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battinscn · 3 years

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MAKE IT RIGHT — draco malfoy x slytherin! f! reader

CONTENT WARNING: kinda angsty? not rly though, full on fluff i promise

SUMMARY: it’s your birthday! and you’re beyond excited to spend the day with your best friends. but what happens when your boyfriend forgets what day it is?

WC/ AVG. READING TIME: 3618 words/ 18 minutes

return to the draco masterlist here

"HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY you booger!" two voices whisper shouted in my ear.

i woke up to blaise and pansy prancing onto my bed. both of them had party hats on their head and party horns in their mouths.

"awh, thank you two," i gushed at my friends' sweet gesture.

"up you get birthday girl, let's get you ready for school," pansy pulled me up from bed.

i walked into the bathroom, took a piss, brushed my teeth and washed my face. i walked back in pansy's and my room and changed into my school robes.

"ooh! let me do your hair," pansy suggested, quickly settling me down in front of the vanity. using her wand she gave my y/h/c hair, soft beach waves.

"thank you pans they look great," i hugged pansy's torso as she stood behind me.

i grabbed my books, pansy doing the same and we walked out of the dungeons and into the hallway.

as we walked to the great hall and through the hallways, anytime we passed by a student, pansy would walk up to them, point to me, and eagerly say "it's her birthday today! quick wish her happy birthday!"

and almost routinely, every time she did that i would bury my face in my hands out of embarrassment, quickly apologise to the poor student and drag pansy away.

she definitely frightened a few innocent year ones and twos who were just trying to make their way to breakfast.

when we got to the great hall, i sat in between adrian and miles, pansy and blaise opposite us.

"happy birthday little one," adrian grinned, ruffling my hair.

"thank you pucey" i lightly pinched both of his cheeks. adrian is a close family friend, he is the brother i've always wanted.

"have any of you seen draco?" i asked the group.

"nope."

"not since last night."

"i think he overslept."

the few replied.

"oh...i see," i mumbled with a hint of disappointment but hiding it with a small smile.

every birthday i've had, since we started dating in third year, draco would sit at the great hall waiting for me, peppering me in a million kisses on my face and wishing me happy birthday.

i picked at the food on my plate not really in the mood to eat anything. draco and i didn't share any classes together today, which meant i wouldn't get to see him till lunch.

"we better get to class," adrian stood up gesturing to the door. the rest of us got up, carrying our books as we left the table.

"see you guys late,r" blaise and pansy waved as they went in the other direction.

miles, adrian, and i waved goodbye to the pair and walked to potions together.

"bletchley, my books are heavy. carry them for me please?" i asked miles, dragging out the please.

"what? no way," miles retorted.

"well, it is my birthday" i batted my eyelashes looking at him.

"ugh fine," he sulked, reluctantly taking the books from my hands.

"thank you miles," i grinned as i linked my arms with the two boys, me in the middle while they towered over me.

when we got to potions, we took our usual seats and sat down by the benches.

potions with snape is never as exciting as charms or astronomy, but i still paid attention nevertheless because i was, though i never will admit, a suck up to teachers.

definitely not like hermione granger though. i was a suck-up, not a kiss arse.

moreover, snape became one of my favourite professors ever since the day he called granger an insufferable know-it-all in front of the class.

"you can go to your next class now and do it quickly you pesky gremlins," snape hissed as he waved the students off.

"miss y/l/n, a word please." snape gestured to the chair in front of his desk as i was about to leave the classroom.

"we'll wait for you outside," adrian nodded heading out the door.

i sat down on the chair wondering what snape wanted. ever since year one, i had been submitting my homework on time and practically acing his class. why would he need to speak to me?

"is there something you needed professor?" i asked.

"now you didn't think i'd forget my favourite student's birthday now did you?" snape sat down on his chair digging through the drawers and pulling out a rectangular box.

"i'm your favourite student?" i asked shocked.

"oh most definitely, but don't tell malfoy that, it would ruin his inflated ego," snape placed the rectangular box in front of me.

it was grey and has a dark green ribbon tied around it.

