The Date
Hermione stood in front of her mirror turning herself from side to side considering her reflection, with a wave of her wand the outfit she'd been wearing disappeared. She sighed and summoned her robe, slipping it on she headed back to the closet to see what other options her wardrobe had to offer. Thirty minutes later Hermione still hadn't come up with a thing to wear for her date with Harry. Looking at her clock she saw that it was already six o'clock. Harry would be there in an hour and she hadn't even started to get ready. Hermione ran to the desk in the corner of her bedroom, actually it was a vanity table but she thought it more practical to use the piece as a desk. She hastily scribbled a note and grabbed a handful of floo powder from the jar she kept on her desk; walking over to her fireplace she tossed the powder into the fireplace and said 417 Astoria Place, she lobbed the note into the dancing green flames. She watched it for a second before hurrying off to the bathroom.
Hermione stepped out of the shower and wrapped one of the fluffy towels hanging on the rack around herself. She added a liberal amount of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to her hair grabbed her wand and muttered a heating spell to dry it. She checked her reflection in the mirror and satisfied with the effect of her now straight hair she headed back into the bedroom and found Ginny sitting on her bed surrounded by a plethora of skirts, trousers, blouses, dresses and robes of every imaginable style and color. Hermione smiled thankfully.
"Oh Ginny thank Merlin you're here"
Hermione rushed into her walk-in-closet and opened the drawer that held her unmentionables; she began searching through the piles of bras and panties until she found the set she was looking for. Ginny called to her from the bedroom.
"Naturally I rushed right over, its not everyday I get a floo from my best friend telling me she needs wardrobe assistance"
Hermione called back.
"Well I was not sure you were home…I thought you and Draco were going out"
Hermione stepped out of the closet cinching her robe closed just as Ginny responded.
"He had to go by his mum's so we're having a late dinner lucky for you that one, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come to your rescue"
"A million thanks…what have you got"
Ginny smiled.
"Not so fast…"
Ginny walked over to where Hermione was standing and gave her a through once over.
"Scented soap, straightened hair, black lace knickers, I want details; what's his name, how long have you known him, do I know him, when did he ask you out, and do I get to meet him"
Hermione turned and busied herself with looking through the pile of clothes covering her bed and replied to Ginny's questions.
"You do not need to know his name, I have known him long enough, you may have met him once or twice, yesterday and no…what do you think of this blue blouse and these black trousers"
Ginny frowned.
"Ummm…trousers eh…no robes, muggle…where are you two going"
"Wizard…dinner and maybe somewhere else after"
"Definitely not that then, try the red dress…and why can't I meet him"
Hermione picked up the red dress and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"No not the red one …because I said so"
Ginny pouted.
"Try the brown trousers with beige top and the matching jacket…well if I can't meet him you can at least tell me his name"
Hermione picked up the ensemble Ginny had suggested and after a moment shook her head no.
"With my hair and complexion that's far too much brown…I am not telling you his name"
Hermione's gaze fell on a black slip dress with a flared bottom.
"I've never seen you in this before Gin"
Ginny replied.
"That's because it's yours, we bought it last month when we went shopping with your mum remember…why are you being so secretive about this bloke"
Hermione slipped into the dress and turned to Ginny.
"What do you think…it's complicated"
Ginny nodded appreciatively.
"Perfect…you should go with your hair up…what's so complicated about it you're going out with him"
"Bring me those hairpins please…well it's complicated because of our pre-existing relationship"
Ginny brought the hairpins over and began styling Hermione's hair in an elegant twist.
"You two work together"
"No, I told you we're friends…I just do not want things to get awkward if we find out we would rather just remain friends"
Ginny turned Hermione around and with a wave of her wand added her make-up and accessories.
"There…was he at Hogwarts with us…do Ron and Harry know him"
Hermione turned around and gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she smiled approvingly before turning back to Ginny.
"Thank you"
Hermione purposely ignored Ginny's questions. Ginny replied.
"I was glad to help"
Ginny glanced at the clock.
"Since I won't be meeting this chap tonight I'll leave you to it but I expect to hear the full story tomorrow at lunch"
Hermione looked askance at Ginny.
"We're not meeting for lunch tomorrow are we"
Having collected her things Ginny replied.
"We are now"
She disappeared with a snap.
Hermione chuckled to herself at Ginny's parting remark. She then turned around and grabbed her evening bag and her wrap and headed down stairs. Just as her feet touched the living room floor the doorbell rang. Hermione checked the time and saw that it was only a few minutes before seven, Harry would be there any minute she wondered who would be calling. Clearly it was someone non-magic as most of her friends were wizards, none of them had much use for doorbells they generally apparated or flooed over. Hermione opened the door and was shocked to see Harry standing there. He was dressed in black trousers and a matching jacket, his shirt was a lovely shade of bottle green that brought out the color of his eyes. His hair was rumpled as usual but it seemed to compliment his look quite nicely just the same. He looked utterly delicious. The sound of his voice brought Hermione back to the present moment.
"Hello Hermione"
Harry handed her a bouquet of orchids and lilies before kissing her cheek softly. Hermione smiled and stepped aside, allowing Harry to step inside the flat.
"Thank you"
Harry mumbled you're welcome as Hermione disappeared into the kitchen with the flowers, she returned a few seconds later and placed the vase of flowers on the coffee table she looked up at Harry and he spoke.
"You look beautiful"
A blush crept across her cheeks as she replied.
