Late Nights on the Astronomy Tower (Draco x Hermione)

III. Feeling Faint

September, 1994.

Hermione woke up with a start to the sound of singing coming from above her.

"...birthday to you...happy birthday to you," Lavender and Parvati sang.

"...happy birthday dear Mione...happy birthday to you."

She rolled over to face her roommates as they clapped and cheered. She smiled brightly.

"Thanks guys," she yawned, still half asleep.

"Oh, that's not all," Parvati spoke. She held out a brown bag. "Pumpkin pasties!"

"Aw, you guys are so sweet! Thank you."

Hermione took the paper bag, excitedly. Pumpkin pasties were her favorite.

It was 7:00 a.m. when Lavender and Parvati woke her up so she decided to start getting ready for school. Of course her birthday had to fall on a Monday this year. She showered in the dormitory bathroom where Ginny and Romilda Vane also wished her a happy birthday as she was brushing her teeth. She got dressed back in her dorm where she kissed the not-missing Crookshanks goodbye.

"Sorry, girl. You can't come outside during the day just yet." She rubbed the cat's head before pulling her robes over her head.

When she headed downstairs for breakfast, Harry and Ron were already sitting at the Gryffendor table. Ron was eating an unfathomably large breakfast plate and Harry was picking at his chocolate chip muffin, reading the Daily Prophet.

Harry set down his paper when he saw her approaching. "Happy 15th!" he exclaimed with a tired smile. She noticed the bags under his eyes right away and wondered what was wrong.

"Hoppy burfday, Mione," Ron said through a mouthful of sausage.

She thanked them both and took a seat next to Ron. She tried to hold herself back as she took the pumpkin pasties out of her bag but when she looked back at Harry's sullen face, she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Is everything alright, Harry?"

He looked up as if startled and fixed his glasses. "Yeah, just sleepy."

"Are you having trouble falling asleep again? I can ask Madam Pomfrey for a dreamless sleep draught if you don't want to–"

"It's fine, Hermione. I just stayed up late by my own free will. I'm sleeping fine," he assured her.

Ron gave her a worried look and she shook her shoulders.

"So what are we doing for your birthday tonight, Mione?" Ron asked to change the subject.

"Oh. I thought I'd catch up on some studying in the library and get to sleep early for–"

"What!" Ron practically shouted. A few people turned their heads to look back at him with annoyed expressions and he mouthed an apology with a sheepish grin. "Why are you studying on your birthday?" he asked in a quieter than usual voice.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "What else would I do? We have school tomorrow."

He looked up in thought and then smiled slightly. "Yeah, you're probably right."

She nodded, looking back down at the rest of her pumpkin pasty..

The first class of the day was History of Magic, one of Hermione's least favorites.

"The Goblin Rebellions were a series of rebellions in which the goblin population of the Wizarding world revolted against discrimination and prejudice toward their kind by wizards and witches. They were most prevalent during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but even in modern times there are subversive goblin groups working in secret against the Ministry of Magic..." Professor Binns droned on.