"since it's your last year here at hogwarts, it seems fitting i get you something for your birthday." snape pushed the gift towards me.

"go ahead, open it."

i opened the box only to see a quill, which had my initials engraved on it.

"it's an enchanted quill, it never runs out of ink," he explained.

"thank you professor, it's lovely," i smiled thanking the man.

"you're a very bright student y/l/n, i am sure you will achieve great things when you leave hogwarts."

"well professor snape, you too, have always been my favourite professor," i flashed a toothy grin to snape as i stepped out of the classroom.

if my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, i think i saw the man smile. it wasn't a big one, it was faint, but it definitely was a smile. never in the 7 years I've attended hogwarts, have i ever seen that greasy-haired man smile. and i managed to let him do so, i internally celebrated that victory.

"so what did snape want?" miles asked curiously as i walked towards them.

"he gave me a birthday present," i opened to box to show the two boys.

"my birthday was last month and i didn't get a gift," adrian complained.

"maybe he just doesn't like you," i teased poking his sides.

"alright, we get it, everyone likes little miss 'i'm getting all o's for my NEWTs' here. let's get to charms," adrian playfully rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms over my shoulders as we walked to the next class.

charms went as usual and soon it was lunchtime, students slowly made their way to the great hall.

when we got the great hall, i spotted a distinct platinum blonde head of hair sitting at the slytherin table. i quickly rushed to him and sat down.

"hello princess," draco smiled as he placed a kiss on my cheek.

"hello my love. look what snape got me!" i showed draco the present.

"that's a lovely quill, but what's the occasion? why'd he get you something?" draco asked, confusion on his face.

did he forget my birthday? no. he couldn't have. he's teasing.

"you know why," i smirked.

"no, i really don't" he furrowed his brows, scrunching his nose.

draco loves to think he's a joker, doesn't he.

"so, are you coming to the party tonight?" i asked the boy.

"no one told me about it. why's there a party on a school night?" draco tilted his head. "besides, i have head boy duties tonight, i'm sorry princess maybe you could ask adrian to go with you? i'll come join you lot if i have the time."

that confirmed it. my boyfriend forgot my birthday. i decided to not say anything about it as i knew draco would feel terrible if he knew he had forgotten my birthday.

"oh...yea...i'll just have adrian and miles go with me. have fun during head boy duties," i faked a smile and draco continued eating his lunch.

after lunch, the day went as usual, adrian, miles and i shared the same timetable so we went to the rest of our classes together.

we had dinner at the great hall, draco quickly ate before rushing out to attend to his duties.

when we got back to our dorms after dinner, i took a shower and prepared for my small birthday party. pansy was busy decorating blaise's room, we were having the party there.

i put on a black satin slip dress that was too short for draco's liking, and a black pair of pumps. i restyled my hair the same way pansy had done this morning. i put on my makeup and some of my favourite perfume.

"there's the birthday girl," blaise clapped his hands as i walked into his dorm.

streamers strewn around the ceiling and gold and green balloons floated around.

"thank you pans, it looks wonderful. i love you," i pulled pansy into a hug.

"anything for you babes," she reciprocated the hug.

a whistle came from the door as it opened, "looking gorgeous as always y/l/n," adrian winked at me.

"you clean up nice as well pucey," i eyed him up and down, grabbing his hand and giving him a twirl.

pansy had insisted that everyone dress formally as that was the theme.

blaise, miles and adrian were in black suits, while pansy had on a dress similar to mine but in a dark green colour.

we all sat down, cross-legged, in a circle in the middle of blaise and miles' dorm.

"okay! presents first," pansy handed me a medium-sized gift bag. "this is from blaise and i."

i opened the bag and picked up the present.

"it's a muggle camera, it doesn't take moving pictures, but it's called a polaroid camera, when you take a picture, it develops immediately and a small picture will pop out," blaise explained.

"i love it, thank you two," i gave the two a hug.

"okay me next," miles handed me a small box and i opened it. i gasped.

