IN NEED

Chapter 1

“Do you really think this is necessary?” Hermione Granger asked her best friends loudly, trying to overcome the noise of the hair dryer. She watched in the mirror as Luna and Ginny both grinned and nodded emphatically. It was her twenty-third birthday and they were bound and determined to make it her most memorable yet. Doing that meant going all out. They’d found her hard at work in her research lab and kidnapped her earlier in the afternoon. After taking her to lunch they’d gone shopping forcing her to try on dress after dress until Ginny had declared she’d found the perfect one. They hadn’t even let Hermione see it, let alone try it on.

Her only reprieve had been the bubble bath they’d made her take. Hermione had soaked in the soothing warm water for almost an hour before Luna had came barging in through the door , instructing her to shave her legs and wash her hair. Now she was sitting on a chair in front of her vanity, watching with nervousness as they dried her hair and smothered it in sleakeasy….

Hermione could practically see the words makeover written on their foreheads. She loved her friends dearly but she would never be fashionable or trendy like they were. She’d never cared about hair or makeup. She’d only ever wanted to be a scientist. They, however, had other plans for her.

“Mione…stop looking like this is painful,” Ginny commanded. “We just want you to have a little fun today. Especially tonight.” Before Hermione could question Gin further, Luna took control of the situation.

“Okay, here’s the plan. While I work on your hair, Ginny is going to fix your makeup. Then…. after we’re finished, you’re going to go into your bedroom and put on the beautiful dress that we found for you today. Then, tonight, we are going out to celebrate your birthday. You will enjoy this. You will have fun.” Hermione saw the hopeful look in both their eyes and decided what the hell. You only ever turn twenty-three once. Might as well take the time to enjoy it.

“So…. what exactly are we going to do tonight?” she found the courage to ask. Luna had her turned away from the mirror now and she stood in front of her, taking strands of Hermione’s cinnamon coloured tresses and wrapping them around her wand. Ginny was in the other room doing. …something.

“Well, we were thinking dinner and maybe dancing,” Luna said.

“Who else is coming? Did you invite Ron and Neville?” Hermione asked. She had assumed that part of the evening would include Luna and Ginny’s boyfriends. They’d all gotten to be good friends, since the girls had decided to share an flat.

“Uhm…. yes.” Luna said somewhat distractedly. “Ginny…come here,” she hollered for the other girl and Ginny came running.

Luna NEVER shouted, but when she did, you knew it was for a good reason.
“What?” she asked, slightly out of breath.

“I’m thinking an up do? What do you think?” Ginny studied Hermione closely for a moment before nodding and breaking into a smile. “That would be perfect.”

An hour later, both girls were standing in front of Hermione, blocking her view of the mirror. She was all ready. Her hair was piled up on top of her head, a mass of girls with a few tendrils escaping here and there. Her makeup was minimal but flawless thanks to Ginny. And her dress…her dress was breathtaking. It clung to Hermione’s curves, emphasizing her trim figure. The colour, a deep burgundy, brought out the olive tone of her smooth skin. She was really quite stunning.

“Oh…Mione, you look incredible,” giny said. “You really do.”

Hermione felt herself blushing at the compliment and growing more nervous. She just wanted to look in the mirror now. She had to see for herself.

Luna and Ginny stepped aside, allowing Hermione to see herself for the first time in hours.

She gasped as she looked in the mirror. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. She, Hermion Jayne Granger, science research geek extraordinaire, looked beautiful. She couldn’t even deny it. Ginny and Luna had managed to take her average brown /gold hair look like ringlets of silk. And her complexion looked flawless. There were no tell tale lines from the safety goggles she had to wear in lab. Her skin looked radiant and her eyes were bright and sparkling. And her dress…. it managed to make her less than stellar figure look almost, dare she think it, sexy. Hermione couldn’t help the big smile that spread across her face.

“You…. you guys have really outdone yourselves. Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this, for making me take time out to have fun. It means so much to me,” Hermione gushed as she turned towards her friends. That’s when she realized that she was the only one ready for their night out. “What time are we leaving? Don’t you guys have to change?” she asked.

“Well, you see Hermione, there’s something we forgot to mention,” Luna started.

The buzzer to the flat went off, indicating that the wards had been broken & the arrival of someone.

“Ginny…you explain while I go get the door,” Luna said and quickly went off.

Hermione raised her eyebrows questioningly, waiting for an answer to what she’d thought was an easy question.

“Uhm…Hermione,” Ginny started tentatively, “Luna and I aren’t exactly going to be joining you this evening…”

Harry James Potter stood outside the door to apartment 118. He’d just gotten buzzed in and was about to knock when it flew open, revealing a very pretty blonde woman. She looked to be in her early twenties. Not exactly the norm for his clients.

“Hi!” she said brightly. “Are you Mr Potter?” she asked.

He nodded and smiled. “Yes. You must be Hermione?”

She shook her head no and pushed him back, closely the door quietly behind her.

“No, listen, I should probably explain something to you. Hermione…she, uh, she doesn’t know about this evening. My friend and I sort of set it all up for her. You see she doesn’t get out very much. In fact, she’s never had a date in her whole life. So for her birthday this year, we thought that we’d give her that experience. So here’s the deal, we’re going to pretend that this is a blind date. You take Hermione and show her the time of her life okay? Treat her like a queen. Woo her…. make all her girlhood fantasies come through….”

Harry interrupted. “Listen, Uh…?”

“Luna, I’m Luna Lovegood,” she filled in.

“Listen, Luna, I’m not... that type of guy, okay. I just take them out so that they have company for the evening. I don’t…perform any extra services,” Harry tried to explain.

“OH! NO! That’s SO not what I meant. I just mean…that maybe you could give her a kiss goodnight. Nothing big, just a peck on the mouth. She’s twenty-three and never been kissed. She needs to learn to live a little. I’m totally not expecting anything else to happen. In fact if it does…. ‘’Sweet Merlin I‘ll hex you into oblivion‘’. She needs to start slowly.”

Harry tried not to laugh at his own embarrassment and at the expression on Luna’s face. She was certainly amusing.

“Okay, so now that this is all settled, here’s the money for the night out and for your payment. Thank you so much for doing this and please don’t mention that we hired you. It might give her the wrong idea,” Luna said, handing him and envelope full of cash.

“I think I can handle that,” Harry assured her.

“Great. Now, wait right here and I’ll go see if Hermione is ready. Ginny’s telling her now about the, uh, ‘blind date’.” With that Luna went back inside the apartment.

Harry stood there, staring at the door once again. He shook his head. He really didn’t like this job. The women were nice for the most part. They were just lonely, looking for some companionship. But Harry hated being a hired date for them. They were almost always twice his age and after a couple of drinks, they would try to relive their younger years and get grabby with him. Unlike some of the men he worked with, he never let them get away with it. He talked with them, listened to them. That’s all they really wanted in the end, someone to listen to them. He didn’t hate the job. If he didn’t want to settle down so badly, he wouldn’t care. But his father & Mother had died , leaving behind a mountain of money and no one to share it with and this was the only way Harry could do this and vet whom he dated..
H needed to know if his dates were genuine enough…

His mind wandered for a moment to tonight, trying to think of what he could do with this woman. He’d have to change his plans. She was obviously younger than his usual clientele and wouldn’t enjoy the same things. He was just about to use his cell phone to call and cancel the dinner reservations he’d made when the apartment door flung open. Luna ushered him in and pushed him over by the couch.

“Hermione…come on, you’re going to be late for dinner,” she hollered.

Harry watched then, as a Red headed woman, this one taller, came out of a bedroom, practically dragging someone with her. She pushed the person with her, toward Harry and stepped back.

He could hardly believe his eyes. The woman in front of him was like a vision. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful before. She was short and slender with dark brown hair and olive coloured skin. He was completely mesmerized by her. He knew he should say something…anything, but he was too distracted by the way she was biting nervously on her full bottom lip.

“Uhm…” was all he managed to get out.

“Hi,” Hermione said finally speaking up. Her voice was more of a squeak than anything. She was so startled by the handsome man in front of her that she could barely form a coherent thought. When Ginny had told her that the entire thing was a set up for a date, she’s wanted to cry at how cruel the entire thing was. Her birthday was not supposed to be her first date, let alone a blind date. She wasn’t expecting this though. How they’d managed to set her up with this fine specimen of manhood, she’d never know.

“Hermione…it’s…it’s nice to finally meet you. Luna here has told me so much about you that I could hardly wait to see you in person. I know this is awkward but…. I’d really like to take you out tonight for your birthday and I promise you we’ll have a good time,” he told her sincerely. Harry had never meant anything more in his entire life. He really did want to take this woman out and he really did want to show her a good time.

Hermione’s nervousness began to dissipate as she stared at his eager face. His warm emerald eyes drew her in and she knew, hearing his words just then that tonight would be okay.

“Okay, let’s go then,” she said softly. She offered Harry a tentative smile which he returned and then took her hand in his, leading her out the door.

Ginny and Luna watched the two leave and let out a sigh of relief.

“I can’t believe we pulled it off’’ Luna said.

“ I know…but did you see the look on her face, Luna? She took one look at him and was completely smitten. I don’t want to be the one to tell her that this was all a set up. That we paid him to take her out. Plus…if we don’t tell her and she likes him and has a good time, she’ll be heart broken when he doesn’t call her to go out again. I really think this was a mistake?” Ginny said, plopping down on the couch.

“It’s not my fault the guy was an Adonis. I seriously thought, he’d be some kind of deranged warlock and we could all have a good laugh later. But now…. anyway, we might not have to worry. Harry looked uh, well, he looked pretty smitten himself,” Luna told her with a half smile.

“You think?”

“Please, if the heated look he gave her says anything, they’ll be engaged by next year.”

“Whatever Luna. You’re so funny sometimes,” Gin said with a laugh.

“Come on, let’s floo our manly Wizards and see what they’re up to,” Luna responded. She knew they’d need a distraction while they waited for Hermione to come back from her first date.

Harry couldn’t believe how nervous he’d suddenly become. Good Lord, one look at Hermione and he’d turned into a bumbling fool. It was like being 16, going on his first date all over again. This definitely felt like a first date. Ironically enough, he did this for fun and he’d never once been this nervous. Of course there was a big difference between the women that hired him for his company and Hermione Granger. Hermione Granger had managed to turn him into a pile of mush within the first five minutes and all she’d had to do was take the hand that he’d offered her. He knew without a doubt that he was in big trouble. Before the end of the night, lines were going to be irrevocably crossed and things were going to change for him. And he found that he really didn’t care. In fact, he welcomed it.

Hermione glanced at Harry shyly out of the corner of her eye. She was still marveling at how attractive the man in the driver’s seat next to her really was. She could study him a little better here in the car while he drove. He definitely had a nice profile. A perfectly straight nose and a strong looking jaw. The planes of his face came together symmetrically in a way that was more than appealing. Hermione’s eyes lingered over his lips. She found herself wondering for the first time in a long time just what it would be like to kiss a man. More specifically what it would be like to kiss this man. Maybe if tonight went well, she’d get to find out. The thought was enough to fill her stomach with a flurry of nervous butterflies.

“So, I hope you like homely cooked food because we have reservations at the Golden Griffin down by the Haymarket,” Harry told her.

“I’ve never been there before. I’m sure it will be wonderful,” came Hermione’s reply.

He could practically hear her smile. Harry forced himself to keep his eyes on the road. The urge to turn his head and look at Hermione was almost too great. He told himself that if could have the pleasure of looking at her, maybe he could listen to her voice. “Hermione, why don’t you tell me more about yourself,” he suggested in an effort to get her to talk.

“Oh, well, I’m not really that interesting. Besides,” she said with a laugh, “I’m sure that Luna’s talked your ear off about me,” Hermione said.

“I’m sure there’s plenty you could tell me about you that I don’t already know. And I’m absolutely positive that none of it is boring.” They were sitting at a stop light when Harry said this and so he was finally able to look over at her. He was a little surprised to find her look right at him. Their eyes locked and neither could look away. They were sort of trapped by the other’s gaze.

A car horn sound from behind them startled them both. Harry looked behind him and then ahead, finally seeing that the light had turned green. Neither said a word then until they arrived at the restaurant moments later. Harry helped Hermione out of the car and tool her hand again leading her into the restaurant. When they were led to their table he had a hard time relinquishing his hold on her so they could be seated.

The spent some time perusing the menu, both keenly aware of the other. Hermione kept looking up and sneaking glances at Harry over the top of her menu. One time he caught her and she ducked her head, biting her lip. Harry had to force himself to look away. He didn’t understand why that simple gesture, stirred such a reaction in him. The waiter finally came to take their order, effectively taking away the shield they’d both been using. So they just sat their looking at each other. When Hermione realized that she was openly starring, she felt her cheeks flush with her embarrassment. No wonder she never dated. She acted like a silly teenager when it came to men.

She cleared her throat nervously. “Harry...why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. Uhm...I don’t know anything about you and I’d really like to,” she admitted.

