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Dianthus Stories	By : icewomin Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3134 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Anything you
recognize belongs to someone else, namely, JK Rowling. Specifically, elements of
the HP universe, characters from same.
Sadly, I have no hope of publishing this story outside the fan fiction base, although I hope you enjoy the plot and the original
characters I�ve created. Feel free to
give me critical feedback, including flames and harsh criticism. I may delete it afterward, so as to reduce my
personal embarrassment, but I do promise to read it and incorporate it if I
feel it improves the story.

*****

This is Chapter
Five. Smut begins in Chapter Twenty Six,
so if you�re only looking for that, feel free to skip ahead. Be warned that you may be confused about some
of the stuff in those later chapters if you don�t stick it out.

*****

Chapter Five � The
Birthday Girl

Christmas vacation
went by too quickly. Aster was terribly
excited to hear about Hogwarts, and they spent most of their free time trying
to figure out why Aster�s magic never seemed to work. Dianthus tried to teach her several simple
spells that she�d learned over the term, but none of them worked for
Aster. �I think I�m a Squib,� the
younger girl finally cried at dinner, the night before Dianthus was due back at
school. �I can�t stand it if I am!�

�Now, Aster,�
consoled their grandfather. �Your sister
got her letter, you�ll get yours.� But
Dianthus noticed he looked a little worried.

�Grandpa,� she
said, as the two of them stood together the next day, on platform nine and
three-quarters. �What if Aster is a
Squib?�

�Well, that�ll be
fine,� her grandfather said calmly.
�Your dad and mum got along fine without magic. Aster will as well.�

Dianthus hesitated
before saying what she had been thinking.
�Is that why you never let me play with Grandma�s wand, or read your
magic books? Because you didn�t want me
to find out I was a Squib?�

�Of course,�
replied her grandfather at once. �I
figured, if you didn�t get your letter by the time you were twelve,
that would be that. No point in
fooling around with things before then.
If you hadn�t gotten it so early, we�d both still be wondering.� He added, sadly, �But, now that we know, I
couldn�t keep Aster from the wand, even if she�s not having much success.�

Dianthus
nodded. She wondered if her
grandfather�s refusal to let her try had been for her benefit, or for his own.

�Now, what shall I
send for your birthday?� The old man�s
eyes turned merry. �A new quill and some
pretty parchment? That set of gobstones you had your eye on in Diagon
Alley?�

�I forgot my
birthday was coming up!� Dianthus exclaimed.

�Forgot! What are you talking about? Coming up in just a few weeks, it is! Now, you think about it, and send me an owl
when you�ve decided.� The train whistle
blew, and he chivvied her through the carriage door. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and
waved goodbye, and then he disapparated and she
turned to find her roommates.

My birthday, she thought happily. She would finally be eleven, on January 25^th. She couldn�t believe it. She eventually discovered her friends in a rear
compartment, and hopped through the door
�Look,� cried Erin as Dianthus entered, �My mum and dad gave me an
owl!�, and they spent most of the trip gleefully going over their holiday
activities and what each of them had received for Christmas.

�It�s my birthday
on the 25^th,� she reminded them, when it seemed they had thoroughly
exhausted the holidays.

The three girls
were thrilled. �We�ll celebrate at
dinner!� Melanie immediately said. �I�ll
have my mum send us a cake, she�ll like that and they�re very good, and we�ll
have a little party in the common room after!�

�Ooh, do you think
we can get the house elves to make us a little something special?� asked
Martine excitedly. �Maybe we can just
have dinner in the common room. No, they
won�t let us do that, but we can have a little party, don�t you think, like we
did for you and Erin?�

�Yes, that�ll be
fun!� cried Dianthus. Her birthdays at
home, while always enjoyable, had been pretty quiet affairs. Last year some of the neighbors had come
round during the day to wish her happy birthday, but she had never had a real
party. Usually her grandpa went and
bought a little cake inn, an, and they celebrated in the kitchen. She thought she might like to have a proper
party with her friends for once.

