RP: Katie's Surprise Birthday Party

[shh_george]

Date: November 27, 2004
Character(s): George Weasley, Katie Bell, Anyone else who is friends with Katie.
Location: Five Alarm
Status: Public
Summary: Party time!
Completion: Complete

Comments

[shh_romilda]

Romilda was tired. It had been a really long day. School, for one, and her first Potions class. She was glad that was over, and that there was no homework (Romilda had forgotten about that part of school)!

She had spent the better part of the afternoon helping Rosmerta with the food for this party, and she had helped with the cake icing. It had been hard to keep Liam's fingers out of the cake batter, but she was fairly certain she had succeeded. He was hanging around in the kitchen, trying to find Peeves, who had disappeared through a wall that Liam was now studying intently. He didn't quite understand the concept of ghosts and poltergeists just yet, and Romilda had no time to discuss it yet.

At least Alicia isn't working, she thought with a sigh of relief. She had managed to avoid shifts with her but eventually she knew they would have to see each other again. Seamus was working tonight too, and it sounded like it was going to be one huge old Gryffindor party. That would be nice, and it would be good to be around some familiar

[shh_seamus]

Seamus walked into the pub, eyes widening at all the decorations. George had certainly gone all out for Katie's party. He looked around the room, noticing not many people had shown up yet.

He gave Romilda a small smile as he saw her come out into the bar. "Ready for a busy night?"

He pulled off his jacket as he walked behind the bar, turning to the rack in the corner to hang it up. He turned back to Romilda, rubbing his hands together.

"What should I be doing right now? Rosmerta give you any orders for me?"

[shh_romilda]

Romilda put down the plate of nibbles when she saw Seamus. "Busy night? If this is anything like our old Gryffindor parties, we'll be run off our feet. I'll be sure to poke you if you forget that you're one of the staff and not one of the customers tonight!"

She nodded at Seamus' question. "Yeah, she wants you to check that the kegs of beer are all set up. There's plenty of it, and apparently George expects quite a few people, so it should be a great party!"

An almighty crash from the kitchen startled Romilda, and she heard a giggle. She turned away from Seamus and stormed back into the kitchen with her hands on her hips.

"Liam Vane, if you are anywhere near that cake, I swear, Rosmerta won't be the only one hexing your fingers together!"

Liam wasn't covered in chocolate, but he was giggling and pointing at the wall.

"Peevesie did it!" he said, in between giggles and clapping his hands.

"Ohhh, Peeves!" she cried, looking at the mess of upturned nibbles sitting in a pile on the table.

[shh_peeves]

Peeves thought about going invisible and leaving the room when he heard Mildew stomping in, but he decided it could be a lot more fun to just stick around.

He smiled as she turned the corner and saw the pile of carrots, celery sticks, and sausage rolls. But then she gave him and exasperated look and he pouted.

"Mildew does not care for Peevesie's tasty array of delightful nibbles? Peevesie arranged them just for you!"

He floated down closer to the table, picking up a small bit of carrot and chucking it at Liam's forehead, cackling as the ickle thing squealed with delight.

He picked up another, a bigger one this time, and threw it at Mildew, hitting her in the shoulder.

[shh_lee]

Lee had finally found the Five Alarm. He had been wandering through town for a while. This is where George had said that the party for Katie would be.

Pushing open the door he scaned the room. His eyes scanned the room. Seeing the banner for Katie he smiled and stepped in. Recognizing George he raised his hand and walked over to him.

[shh_george]

George did a double take as the next man walked in. Something about him looked very familiar. As he looked closer George's face broke out into a huge grin. It was Lee.

"Hey man." George told him as he walked over to Lee. "I'll be honest and say I didn't recognize you at first. Glad you could make it."

George couldn't stop smiling, this looked like it was shaping up to be a good party. Now he just had to hope Katie wouldn't decide to kill him for arranging a surprise party. It had just occurred to him not everyone liked celebrating birthdays. George internally shrugged. Oh well if she got angry at him he would just lay the blame on Fred.

[shh_lee]

"Yeah, It has been a while. You're looking good." Lee smiled and turned to look at everyone.

"Katie's not here yet, I take it?"

[shh_george]

"Nope. Alicia is bringing her by about 7. She's going to owl me when they leave so that hopefully people can quiet down." George ran his hand through his hair.

"As far as I know this will be a complete surprise, but I was in France for most of the past week. Just got back last night. Had some meetings with some suppliers. Fred and I are going to open up an Apothecary."

[shh_minerva]

It had been a very long day at school, and Minerva was a little tired, but she had promised George Weasley that she would come to the party for young Katie Bell's birthday.

It seemed to be already underway as she wheeled her way down the hill from the school to the Five Alarm. The joyous sounds reminded her of celebrations in the Gryffindor Common Room, and that made her smile. Plenty of time now for celebrations.

She wheeled her chair through the door with a beaming smile on her face. Perhaps she would stay just long enough to wish Katie a very happy birthday.

[shh_seamus]

Seamus perked up when he saw his old professor enter the pub and grinned, waving her over. "Can I get you anything, Professor?" He was still uncomfortable calling his old professors by their birth names; it just seemed so odd to him.

He gave her a cheeky grin as she sat down at the bar, finding it slightly amusing to see her sitting at a bar. "How are you doing tonight?"

[shh_minerva]

"Ah, Mr Finnegan, how lovely to see you again!" she replied, bemused by the young man's good cheer. It didn't surprise her one jot that Seamus had become a barman, as it seemed to suit his disposition.