"it's lovely miles," i picked up the necklace admiring it, it had a tiny heart charm dangling off it.

"thank you," i smiled, giving him a hug.

"i always knew you had a soft spot for me," i teased.

"yea yea whatever you say y/l/n," miles jokingly shoved me off him.

"and of course the best for last, here you go little one," adrian handed me a rather large, but badly wrapped present. "um i had some trouble wrapping it but it's the thought that counts right."

"of course," i laughed at the ridiculous amount of tape that was aggressively wrapped around the present.

after much struggle of me tearing past the layer of tape, i managed to rip off all the wrapping paper.

it was a large rectangular photo frame, with 18 moving pictures placed neatly into 6 rows. there was one picture for every year adrian and i have known each other.

the first one being us only in diapers, both crawling on the floor. the last picture being one we took last month, it was of us at hogsmeade holding onto our ice creams, but adrian had knocked one of the scoops off my cone causing me to pout, while he stood beside me laughing.

seeing all 18 moving pictures in the frame brought back so many good memories of adrian and me when we were younger. i started to tear up.

"thank you adrian, i love it. this might be one of the best presents anyone has ever gotten me," i immediately stood up and rushed into adrians arms as he gave me a bear hug, kissing the top of my head.

we spent the rest of the night taking pictures on the new camera blaise and pansy had gotten me.

as the night came to an end, we all sat back in a circle on the floor, looking at what pansy called, 'polaroids', that we had taken.

there was one of blaise giving me a piggyback ride while i covered his eyes so he couldn't see where he was going.

another of pansy and i sitting at the foot of blaise's bed, black sunglasses hung low on our noses and our tongues sticking out.

there was also one of me sitting on miles' shoulders, him in a party hat while i held onto the strings of the green and gold balloons.

shuffling through the pictures, i rested my head onto adrian's shoulder, his head resting on mine.

"i'm definitely keeping this one," adrian picked a polaroid up from the pile to show me.

it was of adrian and i flashing toothy grins, my pointer finger on his nose while his pointer finger on mine.

"it's adorable," i gushed. adrian nodded in agreement.

i let out a sigh.

"i just wish draco was here to experience this with us, you know," my eyes shifted to look at adrian.

"yea, i know little one," he softly pet the side of my head.

"and i can't believe he forgot my birthday like i know it's not a big deal, and i mean i don't expect a gift or anything but it would've been nice to spend it with him," i admitted sadly.

"i'm sure it just slipped his mind, i don't think he intentionally forgot it," miles consoled me as he scooted over to the both of us, placing a comforting arm around me.

"miles is right, draco loves you too much to do that to you," adrian added.

"thank you boys, i don't know what i'd do without you," i thanked as i put one arm around their waist each and gave them a squeeze.

"it's getting late, i think i'll head back to my dorm," i slowly stood up collecting the polaroids on the floor and putting them in the gift bag blaise and pansy's gift once held.

"i assume you're staying here tonight pans?" i asked and she nodded her head.

"we'll walk you back," miles and adrian offered as they picked up my birthday gifts.

"thank you for hosting this party for me pans, i'm so grateful to have a friend like you," i gave pansy a side hug as she opened the door to let us out.

"you're ever so welcome, goodnight y/n."

"goodnight pans, goodnight blaise," i waved as i walked out the door, miles and adrian following behind me as they bid their goodbyes to the couple.

we got to pansy and i's dorm and i opened the door. the two boys settled the presents onto my desk.

as i walked them to my door, the two of them engulfed me in a tight group hug.

"happy birthday y/n," they wished simultaneously as they pulled away.

"thank you boys, and thank you for the presents as well," i placed my hand on each of their cheeks.

"see you tomorrow," miles waved as they slowly made their way back to adrian's dorm.

i kicked off my heels and sat in front of the vanity taking off my makeup. i slipped off my dress and changed into tiny black shorts and draco's quidditch sweatshirt.

i hopped into my bed and stared at the ceiling. as much as i wished draco was here with me, i was so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

but miles and adrian were right, draco loved me too much to intentionally forget my birthday.

before i could let myself do any more thinking, my eyelids started to grow heavy as i slowly started closing my eyes.

my eyes were about to fully close when someone started banging loudly against my door.

