Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's note: - Sorry for taking so long to update. I had to rewrite the whole chapter due to technical problems in my system.

This chapter is not beta read as of now, but I'll repost it soon. So apologize in advance for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: - I don't own Harry Potter and anyone or anything related.

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"What do you think is going on between Harry and Hermione?" Ron asked his girlfriend.

Ron and Luna were sitting on a table near the frozen pool. They had just finished eating, or more like Ron finished eating as Luna had finished her food long back. They were looking at the said couple on the ice who seem to enjoy their time with each other.

"Why? Do you think something's going on between them?" Luna asked Ron, while playing with his fingers.

"It certainly looks like that. Harry has not been this comfortable with other girls before. I mean he had more than just a couple of girlfriends in the past. With them, he was Harry Potter, one of the most popular boys in London, suave and charming Harry Potter. And with Hermione he is just Harry, the same way he is with me." Ron explained.

Luna thought for a moment and then a surprised look came over her face.

"You mean he is falling for you as well. I must say there's going to be a tough competition between you and Hermione." Luna said with a mischievous smile gracing her lips. Ron looked a little surprised when Luna said that Harry was falling for Hermione, but didn't say anything.

"Oh! You should tell Hermione to back off. I am sure she would listen to you. Please do it for me. Please. Please. Please."Ron replied almost begging to Luna.

Luna looked at Ron with wide eyes and started giggling at her boyfriend's antics, hitting him on the arm. "Ronald Weasley, don't you dare cheat on me with Harry." She managed to say between the fits of laughter.

Ron smiled at his girlfriend's laughing figure, leaning forward he kissed her lightly on her lips. "Don't worry Luna; he's not my type anyways."Ron said looking deeply in Luna's eyes, his own eyes dancing with amusement. They both stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you." Luna said without thinking. Ron blinked, amusement fading away from his eyes and a serious look took over his face.

"You love me?" Ron whispered in a dazed voice, unable to process what was happening.

Luna looked horrified at what she had blurted out.

"Just forget I said anything," She said laughing nervously, which faded away as Ron looked away from her with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

"Ron, I am sorry." Luna said softly. Ron looked at her, but before he could say anything, Hermione interrupted him.

"What are you sorry for?" Hermione asked as she and Harry joined Ron and Luna at their table.

"Huh? Oh nothing," Luna said with a laugh, avoiding Hermione's eyes. She knew her friend would immediately see through her façade and that's what Hermione did when Luna looked up in her friend's eyes. However, she was grateful that Hermione didn't say or ask anything from her, at least not that moment.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked feeling the tension between Ron and Luna.

"Nothing," Ron replied with a forced smile, gesturing Harry and Hermione to sit.

Harry was going to open his mouth again to ask what was wrong. However, Ron immediately changed the line of conversation.

"So what's going on between you two?" Ron asked amusedly looking at Harry and Hermione.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked warily.

"Oh nothing, it's just that you two look so lovey-dovey with each other. So I thought…." Ron trailed off with a knowing look in his eyes.

"It's better if you don't think Ronald." Hermione said sarcastically.

She had a good idea what Ron was implying. However, she was not comfortable talking about it, even as a joke. She knew talking about these matters would complicate the things between her and Harry. She didn't want that, today at least. She was enjoying her time with Harry immensely, even if they were just pretending.

"Ok…Ok…No need to get your knickers in a twist." Ron said defensively.

Silence fell between them, as nobody knew what to say. Furthermore, it didn't go unnoticed by Harry and Hermione that Ron and Luna were avoiding looking at each other. Ron was looking uncomfortable and Luna looked mildly depressed. Both of them were trying very hard to act normal, however, without any success.

"Err…" Hermione started. Harry, Ron, and Luna looked at her, expecting her to continue.

Hermione said the first thing that came to her mind. "I am feeling thirsty. I'll go and get something to drink." Hermione blurted out, "Luna, will you come with me?" Hermione said with a suggestive look in her eyes as she looked at her best friend.

Luna rubbed her head. She knew Hermione wanted to talk with her and she won't be able to avoid her best friend forever.

"Yeah, sure," Luna said guardedly. For a second her eyes met Ron's, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face. She quickly averted her eyes in Hermione's direction.

"Let's go," Luna said tiredly, getting up from her chair.

Hermione nodded and got up from her seat. She took hold of Luna's hand and pulling her away with her towards drinks counter.