It was only when
she went to put the party into her homework planner, after they had returned to
the castle, that she realized her birthday fell on a Wednesday that year. Oh shit,
she thought. She had a feeling Snape
wouldn�t like having his routine interrupted, even if it was for her
birthday. He�s gonna be pissed.

She spent several
days worrying about Snape�s reaction, before she noticed another emotion was
also gnawing at her:
disappointment. She wanted to play chess on her birthday,
and why couldn�t she do both? So she
approached her roommates with a compromise:
she would celebrate with them until 7:30,
and then go and play as usual.

As she expected,
they immediately protested. �But I don�t
know why you�d rather sit by yourself than have fun with us,� Erin
complained.

�Well, I�ve made
some friends, haven�t I, playing chess?� Dianthus replied. �Surely I can celebrate with them, too?�

Melanie eyed her
beadily. �Who have you made friends
with, then?�

�Oh, please,�
Dianthus said, trying to sound exasperated.
�No one in particular, just kids.�

�Alright, then,�
said Martine, suspiciously. �But they�re
not in Ravenclaw? Because
they could just come.�

�No,� said
Dianthus hastily, �they�re not in Ravenclaw.�
She left it at that, and headed off to send her grandfather an owl
requesting the quill and parchment he�d mentioned at the train station, before
they could ask her any more questions.

She waited until
Snape had won two games to tell him about her birthday. �Um,� she began, as he waited for her to make
her opening move. Like always, he was
staring at the board and only looked up when she cleared her throat again. �Well, two weeks from now is my birthday, so
I�ll be a little late that night.� She
said it in a rush. His eyebrows
disappeared into his long hair, which, as usual, hung into his face.

�Your
birthday? You should have said
something,� he said, with mock sincerity.
�I would have made you a cake.�

�Yes,� she said,
gritting her teeth, �Well, I�m telling you now, only because I�m going to be
late, and you don�t have to bake me a cake.�

He looked at her
appraisingly. �So. You�ll be twelve. No longer a little girl, not yet a woman,� he
jeered.

�I won�t be
twelve,� she corrected him. �I�ll be
eleven.�

He frowned. �You�re only ten?�

�What�s wrong with
that?� she said, a little more loudly than she had wanted to.

�Nothing,� he
said, still frowning. �I just thought
you were eleven, that�s all. Most first
years are, or turn it soon after the first term starts. Then again, your parents are Squibs, so��

�Oh, bloody hell,
are you still on about that?� Now she
was shouting.

He sighed. �I don�t have any problem with your parents
being Squibs, Dianthus,� he said, in the soft mocking tone that infuriated her
so muchan san style='mso-spacerun:yes'> �If it bothers you, well, I
can�t help that��

�It doesn�t bother
me, but it sure as hell seemed to bother you!�

�Will you stop
interrupting me!� he hissed. �I was only
going to say that your parents both being Squibs might have something to do
with why Dumbledore let you into Hogwarts early, that�s all.�

She thought about
this for a moment. She was younger than most people in her
year. They had celebrated almost
everyone�s twelfth birthday already, or so it seemed to her. Only Martine had yet to turn twelve, and her
birthday was in February. �I dunno,� she said finally.
�Maybe.
I didn�t know Dumbledore even knew who I was.�

Snape made a
face. �Oh, he knows, all right. He knows more about all of us than we�d like
to think.� His eyes clouded for a
moment, but then he seemed to remember something. �How late are you going to be? Will it even be worth my coming here that
night?�

She felt
unaccountably hurt that he didn�t even care to see her on her birthday. Not that she cared, of course, she told
herself quickly. �I think I can get here
by seven-thirty,� she told him coldly.

Snape considered
her answer. �That should do,� he said
casually. �Now, let�s play. If we hurry, I can beat you one more time
before you have to be back.� She stuck
her tongue out at him, which he elaborately ignored,
and tur turned her attention to the game.

