POV of Hermione Granger
On Saturday morning, Ariana and I weren't quite sure what to do with our time, so after breakfast, where we had said goodbye to James and Par, we went back to the common room. Given that they planned to go flying, Ariana was a bit restless again, but this time it wasn't too bad. I quickly convinced her that nothing would happen. I doubted that Par would even be allowed to fly. Surely the Quidditch captain was responsible enough not to grant her permission for that. To pass the time until Par and James returned, we played a few rounds of Exploding Snap with Ron and Lavender. I had also offered Veatrix to join us, but she just shook her head. Well, if she always refused everything, I couldn't help her, so I left her alone.
Around 11 o'clock, Par and James came into the common room, both looking incredibly happy. So Par had actually been allowed to fly a bit. After James had taken his broom to the dormitory, we said goodbye to Lavender and went outside to the lake together. Once there, Bella and Ginn joined us as well. 'You're kidding, right?' Bella asked just as Par and James announced that they had both been accepted into the team. 'I swear we're not. Wood was thrilled with us. He's going to get Par's playing permission from Professor McGonagall right away,' James replied enthusiastically. 'It just sounds... too good to be true,' Ginn now interjected. 'First-years never make the team; it's already unusual that Par was allowed to fly in the first place.' When she was scrutinized thoughtfully by Par and James, she quickly added, 'But of course, I'm happy for both of you!' At that moment, Veatrix passed by us and paused briefly, curious. Bella noticed and said suspiciously to her, 'There's nothing to eavesdrop on here, keep moving.' Veatrix then disappeared wordlessly, without giving us another glance, towards the castle.
A little later, Cat-Lee found us, claiming that she had been looking for us everywhere. Of course, she was also told the good news. After a while, however, Ariana changed the subject by asking me how I planned to celebrate my birthday. 'To be honest, I haven't really thought about it much,' I admitted honestly, as I had completely forgotten that my birthday was next Thursday. As the first two weeks at Hogwarts had focused my full attention on school, I was still unsure about my birthday. 'Let's have a little picnic during the free periods in the morning. We could take food from the breakfast table and sit by the lake with it,' Ginn suggested. 'Good idea,' I agreed. 'But... you shouldn't give me any gifts, okay? It's enough for me that we spend time together.' I spent the rest of the time until lunch listening to the others' conversation, which had returned to Quidditch. When they noticed how quiet I was, James enthusiastically explained the rules to me, which, as a Muggle-born, I didn't know yet. At least I understood a bit more of what they were talking about afterward, although I still couldn't quite grasp their enthusiasm for this sport. Ariana, who was sitting next to me, seemed to feel the same way. It was still nice to sit here in the sun with the others and share Par's cookies, which she had been sent from home.
On Thursday, I was awakened by Par, Ariana, and Lavender singing me a birthday song. They must have gotten up extra quietly for that, as I would have woken up earlier otherwise. Sleepily, I thanked them for this wonderful surprise and sat up, whereupon I was immediately hugged by the girls. When we arrived in the Great Hall, we packed some things to have breakfast outside. On the way out, we also met Ginn, Bella and Cat-Lee, who, loaded with food packages, cheerfully congratulated me. I have no idea where Ginn got the pudding from, but she had managed to get some for dessert, in several flavors! I think I had never had such a beautiful start to the day, but then again, I had hardly had any friends to spend the day with before Hogwarts. Still, everything here, the castle, the magic, my friends... felt so unreal to me. Just two months ago, I had no idea about any of this.
'Hermione..?' Ariana addressed me hesitantly after I had finished my vanilla pudding. 'We broke the agreement... all of us.' I looked at her in surprise before she handed me a small package wrapped in red and golden wrapping paper. Since I didn't know what to say, I took it silently and opened it. It revealed a scarlet 'Homework Planner,' as written in gold letters on it. Underneath was also a pack of Chocolate Frogs. Even though I had told them not to give me anything, they still couldn't resist picking something nice for me! I thanked them joyfully with a hug. 'So you like it?' Ariana asked uncertainly. 'Absolutely!' I replied enthusiastically. It surpassed the gifts from my parents, from whom I had received a few books and sugar-free sweets, by far. Well, what do you expect when you have parents who are dentists? I think today was the first time I was actually a little sad when we went to lunch because we had classes again afterwards.
