SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Hello to all.... *shuffles feet awkwardly* .... right so its been a long time sense I posted, and I'm really sorry.... really really really sorry.... See, I had this all typed out, all three parts, but my beta vanished, and... bottom line I couldn't find a beta for a while, so I forgot about posting this then I remembered... so here I am... I'm so sorry... So here's some answers to the many awesome reviews I've gotten... I saw the number and I was so like... wow.... anywho....
To everyone in general: Once again... sorry for the slow update. *dodges tomatoes* and thank you for the wonderful comments.
Also sorry for the confusion with the Ron scene, yes it was a dream, so Harry and Hermione didn't snog....yet... hehe
Jaika: Sorry you think it's going to fast, but I wrote this story amazingly quick, it like all flooded out and I couldn't stop it! Thanks for the advice!
freak27thatsme: Yes, I was worried when I began this fic that 25 reasons was way too many, but that was how I got the email, and I didn't feel like cutting stuff out. *grin* Ah... I'm lazy.
So before I continue let me thank my emergency beta.... and now... without further ado... *cough* .... The final part of 25 Things a Perfect Guy Would Do. Enjoy.
It was one week later when he figured it out.
He couldn't believe it had taken him so long. Apparently he was less intelligent than Snape thought. Either that or blind.
He couldn't see what had been in front of him for so long.
Despite what you may believe, it didn't come as much of a shock. There were no dramatic revelations. It just was. It had been there all along. He just hadn't seen it. Until today.
They had been studying in -- big surprise here -- the library. Ron had suddenly remembered that important "thing" he had to do. So it was just the two of them. They had gone straight to their usual spot, in the corner, near the large window, and sat down. She had immediately opened her Potions book, and the scratching of a quill on parchment soon followed. He had been less enthusiastic in starting the homework that had piled up over the week, and decided to flip through his DADA book so that she wouldn't yell at him for doing nothing.
After reading about how it was possible to avoid being impersonated with the Polyjuice Potion, he got bored. So he looked up and glanced at her. She, like him, had abandoned her reading material, and was now staring out the window, a faraway look in her eyes.
After recovering from the shock of seeing her passing up an opportunity to read, he became concerned. "Hermione? Are you alright?" He didn't know what had possessed him to ask such a question, but what the answer was, he never found out.
"It's beautiful isn't it?"
"Excuse me?"
She gestured outside, where snow was lightly falling. "The snow. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?"
It was then he realized, while staring into Hermione's eyes, that yes, he had seen something -- rather, someone -- a great deal more beautiful. And it all made sense. All the things he had done, the small things, like smelling her hair, or giving her a peck on the cheek, it now had a reason. But he couldn't tell her that now. That wouldn't be acceptable at all. So he only gave her part of an answer.
"Yes."
He went back to his book, but he still saw her confused look. He smiled.
This was going to take some work.
*****~~~~~~~~~~*******~~~~~~~******
It was amazing how fast she had lost hope once again.
It had been a little over a week since Lavender and Parvati had read her "The Article," and since Harry had given her a kiss on the cheek. Yet, in that amount of time, she had gone back to believe that there was no hope for her with Harry. Oh, how pathetic she sounded: like one of those obsessive fan girls or someone of that nature.
Pitiful.
There was one incident, however, which still gave her a bit of comfort. It had been a few days ago, in the library. She had commented on how beautiful it had been outside -- she had always loved snow -- and asked him if he had ever seen anything more beautiful. He had simply said 'yes' and gone back to his book. The look in his eyes then…it was something she couldn't describe, but it was not like any look she had ever seen.
Or maybe she was just grasping at nothing.
Nevertheless, she was still losing hope, fast, and she didn't know how much longer she could be around him. She found herself wishing that she never had met Harry Potter, never become friends with him, never gone on all their dangerous adventures, never fallen in love with him. It was her mother's voice that came into her mind when she experienced these thoughts.
