In her first year, Hermione had almost forgotten about her own birthday. None of her housemates knew about it, of course, and she herself had been far too lost in the wonder of Hogwarts to notice. She'd gone to classes in the morning and afternoon, spent her free time in the library, dined in the Great Hall, and gone to bed as usual. It wasn't until the next day, when a packet of letters and small gifts from her parents arrived - late, since they still hadn't quite mastered the owl post system - that she remembered. She might have cried a little, quietly, behind her curtains. But it was all right. Every day at Hogwarts she woke to a world of magic and books; she practically lived in a library. And really, wasn't that the best birthday gift a girl could ever have asked for?
All that said - when a small letter from Gabriel Moretti fluttered through her window that morning, asking her to meet him out on the grounds, she had a fairly strong suspicion what it was about. He had asked her about her birthday back at the party at his house, after all. So even though she told herself not to expect anything, a hopeful spark had already taken root.
That, naturally, explained why instead of hurrying down straight away, she had dashed to the bathroom, taken the fastest bath of her life, changed into the nicest clothes she had brought to Hogwarts - which, admittedly, weren't much different from her usual ones - and then spent a determined five minutes trying, and failing, to tame her hair before giving up with a huff.
Now, Hermione knew Gabriel. She knew that he generally meant well, but that he also possessed an almost pathological need to amuse himself at all times. And that amusement usually came from provoking reactions in others. So she was prepared. She expected something.
All the way down from Gryffindor Tower, she glanced around warily - above her, behind her, even underfoot as she crossed the moving staircases - drawing a few odd looks from passing portraits and students alike. By the time she stepped through the gates and onto the grounds, her paranoia had dulled to a wary suspicion. Which, as it turned out, was perfectly justified.
Because the very next moment, Gabriel swooped down from above on a broomstick, scooped her clean off the ground, muttered a quick "Silencio", and before she could so much as gasp, had deposited her in front of him as the broom surged skyward.
-~=~-
Gabriel's grin stretched from ear to ear, his eyes crinkling with laughter as Hermione clung to him, screaming soundlessly into the wind. Still, he wasn't entirely heartless. He kept the broom low and slow, circling lazily around the castle rather than darting off like a Bludger.
"There, there," he said soothingly, patting her back with the hand not steering his new broom - one he'd proudly acquired during this year's shopping trip. "Let it alllll out."
The glare she shot him might have been more intimidating if she didn't look, from his angle, rather like a puffed-up beaver. It was the first time he'd been this close to her since their first meeting, and he couldn't help noticing one particularly gratifying difference - namely, that a year ago she'd been a few centimetres taller than him. Now, he stood a full head above her.
The smug smile that crept onto his face only made her glare deepen. He laughed aloud, tightened his hold on both her and the broom, and deliberately sped up. Hermione immediately abandoned her glare in favour of shoving her face into his chest and - judging by the vibrations he could feel - attempting to scream.
Impressively, it took a good fifteen minutes of steady flying before her terror began to fade enough for her to pull back and resume glaring at him. Another ten minutes passed before she finally gave up trying to make him feel guilty, and instead began, cautiously, to look around at the world below.
-~=~-
They were quite high - well below the clouds, but soaring past some of the castle's towers - and Hermione couldn't help but stare, wide-eyed, at the world spread out beneath her. The students on the grounds looked like tiny, bustling ants, moving about their daily routines. From up here, Hogwarts seemed so peaceful, so far removed from its usual chaos. It was as if she'd been lifted out of all the noise and commotion, set apart for a moment. It felt… calming.
She tried, valiantly, to stay cross with Gabriel. But her attention kept slipping toward the view, and the unfamiliar, exhilarating lightness of it all. And if there was one thing Hermione Granger adored, it was learning - especially through experience. She had heard Harry talk plenty about how freeing flying felt, though she'd never quite understood it until now. She had even been a little puzzled when he hadn't joined the Quidditch team again this year - but she hadn't asked.
When she blinked next, they were spiralling slowly around the outside of Gryffindor Tower. At one point, they glided right past the window of the girls' dormitory - something she made a firm mental note to mention to Professor McGonagall later. That seemed precisely the sort of security flaw certain people could take advantage of.
