My birthday was fast approaching, and I really was dreading it. Last year, everyone had been mourning loved ones by the time it rolled around, and it had just felt wrong to have a celebration of any kind. It was also strange to not have Harry and Ron here to celebrate.

My plan was just to have a quiet night in, Ginny had mentioned us going out, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that. My parents wouldn't be sending me a homemade card like they usually did. I had spent months last year in Australia trying to find them, but they had since moved from the original house they had bought. It would be my third birthday I hadn't heard from them. It was getting harder the longer it had been, and I started to wonder if I had made the right decision, sending them away with absolutely no idea of who I was.

"Have you started prepping ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion yet? I can't believe they're making us prepare so many of the ingredients for it." Theo glanced up from his book as he asked.

"Yes I have. I mean Theo, in real life, we would be prepping everything we use. I think it's actually a compliment that they're entrusting us to prepare such expensive ingredients. Have you not started preparing yours?" I was shocked, I definitely had assumed he would have by now, we were beginning the potion in just a few days.

"I have. Don't worry, I was just making conversation. You've been absorbed in that essay for 3 hours. I was only trying to distract you a little" He laughed a little, noticing I clearly had not realized the time. "Also, Draco told me he ran into you the other night. Has he been bothering you at all? He's asked a couple of times about us being friends" He looked a little worried. Poor Theo.

"I wouldn't worry. If anything, his comments seem much more teasing than they have in previous years. He commented that I must be dosing you with love potions, which I don't know how he figured out but…" I smiled at Theo to show him I really didn't mind.

"Okay, I'm glad you're not upset. You know, I do think you would get along with all of them. If you like me, you'll like them."

"I'll stick to one Slytherin at a time." He poked his tongue out at me, and I did the same. How had I become so comfortable around him in just over two weeks?

"Anyway, I was actually thinking, after supper, we could head into Hogsmeade. I have a couple small things I need to grab, and would love the company. Any takers?" Looking around as if it was more than just me, he was asking.

"That sounds great, Theo." He looked happy, I was glad I could give him company.

"I'm just going to finish up the section I'm working on. Meet you in the Common Room after dinner?"

"Sounds good, I'll be the one in Slytherin robes." With a wink, he was off.

I really didn't need to go into Hogsmeade, but the more time Theo and I spent together, the more I realized how fast of friends we were becoming. Even though Ginny had been worried it was romantic, it really hadn't been. I hoped he felt the same, and that he wasn't looking at this like a date.

Oh no, what if he was? Up until now, it hadn't crossed my mind, but I also wasn't the best at picking up on those types of cues. I would have to watch out and let him down gently if it came down to it. Had I been leading him on? We had been spending a lot of evenings together in the library, but it was a library. Not a very romantic place. How could anyone interpret budding romance from a library?

Tonight the steak and kidney pie was excellent, it seemed everyone was eating a little more enthusiastically than we had been. It had always been one of my favorite meals at Hogwarts. Neville and Dean had been arguing for over 30 minutes on whether to play exploding snaps or gobstones once they retired to the Common Room. It really was nice to hear such mundane conversations again. Both boys had been making arguments on why their game was the better option for the evening, they had even taken to asking others around them.

"Seamus! Which do you think we should play?" Dean asked between bites of pie.

"Why don't you just play both? It's not like either is particularly long to play through." He laughed watching them look dumbfounded.

"I suppose we could play a round of each. Dean, does that work for you?" Dean nodded casually, hiding the embarrassment from not coming up with the idea himself.

Clearly the idea of playing both hadn't occurred to either of them, which was quite funny. Neither boy was dense, I'm not sure how they didn't come up with the idea themselves.

Ginny then started to talk to me about Harry. He had been doing very well so far, although Ron wasn't fairing as well. I tried to look sympathetic, but it really would be his own fault if he wasn't. When he had complained about going back to school, I had explained that the Auror course would be much more challenging than any course work we'd had before. He had laughed it off at the time and told me 'I didn't understand the real world, it's not all about books Mione'. A little too happy to hear of Ron's shortcomings, I excused myself to return to the Common Room.

When I got to the Common Room, Theo was already there, sitting on a couch and waiting for me. He was sat with Pansy, and they were talking about how nice it was to have their own room. I had run into her a couple of times by our doors, we said hello, and goodbye. It was all rather civil, but I still felt nervous to approach her.

"Hey Theo. Hello Pansy… Are you ready to go, do you need more time?" I asked nervously looking between the two.

"Nope, we're all ready!" Theo announced with a large smile on his face, sitting up from the couch.

We? We're all ready? Was Pansy coming? Why did he even invite me if he had someone else? I thought he wanted company? Well, this definitely wasn't a date.

"Hey Granger… Hope you don't mind, I'm also joining, Theo mentioned he was going, and I needed a couple of things. I didn't realize you would be going, until about 10 minutes ago." I couldn't tell if she was upset that I was going. Or if she thought I was upset, she was going.

"More the merrier, right?" I said with probably too big a grin plastered on my face. She smiled back though, clearly appreciating the enthusiasm I had put on, even if some of it was nerves.

By the time we arrived in Hogsmeade Theo had done most of the chatting, Pansy and I had added small things here and there, but neither of us had spoken to each other directly.

