Hermione Granger and The Secret Fire

Chapter 8-Hermione's Birthday

Saturday arrived quicker than Hermione had thought possible and suddenly she was seventeen. Draco had greeted her that morning with recognition of the day, but no one else had said a word to her about it by lunch. She was even surprised to realize that she hadn't received a gift from her parents in the daily post!

In the afternoon, she found herself spending the majority of her time in the library with Misten working on that weekend's revisions. The two girls giggled and worked the day away, making plans for Misten and Ginny to come and visit that evening. Hermione enjoyed her day and felt it was probably one of the better birthdays she could have asked for because she had spent it with a genuine female friend.

As afternoon became evening, the women left for dinner at the Great Hall. Hermione was quite excited as they were serving Shepherds pie for dinner, which was one of her favorite meals. Misten and Ginny had arranged for Ron and Harry to save a spot at the Gryffindor table for the birthday girl and even had them bring small trinkets as gifts.

"Harry! Ron! I can't believe you remembered," exclaimed Hermione, shocked by their attention and good memories!

"Well," Ron admitted, blushing and grimacing in embarrassment. "We didn't, really. My sister and Misten kind of helped us remember and then they sort of put us up to the rest."

Harry, rubbed his head and added, "Yeah, they painfully reminded us by beating our skulls together until we finally recalled the significance of the day."

This got a laugh out of Hermione. 'I'll have to thank the girls later,' she thought.

"So what's new, Hermione?" Ron asked. "How's your birthday been? But more importantly, how are you dealing with the return of that git of a roommate of yours?"

Hermione automatically felt a sense of dread wave over her. She knew the boys had noticed Draco's disappearance and then arrival back at Hogwarts over the previous two weeks. They had asked her plenty of questions about him and even tried to find out if she knew any secrets about his comings and goings. Thankfully, they had not asked any questions since her meeting on the previous Sunday with the Headmaster and Professor Snape. She had not had to lie or try to redirect their questions, but it looked like that luxury might have be ending.

"Um...fine, I guess. I really haven't seen much of him this week," Hermione responded vaguely.

"So, really, how horrible is it having to be forced together every night? There is no way I could spend that much time with him and not hex him into next week!" Harry exclaimed.

'Forced together' had a completely different meaning for Hermione than she guessed, Harry meant.

"It's good, Harry. Dra...Malfoy has been fine," Hermione said, catching her slip-up before the boys did. "So what is new with your family, Ron? Have you heard any news from Charlie? Is he coming to see your parents anytime soon?"

Hermione was very glad to get the boys talking about anything but Draco. She wanted to have a nice dinner on her birthday and not have to handle any irrational fears or anger.

She looked over to the Slytherin table and noticed that her suite-mate was missing from dinner. While she thought it strange, she did not worry. Her attention was drawn back to the boys as they asked her the consequences for being caught with the Weasley twins' newest 'invention', Weasley Wiggle Bombs, that were a cross between stink bombs and fire crackers.

"Not that we have any, Hermione!" Ron made certain to clarify. Hermione and Draco had caught several of the students with the latest product, so she was familiar with the consequences for the infraction. Somehow, with all she knew, she didn't see her fellow Gryffindors buying the product, much less getting caught.

Misten, hearing the boys talking, turned to Hermione half way through dinner and saved her from the quick switch the boys made into a Quidditch conversation. Overall, it was very pleasant dinner and conversation with her friends. Hermione didn't even notice that Professor Snape was watching her intently.

~*~

After dinner, Hermione returned to her common room and found Draco dozing lightly as he pretended to read his Transfiguration book. He was sprawled out comfortably on one of the long leather couches in front of the fire. She couldn't help but think he looked the picture of calm and happiness.

Hermione smiled at the sight and walked over to him trying to playfully startle him. She greeted him with a sarcastic, "Don't get up, Draco. I wouldn't want to interrupt your beauty rest!"

Draco smirked as he saw the mischievous smile on her face and sat up, looking at his suite mate. "Come here, Hermione."

"What?" she asked surprised that he seemed to have been waiting for her.

"Come over here," he replied while patting the seat next to his on the couch. "I have a present for you."

"What are you talking about, Draco?" she asked as she walked to the couch he was sitting on and took the seat he offered.

"I got you something...you know," Draco said, rolling his eyes at her stupidity, "for your birthday!"

"You got something...for me?" she asked, astonished by his thoughtfulness. "But, I told you I didn't want a present."

"No you didn't! You said I'd have to guess at what you want!" Draco replied, rolling his eyes and laughing at Hermione's forgetfulness.

'Yeah, well, what I meant was that I'd hope that you'd guess that I wanted you!' Hermione thought, blushing as she did.

