Happy birthday to me.

Some of you might be wondering, why a dragon kidnapping? It's a surprise tool that will help us later. Also, I'm sprucing up some of the earlier chapters of This is Why. I was reading back, and I don't like some of the choices I made. Like before, it won't change what's happening next, so you don't have to read back, but like I'm editing some word choices and also fixing some world building and fixing some inconsistencies I noticed.

Hermione jolted awake. The sun had nearly finished setting so she hadn't been out long, but she was also still in the nest with Wyvern Mama. She missed lunch and would probably miss dinner, too. She sat up, gasping and whimpering in pain. Her back felt worse than any sunburn she had ever gotten, and she could feel the beginning of a burn on her cheeks and lips. She grabbed her water jug out of her bag and shook it. Damn. There wasn't much left. She gulped it down and when it provided little relief, she pointed her wand at it.

"Aguamenti."

It only filled a few ounces, the hot, dry air not allowing her to cast the spell properly. When she drank that, it had an acrid taste like cheap cigarettes. The kind that just smelling was like a punch to the throat. Hermione managed a little bit more water from the apple in her bag. Thunder rumbled in the distance, which meant a storm was coming. She could already see the lightning.

She couldn't stay.

An idea popped into her head. If help wasn't going to come, then she would just have to escape on her own. She made sure everything was packed away in her bag.

"I am attempting my escape," she said to the lens of her video camera. "I don't think help is coming. If I die, then here is my last will and testament: Amalea gets my clothes, Daphne, Padma, and Hannah can divvy up my hair accessories and jewelry, the rest goes to Cedric. He'll know what to do."

She set it aside and stood up. She stomped around the nest in circles, spat three blasts of fire, and shrieked.

Wyvern Mama opened her eyes and puffed smoke before getting up. Hermione watched her glide unsteadily down the cliff in search of food, then gathered her things and made her way out of the nest. She kept filming. If anything happened to her or if something crazy happened, she wanted it on film in case she needed to determine how big the settlement would be for her potential lawsuit. She wasn't certain if she wanted to sue yet, but the option was in her mind.

Part of her felt guilty. Would she be creating more problems by escaping? Maybe the witches were already setting up a decoy to replace her with.

No. The burning on her skin was getting worse. She couldn't afford to wait any longer. Casting a charm to keep her camera levitating just over her shoulder, Hermione carefully made her way down the side of the cliff. So far only the baby Vipertooths watched her in their own nests. She inhaled sharply as her foot skidded on some loose rock and clung to the ledge. She had to hurry before Wyvern Mama came back.

Barely able to breathe, she managed to make it to the bottom with only a few scrapes and bruises. She hoped the cut on her knee wasn't enough to alert the other creatures of fresh meat. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but she guessed the glowing light in the distance was the location of campus. She must've seen dozens of dragons as she hurried towards safety. It had begun to rain.

"Oh, and that over there is a Venezuelan Shocker," she whispered, pointing her camera at it. "I've read about them; they can snort lightning and are often used for mushroom growing."

The Shocker paid her no mind as it jumped around in mud puddles like a puppy.

Hermione heard the squall before she saw it. She couldn't let her camera get ruined.

"I've got to go," she said to her invisible audience and quickly stashed her camera away into her bag.

The rain doused her, soaking her to the bone in a matter of seconds. Hermione felt her throat tighten. It was getting so dark. How was she ever going to find her way now? Once it cleared, she was sure to smell like a human again. If she didn't move, she was going to get eaten. She'd rather die trying to escape than die sitting around waiting to be rescued. Tying her skirt at her hip to free her legs, Hermione took off at a run.

She lucked out a little bit. The dracones in the reserve were taking shelter from the rain. No doubt once it ended this place would be crawling with the creatures remarking their territories and duking it out for this rock or that tree. She could not be there when that happened.

It was pouring down buckets and she wasn't certain she was any closer to the ranger station where she started that day. She'd been there for hours, surely she would have run into a search party by now.

