A/N: A few reminders since these characters will be making appearances soon: in this story Fred and Tonks are still alive, nothing romantic ever happened between Remus and Tonks, and Hermione and Ron dated briefly in their sixth year before deciding they were better off as friends.
"SURPRISE!"
Hermione jumped at the roar of noise that greeted her upon entering Hagrid's hut. "Merlin's beard!" she cried, and everyone in the room laughed.
"We got you!" Ginny grinned as she stepped into the hut behind her.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack is what you did." Hermione had thought that she and Ginny were just going to have lunch with Hagrid this Saturday afternoon. She hadn't expected to find a small party of her closest friends waiting for her in his home. She beamed at Hagrid, Luna, and Neville, and her heart fluttered at the sight of Remus, but she addressed Harry and Ron. "You told me I wouldn't see you until Hogsmeade weekend, you didn't say you were coming today."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Part of the surprise, obviously." He smiled and came in for a hug. "Happy Birthday, Hermione."
"You didn't sneak onto the grounds, did you?" Hermione asked Harry when she hugged him next. She distinctly remembered him telling her he would when they'd said their goodbyes on platform nine and three-quarters.
"Of course not." She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and Harry raised his hands and eyebrows in innocence. "Honest. McGonagall gave us permission. She sends you birthday wishes, by the way."
Hermione glanced around the room, taking in the purple and silver streamers and balloons, and the buffet on Hagrid's table. "Wow, you guys didn't have to do all this."
"Just a bit o' decoratin' an' some food." Hagrid's eyes crinkled at her affectionately and his beard twitched into what she knew was a smile. "Wanted to do summat nice fer yer special day."
"Well, thank you, all of you, really."
It was a bit of a tight squeeze with the eight of them in Hagrid's small wooden house, but Hermione and her friends didn't care. They piled food high onto their plates and settled themselves around the table as best as they could.
As they began to dig into their lunch, Ginny pointed out to Hermione the stack of presents for her and asked, "Was the rose in your dormitory a birthday gift?"
Hermione nearly choked on her bite of salad. "Rose? What rose?" she said, though she knew exactly what rose Ginny was talking about and wished she hadn't decided to bring this up right now in front of Remus and the others — she certainly couldn't tell them all the truth.
"The pretty red rose I saw on your nightstand earlier. Who gave it to you? Was it a boy?"
"No, I — I picked it myself."
Ginny narrowed her eyes at her like she herself had done to Harry earlier. "Why are you blushing, then? It was from a boy, wasn't it? Who?"
Hermione carefully avoided glancing nervously at Remus. He wouldn't suspect it was the same rose he'd given her, would he? If not for its magic, that rose would have shriveled up and died a long time ago.
"Nobody," she told Ginny. "I told you, I picked it myself when I went on a walk—"
"I don't believe you. Ooh, was it from that guy from Ravenclaw? Sebastian? I'm pretty sure he has a crush on you."
Hermione was about to deny this when Harry, who looked just as amused as Ginny by this conversation, suggested, "Maybe it was from a secret admirer."
"Don't tell me it was from Krum," Ron said, adding to the speculation. He smirked. "Are you two still writing those novel-length letters to each other?"
"That's none of your business, Ronald," Hermione snapped.
"If you are, maybe you could ask him for tickets to Quidditch matches instead of roses—"
"Can we talk about something else, please?"
"Not until we solve this rose mystery," Ginny persisted.
"Does this rose have anything to do with the riddle Dumbledore mentioned?" Remus asked suddenly, looking at her very curiously, and her heart skipped a beat.
"What riddle?" asked Ron, confused.
"I heard a riddle about a rose once," Luna chimed in dreamily before Hermione could think of how to respond. "I don't remember what the wizard who wrote it was called, but it went something like, 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'"
"That's not a riddle, that's Shakespeare," Harry told her. Then he frowned. "Wait a minute, was Shakespeare a wizard?"
"I think he was," Neville said at the same time Hagrid claimed, "Nah, he was a Muggle."
A rather entertaining debate over Shakespeare ensued (it was concluded that he may have been a Squib), and, to Hermione's tremendous relief, their conversation did not return to her rose or the riddle afterward. She didn't know whether Luna, upon seeing her discomfort, had purposely deflected the attention from her but was grateful to her nonetheless for steering the conversation elsewhere. She didn't know how she would have explained the riddle to Remus.
Hermione looked over at him as she picked at her food. His curiosity over the riddle had completely gone and he now seemed much more interested in catching up with Harry than in talking to her…
"Is it as tough as you'd thought it would be?" he asked Harry and Ron regarding their Auror training.
The two boys shared a look between them that plainly spelled that it was.
"It's not all about learning how to duel and mastering concealment spells," Ron said between mouthfuls of food. "You're also tested on things like intellectual capacity, emotional stability, strategic abilities and tactics… Don't know what's harder: the magic bit or the mental part."
"But Tonks and this Auror named Jackson are helping us out a lot," Harry told them. "They're our mentors."
