Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in his really cool world.
Summary (Chp. 1-12): A sailing class/field trip is planned. Slytherin/Gryffindor is teamed up. Draco/Hermione are paired up. The class is taught by Professor Sinistra/Dr. Branefeld. D/Hr research the Vintmoor/Island of Malnese. Hr borrows H cloak/map to go to restricted section, runs into D. When she heads back to Gryffindor, she changes her mind and goes to see D (in an empty classroom), they have a fight, she leaves, shatters her jaw on a false step. D takes her to Madam Pomfrey, fights an inner battle over his attitude towards her. Hr awakens on Monday night, remembers she left H cloak, D shows up and brings it to her. They hold hands, Madam Pomfrey tells D to leave. D makes a decision. Hagrid has his COM class start to work with Billywigs, and Fred and George give Hr a hydrophanous orb. Hr discovers that the hydrophanous orb (H. orb) is mentioned in the book from the Restricted Section. Hr and D are asked to be the class navigators. They have their first night of homework. Hr receives a necklace for her birthday from an anonymous person.
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Chapter 13: Some Random Occurrences
Students stumbled out of the Transfiguration class. Their quiz had lasted a full thirty minutes of their forty-five minute class, and they were exhausted. As usual, Hermione had done a stunning job on her quiz, receiving a full 120%. Ron, however, had failed miserably, his attempt on the quiz having resulted in a purse with teeth.
"I'm telling you, this class makes no sense. It's not like I'm ever going to need to turn a mink into a purse, for crying out loud."
"Well, Ron, if you would actually study for Transfiguration instead of always playing games in the evening, you might do better," Hermione said, receiving a glare from Ron.
"Hey, you guys, let's hurry to Hagrid's. Remember, he wanted to have a us over for Hermione's birthday before class started," Harry interrupted. The two arguing students gave nods of agreement and the three quickly moved through the entrance hall and out the doors to Hagrid's hut.
" 'ermoine, 'appy birthday!" bellowed Hagrid as he opened the door to his hut. "Come in, come in! I 'ave made some fresh treacle fudge for the birthday girl." Oblivious to their hesitant smiles, he held out a plate of treacle fudge as the three sat down around the table. Politely, each took a piece and placed it on their plate.
Hagrid then poured some tea into four cups and placed them around the table. "It's good ter see you. How's school treatin' yeh so far?"
"School's going really well, Hagrid." Hermione took a sip of her tea.
Hagrid looked over at Harry and Ron who both gave the same answer. For the next twenty minutes, the hut rang with mirth as stories about the summer break were shared. By the time class was ready to start, the four headed out of the hut, and Harry, Ron and Hermione moved towards the group of Gryffindors.
"Granger, I need to talk to you," Draco said, walking towards her, his *myrmidons flanking him.
"What about, Malfoy?" Hermione sighed.
"We haven't figured out a time to do our sailing homework, yet." He paused, his eyes glancing at the necklace. He wondered if she'd be wearing it if she knew he'd given it to her.
Hermione watched his eyes. "What are you looking at, Malfoy?"
"Just admiring your necklace," he said, carefully lacing his voice with sarcasm. "Did poor Weasley sell his body to get it for you?" Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly at this comment. Ron's face went brilliant red and Harry grabbed a handful of his robe to keep him from springing forward.
"Malfoy, you can be such a jerk." Hermione said this without a trace of emotion. "It was a gift from someone, and it's none of your business. Now, did you want to make plans for completing our homework, or do you want to continue to harass us? Because, I warn you, I am not afraid to hex you." She said this while pulling her wand out, and pointing it directly at Draco's face.
With a smirk, he pushed the wand away. "Meet me in the library at 11:45. That will give you enough time to eat lunch, won't it?" He turned, not waiting for a reply, and imperiously strode back to the group of Slytherins, Crabbe and Goyle faithfully following in his wake.
"Why, that good for nothing, ferret faced, slimy, pathetic--," Ron paused when he saw Hermione glare over at him.
"Ron, he's not even worth get worked up over. Just let it go."
She turned around, just as Hagrid stepped up to the head of one of the tables. They spent the rest of the class feeding the Billywigs, which they had discovered were fond of lemon grass, and talking quietly amongst themselves.
When they returned to the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione ate quickly, and left to head up to her dorm to get her book for her sailing homework. She arrived at the doors of the library at the same time as Draco.