A lowing sound made her skid to a halt. She froze and dropped to the ground, looking in the direction of the source. Standing nearby was a chimera-type creature. The rain hardly seemed to touch it as it pawed the ground. Its ox-like body was covered with shimmering cerulean scales and its lion tail whipped around it as it studied her with two glowing eyes set into a dragon-like face. It had golden fur falling around its hooves and a matching mane that billowed in a personal wind. Jutting out of its forehead was a large horn that swooped and branched like a deer antler.

It charged and Hermione dove out of the way, landing in a puddle. The creature hit the tree behind her, and its horn flew off its head and landed near her. It tossed its mane and pranced around. Already, she could see another horn poking out where the first one was. She picked up the fallen one and stashed it away in her bag.

She didn't know what this creature was. She didn't know if it was going to eat her or kill her or what. When it turned its eyes to her again, she cowered on the ground. Maybe if she played meek it would leave her alone. Despite being the size of Cedric's old Percheron, Tank, the creature barely made a sound as it approached her. It snuffled her hair then sniffed her back. Its nose was cold and wet and almost reminded her of Pongo's nose.

It didn't attack and didn't lose interest. Instead, it just took a step back and she could feel its eyes burning into her. Or maybe that was the venom.

Taking a chance, she looked up at it. It regarded her but didn't seem to think she was going to attack it. Slowly, Hermione sat up and back on her heels. She winced and shivered. The creature moved closer and nosed her cheek. The rain was dying down, so she took out her camera once more. The creature seemed to find the device interesting its ears flicking around as it heard a sound Hermione could not.

"You wouldn't happen to know the way to the nearest ranger base, would you?" she asked.

After a moment, it knelt down on its front legs. Was it asking her to get on?

"Well, if I die at this point then it's my fault," she said, getting up and climbing onto its back.

At once, it took off at a steady gallop. The creature was warm, radiating heat like a hot water bottle. Hermione held on the best she could and kept filming, though she was sure the footage was useless.

It was cooler near the edge of the sanctuary, the remained sweat dissipated leaving her cold and clammy. The creature skidded to a halt, throwing her off. Hermione held her camera close and rolled. When she looked back it was gone.

Nearby, there was a ranger station. With a soft groan, Hermione rose to her feet and turned her camera to face herself.

"I made it. Hermione: 16, Curse: None."

Stashing her camera away, she flung the door to the station open and everyone inside whirled around, their eyes widening with shock.

"Oh, my God!" one of them gasped upon seeing her. "You're the missing girl everyone is talking about! We all thought you were dead!"

Hermione scowled.

"Are you kidding me?!"

He nodded, not really listening to her. "We already sent a message to your parents telling them you were eaten."

"Unbelievable!"

"I know, how did you even make it out alive?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back around so she could go to the tram. "Let's just get this over with so I can call my parents."

"Maybe we should take you to the medical center first," a witch suggested.

"Nope. I am seeing Doña Claudia," said Hermione. "I'm not dead, I'm alive."

"But Miss Sanchez, your skin came in contact with Peruvian Vipertooth venom, you need to get to an emergency shower, and we have to get you a Dragon Pox vaccine."

"Ughhh! Fine."

She knew the emergency shower and vaccine were important, especially as the pain in her back had intensified and she had no time to get sick, she was just too mad to freak out at the moment. They honestly thought she was dead and hadn't bothered to send out a rescue mission? This was ridiculous.

The witch, a ranger by the name of Teresa, brought Hermione to the medical center attached to the ranger station and tended to her. Catching a glance of herself in the mirror before getting into the emergency shower, Hermione thought she looked like she crawled out of a grave. It wasn't nearly as bad as last year, but she was certain there'd be lasting scars on her back. She knew Wyvern Mama didn't mean it.

"You won't hurt the Vipertooth that did this will you?" Hermione asked as a soothing salve was applied to both the venom- and sunburns. "She was just taking care of me like a baby wyvern."

"No. If she thinks her baby is missing, she will need to be sedated, but we'll be able to find a replacement for her to take care of. There's a runt that's been abandoned by its mother."

"Good, I'm glad. I'd hate for something to happen to her." Hermione put on a fresh pair of robes once gauze was taped onto her back to keep the salve on and prevent any clothing fibers or other stuff from getting into her burns.

Once she was on the tram, she brought out her mirror and called Cedric. He answered right away.

"Hermione, thank goodness. Were you rescued from the dragon?"