"y/n, it's me, open up," an anxious sounding adrian shouted from behind my door.

i groggily walked to the door and opened it.

"what do you want?" i whined rubbing my eyes.

"it's draco, he's hurt," adrian quavered walking into my room.

"what? draco? he's hurt? where?" my eyes immediately widened as worry took over me.

"in his room, quickly let's go," adrian started dragging me out of my room as i hurriedly put on my bunny slippers and tied my hair into a high ponytail with the hair tie on my wrist.

i rushed to draco's dorm and opened the door. the inside of draco's room was pitch black, adrian caught up to me and flicked the lights on.

the moment my eyes adjusted to the light, i was surprised to see draco holding onto a white frosted cake, miles, blaise and pansy as well as my family behind him with huge grins on their faces.

"mother? father? y/sibling's/n? what? what are you guys doing here? how'd you even get in here?" i was dumbfounded.

"your headboy over here made some special requests with your headmaster," my father patted draco's shoulder.

"you didn't think i'd actually forget your birthday, now did you princess?" draco asked as he held up the cake.

"did you bake that?"

"all by myself," the blonde boy beamed proudly.

"it looks beautiful dray, thank you."

i looked around draco's room and saw heart-shaped confetti, along with pictures of the both of us that were floating all over his room. there was also a stack of presents in the corner of the dorm.

pansy lit the many many candles on the cake and they started to sing me happy birthday.

"happy birthday to you" the song finished.

"make a wish," draco nudged the cake closer to my face. adrian was holding a magical camera ready to take pictures.

"adrian! no pictures. i'm in my pyjamas, no makeup on and in bunny slippers," i whined.

"and yet you still look breathtaking," draco beamed. cooes erupted from the other group.

i locked my hands together, closing my eyes and made my wish. when i was done, i opened my eyes again and blew out all 18 candles in one breath. group photos were taken, cake being eaten, and present giving from my family, before they all said their goodnights and left draco's room.

once they left, i immediately jumped onto draco, peppering him kisses mumbling thank you over and over again.

i started walking around the room, admiring the pictures that littered the room, seeing my smiles in all of them made me realise i was truly at my happiest whenever i was with draco.

i sat on his bed leaning on the headboard as he brought the presents over to me, joining me in bed.

"draco, you didn't have to get me so much stuff, having you in my life is the only gift i need."

"i had to make it up to you some way or another. i spent the whole day making the cake and preparing this surprise that i didn't get to spend any time with you on your birthday," he mumbled against my forehead and kissed it.

i began opening the presents, a muggle vinyl player i had not stopped talking about recently, as well as vinyl records from my favourite muggle band. there was small pieces of jewellery as well as some clothes too.

"thank you for the gifts my love," i gave him a long peck on the lips.

draco looked at the clock on his nightstand, it was 23: 58.

"just in time," draco said. i looked at him confused. he reached for something in his pocket and pulled out a small ring box.

"my dear y/n y/l/n, i don't think i could ever put it into words how much love i have for you. not only do i love you, i genuinely think i am in love with you. ever since i saw you in the train compartment, on the first day of hogwarts in year one, laughing at something stupid pucey said, i don't think i've taken my eyes off you. and with this promise ring," he paused, opening the ring box. "i promise to love you for the rest of this life, and the next one too."

i gasped at the beautiful ring that shone in the box. it had a skinny band and a green sapphire diamond in the middle. around the skinny band, there was a snake engraved in it.

"this is a malfoy family heirloom, i'm supposed to give it to you when i propose but, with mother's approval, i decided i couldn't wait that long. i wanted to give it to you now. to show you how much I'm ready to commit myself to you...so? do you accept it?" draco's teary eyes locked with mine, as a tear escaped my eye.

"of course i do my love," i barely whispered out, still in awe of the beautiful ring.

he slipped the ring onto the ring finger on my right hand.