"By all means, Granger, ladies first," he smirked, pulling open the large wooden door for her, while giving her a mock bow. She narrowed her eyes at him and flounced through the open door.
"Let's make this quick and painless, Malfoy." She continued to glare at him as they sat at a table near the back of the library.
Without a word, Malfoy threw his book on the table, pulled out a clean sheet of parchment, unstoppered his inkbottle, and dipped his quill in.
"I'm ready. So, what's first?"
With a final glare, she looked down at her own book. The two finished their labeled diagram of the inner hull of a ship in record time. After cleaning up the table, they sat in uncomfortable silence.
"Uh, Granger?" Hermione looked over at him. "I guess, uh, happy birthday." He stood, pushing his chair back, and turned to leave.
"Wait," Hermione said. He glanced back at her. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want him to leave, for some unknown reason. "Um, you know, I was wondering if you could help me with my nocturnal this evening. I just can't seem to get it."
He turned around to face her. "So, the perfect Gryffindor isn't so perfect after all?" Draco drawled, instantly sorry when he saw the scowl on her face. "Sure, I suppose I could help you," he quickly added. Her face softened a bit, and her hand strayed to her necklace. She fingered it absentmindedly for a bit.
"Really, that's a nice necklace," he said. "Whom did you get it from?"
"I thought you already knew," she spat out at him.
"Look, Granger, it was a joke. Gees, can't you take a joke?"
"It was mean," she stated, a glare forming on her face.
"Fine," he said, taking his seat again, "it was mean, but could, quite possibly, be true." Her glare deepened. "Okay, look, it was a joke. All right, let's get past that. Whom did you get it from?" He didn't know why, but it was important for him to know what she thought.
"I-I don't know. An owl appeared in my room this morning with a package. This necklace was in it," she held the necklace out a bit, "and a note."
"Any guesses?"
"Why are you so interested? Afraid that I may have a secret admirer? Afraid that I may not be swayed by your charms?"
"You saying I have charm, Granger?"
"Shut up, Malfoy, you know what I mean. Why are you so damn interested in my necklace?"
"Just friendly curiosity" he said, sarcastically. "But, we need to go, unless you want to lose points for Gryffindor by being late to Potions." He smirked at the panicky look that crossed her face. She quickly pushed her chair back, slung her bag over her shoulder, and bolted for the library door, an amused Slytherin following after her.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Potions slipped by quickly, with the exception of Snape taking twenty points from Gryffindor when Ron spouted off at Draco. The Gryffindors then headed in the opposite direction of the Slytherins to sit through another long History of Magic. After Charms, Hermione talked Ron and Harry into going to the library to work on their homework before dinner. Reluctantly, Ron followed. He complained most of the way about needing to work on a new offensive position he was working on for Wizard's Chess.
"That's the problem, Ron. You spend too much time on your hobbies. No wonder you are doing so horribly in half your classes. If you don't focus, you'll fail, and then you know you'll get a Howler from your mom." Hermione gave him a look.
"Yeah, I know. Okay, I promise. I'll study harder, okay?"
Hermione gave him a grin, satisfied. They entered into the library, and spent the next hour working on their homework.
"Well, Harry and I need to go, um, do some stuff." He gave Harry a meaningful look. "We'll see you at dinner?" He waited, preparing himself for an onslaught from Hermione. Being involved in her Dark Arts homework, however, she simply nodded, and continued her work. "Let's go, Harry."
The two boys, bags slung over their shoulders, left quickly, excitedly discussing something between the two of them. Hermione paused to watch them go, a smile caressing her face. She was truly lucky to have two such wonderful friends.
She turned back to her work, carefully rereading a passage on vampires, when she felt someone watching her. She looked up and saw two gray eyes staring down at her.
"What?"
"Nothing. Do you have time for me to give you some help with the nocturnal?"
"Malfoy, we can go over that tonight, when we are doing are navigation work." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I know, I just figured that I would go over the book stuff before we went up. Oh, and maybe we should meet a little earlier, so that we can still get all the other measurements done." He looked at her with that expression that she couldn't quite read. "Unless, you really don't need help with the nocturnal."
"No, you're right. Sure, let's look over the stuff in the book. When do you want to meet?"
"Eleven o'clock?"