"You look quite handsome yourself"
Harry took her hand in his.
"Shall we go"
Hermione nodded and grabbed her wrap and purse.
"Exactly where are we going"
Intertwining his fingers with Hermione's Harry steered them towards the door.
"Someplace quiet where we won't be interrupted"
"And where exactly would that be …you are not exactly low profile"
Harry chuckled.
"True I'm not what you'd call low profile but celebrity has its advantages as well, especially celebrity in the wizarding world"
By now the two had made their way into the courtyard of Hermione's building. She was about to ask him what he meant about being a celebrity in the wizarding world when she looked up and saw a limousine parked at the gates. The driver immediately stepped from the car and opened the door. The driver spoke.
"Evening Miss…where to Mr. Potter"
Hermione nodded to the man holding the door open as Harry guided her into the car and responded to the question he'd been asked.
"The Oasis Hamish"
"Very good sir"
The driver replied with a nod of his head; as he closed the door Harry slid inside the limo next to Hermione. She looked up at him with a surprised expression.
"The Oasis, isn't that the new muggle restaurant that everyone has been fawning over"
"That would be the one"
"I understand that it is very difficult to get into, you have to make reservations weeks in advance"
Harry replied.
"Yes it's quite the rage at the moment"
Hermione raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Then how on earth did you get reservations so quickly when you only asked me out last night"
Before Harry could reply the car stopped and Hamish stepped out and opened the door. Harry extricated himself from the car and extended his hand to Hermione. She slid her hand in his and gracefully exited the car. Slipping his arm around her waist Harry and Hermione entered the restaurant. Algernon, the maître'd addressed Harry by name, greeted them and led them into the dining area. The room was completely empty with the exception of one table set for two in the middle of the room. Hermione was stunned; she turned to Harry as he pulled out her chair.
"How does he know your name"
Harry smiled and kissed her cheek as Hermione lowered herself into her seat. Harry took the seat across from her as the wine steward approached the table with a wine list, he too greeted Harry by name remarking on how nice it was to see him again, handed him the wine list, then hastily disappeared. Hermione stared at Harry for a moment before he spoke.
"I like the food so I come here fairly often"
Hermione looked around at the empty restaurant.
"You bought out the entire restaurant for the evening"
Harry nodded.
"How else were we going to get some privacy…no wizarding establishment I know of can keep the hordes of admirers I have away not to mention what would happen if the Prophet got wind of this"
Hermione replied with a nod of her head as Harry continued.
"I started coming here a couple of months back…Harry Potter is no one special in the Muggle world, here I'm just a normal customer, I can actually sit and have dinner with no interruptions, no photographers or people asking for my autograph…this place really is an Oasis for me"
He smiled at Hermione as she spoke.
"I doubt you will be considered a normal customer anymore considering that you have bought out the whole place"
Harry grinned.
"Oh, they'll just think I'm some rich bloke who likes his privacy…besides Algernon would never get nosy with any of his clientele…so what would you like to drink Riesling or Shiraz"
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Once again Harry and Hermione stood pressed against the door of her flat; chests heaving, hair in disarray, his collar loosened, her dress pushed up where his hand was lazily stroking her thigh. Hermione was rubbing her palms across Harry's back and shoulders as he ran his mouth over her jaw and down the smooth column of her throat to the base of her neck. Hermione's grip tightened drawing Harry closer to her body and Harry instinctively lowered his mouth to the neckline of her dress peppering the gentle rise of her breasts with kisses as his hand slid higher up her thigh. Hermione reached down and cupped Harry's face in her hands bring his lips level with her own; he kissed her feverishly, tangling his tongue with hers. They kissed intensely for several minutes before they pulled away from each other.
Harry was the first to speak.
"I guess I should get going"
Hermione nodded.
"I had a wonderful time"
"So did I"
Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 2 am, where had the time gone. He'd been with Hermione for seven hours and it felt more like seven minutes. They'd had a lovely dinner talking and laughing and getting to know each other as something other than best friends. After dinner they had gone dancing. Harry wasn't big on dancing but Hermione mentioned how much she loved to dance and that she hadn't been for ages and he'd wanted the night to be special so he took her to a dance club he'd heard one of his muggleborn teammates mention once. And though he wasn't terribly good at dancing seeing Hermione smile so happily and having her in his arms made it well worth the sacrifice. Having tripped the light fantastic for some three hours they left the club and and having worked up quite an appetite they stopped into one of the nearby pubs and ate doners and curry. From there they opted for a stroll around the park where they had done a lot of staring into each other's eyes. Finally they'd made it back to Hermione's flat where the chaste goodnight kiss had turned into a rather heated snogging session that Harry surmised had gone on for at least a quarter of an hour. Hermione calling his name softly roused Harry from his reminiscences.
"Harry is everything all right"
Harry grinned broadly at her. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers.
"Everything is fine except that I don't want to leave you…I know that it isn't proper to even think what I'm thinking but Merlin Hermione the thought of letting you go now is driving me crazy…I just…"
Hermione placed a finger against his lips and stilled the words tumbling from his mouth. She entwined Harry's fingers with her own and proceeded through the door of her flat.
Harry pulled up short at the threshold and gazing into her warm brown eyes asked.
"Are you sure"
Hermione smiled and kissed him tenderly on the lips and replied.
"I'm absolutely positive"
Harry enveloped Hermione in his arms and their lips met in a devouring kiss as the door to the flat swung shut behind them.
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