"It's no big deal," Draco said, missing Hermione's outwardly appearance betraying her embarrassment. "It's just something I saw one time when I was shopping with my Mother. I figured if she liked it, you might, too."

Hermione was completely shocked by his admission as well as his offer of a gift.

"Here," he said handing her a small package wrapped in white butcher's paper, although she doubted he knew what butcher's paper actually was.

She held the package and had to blink back tears. Hermione had never received a gift from someone unexpectedly. The gift meant more to her than he could imagine, and she hadn't even opened it yet. She was used to her needs being largely ignored. Harry garnered all the attention for being who he was, and Ron stole what little was left.

Hermione's insecurity came bounding back and she felt she didn't deserve a mate like the one sitting in front of her, even though it was as early as it was in their association. She felt grateful enough to have Misten, who would be arriving any second with Ginny for the small gathering they had planned at the library that afternoon.

She was still staring at the package, lost in thought, when Draco cleared his throat. The simple noise brought her back to the present.

"Uh, Hermione? Could you open that because I have never given a gift to anyone but my mother before, and you sitting there is not making me feel very confident in my decision to start with you," Draco finally said with half a smile.

Hermione realized that she was holding her breath, shocked from both his revelation and her internal conversation. She released the breath she was holding, with new resolve to get her emotions and self-esteem under control.

She smiled sweetly at Draco and opened her present careful to not rip the paper. Inside she found a small white box.

Once again she looked up and smiled at Draco as nicely as she could, ignoring her nausea from nervousness.

When she opened the box, she found a beautiful, sparkling broach. The stones were of various colors and shaped together to make a five-petal flower. It was the most beautiful thing Hermione had ever seen, and she had no idea how to thank him for it.

She looked into his eyes, trying not to let the tears in hers spill over and said, "Thank you, Draco. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

Draco, obviously not used to being thanked, jumped off the couch and walked over to the hearth, appearing to be engrossed in the fire. He cleared his voice before saying, "Well, I am glad you like it."

"I do, Draco, I really do like it!" Hermione said, enchanted by its beauty. She was once again compelled to wrap him in her arms and protect him from the pain he had been exposed to in the last few months. 'A kiss would be a great thank you,' Hermione thought. However, she did not act upon her thoughts.

Instead, she got busy positioning the broach on to her jumper. She was admiring its beauty when she heard him cry out with a hiss in pain. She looked up to see him clutching his left forearm and wincing in obvious anguish.

"Oh Gods! What is it, Draco?" Hermione shrieked as she jumped up and ran over to him, "Are you okay?"

He did not answer her, just continued his cringing in pain.

Hermione was not naïve enough to miss where on his arm he was clutching. However, she had never felt such terror and had no idea how to react. "Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to fetch Professor Snape?"

But her words were belated because as she said it Snape barged into their common room with, "Come along, Mr. Malfoy. It would not be prudent to be late for your first revel. He does not respond well to latecomers." Hermione had no doubt as to whom 'He' was.

Snape took notice of her for the first time since his entrance and stated, "Not a word of this, Miss Granger. Not a word to any of your associates."

"But what about Professor Dumbledore? Can't he get the two of you out of it...sir?" Hermione questioned, feeling brave at first but then losing her nerve at the face Snape gave her.

"Don't be silly, girl," Professor Snape said, anger turning into disbelief in her. "He can't help us now! The Headmaster is fully aware that we have been called and that I am taking Mr. Malfoy."

Hermione was mortified. Her new crush was leaving to see the most dreaded wizard in the world. The closest thing she had to a hero, Professor Dumbledore, could do nothing to stop it. Life was not fair! She watched the two men in front of her feeling helpless.

As they gathered the thing Draco would need and left the common room, Hermione recognized the look of dread in Draco's face. She knew he must be petrified to see Voldemort, but could also imagine his fear at seeing his father.

As she sat on the couch rocking her self into a calmer state of mind, she heard the voices of her friends outside the portrait. Not only had Misten brought Ginny, but Ron and Harry had accompanied her, too.

'Gods, how I am going to act normal?' she thought. 'I have to act like nothing is going on when I am terrified! Plus, I have to do this in front of my best friends, who know me better than anyone!'

Thankfully, Ron and Harry had brought Neville, Seamus, Dean, Lavender and Parvati, so there were plenty of distractions to divert everyone's attention from Hermione's alarm.

As the boys entered, Ron looked around the common room and asked, "Where is the Death Eater in training? He's not going to crash our party is he?"

"RON!" Hermione admonished a little too loudly. All of the guests stopped talking and stared at her, "Do not call him that. This is his common room, too. He has as much right to be in here, whenever he wants, as I do."

