Chapter 10, Happy Sixteenth Hermione *******************Hogwarts***********************
September 19, 2004
6 am
Clouds of breath surrounded Harry, from where he was obediently following Mad-Eye along a path surrounding the lake. Harry was running along after Alastor, who was mounted on a bay stallion, laughing at Harry's predicament. Moody had repeatedly expressed the need for Aurors to be in top shape, and that Harry had to be at their standard at least. Harry's bitterly repressed observation in return was, that of the Aurors that he had actually seen, at most, Tonks and maybe Kingsley would have been able to keep up this blistering shape, none of the rest of them, especially Mad-Eye himself with his wooden leg could have even hoped to run with him. This morning run was an recent addition of Moody's after Harry had soundly beaten him in a practice sword duel, and it followed a solid hour of spellwork and hand to hand.
Finally as they pulled even with the Quiddich pitch, Alastor pulled up and Harry stopped. Stooped over, hands on his knees, Harry glanced up at Moody to see what came next, however Moody was done with him for the day. "All right boy get up to your dorm and take a shower."
Thanks Alastor, I didn't know you cared. Harry thought bitterly as he straightened up and jogged back to the castle and the common room. Today was a packed day for a Sunday, it had started with working out with Moody at 4:30 in the morning, and now had a full day of studying for classes with a quiz or essay due in Potions, Transfiguration. Beyond that he was to lead a DA session, this evening after dinner. And on top of all that he had something else to arrange.
Fortunately he found "willing assistants" on his way to Gryffindor tower. As he approached the staircase to the seventh floor, he saw Fred and George mysteriously coming up to the staircase, mysterious, as they loved their sleep, as much or more than Ron. They must have been up to something, as they caught sight of him, they froze, remembering all too well his forceful reinforcement of Hermione last weekend. Harry's broad smile reassured them, there was no malice in it, only joy at possibly solving one of his issues for today. "Come here you two" Harry called out merrily. As they reached him, Harry pulled them into a huddle and whispered urgently to them for a minute or two, finishing with, "if you help me, I'll get Mione to let up on you a bit ok?" The twins agreed readily, ever since finding Ron passed out on their illicit firewhiskey, Hermione had been their personal nemesis, shutting down every scam, scheme, and joke in it's tracks.
Leaving Fred and George behind on his errand, Harry quickly continued on to the common room, and summoning a towel and a change of clothes from his room, he went directly to the showers, waving in passing at the aforementioned witch. She was already studying at a table in the common room. After a quick shower, he hurried back to see that she had been looking over the essay Snape assigned last week.
"Give it to me." Hermione commanded without even looking up at him. Harry meekly gave her his potions essay and awaited the verdict, fortunately ever since his OWL in potions, he had the confidence to be much better in the subject, much to Snape's chagrin. Hermione soon handed back the essay, with a small grin, Damn, I remember when I'd almost have to rewrite both his and Ron's to keep them from failing, "Just a couple of misspellings, I marked them."
Harry took the parchment and pulled out a quill and corrected his mistakes. Putting the rolled parchment in his bag, "thanks Hermione, Happy Birthday" He said grinning over his shoulder.
With a light in her eyes, "What'd you get me?" she responded eagerly.
Harry looked back at her with a poorly feigned, puzzled look, "I'm supposed to get you something?" Then an odd expression crossed his face, "Ohh crap, Mione, I have to go send an owl to Lupin, I'll meet you at breakfast in a few ok?" Harry got up quickly and on receiving a slightly puzzled nod from Hermione, he walked out the portrait hole, shouting a repeated "Happy Birthday" behind him.
**************************Hogwarts, Great Hall********************
The students continued eating until Hermione glanced down at her watch and noticed that it was almost eight. "Ok you two" she said with a faked glare that she couldn't hold, she broke up at Harry's expression, "Let's go, you owe me three hours of studying before I'll let you go out to play."
"Yes, mum" Ron replied, not wanting to waste time studying, when he could be out playing Quiddich.
"You'll think mum, when Molly sees your grades" Hermione replied with just a touch of heat in her voice. "Anyway, fine, go fail, I'm heading to the library, Harry?" She got up and headed for the double doors of the great hall never looking back to see if Harry would follow.