Then Gabriel stopped moving.
Or rather - he stopped going up. They were now moving steadily toward the window.
Hermione twisted in alarm, only to find a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. A dreadful realisation dawned: she was sitting beside the very person she'd just mentally labelled as "someone with bad intentions."
For a brief, furious moment, she entertained the idea of throttling him - but one glance downward quickly dissuaded her. So instead she clung to the broom and watched helplessly as Gabriel rapped his scarred knuckles against the glass.
She braced herself for the shrieks, the confusion, the inevitable questions, the justified rage - and, of course, the detention-worthy trouble with McGonagall that would follow.
Only… none of that happened.
Instead, the girls inside gasped in unison, squealed, and began waving excitedly at the pair. Parvati, Lavender, and Fay beamed up at them as though they were watching something straight out of a romance novel.
Hermione froze. Then, belatedly, she realised exactly what they must be thinking - and exactly what this scene must look like from their perspective. She tried to groan, but the Silencing Charm still held.
Gabriel's laughter confirmed it: she was the joke, not them.
"Look alive, Hermione!" he called cheerfully. "Let's go take a look at some more interesting places, yeah?"
That… did not sound good.
-~=~-
Gabriel spent the next half-hour showing Hermione all the most remarkable views he'd discovered in his time flying around Hogwarts. The top of the Astronomy Tower was freezing, but worth it - the castle below looked like a delicate toy model, complete with glowing windows and smoke rising from the chimneys. From there they descended, gliding above the greenhouses - Professor Sprout was conspicuously absent - and then zigzagged through the viaduct's stone columns.
They skimmed the treetops at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the leaves brushing their boots as sunlight dappled the broom's handle, then crossed above the forest proper, the shadows stretching long beneath them. Finally, they drifted out over the lake, just as the sun began to sink behind the hills, staining the world in shades of amber and gold.
By then, the Silencio had faded, but Hermione remained quiet. Gabriel might have worried if not for the way her eyes shone, or how she trailed her fingertips across the lake's surface as they glided past, watching the ripples dance away from her touch.
He brought them to a stop near the middle of the lake, where the water turned deep and dark. Beneath them, the giant squid stirred lazily, one massive eye glancing up at them. Gabriel had the distinct feeling it was keeping watch, ensuring nothing else disturbed their moment.
"So?" he asked, flashing his grin.
Hermione turned to him, eyes narrowed but posture relaxed.
"You are," she began crisply, "without a doubt, the most frustrating, ridiculous, hard-headed, insufferable, reckless, and infuriating person I've ever met." She drew a breath. "Ever."
"Hermione…" he said cautiously.
She raised an eyebrow, lips pursed in challenge.
"Thank you," he said simply, with a heartfelt smile and genuine warmth in his voice.
She closed her eyes, counted silently to ten, and let out a long sigh. When she opened them again, he was still smiling at her, and she promptly looked away, cheeks faintly pink.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"I think you said that already, yeah."
"Just making sure you understand."
"I'm sure."
"You do realise you broke about a hundred school rules, don't you?"
Gabriel's tone turned smug. "'Students of second year and above are permitted to bring their own brooms to school and fly within the castle grounds…'" he recited in an exaggeratedly pompous voice.
Hermione gave him a long, unimpressed look and continued dryly from where he'd stopped:
"'…They should, however, remain aware that several actions will be considered infringements upon this privilege, including: flying above castle height, flying at ground level - particularly in areas with foot traffic - entering the Forbidden Forest, flying over the Black Lake, and flying within castle buildings…'"
"Right, right, I got it-"
"'…These measures are not intended to limit student freedom, but to ensure their safety, and that of their peers and faculty-'"
Gabriel groaned loudly. Hermione, clearly satisfied, went on reciting with a small, smug smile.
"Look," he interrupted, "you can tell the teachers later if you want, I don't care. It's not like I was trying to get you in trouble. I'm just glad you had fun."
He flicked her forehead lightly. She hissed, covering the spot with both hands, glaring up at him. But then her expression softened, eyes distant.
