Hermione and Luna eventually headed off, as Ron and Harry had to serve their detention that night – their punishment for the flying car. Hermione took pleasure in helping Luna with a couple questions she had on her Transfiguration homework, and Luna's stories about Potions class made Hermione laugh and laugh.

"You can't just put in an ingredient and tell Professor Snape that it 'felt right'," she said, wiping her eyes, tears of laughter clinging there. "He'll slaughter you."

Luna shrugged, ambivalent. "It had a good aura around it. And the nettles did help the potion."

Hermione smiled. "I remember putting nettles into my Boil-Cure potion, too," she admitted. "Though I had a textbook to back me up, when Professor Snape demanded to know why I'd done it."

"If I did the same thing that you did, why is it okay when you do it and not when I do?" Luna objected.

"Probably because he's trying to make sure everyone follows the directions and stays safe," Hermione guessed. "He probably doesn't view 'it felt right' as a valid reason to deviate from instructions."

Luna crossed her arms, but she smiled. "That's his failing then, not mine."

Hermione was still laughing as they entered the Great Hall.

Not many people were around yet – dinner hours were more flexible on the weekends – but there were a fair few Slytherins Hermione recognized, including her friends.

"Hermione," Blaise said, grinning. "Good to see you survived seeing the Headmaster. As well as your little snit afterward."

"Oh, go boil your head," Hermione snapped, and Blaise laughed.

"I mean it in the best possible way, I assure you," he said. He turned to Luna and nodded. "Miss Lovegood."

"Luna, if you please," Luna said, her voice happy.

Blaise grinned. "Then you must call me Blaise."

"What're you all doing at dinner early?" Theo said, sitting down across from them. "None of you are in the Gobstones Club to go to the tournament tonight."

"Can't a girl just be hungry?" Millie objected.

Tracey looked surprised. "You're in the Gobstones Club?"

Theo snorted. "No." He smirked. "But the Weasley Twins might be running a book on the odds."

Several of them chuckled at that.

"Gobstones," Blaise said, rolling his eyes with a grin. "Such excitement we have here at Hogwarts, don't we?"

"Nothing exciting happens until Halloween," Tracey said, shrugging. "Not unless someone gets into trouble."

"Well, there's Hermione's birthday on the 19th," Luna said. "Other than that, it's just classes and Quidditch practice, really."

"Wait, Hermione's birthday?" Blaise said.

"Your birthday is coming up?" Tracey squealed.

Hermione turned to give Luna a dark look.

"How did you know when my birthday was?" Hermione demanded.

Luna's eyes sparkled. "I must have Seen it around somewhere."

Hermione groaned.

"We should throw you a party!" Tracey said immediately. "We can get the House Elves to bring a cake to the common room-"

"No," Hermione said strongly. "No common room party. It's ostentatious when the older snobby students do it, and all it does it make other people feel excluded or annoyed at the noise."

Tracey sniffed, folding her arms. "Well, I think we should throw you a party."

Hermione glowered. "No party in the common room."

"Forget the party – I'm more concerned what sort of gifts we should get you," Blaise said, grinning. "You'll be thirteen, yes?"

"You don't need to get me gifts!" Hermione objected. "It's not like we celebrate each other's birthdays formally in school!"

"You gave me a gift when I had my birthday last year," Tracey said obstinately. "I still use the quill you gave me."

"You gave me something, too," Millie pointed out. "A day planner."

Blaise shot Hermione a mocking hurt look. "Nothing for me?"

"I didn't know when your birthday was," Hermione muttered, looking away.

Blaise laughed. "It's January 6th."

At least that would be easy to remember, Hermione noted. That was the Feast of the Epiphany.

"But that settles it," Blaise declared. "Seeing as we're friends, and we do get each other gifts for holidays we know about, Hermione clearly needs to receive gifts on her most special day."

"Hermione needs what?"

Draco looked interested as he sat down at the table, and Hermione groaned.

"Nothing. I don't need-"

"Hermione's birthday is on the 19th," Blaise told him, eyes dancing. "She's objecting that she doesn't need any gifts for it."

Draco looked excited, then abruptly horrified.

"You don't want gifts?" he said. "Do you not trust us to get you appropriate things?"

"What?" Hermione said. "No, it's-"

"The only time I've heard of someone refusing gifts for their birthday was because the previous year, someone had sent them a Silent Strangler disguised as a house plant," Luna commented, her voice airy and non-committal. "I suppose if you are worried that someone in Slytherin is out to get you, refusing gifts is a smart thing to do."

"No one's out to get Hermione," Draco said vehemently.

Hermione snorted despite herself. "Are you sure about that?" she challenged.

Draco paused and swallowed, uneasy, and looked away.

