.

"Reminds me the day —" Chris sat beside him, "I first met you."

Jason looked so surprised that Chris laughed.

"What?" She raised her eyebrows. "You were so sure that I wouldn't turn up?"

"Well all Quidditch players are crazy lovers of this sport, especially Gryffindors," Jason replied, his surprise look changed into his unusual sarcastic one.

"Well, then you're wrong. This Quidditch player is not crazy about her game or practices." Chris said with dignity. "I mean I like to play Quidditch and it's important to me but I also have other important things. Like my friends... like you..."

"Why? We could have hung out tomorrow. Why leave your Quidditch practice? I mean I was a bit angry but it was not that important." Jason said, without looking at her.

Chris could feel an edge to his voice. So she grabbed his hand and said, "It is important because it's your birthday. Happy Birthday, Jason."

Jason looked at her, this time clearly shocked.

"How do you know? Who told you?"

Chris didn't reply just smiled and called, "Dobby! Hem! Ferna!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Three house-elves arrived in front of them. Dobby carrying a huge birthday cake over his head, Hem, the house-elf was holding two plates of various dishes and Frena carrying few desserts.

They conjured a table out of thin air and piled the food on it.

Chris waved her wand and a golden light drew itself on thin air, few words appeared in front of Jason. 

Happy Fifteen, Jason.

Jason was looking at it, completely mesmerized, speechless.

"Happy Birthday master Jason." The elves squeaked together, happily.

"You — you — they —" Jason was looking at the words shining in front of him, to Chris, to the elves, and to the food. "How? I never told you? And no one really knows it's my Birthday. Only a few pureblood families were invited when I last celebrated my birthday. No one recalls, not even Theodore, who was a regular guest to my all birthdays till eleven."

"Look, I'll not pretend that I did a research on you or something," Chris said coolly. "It was Astoria. She accidentally slipped it, when I was in Slytherin common room this morning."

"She remembered?" Jason said and Chris saw the surprised look was stuck to his face.

"Of course she remembers, Jason. She liked you. Like really liked you. She knew you for a long time. Of course, she'll remember this tiny detail." 

Jason looked at Chris sceptically. Maybe he was looking for a little bit of anger or jealousy in her voice or face. 

But there was none. She had still a small smile on her face as she talked about Astoria's feelings. Last year she was a little bit jealous of Astoria because she thought Astoria was more close to Jason and his mother than Chris will ever be. But a few months ago when Jason said how much he cared about her and only her after she came back from the graveyard, Chris felt light-hearted. She knew she was close to Jason more than any other person.

"So you planned this before or after I yelled at you?" Jason asked smirking, apparently feeling assured that Chris wasn't angry.

"Before," Chris replied simply.

"Urgh! Now I feel worse." 

"Don't. You had the reason to feel angry." Chris smiled and picked up the knife. "Now, just blow the candles and cut the cake, will you? I'm starving."

Jason laughed and took the knife.

"Thanks." He smiled as he blew off the candles then cut the cake. He fed Chris a big piece.

"Great, now you can take it to the Slytherin common room," Chris said to the elves who were silently watching them. "And don't forget to feast yourselves."

"Wait, what?" Jason exclaimed. "Why will they take the cake to Slytherin common room?"

"Because it's your birthday and you're a pureblood Slytherin," Chris said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"But?"

Chris looked at the elves, they smiled, bowed looking very happy then with a crack vanished with the cake, leaving two big pieces for Chris and Jason.

"Astoria was the one who told me about your birthday, so she deserves the cake more than you do." Chris smiled. "And well Draco had a part in it too, so do Theodore, so do Crabbe and Goyle, well kind of. So I thought why not? Also, it's not the first time that a Slytherin had shared his or her birthday cake with the entire Slytherin lot, is it?"

"How do you know so many things?" Jason sighed.

"Dunno," Chris laughed. "Now we will have dinner." 

Jason smiled and they started eating their food.

_____________________________

"Well, that was a narrow escape," Colin said looking up from his Magic of History essay.

"It was." Chris laughed. "Flich was so furious when he didn't see who knocked him aside."

Last night Chris and Jason were so late that they had to stop Flich locking the doors before they slip inside the castle. 

After lunch, Chris was narrating the story to Colin and Ginny, while doing their pending homeworks.

"So Fred and George knew about your plan?" Ginny said still laughing.

"Yup." Chris grinned. "How do you think I got those Nosebleed Nougats?"

"You three are one of a kind." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Angelina will jinx you all if she ever finds out about this."

"You'll not tell her, will you?" Colin asked Ginny.

"Well..." Ginny made a thoughtful face. But before she could answer Hermione walked in with Crookshanks in her arms.

"Done with your homeworks?" she asked sitting beside Ginny.

"Done." Ginny finished her essay with a flourish.

"Nearly," Chris replied.

"I still got half," Colin said miserably. "I don't understand why these goblins are so arrogant?"

"Because Wizards are too unfair with the other magical creatures," Hermione said pulling a pair of knitting needles and tapping them with her wand. The pair of knitting needles started knitting a pair of shapeless socks.

"Hermione, what're doing?" Colin asked, curiously looking at the knitting needles.

"Oh, I'm just making hats and socks for the house-elves. They're disappearing like mad." Hermione smiled triumphantly.

"Yeah, Dobby is wrapped in those, head to toe," Chris said writing the conclusion in her essay.

"Dobby?" Hermione repeated.

"Yes, he's the one who cleans our common room now, the other elves refused to do it. They find the hidden hats and socks very insulting, you know, — and finished." Chris threw the quill happily and looked up. Hermione was watching her, eyes wide. Ginny and Colin exchanged looks.

"Are — are you sure that it's just Dobby?" She said with a croaked voice.

"Er — he takes some for Winky too," Chris said awkwardly. 

The knitting needles were frozen in mid-air. Hermione was closed to tears.

"They — they find it — insulting?" She whispered to herself.

"Hermione — I —" Chris hadn't expected this reaction. She looked at Ginny who patted Hermione on the back.

"It's alright, Hermione. It's their choice. You meant well." Ginny said.

Chris sighed.

_____________________________

To be continued...