Birthday surprise

It was a Saturday afternoon and Hermione was curled up on an armchair in the Hogwarts library beside her favorite window. The light streamed through the stained glass, illuminating the pages of her book. She had seen the novel in the Hogsmeade bookstore and bought it for herself as an early birthday gift. Although after five books this week that justification was getting flimsy…

It wasn't her fault that so many of her favorite authors came out with new books at the same time! Plus she rarely bought things so she can splurge on books once in a while. Satisfied at her reasoning, Hermione dived into the next chapter, turning the pages at an increasingly rapid pace. The story was fascinating, tracing the adventures of a cursebreaker who helped to establish the Ministry of Magic. Although fictional, the novel included meticulous detail about the changes in wizarding culture that led to the new institution.

Hermione's fingers danced along the edge of the book as she reached the end of the engrossing passage. As she lifted the corner to turn the page, it slipped out of her grasp. And again when she tried a second time. She stared at the page in confusion as it now felt slippery and slimy. A chuckle sounded behind her and she jumped, turning to glare at the man in dark green robes.

"You!" she accused, narrowing her eyes. Tom just smirked at her and shrugged with unapologetic amusement. "It was the only way to get your attention."

Hermione huffed but secretly acknowledged that was probably true. But he didn't need to be so smug about it! "What do you want?" she snipped at him.

Tom sat down on the chair next to her and Hermione looked at him with suspicion. She put her book down and scrutinized his expression.

"What are you so satisfied about?" Hermione questioned. His smirk was still there and his eyes were glinting with barely suppressed excitement. Her mind darted through a dozen possible scenarios, each more exasperating than the last. Last week she had to redecorate the entire hall after he turned all the holiday decorations into sinister snakes that terrified the first years. She had giving him a long scolding but he just laughed it off.

"Tom…" Hermione said warningly. Instead of responding, he pulled her up from the armchair, sending her books into her bag with a sweep of his wand. Surprised, she followed as he walked briskly through the library and then down the corridor, toward the Room of Requirement? She watched with curiosity and a tinge of wariness as Tom paced in front of the hidden entrance, revealing the door to the Room.

The room was dark with an intricately carved basin in the center, glowing with purple light. It was flanked by two stone serpents, with vials of the same purple liquid in their gaping jaws. Hermione rolled her eyes at his dramatics but Tom was already walking toward the stone basin.

Hermione sighed and stepped forward as well, examining the basin more closely. She thought it was a Pensieve at first glance but the runes were wrong. Also the swirling liquid was purple instead of the turquoise blue that she had seen in the past. She looked at Tom expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

Tom interlaced her fingers with his and stared at her with an uncharacteristically earnest expression, devoid of any sarcasm. "Trust me?" he murmured. Hermione nodded hesitantly and he waved his wand over the basin with elaborate patterns while chanting incantations under his breath. Hermione watched in fascination as the purple liquid bubbled and became transparent, with shimmery images dancing below the surface.

Tom whispered "Happy birthday" before they plunged together into the Pensieve-like basin. Hermione blinked to clear her blurry vision and the landscape gradually came into view. She was standing in front of a hill with a dark forest in the distance. The scene was strangely familiar yet something was off. She took a tentative step forward and the air around her crackled with magical energy unlike anything she had felt before.

A movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she gasped in awe. An imposing wizard with magnificent red robes was brandishing his wand in powerful strokes, his shining sword at his side. "Godric…" Hermione mused in wonder. His magic was directed toward the base of the hill, which roiled as it absorbed the energy and expanded toward the sky.

On the far side of the hill she saw the other magnificent founders directly out of her favorite history book. Together they encircled the foundation of Hogwarts, casting spells to bring forth the ancient castle, unraveling its intricate corridors and endowing it with enduring secrets. The four currents of magic swirled and combined, forming the heart of the castle before tapering off on their own to create the unique features of their own like the Gryffindor Tower and the Slytherin dungeons. The castle was then adorned with elaborate furnishings as the majestic staircases and sculptures came into being.

Godric and Rowena summoned their magic to surround the castle, creating strong wards to protect its inhabitants. Strands of shimmering energy fell over the turrets and towers of Hogwarts, encapsulating it in an intricate orb. Salazar cast his power at the base and large rocks emerged, elevating the castle up above the landscape. Helga waved her wand at the sloping plains in a circular motion and they transformed into the serene deep waters of the Black Lake.

Hermione glanced over at Tom with wonder as her mind swirled with brimming questions. He just smiled at her with a self-satisfied look and gestured for her to take his hand. As their fingers clasped, the warm feel of his grip pulled her out of the surreal scene before her and she emerged from the Pensieve, gasping for air.

"What was that?" she exclaimed after she could speak again.

"Your birthday gift", Tom responded with a grin.

Hermione shook her head impatiently, muttering to herself as she paced around the basin that was still glowing. "Memories…imagination...history…" she mused aloud as she read the inscribed runes.

Shocked, she jerked her head to stare at Tom with awe. "You changed the runes to recreate the past as if it were a memory."

Tom nodded in affirmation but Hermione was already lost in thought. "Of course…history is just collective memory so you can form a realistic simulation of it by combining multiple accounts of the same event. All you would need is…"

Hermione trailed off as something occurred to her. "You must have chosen the formation of Hogwarts since there are so many descriptive sources. So many wizards have written about the event in detail so you were able to combine them into a single scene… "

Tom wanted to sigh with exasperation. It amazed him how Hermione could figure out the how so quickly but not the why. Yes, of course it was easier to recreate one of the most celebrated events in the wizarding world but he could have chosen a hundred other options.

She was the one who carried that damned book with her all the time – Hogwarts: A History. He was going to get her the first edition but a bloody professor had bought the last copy and he had promised Hermione that he wouldn't hurt anyone unless in self-defense. Too bad stealing back a book probably didn't count so he had to think of something else.

Hermione actually gave him the idea a few weeks ago while they were having an engaging conversation about Pensieves. She had wondered if they could be used to reinforce repressed or altered memories. Tom had masked his excitement and quickly excused himself to go do more research on the topic. His findings had been encouraging, as there were records of Pensieve use for obfuscating painful memories or even exploring alternate realities. After that it was a simple matter of determining which runes to change and how to combine the necessary components to form a realistic scene.

"Tom…" With his thoughts interrupted, he realized that Hermione was staring at him but instead of awe he saw…affection?

"You chose the particular event for me," she stated simply.

Tom just looked at her, tracing her pleased smile and committing it to his memory.

Hermione then furrowed her brow and began in a serious tone. "You can't use this to change memories Tom – only to improve understanding of the past."

Sometimes he forgot how well she knew him. Of course he had considered the more sinister applications for a moment but then he had brushed them aside. What was he going to do? Take over the wizarding world? He smirked at the thought but it didn't hold much appeal as he already had everything he needed.

"Dinner and then a duel?" Tom suggested.

"If you can keep up with me," Hermione winked at him with mischief as they walked through Hogwarts together.