Shivers, Sparks and Surprises

Disclaimer-- I do not (and never will) own any of the aforementioned characters in the story below. They belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. The story itself is mine, and I would very much like it to stay that way.

---Shivers, Sparks and Surprises--

It was all very strange. Yes, very strange indeed, Hermione Granger mused to herself. She tapped the end of her quill steadily against the table top of her desk in her small cubicle in the Auror office. It was not yet six years since her last days at Hogwarts and things were very different. She glanced down to the silver ring wrapped around her finger and couldn't help but smile.

If anyone had told her while she was back in Hogwarts that she would be engaged to marry Ron Weasley, she wasn't sure she would have laughed in their faces or maybe punched them instead. She wiggled her hand in front of her face letting the light of the lamp beside her catch off the cuts in the diamond. It was rather beautiful, though a trifle unnecessary. Harry had told her that Ron had saved for months to pay for that ring. He also told her it took months of Harry's prodding to convince Ron to propose. Thank God for Harry. She let out a rare girlish sigh before leaning back in her chair.

Her eyes caught on the small personal calendar next to a picture of Ron, Harry and herself and something clicked in that large brain of hers. It was only a few days until Harry's 22nd birthday. There were only three, in fact. She pulled the calendar close to her and looked at the circled date. An idea started to whirl its way into her mind.

"Ron, could you come here for a moment?" she called to him as she drew a smiley face on the 31st.

Hermione's head peeked over the wall of her cubicle to look down into her fiancée's. His feet were kicked up on his desk, letting the hem of his trousers hike up to show his mismatched socks. An old large book on warlocks was spread open in his lap and she thought it surprising he look so interested in it until Hermione noticed the colorful drawings of a comic book peeking out from the pages.

He mumbled an incoherent reply as he kicked back from his desk and let his feet rest on the ground. He closed the book with a small thud and set it down in front of him. When he looked up, she caught his eyes. Hermione nodded her head to his book with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows. His ears tinged slightly while she stifled a giggle.

"Oh, sod it, you," he muttered as he made his way over. "Um, yes, Hermione?" he asked as he leaned his lanky form against the wall of her cubicle.

Hermione couldn't help but notice him gaze down at the ring on her finger before letting his eyes rest on her.

"I want to throw Harry a surprise party," she told him a matter-of-factly. "And you're going to help me."

--

"Erm, wot?"

Draco Malfoy looked up lazily from his copy of the Daily Prophet and his mug of Earl Gray to find Ron looking down at him with a scowl on his face. He was holding out a small envelope with 'Malfoy, Draco' written neatly across the front and didn't really seem to be in the mood to talk. Draco set down his mug and leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind the back of his head.

"And what might this be, Weasley?" Draco asked him, feigning a look of excitement on his face.

Something like a growl emitted from Ron's mouth. Obviously this wasn't very easy for him to do. He shook his wrist slightly, the envelope in his hand flapping with his movements.

"Here, this is for you," he said, dropping it in front of Draco.

The pale Auror caught the envelope gracefully in his hand, which caused a small huff from Ron. Choosing to ignore the outburst, he pulled open a drawer in his desk and shuffled around in it. After pulling out a long thin envelope opener, he ripped the note open. He glanced down at the invitation and then looked up to Ron. This pattern repeated for a few moments which, of course, irked Ron to no end.

"Why do I get one of these?" Draco finally asked skeptically. "It isn't like you want me there."

Ron let out what seemed to be a suppressed snort of laughter. "You're right, Malfoy. And if I had any say in the matter, you wouldn't be, but Hermione seems to think Harry would like it."

Draco's pale brows furrowed as he thought this over. Since his escape from the Death Eaters, Draco had maintained a neutral power throughout the War. It was not until the death of his mother at the hand of Lord Voldemort that Draco had finally taken a stand. A stand against Voldemort and his father, Lucius, was something he couldn't do on his own and so, he joined the Order of the Phoenix. Without the support of the deceased Dumbledore, it took the small group quite some time to allow Draco into their trust.