Harry smiled. “Well, I’m twenty-four years old. I’m just finishing my last term of training at the Ministry of Magic in the Auror Dept here in London. I’m originally from Godrics Hollow in Wales I’m almost finished with a wizarding degree in Dark Arts & combat techniques , specializing in Dark Art artefacts & I hope that after I graduate this Term, I can start work right away.” As he spoke Hermione’s face lit up and her eyes started to sparkle. A huge grin broke out and Harry was positive that he’d never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life.

“Really? That’s so incredible. That’s almost exactly what I did. Only instead of a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology, from St Mungo’s … . It couldn’t just be coincidence that any of this was happening.

“That’s incredible, “ Harry responded. “So where are you at with that? How much time until you’re finished?”

Hermione smiled. “I was sure Luna would have told you all of this,” she mused.

“Well...there’s something I should admit.” Harry was going to tell her the truth. Most of it anyway. To hell with what Luna had said. He could definitely see this date turning into more. He didn’t want to start it with a huge lie though. Before he could go on with an explanation, the waiter interrupted them with their drinks.

Hermione took a sip of hers and then looked up at Harry expectantly, waiting for him to finish what he was saying.

“Well, uhm, Luna and your other friend sort of set this up. I really didn’t know anything about you. They...they wanted it to be a present for your birthday so they made the reservations and took care of everything, but all the money I earn goes to several childrens orphanages around the country”… H.ermione’s face fell as he spoke and he’d never felt so guilty in his life. He instantly regretted opening his mouth. He’d do anything to keep that smile on her face. Almost instinctively he reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “I have to tell you, though, that the minute I saw you....well, I’ve never wanted to be with anyone so badly in my entire life. I knew that tonight was going to special. So however misguided and awkward their actions....I’m really glad they did what they did.”

His words caused a flush to rise and spread over Hermione’s skin seeming to start below the neckline of her dress. Harry watched as her skin turned a very becoming shade of pink and his mind wandered into territory that Hermione had yet to discover. He quickly got himself under composure, focusing on Hermione’s beautiful face once again.

What Harry had said had warmed Hermione’s insides. She’d never thought that anyone could be attracted to her in that way. The way Harry was looking at her with.....desire in his eyes made it easy to quickly get over being upset with Ginny and Luna. She was glad they’d done this too.

“Let’s get out of here,” Hermione said abruptly.

Harry’s face fell and he looked disappointed and was about to beg for another chance when he felt Hermione squeeze his hand. Their eyes met and she spoke again. “I think that we should start this date over. I want to do something that you would have picked for us, not what Luna and Ginny picked.”

“That sounds like a really good idea.” Harry threw some Galleons down on the table to cover their drinks and stood up. With her hand tightly clasped in his own, they left the restaurant.

Almost two hours later they were still in the Haymarket. Their location was a little different now though. Instead of the small, stuffy environment of The Golden Griffin they were in a large, slightly crowded bar. They’d both relaxed considerably with Harry undoing his tie and unbuttoning the collar on his shirt taking an edge of the idea that the evening had to be perfect. So instead of having the perfect first date, they could focus on each other. Hermione had filled Harry in on as many details about herself as possible over a basket of greasy fries and two frothing butter beers.

Harry was completely enthralled by her. He loved to watch her talk. She was so animated, her whole face lit up when she spoke. Especially when she talked about her work. It was very obvious that she loved what she did. She was just as passionate when she talked about her friends and family. The pride and love she felt for those closest to her was clearly evident.

With each word, Harry fell a little deeper.

A slight lull in the conversation found them sitting side by side, with Harry’s arm draped around the back of Hermione’s chair as they listened to the band that had taken over the bar’s small stage. Their legs were pressed together to insure some kind of contact between them without being extremely obvious. Harry wanted nothing more than to be able to touch her freely though. After a couple of songs and some internal pep talks, Harry decided they should move on. It was almost ten o’clock and the night was still fairly young. He didn’t want their entire first date to consist of just sitting in a bar.

“So...any ideas on what we should do next?” he asked her.

He hadn’t realized just how close together they’d ended up sitting until he turned his head to look at her. At the same time she turned to answer his question and the found their noses less than two inches apart. Harry could feel her sudden intake of breath. He wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them and kiss her. He stopped himself though as her remembered Luna’s words from earlier. This was Hermione’s first date. She’d never been kissed before.

The butterflies in Hermione’s stomach came back full force and she found herself blushing at thoughts of Harry kissing her. She was both relieved and disappointed when he pulled way. He surprised her though, when instead of kissing her, he brought his hand up and gently tucked a strand of hair that had come lose behind her ear. She wasn’t sure but she felt his fingers linger a little as he push the strand back from her face.

“Well...any idea for what’s next?” he asked. He took his time dropping his hand back to the chair.

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she thought about possibilities for the rest of their evening. She didn't notice the way Harry’s eyes hidden behind those crescent moons of glass ,were being drawn to her mouth. He just couldn’t get over how full and supple her lips were. He wanted nothing more than to take that bottom lip into his own mouth and..
“How about ...golf,” Hermione said, interrupting his thought.

“Golf?” he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Hermione nodded. “Yes. Miniature golf. There’s a new place about four streets from her. They’re supposed to stay open late. It could be fun. I’ve never actually played before. It can help this be a whole night of firsts. What do you say?”

“Why not, it sounds interesting.” Harry would follow her
anywhere he realized.
Golfing turned out to be a very enlightening experience. Hermione decided that, in an attempt to get Harry to talk, they would play by their own rules. So for every shot they messed up, they had to reveal something about themselves. It sort of backfired on her when Harry turned out to be a very good golfer. So while Harry was still a man of mystery, Hermione was an open book.

At the second to the last hole, Hermione was starting to run out of things to say. So when she messed up her shot again, she almost threw her putter down in frustration.

“What else could I possibly tell you?” she asked Harry.

He shrugged. “Tell me why ....you don’t date. Ginny and Luna said that you never go out, why is that?”

Hermione felt herself blushing. She shrugged. “ I don’t know. No one’s ever asked.” She looked a little sad as she spoke and he was sure that the question had brought up many insecurities.

“ I don’t see how that can be true,” he told her. “I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone as amazing as you,” he told her honestly.

Hermione felt her blush deepen and she quickly cleared her throat. “It’s your turn,” she told him. As he was stepping up to take his shot, Hermione moved herself to the other side, accidentally brushing against Harry as she did so. This caused him to falter, making him mess up his shot.

Hermione saw and laughed. “Ha...now you have to tell me something!”

Harry nodded and gave in. “What would you like to know?”

Hermione thought for a moment. “Describe your perfect date,” she said after a brief deliberation.

Harry’s response came without hesitation. “You.”

They stepped up closer to one another then. “You’re my perfect date too,” Hermione told Harry softly. At that he’d made up his mind. He was going to kiss her.

He would have too if a group of noisy teenagers hadn’t caught up with them.

They moved on to the last hole and Hermione took her shot. She actually made it without messing up too badly. So it was Harry’s turn fairly quickly. As he lined up his shot, Hermione was thinking about what he’d just said. It was easy for her to say that he was her perfect date. He really was. She’d never imagined having such a great time with anyone. But him...surely he’d had better dates than this. He was getting ready to swing when Hermione asked her next question.

“Do you date a lot, Harry?”

At her question, Harry almost dropped his putter.

“uhm...a few,” he told her. That was an understatement. He immediately felt terrible for being untruthful with her about his job.

“I’m sorry, that’s none of my business...” Hermione started to say.

Harry stopped her. “Don’t be sorry. I can honestly say that no matter how many dates I’ve been on. None of them have been even a tenth as memorable as this one tonight. So thank you....for making tonight so memorable.” He took her hand then and watched the smile that spread across her lips.

After they’d turned in their balls and their putters, Harry took Hermione to get some ice cream and they drove back to her apartment complex. He hated to see the evening end, but Hermione had mentioned having to work early the next day and he didn’t want her to be too tired. She was still licking her ice cream cone when they reached the flat doorway.

Hermione turned around and stared up into Harry’s face. She really hated for the night to be over with. It had been so perfect. Everything about Harry had been so incredible. He smiled at her and his eyes sort of sparkled. Not for the first time that evening she marveled at how beautiful his emerald eyes really were.

“I had a really great time, Harry,” she told him softly. He smiled and stepped closer to her.

“Me too. I hope that....it wasn’t a completely terrible way to spend your birthday.”

Hermione shook her head. “No...it was wonderful.”

“I’d really like to see you again,” Harry said hopefully.

Hermione looked down shyly, biting her bottom lip. Then she looked up and smiled. “I’d like that.”

Harry couldn’t restrain himself any more. He leaned in slowly, his breath catching in his throat as his lips brushed ever so carefully across Hermione’s. When he pulled away, he knew that one kiss wouldn’t be enough. So before she even had time to open her eyes again, he kissed her again. This time, he let his lips linger, revelling in the softness and the feel of her own lips pressed against him. Very gently he coaxed her into responding to his gently caresses against her mouth. She caught on quickly and when they pulled apart, Harry could feel himself growing breathless. He didn’t even try to hide the satisfied smile that spread across his face. He could see how caught up Hermione had been.

Hermione was in heaven. She’d never once imagined a kiss could be that amazing and wonderful. When she’d felt his lips brush against hers the first time, she’d been thrilled and disappointed at the same time. Thrilled because it felt better than she’d always imagined. Disappointed because it hadn’t lasted nearly long enough. Before she’d even recovered from that, he’d kissed her again, this time urging her to kiss him back. She could still feel the pressure of their lips together, and how wonderful he felt. She wasn’t sure if her heart would ever beat normally again.

He was about to throw all caution to the wind when a dripping noise caught his attention. He didn’t want them to get dripped on so he immediately looked around for the source. He glanced down and the floor and began to chuckle when it dawned on him what had happened.

“Uh...Hermione, sweetheart, I think you’re ice cream is melting,” he said.

Hermione, still trying to regain control of her senses, took a moment to register his meaning. “Huh....what?” she mumbled incoherently. That’s when she noticed the small drops of vanilla ice cream pooling on the wood floor.

“ Oh...no!”

Harry laughed and leaned in to kiss her forehead tenderly. “ I think that I’ll take this as a compliment,” he told her. Hermione felt herself blushing yet again but laughed despite her embarrassment.

“ I guess I better this to clean this up,” she said. She started to open her jacketbut stopped and turned around. Standing up on her tip toes she pressed her lips against Harry’s. It was so soft, so brief that Harry wasn’t even sure it had happened. But he felt it all the way to his soul. “Good night Harry. Thank you for a wonderful birthday,” she said softly. With that, she disappeared inside.

Harry was a gonner.

So much so that when the door opened a few minutes later he was still standing there thinking about Hermione and that kiss.

Luna was the one that startled him out of his thoughts. She’d come out to clean up the ice cream spill while Hermione took a quick shower.
As she waved her wand over the ice cream she spoke to Harry

“Harry...did you forget something?” she asked. She noticed his slightly dazed expression and had to smirk a little.

“Yes actually,” he said. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out he envelope of money Luna had given him earlier. He hadn’t used any of it. “I want to give this back to you. Tonight was my pleasure entirely. I don’t need to be paid to take a woman like Hermione out. In fact I feel really lucky to have had the privilege. I ‘ll just make my own donation”

Harry was the one leaving a flabbergasted Luna behind. She could hardly believe it. He’d just given back Two hundred Galleons . He hadn’t taken anything.

A smile slowly spread across her face as she thought of the look that she’d seen Hermione sporting when she’d walked in a few moments ago. Yes...definitely engaged within the year.

Harry couldn’t stop thinking about Hermione Granger. It had been less than 12 hours since their date. Less than 12 hours since he’d shared with her the most incredible kiss he’d ever experienced. How could he possibly focus on anything his Auror instructor had to say? It was really too much.

So that’s why Harry was sitting there, a big dopey lovesick grin on his face, while about thirty other fellow students and a slightly annoyed instructor looked on.

“Mr. Potter.....Mr. Potter?” A loud voice said, cutting through Harry’s happy thoughts.

“Wh..what?” Harry said, quickly snapping to attention. He could feel everyone’s gaze on him and hear a few random snickers. He’d been caught and now he could feel his ears turning bright red.

“I was just wondering if you could tell us just what part of my lecture you found so amusing? I’m sure we’d all like to know what put that smile on your face,” instructor Evans said in his usual monotone.

“Uh...it was the part where...you know, the part where you talked about the...the uh...” Harry’s voice tapered off.

“That is what I thought,” Evans replied with an annoyed sigh. He turned back to the diagram on the overhead and continued to drone on.

Harry somehow managed to make it through the rest of class. He was even able to answer one of instructor Evans questions correctly the next time he was called on. But as soon as the clock was on the twelve, Harry was out of there.
Hermione had mentioned the night before that she usually didn’t get to eat lunch until about one o’clock. That gave him an hour to carry out his plans. It would be just enough time if he hurried.

*****

Hermione stared at the stack of data in front of her. She’d been putting off entering it for weeks now and the task had become even lengthier and less appealing. At the rate she was currently going she’d be at the lab until midnight. That’s if she didn’t go blind first.

