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A/N: Is anyone besides me a little peeved that Hermione never got any of her birthdays acknowledged in any of the books? Well, Hermione's finally going to get a little recognition. Thanks to AStatine and Meli for reviewing!

Chapter 20: Happy Birthday, Part II

Hermione sat solemnly in the Gryffindor common room, staring blankly out onto the grounds with Crookshanks on her lap, whom she had decided to bring along to provide some temporary company before being returned to her mother. The orange cat purred rapturously, stretching as Hermione mindlessly trailed her fingers up and down his back.

Hermione had just completed her third week of her "seventh" year of Hogwarts, and they were probably the longest three weeks she had ever spent at Hogwarts. Without Harry and Ron to break up the monotony of her days, her days were just that - monotonous. She woke up, washed, dressed, and was out of the dormitory before Ginny and her other roommates stirred. She then went down to breakfast, where Ginny would eventually join her on most days, and classes filled up the rest of her afternoon. After this, dinner was followed by homework and bed.

She had initially made a small effort to befriend her other roommates besides Ginny, but she had quickly abandoned that attempt. She was Hermione Granger, after all, best friend of Harry Potter (whose fame had increased ten-fold since Voldemort's defeat, especially in the eyes of Hogwarts students), and this was pretty much the only topic spoken of when Hermione joined the conversation.

Ginny also received a large brunt of these questions, but she seemed to thrive on the attention. Hermione, however, found the continuous barrage frustrating, annoying, and in many cases inappropriate. To her intense surprise, many of the older students remembered and still believed the rumors that Rita Skeeter had published in her fourth year. Without Harry's presence, students apparently had a bit more courage to approach her on the subject, and Hermione eventually just avoided these little chats altogether.

She missed Harry and Ron terribly, but today she was feeling particularly depressed. It was a beautiful day - cloudless sky of the brightest blue, a pleasant breeze blowing through the trees, the Black Lake calm except for the small movements made by the giant squid drifting below the surface. And to top it all off, it was Saturday as well.

Hermione would have normally been in at least a decently good mood, happy and energized by the brilliance of the day, but today it was impossible. Because it wasn't just Saturday. It was Saturday, September 19. Her nineteenth birthday.

Ginny had greeted her in the Great Hall that morning and presented her with a blouse and skirt from the same Muggle store she had purchased Harry's gift from two months earlier. Marcellus had dropped off gifts and letters from her parents, George, and Hagrid, as well as a large cake from Molly delivered by Errol. Ron had sent his gift (perfume) and a short note along with George's. But no word yet from Harry.

She sighed softly, sinking back further into her chair.

"Why the long face, birthday girl?"

Hermione sat up swiftly, knocking Crookshanks from her lap in the process. She turned her head in every direction to detect where the voice had come from. A dozen or so Gryffindors milled around the common room, but none were paying her any particular attention due to her inconspicuous seating choice near the wall.

She furrowed her brow.

"Did I startle you?" came the voice again, and Harry's head suddenly became visible next to her chair.

"Harry!?" she hissed, glancing around the room once more to ensure that no students had noticed his entrance. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for your birthday. Why else?"

"I would hope so," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "I mean what are you doing here. In the Gryffindor common room."

"I had to get you out of here somehow," Harry answered.

"You could've sent a note with Fitz or something."

"I wanted to surprise you. And the way you bolted from your chair seems to tell me that I succeeded." He covered his head with his invisibility cloak and disappeared from view. "You walk out of the portrait hole, and I'll follow you."

"Fine," she muttered, standing up. "You better be right behind me, though."

She strode briskly across the room and firmly pushed the portrait, allowing it to swing open a bit wider than usual. She felt Harry brush against her arm and then shut the portrait hole.

Before she could speak, Harry had flipped the cloak over her, enveloping them both in its folds.

"Happy birthday," he said, grinning at her through the darkness of the cloak.

She smiled back. "I've missed you so much," she said, barely having to move at all to hug him. "It's not really Hogwarts without you and Ron here."

"I've missed you too," Harry said, breaking away from her and then leading her down the corridor. "I'm sorry I've not written you that much. Training's been kind of intense."

"I understand," Hermione said. "It's not like you have to write everyday."

"I feel like I should. I'm used to seeing you almost every day, so letters are about as close as I can get to that. McGonagall won't let me visit too often, though. She's making an exception for today."

"She is taking her headmistress duties pretty seriously," Hermione conceded.

Harry nodded as they made their way across the courtyard. "Doesn't surprise me. She's got some big shoes to fill."

"Yes - it would be pretty difficult to compare to Dumbledore."

"Anyway," said Harry, changing the subject, "have you heard from Ron today?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "He sent me a bottle of perfume and a note earlier."

"Perfume? Again?" Harry said. "He needs to get a little more creative."

"Well, it smells better than it usually does. That's a plus."

"True," Harry said with a smile. "Did he say anything newsworthy? I haven't spoken to him for a few days."

"Just wished me a happy birthday," Hermione said, walking quickly to keep up with Harry's longer strides. "He didn't mention anything about himself."

"He started work at the joke shop earlier this week. Has he told you that?"

"No," Hermione said, a bit snidely. "It doesn't surprise me though. I think he's still a little sore that I don't support his choice."

"He'll get over it eventually," Harry said.

Hermione didn't respond for a few moments. "When can we take the cloak off?" she asked, changing the subject as Harry had. "It's a little stuffy."

"As soon as we get past the gates," Harry answered.

When they had reached this location, he lifted the cloak from them and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Hogsmeade, m'lady?" he asked politely. "Just outside the village?"

"Sounds perfect," Hermione said.