Harry tried to appease the two by making a lame joke. "If it's his too, shouldn't it be called a common tomb instead of room? Get it? Death Eater...tomb...guys?"

Ginny saw the murderous look appearing on Hermione's face, and she quickly grabbed Harry and pulled him away from his best friends.

However, Hermione barely had time to recover from Ron's inappropriateness when Lavender screeched out, "Ohh! Hermione, where did you get that beautiful broach?"

The rest of the girls gathered around Hermione and starting chattering about her newest piece of jewelry. They seemed so interested in the piece that Hermione thought they might forget about Lavender's original question.

"So seriously, Hermione, do you have a secret boyfriend who's buying you jewelry for your birthday? Do tell us who he is!" Parvati said, eyeing the piece as if she was appraising its worth.

At this request for information, the room fell quiet. Ron, who had been shoving a piece of chocolate birthday cake that Seamus had carried in to the common room into his mouth, choked at the implication that Hermione might have a secret boyfriend.

Neville was the only male in the room that seemed to have not lost his voice. "Hermione, do you have a secret boyfriend?" he asked.

"No! Of course not," Hermione said, trying not to blush with embarrassment.

"Well, who gave it to you then?" Harry asked, looking at her strangely.

Hermione tried to think quickly of a cover story. There was no way she was going to tell them the truth, but she didn't want to lie to her friends. She once again felt like she was stuck in a sticky situation and, unfortunately, her brain was not thinking fast enough to get her out of it unscathed. Hermione's face got her almost famous 'deer stuck in the headlights of a lorry' look and she panicked before thinking of something to say.

"Her parents, right Hermione?" Misten said covering Hermione's lack of an answer and the look on her face. "She got it from her parents this morning in the owl post."

Hermione just smiled, not answering either way, but feeling very grateful at her friends' quick thinking. The group started talking all at once again and it seemed they believed Misten's explanation. Thankfully for Hermione, she didn't have to lie to get out of the situation. She just had to not answer the question.

~*~

The night progressed nicely after the few tense moments at the beginning and Hermione was glad to see her suite mate did not return that evening when everyone was there. It would not do to have him enter the common room, injured, in front of the Gryffindors.

She almost was having fun with her former housemates; almost. She could not fully focus her energies on her birthday party when she had to hide the fact that someone she cared about could be in great danger.

As the evening progressed, the girls tried to convince Hermione that a 'sleep-over' was the perfect way to celebrate her coming of age.

"Ohh, I have a great idea!" Ginny started. "Let's have a sleepover in your common room! Think about it, this is your last year here and it might be one of our last chances to celebrate together."

Hermione and the rest of the gang quieted at Ginny's comment. They all knew that Voldemort was making his presence known more and more and that they could very well be at war by this time next year. It was a sad fact, but one or more of them could be dead due to the war by her next birthday.

Hermione tried to think happier thoughts and made a joke that she was certain that Ginny's request had little to do with her and much more to do with sleeping around Hermione's roommate! Only Harry didn't laugh.

"Yeah, let's follow Ginny's great suggestion and have a slumber party," Seamus agreed with a lecherous look. "Let's all get into our little pajamas for our sleepover and have a big, old-fashioned pillow fight!"

"What? Why would we want to have a pillow fight?" Hermione asked innocently.

The gang of boys laughed so loud that Hermione was sure her eardrums were going to pop. She kept looking back and forth between the boys and could not understand why her words made them laugh.

Misten even started giggling but stopped when she saw the look of true confusion plastered on her friend's face. Her giggle was replaced by near hysterical hooting, reminding Hermione of the noise she usually heard in the owlery.

The only thing that made Hermione feel any better was the fact that none of the other girls seemed to have any more of a clue than she did.

As Misten calmed down, she started to explain. "Hermione, Muggle boys often watch stag films. You do know that, right?"

"Yes," Hermione began, still confused, "but what does that have to do with the pillow fight?"

Her question started a new round of hilarious snorting and laughing from the boys.

"Well these films have parts that include girls pillow fighting as part of their...warm-up for more...physical acts later. Many times those acts do not include males of any age."

"Eww. That's disgusting!" Ginny yelled as she swatted at both her brother and her boyfriend, "You've never seen any of those, right Harry?"

Harry could not answer her as he was having difficulty breathing from laughing so hard.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and tried to think of a way to get the girls and the boys to leave. She could not let them be present when Draco returned later that night. 'Gods, I hope he does return tonight! What am I going to do if they are gone longer? Oh! What if he doesn't come back?' She had a hard time controlling her emotions and tried to not think of anything negative.