But in the end, Draco proved worthy to have on their side. Not only did he share a vast amount of information with the Order, he was also well-versed in the Dark Arts. Those that came across him on the battlefield were very wary to duel him for he had an impeccable record. This earned him a bit of Potter's respect and the feeling was mutual. After all the years Draco had spent hating him, he had actually grown to see him as somewhat of an equal. It was bloody weird, but he rather enjoyed the boy's company and vice versa--at the distaste of the rest of Harry's friend's of course.

Not excluding Ron.

And it didn't fair any better when Draco trained to become an Auror as well.

"Right, well, I suppose I'll be off then," Ron said after a moment.

Draco gave a slight nod before watching the red head cross back over to his cubicle. Once he saw Ron safely away from view, Draco stood up to mark a little star on the 31st.

Just two days away.

-{- -}-

"Are you sure you don't need any help, Hermione?" Ginny Weasley asked from her spot at the counter.

She twirled a strand of her red hair around her index finger and watched as Hermione busied herself in the kitchen of the Burrow. It wasn't as if Hermione was a particularly bad cook, she was rather apt at making superb blueberry pies, it was just that Ginny was worried the girl was about to self-combust. It had happened to her Uncle Sebastian a few Christmases ago and it was certainly not a pretty sight.

"No, no, I'm alright, Gin," Hermione replied from the stove. She was stirring a thick pot of cranberry filling for a batch of tart cookies that were baking in the oven. The smell was beginning to make Ginny's insides growl in hunger. The party was in just one day and the kitchen was stock filled with puddings, cookies and cakes for the party. It was just plain evil.

Ginny kicked her legs back and forth as she dipped her finger into a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough. She licked off the dough quickly before Hermione could see and then hopped off the counter.

"Has everyone responded yet?" she asked casually, before dipping in her finger again.

"Actually, I think so," the brunette replied as she wiped at her brow. "The list is on the table if you wanted to take a look. Oh, I'm just thrilled Lupin will be able to make it. It just wouldn't be the same without him there."

Ginny nodded her head as she looked down at the guest list in front of her. A small check mark was placed next to every name that sent their R.S.V.P. card back. There was Lupin's name, yes, and Tonks was right below it. A check mark was placed next to her name as well. Her eyes trailed farther down the sheet of parchment and suddenly her eyes widened.

"Malfoy is coming?"

--

The day was finally here. Brightly colored streamers hung from the ceiling, a small radio was softly playing music and tables filled with food lined all around the office. Everything had just worked out perfectly. Nearly all of the guests had been able to make it and everything was going just smoothly.

Until Neville came panting into the large conference room.

"Hermione! Hermione, he's here! He's on his way to the department!" His voice was hoarse and he clutched his chest tightly as if he had run the whole way from the front entrance.

It only took a moment to register what Neville had said. He was early. The bloody man was never on time a day in his life and all of a sudden he's early! Bloody prat, she thought to herself irritably before clapping her hands loudly.

"Alright, everyone, let's go! It's time to hide."

All those present in the room looked at her for a moment before it finally clicked. Excited whispers broke out as they all made a sudden beeline to find the best spot. However, this posed a problem. There were only so many that could fit behind the coat rack. Hermione began moving people about, showing them to various nooks and crannies of the room.

As someone stepped inside the broom closet, Hermione was already pushing someone else inside. She heard a small "Oof!" and a tumble but paid no attention to it. She was far too distracted by everyone else.

"Ron, honestly, I can see you all the way from here!" she called out as she spotted the mass of Ron's hair from behind the desk. "Slide down!"

--

"Bloody hell, she's a crazy bat," Draco groaned, rubbing his forehead with a frown.

The tumble Hermione paid no mind to happened to be every cleaning potion known to Merlin falling directly on Draco's head. He crossly kicked the tin can mass aside before fumbling around to find a light switch. As the string cord batted him in the eye, he finally grabbed a hold of it. The light didn't do much but illuminate the mess of the closet and a certain red-headed witch.

