Dream

~*~

"Surprise!"

The Gryffindor Common Room was gaily decorated to the hilt with balloons and streamers. Multi-coloured magical confetti kept streaming from the ceiling, but disappeared once it landed on the ground. When Hermione went up the stairs to her dormitory half an hour ago, there was not even a shred of a paper streamer in the Common Room. Now, the room was transformed into a veritable party zone, replete with a buffet table.

The Gryffindors started singing Hermione her birthday song, while Hermione, escorted by the grinning Lavender and Parvati strode down the staircase towards a huge tower of cake magically holding up 18 different flavours of cake levels, a candle on each level.

"...Happy Birthdaaaaay, to yoooouuu!"

Amidst much laughter, cheers and whistles, Hermione started tearing up. Looking at the happy and eager faces of her Gryffindor housemates, from the ickle firsties to her 7^th Year friends, she sought out the familiar pair of untamed black hair and the shock of bright red hair.

"You didn't think we'd forget your birthday, did you?" Harry asked, with a wink and a smile.

"It was tough convincing Professor McGonagall to let the Gryffindors have their dinner tonight in the Common Room to celebrate your birthday," Ron added, with a conspiratorial smile, "but we'd managed it. She said to wish you a happy birthday on her behalf, and to enjoy yourself."

Hermione could only wipe her tears away with her fingers and gave her two best friends a brilliant smile and a group hug. "You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for!" and with that, she blew out the candles one by one, from the bottom level up.

When the last candle was extinguished, Ron declared that Hermione's birthday party was officially underway. The Gryffindors gave a loud cheer and the happy crowd started to make way towards the buffet table.

"Thanks, guys. I really didn't know that you'd go through this much trouble for me."

"Aw, Hermione, it is your birthday - and after all the adventures that we've been through, what's a little party organisation?" grinned Harry.

"And besides," added Ron with a wink, "we're Gryffindors, you know - we'll use any excuse just to have a party!"

~*~

After the food was eaten, presents opened, appropriate oohs and aahs made for each gift, the House Elves appeared and very quickly put the Common Room to right once again. The younger Gryffindors had already gone to bed, and the older ones employed themselves with whatever they usually did on a normal Friday evening.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were curled up in front of the open fireplace, enjoying their silent companionship and self-contemplation. If the three friends could hear each other's thoughts, they'd be surprise at how similar their turns were.

Since being made Head Boy, Harry found little time to spend in the Gryffindor Common Room with his other two friends, as he was wont to do in his previous years. Because Harry accepted the position of Head Boy, he had ceded his Captaincy of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to Ron, who was a brilliant Quidditch strategist. Harry still played Seeker for the Team, but in order for their reserve seeker, 4^th Year Nicole Childe, to gain field experience, Harry had opted to be put on reserve that year. This worked well for Harry, as his Head Boy duty was indeed quite heavy, in addition to his studies for NEWTs. Needless to say, with his own room as Head Boy's privilege, this was the first time since school started that Harry had time to hang out in the Gryffindor Common Room. He had missed quiet times like this where he could just soak in the warmth of the fire, relaxing with his best friends.

Quidditch Captain Ron Weasley played Chaser on the team. Ron took his responsibility very seriously, since this was his opportunity to step out of Harry's long shadow. He was a tough Captain and under his lead, the Quidditch Team spent long hours out of doors training. He got his team up at the crack of dawn for morning exercises and the whole team practically eat, breathe and sleep Quidditch until sundown. Tomorrow's first match against Ravenclaw would be Ron's first as Captain of the Team, and the past weeks' Quidditch practices were all focussed on winning that first match of the season. Like Harry, Ron too, missed this introspective time with his friends.

The busyness of 7^th Year, its accompanying responsibilities, and the maturity of the Trio had mellowed the friends somewhat. Hermione suddenly realised that this was the first time since school started that they were together with nothing on their hands. Wondering at the thoughts of the other two, she broke the silence.

"You know, this is..."

"...the first time since school started..."

"...that we're together," ended Ron with a merry twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah," sighed Hermione, leaning back in her chair. "You guys are so busy with your responsibilities that we hardly have time to see each other. It's just not the same."

She turned to Harry. "You," she pointed with an emphatic finger, "are way up there at the High Table during mealtimes, and we just don't seem to have the time to chat anymore. And you," she turned to Ron, with a teasing grin, "are off playing the Quidditch hero, and are surrounded by adoring fans and the Quidditch team, that I can hardly talk to you at all."

She gave another melodramatic sigh, "I might as well start looking for new best friends at the rate we are going!"