I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Alfred Tennyson: her mother's favorite poet. She had always read a poem to her before bedtime from their vast collection. Personally, Hermione had never been a huge fan of Tennyson, or any poetry for that matter, but this particular poem had always intrigued her. Her opinion of it seemed to fluctuate depending on her mood. Now, she was in the mood to believe this guy had never loved at all, and was just some lonely old crazy fool.
She chose to ignore the fact that he had been married and had a child.
It didn't help matters that Lavender and Parvati seemed to be especially aggravating these past 2 or 3 days, talking in that 'I know something you don't' voice.
The thought made her chuckle internally. When did they ever know something she didn't?
"Helloooo Hermy!" they both spoke at the same time, in annoyingly high voices, and still using that superior tone.
Oh Merlin, why did they seem to have a knack for showing up right when you really didn't want to see them?
They sat down on the couch next to her, and both flashed her large smiles. "How are you Hermy?"
"Peachy," she mumbled.
They shot each other knowing looks. She rolled her eyes.
"Don't give up just yet Hermy," Lavender said.
Her eyes stopped rolling at once. "What are you talking about?"
Parvati smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out soon enough Hermy."
Hermione's eyes narrowed as they stood to go, and Lavender gave her what looked like a friendly smile. "All in good time Hermy. Don't lose hope."
They pranced happily out of the common room, leaving Hermione more confused than ever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, she read as she always did when she wished her mind was as laid out as the sentences of Magical Medicines. This, of course, was quite often. Lavender and Parvati came in around 10 o'clock, giggling like mad--even more than usual.
"He's so sweet!"
Of course, a bloke would make them giggle like that.
"Oh, hi Hermy!" They seemed surprised she was there, and immediately stopped their chatter.
"Hello." Her voice was gloomy.
"You sound tired Hermy! Maybe you should get to bed."
Who did she think she was? Her mother?
Regardless, "Yes, I was just about to thank you."
"Okay." They exchanged glances. "Sweet dreams."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her dreams were indeed sweet -- quite literally, in fact. She dreamt of pumpkin pie, and little house elves eating the pie with giant spoons that made scrapping noises, and flung roses, and the roses were all over her, and one was tickling her nose.
So, she scratched her nose, and brushed the silky pedal away. She took a deep breath in and rubbed her eyes. It smelled of roses, and they were everywhere. The roses covered every inch of the girls' dormitory.
She rubbed her eyes again, not quite sure if she was still dreaming or not. Giving her arm a pinch that hurt quite a bit, she slipped out from under her covers. Roses fell onto the floor.
Lavender and Parvati were gone, beds apparently never slept in over the night. This caused her no concern. They had asked her to go to bed early: obviously didn't want her to report them.
Of course, that was quite irrelevant to why the floor was littered with roses. And why a vase of more roses -- white ones -- were sitting on her dresser in a vase next to a note that displayed her name in a blocky script she didn't recognize.
After admiring the white roses for a while -- they had always been her favorite -- she delicately picked up the note and opened it quickly.
Hermione,
How do I begin to tell you what you mean to me?
How can I ever make you understand the sweetness you have brought into my life?
I've lived in a world where almost nothing went right
A place where smiles were for rent,
And due back by the end of each night
Please forgive me when I sometimes fear that you will leave
For everything I've ever loved has vanished in my time of need
I know that you are a gift from God and are here to stay
But no one in my lifetime's ever treated me this way
You are an angel in disguise
You are my destiny
You are life's most precious prize
And my favorite company
I've forever dreamt of a girl who would share my dreams and love me for who I am
A girl capable of being my lover while being my best friend
I thought I would search forever and find that I am still alone
But the second I fell into your arms, I knew that I was home....
Look for the clues.
Love Always,
And that was it, no name, no hint, no...anything... And she was frustrated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She went to breakfast that morning, even though she didn't feel like eating. She was looking for clues, as the letter had urged her to do. Frankly, she was tired: tired of waiting for Harry to speak to her, tired of pining after him. So, she resolved to give the mysterious admirer a chance, whoever he was. After all, if someone went to all that trouble for her, he couldn't be all that bad.
