Aria Ashborn and the Deathly Hallows (A Harry Potter fanfic)

Chapter 4: The Will of Albus Dumbledore

The next day, everyone gathered for Harry's birthday dinner in the garden which was attended by Hagrid, Tonks, Remus, and even the Delacours, who had arrived that morning. Harry had said he didn't want a fuss, but Hermione, Ginny, and Aria prepared him a cake in the shape of a golden Snitch anyway. Aria rather hoped that she'd get to speak to Harry alone as this was a party and Mrs. Weasley would not be able to separate them other than sitting Gabrielle, Fleur's sister, between them at dinner. Ron and Hermione sat together, however, and Ron was polite enough to pull Hermione's chair out for her. Hermione blushed.

They sat at a long table in the garden as Mrs. Weasley and Fleur served mashed potatoes and roast beef. Just as everyone was about to dig in, they heard a crack from around the bend and a short, stocky man revealed himself through the grass. Mrs. Weasley ran up and hugged him at once. His face was so freckled that it almost looked tan and his hair was tied in a short ponytail. Judging by the color of his hair, which was ginger, Aria was able to figure out who the man was.

"You must be Charlie." said Aria, standing to shake the second eldest Weasley son's hand.

"And you must be Aria!" he said, shaking her hand and Aria noticed that his fingers were calloused and bruised, "Ron's written to me a great deal about you!"

"Charlie Weasley!" Hagrid exclaimed, having not waited for everyone to be seated to begin eating his meal, "Good ter see ya!"

"If you'll excuse me." Charlie said politely and went to take his seat next to Hagrid.

Aria went back to sit in her place between Gabrielle and Mrs. Weasley and she thought she heard the latter mumble, "I'm going to cut that hair of his."

They soon began eating and conversations flowed around the table. No one really spoke to Aria as anyone who wanted to converse with her was not within reach. Every now and then she'd peak around Gabrielle's head to see if Harry was doing the same, but he never was, at least, not to her knowledge. For Harry was peaking around Gabrielle's head every time Aria was not.

"How's Norbert?" Hagrid was asking from the head of the table.

"Oh you mean Norberta?" asked Charlie, whom Ron had told her worked with dragons in Romania.

Mr. Weasley seemed very happy to have Charlie with them and he kept asking his son various questions about his job, as did Mrs. Weasley, though she had to shout from her end of the table. The Delacours, whose English were notably worse than Fleurs, were very interested in Bill and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and so they conversed frequently as well. Fleur would have to translate what they said every now and then.

After dessert, Aria excused herself to wash off her plate in the kitchen, making eye contact with Harry as she did so. After rinsing her dish, she rushed into Ginny's room to retrieve the wrapped parcel she had gotten for Harry. When she got back into the sitting room, she peered out the window, looking for him in the garden. But he was not at his place at the table. Momentarily confused, she wondered if he had gone to the loo. Then, she heard a creak behind her and turned to see Harry, sitting on the stairs.

"Oh there you are!" she beamed and she took a seat next to him.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to follow you or not." he said as she took a seat next to him. This was the first time they had been alone since seeing each other again and just like Aria suspected, it was a bit awkward. They didn't say anything to each other for a few moments before Aria remembered what she was doing.