"You said the same thing back then," she murmured.
"Hm?"
"'You can tell the teachers later if you want, I don't care.' That's what you said on Halloween last year, before…"
"Ah. Yeah, I did, didn't I?" He chuckled softly. "Well, it's true. It's not that I'm against rules, Hermione. I get why they exist. But if I break one, I'll just take the punishment - I won't let it stop me from doing what I want."
Hermione sighed loudly, dropping her forehead against his chest.
"You're really ridiculous, you know that?"
"I got it the first ti—"
She cut him off by wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you," she said quietly, holding him tighter. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."
For once, Gabriel didn't joke. He simply held her back, silent and still.
…
It didn't last long.
"I mean, yeah," he said at last, grin returning, "I am the one flying us here. You'd never have the guts to do this yourself."
Hermione groaned but couldn't help laughing.
"Also, don't go thanking me yet," Gabriel added mischievously. "Your birthday isn't over."
"Wha-?"
Her question turned into a yelp as he suddenly accelerated, the broom shooting back toward the castle.
-~=~-
They flew through one of the windows on the eastern side of the castle—breaking yet another rule in the process. But Hermione found she couldn't bring herself to scold him, because all around them was- everyone.
Everywhere she looked, familiar faces beamed up at her. The professors, some looking mildly amused, others like Snape looking incredibly unimpressed. The Headmaster stood in the centre, idly twirling his fingers through his beard, his robes a dazzling clash of neon green and mustard yellow. Hagrid waved from near the back - the gentle giant who'd ferried them across the lake on their very first night here, and whom Gabriel had introduced her to, later.
And then the students - Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Fay, Hannah, Susan; little Ginny and Luna; Neville, Harry and Ron as inseparable as ever; Dean and Justin; even Daphne and Tracey, the only Slytherins Hermione ever really spoke with. All of those and more. All of them smiling. All of them waiting.
"Happy birthday, Hermione!"
The lights of the room flared to life, illuminating banners and floating candles in cheerful gold and scarlet. Tables appeared, laden with her favourite sweets and pastries - and in the centre stood a large cake shaped like a stack of books, crowned by a tiny, enchanted sugar version of herself that waved its arms enthusiastically.
Hermione gasped. Tears sprang to her eyes before she could stop them. She turned to Gabriel - smug, infuriating Gabriel - and threw her arms around him with enough force to make an ordinary boy lose a rib or two. He only laughed, patting her back awkwardly, before the girls descended upon her with laughter and hugs, dragging her off to admire everything.
-~=~-
"It was a beautiful thing you did today, my boy," said Dumbledore, happily popping a lemon drop into his mouth as he watched the students celebrate. His eyes twinkled like the candles above.
"Yes," Professor McGonagall said dryly, "if only he hadn't broken quite so many school rules in the process, it would have been better still."
Dumbledore chuckled. Professor Flitwick tittered. McGonagall, however, fixed Gabriel with a sharp look. "Minus five points from Ravenclaw for that."
"Aww," Gabriel cooed, entirely unrepentant. "Not even a single detention? I knew you were a big softie, Minnie."
"That," she replied crisply, "will be another ten points, Mr. Moretti. Don't push your luck. Honestly, you're just like-" She stopped herself abruptly, words dying on her tongue.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow, curious, but she said nothing more.
Flitwick, sensing the awkwardness and sweeping past it as he often did, piped up cheerfully, "I must say, I'm surprised not to see Professor Lockhart here this evening."
Gabriel made a sound of exaggerated dismay. Then, in the flattest tone imaginable, said, "Oh dear. I forgot to invite him."
"Quite the oversight," said Dumbledore, perfectly solemn.
Flitwick chuckled. "I suspect that's never stopped him before."
"I may have," Gabriel admitted, "bribed a certain pair of Gryffindors to keep him… occupied for the rest of the day."
That earned another round of laughter, though McGonagall only huffed softly in reply.
Still, as the party carried on - Hermione radiant among her friends, the Great Hall echoing with laughter - Gabriel noticed that Professor McGonagall was smiling for the rest of the evening.