"Wyvern. No, I had to escape because somebody thought I was eaten and decided to tell my parents."

His eyes widened. "So, will it be Uluru next?"

"Don't know," she sighed. "Can you send a message to Roger and Beatrice for me, letting them know I'm okay? Not sure if they received the notice yet, but I can't take any chances."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll send it out."

"You look tired, Cedric," said Hermione. "Better call an attendant for those bags."

He chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. "I do have a bit more time now that I'm no longer adapting the radios. But it's already been filled up with tutoring."

"Tutoring?"

"Yeah, for kids who are having problems turning work in, I've been the sort of next step before they have to take remedial lessons," he said. "I help them with assignments and for those who have the issue where they lose things easily, I make copies and submit them for them. I've actually roped in Harry as an assistant since he's been getting detentions as much as I have. He'd be a great Professor one day."

Hermione hummed and half-smiled. "I could see that about him. You should get some rest, okay? We'll talk tomorrow."

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Her reflection stared back at her and she sighed. Maybe if she were still home, her bad luck wouldn't have been so bad.

Outside of the tram, two tropical hippogriffs were waiting to take her to Doña Claudia's office. They were beautiful, one with iridescent green and purple feathers similar to a hummingbird and the other a startling crimson and blue like a macaw. Hermione bowed and the green one bowed back, kneeling forward so she could climb on. The handler mounted the red one and led the way through the gardens and the campus.

The rain had moved on to a steady drizzle, but it wasn't enough for people to dive for umbrellas as long as they kept the more fragile items safely stowed away. Hermione tipped her head to the sky and enjoyed the rain on her skin. It was refreshing after being trapped so long in the reserve.

Students were heading back to their dorms from clubs and the few that Hermione had classes with gaped when they saw her. No doubt she would be the topic of the rumor mill tomorrow, but what else was new?

The building that held the counselors' offices as well as the Headmistress' was mostly dark and quiet. When Hermione entered, she could hear frantic shouting. It sounded like Papá. She hurried and opened the door to the office to find him and Mom shouting at Doña Claudia, Dr. Nakamura, and the head rangers. The adults turned to see Hermione and froze. She scowled.

"You didn't send a search and rescue?!" she yelled. "I was stuck in that nest for six hours! Why would you assume I was dead?"

"Nia!" Manuia hurried to her and pressed his forehead to hers before enveloping her in a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're safe."

Hermione glared over his shoulder. Suddenly she understood why Draco threatened calling his father in so much. There was a sense of satisfaction in watching these adults squirm. Not that she would use it as a threat, it just suddenly made sense.

"Miss Sanchez," said Dr. Nakamura. "You were taken by a Peruvian Vipertooth. Even well fed, they're prone to… to taking test bites."

"She thought I was a baby Vipertooth," said Hermione.

"That can't be possible."

Oh, they wanted to see impossible, she'd show them impossible. Hermione took out her video camera and rewound the crystal to when she started filming and handed it to her teacher and Headmistress, Hana moved around the table to watch it as well, while Manuia collapsed in a chair. Hermione sat on his lap like she did when she was little and tapped her feet together.

"I'm so relieved you're not dead," he said hugging her tightly. "I can't lose you again."

They listened to her commentary and despite his worry, Manuia laughed at her Steve Irwin impression when she was studying the hatchlings.

"Well," said Doña Claudia, "you are very resourceful. Miss Sanchez. I'm certain even the most well-trained draconologists would have cracked under the pressure."

"Yes, yes, we all know she's clever, resourceful, and tough," said Manuia instantly souring. "What I want to know is what you will do to ensure that this doesn't happen again. I had Herminia transfer here to be safer!"

"We did," Hana agreed. "Ms. Diaz, you witnessed for yourself what Herminia has been through just this past year. We trusted that there would be safety precautions and yet, our daughter got kidnapped by a dragon!"

"Wyvern," Dr. Nakamura corrected which earned her two withering scowls.

"I don't want to make her change schools again," said Manuia, "I know how she is with sudden change, but unless you can't guarantee her safety, you will leave me no choice!"

"There's private tutors at Kilokilo," said Hana. "They're expensive, but we might be able to work something out, keep Herminia at home for a little while."

