RP: Happy 18th!

[rar_ginny]

Date: Saturday, 10 August 1999 | Evening
Characters: Ginny Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Others
Location: Belladonna
Status: Public
Summary: Ginny and friends celebrate her 18th birthday.
Status: Complete

Comments

[rar_hermione]

Belladonna was crowded when they arrived. It wasn't surprising since it was a Saturday night. If anything, the crowd was nice, because it meant that people would likely spend the evening dancing a lot and not having lengthy conversations. Hermione scanned the room and saw a few tables set up in the corner with balloons, which must be for Ginny's birthday, unless someone else was having one tonight.

She smoothed down the skirt of her dress, glad that she had chosen something appropriate for dancing. She figured that she'd spend more time on the dance floor than not, mostly because she didn't feel particularly social, even if she felt better now than she had when she first woke up that morning. It was nice to dress up and go out tonight, if only to keep her from dwelling on her thoughts too much.

She took Harry's hand and led him in the direction of the tables. "It looks like we can leave our gifts there," she said, nodding towards the tables. "Did you want something to drink or did you want to dance after we say hello?"

[rar_harry]

Harry looked around; the club was almost as crowded as the last time they'd been here, for Alicia's party, and there was loud music and lost of dancing. It had been a while since they'd done something like this, so it should be good, and he hoped Ginny had a good time. He didn't see her yet, but Hermione had spotted the tables with gifts and such, and he headed over.

"Yeah; let's do that," Harry nodded, looking at Hermione, who looked bloody great in that dress. He was glad he'd woken up a while ago and seen the benefits of dancing. He set his gift on the table with the other, a bit nervous but mostly glad that he could be here as Hermione's date and not have to hide the fact that he was with her.

[rar_hermione]

When they reached the tables, she put her gifts down and looked at Harry. "Which one?" she asked curiously. "Drink or dancing?"

It was funny how similar this was to a normal arrival at a party. They were here together, still, but they were dating now, so it should be different. It wasn't, really, though, which she supposed was good. It did make her wonder if it was too comfortable or if maybe they'd been drifting towards this even before they realized it.

She smiled, deciding that she could analyze that at some other time. It didn't really matter, after all. "It's nearly as crowded as it was at Alicia's birthday," she observed. "Fortunately, there's a large dance floor."

[rar_harry]

"Oh -- erm," he'd been a bit distracted looking at Hermione, "a drink first, I guess."

"Yeah -- music's not bad, either," he said. "This place was always a bit posh, especially compared to the Limping Thestral, but it's nice, and you can actually buy drinks without having to supply your own clean glasses." He laughed. "Guess Ginny should be around somewhere."

[rar_dean]

His Saturday lessons had gone over by an hour, and Dean was glad to have a bit of reprieve from the restlessness he'd felt lately. Still, it hadn't given him a lot of time to shower and change, then pop into Diagon Alley to pick up Ginny's birthday present. At least he'd already chosen something in his head, so it hadn't taken long. He hadn't been to Belladonna since Alicia's birthday--when Katie had been wearing that obnoxiously short skirt that haunted his dreams for weeks after--but he tried not to think about that as he entered this time.

Seeing Ginny and Angelina in an area with decorated tables, he waved and made his way over. He hadn't seen any of Katie's friends since their break-up, so he hoped this wouldn't be terribly awkward, or worse.

[rar_ginny]

Ginny saw Dean approaching, and she waved him over. She and Angelina had been intensely involved in a Quidditch conversation, and she hadn't even realized that others had arrived. She smiled as she noticed Harry and Hermione were already there, too.

She pulled Dean into a big hug. "Hey Deano," she said playfully. "Thanks for coming. Want something to drink?"

[rar_dean]

"Hey, Gin. Happy birthday," Dean said, hugging her and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek as they pulled apart. He laughed a little. "Miss a Weasley party? Are you joking?"

He glanced toward the bar and shook his head. "Maybe in a bit. Don't wanna get too much of a head start on Finnigan. How've you been, then? Made any headway on the job search?"

[rar_ginny]

"I'm glad you couldn't miss it," she said sweetly. "It's been a long time since we've all been together."

Ginny giggled. "Okay, we wouldn't want Seamus to pout if you start before him," she said playfully. "I've been well, thanks. I have made a bit more headway on the job search. I think I'll try and get interviews with a couple of places. Seamus' talk did help me though. I'll have to remember to thank him."