"Fine. Let's get to work." She closed her Dark Arts book and pulled out her sailing book. She opened to appendix C, and Draco began to explain to her the finer details of the nocturnal. He noticed that she was playing with her necklace again, and fought to keep the smile from tugging at his lips.
"Okay, so sidereal time is four minutes less than solar time. Got it. And when I turn the dial to Ursa Minor, the time is automatically corrected. That it so easy. I don't know why I'm struggling so much with this." A frown creased her forehead. Draco looked askance at her, and felt that increasingly familiar tug in his heart.
"Yeah, so, I'll see you at 11:00? Then I'll give you the hands on instruction, okay?" He waited for her nod; she was still absorbed in the book. He sat back and studied her quietly. She was deeply involved in the book, and she chewed on her lower lip while twirling a bit of hair around her finger. Her cheeks were slightly flushed giving her a rosy glow. He felt his heart thump a little quicker in his chest. Breaking his reverie, he repeated his question. "Uh, Granger? I'll see you at 11:00?"
Without breaking her eye contact with her book, she gave Draco a nod. He stood, gathering up his books, and shoving them in his bag. With a last glance at Hermione, he turned, and left.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"Come on, Hermione, let's go." Ron insisted.
They had rushed her through dinner that evening. She noticed, too, that many of the other Gryffindors ate quickly, or were mysteriously absent. She didn't dwell on it much, though.
"Ron, I'm moving as fast as I can. Geez, do you want me to run?"
"No, just, come on." He grinned over at Harry, who was carrying Hermione's bag.
They reached the Fat Lady.
"Pegasus," Harry said, maneuvering himself around the edge of the frame as it opened. He moved into the common room, Hermione and Ron following him.
"Happy birthday, Hermione!" yelled everyone in the crowded room.
She paused, her eyes going wide. A sea of ribbons was hanging from the ceiling in the common room. When she looked closer, she saw that the ribbons were attached to red and gold balloons, which covered every inch of the high ceiling. Ron and Harry were grinning from ear to ear. On a large table sat a huge chocolate frosted cake with 'Happy Birthday, Hermione' written in a pink script.
"Oh my gosh, you guys!" She threw her arms around Harry and Ron simultaneously. "You're the best friends ever."
"Hey, Hermione!" Fred called. "What about us?"
"Fred, George, thanks. Everyone, thank you, this is the best birthday I have ever had." She grinned so hard, she felt like her face would split.
Harry and Fred had snuck off to the kitchens to get some food, while Ron and George used the secret passage to get into Hogwarts. They had brought back a supply of butterbeer and a ton of sweets from Honeydukes. The Weasley twins newly mastered glitter balls were floating about the room, exploding with showers of red and gold confetti, in special honor of Hermione.
She had received some wonderful gifts from her closer friends. Among her favorites was a book on the history of Wizarding England from Harry, and a beautiful set of writing quills from the Weasley brothers.
The party wound down around ten o'clock. Hermione was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Harry, Ron, Fred, and George, and doing badly at it. The boys refused to allow her to win, even if it was her birthday. Absentmindedly, she continually played with her necklace.
"Hey, who gave you that?" Fred asked, pointing at the necklace.
"I don't know," she answered, letting go of the necklace.
"So, you have a secret admirer?" George gently teased.
"I guess. It's a little weird to think that someone likes me, and I don't know whom."
"Well, we'll keep an eye out for you, Herm. And we are always ready to lend a helping wand for any and all hexes." George pulled out his wand and did a little 'swish and flick' motion.
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione interjected, looking at the clock, which read 10:45. "I have to go! I have to go do my Astronomy homework."
"Don't you guys do your homework at 11:15?" Harry furrowed his brow.
"Well, we're meeting early tonight." She tried to keep an uncomfortable blush from her cheeks.
"Why? Who would want to spend more time with Ferret Boy than necessary?" Ron made a face.
"Well, we, uh, we are trying to figure out how to use an instrument, and we need the extra time." She stood quickly, knocking some cards to the floor. Without another word, she bolted to her room to get her bag. Moments later, she raced through the common room, and out through the portrait, completely oblivious to the stares of the four boys at the table.
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*myrmidons - loyal and subordinate followers.
Okay, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter's title. If you have a better title, please let me know. I hope you liked this chapter.
