This is a new fic I've started on another site…I hope you'll enjoy it just the same!
Chapter 1 - Late Night Chat
Harry Potter sat at his desk inside the Auror department, filling out tedious paperwork in hopes of getting it done so he could go home early. It was early May and he was now twenty-one; nearing his twenty-second birthday in just two short months. Harry had been an Auror for three years now, but currently switched positions to an office job due to the incredible amount of stress from defeating the one and only infamous villain of their time, Voldemort. He needed a break, as did his friends and others around him.
"Done!" Harry exclaimed as he crossed the last 'T' in his signature. Finally he was done signing petitions for all the little things that were cropping up, mostly dealing with muggle involvement.
It was nearly midnight and Harry was exhausted. The moonlight was pouring through his window and onto his back, creating a shadow on his desk as he filed his stuff away in a bottom drawer. It was dead quiet around the ministry at this late hour. Everyone had gone home but Harry stuck it out and made the decision to get all his paperwork done so he had the weekend free.
The open space of his office was a security to him. When he was having a hard time with something, namely his girlfriend of two years, Cho Chang, he would hide away in his office and take in the silence to think clearly. Lately things were quite rocky with Cho. She and Harry would fight over the smallest things, despite the fact that she thought they were made for each other. Harry didn't see that at all.
So here he sat in his elegant office that Cho had redone to suit his status. Two black leather love seats sat on opposite ends of the room. The walls were an off white and pictures adorned them; pictures of school days dotted the off white texture, but Cho smothered the wall directly in front of his desk.
Harry mustered up the strength to get up and chuckled at the silly office he had. One would think he was a stubborn, greedy old miser with tons of money and nothing better to do with it. He stood in the doorway and made sure everything was as it should be and flipped off the light.
Harry stepped out into the quiet hallway, his shoes echoing lightly on the tiled floor. He pulled the door shut softly and locked it with his wand, using a high-security charm he had learned in his Auror training. Only someone that knew everything there was to know in the world and then some could get through that door; unless you were Hermione Granger, who did in fact know everything there was to know.
Harry stood with his hand on the door frame and recounted vaguely about the first time his best friend burst into his office late one night while he was up signing paperwork, in tears over the latest jerk of a boyfriend. Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and smiled slightly at the memory. She was the only one that knew how to get in with that intense security lock charm placed on his office. There were many times she came to visit him late at night, mainly to discuss nasty dates and horrible boyfriends; the last time being just three nights ago. This time she had told Harry that she and her boyfriend, Peter, were through. Many tears were shed that night.
Harry had dropped everything that he was doing immediately, shoving his mile-high stack of paperwork aside to calm her down, offering himself up as a punching bag if Peter got to be too frustrating when she did break up with him.
Harry walked down the dark hall, ready to go home. Somewhere along the line his mind wandered. He turned down another hallway and ended up in front of Hermione's office. Yes, she too, worked at the Ministry. Her job was quite involved, and was right alongside the Minister himself, Arthur Weasley.
Harry peered into the tiny window in the door, letting his hands hang to his side with his wand still in his hand. Someone was in there. Harry cupped his hands around his face and felt the cold glass on his forehead to see who it was. They seemed to be rummaging through a file drawer. Harry felt a twinge in his stomach and was about to mutter the spell to get security down to their location on the empty third floor when he saw who it was. It was Hermione. She had her hair pulled up and paced around her office in the dark. Harry knocked lightly, causing Hermione's silhouette to jump and stop dead in its place. He smiled and she came to the door.
"Harry! You gave me a fright!" she whispered, holding the door open just enough to poke her head through and make sure trouble wouldn't be coming her way.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to. Just saw you in there and wondered what you were doing here so late," he answered back in a low hum. She stepped out with her robe and wand in one hand. Hermione smiled at him and locked her door behind her to walk out of the building with Harry.
"I had some unfinished things to settle, that's all," she said rationally. They had started to walk and Harry turned his head to look at her strangely.
"In the dark?" he asked skeptically. She just grinned at him and they walked on.
Harry's black mussed up hair was the same as it had been since he was very young. Harry had grown to be quite tall, at least three or four inches taller than Hermione's five-foot, six-inch frame. His eyes glowed in the dimly lit hallway and his voice echoed as they spoke to one another, walking slowly.
"I broke up with Peter today," Hermione said out of the blue. Harry looked at her.
"Really. Are you alright?" he asked sincerely.
Hermione sighed contently, as if to be breathing her very first molecule of fresh air. Harry smiled. "Went that good then?"
Hermione turned her head to him. "Actually he was furious with me," she started, then sighed again. "But then I felt so much better after, I didn't care what he said or thought of me after that. How's Cho?"
Harry gritted his teeth a bit and folded his arms, tucking his wand in his pocket first. "She's the same as ever; can't predict anymore whether or not she's going to be mad at me."
