Harry did his very best throughout the week to think of anything but Tom's arrival on the weekend. He'd buried himself in his schoolwork and kept his mind occupied. The only time he actually relaxed was at night when Hermione curled up next to him to sleep.
"All right everyone, that's it for today!" Sirius stated to his class. His last Dark Arts class on Friday had Harry and his friends in it, and he rather enjoyed seeing them last before the weekend.
The students groaned slightly; they'd all come to like their new weapons-training class very quickly. They returned their weapons to a large, wooden cabinet against the far wall.
Harry wiped his brow as he placed his sword back into its place. Sirius really had quite a collection - everything from swords, to daggers, to spears, to bows and arrows, and even a few axes.
It was true that he had prior training to the rest of his friends, but he had to admit that each of them was doing quite well for their first time. Ron had become quite adept at using a quarterstaff, Lavender had found that she had a keen eye - perfect for archery, and Hermione had found that she could handle a sword quite well. Her favorite was a small short-sword, similar to the ones Harry had used at the carnival; it was light and easy to maneuver.
Harry nearly snorted when he'd seen that Malfoy had chosen an axe to train with, and worse, he'd even tried swinging at people - intentionally! Thankfully, Sirius had all of his weapons enchanted so that they wouldn't cut anything.
The students were filing out when Sirius called Harry over to him. He nodded and told Hermione and Ron to meet up with him later.
"Harry, I've been meaning to ask you something, but I haven't had time the last few days."
"What is it?" the young wizard asked. Sirius crossed his arms over his chest.
"I wanted to ask you something…personal."
"Let me guess…about Herm and I…right?" His godfather grinned slightly.
"You're as sharp as ever. So tell me…was the Snitch right?"
"I never told them anything, Sirius; they just printed up something they knew would sell plenty of papers. I told them not to write anything about Hermione and I, but they didn't listen to me."
"That doesn't answer my question Harry."
"What do want to know? You already know that Hermione and I serious about each other," the young man said with a strained voice.
"I'm not trying to pry into your personal life, Harry. I just want to know if I'll get to see my best friends' son get married before I turn old and senile," Sirius chuckled.
Harry's stiff expression changed into a sly grin.
"It's on her finger all right," he finally confessed. That actually made his godfather's eyes widen.
"You mean…you actually…proposed…" Sirius was shocked; he hadn't thought that Harry was truly engaged.
"You're a smart wizard; you figure it out!" Harry laughed and walked out of the classroom.
Sirius chuckled and uncrossed his arms.
'That boy is as sneaky as his father.'
After an evening spent in the Gryffindor common room, Harry headed down the hallway into his own portrait hole; Hermione had headed up some time before saying that she was tired. Tomorrow was Saturday, and he realized that his waiting was over at last.
Entering the common room, he saw that Hermione was nowhere to be found. Climbing the stairwell, he called her name, but she didn't respond. Harry pushed open his door, and his body froze at the site before him.
Hermione was sprawled out across his bed in a very provocative posture. Her deep brown eyes burned with passion, desire, and love.
"I've been waiting for you," she purred softly.
Harry gulped and tugged on his collar nervously. She lay there wearing black robes, and upon closer inspection, he realized that they were his robes.
"What's wrong, Harry? You don't like my outfit?"
Hermione bent her leg at the knee and brought it closer to her waist. Harry groaned as her movements revealed a long, shapely leg and a creamy thigh. His eyes bulged out as he finally understood. She wasn't just wearing his robes; she was wearing 'only' his robes.
"Hermione," his voice was deep and husky.
"C'mere lover, let me take care of you tonight," she beckoned.
Harry had no idea how he made it to the bed; he may very well have floated over to it. He let himself drop into her arms, and she carried him off into their own private world.
The next morning, Harry was summoned to Dumbledore's office. Heading past the gargoyle statue, he ascended the stairs and entered the headmaster's dwelling. Dumbledore was seated at his desk, and Tom Hutchinson was seated in one of the plush armchairs.