-Sage of Darkness: Thank you! Did you have fun in Australia? I am very jealous! I want to go to Australia! I have wanted to go there for at LEAST fifteen years. The toughest part of putting together the schedule for Hermione was trying to figure out what the basic schedule is at Hogwarts (thanks to the Harry Potter Lexicon).
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: Hey, what does your handle mean? Just curious. Congratulations on getting an account. It took me about three months before I bit. I'm glad you like my appendices. =)
-Sila-chan: Wait patiently. The hydrophanous orb will be explained in time. Oh, and the necklace may SEEM random, but that's only because you don't know what is going on in Draco's head, but I do. =P
-f0xyness39: I'm glad you see now. It must have been tough reading without being able to see. **sniggers** Okay, seriously, let me move on. I'm a little tired.
-Rebecca: You're welcome! I can't wait to see how I deal with the new events, either.
-Misty: **blushes** Thank you! I hope that I can keep my story interesting. I am very interested in your idea. I can always use help. Oh, and I'm glad you liked my songfic. =)
-MidnightSun: Sunna, thank you! You are awesome! I am so glad you mentioned the Draco stalking down the hall thing. I spent a good half-hour struggling with that particular paragraph. (I'm a little bit of an obsessive perfectionist.) I must admit, it is VERY difficult to develop the relationship between Draco and Hermione. That's probably why I'm taking it so slow. Thank you for all your praise. It really makes me feel like all my work on this story is really worth it. Hope you liked this chapter.
-tom felton's babe: Be patient. I am slowly working up to the "fluff", but it will be a very slow work up. Afterall, Draco is, my nature, not a caring individual. He can become so, but it takes time and careful change in his character in order to keep the whole thing realistic. Keep checking back. I promise, it will come.
-Snow White: I love the research part. I learn so much about when I do. I am enjoying the process of learning about how ship's were navigated in history. Also, the majority of my research for the Harry Potter stuff is from The Harry Potter Lexicon online. I have found it to be a valuable resource. I highly recommend that anyone who writes HP fanfic uses it often. And, trust me, the romance will be coming. But it must build. If I am to do this realistically, I must take it one step at a time.
Summary (Chp. 1-12): A sailing class/field trip is planned. Slytherin/Gryffindor is teamed up. Draco/Hermione are paired up. The class is taught by Professor Sinistra/Dr. Branefeld. D/Hr research the Vintmoor/Island of Malnese. Hr borrows H cloak/map to go to restricted section, runs into D. When she heads back to Gryffindor, she changes her mind and goes to see D (in an empty classroom), they have a fight, she leaves, shatters her jaw on a false step. D takes her to Madam Pomfrey, fights an inner battle over his attitude towards her. Hr awakens on Monday night, remembers she left H cloak, D shows up and brings it to her. They hold hands, Madam Pomfrey tells D to leave. D makes a decision. Hagrid has his COM class start to work with Billywigs, and Fred and George give Hr a hydrophanous orb. Hr discovers that the hydrophanous orb (H. orb) is mentioned in the book from the Restricted Section. Hr and D are asked to be the class navigators. They have their first night of homework. Hr receives a necklace for her birthday from an anonymous person.
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Chapter 13: Some Random Occurrences
Students stumbled out of the Transfiguration class. Their quiz had lasted a full thirty minutes of their forty-five minute class, and they were exhausted. As usual, Hermione had done a stunning job on her quiz, receiving a full 120%. Ron, however, had failed miserably, his attempt on the quiz having resulted in a purse with teeth.
"I'm telling you, this class makes no sense. It's not like I'm ever going to need to turn a mink into a purse, for crying out loud."
"Well, Ron, if you would actually study for Transfiguration instead of always playing games in the evening, you might do better," Hermione said, receiving a glare from Ron.
"Hey, you guys, let's hurry to Hagrid's. Remember, he wanted to have a us over for Hermione's birthday before class started," Harry interrupted. The two arguing students gave nods of agreement and the three quickly moved through the entrance hall and out the doors to Hagrid's hut.
" 'ermoine, 'appy birthday!" bellowed Hagrid as he opened the door to his hut. "Come in, come in! I 'ave made some fresh treacle fudge for the birthday girl." Oblivious to their hesitant smiles, he held out a plate of treacle fudge as the three sat down around the table. Politely, each took a piece and placed it on their plate.