"it looks gorgeous on you princess, just like it did on my mother," he picked up my right hand and kissed it.

"thank you draco. thank you for everything. thank you for giving me the opportunity to love you," i gushed, kissing his nose.

"i love you more," draco poked.

"impossible." i kissed him on the cheek as I switched off the lights.

"goodnight princess."

"goodnight my love."

and with that, i snuggled into draco's torso, falling into a deep sleep.

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slytherinknowitall · 5 years

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Potion Fumes and Cauldron Leaks

Chapter 9: Girl Talk

(Click here for chapter 8!)

(Click here to start from the beginning!)

Disclaimer: I don’t own the “Harry Potter” book series. The story of “Harry Potter” is the property of J. K. Rowling, it is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

“Hermione, would you mind if Ron and I go now? Not to be rude, but we have Quidditch practice and … you know,” Harry said sheepishly.

Hermione couldn’t help but smile. For her birthday, Ginny and the boys had surprised her with a truly lovely evening. They had caught her after Transfiguration class and brought her to her private chambers which had been decorated using a seemingly completely random assortment of silly and rather tacky Muggle party supplies. As a result, the four of them were now sitting in her small bedroom amidst an explosion of colourful balloons, gigantic honeycomb balls made of flimsy tissue paper as well as lots and lots of cheap, glittering plastic streamers. There was even a cheesy banner hanging on one of the walls that read HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE! XOXO in big, bold letters. How her friends had orchestrated all of this, she did not know. Even after some intense questioning on her part, they had refused to disclose how exactly they had managed to gain access to the password-protected Head Girl Tower without her knowledge; however, Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that a certain free elf may or may not have had something to do with it.

Naturally, the trio also hadn’t forgotten to shower her in gifts, all of which were now neatly stacked on her dresser, right next to all of the other presents she had already received earlier during the day: a beautiful bouquet of fragrant wildflowers from Neville, a rather peculiar-looking necklace and a handmade card from Luna, and a parcel filled with an abundance of merchandise from the newest Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes product range, courtesy of Fred and George. Needless to say, Hermione wasn’t planning on touching or especially using any of the joke items, but she still greatly appreciated the thought.

The newest additions to this small collection were a small, round bottle of fairly pricey perfume from Ginny, a fluffy scarf made of thick, mulberry-coloured wool with a matching beanie and half-mittens from Ron (though Hermione thought it likely that he hadn’t actually bought them but rather had them made by his warm-hearted mother) as well as an expensive quill set from her favourite stationary store in Diagon Alley and an interesting book about wizarding tattoos – which were permanently charmed upon application and therefore moved across sections of the body similar to the way magical photos or paintings did on canvas – from Harry. The Muggle-born had almost let out a little laugh when realising that it was the exact same volume that she herself had purchased from Tomes and Scrolls only a few months prior and that was now sitting on one of her shelves in this very room. Not that she would ever tell him – it was the gesture that counted, after all!

“No worries,” Hermione said. “Of course you can go! I know how important this last season is for the both of you.”

“And besides,” the youngest Weasley chimed in. “Hermione and I need some time to ourselves for a long overdue girl talk anyway! With all this school work and stressing out about Quidditch, we really haven’t had the chance to chat in like forever. I’m sure you won’t mind me missing out on one training session, right?” she asked, as if they hadn’t already hashed all of this out beforehand.

“Not at all,” Harry answered lovingly before moving in to give her a quick peck on the lips, with Ron demonstratively looking the other way. After having the weight of constant threats and fear for the lives of his loved ones lifted from his shoulders following the end of the war, it seemed as though the young wizard with the famous lightening scar was finally feeling comfortable enough to have a normal and out-in-the-open relationship with his redheaded sweetheart.

The two boys then hugged the birthday girl goodbye before making a swift exit. As soon as the door shut behind them, Ginny turned to Hermione with the biggest grin on her face; it almost made the freckles on her rosy cheeks look like they were dancing.

“We finally did it, Hermione!” she exclaimed excitedly.

