Highly Unlikely

Highly Unlikely (Oneshot)

September 19, 2005

Hermione Granger has never been surprised on her birthday.

It's funny to think that she had been there for all of her friends and family's birthday celebrations and surprises. She can count all the occasions they spent, remember all the things she brought, bought, or helped with whether it be cooking food, or decorating the venue.

Hermione Granger has never been surprised on her birthday. But this time, she was.

Why?

Nobody greeted her. Nobody came to see her.

12:05 PM

It was a Monday and she had heard about the break-in at Godric's Hollow earlier that morning. She'd received an owl from Harry that he and Ron are handling the case and that they can't join her for lunch.

She sighed to herself, losing her appetite. She instead busied herself with the paper she's assigned to translate. Being an author and translator, she has more free time than her friends. Ginny's busy with her Quidditch career, Blaise Zabini is too, joining Oliver Wood in Puddlemere United. Ron and Harry are both Aurors, quite a busy job when there are big cases assigned to them, but aside from that, Hermione still gets to see them frequently. Pansy surely would be with Harry and Ron tonight, covering the news about the break-in. Theo and Daphne, bless their hearts, are off honeymooning in Barbados since the start of the month so she wasn't expecting them at all. Which leaves...

"Malfoy" she mutters under her breath. If the other forgot her day, she doubts he'll remember it. Sure, she has spent birthdays with him and the others for the past two years, and despite getting closer as time passed, those birthdays were pre-planned. By her. They only need to show up. And they did—which Hermione is grateful for.

This year, however, Hermione has been busy translating an updated version of Hogwarts: A History into French. Was it wrong for her to assume that they will put something together for her?

It's a wonder they all became friends. It had started when Blaise, Ginny, and Harry started bonding over Quidditch in early 2002. It was months in the making, but Ginny threw a nasty Bat-Bogey Hex at someone who tried to curse Blaise behind his back. All because Blaise's team beat them hard for that certain practice. Harry, Ginny, and Ron were there at the pitch for the second batch of teams to practice. Blaise, despite hesitantly, thanked them sincerely. Draco and Theo had been joining their "friendly" matches months after that. Soon after, Hermione finds herself watching and cheering alongside Pansy, Daphne, and her younger sister Astoria.

7:30 PM

She stretched her arms and cracked her neck before making her fingers pop. No owls arrived, no howlers, or even a text message from her smartphone.

She was starving and she had already finished five well-informed chapters, making sure to honor the Professors and those who fought with their lives to keep Hogwarts standing. Hermione sighs and massages her neck. Reaching for her phone, she dialed a number and ordered takeaway.

Guess her companions for tonight will just be Ben and Jerry. And maybe a bottle of champagne.

11:35 PM

Hermione thought she was okay, but turns out she wasn't. Was it wrong to expect a greeting from her dear friends? She won't mind if they can't attend her party (a party that she would've put in motion had anyone sent her a message of some sort so she knows how much she'll be preparing. But since no one confirmed... or greeted...) but thinking about them forgetting her birthday hurts.