The school year started off with a bang. Thanks to Hermione, Ron and Harry passed their first potions test of the year and there had been limited encounters with Malfoy. On a Friday night in September, Hermione was gleefully walking around the Common Room. Her birthday was on the next day and she was trying to get a hint of what how they were celebrating from her two best friends.
"So… Tomorrow's Saturday." She said nonchalantly, although pacing behind the couch. Harry peeked out from behind his Quidditch book and smirked at Ron who concealed a laugh.
"So it is." Harry said.
"You know, I normally don't like Saturdays." Hermione went on. "But something about this Saturday seems…different. Kind of special…" She walked over to Ron and plopped down next to him. "Don't you think so, Ron?"
"Tomorrow?" Ron pretended to be in deep thought. He rubbed his chin with his hand. "No." He said bluntly. "Nothing special about tomorrow. Right Harry?" Harry had to fight hard to contain his smirk.
"I'd have to agree with you, Ron." Hermione huffed and walked towards the stairs.
"Good night." She shouted over her shoulder in a disappointed tone.
"Something wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked with a huge grin on his face. Hermione didn't answer. She was half way up the stairs before Harry spoke again.
"Oh! I remember now!" Hermione spun around and looked down at him.
"What?" She asked excitedly.
"We have Quidditch tryouts tomorrow!" Harry exclaimed.
"Oh that's right!" Ron replied. Hermione huffed again and marched straight up to the girl's dormitories, unaware of the snickers coming from the boys in the Common Room.
Hermione woke up the next morning to an empty dormitory. This is something that never happened.
"What time is it?" She groggily wondered out loud. She rolled over to discover it was well past 10 am. Her eyes bugged out of her head. "Why didn't you wake me?" She asked the cat snuggling on her feet. She quickly got out of bed and proceeded to take a shower.
By the time Hermione was dressed and entered the Common Room, it was completely deserted. Quidditch tryouts were today and anyone not there would be at Hogsmeade already.
"Happy Birthday to me." She said sadly.
Hermione spent her entire afternoon wandering around Hogsmeade with a melancholy look on her face. Since it was her birthday, she treated herself to a collection of books she had had her eye on for a while but even that didn't cheer her up. After a couple of hours, she had visited all of her favorite shops and decided it was time to head home. She thought for a moment about going to see Hagrid, but if Harry and Ron had forgotten about her, surely Hagrid would have as well.
Hermione returned to Hogwarts and was rounding the hall to the Gryffindor Common Room when she saw Professor McGonagall.
"Miss Granger." She nodded to her favorite student.
"Professor." Hermione replied. She was surprised when McGonagall continued to walk past her, and did not stop for a chat.
"I trust you'll have a pleasant evening." She said with a knowing smile.
"You do the same." Hermione said, very confused, and advanced through the portrait hole.
"SURPRISE!"
"Ah!" Hermione shrieked as she was greeted by all the Gryffindors in her year and Ginny Weasley.
"Happy Birthday!" Ron said gently as he walked up to her. He clasped her arm and pulled her towards the large group of people. She looked around the room to see that it was covered in bright decorations that must have taken hours to put up.
"You did all of this for me?" Hermione asked, incredulously.
"You bet!" Dean said. "Well, that and for the excuse for the alcohol." He admitted as he took a sip of his drink.
"Since when do you need a reason?" Ron asked.
"Wait a minute." Hermione said. "Wasn't McGonagall just here?"
"Of course." Ginny said. "We had to get the party cleared. She knew about the party… Just not everything that would be at the party." She smirked.
By three o'clock in the morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones still in the Common Room. Most of the others had gone to sleep by choice, or involuntarily passed out, a couple of hours ago. They were sitting on the couch, enjoying the last pieces of chocolate cake.
"Thank you both so much!" Hermione said. "This has been the best birthday ever!"
"Did you like your presents?" Ron asked slyly.
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "I don't even think I have enough room on my bookshelf to keep it all!"
"Well, if that's a problem, Ron's got a ton of extra space on his bookshelf." Harry quipped as Ron glared at him. Hermione laughed.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"So, what did you think of my present?" Harry asked. Hermione raised both eyebrows and carefully worded her response.
"A copy of the book entitled, Quidditch: A History is something I will always treasure, as it… will always remind me of you!" Harry laughed.
"Open it."
"What?"
"Open it! Open it!" Ron practically shouted, getting far too excited.
"Alright!" Hermione assured him. "Just calm down before you rupture something." She picked up the book and opened it. When she did so, she saw that the book had been hollowed out, leaving a large hole in the center of the pages. She placed her hand in and pulled out a silver, heart-shaped locket. She let the locket dangle from her fingers as she admired it. Her jaw about reached the floor.
"I bought it, but Ron helped pick out." Harry said softly. Ron smiled.
"You're not done opening." He hinted. Hermione chuckled before opening the locket and read the inscription out loud.
"The three of us… Together Forever." She breathed. Harry and Ron looked at each other proudly, knowing they had finally got Hermione a decent present. Their looks changed, however, when they saw the tears flooding in her eyes.
"She's sad, she cries. She's happy, she cries. Bloody hell woman, what's with all the crying!" Ron stood up as he practically shouted his last sentence. Hermione jumped up next to him and pulled him into a hug.
"You guys are the best!" Her words were barely audible through her crying and her face being buried in Ron's sweater. Ron gave Harry a terrified look which was returned by a shrug. When Hermione finally let go of Ron, she settled back down on the couch and cuddled up with Harry.
"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek, regaining some composure. Harry replied with a smile. He then reached around Hermione's neck and helped her put the locket on.
"Beautiful." He told her. Ron went to bed almost immediately after that but Harry and Hermione stayed up a little while longer talking. Throughout their conversation, she kept picking up the heart-shaped charm hanging from her neck, and twirled it around in her fingers…
Over eight months later, Hermione stood in the Astronomy Tower doing the same thing: twirling her locket around her fingers. She hadn't taken it off since that evening when Harry clasped it around her neck. She opened it up and read the inscription for the millionth time. She had to chuckle at the irony.
"Forever sure came quick." She whispered. She shook that thought away and brought her attention back to her last birthday. That was the last night she had truly been happy… The night before it all started…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone walking up the stairs. She let out a long, exasperated breath before looking back up to the night sky. She spoke her next words softly as she hung her head.
"Merlin, what I wouldn't give to be anywhere else right now…"
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