Birthday Honesty (Sinead)

Humphrey had been planning a party for Sinead's and his fifteenth birthday for a month now. They'd agreed since there was only a little over two weeks between each other's birthdays it would be fun to do a special party just the two of them. If other people wanted to do one with them it could go on different days. This way, they wouldn't have to be self-conscious and put up with people they really didn't want to hang out with when they simply wanted to be just them. It always helped him relax when he didn't have to worry about other people finding him too strange or weird. Sinead thought he was sometimes, but somehow being weird around her felt normal and actually helped him feel more himself. Hopefully, she felt the same way about them spending time together. Because there was a big truth he'd been hiding for a while that he needed to be honest with his best friend about. He liked her as more than a friend, and wanted to see if they could give being boyfriend and girlfriend a shot if she wasn't too creeped out by the idea of him liking her. Which, in his head, was a very distinct and real possibility.

Instead of the Room of Requirement, which they'd used for birthdays before, Humphrey had done up the clock tower with all kinds of decorations. He'd managed a variation on the silencing charm that dimmed the sound of the clock in the tower, but didn't affect how it sounded to the rest of the school. There were blue and silver streamers and banners, but also to highlight them were some soft pink, periwinkle, and white ones. He had actually gone and found ingredients to cook in advance and had made a meal for them that he'd practiced at home the previous summer. It was a chicken marsala recipe, that had mushrooms, diced garlic, and a small amount of diced onion in the sauce for flavor. To go with it was a loaf of sourdough bread he'd also made, a fruit salad, and a vegetable tray on the side. For dessert was a beautiful chocolate cake with a layer of cherry filling in the center. The frosting on top of the cake was buttermilk and had written in cursive script in blue frosting Happy Birthday To Us! Around the top of the cake were 15 silver candles, burning brightly. The candles were a special design that he'd purchased which contained the wax so it wouldn't drip onto the cake.

Once he'd done the finishing touches, Humphrey simply took a seat and waited for his best friend to arrive. The gift he'd gotten her this year was different than any he'd given her before. It was a picture to go into the charm bracelet, but instead of it being of her it was one of the two of them. That one would take a little explaining, and he still didn't know where to start or if she'd listen once he did. However, the time had come to give it a go. If it turned out badly, well...at least he had done all that he could and not given up before trying.

Sinead hated birthdays. At some point, she had loved spending the entire day with her friends, just being themselves. However, she rarely had time for that nowadays. She had been insanely busy trying to study for her classes, especially now that they had to take their O.W.L.S. Sinead was having a hard time with DADA, which she was going to Derek for tutoring, but even the Seventh Year couldn't help her get anything above an Acceptable. Maybe Sinead's strong point wasn't defensive magic, but offensive, and for some reason that scared her more than anything. Professor Sexton was also helping her with her defensive skills, but to pass the class she had to successfully perform the defensive spells he had taught her, and she was nowhere near getting them right. With her head lost inside Derek's handwritten notes, she laid on the floor of their Common Room, trying to memorize wand movements and incantations in order to be well-prepared for her future exams. Her hair was as knotted as it usually was, given that she had not yet taken a shower in order to spend more time studying. People who didn't know Sinead would probably laugh at her and call her a hermit, which was probably where she was headed to.

After a few minutes, she reached a point in which she simply did not understand what the Seventh Year had written. It was all squiggles and zig zags. Sitting up, Sinead glanced at the nerdy brown-haired boy. "Hey." She said, walking over to sit next to him. "What's that?" Sinead pointed to the now familiar handwriting. Looking over his own writing, Derek replied, "Sectumsempra. But don't worry, you don't need to know that spell." and Sinead simply shrugged before returning to her studies. The clock in the Common Room interrupted her thoughts when it suddenly struck midday. Sinead's head snapped up so quick that Derek turned to look at her. "What?" he asked, and Sinead snapped his notes closed. "Sorry, I forgot I had to meet Humphrey." She said, standing up and handing his notes back to him. She noticed Derek's frown, which was expected as she had just cut their study time short. Patting him on the head jokingly, Sinead laughed as he swatted her hand away. "See you later!" She yelled as she went up to her dormitory to crush an hour of cleaning up into five minutes.