Harry gave an slightly apologetic look to Ron, but he got up to follow Hermione, "Sorry, mate, but I need to keep my grades up." Harry turned and walked quickly to the door.
Ron mimed Harry's "I need to keep my grades up" in an exaggerated fashion to his sister, Fred and George, but only George laughed at his joke, and half-heartedly at that. "No fun anymore" Ron muttered, grabbing several pieces of bacon, he slapped them between two pieces of toast and headed off in pursuit of his friends, munching on his sandwich as he went.
Ron caught up with the two in the Library, where Harry and Hermione were at their normal table. Harry had his charms text open to a section on memory charms, while Hermione was busy writing down the definitions out of her Transfiguration book. With a sigh Ron sat and dumped his books on the table with a thump. Madame Price came by scowling at Ron for disturbing be precious library, but she did not speak. Ron did however, after Hermione had left for a moment to look up a fact in another book. Ron leaned over the table and said in a low voice, "Harry, did you figure out Snape's essay on engorgement potions?"
"Yes he did Ronald, and he's not going to give it to you." Hermione said briskly as she leaned over his shoulder from behind. She walked back over to where she had been sitting beside Harry and picked her text back up and started reading again.
Ron stared at his more or less blank parchment for about another half hour before in a huff he stuffed his paper back in his back and left. Hermione glanced up as he left, but said nothing until he was out of earshot. "Honestly...Why won't he at least try Harry?" She asked in tired voice, "It's not like he's dumb or anything, Ron can be brilliant when he wants to be, heck look at his chess game."
"I know, Mione, maybe it's because he doesn't want to be like Percy, Percy was the brain, remember the git got even more OWLs than you..."
"Only because I didn't feel like taking Divination" She interrupted snappishly.
Harry smiled at her and patted her head like a puppy, which only caused her annoyed look to grow; Ok I'll stop now, before she hexes me. "Hermione, if you don't know that I have the absolute confidence in your ability to stop Percy Weasley into the ground academically at any time, anywhere, you don't know me at all."
"Yeah I know, anyway Ron, can you talk to him please Harry, I'm worried about him, I have a feeling that the only class he's doing well in is DADA, and he's coasting there, based off what you taught him last year."
"Ok"
**************************Gryffindor Common Room************************
7:00pm
"Hermione, I know that you have a quiz in both Transfiguration and Charms tomorrow, but call it a night will you? How long have you been studying for those quizzes?" Harry asked gently as he came down the stairs from his common room. In truth, he pretty well knew the answer to that question as he had been with her for much of that studying. Ignoring the pained look he received, "I mean it Mione, take the rest of the night off, it is your birthday, you only turn sixteen once. Tell you what, if you don't get a O on both I'll stand naked out in the rain and you can use me as a practice stunner target all you want, I'll even let you use my wand." Harry finished with a smile, which had been known to sway her mind on occasion. Then after a long moment, his cheeks burned red, and he muttered, "I should probably rephrase that shouldn't I?" Hermione didn't answer, she just nodded slightly, her eyes laughing for her.
Interesting offer there, Harry, Hermione thought absently then cut herself off before she went too far down that road. She sighed and started placing her books back in her bag, she would never admit it to him, especially, but she was studying even more than usual to try to keep her mind off other things particularly the thoughts that Hagrid's awkward questions had helped along. "Ok I've stopped, now what?"
"What is, you come with me, how about a walk?" Harry replied, his hands held out to his sides. Harry didn't wait for a response; he just took her by the arm and led her from the common room, down the stairs and out the main door to the castle.
As they reached the lake, a tentacle from the squid broke the surface for a moment and disappeared. Harry could distantly hear the cries of a pack of wolves in the forest beyond. "Ok Harry, we're walking, why?" Hermione asked, though her eyes were smiling at him.
Because I needed to get you out of the way Harry struggled for a moment to find a response that wouldn't give anything away, but with a flutter of wings, a snow-white savior appeared. Hedwig had been out hunting, but when she saw her favorite people out and about, she swooped down and alit gently on Harry's shoulder. "Hi girl" Thanks Hedwig, I owe you one.