Hagrid then poured some tea into four cups and placed them around the table. "It's good ter see you. How's school treatin' yeh so far?"
"School's going really well, Hagrid." Hermione took a sip of her tea.
Hagrid looked over at Harry and Ron who both gave the same answer. For the next twenty minutes, the hut rang with mirth as stories about the summer break were shared. By the time class was ready to start, the four headed out of the hut, and Harry, Ron and Hermione moved towards the group of Gryffindors.
"Granger, I need to talk to you," Draco said, walking towards her, his *myrmidons flanking him.
"What about, Malfoy?" Hermione sighed.
"We haven't figured out a time to do our sailing homework, yet." He paused, his eyes glancing at the necklace. He wondered if she'd be wearing it if she knew he'd given it to her.
Hermione watched his eyes. "What are you looking at, Malfoy?"
"Just admiring your necklace," he said, carefully lacing his voice with sarcasm. "Did poor Weasley sell his body to get it for you?" Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly at this comment. Ron's face went brilliant red and Harry grabbed a handful of his robe to keep him from springing forward.
"Malfoy, you can be such a jerk." Hermione said this without a trace of emotion. "It was a gift from someone, and it's none of your business. Now, did you want to make plans for completing our homework, or do you want to continue to harass us? Because, I warn you, I am not afraid to hex you." She said this while pulling her wand out, and pointing it directly at Draco's face.
With a smirk, he pushed the wand away. "Meet me in the library at 11:45. That will give you enough time to eat lunch, won't it?" He turned, not waiting for a reply, and imperiously strode back to the group of Slytherins, Crabbe and Goyle faithfully following in his wake.
"Why, that good for nothing, ferret faced, slimy, pathetic--," Ron paused when he saw Hermione glare over at him.
"Ron, he's not even worth get worked up over. Just let it go."
She turned around, just as Hagrid stepped up to the head of one of the tables. They spent the rest of the class feeding the Billywigs, which they had discovered were fond of lemon grass, and talking quietly amongst themselves.
When they returned to the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione ate quickly, and left to head up to her dorm to get her book for her sailing homework. She arrived at the doors of the library at the same time as Draco.
"By all means, Granger, ladies first," he smirked, pulling open the large wooden door for her, while giving her a mock bow. She narrowed her eyes at him and flounced through the open door.
"Let's make this quick and painless, Malfoy." She continued to glare at him as they sat at a table near the back of the library.
Without a word, Malfoy threw his book on the table, pulled out a clean sheet of parchment, unstoppered his inkbottle, and dipped his quill in.
"I'm ready. So, what's first?"
With a final glare, she looked down at her own book. The two finished their labeled diagram of the inner hull of a ship in record time. After cleaning up the table, they sat in uncomfortable silence.
"Uh, Granger?" Hermione looked over at him. "I guess, uh, happy birthday." He stood, pushing his chair back, and turned to leave.
"Wait," Hermione said. He glanced back at her. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want him to leave, for some unknown reason. "Um, you know, I was wondering if you could help me with my nocturnal this evening. I just can't seem to get it."
He turned around to face her. "So, the perfect Gryffindor isn't so perfect after all?" Draco drawled, instantly sorry when he saw the scowl on her face. "Sure, I suppose I could help you," he quickly added. Her face softened a bit, and her hand strayed to her necklace. She fingered it absentmindedly for a bit.
"Really, that's a nice necklace," he said. "Whom did you get it from?"
"I thought you already knew," she spat out at him.
"Look, Granger, it was a joke. Gees, can't you take a joke?"
"It was mean," she stated, a glare forming on her face.
"Fine," he said, taking his seat again, "it was mean, but could, quite possibly, be true." Her glare deepened. "Okay, look, it was a joke. All right, let's get past that. Whom did you get it from?" He didn't know why, but it was important for him to know what she thought.
"I-I don't know. An owl appeared in my room this morning with a package. This necklace was in it," she held the necklace out a bit, "and a note."
"Any guesses?"
"Why are you so interested? Afraid that I may have a secret admirer? Afraid that I may not be swayed by your charms?"
"You saying I have charm, Granger?"
"Shut up, Malfoy, you know what I mean. Why are you so damn interested in my necklace?"