Quickly brushing her hair, Sinead let it fall loosely around her shoulders. She put on the dress her mother had sent her; it was a periwinkle-colored dress with a skater cut, which was perfect considering Sinead could easily wear tights to protect her legs from the cold, and a jean jacket to protect her arms. She applied a minimal amount of makeup before deciding she looked relatively cleaned up and headed downstairs. Not surprisingly, Derek was no longer around. Rolling her eyes to herself at the thought of the older boy, Sinead walked out to the Clock Tower. This birthday would be different from all the other birthdays for two reasons. One, this birthday would take place in the Clock Tower, unlike the rest which had taken place in the Room of Requirement. Two, this birthday would be only for Sinead and Humphrey. Nobody else. She was looking forward to having lunch with the boy, as she had rarely seen him these past few days. Grinning, Sinead climbed the steps to the Clock Tower, stopping to catch her breath at the door. "Sorry," she announced before opening the door.

"I was studying. Sexton's been pushing the Defensive Magic part of the exam on me, and dear Merlin it sucks." Sinead said, immediately noticing Humphrey was already sitting down. It wasn't him that caught her eye, though. It was the entire room. There were ribbons everywhere. Everywhere. Humphrey had gotten pretty much every shade of blue, but he had thrown in some whites and pinks. Sinead wouldn't tell him, but it looked a little bit like a baby shower party instead of a birthday party. Smiling anyway, more for Humphrey's sake, Sinead took a seat in front of him. "What's up, Buttercup?" Sinead laughed, the stupid nickname she had given him was thanks to his usual moodiness...like Buttercup from the Powderpuff Girls. It wasn't so much that Humphrey was moody, though. He was the kind of emo boy version of Buttercup. Maybe only sometimes, but it was still enough to make Sinead laugh every time she used the nickname. "No, seriously. Hi." She said, placing her hands on her knees, suddenly feeling like she didn't know what to do.

Looking down, Sinead almost laughed again. She had never told Humphrey, but chicken marsala was probably her least favorite food. Still, she wasn't about to ruin another birthday for the boy. "I see your cooking skills have improved. When do I get lessons?" Chuckling, Sinead looked around the table. Everything smelled and looked homemade, which was very impressive but not surprising. Humphrey was the kind of boy who would do something like this. There was a strange awkwardness in the room, and it was coming from Humphrey. Tapping her fingers on her knees, Sinead stared at her blond friend. "So, have you gotten any presents? I was going to bring you something, but I can't give it to you just yet because it's not finished. I mean, it is finished, but it still needs some details and I'm trying to find the perfect moment to give it to you and it's not something I can just put in a gift bag,because it's not that type of gift. I mean, I've been carrying it in my wand ever since I learned I could do it and..." she stopped suddenly, realizing she was still getting carried away with what she was talking about.

Sinead had been working on a transfiguration spell with Professor D'aramitz to be able to conjure up Humphrey's birthday gift out of thin air, as a magic trick - ba dum tsss - which was an area that Humphrey was interested in. Glancing around, Sinead noticed the cake and the silver candles burning. Smiling, she turned to Humphrey again, "Did you make the cake as well?" Now she was very impressed. "Merlin, Humphrey. Did we suddenly switch gender roles. It's like I'm the Husband and just came home from work and you stayed back cooking like the perfect wife." Sinead laughed at the mental image of Humphrey wearing an apron and a chef's hat, but the whole comment made her uncomfortable. Since Third Year, Sinead had made it a point to not make any comments like that, but that one had been too good to pass up.

Humphrey smiled when he heard Sinead's voice, already happy before she even walked in. Sinead was wearing a dress in one of his favorite colors and he had to admit she looked beautiful. Listening to her talk about how annoying defensive magic was didn't bother him, and he waited patiently while she talked. He watched as she took in the decorations, only now realizing they probably weren't her favorite colors. Decorating wasn't his strong suit but he'd done his best. The food, however, he thought he'd done a better job with. Although he wasn't sure if the dishes were ones she liked, he hoped she would enjoy it. It had taken him a while to get everything ready, the trickiest part making the cake. "Not too much, Sinead. Was just waiting to have some fun with my best friend for her birthday." he said with a shrug. The nickname wasn't his favorite, but he'd had to put up with it for a long time was used to it. "Hello. You, you look really beautiful." Humphrey told her quietly, blushing a little when he gave her the compliment. Ever since the fiasco in third year he'd tried not to say things that might give the wrong idea, but since today he was planning on telling her how he really felt maybe it was okay.