"At least no one here is out to get you," he asserted. "Right?"

Hermione glanced around. Pansy wasn't around, nor were Draco's lackeys, or any of the older Slytherins she was watching out for.

She sighed. "I suppose not."

"Excellent," Blaise said, clapping his hands. "Then we'll all get you gifts as planned."

Immediately, Tracey and Millie turned to each other and began brainstorming, casting glances over Tracey's shoulder at Hermione to giggle from time to time. Theo looked thoughtful, and Draco was loudly proclaiming that he was going to get her something really good for her birthday, with Blaise challenging him on if he even knew what she would consider 'good' or not.

Hermione sighed.

"Look," she began. "No one really needs to-"

"But they do, Hermione," Luna said. She tugged Hermione's hand, turning Hermione to look at her, her wide blue eyes meeting hers. "Hermione, this is important to them."

"Important to them?" Hermione questioned. "It's my birthday. Why-"

"Gift-giving traditions are especially important when giving fealty to another," Luna told her seriously. "Your friends have been raised with this expectation to the point that it is ingrained in them."

"Fealty?" Hermione repeated, gaping. "Luna, I'm their classmate-"

"They look up to you," Luna insisted. "Even if you aren't accepting sworn followers yet, they respect you as-"

"Sworn followers?" Hermione hissed. "Luna, you are taking this way too far-"

"Am I?" Luna said calmly.

"I don't have followers," Hermione said. "I have friends. That's it."

"So far," Luna acknowledged. "That can change." She tilted her head. "Tell me, Hermione; do you remember the prophecy I gave you?"

Hermione smiled weakly despite herself. "Of course. How could I ever forget it?"

"Then why are you questioning your destiny?"

"The prophecy said I was New Blood," Hermione argued. "And the viper born to Muggles who would change the world."

Luna shook her head. "Oh, Hermione. You need to remember and listen."

She took a deep breath and seemed to settle into herself. The air around her shifted, and Hermione realized a moment too late what she was trying to do.

"No, Luna, just-"

"The viper borne to Muggles shall be the New Blood to change the world."

Luna's eyes had rolled back in her head, only the whites showing. Her hair was drifting up and around her, moving as if caught in an unseen wind. Her voice was oddly harsh and scratchy, not like Luna's usual dreamy tone at all. Hermione winced, and from the corner of her eye she could see Blaise and Draco turn sharply to listen to her.

"By clearing the cluttered path with those who answer her call," Luna intoned. "Whether gifted or claimed, true, faked, or false, pure magic unfurled; the she-serpent borne of teeth shall rise and triumph over them all."

There was a brief silence before Luna coughed several times, her eyes watering and flickering back open and up to Hermione.

"See?"

"Was that really necessary?" Hermione hissed. "Now everyone-"

"'By clearing the cluttered path with those who answer her call'," Luna repeated calmly. "Tell me, Hermione; if the people who will answer your call aren't your followers, who are they?"

Luna's eyes were large, open, and eerily wise. Hermione couldn't keep looking at her and broke away, looking to the table.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted.

Luna reached out, tucking a piece of Hermione hair behind her ear with affection.

"Then relax," she said, offering Hermione a smile as she caressed her cheek. "And just let your destiny come."

Hermione flushed. "I- I guess."

Luna beamed at her and turned back to the table, helping herself to a sandwich, Hermione eventually doing the same. From nearby, Hermione could hear Tracey engaging Luna in conversation, wanting to know how her eyes rolled up like that and if it hurt, Luna answering in her usual dreamy tone. Hermione bit her lip and focused on her lunch, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.

It was odd. She didn't like being the center of attention in such a way. It was one thing, to have all her friends know when her birthday and have them want to make a big deal out of it. Even as she liked her friends caring about it, it made her shift in a slightly uncomfortable way. She didn't really like it; it made her feel self conscious.

But Luna... did she have to repeat her prophecy at the dinner table?

Hermione had mentioned that she was prophesied to be New Blood, but it felt weird to her to have other people actually hear the prophecy itself. And as much as she was intending on forming a Great House, it was distinctly unnerving to have her classmates hear that she was prophesied to change the world and 'triumph over them all'. Especially the other Slytherins, who would take distinct note of Luna's words.

Hermione sighed, refilling her goblet. Maybe she was catastrophizing. So her friends would get her trinkets for her birthday - so what? She'd given them gifts for their birthdays, too, and it had been fine. And the prophecy... well, she'd told everyone about that already, so that was fine. Everything would be fine, she told herself. Everything would be fine.

Though, Hermione wasn't sure she liked the mischievous glint she could see in Blaise's eyes, nor the speculative gleam she could spot in Draco's either.