"Have you guys gone on any missions yet?" Neville asked. "Have you helped catch any of the Death Eaters that have eluded capture since the war?"
"I haven't," Ron said, helping himself to another sandwich. "But Tonks told me I might get to soon. Aurors are in short supply since the war and they need numbers, so some of the trainees help out sometimes. Harry and Elena got to go on a mission with Jackson last week, following up on a tip that a Death Eater was hiding out somewhere north."
Neville grabbed another sandwich as well. "Who's Elena?"
A dreamy expression crossed Ron's face, and he momentarily forgot about the food he'd been wolfing down. "She's the hot, smart, and a wicked duelist who's in training with us. Wouldn't have minded going on an overnight mission with her."
Ginny's fork went still on her plate and her eyes snapped to Harry. "You went on an overnight mission with her?"
"And Jackson," Harry added. He held his girlfriend's gaze for a moment, then glanced away, quickly taking a sip from his butterbeer. Ginny frowned and pushed her plate away.
After everyone had finished their lunch, Luna placed in front of Hermione the chocolate cake she'd baked for her and Hagrid led the group in a chorus of Happy Birthday.
"Don't forget to make a wish," Luna said after the last note was sung.
Hermione tried not to glance toward Remus as she made her wish. Then she blew out the nineteen flaming candles and cut into the moist, delicious-smelling cake.
Ron devoured his slice in three bites. "Mmm…this is good cake, Luna."
The Ravenclaw smiled and passed him another slice.
Hermione enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with her friends, but she could sense a slight tension had developed between Ginny and Harry.
After the party, when she and Ginny were alone in the Head Girl's dormitory late that evening, Hermione asked her friend, "You're not worried about this Elena girl, are you?"
"You mean, am I worried that Harry will fall for the attractive, clever, and talented witch he goes on overnight missions with?" Ginny slumped down on the sofa. "No, of course not."
"You shouldn't be. Harry's with you, remember?"
"But he spends a ton of time with her, way more than he will with me this year. And did you see how moon-eyed Ron was over her? If she's that big a deal, then how could Harry not be interested in her?"
"Because he's with you, Ginny. He doesn't have eyes for anybody else."
Ginny looked away from her, shaking her head. "I just hate that we have to be apart. It makes everything so hard. I keep thinking that with the distance he'll…forget about me. I'm afraid his feelings for me will fade away and I'll still be head over heels for him, and what would I do then?"
The sympathetic Hermione could not only relate to Ginny's fears, she was unfortunately living them with Remus.
"That won't happen. Harry's crazy about you."
Ginny didn't look so convinced. She sighed. "I need some chocolate."
"You're in luck."
Hermione retrieved a box of chocolates from her bedroom and offered them to Ginny.
"Ooh, these are the best," the redhead said, taking a piece. "Thanks."
"Thank your brothers. This is from them."
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Who? Fred and George?"
In truth, Hermione was just as surprised as she was. She hadn't expected the twins to even remember her birthday, much less give her anything. These were her favorite chocolates, too. Lucky guess on their part.
"Feel better?" Hermione asked, smiling as Ginny licked her fingers with relish. "Or would you like another?"
Ginny eyed the chocolates. "Maybe one more…"
The box of chocolates was significantly lighter by the time Ginny left.
After getting into bed that night, Hermione reached toward her nightstand for the rose Remus had given her, the rose that, remarkably, still looked as gorgeous and as perfect as it had the day he'd picked it for her several weeks ago. The magic it was imbued with apparently kept it alive and looking pristine.
Hermione breathed in its scent as she settled herself more comfortably under the covers. Was the magic between her and Remus still alive? Were his feelings for her there, latent, beneath the casually professional manner he displayed toward her now that he was her teacher again? If not, would he ever be able to see her as anything more than just a student, more than just Harry's friend? Could anything romantic ever develop between them? She supposed she'd find out sooner rather than later now that she was his assistant.
Remus was pleased by all the excitement surrounding the Defense Club. Students had been asking him about it every day since the sign-up sheet had been posted last week. They were eager for the meetings to begin, and he was looking forward to Friday just as much as they were. But first he had a meeting pending with Hermione.
Wednesday afternoon arrived, and Remus was reordering the desks that had been shuffled about during class earlier when she joined him in his classroom.
"Hello, Re— I mean, Professor."
He smiled. "You can call me Remus. After all, it was I who insisted you and Harry call me by name since I was no longer your professor. I didn't think I'd ever teach again."
"I can't imagine you being anything other than a teacher." Hermione contemplated him. "What would you have done if you hadn't come back? What did you do…before?"
Remus looked away from her as he stepped behind his desk to take his seat. "I had various occupations — none worth mentioning." He did not look back fondly upon his roving, hand-to-mouth days. For most of his adult life he'd either been unemployed or temporarily doing low-paid work far below his skill level. His lycanthropy had kept him from being what he really wanted to be and trying to conceal his curse had kept him constantly moving. "This past summer, however, Kingsley offered me a position in the Auror department. I'd have done that if I hadn't decided to teach."