Ginny grabbed a biscuit and handed one to Hermione. "How do you know it's a guy though?"
"Ha ha, Ginny," Hermione said dryly. " Always the comedian."
Ginny grinned at her.
Hermione took a small bite of her biscuit and immediately spat it out again.
"Sheesh Herms, I know the biscuits are a little dry this morning, but they're not that bad."
"No, no... it's not that. It's just…" She pulled apart her biscuit further. "There's a slip if paper in here."
Ginny made a clicking noise with her tongue, not all that unlike the sound Mrs. Weasley made so often. "Seems the House elves are slipping. Wonder how they managed that one. Probably dropped a napkin in the batter and forgot about it."
Hermione glared at Ginny. "I'm sure this is not the house elves' fault."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh right then, I'm sure it was those other creatures that make our food."
Hermione glared again, but her attention was turned elsewhere as soon as she discovered what the slip of paper really was.
"It's a note!"
Dear Hermione,
True love doesn't have a happy ending:
True love doesn't have an ending
Most things do though, including the things you enjoy most. Go to the place where you will find many endings.
Love Always,
"Wow, he's quite cheesy, " Ginny stated, after finishing reading the note.
Hermione flushed, "I think it's sweet."
Ginny grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Everything go well?"
"It sure did!" Ginny grinned.
"She didn't suspect anything?"
"Nah, I'm a pretty good actress." She smiled. "And I blamed it on the house elves, which distracted her a bit."
"Did she say anything?"
"After I told her how cheesy it was, she said it was 'sweet'."
He grinned. "Thanks Gin, I owe you one."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She went to the library as soon as class was over. It was empty, aside from the usual students. The note had been straightforward in its description of the library, but now that she was here, she didn't exactly know what to look for. After little thought on the matter, she decided that she would find whatever she was supposed to be looking for eventually, as her mysterious admirer wouldn't make it difficult to find.
It was her strong opinion that if you were going to come to the library you should go to work. It was at this thought that she took her familiar path to the corner table, one which was unspokenly reserved for her, and placed her bag next to the overly stuffed chair.
She spotted it shortly after. It was lying on the table with single white rose placed on it, covering part of the title. Of course, she knew what it was immediately. As she opened up Hogwarts, A History, it fell open to reveal a small note tucked into the section titled Apparation at Hogwarts, Or Lack Thereof.
Dear Hermione,
The problem with being passionately in love is that it deprives you of too much sleep.
Get some sleep where you go next.
Love always,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Did she get it?"
"Yeah," Neville replied happily. "She looked really excited! Ran off before I could talk to her though."
"Don't worry about that. The plan is working nicely. Nothing to worry about."
"True. Are Lavender and Parvati ready for the next step?"
"More than ready. They can't wait."
"Good," Neville replied. "This is getting quite interesting."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello Hermy!"
She had never seen grins so large before.
"Hello Lavender, Parvati."
"So, any idea who sent you those roses, Hermy?"
Straight to gossip as usual. "No, not the slightest."
Did their grins grow?
"We do!" they chorused.
Hermione gapped at them. "Well, who then?"
They shook their heads simultaneously. "Sorry Hermy, we can't tell. He'd probably kill us or something. Though, he did ask us to give you this." Lavender produced a note from her pocket.
Hermione, still gapping at them and wondering how it was possible for them to keep a secret for once, took the slip of paper from Lavender's extended hand.
"See you later, Hermy!" was all they said before bouncing out of the room.
Dear Hermione,
I was born to sorrow, to weeping,
My heart suffered silently;
But my means of delightful magic, a Spell in the flowers of my years,
Quick as a flash my fortune had changed.
Love is magic, and magic is everywhere. Go to the place where we learned the light of magic in our own requirement.
Love Always,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She was so confused!" giggled Parvati.
"Well, now it's narrowed down for her." Ginny grinned. "This is so much fun."