Harry saw Hermione and Luna leaving and turned his eyes to his best friend, who was looking at the retreating form of his girlfriend.

"Ron, what happened?" Harry asked looking slightly bewildered.

Ron sighed and looked at Harry. "I don't know." He replied resignedly.

"Ron, something happened between you and Luna, I can tell. Did you both have a fight?" Harry said.

Ron looked at Harry incredulously. "Really Harry, do you think Luna would fight with me? She's one of the sweetest girls I have ever met." Ron said dreamily.

Harry was taken aback at the sudden change in mood of Ron and then he started laughing at his dreamy expression.

"What?" Ron asked exasperatedly.

"Look at yourself," Harry said between his fits of laughter, "who would have thought that one day Ronald Weasley would be completely smitten with a girl. What happened to Ron who had stopped dating any girl just because his last girlfriend had started calling him won won?"

"Just shut up, Harry," Ron grumbled, "you have no idea what happened between Lavender and me. With the name, she even gave me a necklace, which read won won my sweetheart."

Harry, who by now had managed to control his laugh, again started laughing.

"That must have been a sight to watch. Did you ever wear it?" Harry asked, his voice full of laughter and his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Just once when she gave it to me," Ron muttered.

Harry was finding it very difficult to control his laugh.

"Do you think Luna would give you a necklace as well?" Harry teased. However, his teasing had the effect opposite to what he expected.

Ron looked a little distressed at the mention of Luna.

"She's willing to give me so much more than that." Ron said with a faraway look in his eyes. Harry immediately sobered up.

"What happened, Ron?" Harry asked again.

However, this time Ron didn't evade the question.

"Luna said she loves me." Ron said gloomily.

Harry looked shocked at the revelation. "But it's been just a month since you both started dating." He said.

"Exactly," Ron said despondently.

"What did you say in return?" Harry asked with a questioning look on his face.

Ron merely shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you feel for her, Ron?" Harry broached the difficult subject of feelings.

Like any other teenage boy, Ron too enjoyed a girl's attention, but found it very difficult to talk about his feelings openly. However, like Harry, he didn't have much experience in dating. Before Luna, Lavender Brown was the only girl Ron had dated. Their relationship didn't last long and after dating for merely three months, they broke up.

Ron had met Lavender through Cho. On Harry's fifteenth birthday party, Cho had brought her friends (at least that's what Cho called them), Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil to the party. That was the first time Ron met Lavender. Throughout the party Lavender bestowed all her attention on Ron. It was the first time for Ron that any girl showed interest in him and he was enjoying it immensely. Towards the end of the party Lavender asked Ron out and before Ron could formulate a proper answer she kissed him.

After that, Ron and Lavender immediately hooked up. Most of their time together was spent snogging and they hardly talked during that time. Things turned ugly when Lavender tried to control Ron's life; she started telling him with whom he should talk or not talk. From there on their relationship was on a downward spiral. Lavender became more and more clingy, and Ron became more and more irritated with her attitude and one day their relationship ended with a messy break up.

After having such a bad experience in his first ever relationship, Ron had stopped dating for a while and it continued until he met Luna. Things changed significantly for Ron after that.

Harry had never seen Ron like this ever before. Ron was never comfortable in showing his feelings. However, he didn't mind in openly admitting that he really liked Luna very much. Harry could see how much Ron cared for Luna, it was not just an attraction; it ran much deeper than that. His best friend looked happy, very happy.

"I…I don't know." Ron spluttered, "I mean I really care about her. I haven't met anyone like her ever before, but love…" Ron trailed off with a distant look on his face.

He looked at Harry with a panicked look in his eyes and spoke, "I am only 16, Harry. How am I supposed to know that I am in love with Luna or not? Everything is just so messed up right now that I can't even think straight."

Harry looked at his best friend. "You mean to say that you are not sure if your relationship with Luna would last long enough, for you to decide if you want to spend rest of your life with her or not." He said thoughtfully.

Ron looked at Harry with confused eyes, trying to process what exactly Harry was asking. "Huh?" He muttered unintelligibly.

"Looks like it's a very heavy question for you, don't worry, and take your time." Harry said cheekily.

Ron glared at Harry, hitting him on the arm. "Git," He mumbled under his breath. Then, a smile broke on his lips.

"I don't want to break up with Luna." Ron admitted. "Do you think I can fall in love just at the age of 16?" He asked his best friend.