Aside from the boring task, her only real problem was that she just could concentrate. She’d lost all of her focus. And it was the fault of one incredibly handsome, incredibly wonderful, Harry Potter. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. She’d even dreamed about him the night before. All of the wonderful moments from their date just kept swimming through her head.

And her lips.....she could still feel the way he had kissed her so sweetly, so softly. Her first kiss had been more than she’d ever imagined. Her whole body tingled from thoughts of it.

“Hermione...Hermione....Earth to Professor Granger!” a voice said, bring her out of her reverie. She looked up to find a graduate student standing in her office doorway.

“Hello Karen, did you need something?” Hermione asked, trying to refocus her attention.

“Uhm...there’s someone here to see you. He says his name is Harry Potter. Marg, down at the front info desk won’t tell him where your office is though until she gets an okay from you. Should I.....”

“Oh mother of Merlin!!” Hermione squealed. “Harry is here? Oh...tell Marg to have him come right up. I ....oh Merlin!” Hermione was suddenly quite flustered. She stood up from her desk, knocking over her chair as she tried to quickly straighten up her area.

Karen stared at her, eyes wide. Hermione was flustered and flushed. She could hardly believe it. She was usually so calm and collected, completely put together. Karen was suddenly quite curious about this Harry Potter that seemed to have Hermione so undone.

She found out a moment later when she went down to the information desk. For a moment she merely stood there, taking in the view. No wonder Hermione was freaking out. Harry Potter was an Adonis. A romantic Adonis at that. Hermione Granger was a damn lucky witch..

Hermione couldn’t help but fidget nervously as she waited. She continued to try to straighten up around the small room, putting other’s things into some semblance of order. She was startled by a knock on the door. She looked up and her heart almost stopped at the sight of Harry. He was even better looking in the day light Hermione concluded. And...in one hand he held a bouquet of flowers and the other a paper sack of deli food.

“Harry...” she said, breaking out into a grin. His own smile reflected hers.

For a second they just stood there, grinning at each other.

Harry finally found his voice. “I wanted to surprise you, so I took a chance that maybe you hadn’t eaten yet and we could have lunch together. I ...I really had to see you again.”

“Really?” Hermione asked.

Harry nodded and was rewarded with a shy smile.

Again they both just sort of stood there, staring at each other, neither one moving. Again they both just sort of stood there, staring at each other, neither one moving.

The sound of a door slamming somewhere down the hall startled them both and Harry stepped fully into the office. He offered her the bouquet of flowers with a flourish. Hermione took them gratefully and, offering him a brilliant smile, brought the white roses to her face to take in the scent.

Harry watched, momentarily transfixed by the sight of her.

“So...” he started to speak at the same time Hermione started to say something.

“You first,” Harry told her.

Hermione bit her lip a smiled. “ I was just going to say Thank You. White Roses are my favorite. And...I’m glad you came by because I ...I was thinking about you earlier,” she admitted even as a slight blush tinted her cheeks.

“Yes...me too....I mean, I was thinking about you earlier and...” Harry paused and took a breath before he could fumble his words anymore. “ Are you hungry? I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I thought we could share a couple of things, although I only have an hour”

“I’m famished. Tell me what you brought.”

So Harry went to work setting up their little picnic lunch on Hermiones’s desk.

Karen, being the deprived person that she was, decided to see what exactly Hermione and her Adonis were up to. She walked casually by the office, trying to get a peak through the door which was slightly ajar. She could make out laughter from the inside along with some hushed talking and then more laughter. She wasn’t able to make out what was being said but it was obviously Harry making Hermione laugh. He was funny, romantic and handsome.....she hadn’t thought there were any wizards like that left in the world. Her curiosity got the better of her and she tried to get a peak at the couple to see what they were doing. She could see them sitting across from each other, leaning forward, both talking earnestly. Hermione was currently saying something and Harry was listening with rapt attention. He interjected a comment and Hermione started to laugh. As she did so she was leaning forward slightly. Harry started to lean forward as well.

Feeling a little like a voyeur, Karen quickly walked away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment.

Harry hadn’t been able to resist. Hermione had been laughing, her face all lit up and then she’d leaned forward, almost extending an invitation. One that he was more than happy to respond to.

He brought his hands up, gently framing her face, as he pressed his mouth to hers. There was no hesitancy as Hermione eagerly responded. The kiss was slow and deliberate as both Hermione and Harry took the opportunity to get to know the taste and feel of each other. When it finally became necessary to draw breath, the two broke apart, both gasping for air. Harry leaned his forehead against Hermione’s, his fingers gently caressed the sides of her face.

“See what you do to me,” he said with a soft chuckle.

Hermione bit her lip gently, fighting the urge to kiss him again. Couldn't he see was he was doing to her?

“Harry...” her voice pleaded softly and then his lips were on hers again.

It was a very reluctant Harry leaving the office fifteen minutes later. He could have stayed there all day just kissing her and looking at her. But he knew she had work to get done. The only consolation for him was that she had agreed to let him take her on another date that same night. He was happy to conclude that lunch was a success.

Hermione sat at her desk after he left and stared at the empty chair across the way. She couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her lips. She’d wanted nothing more than for Harry to say, but she had work to do and he would definitely be a distraction. Hermione smiled and giggled to herself. He was a very good distraction though. Very, very good.

****

Hermione walked around on cloud nine the rest of the day. She left the lab and all her papers behind early to go get ready for her date with Harry. Upon arrival at her apartment, she ran into Luna who also just getting back from the ministry.

“So..Mione, what do you say to you, me, a pint of butterbeer, and a night of girl talk? I want to hear all about last night. From the way you’re still smiling I’d say it must have gone well,” Luna said with a bright smile.

“Oh, Luna...you know that I would love to, but I’ve sort of already have other plans. Harry is taking me somewhere.”

“Wow. He moves fast. Did he call you at work or something?” Luna was beyond curious about the previous evening now. It must have been pretty good. Not only had Harry given back all of the money but he’d already called for another date.

“Actually, he asked, yes,” Hermione said with a dreamy sigh as her thoughts wandered back several hours. “He came to the lab today and he brought lunch and white roses. We talked and made plans for tonight,” Hermione said, leaving out the more personal details.

Luna wasn’t sure how to respond. She followed Hermione to her bedroom while she thought about things. She could hardly believe this was happing. She knew that Hermione had been struck by cupid’s arrow. That much had been clear by the look on her face when she’d first seen Harry. She just hadn’t realized how deep that arrow had stuck and how it was obviously the same for Harry.

It was great. Really. It was. Luna was absolutely thrilled for Hermione.

“What do you think Luna? Do you think Harry would like the red shirt or the green one?” Hermione asked, holding up the two choices in front of herself.

Luna looked at each shirt carefully, contemplating a decision.

She smiled at Hermione. “Well...Harry will probably like either one just because you’re wearing it. But I think you should wear that cream colored sweater with the v-neck. Oh, and your denim skirt. It’s casual but sort of dressy. It should be perfect for whatever Harry has planned for you,” she finally said.

Somehow the second date managed to out do their first date. It could have been due to the hour the couple spent kissing in Harry’s car toward the end of the evening He later explained his mum was a muggle born, so he always liked to tinker with muggle things, hence the car. Neither could get enough of the other. Hermione was quickly becoming addicted to Harry. When she’d laughingly told him so between kisses, he’d been quick to assure her that it was much the same for him. He’d walked her back up to her Flat then and spent a good ten minutes telling her good night and promising to owl the next day.

Three weeks went by and things just kept getting better and better. Harry and Hermione spent as much time together as possible. Harry, despite his pressing exam issues, willingly too on several of the jobs he’d been offered during those weeks. He couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing Hermione He hadn't told Hermione about his job yet. It was too hard to explain. And the longer he waited, the harder it got.
Harry was not a Auror in training. He was a fully fledged Auror but was taking a higher level exam to help succeed in running the Dark Arts operations they were being tipped off about……

Hermione walked around in a perpetual state of bliss. She was constantly humming some love song under her breath. There were times when she would just start smiling out of the blue. She was usually thinking about something sweet Harry had done.

Luna and Ginny both noticed the changes taking place in Hermione as her relationship with Harry continued. They were happy for her but concerned at how fast things seemed to be progressing. They never saw Hermione anymore. She was always with Harry. They missed their friend. But Hermione didn’t seem to even notice.

It was Friday, almost four weeks since the night Hermione and Harry had first met. Hermione was in the lab working on a project when she looked up at the clock. It was three o’clock. She quickly left whatever it was she was working on and made her way to her office. On the days when she and Harry couldn’t meet for lunch he always owled.

At 3:05pm on the dot, an owl landed on Hermione’s desk . Hermione quickly read it. She couldn’t help the smile the spread across her face. Even seeing his writing made her happy…

‘’Dearest Hermione. I am so sorry but I cannot make our date tonight..
The boss has organised an extra training session as we have a mission coming up shortly…
I am sorry to have to do this at such short notice….
I will miss you tonight…

I will see you later this week
all my love

Harry…

Hermione folded the parchment and sat down behind her desk…
Oh well he had to work she knew, just she was so looking forward to tonight…
she decided to owl Luna & Gin and see if she could spend some time with them.
After all she had kind of neglected her friends of late and she did feel guilty for it…

The weeks were good to Harry & Hermione.
Harry had yet to explain to her about his secret job but otherwise everything was going smoothly….
“Help! Luna....I need underwear!” Hermione blurted as she burst through the door to Luna’s bedroom.

“What?” Luna looked up from where she was applying nail polish to her toes. She almost dropped the open bottle onto her bedspread she was so startled.she often wondered why they had chosen to live a lot like muggles do.. The fun was starting to wear off a tad.

It was four in the afternoon and Hermione had taken off from lab early, yet again. She was in crisis. Thoughts of Harry and moving their relationship forward had started her thinking. She was completely unsure of herself. What if she wasn’t sexy enough? What if she was too naive and inexperienced for him?

“Luna, you have to help me,” Hermione said, pacing on the floor in front of Luna’s bed. “ I have a date with Harry tonight and I....”

“...and you forgot to do your laundry?” Luna finished, trying to fill in the gaps in what Hermione was nervously saying.

Hermione stopped pacing and looked at her. “No. I...I want tonight to be special and so I was thinking about how I don’t own any sexy underwear. None. Not even underwear with flowers of anything. It’s all just plain cotton briefs. Very boring. I don’t want Harry to think that I’m boring. And there’s absolutely nothing sexy about my panties and...”

Luna bit back a laugh as her frustrated friend continued to rant.

“Okay...I’m there for you Mione. First tell me what time dinner is,” Luna said once Hermione had calmed down a little.

“Oh. Thank you Luna!” Hermione reached out, grabbing Luna in an impulsive hug. “Okay, so ...uhm Harry said to be at his place at six thirty. But I should probably leave early to make sure that I can find his apartment complex.”

“Good. That gives us about two hours to work with. So this is what I want you to do. Go into your closet and decide what you want to wear. Then put that back and pull out something else. I know you Hermione and the first thing you’ll pick will be way too conservative. After that go take a bubble bath and shave your legs ...the works. Get as ready as you can without getting dressed. Now while you’re doing all that, I’ll be out purchasing your first set of ‘just in case’ panties,” Luna said.

“ ‘just in case’ panties?” Hermione asked, a confused expression on her face.
Dear mother of Merlin, what had they done to poor Luna?

Luna smirked. “It’s something every girl needs, Hermione. It involves purchasing a pair of sexy panties for a special occasion. Of course, you can never be sure of what that special occasion will be. For the most part they’re for that special date, you know, ‘just in case’ your going to get laid.”

Hermione’s face flushed a deep red at Luna’s words. “Oh...oh..Luna, I....” Hermione was flustered now. That wasn’t her intention for the evening. She just wanted to be prepared for anything.

Luna watched with amusement as her friend finally comprehended the importance of the ‘just in case’ panty. Even so, Hermione was obviously embarrassed.

“Relax,Mione. Just because you have them doesn’t mean anything is going to happen. No matter what goes on it’s just high time for you to have a pair of sexy panties....just in case,” she said with a wink. She left a still flustered Hermione standing in her bedroom and she went out to shop.

******

Everything was set. The flowers were in a vase on the table. the candles were placed randomly throughout the apartment. They just needed to be lit. He’d wait to do that until it was almost time for Hermione to arrive. Everything was ready for him to start dinner. He’d do that at six so it would be warm when Hermione got there. He was making chicken stir-fry.

So that left him forty-five minutes of waiting for Hermione. He decided it would be best for him to take a quick shower. He needed to shave quickly as well. He could feel the stubble that had come in since he’d shaved that morning. That definitely wouldn’t do. He couldn’t be scratchy for Hermione.

After his shower and shave Harry went to throw on some nicer clothes. He spent a few minutes rifling through his closet. He really needed to do laundry. He settled on a charcoal gray sweater that he found hanging towards the back of the closet. He threw on a pair of jeans then and went to finish cooking dinner.

