Disclaimer: Not My Characters. I do not own them. I make no money from this. I'm doing it to take my mind off real life.

If she jumped high enough into the air, Hermione Granger could see the party carrying on without her, blissfully unaware of her absence. Well, she could see in a blurred, abstract kind of way - the lights in the house, the trees surrounding it and the outlines of party-goers either drifting from room to room or dancing manically.

It was ans inescapable law of nature that sometimes you went to a party, everything went right and you had the best time ever. The flip side of this, needless to say, was sometimes you didn't. everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

Like. Right. Now.

Hermione sighed and though about her current predicament.

She blamed crookshanks, of course. She blamed him for joyfully launching himself at the back of her legs just as she was applying mascara. She could have put her make-up on magically, but she'd never quite gotten the hang of 'Beauty' spells (she'd never wanted to really) . she had always ended up looking like a prostitute or a clown. The good old fashioned muggle way was best. The mascara wand hand poked her directly in the eye and so she had to endure slightly blurred vision for the rest of the evening. Of course she had cleaned up the mess with her actual wand, but there wasn't a spell to fix one's stupidly, self inflicted, blurred vision.

So, that was mistake number one. Mistake number two happened when, desperate for a wee and seeing the major queue for the lav, she slipped outside in search of somewhere discreet and al fresco. And since there wasn't anywhere discreet in the back garden, she climbed over a five-foot wall into next door's, where a weeping cherry tree promised absolute privacy.

If she hadn't inadvertently bruised her cornea, Hermione would have spotted the nail sticking out of the wall, and her trousers wouldn't have gotten disastrously ripped.

Mistake three was climbing over the five-foot wall without pausing to think of her wand, hidden in the depths of the beaded bag. The very same beaded bag that was with her coat, on the coat stand, in the hallway of her very muggle friend's house.

And I'm not even drunk, Hermione thought. At this rate, she could be stuck out here all night.

The eventual sound of the door clicking open was music to Hermione's ears. Realising this may be her only chance, Hermione started jumping up and down again and waving her arms in the air. Spotting the outline of a figure and feeling like a complete idiot, she called out 'Hello? Excuse me?'

He looked tall, tall was good, tall was exactly what she needed. Or a house elf with a step ladder. He crossed the lawn and peering over the wall said 'Are you a Burglar?' In the pitch black and with mascara blurred eyeballs, Hermione couldn't see what he looked like, but he had a nice voice.

'If I WERE a burglar, I'd have a stripy jumper and a mask'

'Sorry, Of course.' He sounded bemused ' So…. are you lost?'

Hermione sighed and began to explain' I'm Stuck. I jumped over the wall and can't get back' because I'm a pillock and forgot my wand, she silently added. ' there's no other way out of the garden, except through the house and all the lights are off.' 'what were you doing in that garden anyway?'

SHIT!

'A gentleman wouldn't ask'

He chuckled and began to walk away, saying 'Maybe the gentleman can help you back over the wall then?'

Hermione let out a shriek of frustration and hissed 'Please don't leave me, come back.'

Hermione heard him laugh. Returning he gestured for her to move away from the wall, and he vaulted effortlessly over it.

He was now standing close enough, despite the darkness, for Hermione to be able to tell he was no Troll. Pale Blonde hair, Bright eyes, good cheekbones and a flash of white teeth as he smiled. She was about to be rescued by a rather nice looking man. Blurry, but nice.

'OK. Stand in front of me, facing the wall and I'll lift you up.'

'Erm…. I've ripped my trousers, jumping down. They caught on a nail' Hermione's hand moved protectively to the back of her trousers. If he lifted her, he would see her knickers, at close range.

He flashed her a smirk and said ' don't worry, I'll close my eyes'

He was impressive. One moment she was on the ground, the next his hands were on her waist and she was being whooshed into the air. Hermione stretched out her arms, made a grab for the wall, raised her knee and landed on top of it. Not very gracefully, she dragged her other leg over and dropped down to the other side. Impressively, her rescuer hauled himself over too.

'My hero. You saved me' Hermione mockingly gushed. Then said seriously ' Really, thank you'

'No problem' he chuckled ' nice pants, by the way. Hermione could feel herself blush and was thankful for the darkness. 'It's not my night, is it? Time to go home I think' she turned to walk away

'Don't rush off' He said, lightly touching her shoulder 'I've only just rescued you. Come on, we'll stay out here for a bit' They sat on a garden bench. He was wearing a pale green shirt and black trousers that melted into the darkness. Breathing in she smelled soap and the faint tang of aftershave.

Turning to him Hermione said ' So, Hero of mine, what brings you out into the garden?'

'Keeping out of the way of a jealous husband'

'If he's so jealous, why did you marry him?'

'Ha ha, very funny. His wife wouldn't leave me alone. She and I used to be couple in university and remained close ever since. I wasn't encouraging her. She's just a little drunk. I escaped to the kitchen. Then as I looked out of the window, I saw a head bobbing up and down at the end of the garden. Thought I'd come and see what it was.'

'I'm glad you did' Hermione shivered as the cold night air sand through her light top. It struck Hermione that she hadn't spotted her rescuer at the party. 'Have you been here long?'

'At the party? No, twenty minutes or so. I was all ready to leave until I had to rescue the fair maiden' Hermione shivered again as another gust of wind sliced through her; it might be June, but this is England and anyone with an ounce of sense is indoors.

'You're cold' He observed 'I'd offer you my jacket, if I was wearing one. Here take this' he handed Hermione a business card from his wallet.

'That's not going to keep me very warm' Hermione said, squinting at the card.

'No' He smirked 'I thought maybe you'd like to continue this conversation, in daylight. Somewhere warm and when you haven't got your knickers clad arse hanging out of your trousers. '

'I'll be in the city on Tuesday. Perhaps I'll pop by for a coffee?'

'I'll be there. Just go to the reception desk and ask for…..'

' I Know' she interrupted and putting the business card in her pocket said ' Ask for my hero'