"Well, I just thought I'd come down to wish Katie a happy birthday, but I wouldn't mind just a small scotch -- for medicinal purposes, you understand. If anything, this is looking like it will be a grand Gryffindor bash, and those were always enough to drive me to drink," she added with a cheeky twinkle of her eye.

[shh_seamus]

"I never knew you had it in you." He smirked, raising his eyebrows at her and then turned to grab a bottle of scotch from the wall behind him. It was interesting seeing his old professor like this. It was almost as interesting as the night of the Yule Ball when she'd taken her hair down.

He poured a bit of scotch into a glass and placed it in front of her. "There you go."

Roger's pint of Guinness was now nothing but a pint glass with bits of foam. He smirked at the other man and put the glass under the tap, refilling it. "Sorry, mate. No shamrock this time. Getting to busy in here." He smiled and turned to George, who had just called out to him to fix a couple drinks.

He nodded, and began making them, placing them on the bar for when the girls came in.

[shh_ron]

Ron was in great spirits. He was sure that George had gone all out for Katie's surprise party. Better still, his best mates were coming with him. Hermione was a bit tired, having had a long day, but she and Ron had managed to drag Harry out of his room, and Harry assured them he would at least try to be pleasant, even if he wasn't the most outgoing bloke in the room.

The trio left their home and walked up Alpha. After crossing the river, they turned east and strolled down River Road until they reached the Five Alarm pub. Pushing the door open for his mates, Ron scanned the room. It looked like a lot of people from Gryffindor had already arrived.

"Hullo," he called out. "Got room for three more?"

[shh_hermione]

The walk over was nice, but didn't take long enough. Hermione really hated crowds, especially in unfamiliar places. She also hoped there wasn't some sort of expected dress code, because she was wearing a pair of comfortable denims and a jumper. At least the jumper was a nice shade of blue and fit well, instead of looking as if she'd stolen it from the boys.

She tightened her grip on her wand and Harry's hand, using both for support and to keep her grounded. She spotted several faces that looked somewhat familiar, but lingered behind Ron. She'd find a quiet corner and lurk until it was time to go home, most likely.

[shh_harry]

Harry felt Hermione tense beside him, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Are you all right, then? Don't worry, we can hide out together," he smiled at her, swinging their clasped hands back and forth.

He didn't really want to be here either, but he couldn't just keep hiding in his room. He fought for the right to live his life... he needed to start doing so. Or so Hermione had told him.

She was always the smart one.

[shh_hermione]

"Just don't like crowds," she murmured, giving him a sheepish smile before she scanned the pub. She noted every blindspot and entrance, and frowned when she didn't sense any strong wards. Bloody hell, the people in this town seemed to think that Voldemort's death just made it sweetness and light now.

Ron went to the bar to get them drinks, and she focused on the blond man tending it until she realized it was Seamus. "Everyone's grown up," she said softly. She knew they had, too, but there were times when it still surprised her that they were in their mid-twenties now. During the last few years, it often felt like time had just stopped since they were so out of touch.

She looked at Harry and smiled, reaching up to brush his hair away from his glasses. "I'm glad you came with us tonight," she said. "Do you want to find a table or lurk in a corner?"

[shh_george]

George grinned and waved to the trio as they walked in. He was about to go over and say hi when an owl flew through the open doorway.

He took the note from the owl and handed it a small treat from the food that was around the pub. He cleared his voice trying to get people's attention and then quickly gave up.

"Hey all!" George yelled over the crowd. "Alicia is on her way with Katie! We should quiet down a bit!" George quickly read the post script on the owl and rolled his eyes.

"Hey Seamus can you get a firewhiskey and a martini ready for the girls when they get here. Alicia requested them."

The pub quieted down a bit and George headed closer to the doorway.

Soon Alicia, Katie, Angelina walked into the the pub together. George was surprised to see Angelina but quickly brushed the thought aside as the entire pub yelled.

"SURPRISE!"

[shh_katie]

When the three of them approached the Five Alarm, the lack of noise was a little surprising, considering there was usually sounds from the customers even heard in the street.

“At least we’ll have the place all to ourselves,” Katie remarked to Alicia and Angelina as she rested her hand on the door. “Although I suppose on a Monday night, what else is there to expect?”

She pulled open the door, prepared to let the two of them walk through in front of her, but they seemed hesitant, so Katie shrugged and walked in the door, the two of them following close behind.

When the yell of “Surprise!” coincided with her identifying those in the crowd clustered into the bar, already sipping on drinks, Katie had already drawn her wand, ready to defend herself. When she realized what was going on, she sheepishly put it back in the pocket of her cloak.

Apparently somebody had actually remembered her birthday. The large banner that read Happy Birthday Katie! was a pretty clear indication the gathering was for her

[shh_alicia]

Even Alicia startled a little at the noise. But the decorations were so pretty! Shrugging at Katie's comment, she debated whether or not to admit that she hadn't made the arrangements.

"'Twas all George's idea, I promise," she said, waving to George and was that Lee? Gods, everyone was coming out of the woodwork!

Seeing her firewhiskey on the bar, she kissed Katie's cheek and said a cheery "Happy Birthday!" before going to inspect the alcohol supplies.

[shh_katie]

"Your idea?" Katie replied with a grin while George walked towards her. "You managed to arrange this all, despite being out of town arranging for supplies for the apothecary...call me impressed."

She smiled up at him, before glancing around at all the people gathered in the bar, most woom she hadn't seen in a very long time. The place was even decorated, some pretty flowers gracing the the bar itself.

"This is amazing George," she told him with an amazed laugh. "And, devious. Between you and Alicia, and even Fred the other night, I had no clue."