Chapter Thirty-Eight: Presents

The next day, Luna came bouncing into the room with yet another armful of books and a huge grin on her face.

"Happy birthday!" she said as she set them on the ever-growing pile next to my bed. "I found some more books for you to take a look at."

"Thanks Luna," I said with a chuckle.

As she straightened the pile, what she'd said actually registered, and I looked up from the book that was in my hands.

"Wait—is it actually my birthday?"

She laughed. "Yes, it is! The 19th of September, right?"

"Yeah." I laughed as well. "I had no idea that was today."

"Really?" Harry said, sending me a sideways grin. "Ginny and I have been talking about it while you were sleeping. I was sure you were awake at least one of the times."

"Nope. I had no idea it was coming up."

"Then, surprise!" came Ginny's voice from the doorway.

I sat up. She entered, carrying a small birthday cake, followed by Ron. I grinned as she set the cake on my lap and Ron lit the candles with his wand. The two of them started singing "Happy Birthday," and Harry and Luna joined in. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't remember the last time I celebrated anyone's birthday, let alone my own," I said once they'd finished singing.

Ron smirked. "In case you forgot, you're supposed to blow out the candles and make a wish."

I stuck my tongue out at him before doing so. They all clapped.

"And as your present," Ginny sat at the foot of my bed, "Jugson finally made contact with us. He was being investigated, which is why we hadn't heard from him in a while, but it looks like he's in the clear. He's looking into both Gringotts and the Old Ministry for us."

"What about the palace?"

"He's walking on thin ice, so he doesn't want to go anywhere that might seem suspicious. We'll have to find out about the palace's security some other way."

"Okay," I sighed. "And Hogwarts? What's our way in there?"

"Well, we could always try to go through Hogsmeade again," Harry said with a shrug. "There's bound to be a way in."

Ginny shook her head. "If there is, no one knows about it. All the old passageways—the one-eyed witch passageway, the shrieking shack, Ariana's portrait—they've been blocked off on both sides."

"What if we went through the forbidden forest?" I suggested. "I know that wouldn't exactly be smooth sailing, but—"

"No good either," Ron said with a slight frown. "There's a shield surrounding the castle one mile in every direction. There's no way to get through it or over it."

I thought for a minute. "What about under it?"

"Well, if the passageways from Hogsmeade still worked, sure, but they're no good—"

I shook my head. "No. I'm talking about the lake."

"That's not a bad idea," said Harry eagerly. "Someone could swim underneath it, find their way inside the castle, and reopen one of the passageways to let the rest of us in."

Ginny frowned. "You don't think the shield would extend to the bottom of the lake?"

"That lake's so deep, I doubt even Riddle could cast a spell to touch the bottom."

"Okay, but who's going to volunteer to swim to the bottom of a freezing, creature-filled lake?" said Ron.

"I will."

Everyone looked up. Draco was standing in the doorway, one hand behind his back as if he were holding something.

"I'm more than a decent swimmer," he said when no one responded, "and I've been at the school more recently than the rest of you, so I know my way around. I'll be the one to swim under the barrier."

We all looked at Harry. After a minute he nodded. Draco grinned.

"I see I'm late for the song," he said as he continued to walk into the room, "but happy birthday, Hermione."

He pulled a long, narrow box out from behind his back and offered it to me. My lips split into a huge smile before I even opened it.

"Is this what I think it is?" I said excitedly.

He smirked. "Just open it."

I did, and squealed as I pulled out a beautiful twelve-inch wand.

"I know you've been going crazy without one," he said, holding back a laugh. "I tried to find one that was similar to your old one—vine, dragon heartstring. It's a little longer, though."

I waved it and lifted all the books in the room into the air at once. With another flick of my wrist, they were all back in two perfectly straight piles between mine and Harry's beds.

"It's perfect," I said, beaming up at him. "Thank you."

He grinned. "You're welcome."

He held my gaze for a moment, and I tried not to pay attention to the frown that appeared on Ron's face. Draco then turned and faced Harry, reaching into his pocket.

"I've got one for you too, Potter." He withdrew another wand and tossed it at him. "It's a ten-inch holly with a unicorn hair—afraid there were no phoenix feathers in the shop."

"That's fine," Harry said with a small smile. "Thank you, Draco."

"Where did you get these?" said Ron, his tone sounding unnecessarily hostile.

"I stole them from the new wand shop in Diagon Alley," Draco said matter-of-factly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"You went to Diagon Alley by yourself?" I blurted out before Ron could respond. "What were you thinking?"

"That the two of you needed wands, and it was the most direct way to get some for you."

Ron folded his arms. "Next time, you should consult one of us."

"Why?" Draco scoffed. "I went there, got the wands, and got out. Involving anyone else would have just slowed me down. Besides, it's not like you'd be upset if I were killed, Weasley."

"No, I wouldn't," Ron said through his teeth.

Draco sighed. "Happy birthday, Hermione," he said again with a small smile before leaving.

The room was quiet for a few minutes. Luna followed him out, saying she was going to check in with the healers for us. Ginny got off of my bed and moved over to Harry's, and the two of them admired his new wand. As Ron sat down next to me, I let out a small sigh.

"That was entirely unnecessary," I muttered.

"He put us all in danger! What if he'd been captured, and the Dark Lord read his mind and found us?"

"Well, he wasn't, so I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is he did it to impress you, and it worked."

"Not today, Ron," I said with another sigh. "Please."

After another minute of silence, he stood.

"Look, if you can't bring yourself to talk to him, I will."

"Like I've been telling you—I will talk to him. Right now's just not the right time."

"And when will the right time be?" he snapped.

"Get me a fork, would you?" I said, forcing myself not to scream at him. "I'd like to eat some of this cake."

He grumbled as he left the room. I reopened the book on my lap, practically fuming. Even on my birthday, he had to start a fight.

I turned the page just as he reentered the room, and noticed something interesting. Ron tried to hand me my cake, but I hardly even noticed.

"Where's Daphne?" I asked.

"Still in London with Seamus," Ginny responded. "They should be coming back soon though."

"Did you find something?" Harry said, leaning forward.

"Maybe," I muttered. I turned the page again, reading more. Ron read over my shoulder.

"Antioch Peverell?" he said with a frown. "Isn't that the name of the first brother? The one who made the elder wand?"

I nodded. "The story says he used the elder wand to kill another wizard, right? Well, in this version it talks about how the other wizard owned a goblin-made dagger that Antioch claimed was his, and that's what they were fighting about. Granted, it's not proven history, but—"

"That fits!" Harry exclaimed. "It's goblin-made, and it's connected to the elder wand."

"We should focus our research on the known owners of the elder wand," I said, starting to get excited. "Maybe more of them had goblin-made objects."

Harry immediately picked up the book closest to him. Ginny grabbed one as well and opened it up to the table of contents. Ron stood awkwardly for a moment before he set my cake back down, took a seat, and tentatively reached for a book. When I didn't object, he opened it up and started skimming. After a minute, he looked up at me.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

I glanced at him, but didn't respond and returned my attention to the book. I was still mad at him.

A/N: Phew! I did it, guys! For a while there I wasn't sure I was going to get a chapter posted today, and that would have broken my pattern! :P But here it is! Another laying-around chapter, but they're slowly making progress toward being ready for the final battle with Voldemort.

I'll try to write more over the next couple days and get more into the action (stupid Harry and Hermione for needing physical therapy...grr...) but I hope this chapter's enough to keep you interested until then! Thanks again for all your amazing support!