"I don't want to be homeschooled again," Hermione sighed. "I mean, I enjoyed it quite a lot for my GCSE, but there's so many interesting things to learn and do here!"

"Something should still be done," said Hana. "Believe me, sweetheart, we aren't trying to helicopter parent here, but we are very concerned for your safety."

"I understand," said Doña Claudia. "Perhaps it would be best, for the time being, to exempt Herminia from Magizoology classes. We have independent study programs here, available to those who ask for it. I can see by her chart that she is an excellent student and for the lower level creatures, say… XXX and below she can attend class if she wishes."

Manuia and Hana leaned close and spoke quietly. Hermione went back to wiggling her feet checking out of the conversation.

"Should we have her do the independent study through January?" Manuia asked at last. "Keep her home in the meantime?"

"Well, she's safe and relatively unharmed, I think it would be up to her and how she feels about all this."

"I don't know," said Hermione, picking at her nails. She had begun to shake even though she wasn't cold. "I'm sort of coming to the realization that common sense among magic-using peoples is severely lacking. I mean… I made a distress signal, and nobody came to my aid… I don't want to leave for good, but…" she took a deep, shuddering breath, "I am listening to myself and I think I need a short break and some independent study."

Doña Claudia nodded slowly. "Alright. I will make arrangements for your assignments to be sent home with you. Your teachers will be notified of your absence and we can just use the honor system for your tests and quizzes. We will also work on better safety procedures for our Magizoology students."

"We'll discuss it again when, and if, she's ready to come back," said Hana. "Come on, Nia, we'll go with you to pack some of your things."

"I don't think I want to leave for good," said Hermione, following them out. "There's a lot here I still want to try and see, but… I- I need a break."

"I understand," said Manuia. "We'll call Rog and Bea when we get home."

"Okay."

As they approached her building, she could see her cousins gathered on Noa's balcony; they seemed to be agitated. Did they all think she was dead too?

Hermione's hands shook even more as she trudged up the stairs to get to her dorm and the gravity of the whole situation came crashing down on her. If she hadn't miraculously had the scream of a Peruvian Vipertooth and been able to spit fire, she very likely would have been killed.

Was the whole wizarding world just out to get her? Was this a personal vendetta brought on by a malevolent being or was she just that unlucky?

The door to Noa's room was open.

"I say we wait until lights out and then sneak over to the sanctuary and rescue her ourselves," Abril insisted. "If she were dead, then Tía Manola would have contacted us through the emergency medallions."

"That is true," said Hermione. "But a rescue operation is no longer necessary."

"Herminia!"

The six of them gathered around her and the older triplets checked her over, all of them chattering over each other.

"I'm fine!" she shouted over them to get them to stop. "I'm going to be okay. I just… I need a little break from this, so I'm going home and doing a few weeks of independent study."

"But you aren't leaving for good, right?" Noa asked. "It's fun having you around, it's like having a sister."

Bianca and Josefina stuck their tongues out and Noa smirked.

"No, I'll be back after I recover. Anyway, Papá and Mom are gonna take me home tonight."

The girls gasped and pushed past her.

"Tío Manny!"

They crowded him excitedly and Hermione realized that Bianca, Noa, and Josefina probably viewed him as much of a father figure as Esperanza did.

"Okay, I guess I'll go pack my stuff," she said and moved around the group to get to her dorm. Back at Hogwarts she would have gotten at least five more minutes of sympathy.

"They're relieved you're okay," Hana assured her. "They're just used to moving on fast from these things."

"Yeah, I know. I just really want to go home now."

"Don't worry, I'll help you pack."

Hermione was embarrassingly aware of how messy her room was and quickly flicked her wand around, muttering cleaning charms and tossing her rubbish into the overflowing bin.

"It's not that bad," said Hana, opening the trunk and casting the packing charm. "I hear all geniuses are messy."

"I don't quite feel like a genius," said Hermione. "Everybody tells me that I am but… when you're shunned for half the year it's easy to get homework done. I've been so invested in other things here that I'm barely submitting my homework on time. For years being the smart person and getting my homework done and being the walking encyclopedia was my hyperfixation. Here nobody relies on me. Not in the way people at Hogwarts did. It drove me mad, but now I miss being needed."