"It is," agreed Neville, "though I'm surprised he got us all to help him."
"Well, why wouldn't we help? He really seems to, well, love her," Lavender sighed.
"Yes, but well, it is him."
"True. I wouldn't think he would want our help."
Ginny laughed. "He needs all the help he can get." Her laughter faltered. "By the way, where is Seamus?"
Neville shrugged. "He's supposed to be helping setting up the next part."
"Oh right. That'll be tricky to prepare."
"I only hope that's what she'll think."
"I think he knows her pretty well, Dean."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was tired, but that didn't stop her from going to the Room of Requirement. She wanted -- no, needed -- to find out who it was that seemed to be putting so much effort into this, plan of sorts. Yet, she knew they need not try very hard. Hell, if it was Gregory Goyle planning all this -- though she doubted he had the mind capacity -- she wouldn't complain. She would give him her whole heart, no restraints. But, no, that was a lie, for, and at the risk of sounding horribly romantic, she knew a part of her heart would always belong to Harry Potter.
She reached the seventh floor, and the tapestry of Barnabas the Balmy, quicker than she thought she would. Musing had always made her lose track of time. Now, getting into the room was easy, but what to think of that would lead her to the next clue? 'I need to find the next clue' was the obvious choice, but why go through all these clues?
'I need to find out who is behind this clue hunt,' she thought as she passed by where the door would appear, three times.
The door did indeed appear, and so did an unexpected nervousness in the pit of her stomach. Her hand on the knob of the door, shaking slightly, she chastised herself for her foolish thoughts. After all, the person she was going to find in this room wouldn't be the one she would spend the rest of her life with. Was he?
A boost of reassurance from the logical part of her brain and a blocking of her heart (which was how things should be) allowed her to open the door, only to find it empty.
A feeling of disappointment and relief, an odd combination, flooded through her as she surveyed the room. It was completely bare, aside from a small table, with what looked like a frame and a picture. Her heart leapt. Could it possibly be a picture of her admirer?
But no, as she drew closer to the lone picture, she realized it was not of one person, but of a group. It was a wizard's photograph, as all the people in the picture were waving and smiling happily her, occasionally winking. Despite the situation, she smiled at seeing all her friends: Lavender, Parvati, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Hannah, Justin, to her surprise a smirking Draco Malfoy, and Harry. Wiping a tear from her eye, she tore her gaze from the photo, and picked up the sheet of parchment carefully folded next to the picture.
Dear Hermione,
The obstacles restricting your mind. The powerful blow of love is stout
Liberating yourself, not knowing where to find…
There is no easy way out…
Nice try at taking the easy way out Hermione, but that never seems to work too well does it? No matter, the wait is over. Meet me by the largest rock on the shore of the lake.
Love Always,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're having way too much fun at this," Ginny observed.
"So what if I am?" He smiled, an uncharacteristic grin reaching from ear to ear.
She smiled. "Ready for the next step then?"
"Aren't we all?"
"True, but we all know how it will end."
He gave her a nervous smile. "I hope so, for all of our sanity."
She gave him a funny look. "I still can't believe..."
"That I'm doing this?"
"Well...yes."
He smiled, moving a piece of platinum blonde hair out of his eyes, "People do crazy things when they're in love."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was dark that night, darker than she could ever remember. The moon was hidden behind black clouds looming, broadcasting a likely chance of snow. She walked slowly, listening to the crunch of previously fallen snow under her feet. She shivered slightly, wrapping her cloak still tighter around her. It was late -- five minutes 'til midnight, to be exact -- yet she was heading out towards the lake to meet her mysterious admirer. Lavender and Parvati, whom she was now convinced never stopped giggling, had bounced into her room and informed her of the time, since the note had failed to do so.
There was a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. There was no excitement, no nervousness, no anticipation, and this scared her. It scared her because she knew that no matter what she did for the rest of her life, she would never be truly happy, for she would never be with the person her heart longed for. She might sound tragic, horribly mushy, and like Professor Trelawney, but she knew it was true. And that frightened her terribly.