"Not tonight. I really would like to take a long bath, since it's my birthday," Hermione said, trying to discourage anyone from wanting to stay longer, and adding the last part as a bit of guilt. It seemed to work when not long after Ron tried to feign sleepiness to be able to leave. No one was fooled, as they knew he wanted to see his girlfriend, Kirian.

The guests had just started leaving when Misten pulled Hermione to the side to talk to her alone.

"What's going on with you, Hermione?" she began. "You're acting funny. Don't forget that I know the broach wasn't from your parents; we talked this afternoon how you hadn't gotten your gift yet. I covered because you looked like you didn't want to tell anyone the truth. And what's really got you so upset?"

Hermione stared at her newest friend with relief that someone cared enough to notice. She debated telling Misten at least part of the truth.

'It would be so nice to share this burden with someone,' she thought. 'I can't tell her where Draco is or why he's there, but I could tell her that he got called away on family business. She might understand my fears. Besides, she'll like that I am feeling more romantic about him.' She smiled as she tried to think of what to say. But as she processed her feelings, they were interrupted.

"Yeah, Hermione, what is going on?" Harry piped in, surprising both the girls that he had not only noticed, but was half listening to their conversation.

"Nothing, guys. Really. I am okay, just tired," she replied, trying her best to look like her normal self.

However, Misten knew better. She looked at Hermione with suspicion and asked, "Are you sure? I bet if you told us what is worrying you, Harry and I could help."

Hermione was once again touched by her friend's compassion. "No, honestly, I am fine."

As they all left, Hermione sat on the couch and stared at the fire in anticipation of the return of the Slytherin Prince.

~*~

Several hours and wasted pages in the hastily left behind Transfiguration book later, Draco entered the common room with all the grace of a pregnant ballerina.

Hermione cried out in horror at the site in front of her. Draco looked battered and bruised. He had dried blood on his face and in his hair. He was bruising on his chin and cheek already, and she could tell from his limp that his ankle was probably sprained.

"Draco! Oh Gods! I was so worried! Let me help you to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said, rushing to his side.

Draco gave her a look that would freeze water and replied, "Are you mad? I can't go to her with these injuries. She'll want to know how I got them. What would I tell her, I tripped on my wand?"

"But, wouldn't Professor Dumbledore cover for you? I mean, doesn't she mend Professor Snape's injuries?" Hermione said quickly trying to cover up for her ignorance.

Draco just glared at her before he limped up the stairs. "Just...just stay away from me."

Hermione, never one to listen to someone when they told her what to do, followed him up his stairs into his suite.

Surprise was not the word Hermione would use to describe her feelings upon walking into his room. Astounded would have covered it better.

Whereas her room was decorated in simple elegance, Draco's room was impressively extravagant. His furniture was ornamental and stained a deep brown. While the Slytherin silver and green were the main focal colors enveloping the room, there were various shades of greens and browns complimenting the fixtures. He had similar furniture as was found in her room but his just seemed more...regal. Hermione was amazed by how handsome his room was decorated.

"What are you doing in here, Hermione?" Draco asked in a callused voice when he realized she had followed him inside. "Bugger off!"

Hermione said nothing as she looked around his room, gently touching every surface. She was so fascinated by his wardrobe and other furniture, she didn't notice as he wandered into the lavatory to change out of his dirtied and bloodied clothes.

Several minutes later, he was back and only a pair of simple green boxer shorts covered his incredible body. Hermione looked up and was in amazement of what she saw crossing the room in front of her. His lack of sleeping attire definitely had Hermione's attention. In her seventeen short years, she had never seen anything so divine and she knew she had no desire to leave him alone.

"Hermione! For the third time, out!" Draco yelled, grimacing in pain as he hobbled to the bed, obviously intent on resting away his aches and pains from his evening with He-who-must-not-be named.

Hermione could not take her eyes off of the sight in front of her. Gone was the fear she felt earlier when he was called away. Gone was the panic she felt when she thought he might not come back. All she could see was a beautiful man who desperately needed her help. She felt as if she could not move, so she stood by the wardrobe and just stared at him.

"Come on, Granger," he said as he climbed into his bed, cringing with each step. "I can't do this right now. I don't have any energy left for a fight with you. Get out and leave me in peace."

Hermione decided quickly what she would do, and stripped down to her t-shirt and panties. She climbed into Draco's bed and gently wrapped her arms around him like she had wanted to do for almost a week. She wrapped her entire body around his still form lying on its side. She spooned their two bodies together and protected him from the pain and suffering he had suffered, not only that night, but in the last several months the best she could.

"What are you doing? I thought I told you to get out, Granger," was Draco's weak argument. He barely had the force to get it out before collapsing in an exhausted sleep.