Upon the question of when she would be getting cooking lessons from him Humphrey couldn't help but laugh. "You don't want lessons from me, although you could have them any time you like. My mom's the one you should be learning from, though." Humphrey said, smiling at her. Compared to her he really didn't know much at all about cooking, although he enjoyed helping her and learning when he was at home. She made the best dishes, and aside from Casey it was the thing he missed most from home when he was at Hogwarts. He felt a little nervous, already wanting to give her the present and tell her that he wanted to go out with her; but, for once he didn't know what to say to start. Usually things came so easily between them, but this was going to change things between them. Hopefully for the better, if he got lucky. However, he knew it could make things worse if she didn't think about him the same way. Before he could start a fumbling conversation, Sinead started talking again. "Got some from my family and a few friends. What do you mean you've been carrying it in your wand? Can I see?" he asked curiously, eyes lighting up at the prospect of seeing her do some magic. What kind of gift would be carried around in a wand? Humphrey had to admit he was intrigued by what she'd said.

His cheeks colored a bit when she asked him if he'd made the cake, and said he was acting like the perfect wife. A laugh escaped him at the silly idea and he couldn't help smiling at Sinead. "Yes, I made the cake. And to be honest, I think being your wife would be lovely." he said, sticking his tongue out at his best friend. "Don't call me the perfect one until you've tasted it, though. Hope it turned out alright..." he said, half to himself. Humphrey really hoped the food was edible. If it wasn't, it would kind of ruin the birthday party in the clocktower idea. Aside from the food and decorations, he really hadn't prepared too many things to do. He figured they could talk and eat, and that would be as much fun as any game that he could think of. Besides, they did have a lot to talk about.

"How are you doing in his class, by the way? I haven't exactly had time to chat with you during classes." she tilted her head a little as she realized she hadn't exactly spoken to anyone but Derek the past few days. And she wasn't even talking to him about interesting subjects - it was mostly all school related. Not that school subjects weren't interesting, because they were. "Actually, how are you doing in all your classes? Surely, you've studied. O.W.L.S are this term, Humphrey." she emphasised the fact that they were to take their exams soon, because he had probably forgotten about it already.

Sometimes Sinead wasn't sure if Humphrey said what he said on purpose or if he really wanted to be sarcastic. "Well, no need to wait longer." she replied with a small laugh. Her cheeks flushing with red tints, Sinead looked down for a second after Humphrey complimented her. It didn't surprise her to hear it from him, even if he did so very rarely, and she often complimented him as well - but ever since their third year she had been very careful with her words towards him. "Um, thanks. You look very nice as well." She returned the compliment with a smile. The truth was, it was easier to be told she was beautiful from Phin, or from Zip, even from Danny whom she was still not in talking terms with. Well, she was trying not to be in talking terms with him but the damn boy was too smooth.

Sinead figured she might as well eat, so she picked up her fork and dived in, listening to Humphrey talk about his mother's cooking. "Well, it's really good." she said genuinely. "And I like what you did with the place, by the way." But that wasn't fair because she liked a good 90% of what Humphrey made. "How's Casey? I haven't even had a chance to reply to her letter! Please tell her I haven't forgotten." Humphrey's younger sister was sort of like a pen pal for Sinead. They often exchanged letters in which Sinead told the younger girl about life at Hogwarts and important events - like the day she had realized she didn't want to go on a date with Phineas even though his friend, Alek, had suggested it. And it wasn't because she didn't like Phineas, because she did, but she couldn't go out with any boy and be thinking of what Humphrey was doing, or a joke he had told her the day before, or something they had done together at some point.

It had been Casey who figured it out earlier than she did. To Sinead, it was simply because she had too much to do, too much to learn. To Casey, it was because Sinead liked her brother. The day Casey had suggested it, Sinead had laughed as she read the letter in her dormitory. As if. Humphrey was her best friend, nothing more. But if Sinead had been wrong before it didn't match up to how wrong she had been about Humphrey. After a while, it all made sense. Shaking her head, Sinead made it seem as if she had suddenly remembered something funny. She was not going to think about that right now. She was in a room. Alone with Humphrey. And the last time she was in that same situation she had told him he was cute and he had flipped shit. No way she was letting that happen again. Sinead knew better now.