Harry simply shrugged. "I am not sure if there's any fix age of falling in love. I mean my parents started dating when they were 17 and they got married at when they were 19. I think it's same with your parents as well, they also started dating in school and later got married." He said thoughtfully.

"Well, I didn't think it that way. What should I do now?" Ron asked.

"If you really care about Luna, go ahead and tell her what you feel. I am sure she would understand your confusion about your feelings. Take one day at a time and see where your relationship with Luna goes from here." Harry suggested.

"I think you are right." Ron accepted.

Harry looked at the contemplative expression of his friend and started laughing.

"What?" Ron asked, bewildered.

"I think this is the most thoughtful conversation we ever had." Harry said looking amused.

Ron snorted. "If you are really that wise, then tell me what's going on between you and Hermione?" He asked taking a complete turnaround in their conversation.

"What you mean by that?" Harry asked sharply, "Nothing is going on between Hermione and me." He said.

"It doesn't look like nothing is going on between you two. And if it's nothing, then I am sure you want something between you two." Ron said knowingly.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Harry mumbled turning a little red.

Ron laughed heartily at Harry's reaction. "Sure," he said feeling pleased with himself.

Harry simply rolled his eyes. "You should better go and find Luna, and tell her what you feel." He said.

Ron nodded. "You better not tell anyone about our conversation. I don't want anyone to think that I am turning emotional nincompoop. It's not good for my masculine image." He said with an air of mock pride in his voice.

Harry chuckled as Ron stood up and left after giving a mock salute to his best friend.

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Hermione led Luna to the drinks counter. She asked the server for two glasses of lemonade. After picking up the classes from the counter, they both went to sit on an empty table to the side of the counter.

Rather than hitting around the bush, Hermione took the straightforward approach.

"Care to tell me what's wrong?" Hermione asked candidly after she and Luna settled themselves on the chairs.

"I told Ron that I love him." Luna replied in a teary voice, looking down at her lap.

"What did he say in return?" Hermione asked looking flabbergasted.

"He didn't seem happy about this. I didn't mean to say it, it just came out." Luna replied despondently as tears welled up in her eyes.

Hermione squeezed Luna's hand and Luna looked up in her best friend's eyes.

"What if he broke up with me? I don't know what I would do without him, Hermione." Luna said as a tear rolled down her eyes.

It hurt Hermione to see her best friend like this. She felt helpless and didn't know what to say or do. She was also getting angry with Ron for making her best friend cry. However, it's not every day that somebody confessed their love for you; you were bound to be speechless.

"Don't cry Luna. I am sure it's just a misunderstanding; everything will be alright." Hermione tried to comfort Luna.

"I…I don't know." Luna said as she covered her face with her hands to hide her tears.

"What happened, Loony tunes?" A taunting voice came from behind Hermione.

Lavender Brown was standing there with a smug look on her face. She walked over to them and stood in front of Luna.

"What happened? Did Ron finally dump you?" She asked maliciously.

"Just leave Lavender; we are in no mood to talk with you." Hermione said quietly while looking at her best friend's hunched figure.

"Like I want to talk with the likes of you," Lavender replied haughtily.

Hermione stood up angrily. "Then, what are you doing here? Just leave. JUST. LEAVE." Hermione said in a loud and clear voice. She was in no mood to deal with Lavender. She had more pressing matters on her mind.

Lavender narrowed her eyes at Hermione. "You think you are so smart," Lavender started, but Hermione cut her off.

"Gosh Lavender, would you ever learn to say anything else? How many times you have asked me whether I am smart or not? I know I am smart, end of the story. Now leave." Hermione said frustratingly.

"Hermione, relax," It was Luna. Hermione turned to look at her. Luna was looking at her best friend with a calm expression, all the traces of tears gone from her eyes.

Hermione calmed down a bit. She turned to look at Lavender, who was fuming with anger.

Lavender looked at Luna. "You stay away from my Ronald. I will make your life a complete hell if I saw you near him ever again. Even this Granger would not be able to save you." Lavender said in a low threatening voice.

Luna almost gasped and stepped backward. Her eyes were wide as she looked at angry Lavender. She was shocked and almost on the verge of tears again.

Hermione wanted to hit Lavender across her cheek, but controlled herself. She grabbed Lavender's elbow and turned her towards herself.

"Now listen to me here, Lavender. I am going to say this to you for the first and the last time. Leave, before I slap in front of everyone here." Hermione said in a low menacing voice.