Absentmindedly picking at the remaining crumbs of a cake that had once read Sweet Eighteen, the older girl frowned in confusion. “Who did what?” she asked.

“Harry and I! You know …” Her expression turned cheeky.

“Oh … OH!” The nature of the topic instantly made the witch feel awkward. “Um, well, that’s great for you, Gin!”

“Thank you! Oh Hermione, it was absolutely wonderful! We sneaked out late night on Saturday and met up in the Room of Requirements. I don’t know what Harry asked for exactly, but he definitely aced it! The whole room was decorated with rose petals and floating candles; and there was a huge canopy bed and even a fireplace! I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’d been waiting for this moment and it turned out just perfect! Harry was so gentle and …”

Hermione listened to her babble on with only half an ear. She was happy for her best friend, of course; but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a little sullen. With the majority of her teenage years having been spent cramming for exams while trying to keep Harry alive and out of trouble, she had never had the time for any romantic escapades. In her juvenile blindness, Gilderoy Lockhart had been her first heartthrob and she had even harboured a small crush on Sirius Black for a while. A quick snog with Viktor Krum underneath the Quidditch Pitch bleachers during the night of the Yule Ball, however, had been the most action she’d ever had. While most people – including Harry, Ginny and probably even Ron himself – still seemed to think that she and the Gryffindor Keeper would someday end up together, Hermione had ruled out that scenario a long time ago. She loved the boy dearly, but he would never be more than a good friend to her; they were just too different. She needed someone more mature – someone who put as much emphasise on intellect and academics as her. But did someone like that even exist in the first place?

“… And I’m just so happy right now! I really feel like our relationship has been taken to a whole new level.” Ginny paused for a second. “Anyway, enough of me. Now tell me what’s been going on in the life of Hogwarts’ smartest smartass.”

“Hey!” Hermione proclaimed exasperatedly, but she did have to giggle when she saw the redhead’s smug expression – her friends had all figured out a long time ago how to rile her up using foul language. “Well, not much really. I’ve just been studying, fulfilling my duties as Head Girl, doing my lessons with Professor Snape and –“

“Galloping gargoyles! I’d totally forgotten about you and that slimy bastard!” the younger girl shouted, ignoring her shocked and appalled look. “You know, I still can’t believe that you chose him as your tutor! I mean, I’m already having a hard time with how strict McGonagall is being with me, and she can’t be even half as bad as that minger. How are you holding up?”

“It’s really not that bad. I mean, yes, he does make me work hard, but I knew that going in. And quite frankly, a big workload is not the worst thing – I do want to improve my brewing skills, after all. Plus, I do think that all of you have a completely wrong impression of Professor Snape. It’s true that he’s quite stern and almost cold sometimes, but he was a true hero during the war; you know that as well as I do. And after allowing me to work in his private lab and giving me that amazing birthday gift, I really don’t believe that –“

“WHAT?” Ginny’s outcry was so intense that her hazel eyes bulged to an abnormal extent. “Private lab? Birthday gift?! What the hell? You haven’t even been working with that plonker for a month and you already seem to be talking about a completely different Snape than me!”

Hermione was more than a little irritated at being interrupted yet again, but she decided to let it slide. “Merlin’s beard, Ginny, calm down! Yes, we are both talking about the same Professor Snape; and yes, he still is the same snarky and spiteful wizard as always. More importantly, however, it wasn’t like he invited me into his laboratory voluntarily. The Hospital Wing was in desperate need of medicine, but the Potions classroom was occupied – so he didn’t really have a choice but to have us use his personal workspace to brew.”

“Hmm, I guess that makes sense. It’s still a bit weird, though.” There was a brief moment of silence. “Wait … Wouldn’t his private lab be inside his personal quarters?”

When she didn’t answer immediately, the ginger-haired adolescent started jumping up and down excitedly on the bed. “By Salazar’s balls, Hermione! I cannot believe you entered the Dungeon Bat’s private chambers and lived to tell the tale! How does it look down there? Is it true that he has every single mirror covered with a piece of cloth so that he doesn’t have to see his own ugliness, just like Charlie used to want me to believe? Oh, you have to tell me everything!”