Dianthus was
awakened on her birthday by the raucous singing of her roommates � and by them
jumping up and down on her bed. �Happy
Birthday, Dianthus,� they cried in unison, and they all threw their arms around
her, trapping her against her headboard.

�Thanks, you
guys,� she yelled, from under the weight of their combined hug. �Now get the hell off me!�

�Ooh,� said Erin,
breathing heavily as she heaved herself onto her feet. �Such language, and from
the youngest of us!� They all
giggled madly, dressed in a rush, and ran down to breakfast. Once they were seated, Dianthus opened the
presents her friends pressed on her:
from Melanie, a small photo frame with the word �FRIENDS� burned all
around it; a wizard�s photo of the four of them waving furiously into the
camera, from Erin � �to go with the frame, smart, huh?�; and a tiny locket on a chain from Martine. The post brought her the promised set of
quill and parchment from her grandfather and Astep>
p>

And, true to her
word, Melanie had sent her mother a request for cake, and it showed up along
with the mail, carried by two huge barn owls.
At Erin�s recommendation, Melanie had sent both
owls along with her request, and instructed them to stay with her Muggle parents
until the special day. Melanie refused
to allow them to open the heavenly-smelling package, running it immediately
upstairs to sit in their room until after dinner.

Birthday greetings
followed her all day, and Dianthus was surprised at how many of her fellow
students not only knew her name, but went out of their way to wish her
well. To her added astonishment, the
party was well-attended, and there was much grumbling when the cake was gone. �It�s quite delicious,� Dianthus assured
Melanie, who nodded and smiled happily.

�My mum�s an
excellent cook, isn�t she?�

A fourth-year came
pelting through the common room door with what sounded like three dozen glass
bottles clanking in his robes. �Just
came from the kitchens!� he roared.
�Let�s have some butter beer!�
And he began tossing them randomly into the air, to the delight of the
crowd. Dianthus caught the one he threw
her way, and then glanced at her watch.
It was almost 7:30. She caught Erin�s eye
and pointed to her wrist. Erin
rolled her eyes and waved dismissively.
The party would continue without her, it seemed. Dianthus grabbed one more butter beer and
headed for the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom.

Snape sat, surly
as ever, in his usual seat. Dianthus
placed the spare butter beer next to him and sat down. He eyed it.
�What is this?�

�A butter beer,
silly,� she giggled, feeling quite superior.

�I can see that,
you halfwit,� he scoffed. �Why did you
bring me one?�

�Because,� she
began, then faltered.
Why had she brought it? �Because you�re my friend, I guess, and I
thought you might like to have a butter beer with me.�

For once, he had
no cutting reply. He hesitated a beat, then picked up the butter beer. �Thank you,� he said, with an obvious effort
at sincerity. And, to her amazement, he
raised his bottle and said stiffly, �Happy birthday, Dianthus.� Pleased and surprised, she raised her own
bottle and they drank a toast. He
drained his in one long gulp, and placed the empty bottle on the table before
taking out his wand and murmuring, �Evanesco.� The bottle disappeared. Then he looked at her with a mischievous
grin. �As a special gift to you, I shall
let you win one game this evening.�

�Ooh, you are a
bastard,� she choked, over a mouthful of butter beer.

She didn�t expect
him to really let her win, and in fact, she lost spectacularly. It must
be the butter beer, she thought.

�Well,� he said,
after sending the table (and her empty bottle) away before she could protest,
�you were once again unable to beat me, even though I gave you every
opportunity. It is fortunate that I
thought to bring another gift for you.�
He reached into his robes and pulled out a small package wrapped in
silver parchment.

�You�re
kidding!� The words came out before she
could stop them.

He gave her a
condescending glare. �I believe it is
customary to give a gift on one�s birthday?�

�Well, yeah,
but�� Now she felt like an ass. He was still holding out the package. She took it from him, and unwrapped what
turned out to be a beautiful miniature chess set. The pieces were carved from some sort of dark
wood, and they were nestled inside a highly polished hinged board made of the
same material. The black squares looked
like they had been etched into its surface with a wood burning tool.
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