"Oh…" Hana extended her arms out and Hermione accepted the offered hug. "Well, you can have a little time to relax. Work at your own pace. You can do your work at the restaurant or my shop and I can help you with anything you have trouble with. Your Dad will also help you keep up with your driving lessons. I think it would also be good to get some sun, go swimming, maybe hang loose with some local kids."

"I'll think about it." Hermione coaxed Crookshanks into his carrier.

"Ready to go?" Manuia asked, poking his head in.

"Sure am."

~o0o~

"Mimi? Hermione!"

Grumbling to herself, Hermione crawled over to the edge of her bed and picked up her mirror which she had tossed onto her shelf the minute she returned home. She hadn't even stayed awake long enough to eat anything. She just passed out. She flicked on the fairy lights that decorated the wall behind her and glared into the mirror.

"Cedric, my darling, the love of my life, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Judging by your tone, I'm not certain those are the words you meant to say," he teased and furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, were you still asleep? I know it's a Saturday, but we're in another D.A. meeting and everyone wants to know how you escaped a Peruvian Vipertooth."

"It's three in the bloody morning!"

"It's one o'clock here and I thought Castelobruxo was three or four hours behind."

"Did I not tell you? I thought I told you. I went home for a couple weeks," she explained, massaged her temple, and sighed. "It wasn't a total meltdown, but the idea that I could have been eaten yesterday kinda took its toll."

"Oh. I'm sorry. You don't have to tell it. It was Fred's idea anyway."

"It was not!" Fred protested from off screen.

"Go back to sleep."

"No, no I'm awake. Might as well get the truth out there before it spirals out of control just… give me a minute, okay?"

"Alright."

She quickly dressed in her yoga clothes and tied her hair back into a ponytail. She then set up her vanity to accept her astral projecting, modifying it slightly in hopes that she could bring the crystal with the footage of the Peruvian Vipertooth with her. She drew the runes on her arm and sat down in her wicker reading chair.

When she blinked, she was looking out into the Room of Things, furnished for the Defense Lessons. It was odd, because through her star eye all she saw was an amalgam of colors that made very little sense. Perhaps it was the magic of the room working to create this temporary existence in favor of the actual lost and found it normally lived as.

Everyone attending turned to give her their attention. It still baffled her that Draco Malfoy of all people was in this secret club, but if he was still there then he must've been taking it seriously and wasn't going to snitch.

"Hi everyone," she said, waving. "Daphne, Hannah, Padma. Howzit?"

"It's about as well as it can be," said Padma.

"What happened?"

"There was a mass breakout from Azkaban," said Neville. "Pettigrew is one of them."

"Who are they saying did it?"

"Pettigrew," said Ron. "They theorize that he's been practicing turning into a rat and then stole a wand by a visiting wizard."

"Convoluted," said Hermione, sighing and shaking her head. "Flimsy. No evidence to support this and all the real evidence is ignored. Cedric. I've got an idea you're going to hate, but I'll tell you later."

"How do you feel about all this?" Harry asked.

"With Pettigrew escaped I imagine he'd want to come after Mum and Dad. Bad luck already happened so hopefully we've got some time. Ask Sirius to set up some wards and maybe keep an eye on Chibuzo. Make sure no suspicious figures approach him at day care."

"So, the bad luck this year was being kidnapped by a dragon?" Hannah asked reminding her of the audience.

"Wyvern. Technically she adopted me," she corrected. "The bad part was the venom getting on my skin. If you don't get into an emergency shower right away it kinda eats away at your flesh. Now, I was sweating so much that it diluted the venom- Oh, grow up!" she yelled at the groaning boys. "Girls do all the same things you do. We just don't have our burping contests in public!"

"They're not the same without you," sighed Daphne, making Padma and Hannah giggle.

"Why would a dragon adopt you?" Draco asked. "They're blood-thirsty beasts!"

"Wyvern. How about I just show the video? I got nearly everything on tape, including our lesson on dracones. Cedric, I need you to draw a specific runic chain so I can project it onto the mirror. You can use a marker or lipstick works."

"Why would he carry around lipstick?" a boy scoffed.

"How about you mind your business?" Cedric retorted.

