A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them, they really keep me going! I am so sorry this chapter is so short, I hope I will make it up in the next two chapters…
.::.Chapter 2: Waiting.::.
Hermione woke up the next morning feeling very groggy as she turned off her alarm clock. It wasn't like her to be like this in the mornings, but sometimes she had so much going on the previous day that she didn't really have a choice. She slipped out of bed slowly and fumbled into the bathroom. Looking for her toothbrush with her hand, she found it and deposited some toothpaste on the bristles. Her eyes weren't even open yet, and she was already swashing water around in her mouth; how weird. She opened her eyes for the first time that morning and found her hair looking like it had been combed out by dragon teeth. Touching it and grimacing, she walked out of the bathroom and started to get dressed.
Once she was done getting herself ready for work, Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was smooth and silky now, and her face didn't look like it had more life than when she woke up. This was the image she saw everyday; the image of a short, petite witch with long brown hair that went past her waist, brown eyes to match, and a freckled nose. She looked so ordinary, just like anyone else in the world. But she wasn't like everybody else. She was her own person, an individual among all people. Sometimes she wished she could have something more, but she was very grateful for what she had; a wonderful life with wonderful friends and family. She always thought it was nice to know that someone was always going to be there for her, no matter what.
She sighed as she walked out of the bathroom and picked up her briefcase on the way out of her house. Once getting onto the sidewalk, she apparated to the Ministry.
.+.
Harry walked further down the Ministry to get to his office. He had gotten there slightly early this morning, to get some extra work done before the mad rush came, and he could concentrate. He didn't think anyone would be in the Auror Headquarters this early, so he could have some piece and solitude for once in his life. Walking into his small yet homey cubicle, he heard something down further down. It sounded as if someone was typing, but who could be here this early? He cautiously tiptoed closer to where the noise was coming from until he realized it was coming from Hermione's office. He moved closer and turned to see her quill was moving as fast as it could, and she had a look of deep concentration on her face. He leaned against the edge of the door and knocked softly. Hearing something coming from the door, Hermione looked up to see Harry standing there.
"And what, may I ask, are you doing here so early in the morning?" she asked, yawning.
"Probably the same thing as you. I wanted to get some work done before the mad rush came," he said, walking farther inside the cubicle.
"Yeah, that's what I'm doing." There was a silence where Hermione looked into Harry's emerald green eyes which were being magnified in the darkness with just a single light on. He was so handsome when he was standing there…What are you saying Hermione?! Hermione shook her head and looked down at the paper she was typing, without actually looking at it.
"So do you have any ideas for tonight?" he asked, folding his arms.
"What? Oh. Er…maybe a get together at a café or restaurant would be nice I guess…" she said in an offhanded tone. Harry could obviously tell that her mind had been elsewhere, because she had been staring into space moments before.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'll cook dinner tonight-if you want to stay for it," he added.
"Great, yeah I'll stay," she said, grinning. Harry smiled back and said, "Well I guess I'll get back to my office and work…see you later Mione." And she watched her turn back to her paper. She was evidently thinking hard, and she looked so adorable when she had that look on her face. Wait, did you just call Hermione adorable? What's happening to you Harry? He rolled his eyes into the back on his head and sat down at his desk.
.+.
It was already 5:00 and Hermione was exhausted from working so hard. She had been working on a case involving a wizard who had been accused of using the Imperius curse on a number of people in the last month. She was getting so close to finding him, and she couldn't wait to get her hands on this terrible wizard. Yawning widely and since she was getting off early today, she wanted to collapse. Only an hour until she got to go to Harry's house to make plans for Luna's birthday…only and hour until she got to relax… But, she doubted whether she'd be able to relax. Why in Merlin's name was she so freaked out about being in the same house with Harry, at night, alone, and an adult! Maybe it was just that he had grown up to be a very handsome man, a man that every woman in a right mind would want to be with. But Harry was her friend. Her best friend. And nothing could ever change that right now.
Shaking her head as she piled the last piece of paper onto the file cabinet, she leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh. She had been relieved that Luna hadn't come by her office today, because then she would start asking Hermione about the party that she foresaw. Oh well, she usually tried to ignore the Seeing Eye when it was something she wasn't supposed to know. She only had one more thing to do before she went to Harry's and had a wonderful dinner while expressing ideas about a party…only one more thing stopped her from having a wonderful time with her best friend…
.+.
Pushing his bangs irritably out of his eyes, Harry took a break from writing something which was almost done. He loved the feeling of having finished something; he didn't know why. He couldn't wait until tonight, when he actually had time to unwind and let everything go. But something stopped him from doing that tonight; Hermione. He usually felt very comfortable around her, since he had known her since he was eleven years old. You'd think a guy would be able to relax with his best friend in his home. But Hermione was more than a best friend. He didn't know how to explain it; it was just a sensation that he had whenever he spent time with her now.
"Ready for tonight?" asked a voice that was coming from the chair in front of Harry's desk. Ron made him jump; he splattered ink all over the parchment.
"I've been working on that for over two hours!" Harry said angrily, cursing under his breath. Ron made an apologetic face and mouthed `Sorry.' Harry mumbled an okay and with pleasure realized that the ink had only splattered on a part of the paper that he hadn't written on. He still had space to write, and he was just about finished with it anyway.
"Shall I repeat my question?" asked Ron, after a few minutes of silence. Harry nodded his head.
"Are you ready to spend tonight with Hermione?" he asked. Harry remembered the question sounding slightly different, but more or less it sounded the same.
"I'm not going to `spend tonight' with her. We're going to discuss ideas for your wife's party," he said, putting emphasis on the words, `spend tonight.'
"Uh huh, and what else?" asked Ron mischievously. Harry was now confused.
"What do you mean, `what else'?" he asked. Ron grinned.
"Well, you're obviously going to talk about other things too. Like your social lives and matters like that. You know that Hermione is single don't you?" Harry was starting to get a strange feeling…a feeling that Ron actually wanted Harry and Hermione to talk about more than `Operation Loony.'
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Harry, getting up from his chair and walking out of his office, Ron following him.
"You're losing your mind if you don't know what I'm talking about," said Ron. Harry was starting to remember the times when Ron had tried to fix Harry and Hermione up on a date (after he was Luna's boyfriend), but that just got him a month-long fight with them and they gave him the silent treatment for a while also. Since then, he hadn't tried to do anything of the sort. But now that they were out of Hogwarts and Harry had broken up with Cho Chang, he was getting back into the match-making groove again. Groaning out of pure frustration, Harry walked into the elevator and pushed the bottom floor to get out of Ron's reach.
"I've already lost my mind!" said Harry loudly, watching Ron smile and the door close on the elevator.
.+.
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