She rolled her eyes. “Just stop it. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. I had to promise him not to tell a soul anyway. So don’t even try to squeeze any specifics out of me!”

“Oh, come on! You can’t lure me with such a scandalous story and then leave out all the juicy details! You will tell me, even if I have to force you!” And with those words, she dropped to her knees, grabbed one of the bed’s many pillows and started hitting her friend with it ruthlessly.

“OUCH! Hey, Ginny, stop it! AH!” Hermione tried dodging the cushioned weapon, but it was to no avail. “Okay, okay, stop bothering me already! You really are something, Ginevra Weasley – it’s quite mean of you to treat me in such a way on my birthday, you know!” she exclaimed before hastily fixing her now messed-up ponytail. “I will tell you, but not before you promise me not to tell anyone, not even Harry! Professor Snape would kill me if he found out that I dared to blab.”

The redhead was beaming following her victory. “Pinky promise!”

Hermione audibly sighed before proceeding. “Well, his rooms are definitely not what you would expect. I didn’t view them in their entirety, of course; but from what I could see, there wasn’t a speck of Slytherin colours anywhere. It didn’t feel like a dark and gloomy dungeon space either. His sitting room is filled with hundreds upon hundreds of books, some of which I have never even heard of, Gin! Oh, how I wish I could just go back and browse for a few hours! A few of the books seem to be centuries-old originals that were written by hand and –“ She stopped herself when she noticed the annoyed look on the other girl’s face. “Anyway, it’s actually quite cosy down there; he even has a fireplace. And yes, there was a mirror, without any cloth in sight. That’s about it, really. There were some doors leading to other rooms, but he understandably directed me into the laboratory rather quickly. I know that you’re not that into brewing, but let me tell you that even you would be amazed by that place. So much amazing machinery and such rare ingredients! Oh, I could go on forever!”

“Yeah, yeah, please spare me the details. I couldn’t care less about his silly collection –“ Ginny skilfully overlooked her friend’s glare. “The interesting part is that you’ve actually been inside his private chambers. That’s absolutely insane! Just wait until Harry and Ron find out, we’ll be able to play so many awesome pranks on that git! Next time you go –“

“No, Ginny! I told you, you cannot tell anybody!”

“But –“

“NO! No ifs, ands or buts – just stop! You promised me, remember? I don’t think I’ll ever have the chance to go back anyway. Besides, after receiving that terrific gift from him yesterday, I really ought to be thankful rather than play any mean tricks on him.”

To beat her to another overemotional outburst, Hermione quickly recounted Dumbledore’s surprise visit and explained the tradition of giving gifts to one’s apprentice to celebrate them becoming another year older.

“So McGonagall will give me a birthday gift, too?” Ginny asked eagerly. The Head Girl confirmed with a brief bob of her head. “Sweet! But what did the old bugger get you anyhow?”

Hermione furled her eyebrows in distaste before using the Summoning Charm on her new most prized possession and handing it to the girl.

“Huh? It just looks like some old book that’s about to fall apart,” Ginny said, clearly disappointed by the worn object laying on her lap.

“I know that it may not look like much, but it’s the exact opposite. This here,” Hermione lifted the book so that it was on eye-level. “– is one of the most infamous wizarding works ever created. It’s so rare that not even the Ministry possesses a copy of it. Gin, this book is priceless – it’s easily worth more than the net worth of all current and past Quidditch players in the entire world combined!”

Finally understanding the severity of the situation, Ginny gasped. “And Snape still gave it to you?! Why in Merlin’s name would he do something like that?”

“I honestly don’t know. Such a gift would already be considered excessive even if we were friends, so I don’t understand at all why he would give it to me despite his obvious hatred towards me.” She heaved a sigh. “I’ve been racking my brain all day trying to come up with a way to properly thank him, but I don’t think I would even know what to say. I mean, this is the most amazing thing that anyone’s ever done for me!”

(Click here for chapter 10!)

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