She looked at him. "How have you been?"

[rar_oliver]

Oliver hadn't been sure what to get the girl he had fancied but knew he couldn't have for her birthday. His feelings had cooled quite a bit thanks to his own dismissal of said feelings in favor of not hurting his relationship with her brothers. Or something.

He ended up settling for a voucher for Quality Quidditch supplies, which was about the lamest gift he could think of without being too sentimental. Since when did he think about this shite, anyway.

Walking into the club, Oliver winced as someone bumped into him and subsequently began dancing at him. Tonight should be interesting.

[rar_ginny]

Ginny put her second drink on a nearby table when she spotted Oliver. She moved through the crowd and pulled him away from a spastic dancer as she giggled. She was trying not to fancy him, but, damn, the bloke was handsome. Oh well, she thought as she threw caution to the wind. It was her birthday after all. She kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.

"Should I be jealous? You show up and don't even offer the birthday girl the first dance with you," she teased. "I'm glad you came."

[rar_oliver]

Oliver hugged Ginny back and laughed. "Um, if you call that dancing. More like full on assault if you ask me."

"Happy birthday, though. This should be a lot of fun. Thanks for inviting me."

[rar_ginny]

Ginny laughed again. She leaned closer to him, and in a low voice she said, "Frankly, it looked a bit painful, and I wouldn't be the least surprised if she throws her back out."

She grabbed his arm and lead him toward the other partygoers. "Of course," she said with a smile. "I wouldn't have a party without inviting you. It's always great to see you. How have you been?" she asked. "Would you like something to eat or drink? Angelina has brought some amazing sweets." As they passed by the table with her drink on it, she picked it up and drank.

[rar_lavender]

Lavender wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for an evening of dancing at Belladonna, and it was even better that it was to celebrate Ginny's birthday. Weasley parties were always fun and she liked getting to know Ginny a bit better out of school these days, even if it was rare for their shifts at the shop to overlap.

James' arm slipped around Lavender's waist as they worked their way through the club to where the party seemed to be concentrated for now. "What first? Drink or find the birthday girl?""

"Um..." Lavender bit her lip, looking around to see if she could spot Ginny. "Let's go for drinks and I'll keep an eye out for her."

[rar_ginny]

Ginny was having a lovely time, and she was so glad so many of her friends had decided to stop by--even for a little while. She left the dance floor after a three-song stint, and she desperately needed a glass of water.

She walked up to the bar and noticed Lavender leaning close and talking with a rather handsome bloke. She walked over to them and smiled.

"Lavender," she said. "I'm glad you could come."

[rar_lavender]

"Don't tease," Lavender murmured to James, blushing a little when Ginny came over, but ultimately rather glad for the distraction from the... other distractions he was proposing.

"Hi, Ginny," Lavender said with a grin, stepping forward to give her a hug. "I'm glad to be here."

[rar_ginny]

Ginny gave Lavender a squeeze. "So...you going to introduce me or do I have to meet the bloke on my own?" she asked playfully.

[rar_seamus]

Seamus accepted his drink from the girl behind the bar and turned around to head back to the party. A few more people had arrived since he had, and he spotted Wood and Harry, Hermione and Lav with that lad of hers. Dean was chatting to Ginny and looked to be enjoying himself.

He sipped his whiskey and looked around the room to see what he could get into for himself.

[rar_ginny]

Ginny grabbed a glass of water and wandered over to Seamus. She bumped her hip into him and grinned. "Dean's been missing you, Finnegan," she teased. "I might have even seen a few tears. But I swore to him that I wouldn't mention you and him and married couples all in the same sentence."

She winked at him. "But you'll be happy to know that he's been waiting to hit the bar until you arrived. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to know you're here."

[rar_seamus]

Seamus grinned. "Course he's been missin' me," he said. "Usually a bit better at hidin' the tears, though." He leant in and kissed her cheek. "Happy Birthday, Red."

"I hit the bar first, as you can see," he held up his glass, "but I'm always up for more rounds. You enjoyin' yourself, then? I'm hopin' I'll ply a dance out o' you before the night's over."

[rar_ginny]

"Thanks, Finn," she said playfully. "Glad you could make it. No exploding toilets tonight?"

She eyed Seamus' drink, trying to figure out what he had ordered. Then she raised her eyebrows. "I'm always up for a dance. You let me know when you're ready. But yeah, I'm having a very good time. Good to see everyone."