Laughing, Sinead shook her head. "Not yet. You have to wait until nightfall." Hearing his laugh, seeing his eyes wrinkle at the reaction, Sinead realized just why she had always liked Humphrey. Not romantically, but in general. Grinning, Sinead nodded. "It would! Think about it, I would get home, kiss my wife, help her make dinner, then kiss her again." She wasn't even thinking about it the right way. All she knew was that if she were a man, she would probably spend a great deal of time kissing her wife. "But alas..." She faked a sigh. Looking up at her friend again, Sinead assured him the cake would be great with just a simple smile. "I mean, as long as it's not toxic." She laughed again, but genuinely hoping - more for Humphrey's pride - that his baking skills were decent enough.

Humphrey thought about her question, and was just about to answer when she asked about the rest of his classes. They hadn't been talking much in class, but that was simply because they were both busy focusing on the coursework. When she reminded him about the O.W.L.S he couldn't stop from rolling his eyes a little. "Yes, I know that we have the exams this year and I've been doing my best to stay on top of it just like you have. Think I'm doing alright in most subjects. If you want to revise together to check me I'd be game." he said, smiling at the thought. The two of them had always been a little competitive with each other when it came to their classes and learning new spells. Somehow it helped to give him a little extra motivation, silly as it was.

Hearing the laugh made him chuckle a little as well, and he nodded. "Excellent. We've both been so busy I feel like we haven't talked much lately. You have been remembering to get some sleep between all the study sessions, right." Humphrey commented, wanting to make sure she was taking care of herself. After he spoke he noticed her break eye contact and blush some, and he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said that. To his surprise, though, she smiled and returned the compliment after a moment. His heart started beating a little faster, and he started to get just a little bit nervous and excited at the same time. He wasn't quite ready to tell her how he felt yet, but he wasn't going to let himself push it aside like he had other times when he tried to tell her. "Thank you. Tried to pay a little more attention to my clothes, for once." he said, smiling back. "You were right, clothes can make you feel a bit different when you make an effort." That was something she'd told him a long time ago, but he didn't used to believe it.

Once Sinead started eating Humphrey did as well, and he blushed a little at the compliment. He still thought it didn't taste quite like his mum's, but he was glad that she liked it and a little relieved. "Good, I have to admit I was a little nervous about making everything." he told her. The only other people he'd cooked for were his family, and he doubted they would tell him if he messed things up. When she complimented him on the decorating he looked up in shock from his plate, because that had been an area he really didn't know what he was doing at all with. "Honestly, I was just guessing about the decorations. Had no clue what I was doing, but thanks." he said gratefully. At the mention of his little sister he blushed a little before thinking of an answer. The last letter he'd gotten from her had been her badgering him to be honest with Sinead about his feelings. Somehow she'd gotten it into her head that they would be a cute couple. He appreciated the encouragement, and really hoped that it might turn out well. "Casey's doing great, already getting excited about coming to Hogwarts next year. Last letter I got from her she was giving me dating advice, even though she still thinks boys are gross. Although, she did make a lot of sense I have to admit..." he said, knowing that it was past time he tell Sinead about how he felt. Humphrey shook his head a little, trying to stay focused. "I'll make sure to let her know you haven't forgotten about replying." he assured her.

There were a few moments where Sinead seemed to be lost in thought about something important, but then it looked like she snapped out of it. Humphrey wondered if maybe he'd simply imagined it because he was hoping it wouldn't come as a complete shock when he told her how he felt. It probably would though, Humphrey remembered her saying there was no way they'd ever date. Perhaps it was a little foolish to hope that her opinion on that matter had changed over time. But, if he was going to be a fool about something he may as well be a fool for somebody he knew he could fall for. Don't lie to yourself, though. you've probably already fallen for her, haven't you? The thought made him smile, because it felt good to finally be honest with himself about how he felt. Now he just had to figure out how to tell her, which was trickier.

"Have to wait until nightfall for it, interesting. You're making it sound rather mysterious now, I must say." Humphrey said, chuckling a little. Whatever it was he was sure it would be wonderful, it seemed she'd worked pretty hard on it. Sinead continued to talk about the scenario of having a wife, and he started blushing more. She was saying her now, but a moment ago she'd said he would be her wife and he couldn't help but wonder if that was an accident. "Can't argue with that, kissing a wife doe sound nice." he agreed. Looking back at her, he smiled back and shrugged when she made the toxic comment. "Perhaps I should try first." Humphrey told her with a wink, and cut each of them a piece before taking a small bite out of his. He chewed it slowly, and was surprised to find it was better than the practice ones. It was actually good, and he scratches his chin in thought before answering. "Don't think it'll kill you."