Authors Notes: Wow, only 2 correct guesses :p
Thanks for all the reviews!!! The end of this chapter was a little bit rushed to get it finished so I do apologise. Next update should be in a couple of days!!!
Eleven
Harry and Maddy's boyfriend stared at each other for several quiet moments, before Monica spoke.
'Do you guys know each other?' she asked and Harry nodded, trying not to laugh.
'Know each other? We grew up together.'
Dudley looked like he'd just seen a ghost and he hadn't actually moved.
'I guess you weren't expecting this,' Maddy said to Dudley, trying to get him to move.
'I need a smoke,' was all Dudley could say and he headed straight through the apartment, straight past them all and onto the balcony. Harry, though still stunned, figured he should probably do something and followed.
'Hey Dud,' he said as he closed the door. Dudley was lighting a cigarette. 'Does your mum know you smoke?'
'No,' Dudley said stiffly. 'What are you doing here?'
'My mate Ron, he's been seeing Monica,' Harry said and a look of comprehension came to Dudley's face.
'He was one of those red heads,' Dudley said slowly. 'They blew the lounge room apart.'
'Yeah, Ron was there.'
'And who's the girl?'
'My girlfriend,' Harry said smugly.
'Niice,' Dudley said with a grin. Harry couldn't help but to grin back at him.
'So how's…' he started, but couldn't bring himself to say his aunt and uncles names.
'Well, um,' Dudley looked nervous. 'They're getting divorced.'
'What!' Harry exclaimed.
'Yeah…' Dudley looked thoughtful. 'I moved out, not long after I last saw you. Moved in with Maddy. Mum and dad didn't like that, but what they also didn't like was being in the house on their own. Mum moved back to the village she grew up in and Dad's still at home. Haven't seem them since Christmas. They won't even be in the same room together anymore.'
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.
'Wow… that's unexpected,' he said after a few moments silence.
'You're telling me,' Dudley said, stubbing out his cigarette. 'We should go back in.'
They went back in and everyone had a good laugh over Harry and Dudley being cousins. Monica hurried them into the dining room and began serving them a delicious dinner. The conversation flowed easily over dinner- after the first course Harry could see what Ron saw in Monica. She was very funny and was making them all laugh all night. By dessert she was starting to ask them a lot of questions and after a few drinks, it was hard to think up things quickly. Dudley helped Harry out by saying that they went to Smeltings together. Hermione said that she went to school in Australia and had only moved back just before she met Harry and Ron. Monica seemed satisfied with these answers.
It was midnight when they began dicussing what to do now. Monica and Maddy were all for hitting the local pub and then the nearby nightclub. Dudley was eager to go with them, but Harry took one look at Hermione and decided that they'd call it a night- she was exhausted, and so was he.
Harry said goodbye to Ron and Dudley as Hermione chatted with the girls. Harry couldn't believe it when Dudley shook his hand and said that they should do this more often. He and Hermione held hands as they walked back downstairs and out onto the street. Hermione shivered with cold and Harry took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders.
'So that was an interesting night,' she said as they walked slowly down the street towards their apparation point.
'My aunt and uncle are divorcing,' Harry said with a grin. 'Dudley told me.'
'I thought you said Dudley was mean and fat,' Hermione said and Harry laughed.
'He was,' he assured her. 'He saw himself for what he really was when we were attacked by the Dementors. I think he changed then. And moving out of his mothers house would've helped him to no end. He's not so bad now, Dudley.'
They walked in silence for a bit.
'Monica and Maddy want to have lunch with me on Monday,' she said with amusement. 'I agreed.'
'Why?' he asked and she smiled slyly at him.
'The longer we hang around with them, the longer we can pretend to be a couple. Which means the longer we can act normal around Ron, and he might believe it if we say all the pretending made us fall in love.'
Harry gaped at her, amazed at how far she'd thought ahead.
'You're amazing,' he said as they walked up the alley way and stood behind a large dumpster. 'Your place or mine?'
'Yours,' she said smiling and holding his hand tight.
'You don't have too,' he said softly. 'I know I keep you up with my nightmares.'
'You don't keep me up,' she said even softer than he spoke. 'I'm already up, trying to avoid my own nightmares.'
~*~
Sunday went too quickly. They went and visited Ron, who was ecstatic at how well the night before had gone. He really wanted Harry and Hermione to get to know Monica, as he believed it was getting serious.
'Just have to introduce her to mum… oh, and tell her I'm a wizard,' he said, grimacing as Harry and Hermione laughed.
Monday morning he left before Hermione, which was a first. She just said that she had things to do. Harry was feeling very nervous, it was his first official day in the Auror department- he was finished his work with Kingsley, though he still didn't feel very confident. He had discovered in his training that Auror's weren't all about Dark Wizards- they were the wizard equivilant of MI5 or the FBI. When Kingsley had explained this to Harry, he'd had a sudden flash of one of Dudley's television shows and almost couldn't stop himself from laughing.
He spent most of his morning setting up his office. The Auror's were all dropping in to say hi and have a chat, and also give him their current case files. At morning tea time, he headed down the corridor to Hermione's office, and was told by her new assistant that she wasn't in yet and had owled to say she wouldn't be in until after lunch. Harry found this very strange, but returned to his office and kept trawling through the case files. It was very boring work, even more boring that all the files he and Hermione had read for the trials. He suspected that if he'd been doing that on his own, it would've been just as boring.
He was contemplating sending an owl to Ron to see if he wanted to have lunch when there was a knock on the door. Harry called for the person to enter and felt his jaw drop again. He was starting to wonder how he had never looked at Hermione the way he now did. She was wearing muggle clothes, a simple black skirt and jacket. And looked simply stunning.
'You can stop staring at me,' she said with a smile, leaning across his table and kissing him. 'I just wanted to come say hi before I went to lunch.'
'Lunch with the muggles,' Harry said, looking her up and down. 'You look the part.'
'I should,' she said with a sigh. 'I spent the morning shopping. And I hate shopping.'
'Well, if it means we can be ourselves in front of Ron…' Harry said and Hermione looked thoughtful.'
'But imagine how they're going to feel when Ron eventually tells Monica he's a wizard. Or are we going to lie to them forever?'
'You were all for it last night,' Harry said, confused. 'What-'
'I just thought about it,' she said, checking her watch. 'I should go, I don't want to be late.'
She kissed him again and headed back out. Harry sat for a moment, wondering (not for the first time) what actually went on in Hermione's mind.