This, however, didn't stop her from going to the large rock by the lake.
"Hello, Hermione."
Her eyes widened. "You!"
He chuckled, something she had never seen him do before…at least not this way. "Yes, me. Surprised I see."
"You planned all this!"
"Yes. It was my idea."
"But why?"
"Well, I suppose I'm in love. It does crazy things to people. Therefore, for this girl, I'd do anything."
She was speechless. Draco Malfoy, in love with her? The impossible had become improbable, then possible.
"Speechless, Hermione? That's something you don't see often."
"When......?"
"…did I plan this? Well, I was tutoring actually, and Potter came along looking hopeless and scared, to say the least. Quite funny actually."
"Harry? What does he have to do with this?"
"Patience, Granger. I'm about to tell you."
*~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~*
"Wait, so it's an essence of hellebore?"
"Yes. That's what you didn't understand?"
She laughed. "I guess so."
"Go figure."
"What's that supposed to mean, Malfoy?"
"Nothing at all, Ginevra."
She glared at him. He smirked.
"Hey, Harry!" Ginny called out.
He glanced up, having not noticed them before.
"'Lo Ginny. Malfoy." He gave Draco a curt nod.
"What's the matter, Potter? You look hopeless, but then again what's new?"
"Har har. Love that humor, Malfoy."
"Seriously Harry. What's wrong?"
He placed his head in his hands and mumbled something.
"What was that?"
"I'm in love and don't know what to do about it."
"Girl problems, huh? It happens to the best of us."
Ginny patted Harry on the arm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to present~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I still don't understand."
"For being so smart you're quite dense."
~~~~~~~~~Flashback continued~~~~~~~~
"So who is it, Potter?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Sure it does."
"Why?"
"Because we can help you."
Draco glanced at Ginny. She gave him a pleading look.
"Sure Potter. I'm full of good ideas."
Harry snorted.
"Number one, don't snort. It's very unattractive."
~~~~~~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~
"Let me get this straight. You're here because you're helping Harry with girl problems."
"By golly, I think she's got it!"
"Where does my admirer come into all this?"
Draco groaned. "Merlin, do I have to spell it out for you?"
It was unimaginable. What she had longed for, what she had deemed impossible, was perhaps true? It was unthinkable. A voice told her there was a chance she had misheard. Part of her wanted that, happy being miserable. Or she might be confused, in a swirl of emotions conflicting with each other, making no sense. Sometimes the mind believes something is too good to be true -- an expression often used and often true -- and it has a tendency to deny what you so much want to be real. The logical side of you becomes the opposite, and becomes confusing. For someone who is so dependant on this side of herself -- someone who may be quite like Hermione -- this is frightening, making her not know what to say or think, what to believe…and the world and what was once logic becomes all too blurry.
"I...."
The ability to form sentences, once a simple function, was lost.
"You understand now, Hermione."
She gaped at him. "....R-really....?"
The mouth has no other purpose but to open and close, yet hers struggled to collect the oxygen needed.
He chuckled. "Yes."
A blank stare.
"I believe my time here is overdue."
"...o-overdue?"
He chuckled again. "Yes, I'm not the person you really want to see am I? 'Sides, you and Potter have inspired me. It's time I've had the chat I should have had long ago with the woman I love."
"...love?"
"Ginny."
She blinked, and he was gone.
"Who knew? Draco and Ginny?"
It was his voice that removed her from her temporary paralysis. She spun around to meet his emerald eyes, shining brighter than she could ever recall, emotions in depths that were, before now, unseen.
She could have kissed him there, but she didn't.
"I... why did you..." she gestured around, "…do all this...ask me to meet you here?"
He ran a hand through his hair -- a habit she loved among many -- only meaning that he was nervous.
"Yes...well... I...."
She gave a small smile. Her eyes sparkled.
That was all the reassurance he needed.