The boys protested vehemently, as they were suppose to do. They knew Hermione was merely teasing. The Trio knew that as they entered adulthood, their responsibilities will increase, and time for adventures that marked their younger years at Hogwarts would naturally decline. In fact, since the Triwizard Tournament in their 4^th Year, their 5^th and 6^th Years were surprisingly unremarkable. However, it did not mean that Voldemort had forgotten Harry Potter, nor his goal of ridding the wizarding world of muggles and muggleborns. The truth was that there was a general sense of uneasy foreboding among the general wizarding public. It was as if Voldemort intended to lull his enemies into a state of complacency before striking.

But the staff and students at Hogwarts were by no means complacent. In addition to their normal curriculum, Headmaster Dumbledore had created two new compulsory subjects since the Tournament. Wizard Duel and Unarmed Combat were added to the curriculum in the hope of preparing the students for the war that was undoubtedly on the horizon. Dumbledore anticipated that the new subjects would help the staff and students to better their reflexes so that they would not be caught unprepared when faced with Death Eaters.

The Daily Prophet had decried Dumbledore's initiative as being outrageous. What could Dumbledore be at to have children trained for combat? It was unheard of! The wizarding society was divided on this issue. Most of the parents were glad that their children were taught self-defence, but after 2 years of quiet, some of the more vocal assenters started voicing doubts. Some felt that the calm of the previous 2 years attest to Voldemort's being too weak to further harm the British wizarding community. Dumbledore was not going to leave anything to chance however, and despite these hurdles, he continued his planning and strategising with his staff.

"That's really unfair, Hermione," protested Ron, "you seem to forget that you are practically living in the library most of the time."

"Yeah, not to mention that we have known all along that your 'best friends' were of the rectangular kind, filled with print and usually congregate on a shelf - you were just patronising us when you condescended to befriend us, weren't you?" teased Harry.

Hermione chuckled, and then pretended to put on airs, "Why yes, of course! Anyone could see that you two dunderheads needed someone who could read to befriend you. God knows you needed my superior reading skills to get you out of enough scrapes as it is."

"Is that right, Miss Know-It-All?" asked Harry, signalling Ron with a wink of his emerald green eye.

"You know it is," replied Hermione. She had seen Harry's signal to Ron and got ready to defend herself.

In an instant, Harry and Ron descended on Hermione and started tickling her. Hermione started laughing and squirming and begging the boys to stop. Face red with oxygen deprivation, the boys finally stop their torment and slumped down on the floor by Hermione's chair. Eyes bright with laughter, Harry and Ron looked at each other and then looked towards their mutual friend. Hermione was curled up in the large winged chair softly hiccupping the last of her giggles. When Hermione finally looked up at her friends, the image suddenly struck the two boys. In contrast to that bossy bushy-haired, brown-eyed, buck-toothed, whirlwind of a temper that they met aboard the Hogwarts Express all those years ago, Hermione had transformed into this striking young woman, who held in her eyes a quiet confidence, albeit still shining with laughter. Sure, she was still bossy at times, but now she tempered it with tact and a witty persuasiveness. She was still that know-it-all and she still read voraciously, but she didn't need to constantly impress to all and sundry her abilities or her knowledge.

The boys, struck with this grown up Hermione, realised that tonight would perhaps be the last time they'd play this childish tickling game with her. Green eyes met blue eyes that reflected this understanding to each other. They were not young children anymore and it was time to treat Hermione like the young lady she had become.

Harry got up from the floor, leaned over Hermione and gave her a peck on her cheek. "Happy birthday, Hermione," he smiled, and with a courtly bow, added, "Good night and sweet dreams." Harry turned to Ron and playfully mussed up his fiery hair, "'Night, Ron - see you at Quidditch warm ups tomorrow. Don't stay up too late, we're counting on you to trash the Ravenclaws!"

"'Night Harry," chorused the other two, as Harry stepped out of the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Well, milady," quipped Ron has he stood over Hermione, "methinks it's time for you to go to bed." Like Harry before him, he gave Hermione a courtly bow and extended his hand towards the young lady in the chair. Hermione gave Ron a shy playful smile and accepted his extended hand. Ron tucked her hand into his arm and led Hermione to the staircase leading up to the girls' dormitory. Pausing at the foot of the stairs, Ron gave Hermione a peck on her cheek, "Happy 18^th, Hermione," he smiled sincerely and added, "May all your dreams come true. Good night."

"Good night, Ron," returned Hermione, as she ascended the stairs to prepare for bed.