He’d just set the rice aside to cook when the door buzzer rang. Harry checked his watch. It was a little before six pm. That meant Hermione was early. That was okay. He’d improvise with the candles and fixing the rest of dinner.

When he went to open the door, instead of seeing the beautiful brown haired angel he liked to call Hermione, he was greeted by the smirking face of Draco Malfoy. His current superintendent

“Draco, what brings you by?” Harry asked, barely able to conceal his agitation or surprise.

“Potter,” Draco said with a sneer. He brushed past harry, not even waiting for an invitation to enter. “I came by to have a little chat.” Draco stood in front of Harry’s couch giving off a superior air as he looked around the apartment. He thought it was odd that Harry lived the way he did. Very simply. That was the best way to describe the set up. All the essentials were in place with very few extras.

Draco raised his eyebrows when he noticed the numerous candles set up around the room. “Looks like you’ve got a big evening planned, Potter,” he commented with a smirk.

“You didn’t come here to discuss my plans for the evening Draco. So just cut to the chase,” Harry told him. He was getting nervous. He didn’t want Draco there when Hermione showed up. That wouldn’t be the best way to tell her what he did for a living.

“Actually, Potter, that’s where you’re wrong. Your plans for this evening are the reason for my visit. You see, today, we got a little call from one of our tip offs.
‘’We go in tomorrow at dawn’’…
‘’This is what we have been training undercover for’’

Harry stood there rather dumbfounded..
He owed it to Hermione to show her a good night as it could be weeks before he saw her again…..

He walked to the door then, opening it to let himself out. His exit was halted when he encountered another figure preparing to knock.

“Uhm...Hi,” Hermione said nervously.

“Hello,” Draco said somewhat suggestively as he looked the woman in front of him up and down. She was certainly a looker. Long silky brown hair, fell like a waterfall over petite shoulders. She was wearing a thing length white skirt with a soft pink coloured coloured sweater that seemed to inadvertently accentuate her slender curves.

Hermione coughed nervously. “I’m looking for Harry Potter...” she started to say. Harry was at the door the minute her heard her voice. He thought Draco had left and had gone to make sure he hadn’t burnt dinner.

“Hermione....” he said, quickly taking her arm and pulling her inside.

Draco watched with interest, taking in Harry’s protective stance as he pulled Hermione into him. Hermione, once she was past being surprised, looked at Harry with such open admiration that Draco felt his stomach lurch with the sweetness of it. It made sense now. Potter had a girlfriend. That’s why he’d wanted to back off and was thinking of quitting. Draco would bet anything that this Hermione knew nothing about Harry’s job. Interesting.

Draco left with a nod, shutting the door behind him.

Harry stared at the closed door momentarily before looking back at Hermone.

“Who was that?” she asked, stepping towards Harry
.

“Just someone I work for,” harry said with a shrug. The way he said it left little doubt that it was something he didn’t want to talk about. Hermione respected that. She wasn’t here to talk about anything uncomfortable for either of them. She was here to spend time with Harry.

“Okay,” she responded with a shrug.

At her acceptance of this, Harry decided that he was going to tell Hermione everything. He was going to tell her the truth, even if it mean losing her. She deserved that much. But then Hermione smiled at him and walked into his arms. Feeling her wrapped up against him felt so perfect that Harrycouldn’t bring himself to do it. Not yet. He just wanted one more perfect night with her. And as he held her he had to believe that it was all going to work out. That it was all going to be okay.

“So....you’re here,” he said with a smile as he pulled back from their hug slightly to look down at Hermione’s beautiful face.

Her smiled widened and she chuckled softly. “I’m here,” she confirmed. “Now....whatever are you going to do with me?” Her smiled turned suggestive taking Harry a little off guard. He leaned down stealing a quick kiss before answering.

“I’m going to feed you,” he told her.

Hermione let out a laugh. “Sounds good.” Harrytook her hand in his own and led her into the kitchen. He sat her down at the table and she watched as he walked around and lit all the candles that were spread throughout the room. He disappeared then for a few moments. When he came back he offered her a small smile as he went to serve her food.

Hermiones eyes sparkled with delight. She couldn’t believe all the work that Harry had gone through. He was setting two plates out on the table when Hermione gave him a questioning look followed by a disappointed sigh. “I thought you said you were going
feed me,” she said with a teasing pout.

Harry chuckled. He stopped what he was doing and pulled her up from her chair, sitting himself down in her place before pulling her down onto his lap. “ I think we can arrange that.”

Hermione, who had been slightly surprised at Harry’s quick reaction, was more than a little please and excited by this new situation. The night was certainly starting out in the right direction.

So they started eating. Opting to use the chopsticks he’d set out, he brought a bite of food to Hermione’s mouth. She eagerly accepted the bite, after which her tongue darted out from between her moist lips to catch any stray food.

Harry swallowed hard, watching in rapt fascination as her eyes briefly closed while she chewed. When she opened her eyes, they met his and she smiled. “You’re a good cook, Harry. I think I’m going to have to keep you around,” she joked.

“You think so huh?”

Hermione nodded, biting her lower lip.

Dinner was a study in self control for Harry. Hermione was just so amazing to watch. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she was.

Aside from a few stolen kisses between bites, they managed to make it through dinner, taking turns feeding each other. By silent agreement they kept things lighthearted, both knowing that if they didn’t, it could get out of control quickly. They were almost finished and Harry was relieved that’d he’d made it through without Hermione realizing just how aroused he was by the whole experience. He was feeding her one last bite when she shifted her tiny bottom against his lap. The motion was very subtle, but it shot through Harry, causing him to lost his grip on the chopsticks in his hand. The result was Hermione’s shirt full of rice and vegetables.

“Oh god, Hermione....I’m so sorry,” Harry exclaimed. He immediately reached for a napkin and began to help her clean it up. He had to stop himself when his hand brushed up against her breast. His eyes shot up quickly to meet Hermione’s at the intimate contact. They just stared at each other, both sets of eyes reflecting their steadily increasing desire.

Harry knew that if he kissed her now, he wouldn’t want to stop at that. He’d have to touch her. And once he touched her.....

Hermione pulled away first, making the decision for him.

“Uhm....I should really clean this so that the stain ...uhm so that it doesn’t set,” she said. She let her hair fall down slightly over her face curtaining her flush of embarrassment and desire.

Harry helped Hermione off his lap and watched as she went scourgified the stain away…. After the bathroom door shut, he collapsed down into a chair in the living room, his head in his hands. Hermione Granger was going to be the death of him and she didn’t have any idea what she was doing to him.

Hermione was fighting her own struggle. Dinner had been incredibly arousing. She didn’t know why but there was just something about the way Harry had kept looking at her, like he was devouring her with his eyes. It had made her insides quiver, stirring up feelings she’d never felt before. And even though it was slightly scary, she liked it.

Pulling her sweater over her head, she set about trying to get the stain out. It took a few moments but she finally managed, as she was so aroused and was shaking Taking a deep breath, she decided that despite her nervousness about everything, she couldn’t leave Harry out there by himself all night. And she still wanted things to move forward.

Harry’s head came up quickly when he heard the door to the bathroom start to open. Hermione’s head peaked out. “Harry...sorry I was so long’’

Harry smiled and held his hand out to her. The candles in the room were all lit, glowing brightly as Harry led Hermione toward the center of the room. He stood Hermione in the middle of the floor and told her to stay. Then he went over to the small stereo that sat on top of the TV. Pretty soon music filled the tiny apartment.

“May I have this dance?” Harry asked dramatically.

“Oh...of course,” Hermione responded breaking out into a smile as Harry pulled her into his arms, barely waiting for her answer.

As the music played, Harry danced her around the room, making her laugh with his playfulness. It felt good to be like this, to just enjoy each other’s company without interruption. Hermione loved every moment she got to spend with Harry. He’d made everything in her life seem that much better.
They danced for what seemed like hours, not really paying attention to the songs, just to each other and the way it felt to hold and be held. Quite suddenly though, the mood seemed to shift. The playfulness began to fade as seriousness set in. Harry was drawn into the emotions in Hermione’s eyes and instinctively pulled her to him, holding her closer and more tightly. Hermione’s own arms tightened around Harry as the music filled the room. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. But the breath only succeeded in making it race as she inhaled the scent of Harry. Merlin!...he was just so....incredible. She could hardly believe that he wanted her.
Harry was experiencing much the same thing. His senses were nearing overload with the smell and feel of Hermione surrounding him. His body, which he’d kept in check for most of the evening, was no longer heeding him and was reacting to everything about her.

They both pulled back at the same time, neither able to hold off any longer. Their mouths came together quickly . The kiss was deceptively gentle and sweet despite the urgency they both felt. It deepened quickly though and soon their bodies were pressed together, no longer dancing.

Hermione could feel her knees growing weak as Harry’s lips left her own to trail soft kisses along her chin and down the smooth column of her throat. It felt so good. Like his touch was stimulating nerve cells that she hadn’t been aware existed before this. She felt alive. She felt undone. “Harry.....maybe we should just lie down,” Hermione suggested, trying to catch her breath still.

Harry pulled back a little and nodded shortly. Hermione bit back a gasp at the look in his eyes. They’d gone dark and she couldn’t quite place the emotions she was reading in them. In the next moment they were there, on the couch, kissing again. Hermione’s hands began to wander. She could feel the corded muscles underneath Harry’s sweater. But that wasn’t enough, she wanted to see them and to touch them without the barrier of clothing. “Harry...” she gasped out between heated kisses, “can you take your shirt off?”

Harry paused his assault, swallowing hard before nodding. He fumbled momentarily before his brain caught up with the rest of his body. Then he quickly pulled the sweater up and over his head.

Hermione greedily drank in the sight of Harry and his magnificent torso. She just wanted to stare.....no she wanted to touch. Harry watched with baited breath as Hermione looked him over. He could see curiosity and desire in her eyes. They she was reaching forward and her small, warm hand was splayed across his chest, touching him. He sucked in a breath at the contact. “You’re so beautiful, Harry,” she whispered in awe as she continued her exploration.
The emotions flooding through Harry from her gently caress were almost overwhelming. He let her have free reign for awhile but as her hands began to drift lower he stopped her. “I...I want to see you too, Hermione,” he whispered.

Hermione nodded, giving Harry a shy smile. His hands went quickly to the hem of the shirt she was wearing. He brought it up and over her head. Her hair fell in disarray as he removed the shirt, settling over her shoulders once again.

Again Harry sucked in a deep breath. He hadn’t been prepared though for what he was seeing. She had some kind of lingerie on underneath that ssweater and it was leaving very little to the imagination. He could see the curves of her breasts, could see how they moved with each of the breaths she was taking, and the dark colour of nipples that made the fabric pucker.

Oh...Merlin . He was going to lose it. She was so beautiful.

He wanted so many things to happen at once but was so unsure that he could only do the one thing that he was certain of. He kissed her. And in that one kiss he conveyed everything that he was feeling; how much he adored her and cared for her, how much he wanted her.

As Hermione returned the demanding kiss, she moved to position herself more comfortably, lying back on the couch and pulling Harry down on top of her. His lips were lethal, she decided. They made her dizzy and light headed. Made her think only of the way he made her feel, they way she wanted nothing else in the world but him.

She gulped in air as Harry’s mouth broke from hers, moving to explore newly exposed skin. His mouth grazed her neck, pausing briefly to suck lightly on the skin over her pulse. As he did this, his hands were touching her in a way that he hadn’t touched her before. Ever so slowly his caress began, starting at her hip and moving up, reaching her stomach and then going up further still. Harry could feel Hermione’s skin beneath the flimsy material. Hermione’s own anticipation increased as Harry’s fingers grazed her rib cage. Instinctively she arched her back urging him closer to her.

Hermione let out a slight gasp as his hand moved, brushing against her breast. Then Harry’s mouth was back on hers, urging her with his tongue to open up to him. She granted his request and their tongues clashed together, dueling fiercely.

T.B.C….

Harry’s warm fingers brushed Hermione’s breast again, this time prolonging the contact slightly. Hermione groaned into his mouth. It was almost like he was teasing her. She didn’t want him to tease her, she just wanted to feel him touching her, like she’d been imagining him doing since they’d met. She was afraid that at any moment he might stop, so bringing her hand up from where it rested against his back, Hermine took his hand in hers moving it so that his hand completely encompassed her breast.

As Harry cupped the weight of her breast in his hands he broke their kisses. He looked at her, her lips swollen, her eyes shut, her hair messed up. She was so perfect. He looked down at his hand. She fit right in his palm....like she was made to be touched and loved by him.

“Mm...Harry..” she moaned as he kneaded the soft supple flesh he’d just discovered. She was so responsive to him. Every touch elicited a moan or a sigh from her lips. It was like she’d never been touched like this before.

Through his fog of desire, his thought registered. Hermione hadn’t ever been touched like this before. This was all new to her. Breathing hard, Harry made a reluctant decision. He broke the kiss, slowly pulling back from her and settling his weight onto his forearms.

“What’s.....wrong?” Hermione asked breathlessly.

“We...need to ....slow down,” Harry told her.

