Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The next day seemed like yet another perfectly ordinary day. When the clock struck seven, I put on my glasses and rolled out of bed. Miss Jackson, however, rudely interrupted my morning routine.

"Happy birthday, Patrick!" Miss Jackson exclaimed as she entered the boys' dormitories.

"Is it really my birthday already?" I said, adjusting my glasses. I had no idea what the date was. I hadn't been keeping track of time at all since Pete broke up with me.

"Yes, Patrick," Miss Jackson replied. "It's the twenty seventh of April, and that's your birthday. I brought you a gift." She handed me a small box, and I quickly opened it. It turned out to be a Chocolate Frog. I popped the chocolate in my mouth and thanked Miss Jackson for her kind gift.

"You're very welcome, Patrick," she said. "You deserve after everything that's happened this week."

After Miss Jackson left the room, I finished getting ready and then went down to the Great Hall. When I got there, Soul Punk soared into the room and dropped several gifts in front of me. As I got them, I opened each one. Mum and Dad had gotten me the traditional coming of age gift of a pocketwatch, and Joe and Andy had each gotten me small gifts. Even Pete had gotten me another Headless Hat. I appreciated all of the gifts, but even that couldn't ease the pain of losing Pete. All I wanted was for Pete to come back, but that didn't seem like a gift that I was likely to get.

"Cheer up, Patrick," Donnie said. "It's your birthday."

"He has the right to be sad," Esteban said. "Pete might have cheated on him."

"We should take Patrick to Hogsmeade this weekend," Miss Jackson suggested. "Now that he's seventeen, we can buy him firewhisky."

"I think I'll stick with Butterbeer," I said.

"You have to try it at least!" Miss Jackson exclaimed.

I shrugged and took another sip of pumpkin juice while the rest of my table continued to converse. Although it was my birthday, it seemed so difficult to stay cheerful. I always expected that Pete would be there to celebrate my seventeenth birthday with me, but although he had sent me a gift, he was back at the Gryffindor table, talking to the rest of the Quidditch team. The only conclusion that I could draw was that Pete didn't even care about me anymore. He clearly seemed to prefer Mikey.

I took a few more bites of my breakfast and then headed off to Defence Against The Dark Arts. As I entered the classroom, the first thing I noticed was Brendon's empty seat. I wished that he could return to Hogwarts, but he was likely running around causing destruction wherever he went, just like all of the other Death Eaters.

I took a seat at the back of the classroom, but as usual, Gabe Saporta took the seat right next to mine. "Hi Patrick," he said. "I heard that you're single now."

"I suppose so, but I'm in agony," I said. "I'm not ready for another relationship yet."

"Everybody wants somebody, Patrick," Gabe Saporta said. "I've never been in love before, but I've got more wit and a better kiss. At night, your body is a symphony, and I could conduct it."

"Stop it, Gabe," I said. "I'm not interested in you."

"Sure you are," Gabe said. "It's your birthday, and I'll be your birthday present."

"I'm still not interested," I said.

Thankfully, Professor Howell started class. "Hello Internet...I mean, class!" he said. "Today, we're going to work on non-verbal spells. Can everyone please find a partner?"

"Miss Jackson, will you work with me?" Gabe asked Miss Jackson. "Apparently Patrick 'isn't interested.'"

"That sounds lovely, but please don't flirt with me," Miss Jackson said. "I'm not exactly interested in you either."

I looked around for a partner, but nearly everyone was taken. Miss Jackson was normally my partner, but she had already decided to work with Gabe. The only other person who didn't have someone to work with yet was Mikey.

"Patrick, would you like to work together?" he asked me.

"Yes, I would love to work with you," I said.

"We're working on non-verbal spells, right?" Mikey said. He pointed his wand at me and all of a sudden, my legs collapsed.

"Did you have to do a Jelly Legs Curse on me?" I asked while I quickly reversed the spell. "I'm terrible at repelling those."

"Clearly, you could use more practice at repelling non-verbal spells," Mikey stated.

"It's hard when I don't know what you're going to do," I said. "Speaking of unpredictable things, I didn't know that you and Pete were together."

"Pete and I aren't together," Mikey said.

"I saw you two kissing in the hallway, and he was at the Slytherin table during dinner last night," I said. "How are you not together?"

"It's all a misunderstanding," Mikey said. "Pete and I are only good friends, and the whole thing was only a plan to make you jealous."

"How was that supposed to work?" I asked.

"He thought that if you saw us kissing, then you would be jealous and come running back to him," Mikey explained. "He misses you, Patrick. I know that he does."

That changed everything. Pete hadn't been cheating on me. If Mikey was right, then all of this was only a desperate attempt to get me back. However, I still needed to talk to Pete. Maybe he would want to get back together after all. Maybe my dream wasn't so impossible after all.

Mikey and I continued to work on non-verbal spells, and with his help, I did improve slightly. By the end of the class period, I was able to successfully repel Mikey's jinxes. I still wasn't great, but if nothing else, I had regained a piece of my optimism. My world hadn't been irreparably shattered after all.