Chapter Five
Bill threw a terrified glance over his shoulder.
Merlin, he'd never have guessed his mother could run so fast, and with only a pair of slippers on, too.
If he could just get away before they caught up with him--
Of course then he just had to collide with Harry, who unfortunately had been running just as quickly as Bill had been.
"Is this a new tradition of ours?" Harry drawled sarcastically, rubbing his back and standing up. "Somehow I was under the impression that running into each other was a figure of speech. Silly me."
"Sorry-see-you-later-bye!" Bill streaked off past him.
"Huh." Harry muttered, puzzled. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Odd."
He glanced down at the deed to the house in his hand, then stuck it into his pocket and began strolling down the lane, whistling merrily as he went.
The not-so-merry Weasleys hurtled past him in a manner of minutes, followed in a few minutes by an amused and dressed Hermione Granger.
"Good morning." he said brightly, and she returned the greeting just as cheerfully. "How's your patient?"
Her eyes lit up.
"He's still sleeping, but oh, Harry, he looks so much better!" she said, beaming. "I really think he's going to make it!"
"That's great." Harry said distractedly, his mind now on the deed burning a hole in his pocket. "Erm, Hermione."
She paused in turning to return to the house.
"I-- have something for you."
He reached out and took her hand, positioning it palm up and resting it on his own.
Then, his other hand flitted into his sweater pocket, then placed the yellowed paper into Hermione's waiting hand.
A small gasp escaped Hermione's parted lips as she glanced in disbelief up into his face.
"Harry--- you didn't!"
He felt his stomach turn.
"You... don't like it?" he questioned miserably, swallowing.
The next thing he knew, Hermione's arms were around his neck, and she was laughing and kissing his cheek, and crying a bit too, by the sound of her voice.
"You silly, wonderful man, of course I-- I just can't believe you'd--"
A stupid grin had made its way onto Harry's blushing face, and his arms found their way around her narrow waist. Then they were both laughing, regardless of the snow that had begun falling again.
"Thank you." Hermione said breathlessly, when they had calmed down a bit. "Thank you so much for-- for everything!"
"Don't thank me, or I'll have to go buy you another house." Harry quipped, making her laugh again. He decided he liked making her breathless with laughter; in fact, he could probably spend his whole life trying to bring that wonderful sound out of her and never get tired of hearing it.
"Hey, you two--"
Their faces whipped around. Bill was waving them over to the side of the lane, where he was cowering behind a bush.
"Have you seen them come back yet?" he whispered, glancing around nervously.
Harry stifled another laugh.
"No." he assured him. "But you'd best scamper or they'll have your head for dinner tonight."
The sounds of the Weasleys's howls reached their ears again; Bill groaned and got to his feet. "Distract them a bit, will you?"
And he charged off. Hermione glanced at Harry with a smirk, and he grinned, winking.
Harry slipped an arm around her waist, and she leaned into his shoulder, and they walked back to the house.
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