Lavender looked taken aback and jerked her hand out of Hermione's grasp. Before she could speak, Ron joined them.

"What's happening here?" He asked looking bewildered.

His eyes fell on Luna and his face turned red.

"What did you say to her, Lavender?" Ron asked angrily, gesturing towards Luna.

"Ron, it's nothing." Luna said blinking her tears away. Ron's stance softened seeing Luna's attempt to cool down the situation. He opened his mouth to speak. However, Lavender spoke before he did.

"I was just telling her that you belong with me." Lavender said flippantly.

"I don't belong with a crazy bint like you." Ron said vehemently to emphasize his point.

Lavender realized that the situation was not in her favor right now, it was one against three.

"This is not over yet." She said forebodingly and quickly left the unfavorable company.

Ron moved towards Luna. "Are you alright Luna?" He asked softly. Luna nodded and smiled at him.

"Can we talk?" Ron asked hesitatingly. Luna looked a little nervous, but nodded.

Ron looked at Hermione. "Umm…Hermione, I want to talk to Luna alone." He said apprehensively.

Hermione was reluctant to leave Luna alone with Ron, in case he hurt her more than she already was.

Luna seemed to read her unwillingness to leave.

"I'll be alright Hermione." Luna said with a smile.

Hermione knew that Luna wanted to be alone with Ron, so she gave a quick nod and left, making her way back to Harry.

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Harry was sitting alone, thinking about the conversation he had with Ron. He had already accepted that he felt something for Hermione. However, he didn't know what Hermione felt for him. Would she like to go out with him for real after their pretend game was over? He wanted to know what Hermione thought about him on the betting issue. Did she think that he was just a playboy? Did she like him as well? So many questions were revolving around in his mind.

Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Seamus calling his name.

"Harry," Seamus said. When he didn't receive any response, he tried again, this time waving his hands in front of Harry.

"Harry," He said loudly.

Harry jerked out of his stupor.

"Seamus!" Harry exclaimed, "Sorry, I was thinking about something." He said with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright. Can I sit here?" Seamus asked gesturing towards an empty chair next to where Harry was sitting.

"Yeah, sure," Harry replied.

"Thanks," Seamus said sitting on the chair.

"So what is it?" Harry asked curiously.

It looked like Seamus wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say.

"Look Harry, I just wanted to apologize for the bet. I didn't think Cho would trouble you and especially, Hermione." Seamus said ruefully.

Harry looked surprised. "Don't look so surprised. I just saw the way Cho treated Hermione. I might have gotten you into a bet upon her, but I am not a heartless bastard. I have seen how cruel Cho can be to those who stand against her." Seamus said earnestly.

Harry simply chuckled. "You don't have to worry about Hermione. She can handle Cho very well, in fact better than us." He said.

"You're right. She's one of her own kind, spirited one. You should have seen the way she handled Cho and her friends." Seamus said appreciatively.

Harry simply nodded in agreement. "Cho is used to having her way with others. She is definitely frustrated that her tricks are not working on Hermione." He said.

"I am surprised that her cousin is a friend of Cho. You know, I don't know how we failed to spot Hermione all these years. I mean we know many girls from Beauxbatons." Seamus said with a mischievous smile.

"Seamus, Hermione is not a girl to mess with." Harry said nonchalantly. However, Seamus could detect a little threat in that and decided to ignore it.

"I know my limits." Seamus replied quietly.

Before he could say anything else, he saw Hermione coming towards the table.

"I'll leave now." Seamus replied hastily and left.

"What was Seamus doing here?" Hermione asked as she sat on the chair.

Harry chuckled. He leaned towards Hermione and spoke in a low voice. "He was apologizing for the bet. He said that he didn't know that Cho would give any kind of trouble to us. He apologized, especially to you, but you are not supposed to know about this, after all you don't know anything about the bet." He said in a mock serious voice and then started laughing quietly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. "That was nice of him." She commented.

"Where are Ron and Luna? Did Ron find you both?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Ron and Luna are talking right now. Did he tell you what happened?" Hermione asked.

Harry simply nodded. "We had a talk." He replied.

"I just hope they would still be together after their talk. I don't want them to break up. They both are crazy about each other." Hermione said pensively.

"Why do you think they would break up?" Harry asked curiously.

"Confession of love by a girl usually freaks out a bloke. But I really hope that Ron is not one of them." Hermione said optimistically.