“Why?”

Why? For a moment, looking down at her he was unsure. He saw uncertainty and insecurity flash in her eyes then and remembered. Even though his body was ready, his heart was telling him that this was too fast.

He leaned his forehead against Hermione’s momentarily, trying to catch his breath. Finally he pulled back, kissing her lightly on the temple.

She looked confused and suddenly very shy. “Did I...” she started to say.

“No...NO...I just, I think that we should slow down. There’s no need for us to rush things between us, Hermione. I plan on spending a lot of nights with you in the future. We don’t have to rush the physical part. Do you understand?”

“It’s not me then?” she asked.

“It’s not me then?” she asked.

Harry shook his head adamantly. “No... You...you’re beautiful and amazing and incredibly sexy. I’d like nothing more than to continue this. But ....I want things to move forward naturally as we get to know each other. I want us to get to a point where we don’t have any secrets from each other. Where you know what I’m thinking and I know what you’re thinking. And then when we’re so completely in tune with each other that nothing can come between us...then I’m going to make love to you and cherish you and it will be amazing.” His voice was a whisper by the time he finished.

Harry could feel tears welling up in her eyes at Harry’s words. It was a testament to how much he cared for her that he was slowing down the physical part of the relationship. She was still so new at this. She was grateful that Harry was being so wonderful and understanding. She smiled up at him. “I think that this means that we need to spend as much time together as possible. I want to know you, Harry. I want to know everything,” she said.

Harry smiled and gave her a brief kiss. “Me too. I mean...I want you to know me, to know everything.”

Hermione opened the door to the apartment as quietly as she could. It was after seven in the morning and she was just now getting back from Harry’s place. She took her shoes off and tiptoed across the living room floor, making a beeline for her bedroom. She was just about to reach for the doorknob when she heard a loudly whispered “Hermione Jayne Granger .”

She turned around slowly and came face to face with a shocked Luna.

“Oh…hello Luna. What are you doing up so early on a Saturday?” Hermione asked casually. Maybe if she
played innocent, Luna would let this slide.

But obviously…it didn’t work.

“Hermione…tell me you didn’t just get back from your date with Harry,” Luna said. She didn’t need Hermione to tell her. She already knew that was the case though, because she’d gone to check on Hermione at least three times during the night and all three times she had been absent from her bed.

“Look, Luna…I don’t know why you’re making this into a big deal,” Hermione said with a shrug. She was having a little trouble with Luna’s attitude all of the sudden. She couldn’t understand how Luna could buy her ‘just in case’ panties one minute, even going as far as to make sure Hermione new the contraceptive charm, just in case she said.., and then …she was being all motherly and concerned, acting like Hermione had just committed the biggest mistake of her life. Rolling her eyes in Luna’s general direction, Hermione decided to try and get out of this conversation as quickly as possible. She turned away from Luna and went in to her room. She needed to take a shower and then go in to the lab for a little while. She had work to finish from yesterday.

Luna wasn’t very good at ready subtle hints. She wasn’t very good at reading blatant ones either,
because she followed Hermione into her room and immediately bombarded her with questions.

“So what happened? Did you do it? Was it good? Did he hurt you? Did you spend the whole night with him?” ‘’ I bet you never discussed the mating rituals of the Horn rimmed dingle bats did you?’’

Hermione collapsed onto the bed with a sigh, knowing Luna wasn’t going to relent until she’d gotten some sort of information out of Hermione, information that Hermione wasn’t ready to part with. It was still too new and special to share with anyone. Even an anyone that happened to be her best friend.

“Well….” She finally started, “Nothing happened in regards to sex. That automatically makes the other questions moot. I guess…. that I went with thoughts of things progressing in that way but that’s not what happened. He stopped us and told me that he wanted to slow down until we know each other better. He was right. Not to mention so sweet and amazing…and I can’t even think of enough adjectives to describe everything that he is. We just talked until we both fell asleep.” Hermione smiled. She was still giddy over the way it felt to wake up in his arms. It had been incredible. She’d dreamed her whole adult life of that moment and it had been perfect. Once Harry had woken up he’d kissed her good morning and made her breakfast. After breakfast he’d walked her out to his car , drove her home & where he’d kissed her goodbye and promised to see her that
night.

Hermione knew that if she wasn’t already in love with Harry Potter she was definitely almost there. Definitely falling.

***

Oliver Wood watched, mouth agape as the broom nose dived , skimming the edge of the pitch .

Harry loved to fly dangerously… Harry dismounted slowly and made his way over to his long time friend Oliver Wood. They’d been friends since school when they had gotten stuck practicing there flying and handling of the brooms together. They had ruled their school Quidditch sports department. Then after school, they’d both had gotten enough good grades to play proffessionaly for a while for ‘’Godric’s Griffins’’ a new up and coming team based in Godrics Hollow were they both grew up.. So they’d kept in touch over the years. Oliver knew all about Harry and his life.

Now he was going to know all about Harry and his love life.

“So…. you say she’s perfect eh?” Oliver asked as he set up his own shot. It left his hands and swooshed the broom around in the air. “Perfect barely touches the surface Oliver. She’s smart and funny and beautiful. I can talk to her about anything and everything it seems. It all just comes so naturally, like being with her is meant to be,” Harry told him.

Was that a sigh? Did Oliver just hear Harry sigh with…Dear Merlin; the sigh was laced with contentment. That was…. a miracle. Oliver took in Harry’s grin, which then turned into a frown . He knew that something was up.
He just had to figure what exactly…

“So what’s the problem? It sounds like things are great,” Oliver said walking to stand next to Harry.

“Are you sure you want to talk about this? It could take awhile. We might need to sit down,” Harry told him.

They walked over and grabbed their bottles of water and sat on the benches by the field. Harry took a deep breath. “I know I said that I could talk to her about anything. While it’s completely incredible…. it’s also part of the problem. I want to tell her everything; about my parents and those old bill I had to pay before I found out about the hoard of money. …my bad decisions, but I’m afraid that once she knows, I’ll lose her,” he admitted.

“Harry, pal, listen. If Hermione is a great as a girl as you say she is then she’s not going to care about that other stuff. In fact…she’ll probably even try to help you out in anyway that she can. But that can’t happen unless you tell her the truth. What about the job with the ferret ?”

Harry shook his head somewhat shamefully. “ I have to take three more assignments. One was supposed to be this morning but it got postponed at the last minute by owl… then I’m done. Draco Malfoy sort of blackmailed me. I have to tell Hermione though, because I don’t trust him. He was at the apartment yesterday when Hermione came over and I saw the way he was looking at her. He’s not a nice guy. In the end it doesn’t matter what he does to me, just as long as he stays away from her.”

Harry sighed again. “I’ll never regret it for one second, though. If I did that would be like saying that I regret things with Hermione. What I regret is lying to her.”

“Look, tell her the truth. Tell her how much you care about her and how sorry you are for keeping it from her. If she can’t accept that then maybe she isn’t the girl you think she is. But you’ll never know until you tell her.”

Oliver was right. As scared as he was of losing Hermione, he’d have to take the risk if he wanted her to be a permanent part of his life.

***

“So, where’s Ginny? I feel like I haven’t seen her in a couple of weeks,” Hermione commented. She and Luna were having a girl’s night, sitting on the couch in their sweats as they watched a movie and talked while eating all sort of junk food.

“Oh…she’s been around, you’ve just been too busy with lover boy to notice,” Luna teased. “ Seriously though, she’s going psycho about wedding plans. There’s just two months left now and she’s afraid that something’s going to go wrong,” Luna explained.

Ginny was a bit of a perfectionist. Well, that was actually a gross understatement. Ginny was a nightmare when it came to perfectionism. Especially when it had to do with the wedding of her dreams. She had everything planned perfectly. The minute shy, retiring Neville had proposed, she’d called and booked the church and reception hall for a date that was exactly a year and two months away. She’d insisted that it would take her that long to finalize everything. She’d already had everything planned in her mind for several years. Now it was about putting it together.

Hermione had laughed and mocked Gin behind her back for sometime until she’d realized just how much planning a wedding took. Having a whole year really was a good idea. Hermione wondered now how long she’d need to plan hers and Harry’s wedding.

As soon as she thought this, she stopped herself. Whoa. Where had that thought come from. She and Harry had only been together a little more than a month. That was definitely jumping the gun there. Wasn’t it?

Trying to reign in her thoughts, Hermione refocused on Luna. “So is everything starting to come together for her?” she asked.

“Yeah…I mean I haven’t heard her get upset about anything for awhile. She did tell me that we need to go in for another dress fitting. She wants us to try on our dresses when she tries hers on. She says she wants to make sure that we aren’t going to distract others with our dresses.” Luna just looked away wistfully... “As if that’s even possible.”

Hermione giggled.

Their eyes were drawn back to the TV screen then as the scene in the movie switched. Their favourite actor was about to take his shirt off. Luna was just starting to drool when the door wards buzzed.

Hermione quickly got up to answer it. She was pleasantly surprised to find Harry standing in front of her.

“Harry…” she said, leaning up to kiss him hello. “What are you doing here?” she asked with a smile. “ I thought you were going out with your friend Oliver tonight.”

He only gave her a partial smile in return. “I needed to come talk you about something, something important.”

Hermione took in his nervousness and hesitancy and began to worry. Something was up. “We can talk in my room,” she told him, aware of the curious looks they were receiving from Luna.

He nodded and let her take his hand and lead him. He gave Luna a brief hello before he and Hermione disappeared into her room.

He stood there in the doorway for a moment, taking it all in. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in her room, but it might be the last. He turned his attention to Hermione. She sat on the foot of her bed, starring up at him, a worried expression on her face.

“Harry…is something wrong?” she asked, her voice quiet. She looked so vulnerable, sitting there in her oversized sweats, that he almost lost his nerve. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to lose her. He knew his life would go back to what it was before, boring and monotonous, just going through the motions. He didn’t want that. He wanted to feel…the way he always felt with Hermione, like everything was new and exciting.

He sat down next to her on the bed, taking her hand in his own. He was silent for a moment as he brought her hand up to his lips, kissing it ever so gently. “There are some things I need to tell you about myself, things that are hard for me to talk about. It’s taken me a long time to work up the nerve…so uhm, here it goes.” He paused, looking up at Hermione. For a moment his heart stopped at the love and support and encouragement he saw there. It gave him some hope that maybe this would turn out okay after all.

She gave his hand a squeeze, urging him to start and so he did.

“When I was…oh seventeen, I was to inherit my parents fortune…everyone in Godrics hollow knew my parents had a vast amount of wealth accumulated, by various stock and deals…However what we didn’t know was that most of the money they had put aside for me, had been taken many years before by Lucius Malfoy, the father of the wizard you saw at my apartment the other night..There had been a mole of sorts, in my fathers financial circle and they had been feeding off him like vultures unbeknownst to him…

“Oh, Harry…Merlin‘s beard, I am so sorry. For everything… I...” Harry could see tears forming in Hermione’s eyes. He felt a pang in his heart to see that she was hurting now because of the way things in his life had gone. He’d never meant to make her sad.

“Hermione, it’s not you fault. It’s just the way life goes sometimes.” He took a deep breath. He had to go on, he couldn’t stop now. “After all the upheaval and my mothers own early demise, my Dad died of a broken heart I was pretty much on my own. I decided that my mum & dad would have wanted for me to move forward. So I went back to school. But I still had to find a way to pay the hospital bills. I should have just waited on school and got another job. All I could think though was that the sooner I finished school, the sooner I’d have money to pay those bills.” Harry took a deep breath and looked up at Hermione.

“You have to understand that I was desperate and not thinking clearly. I made the biggest mistake of my life because I was looking for an easy way out.”

Hermione took in the regret that was clearly written all over Hermione’s face. “What…what is it, you can tell me.”

“I took a job that I’m not very proud of. But it paid a lot of money and before I knew it, the bills were getting paid and I still had some to live off of and I had time to keep up with my schoolwork & pay an investigator to track the Malfoy‘s accounts & try and recoup what my parents had lost yrs before... I…”

Hermione began to worry. Was he involved in something illegal? Was it drugs?

“I was……a Male Escort. I took women on dates for money,” he finally said.

For a second Hermione was so relieved that she almost laughed. That was hardly illegal. But the wheels in her head began to turn. The implications of what he’d said…and how it included her came together in her mind quickly.

“Oh...Merlin! That’s why you took me out isn’t it?” she said, dropping his hand like she’d been burned.

“No…I mean… yes… I mean that’s how it got set up. ‘’Luna & Ginny didn’t know I now give all my money to the orphanages, as I had eventually had a lot of success in tracking down Malfoy’s stocks and the wizarding council over ruled the Malfoy’s counter claims.’’ ‘’I am now, as it stands, a very rich wizard Hermione, but I have another secret. I took on a dangerous task by training as an Auror. I am undercover Hermione.. I am on a mission now tracking the young Malfoy’s businness transactions as we at the ministry, fear he is dealing in Dark Art antiquities… but were not sure‘’Hermione quickly wiped at the tears that were falling. She wanted to believe Harry…and she did, but that didn’t take away the hurt that she was feeling right now. Hurt that came from Harry lying to her… from Luna lying to her.