"I love you." His voice was strong. "Very much so..." It broke, emotion showing through.
The sparkle grew in her eyes, the shock disappeared. She stepped closer to him. He trembled.
Her voice was a whisper. "I'm afraid to reply. My dreams end then."
He reached out, arm trembling, and lightly grasped her arm, rubbing it slightly.
"I swear this is real."
She stepped yet closer. "You're not going anywhere?"
"No." His voice croaked.
They were so close their chests were touching. Her eyes bored into his.
"You promise?"
"Yes."
He bent his head down. She tilted hers up. Breath was hot on their faces.
"I love you too." Her voice was barely audible, but he heard it quite well.
There was a sigh of relief, cut off quickly when his lips descended upon hers. It was quick and chaste…a testing of waters. The waters were warm, soft, and begging to be explored. He complied, and they moved as close as possible.
It was a peace of hearts, a struggle of tongues. A joining of souls, a separation of breath. A time of happiness, yet tears fell. It was right, as his hands felt her skin, but it could be wrong. They were blinded by dazzling light, though they were surrounded by darkness. She was hot where his hands roamed, cold where the snow landed. He was so near, yet too far. She felt complete, when just minutes before she was only a part. It was a time to explore, yet they were home.
Epilogue
"Harry....mmm.... we....mmm....really... should.... they'll be.... mmm... here....soon...."
"You really want to?" he asked, continuing his trail of kisses up her neck.
"Mmm... no..." She made a groan from the back of her throat. "But... Ron.... and ..... Luna...."
"Right..." He pulled away suddenly, smirk planted on his face. "If you insist."
She gaped at him. "Well that is... I'm sure... They won't be here for another few moments..."
"No... no... you're right. We should be ready for them...."
Hermione gave a growl and grabbed what had been Harry's perfectly placed tie, and pulled him into a crushing kiss, most certainly bruising both their lips.
And then came the knock at the window. They both shared a groan.
"Bloody owls...."
He untangled himself from Hermione, knowing full well if they didn't let that bloody owl in now, they would pay for it later. Scowl planted on his face, he opened the window to let in the tawny owl, Hermione standing impatiently behind him.
"Well, who is it from?"
Harry couldn't help but grin at her restlessness. "Don't you recognize it?"
Hermione, after closer inspection, did seem to realize who the owl belonged to, as she let out a small groan. Harry's grin grew.
"What? You don't want to hear from our friends?"
Hermione mumbled something under her breath.
"Let's see what pressing information they have to tell us about now." He opened the surprisingly thick package and out fell an envelope and a highly glossy magazine, which was titled in letters that continued to change colors: The Pumpkin Pie: A Witch's Guide to the Important Things in Life. On the cover was a couple feeding each other pumpkin pie, and flashing article titles such as "Mastery of Matchmaking," "How You Know Your Friends Are In Love and What To Do About It," "Matches Made In Heaven," and catching both Harry and Hermione's attentions, "25 Things A Perfect Guy Would Do."
"What?"
Harry was already opening the letter, and laid it on the table for him and Hermione to read.
Dear Harry and Hermy,
How are you two doing? We're sure you're doing just fine. After all, you're with each other! The wedding was wonderful by the way. We're also sure the honeymoon was much better, if you catch our drift... wink wink.
Hermione blushed, and Harry smirked.
"Too true…" he muttered. She gave him a playful slap.
We're sure you're wondering about the reason we've written to you. Not that we need a reason to write to you, but still... As you can see, enclosed is a magazine entitled The Pumpkin Pie, which includes an article entitled "25 Things a Perfect Guy Would Do." This is no coincidence, our friends. You see, we are the makers of this ingenious magazine! It is you two (and the Strawberry Shake) that inspired us in making this magazine. The title is due to that wonderful little incident Hermy let slip in her dreams which involved you two and an interesting way of eating pumpkin pie.
Hermione flushed.