"Contrary to the popular belief, Ms. Granger, sometimes a bloke too likes it when his girlfriend says that she loves him." Harry said in a mock courteous voice.

"Okay," Hermione said, "that means you must be waiting for me to confess my eternal love for you." She teased.

"How do you know?" Harry asked shockingly. Seeing Hermione's bewildered expression, he couldn't stop himself from smirking at her.

"Very clever, Ms. Granger, I must say I am very impressed." Harry said lightheartedly.

"Of course you are, after all not everyone gets the chance to see the remarkable witticism of Hermione Granger." Hermione said proudly. Suddenly she burst into the spasms of laughter.

"You know, someone has a big head on her shoulder." Harry teased.

"You are just jealous." Hermione retorted humorously.

They both chatted lightly during next few minutes before Ron and Luna joined them. They both looked happy and soon four of them were chatting and laughing. Hermione wanted to ask Luna about her talk with Ron, but decided to do it later.

Harry and Ron told Beauxbatons' girls many stories about Hogwarts. Hearing about Hogwarts had excited Hermione so much that she decided to get the latest copy of Hogwarts a history. When she told others about this, they started laughing.

Harry told her that he had the book with him and promised her that he would give it to her, as he never really read the book since he bought it. Even though Hermione was happy with his offer, she still lectured him to ignore reading such an important book.

Later, Ron noted that Ginny was nowhere around Harry. When Harry and Hermione told him about Neville, he started laughing saying that they had left the poor Neville in the cave of the dragon alone.

Time passed very quickly for four of them and soon it was 6 P.M. Guests had started leaving, and Harry and Hermione decided to leave as well.

"I think we should leave. It's already 6 now." Harry said looking at his wristwatch.

"Okay," Hermione said.

"Ron, are you leaving as well?" Harry asked.

"Oh no, I can't."Ron replied in a panicky voice, "Mum has given me the responsibility to look after Ginny. There's still one hour left for the party to end."

"Luna, are you coming with us?" Hermione asked her best friend.

"Don't worry; I'll drop her home after the party ends." Ron said before Luna could reply. Luna had decided to stay behind.

"You go with Harry, Ron would drop me home." Luna said in a reassuring voice so that Hermione would not worry about her.

"Okay," Hermione replied, "but at least call your parents and tell them that you would be late." She said. Luna chuckled and nodded.

Hermione turned towards Harry. "Harry, do you mind if I ask Romilda if she wants to come home with me?" She asked a little tentatively.

"Why?" Luna asked feeling puzzled.

"Well I don't want to, but if mum and dad asked me about her, what would I tell them, that I didn't even ask her to come home with me. I should better not take that risk. I'll just ask Romilda, and I am sure she would refuse the offer." Hermione replied feeling a little unsure. She looked back at Harry.

"So Harry, would it be alright with you if I ask Romilda?" Hermione asked again.

"Yeah sure, I don't have any problem with it." Harry replied without difficulty.

"Thanks a lot, Harry." Hermione said with a grateful smile, "I'll go and find her."

"Wait!" Harry said, "I'll come with you. Romilda would surely be with Cho right now and she might again give you some trouble." He said.

After saying their byes to Ron and Luna, Harry and Hermione were leaving the table to find Romilda when Ron spoke.

"Harry, aren't you going to say goodbye to Ginny?" Ron asked innocently, his eyes dancing with mirth. Looking at Harry's horrified expression, Hermione and Luna started laughing.

"Don't worry Harry, I'll tell her that you have given your best wishes for her." Ron said mischievously.

"Come on Hermione, let's go." Harry said glaring at Ron.

Ron heard Harry when he muttered "Git," before leaving. Ron went into another fits of laughter, making Luna stare at him with a baffled look on her face.

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As the guests had started to leave, party wasn't very crowded anymore. It was easy for Harry and Hermione to find Romilda. She was sitting with Cho, Parvati and three blokes Hermione didn't know about. They both approached to where Romilda was sitting.

"Romilda," Hermione called.

Romilda turned her head to look who was calling her name.

"What?" She snapped getting up from her place. Cho too stood up when she noticed that Harry was there as well. Cho gave a shy smile to Harry, which Harry blatantly ignored and stepped closer to Hermione taking her hand in his own. Hermione looked at Harry who just smiled in return.

"Romilda, I am going home with Harry. Do you want to come with us?" Hermione asked hoping that Romilda would refuse.