Hermione pointed to a good section of mirror. Cedric drew a large rectangle and along the border wrote out the necessary runes within the borders.

"Oh, how clever," said Hermione, leaning against the mirror. "So that way it doesn't take up the whole wall!"

He smiled bashfully. It was too bad his reflection in this realm was a phantom or she would hold its hand. Instead, she settled for standing as close as she could to him.

"So, come here often?" she asked, and he grinned.

"Maybe once or twice."

"Are you going to play the video or just make goo-goo eyes at your boyfriend?" Ron asked sourly.

"Bite me," she replied and held the crystal to the mirror.

The D.A. half-watched the lecture portion.

"Figures there's a whole school out there filled with Grangers," said Draco to Blaise.

"This is just one of the advanced classes," said Hermione. "There are plenty of people your level in C-Group."

Draco flushed and Cedric tapped the glass.

"That was a little mean," he said. "To Draco and the C-Group kids."

Yeah, he was right.

"Sorry, Draco."

He quirked an eyebrow at her apology and while he didn't accept it, he also didn't make another snide comment.

"Hey, quiet when the lesson is in session," said Harry.

Hermione blinked, unused to being reprimanded for something like that. Guess he was taking this teacher thing seriously. Good for him to have a passion for something. She leaned against the mirror and pretended her head was resting on Cedric's shoulder. A few people screamed when the camera turned to show the Peruvian Vipertooth.

"Sorry, is this too scary?" Hermione asked drily. "Imagine actually being there."

"I certainly can," said Cedric.

"Can we show this to Umbridge next time she tells us there's nothing out there?" Hannah asked.

"Mm… she'd probably work to dismantle the laws protecting dragons," said Hermione. "There's a special hunting season for a reason."

"Don't tell Charlie that," said Ron.

"He helped write some of the laws. His name is in the special thanks section for the Guide and Laws to Dragon-Hunting. Overpopulation is no good for any creature, so it's important to make sure there's a way to manage them without over or under-hunting. Most of the laws were based on Inuit seal hunting practices and the rest on deer hunting practices."

"When do you defeat the dragon, Hermione?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah," said Dean. "No offense, but I feel like I'm watching Animal Planet."

"Why would I defeat her?" Hermione demanded. "She just wanted something to take care of and she thought I was a baby dragon."

"Aww, come on you're not that ugly," said Zacharias Smith.

Cedric sharply turned to look at him. "What?"

"I'm sure you're just making a joke, but my feelings are still hurt," said Hermione, stung.

Hannah, who was closest, punched Zach in the arm.

"Ow! Yeah, I heard it as soon as I said it."

The video ended with Hermione telling the camera she was going to escape. She pocketed the crystal and Cedric cleared the runes away. She didn't want to show them the rest.

"I mimicked a baby Vipertooth asking for food," she said. "I stomped around in a circle, screeched, and blasted fire. When Wyvern Mama left to go get food, I made my escape. They thought I was dead, so they hadn't bothered looking for me."

"Didn't you go to Castelobruxo to be safer?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, I did. My parents brought me home when I turned up."

"Did you drop out?" Padma asked.

"No, just taking a break until February." Hermione paced around the mirror. "Then we'll decide what the next step should be."

Seeing everyone here together made her heart ache. Not for the first time, she wished she were back at Hogwarts with her friends. Yes, she was learning a lot and having fun with her family, but she missed study sessions with Daphne, Padma, and Hannah, hanging out with Harry and Ron, and spending time with Cedric. If she were actually there, maybe she could do something about Umbridge. Or at least just be there for her friends.

"You can go back to bed, Mione," said Harry. "We've got it covered from here."

"Oh. Sure." She waved. "Bye everyone."

"Call you later?" Cedric asked.

"Absolutely," she said, and a door appeared.

She walked through it and found herself in her chair. Sunrise was just threatening to start. Normally this would be the time that she would go for her run. Instead, she pulled her hair out of its ponytail and collapsed into bed.

I don't really know if I should write a chapter about Hermione in Hawaii. I honestly feel like it would slow up the plot. Maybe I'll do another small one-shot like I did for Kilokilo Multi-Cultural Festival. I'll write it and then decide whether or not to add it in.