"Usually you two won't shut up, but it seems I'm the workhorse today." Theo theatrically said as Pansy snorted at him.

"Theo, you never shut up either, I wouldn't be pointing fingers." Pansy and I both began to laugh at him.

"Alright, if it takes you two making fun of little old me to become friends. Well, I'll take it." He said pouting.

"Oh, shove off, Theo." I said, pushing him slightly and laughing.

Pansy had an order to pick up from Madam Puddifoots, it was a couple extra sets of some wizard's robes she had told us. She had a quick fitting she needed to do before confirming they were correct.

"I have somewhere to go, so I'll leave you ladies to this. I feel as though I'm just crowding you here." Even though Pansy and I had now spoken a few sentences to each other at this point, I still wasn't sure I wanted to be left alone with her.

"Alright Theo, hurry back though. It really won't take me that long." She had her nose turned up as she waved him off. Pansy really did have an aristocratic energy that surrounded her. What would it be like to grow up that privileged, part of me imagined it would be lonely.

You could tell she came from old money, the same way you could tell Theo had. I had a sneaking suspicion his money wasn't just tied up. Today he had brought a bag, which looked to be filled up. Did his comment about selling personal effects to pay her have any truth to it? When I had seen him that day with Malfoy he had a similarly large bag, I had assumed it was what he had gotten that day. But today, I wasn't so sure.

"Granger. How do you feel about these? Do they look too stiff? I typically like them to feel more flowing." She looked at me through the reflection in the mirror. "Also, would you like me to continue calling you by your surname? It's entirely up to you, I have no preference." I could see she was trying to look indifferent and cold. All the Slytherins tended to.

"Hermione is better." I said with a soft smile that she returned. " And I don't think they look too stiff, but I don't know if I'm the best person to ask."

She gave me a small nod and turned back to the attendant whispering in her ear. The employee scurried off and returned a minute or two later, and began ushering me into a changing room. What was happening?

"Pansy, what's going on, I'm not sure whether I have the money to spend on these?" I definitely didn't have the money for these. What was she thinking?

"Don't fuss, try on the robes. Then you can tell me properly if they're stiff." She waved me away, the same way she had to Theo earlier.

That was one way to get an opinion on the robes. They really were lovely, the material was silky and soft, it absolutely felt like it would feel 'flowy'. The color was a soft sage green, and it reminded me of the blades of grass by the pond at The Burrow. After putting it on, the employee who told me her name was Astelle came in to modify it for me. After a few quick charms, they fit perfectly. The top was fairly fitted and fell loosely around my waist to the bottom. The sleeves were tight until the mid-section of my forearm, where they lightly flared out. The shoulders were slightly squared, and it had an extra piece that fell over my collar, chest area that also flared out on the shoulders almost like muggle epaulets. It was teacup in length, which wasn't typical, but it really did go well with the rest. It was very flowy, and I wonder if Pansy had purposely set me up to put me in these robes. Was she trying to embarrass me? Surely she would know I can't afford this.

"Hermione, come out. I'd like your opinion again now that you have a set on." I stepped out onto a small podium next to Pansy's. The mirrors were much nicer out here, and seeing myself, I gasped. I had never been very fond of wizards robes, but there was no way to look at these and not love them. Pansy's set was identical, except it was a deep blue, which looked stunning with her dark hair and porcelain skin.

"They're very beautiful Pansy. I don't think I've ever worn a set so lovely. It's also very flowy, I definitely think you should get them." I was more envious than I would have liked to be, but they really were stunning.

She clasped her hands together, smiling. "Perfect! Astelle you can go ahead and wrap these both up, leaving the current adjustments on each." The current adjustments? Why would she leave my measurements on one set? Was she buying me these?

"Oh, Pansy, please don't. I really can't accept these from you." I shook my head, wondering if I was missing something.

"Nonsense, every young witch needs a set of robes like this, how else are we supposed to get wizards' attention. Plus, it makes absolutely no difference on my finances to buy 2." She threw a wink my way and stepped down. "I know your birthday is coming up, consider it a gift for that." She smiled but after seeing the confusion on my face started to laugh. "Oh, don't be daft. Like I didn't see Potter, and Weasley making a huge deal of your birthday every year. Now go get changed, we can't pack up something you're still wearing."

I was shocked. What was happening? Had Pansy Parkinson really just bought me a birthday gift? And a pricey one at that? Maybe Gin was right, maybe we would be having pillow fights in the future, actually that still seemed unlikely. After we had changed and Pansy had paid the equivalent of hundreds of Euros for the sets of robes, Theo had finally come back. The once full bag he had brought with him that evening was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you both miss me?" Theo pouted. "Alright, let's get going. I want a butter beer before we head back." He looked a little more tired than before. It had only been about 45 minutes, was something wrong?

After having a round of butter beers, and Theo and Pansy sharing a hilarious story from their childhood of locking Malfoy in a closet for hours, we decided to head back. The walk back was nice, and Theo seemed happy that Pansy and I were chatting this time. She really was enjoyable, a little sneaky it seemed, but I guess that was just Slytherin. She wasn't at all what I had expected, she did have that sense of superiority, but it didn't feel just directed at me, it was directed at everyone. Not only that, but she held herself high, and I admired that. When we arrived back to the Common Room, we all broke apart and said goodnight. What a pleasant surprise this day had turned out to be.