"Just friendly curiosity" he said, sarcastically. "But, we need to go, unless you want to lose points for Gryffindor by being late to Potions." He smirked at the panicky look that crossed her face. She quickly pushed her chair back, slung her bag over her shoulder, and bolted for the library door, an amused Slytherin following after her.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Potions slipped by quickly, with the exception of Snape taking twenty points from Gryffindor when Ron spouted off at Draco. The Gryffindors then headed in the opposite direction of the Slytherins to sit through another long History of Magic. After Charms, Hermione talked Ron and Harry into going to the library to work on their homework before dinner. Reluctantly, Ron followed. He complained most of the way about needing to work on a new offensive position he was working on for Wizard's Chess.
"That's the problem, Ron. You spend too much time on your hobbies. No wonder you are doing so horribly in half your classes. If you don't focus, you'll fail, and then you know you'll get a Howler from your mom." Hermione gave him a look.
"Yeah, I know. Okay, I promise. I'll study harder, okay?"
Hermione gave him a grin, satisfied. They entered into the library, and spent the next hour working on their homework.
"Well, Harry and I need to go, um, do some stuff." He gave Harry a meaningful look. "We'll see you at dinner?" He waited, preparing himself for an onslaught from Hermione. Being involved in her Dark Arts homework, however, she simply nodded, and continued her work. "Let's go, Harry."
The two boys, bags slung over their shoulders, left quickly, excitedly discussing something between the two of them. Hermione paused to watch them go, a smile caressing her face. She was truly lucky to have two such wonderful friends.
She turned back to her work, carefully rereading a passage on vampires, when she felt someone watching her. She looked up and saw two gray eyes staring down at her.
"What?"
"Nothing. Do you have time for me to give you some help with the nocturnal?"
"Malfoy, we can go over that tonight, when we are doing are navigation work." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I know, I just figured that I would go over the book stuff before we went up. Oh, and maybe we should meet a little earlier, so that we can still get all the other measurements done." He looked at her with that expression that she couldn't quite read. "Unless, you really don't need help with the nocturnal."
"No, you're right. Sure, let's look over the stuff in the book. When do you want to meet?"
"Eleven o'clock?"
"Fine. Let's get to work." She closed her Dark Arts book and pulled out her sailing book. She opened to appendix C, and Draco began to explain to her the finer details of the nocturnal. He noticed that she was playing with her necklace again, and fought to keep the smile from tugging at his lips.
"Okay, so sidereal time is four minutes less than solar time. Got it. And when I turn the dial to Ursa Minor, the time is automatically corrected. That it so easy. I don't know why I'm struggling so much with this." A frown creased her forehead. Draco looked askance at her, and felt that increasingly familiar tug in his heart.
"Yeah, so, I'll see you at 11:00? Then I'll give you the hands on instruction, okay?" He waited for her nod; she was still absorbed in the book. He sat back and studied her quietly. She was deeply involved in the book, and she chewed on her lower lip while twirling a bit of hair around her finger. Her cheeks were slightly flushed giving her a rosy glow. He felt his heart thump a little quicker in his chest. Breaking his reverie, he repeated his question. "Uh, Granger? I'll see you at 11:00?"
Without breaking her eye contact with her book, she gave Draco a nod. He stood, gathering up his books, and shoving them in his bag. With a last glance at Hermione, he turned, and left.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~
"Come on, Hermione, let's go." Ron insisted.
They had rushed her through dinner that evening. She noticed, too, that many of the other Gryffindors ate quickly, or were mysteriously absent. She didn't dwell on it much, though.
"Ron, I'm moving as fast as I can. Geez, do you want me to run?"
"No, just, come on." He grinned over at Harry, who was carrying Hermione's bag.
They reached the Fat Lady.
"Pegasus," Harry said, maneuvering himself around the edge of the frame as it opened. He moved into the common room, Hermione and Ron following him.
"Happy birthday, Hermione!" yelled everyone in the crowded room.
She paused, her eyes going wide. A sea of ribbons was hanging from the ceiling in the common room. When she looked closer, she saw that the ribbons were attached to red and gold balloons, which covered every inch of the high ceiling. Ron and Harry were grinning from ear to ear. On a large table sat a huge chocolate frosted cake with 'Happy Birthday, Hermione' written in a pink script.
