It was just one of those days. Hermione had gotten special permission from the headmaster to return home for her birthday, since it fell on a Saturday, and was truly excited. She had arrived the night before and her parents had taken her out to dinner knowing she would most likely spend the actual night of her birthday with her muggle friends. When she woke up that morning she was not expecting anything unusual to happen, even though, at Hogwarts, she had learned to expect exactly that. Padding across the plush carpet and down the stairs, Hermione ran into the kitchen only to find it empty. A note on the table informed her that her parents were called in to work and didn't know when they'd be home, but to have a happy birthday, in case they didn't see her that day. Sighing, she took the two letters from under the note; birthday cards from Dumbledore and McGonnagall, but not a one from Harry or Ron. "Gits," she mumbled to herself and headed upstairs to waste away the day.

Sarah, her best friend from grammar school, had phoned to let her know that Audrey, Michelle and Jack were the only ones who could make it that night and they would come get her around 8 o'clock. She tried to sound cheery on the phone, but she felt so alone, like no one even remembered, or cared about, her birthday. With a sigh she glanced at the clock which read 6:00. She set down the book she had been reading and decided to get dolled up all nice for tonight, rather than just throwing herself together. Come on, Hermione, it's your 16th birthday, her conscience yelled. This is supposed to be a happy, girlish occasion! Let go and have some fun for a change. She walked to the closet and picked out some clothes she wasn't sure if she had ever worn before. There was a knee-length black skirt that twirled nicely, a tight black low cut shirt with a slight ruffle around the collar and knee-high boots.

She got dressed and went into her bathroom to do her make-up, only to find most of it either missing or long past expiration. Hermione growled and threw the old cosmetics at the wall above the trash bin, watching as some of them broke and scattered, leaving smudges, trails and dustings of color around the wall and floor. At least my foundation is still good, she thought grimly before rubbing on a thin layer and setting it with powder. Adding some silvery grey eyeshadow up to her browbone, she smirked at the thought that the only color she had that wasn't plain or icky was the set of greens she bought last halloween. She chuckled lightly and smudged the medium green along her eyelid before dipping the tip of a wet brush into the darkest shade and lining her eyes carefully. The clock read 7:15 and Hermione made the split-second decision to run down to the drug store on the corner.

When she reached there, however, she realized she didn't bring her purse; well, bag, really. "SHIT!" she hissed loudly in the middle of the cosmetics aisle. Glancing around she walked over to the displays and picked up a package of black mascara, carefully peeling it open and pulling out the tube while glancing around slowly as if looking for something. With the mascara freed, she slid over to a mirror by the samples and pulled out the wand, brushing on a couple of quick coats. That done, she set the tube between some items on the display and looked over the sample lipcolors. A dark, inky red caught her eye and she grabbed it up, swiped some on, and set it back before slowly wandering from the store.

She got back to her house with just a few moments to spare and ran inside to collect her things. She grabbed her purse first, so as not to forget it again, and decided, in her stress induced recklessness, to wear her new time-turner, so she could show it off to her friends. A spritz of perfume (her mom's Trésor) and she was out the door as Sarah pulled up and Jack practically pulled her into the back seat.

"Is the birthday girl going to sit on my lap so she can get her spankings?" he asked, holding her by the waist.

"Ack! Nooo!" she squirmed and slapped at him playfully while Sarah, Audrey and Michelle laughed. They came to a red light and the others pulled out noisemakers and yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" before blowing them and giggling. Michelle also produced a handful of confetti and threw it at Hermione, who was laughing and thanking them, trying not to cry as she realized what great friends she had.

"So, where are we going tonight?" Hermione asked while Jack put a party hat on her head.

"SECRET!" the other three girls squealed, causing Jack to smirk and her to roll her eyes.

"Speaking of secrets, who's the lucky guy that's courting my dear lady?"

"Well," Hermione drew out, looking at Jack from the corner of her eyes in mock seriousness, "I don't know, but when you find out be sure to let me know!"

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Michelle asked, wide-eyed, as she turned in her seat to see Hermione behind her.

"What?"

"You're telling us that no guy at Hogwarts has claimed you for his own?"

"Well, no, but the guys there are, um, well... idiots," she stammered out, looking at her fingers as she played with them.

"They can't just be a school full of drooling retards," Sarah said, looking at Hermione in the rear-view mirror.

"You'd be surprised."

The car ride continued on for the next 20 minutes or so and Hermione caught them up on the happenings in the wizarding world while Aubrey and Michelle each gave her one of their bracelets to wear, complaining that her wrists looked so empty. When they finally stopped Hermione realized that they were outside of a popular bar and opened her mouth to say... something. But we'll never know what because Jack stopped her.

"Relax, Mia, this is my uncle's bar. When I told him it was your 'Sweet 16' he finally consented to let us come."

The quartet was allowed inside immediately when Jack gave his name and Hermione looked around nervously as they followed him to a plush booth and squeezed in.

The hours flew by and Hermione was, seriously, drunk. She had danced with her friends and some nice strangers and pretty much just enjoyed the night. At one point they all took a break and crowded around their table, settling in comfortably and getting a quick breath of air. Hermione laughed and wiped the forming tears from the corners of her eyes when her friends gave her each of their presents, but made her promise not to open them until she got home later. She pulled a serious face for a moment as she realized he had wiped her eyes without any caution to her makeup, but Jack laid his arm on her and smiled, letting her know that she didn't muck it all up. As she stuffed the presents in her bag, she caught sight of her time-turner and sat back with a soft frown.

"Everything okay?" Jack asked softly and Hermione nodded her head before looking at her friends.

"I... I just need a moment to myself, I think," she whispered softly and Jack signaled for the girls to give her a moment.

"We'll just be on the floor for the next song and then we'll be back," Michelle said as she gave Hermione a gentle squeeze before pushing Audrey and Sarah out of the booth. Jack repeated the half-hug and said he'd get some drinks before he slid out after them.

Hermione cradled the time-turner in her hands, rubbing her fingers over it absently as she thought of Harry and Ron and Seamus and Ginny and the twins and- gods, her head was spinning. She felt like she needed to lie down, and that was her last thought before her head hit something solid.

Audrey had gasped and made a dash for the table as she saw her friend spinning a golden object in her hands before seemingly passing out- and vanishing into thin air.