"For what?" Hermione asked sounding very stern.
"Who knows exactly. She keeps telling me she wants to get married but when she throws these fits, about nothing-it's very easy for me to blow her off."
Hermione stopped in the hall and grabbed Harry's arm. "Do you love her, Harry?" she asked sweetly. Harry loved this side of her; so caring and open about everything.
He smiled at her but gave her an answer she wasn't expecting. "No. Not really. Most of my time with her is spent defending myself. It's like she's on a rampage to bring down my spirits," he joked. Hermione smiled at him and let out a soft chuckle.
"Well Harry, everything will work out if it's supposed to."
"I don't think I want it to," he mumbled under his breath. Hermione looked at him strangely.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing. I'm just tired."
She started to walk again, Harry following closely behind to catch up to her pace. "Well I'm glad to see that you're not totally broken with dumping Peter," he said teasingly, slinking an arm around her shoulder in the usual friendly way.
Hermione grinned widely at Harry and acknowledged his arm around her. In response, she wrapped her arm around his back and curled her hand around the other side of him.
"You know, Ron owled me last night. He wants to talk about those vacation plans we talked about last summer. You know, the promise we all made to each other about going somewhere when we were all twenty-one?"
"Promise?" Hermione asked, then it dawned on her. "Oh, that's right. I remember now. What did he say?"
Harry smiled down at her as they casually walked out of the building and into the night. They wrapped their arms tight around each other and apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry's home. When they appeared in the middle of his living room, he continued.
"Hold on. I'll go get the letter so you can read it yourself," Harry said.
His arms coiled away from her shoulders and he walked into the other room, starting a fire in the fire place and encouraging Hermione to sit in front of it. It was May, but still a bit cold at night.
Ron was currently working his tail off with his pro-Quidditch tour. After graduation, he tried out for Puddlemere and made it as first choice for keeper.
Harry came back into the room with a letter in his hand. It was from Ron. He handed it to Hermione and sat beside her on the soft sofa, curling himself up in a blanket. Hermione glanced up from the letter and looked at him.
"Hey! Share some of that, Potter." She teased, looking out the corner of her eye.
Harry laughed at her and opened up his arm to her, with the blanket gripped between his fingers. Hermione scooted into his arms, resting her body against his chest and he wrapped himself around her with the blanket. She looked back down at the letter and read aloud:
'Remember that promise you, me, and Hermione made last year before our birthdays? You know, to go on a vacation somewhere when we all turned twenty-one? Well dad has an idea of where we can go. Forget the cabin in the woods. And Hermione, if you're reading this, roll those eyes back up into your head and listen to me.'
Hermione paused and laughed at his comment to her. Harry tightened his grip around her shoulders teasingly and kissed the top of her head.
"Ron and his comments," Harry said softly before Hermione continued. Harry watched her mouth move, the way she formed the words was just entrancing.
'I think Hermione will like what we've found. She needs some time off, especially with what's happening with that prat she calls her boyfriend. No offense Hermione, but he's a twit.'
Hermione laughed harder again, feeling like the letter was addressed to her more than Harry. She started again. This time Harry moved some pieces of her long brown hair away from her face so she could see better in the dark room with the only light coming from the crackling fire in front of them.
'Meet me tomorrow at the tower. I'll fill you in on the details then.'
"Well that's interesting," she commented.
"What is," Harry asked softly. Hermione looked up at him, noticing how close they were to one another.
"Just that he thinks I need some time off. Really, I'm fine."
Harry turned his body to hers and stared into her eyes. "Then why are you here with me instead of at home?"
Hermione's eyes flickered and she let out a deep sigh, leaning forward and hitting her forehead into Harry's chest.
"I don't know," she mumbled to him. Harry chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a light kiss on the top of her head, then rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Well Hermione, you know where your room is. You can stay here for one more night, but tomorrow you should go to your place and start reorganizing your things. The longer you put it off-"
"I know. The longer I'll dwell on it," she finished for him. Harry nodded against her face and smiled.
"You going to be all right?" he asked, pulling her away at the shoulders to look at her. She smiled and ruffled up his hair playfully.
"You're such a good friend Harry. What would I do without you?"
Harry smiled again and got to his feet, pulling a tired and reluctant Hermione up with him. "Well what are friends for? I'll always be here for you." He answered back. Hermione showed her appreciation by the look in her eyes and hugged him tight.
"Goodnight Harry," she said sweetly, walking away with the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.
"Goodnight Noni." He said. Hermione turned around and smiled.
"Yeah you're the only one that's allowed to call me that." Slowly and lazily she ventured up the stairs, smiling at the name Harry had found for her a couple years before. Harry positioned himself in a comfortable position on his back, staring into the fire and dozing off to sleep with the situation with Cho weighing heavily on his mind.