If this was indeed only a dream, Hermy, and not something that did happen before, we suggest you inform Harry of this dream so it can in fact become reality. (We're positive you both would enjoy it. Wink wink again.) We know how much you hate these magazines, Hermy, but we do suggest you both look at the article that got you two together in the first place, and the note from us at the beginning. We made sure you two remained nameless.
Lots of Love From,
Lavender and Parvati
P.S. Hermy, we're still single! Know anyone you can hook us up with?
Hermione gave a small chuckle, and Harry immediately picked up The Pumpkin Pie and flipped to the note mentioned in their letter.
Dear Kind Readers,
As you pick up this magazine, be assured you are reading material under the supervision of two women who have been through it all. We are highly experienced in boys and toys and makeup and robes and dances and matchmaking. We have suffered the heartbreaks that you undoubtedly will, and seen the love between people that we only hope you see in your lifetime. Speaking of this love, let us tell you, we are quite the matchmakers. We have put together many couples which shall remain nameless, for we are not the type of people to sell our product under famous names. Though, if those couples we matched at Hogwarts (hint hint) would like to write us a letter and tell us you would not mind being named in this magazine, (after all, you get so much attention, a little more wouldn't hurt) you, our readers will be first to know the names. As you might have guessed from the cover page, this issue -- our first -- is all about matchmaking and our experiences with it. Our most successful matchmaking scheme is found on page 7: "25 Things a Perfect Guy Would Do." We thank you for buying this magazine, and continue to do so...
Sincerely,
Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil
P.S. Next issue will portray the wonders of Divination and how it can help you find the right boy.
Hermione couldn't restrain the rolling of eyes, but flipped to page 7 wordlessly.
25 Things a Perfect Guy Would Do
It was funny, seeing the title of the article that had changed her life so dramatically. A small smile made its way to her face, and she could see Harry too had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Remember that day?"
"Of course."
They read it together, each thinking back to when each of the things had occurred, since each of them had, and very well. At the end was yet another note from their friends.
This was the original list which helped our bright but dense friend realize the perfect boy for her was standing right in front of her all that time. However, we should think one addition should be added to this list.
26. Love you with all his heart.
True, it may sound cheesy, or you may think it unlikely to find in a boyfriend while you're still in school if you still are. But, it is an essential part of a perfect relationship, and one all of our match-made pair had. This is the true key to matchmaking, dear readers: simply acting on something already there.
They smiled, and he gave her a kiss on the temple.
"I love you," he whispered, as though it was a secret.
"I love you too."
"Want to show me just how much you love me?" Harry gave her a suggestive wink.
She gave a small smile. "Just what are you implying, Mr. Potter?"
"You know exactly what I'm..." The doorbell rang. He groaned. "...implying."
She slipped out of their embrace. "Don't worry..." She leaned close. "I've got you for the rest of the night, and the rest of our lives."
She then walked off to the door, but Harry stayed planted to the spot, silly smile on his face.
"Ron! Luna! How are you two?"
"We saw a Moonstile Mosenpile on our honeymoon!" came Luna's voice. "It was amazing."
"Oh....um...yes...fascinating." He could hear the disbelief seeping out of her voice.
"Where's Harry?"
"He's coming." Was that a hint of laughter in her voice? "Coming, Harry?"
He finally found his voice. "Oh...ya... be there in a minute."
"Excellent!"
"We saw a Moonstile Mosenpile on our honeymoon. It was so romantic." Luna's voice sounded more in a dream state than usual.
"Yes...it was, very much so."
Harry walked through the doorway. "I bet."
He gave a smile to his wife. She winked at him.
"Compose yourself, Harry?"
He gapped at her. "Well...yes...I... yes..."
She seemed to try and suppress a smile, "Brilliant."
Not for the first time since he had been fortunate enough to receive Hermione's love, Harry thanked his lucky stars for Lavender and Parvati and their blasted article.
Yay! The end! I love this last part... hopefully you all enjoyed 25 Things a Perfect Guy Would Do... Also thanks to my wonderful last-minute beta again.
Cheers,
Haley