Disclaimer: I am not JKR and I am not making any money whatsoever from this.

Chapter 4: Hermione's Birthday

"Ginny," Ron whispered to her, leaning in close.

"What?"

"Shh." Ron said.

"Why are we whispering?" She asked confused.

"Hermione." He said simply nodding over to where Hermione was sitting on the other side of the table doing her homework.

"She's not that bad! She'd let us talk." Ginny said, continuing to copy down a passage from the book.

"No, no… I don't want her to know what we are talking about."

"I already told you, I wouldn't help you catch Crookshanks and send him to Charlie." Ginny said frowning, Crookshanks was a great cat!

"No, it's not about that, although I still think he'd be better off as a meal for the dragons." Ron said and Ginny decided to ignore the comment. "Then what?"

"Her birthday." He said so softly she almost didn't hear it.

"What about it?"

"I was- I mean, Harry and I were thinking maybe we could do something for her. Like a small party, just the third years and you, of course and I-we wanted you to help us, because we don't know where to find a cake, or even where to bake one." He said.

"I'll take care of it, don't worry." Ginny said, remembering the trip to the kitchens she'd made with the twins recently.

"Really? Thanks!" Ron exclaimed causing Hermione who had been looking at them curiously to give him an admonitory glare. Ron and Ginny smiled sheepishly and returned to their homework.


Ginny walked down the hallway trying to ignore the looks she was getting from passers by. In the three weeks since school had started she had grown used to the looks, it seemed everyone knew that she was the one that had been controlling the Basilisk the year before and everyone watched her as if expecting her to petrify someone at any time or at the very least pull Sirius Black out of her pocket. The Slytherins were only slightly better, only because instead of looking at her fearfully they gave her amused looks; they all thought that a "mudblood lover" attacking muggle-borns was the most hilarious thing in the world.

This reminded her of her destination and she retraced a few steps as she had been about to walk down an extra flight of stairs as she turned into the hallway she saw a group of Slytherins laughing and she glanced over and saw that they were surrounding a first year, making fun of her and teasing her, she started toward them when she saw a Slytherin crest sewn into her bag and silver colored robes peaking out over the top of her Hogwart's robes. Whatever reason she's being teased, she probably deserves it, she thought and continued moving toward the library.

She walked into the large room and walked past bookshelves and tables until she reached a mountain of books from which could be heard the sounds of furious scribbling. No one had wished her a happy birthday or even acknowledged it, as planned, although they had almost given it away when Snape had walked by her at dinner and seeing her gloomy face had said, "I see no one's remembered, at least it will be happy for me." Ron and Harry had been about to speak when Ginny loudly asked, "Remembered what?" Hermione had stood straight and said, "we have a potions essay do, which I will now go work on." She had spent the rest of the day in the library, which was fine by them as they'd had time to prepare.

Squaring her shoulders, she started to pant and rushed around the table to Hermione's side and said, "Hermione come quick!"

"Why?" Hermione said sullenly looking up, Ginny noticed her eyes were red, and she'd probably been crying.

"Ron's finally lost it." Ginny said anxiously, "He's trying to kill Crookshanks."

Hermione stood up quickly tossing her books, parchments and quills into her bag haphazardly. When she finished she rushed out of the library and after a small laugh Ginny followed her, hearing Madame Pince yelling, "no running in the library" after them.

When they reached the fat lady Hermione gasped out the password and rushed through the portrait. "Surprise!" a group of voices yelled, Hermione froze, stunned by everything and Ginny walked in behind her, putting her arm around her and suddenly Hermione started crying and everyone's smiles froze on their face unsure of what to do.

"I thought you forgot!" Hermione cried out.

"Of course not," Ginny said guiding Hermione to the area in front of the fireplace which they with the twins and Percy's help had appropriated for the night and forbidden any one else from coming near and sat her on the sofa facing the fireplace where a banner hung, reading: Happy Birthday Hermione. The message was flanked by a picture of Crookshanks and a copy of Hogwarts, A History. When Hermione saw it she burst into fresh tears, the girls gathered around her and tried to calm her while the boys sat uncomfortable and stared on.

"Dean made it." Parvati told Hermione, patting her back, while Lavender transfigured a piece of parchment into a handkerchief.

"Thank you." She said to him smiling through her tears, "how'd you get the cake?"

"The twins," Ginny said and upon noticing Hermione looking at the cake suspiciously as if waiting for it to explode she hastily added, "They helped me find it, they didn't make it."

"Thank You, so much!" She said tearing up again.

"It's a party!" Fred yelled. "Why are we just sitting around?"

"Let's eat said cake!" George added.

It was a small and subdued party, the third years and Weasleys being the only ones gathered in front of the fireplace, the rest of the common room continuing on barely acknowledging the group with a glance when they became particularly loud, usually due to the twins. Hermione loved the presents she got, mostly books, although Ginny had given her a barrette similar to one she'd seen her admire in Diagon Alley. The most amusing part of the party was when Crookshanks had fallen off the back of a chair while trying to remove a party hat the twins seemed to have attached using a sticking charm. Although the cat was fine, the twins and Ron were not. After yelling at the twins for attacking her cat, she lit into Ron for laughing at Crookshanks when he fell. Thankfully it seemed that Ron was keeping in mind it was her birthday, and merely apologized although Ginny spied him scowling at the cat when she was trying not to stare at Harry.

A/N: Not much about the others, but I wanted to show a few things about Ginny, I think her friendship with Hermione and her brother is important. I think what I really want to show through my stories is how Ginny might have become the person she is in OotP, we don't see her in the HP books much and some people tend to interpret that as the trio is ignoring her or she's locked herself up in her room and hasn't come out for three years, I think she was there, she just had her own thing going on and plus I don't think she's all that interesting to Harry, so he has no need to report on her.