“Harry…I uh, I need some time,” she told him. “I have to think.”

Harry nodded. “ I understand. I … I just wanted you to know the whole truth. And I’ll be waiting…whenever you’re ready.” ‘But please realise, Malfoy is my superintendant Hermione’’, & I have no other choice if I want to bring him down, but beware, he is watching you ,as he likes me to suffer greatly’’….

Hermione gave a nod, indicating that she understood what he was saying, and turned away.

Harry watched her, feeling defeated as he turned and walked out the door. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but this hurt him…because he’d never intended to hurt Hermione.

After Harry left looking defeated and like he’d lost his best fried, Luna decided that she’d better do her duty as best friend and check on Hermione. She knocked and when she didn’t hear an answer, she went it. She found Hermione sitting on the bed crying into a stuffed owl that Harry had given to her on their third date.

“Mione?” she asked softly.

Hermione looked up and when she saw Luna, her eyes flashed with anger and she immediately jumped off the bed. “You lied to me,” she said, the hurt and anger in her voice was evident.

“What?”

“You lied to me. On my Birthday. You didn’t tell me that you hired Harry to go out with me, that you had to pay him to date me.”

Luna immediately felt guilty.

“Hermione…listen, you have to know that we didn’t mean for things to happen the way they did. We just wanted you to have a fun night. We didn’t expect your date to be an Adonis and we didn’t expect for him to take one look at you and fall in love. We didn’t expect for you to fall for him either. He…. he wouldn’t even keep any money . I never realized that it would go this far. I never expected any of this. I just wanted you to start dating and I stuck my big nose into everything…and now …and now…”

By then Luna was in tears and Hermione just stood there, staring at her bumbling friend. Luna was obviously very sorry for what she’d done. But that wasn’t what Hermione was focusing on.

Harry hadn’t taken any money for the date.

For some reason, it relieved her to know that.

Hermione eventually calmed Luna down and they were able to talk about the situation rationally. Luna wisely let Hermione do all the talking, knowing that her status as a friend had already been questioned once that evening. She didn’t need to jeopardize things any further by opening her big mouth and saying the wrong thing.

As Hermione continued to talk about the situation and to try and understand Harry’s point of view, she began to realize how hard this must have been for him. And yes…she was angry with him for lying to her, but she’d been more hurt than anything. Her pride had taken a huge blow at his admission, because it had taken hiring an escort service to find her a date. That didn’t exactly do wonders for her self-esteem.

Hermione put Harry’s shirt on to wear to bed, and as she was surrounded by his scent she thought back to all the incredible moments they’d shared. She knew that he hadn’t been insincere. She could see that he wasn’t purposely trying to keep things from her. She’d never pursued the issue with him either. She sighed…. she could still feel what it was like to kiss him, to have him touch her the way no one else had ever touched her. With these things all lingering in her mind…Hermione made a decision. She knew what she had to do.

***

Harry tossed and turned the whole night. He couldn’t get the hurt look on Hermione’s face out of his mind. He never wanted her to hurt and here he was, the one that caused it. He wasn’t worthy of her and he wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to see him again.

He was staring at the ceiling watching the way the shadows receded as the sun came up for the day when he heard knocking on his front door. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was a little after six am. He quickly pulled on a t-shirt and went to answer the door.

He opened it and was surprised when a petite brown haired figure rushed into the room. Hermione. He could only stare at her. She was wearing his t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Her hair looked like she’d hastily pulled it back into a ponytail. There were tired lines under her eyes. He’d never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. He could hardly believe that she was standing in front of him.

She looked so sad and serious. This couldn’t be good. He didn’t care though. If this was the end that at least he’d gotten to see her this one last time…

His thoughts were interrupted by Hermione’s voice.

“Don’t say anything. Just let me talk,” she started. “ I just have to get this all out. Then you can have your turn. I…I’m upset that you kept the truth from me. It’s hard to build a relationship when there isn’t complete honesty. It made me wonder if any part of our relationship was real or honest.” She looked up at Harry and he swallowed hard. This was it. This was what he’d been trying to prepare himself for; it was time for a well-deserved rejection. He couldn’t even look at her as she began to speak again. He didn’t want to see her face as his heart was breaking.

“ I thought about it all last night and I realized that the most honest thing about our relationship was the way we felt about each other. The way we still feel.” At this Harry looked up. She wasn’t rejecting him. She wasn’t telling him to go to hell. She was…she was stepping closer to him.

He took a deep breath and had to fight the urge to kiss her breath away.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of love and understanding. “ I’m not mad at you, Harry. I’m hurt that you didn’t tell me the truth right away, but I understand that it was very hard and that this situation was beyond your control. You did the right thing by telling me everything because we couldn’t have moved forward until you did. And the things is…I want to be with you and I don’t care about your past & any mistakes. All I care about now…is our future.” ‘’If there is anything I can do to bring Malfoy down for you, let me help’’..

Harry stared down into the face of the woman he loved and pulled her to him, practically crushing her. “You really mean that?” he asked. He could hardly believe that this was happening. He’d been so sure that he wasn’t worthy of Hermione or her forgiveness that he hadn’t dared to imagine that it could work out this way.

Hermione nodded and tightened her own hold around Harry. “ I really mean it,” she whispered. And to further prove her self, she stood on the tips of her toes and took his face in her hands, bring it closer to hers and kissed him. With that kiss she conveyed everything…her forgiveness, her trust, her understanding and most importantly…her love. He could feel it and eagerly returned the sentiment by reciprocating the kiss. When they were finally forced to pull apart for air, Harry leaned his forehead against Hermione’s, settling arms around her wait. “Thank you,” he told…his felt his eyes start to water… “For everything.

Hermione shook her head. “No…thank you, for wanting me enough to take a chance.” She smiled up at him so beautifully then that he had to kiss her again.

They were finally forced apart later that morning when Harry had to go to the ministry and Hermione also. Hermione promised Harry that she would be back later and she’d bring dinner. They still had plenty they needed to talk about.

Despite being tired and preoccupied with thoughts of each other, the couple did manage to make it through the day apart. At six o’clock Hermione showed up with a pizza. They got comfortable on the couch and started talking. Hermione had some things that she needed Harry to clear up for her.

“So…these women that you did take out…what were they like?” she asked.

Harry looked a little surprised at this first question, and then he looked hesitant. “Do you really want to talk about this?” He could see how uncomfortable she’d become and knew that this was going to be a difficult conversation to get through.

“Yes. I really think that we need to. I need to know everything because if I don’t there are things that I might assume to be true that aren’t. And it will bother me. Then I’ll try to hide the fact that it bothers me, but you’ll notice anyway because you can read me so well. Then I’ll just lie and say it’s nothing. It’ll go on like that, you knowing something is wrong, me saying it’s nothing, until it just taints the entire relationship. So I really need to talk about this.” Hermione knew that she was babbling and it was almost like she was trying to convince herself because even though she didn’t really want to know, she certainly needed to know.

“Okay… so the women are mostly older, either widowed or with husbands that work all the time. As their escorts we…accompany them to social dinners, charity events…plays…things along those lines. The women usually pass us off as relatives of some sort. It isn’t exactly socially acceptable to have to hire someone to be your date. For the most part, they're just lonely people. There’s one woman…Mrs. Jenkins that hires me to come…uh…play cards with her. She treats me like a grandson. Although…its sort of hard for me to take her money. If I didn’t want to give it to the orphanage then I would probably just do it for free. But I started off for the bills, as you well know, but then I started feeling lonely and hoped I would meet Miss right if I carried on…”

Hermione smiled at that. It was another reason for her to love Harry. He had a really big heart. She knew that it had to be awkward for him to be a part of any of this.

“So, from that I assume that twenty three year women don’t usually call for dates huh?” she teased.

Harry shook his head. “Twenty-three year old women, like yourself, are pretty capable of getting dates for themselves.”

Hermione’s smile faded and she looked quite sad suddenly.

“What…sweetheart? Did I say something wrong?” Harry asked, immediately sorry and concerned.

“No…uh… I’m just …you know when you told me that Luna had hired you, I guess for the most part, I was upset because the only way I could get a date was to pay someone. I just, I never thought it would come to that and it made me start to wonder what was so wrong with me and why you’d even want to be with me.” The tears slipped from her eyes before she could catch them.

Harry quickly pulled Hermione into his arms. “

Merlin…Hermione, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. Nothing. You’re so amazing that I wake up and wonder what you even see in me. You’re smart and funny and beautiful and… perfect. You smile and it makes the whole day seem that much better. I can’t think of a single reason why you’d never been on a date before. But I’m glad that I got to change that. This is selfish of me, I know… but I’m glad that no one else knows just how special you are because they might try and take you away from me and I can’t let that happen. You mean everything to me and I know that this is meant to be. I’ve never loved the way I already love you,” he told her, his voice hoarse with emotion.

Hermione really was crying now. “Oh, Harry…” She wrapped her arms around his waist, settling herself for more firmly in his embrace. His fingers moved to sift through her hair, while one hand ran soothingly up and down her back.

Harry kissed the top of her head. “You still have other questions?” he asked softly. He knew that Hermione need to get some answers and he would tell her everything. He didn’t want to keep anything from her anymore. And he was secure enough in the way they felt about each other to know that she wasn’t going to turn away from him.

Hermione nodded and pulled back a little to look up into his face. She looked away shyly at the next question. “You don’t have to…you’ve never had to… uhm… ‘do’ anything with these women…h-have you?” she asked. She was embarrassed for even asking the question and continued to look down at the coffee table once the question was asked.

Harry took her chin and gently pulled it back to make her face him. “No. I would never do that. But I could never be with someone I didn’t love. As desperate as I was for money I would never resort to that.”

Hermione gave him a small smile. Hermione was having trouble remembering if she had any more questions. She was more aware and focused on how tightly Harry was holding her and how his eyes looked really incredible from the angle she was sitting. And how she really, really just wanted to kiss him right then.

“Harry…are you still hungry?” she asked softly, referring to the now cold pizza that was sitting on the coffee table.

Harry gave a cursory glance to the open box of pizza. “No…maybe later.”

Hermione smiled and then pressed her lips to his. Harry’s kisses were better than food.

*** So they were working through things. Hermione knew everything about Harry that he’d been keeping from her. They were now free to be completely open with one another. For Harry’s part he was definitely more relaxed now that he’d told Hermione the truth. He wasn’t afraid of their relationship moving forward because he didn’t have any more secrets.

A whole week went by without incident. They spent practically all of their free time together at Harry’s apartment. Hermione would come and read a book while Harry studied, or they’d watch TV or just talk. Sometimes they just took naps together on the couch. It was just about being able to be around each other.

Harry did feel bad though about not taking her out like he did when they first started dating. When he told Hermione, she laughed at him. “ I don’t need to go on dates. Being with you is enough. Besides…save your money for my Christmas present later on this year,” she teased. “I like spending time alone with you…without anyone to interrupt us. It means I get to kiss you as much as I want, whenever I want.”

“Well…when you put it that way…” Harry smiled at her and kissed her then to show her that he agreed that staying in was definitely better.

It was almost eleven pm and they were lying on the couch watching a muggle tv programme called *Torchwood*, both about to fall asleep. Hermione yawned and lifted her head from Harry’s chest. “Maybe we should go to bed. I’m tired and you look like you going to drift off at any minute,” she said. Her hand went up and gently rubbed along his shoulder.

Harry sleepily agreed. It took a moment, but what she said finally hit him. She didn’t mean that she was going to go back to her apartment to her bed and he would go to his. She meant both of them sleeping together in his bed. It shouldn’t have shocked him really. The last few nights they’d both slept on his couch together. Sleeping in his bed wouldn’t be any different except that it would obviously be more comfortable for the both of them. Harry liked the fact that Hermione didn’t want to leave.

His eyes opened fully finally and locked with hers. “Are you sure?” he asked, his right hand came up to lazily sift through her silky hair.

Hermione nodded, biting her lower lip.

“Okay, then. Let’s go to bed,” he told her. They manoeuvred themselves off the couch and Harry led Hermione back toward his bedroom.

“Do you have a t-shirt I could borrow?” she asked.

“I don’t know…I never got the other one back,” he gave her a teasing smile.

“I’m keeping that one. This one I promise to leave here for the next time.”

Her smile made his heart beat a little faster. Or it could have been her words. She was going to be spending more than just tonight with him. She’d just stated it like it was a given.

He saw Hermione blush and remembered how new this all was for her. It was actually pretty new for him too. Aside from a bumbling experience that he barely remembered from his freshman year of college, he’d never been this close to a woman. He’d never really wanted to be this close.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Hermione told him. He watched as her bare feet padded across the carpeted bedroom floor, taking her away from him. With a sigh, he took a glance at his room and jumped into gear. He needed to pick up, badly. He hadn’t been expecting to end up in his bedroom and so his dirty clothes were strewn about everywhere. He didn’t want Hermione to think he was a slob.