"Hi Hedwig" Hermione said happily, to which Hedwig gave a HOOT in response. Hermione had always been her favorite person after Harry, for instance she would have never thought of hopping over to Ron's shoulder as she did just now onto Hermione's. Hermione grinned and petted the snow-white bird, gently smoothing the great owl's feathers.
"I think she likes you"
"Only because you do," Hermione replied absently, a sudden silence fell between the two humans. She hurriedly changed the subject to something a little more comfortable, "By the way where is my present?"
"Oh I think I have you something in my trunk." Harry replied as if to imply that he was going to give her a pair of socks like he did for Dobby.
"It'd better be better than your old socks, or I give your fan club your telephone number at the Dursleys." Hermione quipped in response. "All those little girls calling..."
"Go ahead," Harry replied with a raised eyebrow, "It might just give Vernon a heart attack." Harry slowly started walking back towards the castle only to be stopped once again.
Harry's offhand comment had reawakened old worries in the back of Hermione's mind. "Harry did he again, even after Alastor?" She had commented to Hagrid earlier that she suspected as much, but deep inside she had hoped it wasn't true.
Harry sighed, he had reached the courtyard before she had stopped him; so he leaned against an archway. He did not meet her gaze, "Not any worse than I usually end up with over the course of a year here, from Death Eaters, or dragons, or something." He shrugged, and straightening up he started walking once again towards the main doors of the castle. Hermione tried to awkwardly strike up the subject a couple of more times, but she gave up as they reached the seventh floor, and the entrance to Gryffindor tower.
Harry muttered the password to the Fat Lady and she swung open silently without any quips or comments for once. As they entered the common room for some reason it was dark, all the lamps were out and the fire was not lit. Hermione bumped into Harry in the darkness, "Sorry" she murmured.
From somewhere in the dark room, a very familiar female voice incanted "incedio lamps." With a rush of air all of the oil lamps scattered about the room lit as once suddenly exposing many people standing stock still, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE" came a roar from the mass of Gryffindors, and a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that were crammed in the room. Ginny Weasley put away her wand from where she had relit the lights and walking over to Hermione gave her a hug, and handed her a brightly wrapped package, "Happy Birthday, Hermione" Ginny repeated, much quieter than the initial shout.
Hermione glanced around the room. On a long table against one wall, a cake with sixteen candles, and a great tub full of ice and butterbeers sat. Over the mantle of the fireplace, a banner hung that spelled out "Happy Sweet Sixteen, Hermione" before it changed to "Forgive us, Fred and George" She laughed hilariously and catching Fred's eye across the room, she mouthed "ok" to him. Ron was next in the group of well-wishers; he came over and also gave her a hug, and a peck on the cheek. Turning a little red, he muttered, "Birthday, Herm" and handed her a gift of his own.
After she had done the rounds and greeted everyone, she sat on her favorite couch and started opening her presents; I know this was Harry's idea, the goof. She opened Ginny's present first, to find a brush that magically straightened ones hair. "Thanks Ginny" She replied, as she started on Ron's gift. Opening it up she found an assortment of tricks and gadgets from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, "Umm Thanks Ron" She replied neutrally, though he looked happy. Finally after opening a never needs ink quill set from Pavarti and Lavender, she looked over at Harry, who had yet to actually give her anything.
With a crooked smile, he handed her a heavy wrapped package, obviously a book and a smaller thinner envelope. "The package is from me, the other is well you'll see." Harry replied mysteriously.
She looked at the envelope first only to see that the handwriting on it while familiar was not Harry's:
Hermione Granger
She ripped open the envelope and began reading.
Hermione,
Harry pointed out to me that while you were already eminently qualified, you would not be able to go to the Ministry to take your apparation test, until next summer, and therefore would not get your license until you were almost seventeen, an obviously unfair situation. He had originally asked if you could get permission to go take the test this weekend, perhaps escorted by Tonks or Lupin, however I feel I have done him one better. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I ruled that you were capable and did not need to take the test, so I personally signed off on your apparation license.
Have fun and don't splich yourself.