"All right then. See you when you get there." He Apparated away, and Hermione followed immediately.

*************

They spent the rest of the day in the village, shopping in any store that met Hermione's fancy. Harry insisted on paying for her expenses, to Hermione's agitation, and he was soon laden down with bags.

After a few hours, Harry suggested they stop in to the Three Broomsticks. Hermione agreed, and they pressed their way into the crowded pub. Harry pushed his way toward the back, where he placed Hermione's purchases below a small table. After Hermione had sat down, he pushed his way back towards the bar, returning moments later with two butterbeers. Hermione took a few sips before speaking.

"So you said earlier that Auror training has been tough?" she said, setting down her bottle.

"Oh, yeah. It's absolutely exhausting. I've finished the Defensive program, which wasn't terribly difficult - protective spells, countercharms. Really just a little more advanced than what we've already learned. Some basics like Expelliarmus and more advanced spells like the Patronus charm."

"You must've breezed through that," Hermione said.

"More or less. But we've started the Concealment section, and it's a lot more difficult. We were never taught that much in Hogwarts about disguising spells, so a lot of it's new to me. I was actually thinking about…" Harry paused.

"About what?" Hermione prompted.

Harry drank a swig of his butterbeer. "Becoming an Animagus."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Really?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, yeah. My dad and Sirius seemed to get pretty good use out of it. And Animagi are considered pretty valuable in the Auror Department. If I need to learn to conceal myself, I might as well do it right, you know?"

"Of course!" Hermione said. "I think it's a brilliant idea."

"You do?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely. Who knows, maybe your father being one may give you some kind of advantage. Maybe some kind of hereditary predisposition."

"Hopefully," Harry said, leaning back in his chair where it was balanced on two legs. "This'll probably be the most difficult thing I do in training. Merlin knows I'm going to need all the help I can get."

An idea suddenly sprang to Hermione's mind.

"Well, I could help you."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Like walk me through the process?"

"Not exactly. I was actually thinking that I would become an Animagus with you."

Harry's chair fell back to all fours with a loud clatter. "You want to become an Animagus."

It wasn't really a question, but Hermione answered anyway. "Sure, why not? It sounds like it would be pretty interesting. Plus, it would be a lot easier to help you if I'm learning with you and know what you're going through."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Leave it to you to decide to learn one of the most difficult forms of magic because it sounds `pretty interesting.' You just want a challenge, don't you?"

Hermione blushed. She gave a barely perceptible shrug, looking at Harry guiltily with a small smile. "And you don't?"

Harry laughed. "Fair enough. So you really want to become an Animagus with me?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't want to."

"Alright then," Harry said. "You're on. When we get back to the school, I'll ask McGonagall about using the Room of Requirement a few days a week."

"And I'll start reading up about it. Maybe McGonagall would have a book concerning the process."

Harry chuckled once more at Hermione's enthusiasm.

"It's a date, then," he said, and Hermione was forced to rein in the beam that spread over her face.

************

Harry ascended the steps toward the headmaster's office. He had just left Hermione at the portrait hole of the Fat Lady, and he figured that he might as well ask McGonagall about the Animagus sessions sooner rather than later.

Harry knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard called from within.

Harry pushed open the door and took a precursory glance around the office. To his slight surprise, McGonagall had imposed little of her personal taste in the room. He was also surprised to see Severus Snape staring distastefully down his hooked nose from a portrait behind the desk in which Professor McGonagall was sitting.

She glanced up from the parchment she was writing on, and immediately dipped her head downwards once more.

"Mr. Potter. I trust your day has been pleasant?" she said, scribbling away.

"Yes, very. Thank you, Professor."

"Well, you know where the Floo powder is. Help yourself."

"Actually, Professor, I needed to ask you something."

"All right," McGonagall said. "Go ahead."

"I was wondering if I could come here a couple of times a week to study with Hermione."

McGonagall pursed her lips, but continued writing. "What exactly are you studying that requires Ms. Granger's assistance?"

Harry caught McGonagall's implications, but chose to ignore them.

"Animagi magic."

That got her attention. She placed her quill in an inkwell and stared at Harry.

"I assume this is for Auror training."

"Yes, Professor."

"And I would also assume you know the difficulty of that particular form of magic?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And you still wish to continue with it?

"Yes, Professor."

"Why?" she stated bluntly. "There are many other simpler spells that will be sufficient to become an Auror."

"Well, Professor, to be perfectly honest, your skills in that form of magic have always inspired me," said Harry charismatically.

McGonagall smiled. "Mr. Potter, I hope you don't attempt to lie - I mean charm - your employer so blatantly. But, yes, you may come on Saturdays so Ms. Granger may assist you. And Tuesdays if necessary. You will definitely need the help. And I will also insist upon you continuing to use that cloak of yours to make your way around the castle."

"Thank you. I'll get out of your hair now, Professor," Harry said, grabbing a fistful of Floo powder from a tin on her desk.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said as he moved towards the fireplace, "since I am no longer your teacher, you do realize you don't need to refer to me as `Professor' anymore?"

Harry threw the powder into the fire. "Professor," he said, "since I am no longer your student, you do realize you don't need to refer to me as `Mr. Potter' anymore?"

McGonagall gave him another small smile, shaking her head as she picked up her quill. She glanced up, a Dumbledore-like twinkle in her eyes. "Have a good night, Mr. Potter."

"You too, Professor McGonagall," Harry said with a grin, and then stepped into the emerald flames, stated his destination, and disappeared in a flash of green.

**********

A/N: Next chapter, Harry and Hermione start preparing to become Animagi! :)

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