As he was shoving things into his closet, he remembered a t-shirt for Hermione and rummaged through his dresser. Finding one, he put it outside the bathroom door and knocked. “Hermione, I put a t-shirt out here for you,” he said through the door.

A soft thank you could be heard from inside. The door opened then and Hermione smiled out at him. “Uhm…. Harry do you think that I could maybe use your toothbrush?”

Harry smiled. “Ah…well…you can if you want, but I sort of bought you one when I was at the grocery store today. It’s in the cabinet. I figured that since you’ve been here the past few mornings you might like to have one here, just it case.” He was awarded another of Hermione’s beautiful smiled.

“I’ll kiss you to thank you after I brush my teeth,” she told him.

Harry went back to the bedroom then and finished picking things up. After shoving the rest of his dirty clothes out of sight, he straightened up the bed to the sheets as rumpled and then dug out an extra blanket from the closet, just is case Hermione got cold. After that was done, he changed his clothes, discarding everything but his boxers and grey t-shirt. As an after thought he pulled off the grey t-shirt and grabbed a clean white one from the drawer.

He’d just finished pulling the shirt on when he heard the door to the bathroom open. A moment later, Hermione appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. Her clothes were folded neatly and she set them on top of Harry’s desk. His eyes looked her up and down. The t-shirt he’d given her was way too big on her. She looked like she was swimming in it. She looked so…sexy wearing his clothes. He was trying in vain to pretend like the sight of Hermione in nothing more than a t-shirt wasn’t causing a tent to form in his boxers.

Clearing his throat he forced himself to look only at her face. She gave him a shy smile though that only heightened his arousal. He needed calm himself down. “Uh…go ahead and pick your side. I’m going to brush my teeth.”

He quickly made his way to the bathroom. He needed to focus on something other than the fact that Hermione was waiting for him…in his bed. He jerkily reached for his toothbrush but paused at the sight of a pink toothbrush sitting in the toothbrush holder next to his green one. It just sort of stopped him. He liked it. It made his nervousness about the night disappear. It didn’t matter what did or didn’t happen. Just knowing that their toothbrushes now shared the same space was enough to remind Harry that this was right, being with Hermione was right.

He finished up in the bathroom as fast as he could. He wanted to get back to Hermione. He found her sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

“I couldn’t decide on a side,” she told him, smiling a little sheepishly. “ I usually sleep in the middle.”

Harry chuckled. “I guess we have a dilemma then ‘cause that’s where I sleep too. We’re going to have to compromise.”

Hermione blushed at the word as several compromising positions came to mind. She shook her head and stood up, not noticing how close Harry had gotten. His proximity startled her and she started to topple over. Harry reached out to steady her, one hand on her waist, the other on her shoulder.

Any awkwardness they’d felt flew out the window then, as deep brown eyes met glowing amber. Mouths came together and hands moved to explore. It was no longer a matter of who picked what side, but rather, where they ended up as a mass of tangled limbs tumbled onto the bed.

Their kisses were passionate and deep, spurred on by the sudden intimacy they were experiencing. Harry’s hands moved from her shoulder to her waist as they positioned themselves more comfortably on the bed. His lips left hers to trail a line of open-mouthed kisses down her jaw to the base of her throat. He licked and nipped at the skin exposed to him by the oversized collar of the t-shirt.

Hermione’s hands were also busy slipping underneath the hem of Harry’s shirt. She wanted to feel the way his taut muscles responded to her touch and how his smooth skin seemed to glide beneath her fingertips. As her hand strayed toward Harry’s front, he momentarily lost his concentration and his own hand slipped down, landing on the bare skin of her thigh. He was so intoxicated by her, by every breathy moan and sigh that he almost forgot that they weren’t ready for where this was quickly heading.

As if Hermione could sense his thoughts and subsequent hesitation, she pulled away from him, breathing hard. She desperately wanted to give in to the urges she was feeling, but she knew that it was too soon. If this relationship was going to work…they needed to take their time and not let themselves be ruled by their hormones.

“We should try and sleep…just sleep,” she finally whispered, her breathing still attempting to slow down.

“Yes…I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Hermione brought her finger to his lips to shush him. “I got carried away too. I …just…when you kiss me, I lose my head,” she admitted.

Harry closed his eyes…. he had to regain some control. Otherwise it would just start all over. He’d have to keep kissing her and touching her and if that happened…he wouldn’t be able to stop.

He took a deep breath and reopened his eyes. Then he disentangled himself from Hermione and got up to shut off the room light. He made his way back to the bed and slipped underneath the covers, pulling Hermione in next to him. “We’ll share the middle,” he told her softly.
Hermione giggled and snuggled closer to Harry, using the crook of his arm as a pillow. Then she draped her arm over his chest, entwining his leg with her own. She needed to be as close to him as possible. With a contented sigh she whispered “Good night Harry.” He tightened his hold on her and kissed the top of her head. “ ‘Night Mione.”

Harry was nervous. Almost a month had gone by and he’d yet to work the three assignements that Malfoy had made him agree to. Hermione knew that his hands were tied and that he had an obligation. She still felt funny about it though and she’d told Harry as much.

“From what you’ve told me about Malfoy…I don’t trust him. And I trust him even less after hearing what Luna had to say. He definitely has something up his sleeve,” Hermione told Harry.

“I don’t like it any more than you do, Hermione. Look, I’ll owl him if I don’t hear anything by tomorrow. I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime....let’s please talk about something else,” Harry suggested. They hadn’t had much time together in the past few weeks and he didn’t want to waste it talking about his crooked soon to be ex-boss.

“Okay...did I tell you the latest news about Ginny’s wedding? Tomorrow we have to go in for the final dress fitting. I’m kind of excited because our bridesmaids dresses are really pretty. Although not too pretty. We can’t out do Gin,” Hermione told him with a smile.

Harry laughed. “Well, I can honestly say that I won’t be looking at Ginny that day because I’m sure that even though you’re not supposed to be, you will be the most beautiful woman there.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Hermione blushed at his compliment and Harry had to kiss her on the lips that time because she was just too cute.

“So...we’re still on for this Saturday right?” Hermione asked, popping a French fry into her mouth.

Harry nodded. By chance Hermione had somehow managed to get them tickets to the latest musical showing at the local theatre. He knew that she was beyond excited and he couldn’t wait to take her out. The last time they’d gone on an actual date had been too long ago to count.

Hermione’s excitement over the evening was actually for other reasons. She’d been plotting a seduction in her head for several weeks. She was ready to move the physical part of their relationship forward. So far, they hadn’t moved past second base (according to the encyclopedia of Luna) and Hermione wanted more. She knew that Harry wanted her but they always reached a certain point and he would stop himself. She didn’t know why he always felt like he had to hold back but she was determined that Saturday night she was going to put his incredible control to the test. And with any luck...he’d fail in splendid fashion.

An errant thought crossed Hermione’s mind....Malfoy could ruin her plans with one little Owl. She’d have to think of something to keep that from happening. Or at least prepare herself for the disappointment of a canceled evening when it did.

****

Harry was awake bright and early the next morning thanks to the tapping of the glass panel on the window

“ Potter...long time to see, huh?”

“Can I help you with something, Draco?” Harry asked through clenched teeth.

“As a matter of fact you can. You see...We have another tip off and this one’s going to be big’ so I need your wand and your men ready at my disposal. ‘’You got that Potter?’

Harry swallowed hard. Of all the jobs...he would get stuck with Malfoy. He knew that he needed to talk to Hermione as soon as possible. “Fine,” he told Malfoy through clenched teeth. “Is that all?”

“Actually...no. I think that I want you to be on call all Saturday night. I’ve got all of the other guys lined up with jobs. You can make yourself available for any last minute assignements. I can call with the particulars sometime Saturday.”

“Saturday’s no good. I have other plans,” Harry started to say.

“Cancel them. You have obligations to me first. Whatever else you’ve got planned with her will have to wait,”
Malfoy told him.

Harry was ready to reach out beat the shit out of Malfoy.
Unable to get back to sleep, Harry got up and decided to study for his higher level exmas. He couldn’t afford to mess up . He had to try and focus a little. He could go talk to Hermione at the lab after his class. They could have lunch if she wasn’t too angry with him over his news.

The secretary at the front desk was a friend of Harry’s by now and she regretfully informed him later that Hermione wasn’t around. He went back to his apartment and found his owl patiently waiting for him

“Harry...sweetheart, it’s Hermione. Luna and Ginny kidnapped me from the lab today. We’re going to go to our last dress fitting and then spend the rest of the day at a spa. We’ve got dinner reservations for tonight. I was wondering if maybe you could see about switching shifts tonight to come along. Otherwise I won’t get to see you tonight. Okay...well I have to go. Ginny’s looking at her watch and then glaring at me. I think that means we have to get going. I...Bye.” The message ended and Harry smiled. But his smiled quickly became a frown when he thought about her dinner invitation. He picked up the phone and dialed her cell phone. He didn’t want to spoil her day with his bad news...but she’d understand about the assignement, he was sure. She knew it had to happen sooner or later. He left a message on her voice mail explaining his ‘assignement’ to her and apologizing profusely. Then he promptly collapsed onto his couch, rubbing his eyes. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself now. He wasn’t in the mood to study or anything but he needed to find something to occupy his time so he wouldn’t be able to dwell on the evening of torture ahead of him.
****

Hermione was having an incredible time with Luna and Ginny. It had been ages since they’d been able to do anything together. So the spa time was giving them the opportunity to get all caught up with each other.

At the moment they were all in the mud room, their faces and bodies covered in the miracle mud. It was Luna’s turn to talk now so they were listening to a Ron’s story. Luna and her long time boyfriend Ron Weasley, who happened to be Ginny’s older brother, had what you would call an on again off again relationship. They’d been off for the last month but were apparently back on. It was hard to keep up with them.

“Luna....why do you even bother?” Ginny asked. “Ron’s never going to change. He’s always going to be....Ron.” Ginny loved her brother but he was a bit of a drifter and not necessarily dependable. She’d never understood how he could be so restless and uncommitted.
“I realize this....and that’s part of why I love him. He’s not afraid to be himself...to give into his urges. And he fights back with me....it’s great!” Luna said with a contented sigh.

Hermione laughed...she couldn’t help it. Only Luna would or could appreciate a man with Ron’s personality.

“ I wouldn’t be laughing, Hermione. You’ve definitely been hit by cupid’s arrow. I’d even go as far as to say that you’ll be the next one doing the wedding march,” Luna teased her friend. She could almost picture the blush forming under Hermione’s blue mask.

Hermione protested that it was too soon for that but inside she was secretly hoping it would be true.

“Harry....well, he’s great. Everything is going really well at the moment. Ever since this whole job thing though...he’s been struggling . . And I was thinking that....well, I was thinking about asking him if I could ....uhm...live with him,” Hermione told them.

Ginny squealed. “Does that mean that you two have...moved forward?”

Hermione groaned. “No, not yet. We’re still sort of waiting.”

“Waiting on what? Written permission? What’s the hold-up?” Hermione rolled her eyes at Luna’s questions. Her friend never stopped confusing her. One minute she was saying ‘you need special panties, Hermione,’ the next it was ‘you should really slow things down.’ Now it was this.

“The hold-up had absolutely nothing to do with my end of things. Although maybe that’s part of the problem. I’m too willing. Harry...he wants to take things slow, like at a snails pace slow,” Hermione told them. “And while I think it’s very sweet of him, it can be frustrating.”

“I’ll bet. You’ve been repressing your animal instincts for twenty three years. You’re ready to cut lost and he’s not ready to be the scissors.” Luna paused thoughtfully. “So maybe that means you need to be the scissors. You need to cut him lose....let his hidden Stag out,” Luna informed Hermione.

Hermione blushed at Luna’s phrasing. “Yes well…...that’s sort of why I have it all planned out. Saturday night, after we go see the musical....I rented us a hotel room and I’m going to set it all up. Candles....champagne...silk sheets...the works.” “Merlin the Great help us all, Hermione Jayne Granger has seduction on her mind. I never thought I’d see the day,” Luna teased.

“Yes.. well...just don’t expect to see me at all
on Sunday,” Hermione told her with a giggle. They all burst into laughter then. Hermione had definitely changed from her reticent ways since she’d met Harry. He wasn’t going to know what hit him Saturday night.

It was 7:58 pm and Harry had just pulled up to the Parkinson house. It wasn’t a mansion by any means but it was sufficiently impressive. He was looking forward to this about as much as he looked forward to a bonding session with Malfoy!. Although even that might be less painful than Pansy Parkinson’s pathetic excuses for intelligent conversation. Not to mention her nauseating attempt at trying to seduce Harry. He was positive he’d have a headache by the end of the first hour.

He got to the door and moved to the spot that would set the internal ward alarms off , but before he could even do it, the door flung wide open revealing....Pansy. Harry fought the urge to laugh. He should have actually felt sorry for her. There she stood...dressed to the nines, trying painfully hard to look younger than she actually was. Her dress was too tight and her makeup too heavy.