Albus Dumbledore
As she finished Dumbledore's note, Hermione squealed like a little girl. She looked inside the envelope, and seeing something else, she shook it and a ID card fell out, complete with a little moving picture of her, with the words "the witch or wizard mentioned here is fully qualified and licensed to apparate, at his or her discretion, without the aid of other persons." Looking up at Harry's smile, he had a pretty good idea what was in the envelope, "Thanks Harry"
"Don't thank me, thank Dumbledore; he signed off on it, anyway open mine"
Hermione opened the package and found just the book she had jokingly asked him for earlier this month for her birthday. "Harry, this isn't a cheap book," she said quietly to him, out of earshot of the rest of the crowd who were at that moment watching Ron, and Dean compete in slamming mugs of butterbeer. "I mean, thanks" dropping the book on the couch she gave him a quick hug, letting go before almost anyone saw her.
"Your welcome, Mione" Harry replied also quietly. He got up and walked over to get a butterbeer from the tub, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
I meant that, he would have had to special order it from the author. Oh Well, She thought happily as she opened the book and glanced though it. The party went on for a couple of hours more, before the music was turned down and the majority of the students drifted off to bed or to study. Hermione was strongly considering going and studying some more, as she glanced over at Harry talking to Ron about something, but he was right I really don't need to study anymore for tomorrow.
The same small red-haired witch whom had opened up the party quickly derailed Hermione's train of thought. "Come on Hermione, lets play a game" Ginny said with an evil glint in her eye. She called over the others and sat them down around a coffee table. It was easy as only her; Hermione, Harry, Ron, Luna and Neville were left. She had read this in a muggle magazine and wanted to prove something to herself if no one else. She had seen the quick hug from Hermione, and how quick she dropped it before anyone could see.
"The object of this game is to see how well you know your friends, I'll put names in a hat, and we'll ask questions about the person, but the person you are paired with from the drawing has to answer them. Writing down names, she slipped them into a convent bowl and had people draw for partners, careful controlling her expression so as not to reveal that she had charmed Harry and Hermione's slips so as to make them partner up, the other two pairs drawn, which were random, were her and Ron and Luna and Neville.
The first two pairs went quickly, Ron and Ginny, being siblings and living together constantly for sixteen years knew each other pretty well, on the other hand as expected, Neville and Luna knew just about nothing about each other.
"Ok Harry's favorite color?" Ginny asked with a suppressed grin.
"Easy, red and gold" Hermione answered without thinking.
"Harry"
"Hers is green"
"I thought it was blue," Ron objected.
"It was but now it's green" Hermione replied smugly.
"Ok, class they hate the most" Ginny interjected
"She hates Divination" Harry replied confidently, Hermione nodded with a slight grin and replied, "And Harry hates potions with a passion."
"Scariest moments, in a class mind you?" Ron asked grinning, expecting Harry to answer the infamous boggart incident in third year.
Harry did as expected "She was afraid of the boggart, in Lupin's class"
With a quick almost unperceivable eye flick to Harry, "No sorry Harry I was afraid there I admit but...When Hagrid introduced you, uhh, us to Buckbeak." A weighty pause then "Harry's is Potions in general."
"Nope Hermione, it was when I thought Draco had you cornered the other day." Harry replied nervously.
"That doesn't count Harry" Ginny replied a twinkle in her eyes, Yep it does actually for my purposes anyway.
"I was still in the classroom Gin" Harry replied sticking out his tongue at the witch, as everyone laughed.
"Boo, harder" Neville said with a grin, "How about what they are most afraid of then, not just in school?"
Hermione didn't look at Neville, but glanced over at Harry before answering, "To be alone at the end."
Harry gulped slightly as she stated his real fears, "hers is to not be good enough."
Luna soon got into the sprit of the game, "How many kids do they want?"
"Two" both Harry and Hermione replied as one, then turned and looked at each other quizzically. After a moment of silence, Hermione got up, "I really need to get to bed, I'm tired. Thanks everyone for the party, and the gifts." She spun and hurriedly went up the stairs to bed.
Game, set and match, Ginny thought happily as she started to pitch in to clean up.
(A/N: Ok I got this idea from somewhere, I can't remember where, probably read it somewhere. However I may have overplayed my hand a bit with the last question and Hermione's response. The game was Ginny's idea, as she just wanted to prove something to herself.)