"Oh my gosh, you guys!" She threw her arms around Harry and Ron simultaneously. "You're the best friends ever."
"Hey, Hermione!" Fred called. "What about us?"
"Fred, George, thanks. Everyone, thank you, this is the best birthday I have ever had." She grinned so hard, she felt like her face would split.
Harry and Fred had snuck off to the kitchens to get some food, while Ron and George used the secret passage to get into Hogwarts. They had brought back a supply of butterbeer and a ton of sweets from Honeydukes. The Weasley twins newly mastered glitter balls were floating about the room, exploding with showers of red and gold confetti, in special honor of Hermione.
She had received some wonderful gifts from her closer friends. Among her favorites was a book on the history of Wizarding England from Harry, and a beautiful set of writing quills from the Weasley brothers.
The party wound down around ten o'clock. Hermione was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Harry, Ron, Fred, and George, and doing badly at it. The boys refused to allow her to win, even if it was her birthday. Absentmindedly, she continually played with her necklace.
"Hey, who gave you that?" Fred asked, pointing at the necklace.
"I don't know," she answered, letting go of the necklace.
"So, you have a secret admirer?" George gently teased.
"I guess. It's a little weird to think that someone likes me, and I don't know whom."
"Well, we'll keep an eye out for you, Herm. And we are always ready to lend a helping wand for any and all hexes." George pulled out his wand and did a little 'swish and flick' motion.
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione interjected, looking at the clock, which read 10:45. "I have to go! I have to go do my Astronomy homework."
"Don't you guys do your homework at 11:15?" Harry furrowed his brow.
"Well, we're meeting early tonight." She tried to keep an uncomfortable blush from her cheeks.
"Why? Who would want to spend more time with Ferret Boy than necessary?" Ron made a face.
"Well, we, uh, we are trying to figure out how to use an instrument, and we need the extra time." She stood quickly, knocking some cards to the floor. Without another word, she bolted to her room to get her bag. Moments later, she raced through the common room, and out through the portrait, completely oblivious to the stares of the four boys at the table.
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*myrmidons - loyal and subordinate followers.
Okay, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter's title. If you have a better title, please let me know. I hope you liked this chapter.
-Sage of Darkness: Thank you! Did you have fun in Australia? I am very jealous! I want to go to Australia! I have wanted to go there for at LEAST fifteen years. The toughest part of putting together the schedule for Hermione was trying to figure out what the basic schedule is at Hogwarts (thanks to the Harry Potter Lexicon).
-Akuma Kanada no Tenchi: Hey, what does your handle mean? Just curious. Congratulations on getting an account. It took me about three months before I bit. I'm glad you like my appendices. =)
-Sila-chan: Wait patiently. The hydrophanous orb will be explained in time. Oh, and the necklace may SEEM random, but that's only because you don't know what is going on in Draco's head, but I do. =P
-f0xyness39: I'm glad you see now. It must have been tough reading without being able to see. **sniggers** Okay, seriously, let me move on. I'm a little tired.
-Rebecca: You're welcome! I can't wait to see how I deal with the new events, either.
-Misty: **blushes** Thank you! I hope that I can keep my story interesting. I am very interested in your idea. I can always use help. Oh, and I'm glad you liked my songfic. =)
-MidnightSun: Sunna, thank you! You are awesome! I am so glad you mentioned the Draco stalking down the hall thing. I spent a good half-hour struggling with that particular paragraph. (I'm a little bit of an obsessive perfectionist.) I must admit, it is VERY difficult to develop the relationship between Draco and Hermione. That's probably why I'm taking it so slow. Thank you for all your praise. It really makes me feel like all my work on this story is really worth it. Hope you liked this chapter.
-tom felton's babe: Be patient. I am slowly working up to the "fluff", but it will be a very slow work up. Afterall, Draco is, my nature, not a caring individual. He can become so, but it takes time and careful change in his character in order to keep the whole thing realistic. Keep checking back. I promise, it will come.
-Snow White: I love the research part. I learn so much about when I do. I am enjoying the process of learning about how ship's were navigated in history. Also, the majority of my research for the Harry Potter stuff is from The Harry Potter Lexicon online. I have found it to be a valuable resource. I highly recommend that anyone who writes HP fanfic uses it often. And, trust me, the romance will be coming. But it must build. If I am to do this realistically, I must take it one step at a time.