All he could think was that if he were with Hermione that night it would be different. Hermione could smile and be the most beautiful woman in the room. And he loved her best when she first woke up in the mornings, her face void of makeup and her hair tangled from sleep. Now that, that was what Harry thought of as sexy.

Pansy Parkinson was like nothing he had encountered before…

The contrast between the woman Harry would rather be spending his evening with and the woman the stood before him was startling.

“James....you’re right on time!” Pansy’s whiny voice exclaimed.

“Yes...are you ready Ms. Parkinson?” He offered his arm out of politeness as Pansy immediately launched into some ridiculous story.

It was going to be a long night.

****

After their very relaxing afternoon at the spa the girls had gone back to the apartment to dress for their night out. Neville and Ron were going to meet them at the apartment and then they were heading to their dinner reservation.

Hermione tried several more times to get a hold of Harry but was unsuccessful. She figured he must have been at work. She was about to check her voice mail when the door wards went off. She was the only one completely ready and went to answer it.

To her great surprise, there stood Draco Malfoy!

“Mr Malfoy...what are you doing here?” Hermione asked, trying to keep her tone polite.

“Oh...please it’s Draco. ‘’I was the one that suggested dinner tonight. I wanted to take you all out sort of as a celebration.”

“Oh...well, that’s very nice of you. ‘’Erm Luna and Ginny are almost ready. And Ronald and Neville should be here shortly,” Hermione told him, letting him into the apartment.

“What about you, don’t you have a date tonight?” Malfoy asked.

“No...not tonight,” was the only reply he got. “What about you? Malfoy shrugged. “No...my previous plans for the evening were cancelled.”

“Oh...I see. Well, let me go see if the other’s are ready yet.”

Hermione left Malfoy alone in the living room and went into Luna’s bedroom, quickly shutting the door.”

“Okay...what’s the deal with Malfoy showing up here?”
Hermione asked.

“Malfoy’s here?” Luna asked looking confused.

Hermione nodded. “He says he’s taking us all to dinner.”

Luna looked quite taken back..’’GIN’’! ‘’Get in here now!’’

“ I think this is a bad idea,” Hermione told her.

“Hermione, hun, you know that I totally agree that Malfoy is no good scum and he probably does have some ulterior motive, but....it’s a free dinner,siad Ginny said & as Draco and I used to date years ago, I thought it only fitting he was to come for our last meal , as it were, before I get married and for him to try and bury the hatchet with Neville”

Hermione still wasn’t convinced but she went along with it. What else could she do? She didn’t want to be left out of a good time with her friends. She could tolerate Malfoy for a little while.

Neville & Ron and grumbling all the way to the apparition point they all followed Malfoy to the restaurant.

The golden Griffin.

Ginny was extremely excited & nervous all in one as was Luna. Hermione was just hoping this would become fun sometime in the near future. Their group was ushered inside and after talking with the Host Malfoy motioned for them to follow him.

They’d just been seated when Luna saw something out of the corner of her eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, that something was Harry sitting at a table across the
restaurant. And he wasn’t sitting alone.

This was not good.

Luna knew that she needed to warn Hermione before she saw Harry herself.

“Uh...Hermione would you come with me to the bathroom?” Luna asked.

Hermione looked confused but agreed.

Malfoy watched Luna leave the table with Hermione. The suddenness of their departure gave him the excuse he needed to look around the restaurant. He was hoping to have a little fun tonight and stir up a little trouble at Harry Potter’s expense. Trouble that would involve Malfoy having to comfort a distraught Hermione Granger.
Harry was told that he was to pick up a Ms Parkinson, using the psuedonym *James* & to take her here were a table would be ready and waiting for there arrival. This in part was something to do with busting a prostitution ring & that covered the Dark artefacts scam too very nicely…, to which it was rumoured that Ms Parkinsons,s secret partner, was the head honcho of.. Trouble is no one knew who he was?? Draco almost laughed hystericly….The young Auror was so near, yet so far…..

He spotted them across the way, sitting at table that was almost diagonal to where he was seated. Harry looked like he was being attentive enough and Ms Parkinson was babbling away. He had to think about the best way to orchestrate things from this vantage point.

Neville and Ginny were too wrapped up in each other to really pay much attention to what was going on. Ron was getting antsy. Luna had already dragged Hermione off for a potty talk session and now he was stuck with no one to talk to but that ferret Malfoy. He didn’t care if the guy was his own sister’s old flame. He was creepy.

As Ron sat there, waiting for Luna to come back he noticed Malfoy starring at something. He looked in the direction that Malfoy was and was surprised to find Hermione’s boyfriend Harry seated at a table with some older looking witch. It dawned on him then that that must be why Luna had dragged Hermione off to the ladies room. This was bad news. Ron, knowing something was up, decided to find out what was going on. “You see something interesting, Malfoy?” he asked.

At this both Neville and Ginny came out of their romantic stupor to see what was going on.

Malfoy shrugged and gave his ex girlfriends brother a sly ferrety a smile. “Just someone I know. I might have to go say hello later.”

Ron only nodded in response. Malfoy definitely had something up his sleeve.

****

Luna pulled Hermione into the bathroom quickly. “Harry is here,” she said, not wanting to waist any time.

“What? Where is he? I didn’t even get to tell him where we’d be,” Hermione said.

“No...I mean.. he’d here at another table with someone. You said he still had to do three assignements right? I think that’s why he’s here and why you haven’t been able to get a hold of him.”

Understanding dawned on Hermione.

“Well, where was he sitting?” ‘’ I see that Malfoy has put him upro this eh? The sneaky ferret’’…Hermione was fuming

“They were sitting across the restaurant from us. Maybe we can go sneak around to get a better look,” Luna suggested.

Hermione was hesitant at first, but her desire to see what was happening soon took over. They left the ladies room, hoping not to be seen by anyone from their group. They had to be quick about this.

Luna found the perfect spot. It was several tables away from where Harry was seated. A dissolusion charm served to hide them. Hermione could only imagine how silly they looked crouched down, while other people at the tables around them ate “Look..” Luna said, causing Hermione to refocus her attention on Harry instead of the embarrassment of their covert operation.

Hermione sucked in a breath when she finally saw him. He looked good. Really good. He was wearing the same suit he’d worn on their first date. She could almost smell the cologne he was probably wearing. She loved the way he smelled.

“He looks bored,” Luna commented.

Hermione studied Harry’s features. She’d come to know his many expressions quite intimately and Luna was right. He looked like he was about ready to fall asleep. A part of her surged with pride because he never looked that way when he was with her. Hermione let her gaze shift from Harry to the greasy, over made up witch sitting across from him. Her momentarily swell of pride took a dive and she felt the beginnings of a jealous rage bubbling forth. That is until she really looked at the woman. She was obviously older than Harry by about ten...maybe even fifteen years.

Luna gasped suddenly.

“What? What is it?” Hermione asked, tearing her eyes away from the table.

“She’s trying to play footsie with him. She just
slipped off her shoe.”

Hermione’s eyes shot to where Luna was looking . Sure enough...the woman’s stiletto shoe had been discarded and she was now trying to work her foot up Harry’s pant leg.

****

Harry’s first reaction when he felt Pansys’ foot on his leg was to start choking. His coughing fit startled her so that she pulled away.

“Are you okay James?” she asked, her heavily made up eyes wide with concern.

“Yes..yes, fine. I just...” he’d barely been able to say he was okay before she was jabbing her toes into his shin again. Harry shifted uncomfortable in his chair, moving his leg, pretending like he didn’t realize what she was doing.

Pansy’s persisted though and Harry was about to tell her to stop when a commotion occurred about three tables away. He could quite see what was going on because of a potted tree that was blocking his view. He thanked Merlin for the slight reprieve as Pansy turned her attentions away from Harry’s leg to the voices that could be heard from the commotion.

****

Hermione had been two seconds away from marching over to Harry’s ‘date’ and slapping her silly while she pulled out her frizzy brunnette hair when it happened.

A waiter was bringing by a tray of deserts and Luna stood up and the exact moment he passed by. He was so startled to see no one, he let go of the tray. It flew out of his hands and landed on another table causing a woman to spill wine all over herself.

Luna immediately voiced her apology & then ralised no one could see her! As a manager came running over to ask the waiter what was going on. Hermione wasn’t sure how they were going to escape getting seen at this point. Practically everyone in the restaurant was looking in their direction. She didn’t dare look over at Harry’s table.

Before it could get any worse though, Hermione straightened herself up and grabbed Luna, pulling her back quickly in the direction of their own table.

****

Harry droned out the sound of Pansy’s squeals of ’ laughter. She was amused by whatever she was seeing going on at the other tables. His interest in whatever was happening had dwindled quickly. Out of the corner of his eye though he caught sight of two women trying get away from the commotion very quickly.

Luna and Hermione.

Hermione was there. In the restaurant. Oh Merlin. Had she seen him? He hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about the assignement he was forced to be on? Was she mad about the voice mail? He didn’t want her to be upset but...how could she not be?

Luna and Hermione sat down at their table quickly, both trying to control their erratic breathing. They were met with four sets of questioning eyes.

“What happened?” Ron asked. “Did you fall in?”

Luna shot Ron a very airy a look. “ No, Ronald. We did not fall in.” Deciding it would be best to leave out an explanation she changed the subject. “So....what’s good to eat here?”

They all ordered a few moments later and made small talk as they waited. Ginny and Neville talked about their impending marriage vows. Ron talked about Chudley Canons whom he played for and Luna just talked to fill the silence. Hermione was too busy thinking about Harry and the hussy he was with to notice much else. Malfoy was pretty quiet & smug as well. But Ron still noticed him looking around.

Trying to be discrete he motioned to Luna and whispered that he thought Malfoy was up to something. After watching that sneaky, ferrety creep for a moment, Luna agreed. He was looking around ....directly at Harry and his date. Almost like he was trying to draw attention to what he was doing. Luna kicked Hermione under the table.

“Ouch..” Hermione started to respond as she felt the stinging sensation of Luna’s shoe on her shin. She stopped when she saw Luna’s look. She was gesturing not so subtly with her head for Hermione to watch Malfoy. Taking the hint she did....and saw exactly what he was doing. He kept looking in the direction that Harry was sitting. About the fourth time he tried to casually, but not so casually look in that direction, Hermione put two and two together. Of course he knew that Harry was here. And what a coincidence that they were all here too. Hermione knew that Malfoy had probably set this up to get Harry into some sort of trouble. That was the only explanation.

As they waited for their food Hermione tried to decide how she was going to handle this. She refused to let Malfoy get to her and she didn’t want to cause any trouble for Harry. It took all of her self control though to keep from turning around to see what was happening at Harry’s table. She just had to remind herself that she trusted Harry implicitly and no matter what kind of astonished faces Malfoy made when he looked in that direction, she would not succumb.

After the food came, Malfoy perked up and began trying to tell stories that, for the most part, were unamusing and in bad taste, so Hermione tuned him out. But the fifth time she felt him brush up against her she decided she’d had enough. Pretending clumsiness she spilled her water on herself, figuring it was a small price to pay in an attempt to escape.

“Oh...gosh...I’m such a klutz,” she exclaimed as she excused herself to clean up. She could see her friends laughing at Hermione none to subtle attempt at getting away from .

****

****

Harry was doing his best to pretend that the joke Pansy had just told was funny. Truthfully the only funny part had been the way she had severely butchered the punch line.

“Excuse me Mr. black,” the waiter said, approaching the table. “You have a Owl at the front desk sir.”

Harry was confused but he quickly excused himself. Taking any escape would work for him. He was about to turn around and walk back when a slender arm reached out an pulled him into the small cloak room near the entryway.

He stumbled in his surprise and took whomever had grabbed him tumbling to the floor with him. He landed first with the other person on top of him. He knew it had to be a woman from the way her slight frame landed but he was scared to open his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he’d find. That is until he heard a familiar giggle. His eyes immediately snapped open and he found himself looking into the face of an angel.

“Hermione...” he said.

“Hi Harry,” she whispered back. Before he could say anything else, Hermione decided to take full advantage of their current position. She lowered her face, capturing his lips with her own. He kissed her back hungrily. His hands moving from where he’d braced himself on the floor, up to her hips. While one hand lingered there, the other trailed up her body to weave itself into her hair.

The kiss lasted until they were forced to pull apart for oxygen. “What are you doing here?” he asked even as his lips continued to brush against hers.

“ I could ask you the same,” Hermione said pointedly.

Harry had the grace to look guilty. “Yes...I’m sorry about this. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

Hermione put a finger to his lips. “I understand. Listen...I had the waiter come get you because I needed to talk to you. I think that we’ve been set up....by Malfoy. He’s the one that brought us here tonight. It was supposed to be a undercover copu for me trying to get info on that job, little does Malfoy know, he is under careful watch too… He’s been acting weird all night. He keeps looking over at you and your ‘date’,” Hermione explained.
‘’He will do’’. ‘’Ms Parkinson is an asscociate of Malfoy but he doesn’t know I know that…’’ but he will do. I just need more proof as to what exactly is his involvment is with her ‘’…