"I'm glad you chose teaching."
"So am I. Now, about Friday—"
"Oh, I've done some research." Hermione drew a chair toward his desk and pulled out a notebook from her bag. "I looked up what's been tested on the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s each year for the previous decade and compiled a list of what's most likely to be found on this year's exams. Also, I looked up…"
Hermione relayed to him all the useful information she'd found, the same information he himself had researched, and Remus marveled at her initiative and the extra effort she put into everything she did. No wonder she was top of her class. She had to be one of the brightest students to have passed through Hogwarts this century.
"I appreciate you looking into all that, Hermione. As you said, the Shield Charm is a given on both of these exams, so I thought it should be the first thing we cover. I'd like us to do a demonstration for the students on Friday before we let them go at it." He remembered her having trouble last week performing nonverbal spells, so he suggested, "Let's you and I practice now, shall we?"
They stood at the front of the classroom and took turns silently casting the Shield Charm.
"Excellent," Remus said after Hermione successfully repelled his jinx. "On Friday, we'll—"
"You went easy on me."
"I'm sorry?"
Hermione frowned at him. "You went easy on me just now… Why?"
"We were only practicing."
"Yes, but you didn't have to go that easy. You… you don't think I'm capable. Because of my performance in class the other day…" She looked at him indignantly. "But I'm better than that. I was just nervous then because you — because — but I can hold my own in a duel, you know!"
Remus stared at her. Why was she getting upset? "I believe you, I've seen it. I know you're very capable."
"So if we were to go again, you wouldn't hold back?"
Perplexed, Remus looked between the wand she readily lifted and the wounded pride in her eyes. "There's no need, Hermione. You're the best student in the class, I know you're—"
"I'm not just your student, Remus," she said, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "I'm also — I'm…your assistant. And I think we're allowed to do proper demonstrations. I think the other students would learn more if you didn't go so easy on me."
Why was she getting so worked up over this? Why did she feel the need to prove herself? It was clear to anyone who knew her that she was a superbly talented witch even if she was struggling a bit in his class. But for whatever reasons she may have, Remus decided to give Hermione some confidence.
"You're right," he said. He considered her for a moment, considered what he was about to suggest. Strictly speaking, it was against school rules, especially for a teacher to challenge a student, but under the circumstances he thought it would be acceptable. After all, she was his assistant and she'd been right when she'd said the other students would learn better if they were to do proper demonstrations. So he flicked his wand, and Hermione glanced all around them, startled, as the desks skidded to the edges of the classroom, clearing a space for them to play. "Why don't we duel?"
"Duel? You mean, like — like a real duel?"
"Precisely," he said, bowing low for her. She blinked. Then the gleam of a challenge cheerfully accepted brightened her eyes.
"I'd love to," she told him and bowed in return. Then she mirrored his stance, holding her wand before her like a sword.
"All right. On the count of three," he said. "One — two — three—"
With the speed of someone well-versed in dueling, Remus raised his wand faster than Hermione, firing off the first spell. Reacting quickly, she blocked his jinx then shot him one of her own. He deflected it and went on the offensive, forcing her back several steps — but she didn't give in. So he didn't let up.
He kept her on her toes and they moved about the classroom, engaged in a dance of dodging strikes and counterattacking, their wands slashing before them, their spells nearly colliding in midair. Remus could feel Hermione's power in the jets of silver and red light she fired at him, some of them whizzing past, only narrowly missing him, and some of them almost getting the better of him. His own attempts were repeatedly blocked or sidestepped — she was quick and her defensive magic was strong.
But eventually one of his spells landed its mark. Hit with his Tickling Charm, Hermione burst out laughing uncontrollably. For a moment he was torn between the instinct to lift the spell and make sure she was okay and the impulse to join her in her pleasant and infectious laughter. His hesitation nearly cost him his wand.
It began to fly out of his hand and he just barely managed to maintain his grip on it. Hermione was no longer doubled up laughing until she was breathless but grinning at him as she forced him back on his heels. He smiled as well, impressed by her swiftness and skill. But, truth be told, he was still holding back a little.
She continued to advance upon him, and he allowed her one last attempt before disarming her. Her wand soared out of her hand and straight into his.
"Shoot," Hermione muttered in defeat, but she appeared pleased with her performance nonetheless.
"I'd say you can do more than simply hold your own," Remus said, handing her back her wand. Her fingers brushed over his as she took it and a strange sort of thrill traveled up his arm — a spark from the wand perhaps, no doubt an aftereffect of the duel.
Hermione smiled. "That was…fun."
Remus agreed.
And it was just as fun on Friday.
A/N: I really enjoyed reading your reviews for the last chapter, thank you! I'm glad you liked the little part with Dumbledore. He'll be reappearing in a couple of key scenes later in the story so you will definitely see him again. And, of course, there will be much more alone time for Hermione and Remus coming up.
Thanks for reading everyone!