Romilda opened her mouth to reply, but Cho pulled her aside. Harry and Hermione watched as Cho whispered something in Romilda's ear.

`What is she telling her?' Hermione thought looking at Cho and Romilda.

Romilda came back and said, "Fine I am coming with you two."

Hermione was shocked, but hid it away expertly. She looked at Harry who just shrugged his shoulders.

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On their way back home, Harry and Hermione didn't speak much with each other. However, Romilda tried her best to have conversations with Harry, but Harry didn't seem interested. He didn't ignore her blatantly, but kept the conversations short.

Harry stopped the car outside Hermione's house and three of them got out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride, Harry." Romilda said and kissed Harry on the cheek to show her gratitude, though she was stealing glances at Hermione to see her reaction.

Harry looked surprised by Romilda's kiss, but didn't say anything and Hermione just rolled her eyes. `Can she be more obvious?' She thought.

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Romilda made her way towards the front door. She turned back to see that Hermione wasn't following.

"Hermione, come on let's get inside." Romilda said.

"Yeah, give me a couple of minutes." Hermione replied looking at her cousin. She turned back to Harry.

"You know I wanted to thank you, Harry." Hermione said delicately.

"What for?" Harry asked perplexedly.

"For staying by my side throughout the day at the party," Hermione said with a smile, "you kept your promise."

"Don't thank me. I wasn't there with you for the whole time." Harry pointed out.

"You had to dance with the birthday girl. I don't blame you for that." Hermione reassured him.

"Still, you don't have to thank me. That's what friends do for each other, they stand by each other." Harry said.

"Is that what we are?" Hermione asked softly looking into Harry's emerald green eyes.

"What?" Harry asked, trying his best not to get lost in brunette's chocolate brown eyes.

"Friends," Hermione replied.

"Do you want us to be friends?" Harry asked curiously.

"Umm…I would love to be your friend. You are a great friend, Harry." Hermione said in an appreciative tone.

Harry looked at Hermione with an unreadable expression on his face and, then his face broke into a roguish grin.

"Friends," Harry said extending his right hand towards Hermione.

Hermione's eyes lit up at this. She shook Harry's hand enthusiastically, feeling very happy to have such a good friend in her life.

Romilda couldn't hear what Harry and Hermione were talking about. Cho had told her to keep an eye on both of them to see if they were really dating or not. That's why she had agreed to come home with Hermione. Harry and Hermione didn't speak much with each other. However, she could see them, stealing glances at each other occasionally. It was hard to predict about their relationship.

Harry still hadn't let go of Hermione's hand. When Hermione pulled her hand back, Harry didn't let go. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he pulled Hermione in his arms and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her softly for few seconds and realized that he once again had given into his desire to kiss Hermione. There was no point in denying that now; he had already kissed her.

Few seconds later, Harry pulled back. Hermione opened her eyes and found herself staring at the emerald green eyes of her fake boyfriend, though his kiss felt very real.

Harry grinned at her and kissed her lightly on her forehead. He said the first thing that came into his mind.

"Romilda is watching us." He whispered quickly in Hermione's ear. Hermione's mind hardly registered what Harry was saying. She was just feeling content to be in Harry's arms and feeling pleasure as Harry's lips lightly brushed against her ear as he said the words.

"Oh," Hermione murmured and stepped out of Harry's arms. She couldn't stop a stupid grin from appearing on her face.

"I had a great time with you, Harry. Goodnight." She said tenderly. Harry smiled back at her genuinely.

"Goodnight Hermione. I also had a great time with you." Harry replied truthfully. He took Hermione's hand and kissed the back of it.

"Goodbye my dear lady," He said playfully.

Hermione giggled and hugged Harry.

After Harry left, Hermione walked towards the front door of her house where Romilda was standing open-mouthed. Hermione grinned at her as her eyes twinkled mischievously. Romilda glowered at her and rang the doorbell.

That night Hermione went to bed early. When she had asked Romilda about coming home with her, she had expected her to say no.

Hermione was really hoping that Romilda would refuse, as she wanted to spend some more time with Harry alone. However, now lying in her bed, she was happy that Romilda came with them as Harry kissed her again just to show Romilda. Even though it was a pretend kiss, to Hermione it felt real just like all other kisses she had shared with Harry.

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Author's note: - So what do you think? Was it good? Tell me through your REVIEWS. One more thing, all the drinks served in the party were non-alcoholic, in case anyone has any doubt.

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