He hadn't known anyone else was inside the closet. He took a step back in surprise and his foot caught on a mop. Before he knew it, his feet fell out from under him and he was laying in the mass of rags that were littering the floor. "Oof!"

A giggle came from behind a stack of buckets.

"Oh, so you think that's funny, do you?" Draco asked the girl with a scowl. He reached forward and grabbed her ankle. With one swift movement, she was tumbling down just as he had. He couldn't help but laugh as Ginny landed next to him with a squeak.

"That was foul play," Ginny replied tersely, as she rubbed her bottom.

"You laughed at me," he countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ginny only raised an eyebrow at him. "And so you felt it necessary to knock me over? Quite childish, don't you think?"

He barely took the moment to roll his eyes at the girl before bringing his finger to his lips. "Ssh! We're supposed to be hiding, aren't we? Mustn't talk!" He waggled his finger at her as if she were a baby.

Her lips parted and Draco just knew she was about to tell him off. Instead, he leaned forward and put his finger to her mouth.

"Stop," he told her as a smile played at his lips. "You're much prettier when you're not yelling at me."

Her eyes widened for only a moment before her face relaxed into a smug grin.

"Then you'd better stop making me yell."

Draco laughed again and a gleam shone through his gray eyes. "Oh no, I quite like it when you yell."

--

The blinds were drawn, the lights were out and the Aurors' conference hall was as black as night. It would have been silent as well if you couldn't hear all that whispering. It seemed waiting for Harry to make his grand entrance was taking just a bit too long for some people. No one paid any attention to the glowing light coming from below the closet door.

"For a surprise party, it's awfully loud," Ron whined from behind a large oak desk. He was crouched down low next to Hermione, his knees pushing into his chest. He was beginning to get cramped.

"Oi, well, why don't you shut up then, Weasley?" Dean Thomas called back from behind a rack of cloaks. A few sniggers could be heard around the room. Ron's ears turned a nasty shade of magenta. Hermione looked at him irritably before clicking her tongue.

"Everyone, be quiet!" she whispered hoarsely. "Harry can't know we're here!"

"Um, am I missing something?"

The whole room fell silent.

At the sound of Harry's voice, Hermione nearly fell over in shock. After doing his civic duty to his fiancée to help her off the ground, Ron bounced up from behind the desk as the rest of the guests came out from their hiding spots. They grouped around the front of the desk looking at Harry with sheepish grins and laughs. Pointy party hats were scattered among the heads of various guests and a noise maker was hanging from Neville's lips.

"Surprise?" Hermione asked, biting her bottom lip.

--

Harry Potter glanced around the room, his eyes landing on every one of the guests with the goofiest of smiles on his face. His hand reached back for the light switch and he flicked it softly. As light filtered throughout the room and the radio began to play, he ran a hand through his hair and laughed.

"Wow, this is brill, Hermione," he said, the tone of his voice a little awestruck. No one had ever done something for him like this before.

"Even if I absolutely ruined the surprise?" she sniffed softly from Ron's shoulder. As soon as Harry had walked through the front door, Hermione had had a small nervous breakdown. A look of devastation hadn't left her face.

"Ruined the surprise?" Harry asked her, his eyebrows raised at his best friend. "Are you kidding? This is the best surprise I could have asked for!"

At Harry's words, the room erupted into cheers. Neville blew on his noise maker and Hermione let out a small laugh as Ron hugged her lightly. The lot of guests all came forward to shake Harry's hand and wish him a 'Happy Birthday.'

It wasn't until a bit later, when Fred was pouring Harry a mug of butterbeer, did the closet door push open with the slightest of thuds against the opposing wall. A tumbling mass of red hair, rags and blond hair fell onto the floor in a heap.

For the second time that day the room fell silent.

Ginny let out a meek squeak of embarrassment as she realized that Draco was laying on top of her with her legs wrapped around his waist. Draco looked up at the crowd of people and gulped as Harry approached through the middle.

With nothing else to say, the two glanced at each other awkwardly before looking back to Harry. "Surprise?"