"Ah, good morning, Harry."
"Good morning, professor."
"Hello Harry, I'm ready whenever you are."
"Thank you, Tom, you can follow me."
"I will see you two later," Dumbledore stated as the men exited his office.
Harry led Tom up towards Gryffindor Tower and down the side passage towards his portrait hole. The gentleman and his wife bowed to Harry in greeting.
"Hot chocolate!" the young wizard spoke. The painting swung outward, and Harry held out his arm for Tom to proceed ahead of him.
"Interesting password," he chuckled.
"It's Hermione favorite beverage," Harry replied.
Tom emerged in the Common Room, and Hermione stood there waiting anxiously.
"Ah, and who might this pretty, young lady be?" the reporter asked.
"Tom Hutchinson, may I present Miss Hermione Granger." Hermione shook his hand and put a cautious smile on her face.
"How do you do, sir?"
"Nice to meet you, Miss Granger."
"Thank you, and please call me Hermione. Would you care to sit down?"
"I would at that."
Tom sat down in one of the armchairs, while Harry and Hermione took the couch. Hermione's hand instinctively came to rest on Harry's thigh, and he reached down to clasp her hand in his.
"Well…why don't we begin then?"
"Certainly," Hermione answered for the two of them. Her eyes flashed towards Harry, and he silently thanked her. He'd suddenly come down with a serious case of lockjaw.
"Tell me, Hermione, is it true that you and Harry are in fact engaged to be married?"
'He certainly didn't waste anytime,' she groaned silently.
"I can answer that, Tom," Harry cut in, "The answer is yes; Hermione is my fiancé."
His voice was strong and determined, and it made the older man's eyebrows quirk slightly.
"When did you two start seeing one another?"
"Well…we've been best friends since our first year at Hogwarts, and but we didn't become romantically involved until early last year," Harry answered.
"That's quite a long time ago. Why didn't you make your relationship public knowledge?"
"We wanted to keep our personal lives private - just like everyone else does," Hermione said firmly.
"You must understand that since you are Harry Potter, your life will be under a microscope every day. I mean I'm sure that people recognize you wherever you go!"
"Tom, what people need to understand is that I'm not some infallible hero. I'm a human being and have made plenty of mistakes. You never learn anything if you don't make mistakes, but I'm not about to jump into the spotlight every time someone wants me to."
"I see; I respect that you want your privacy - so would I. So…Hermione, tell me, what made you and Harry get together."
"I don't think it was one thing in particular; it was just a myriad of things over time. We've been best friends for so long; we always looked out for each other and were there when the other was feeling sad or lonely. Harry's protected me on more than one occasion, and I've always tried to take care of him as well. I guess the moment I knew that I loved him was when I realized that I was never more happy than when I with Harry; he always makes smile or laugh just when I need it."
"How about you Harry? No disrespect to Miss Granger, but I can just imagine that there were many girls who wanted you as their significant other."
"I'm well aware of that, and that's why I chose Hermione. You see, everyone that I've met; the first thing they see is Harry Potter. They see nothing but my title, and therefore know nothing about the real me. Hermione is the one person who cares about me simply because I'm 'me' and not Harry Potter. She's only the girl I've ever met who loves the man more than his fame. That's why I love her just the same; she keeps me grounded in my chaotic lifestyle. Without her, my life would be a lot more depressing and definitely sadder."
Harry reached up and curled his arm around her shoulders; Hermione smiled and leaned into his arms.
"Hermione's my angel; she gives light to my otherwise empty heart."
His fiancé blushed deeply at his heartfelt words, and her eyes glistened.
"I'm beginning to see why no one else has ever turned your head before, Harry," Tom chuckled.
"Oh, I'm not saying that I don't find other girls pretty, but I've never met someone who has as a perfect mixture of beauty and brains as Hermione. Other girls may have the looks, but Hermione has a heart to go along with hers."
"Harry, you think too much of me," Hermione chided him. He put a finger to her lips.
"No, I don't sweetheart; I'm merely telling the truth."
Tom sat there grinning at the two, young lovers; there was no doubt that they were meant to be together. You could be blind and deaf and still feel the powerful aura the two were giving off.
"I can see that you two are very much in love. When might your wedding be?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow.
That immediately got the young lovers' attention.
"Well…to be honest…we don't really know," Hermione said with a small grin.
"Yeah…we're just enjoying being together right now; we're not rushing anything. Plus, we have to finish up at Hogwarts and figure out our future together," Harry added.
"You both seem very aware of the decisions you've made; it's rare to see such maturity in people your age these days."
"I'm pretty immature, Tom; Hermione just rubs off on me," Harry laughed, and she nudged him in the ribs.
"No, you're not, love, you just act like you are."
They all started laughing, and from then on, Harry and Hermione started to enjoy their interview with Tom Hutchinson. The reporter found that he liked conversing with the two, young adults; they definitely had some stories to tell; he could write a book on their lives if he wanted.
"Harry, now that You-Know-Who is finally dead, do you still think other dark wizards may come after you?"
"I know that Voldemort isn't the only wizard to have evil ambitions. Believe me, I don't relish the thought of having to fight against them one day, but I'm not about to stand aside and let the ones I love be hurt."
"Well put, Harry. How about you, Hermione? I'm sure that you are aware that being close to Harry Potter can be seriously dangerous."
Hermione actually smirked at the reporter.
"Tom, Harry actually made the exact same argument when he proposed to me. I know that I'll become a target, and others will try to use me against Harry, but I won't leave his side. We've already had that happen to us several times, but we're still together. The only thing I can say to a wizard who wants to use us against one another is…"
"BRING IT ON!"
Ron laughed as he read the last line of the article in the Daily Prophet.
"Hermione, what in the world possessed you to say that?" Lavender asked as she chuckled.
Her roommate smiled from across the Gryffindor table.
"I'm not afraid of the dangers that surround Harry. It's not his fault that evil seeks him out, and I'm not about to stop loving him just because I might get hurt. Besides, I'm a lot tougher than I look," she said with a smug grin.
Harry's arm slid around her waist, and he nuzzled her ear.
"Sweetheart, I think your ego is just a bit swelled - don't you think?"
"I'm your fiancé, Harry; I think I'm allowed to be a little egotistical."
His laughter rumbled in her ear.
"I'm not complaining; you're sexy when you're bad," he whispered so only she could hear him. She turned to face him and batted her long lashes at him. Licking her lips made him groan slightly, and she patted his thigh.
"Tease."
"And a good one too, aren't I?" she giggled.
Harry pressed his forehead against hers; he so wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss the bloody hell out of her. However, with all the students around, he couldn't do more than give her a soft brush on the lips.
"I really liked the article," Lavender broke in, making the couple separate, "It's much better than the Snitch's headline."
"Yeah, you actually have a story to go with the headlines this time."
"Tom did a very nice job; he was very professional," Hermione stated firmly.
"I agree, it was very considerate of him to go out of his way for us," Harry added.
"Okay, change of subject! Hermione, did you happen to finish that Potions project because Ron and I only got half of ours done," Lavender groaned.
"Yeah, need a hand?"
"Please," Ron begged and clasped his hands together. Harry chuckled at his best friend's pleading look.
"All right, come on you two." Hermione began packing up her things and tucked her wand back into her robes.
"Can I come too?" Harry asked with an innocent smile. His girlfriend chewed on her lip for a moment.
"I guess so, I need someone to carry my books for me."
Harry grinned wryly and grabbed his things. The four friends exited the Great Hall and headed down the corridor towards the library.
Author's Notes: Sorry that I took so long with this chapter, but I'm not able to update as fast as I used to. I know that this story seems to be dragging on, but I promise that the action will pick up soon.