Harry sighed as he waited for his Hogwarts letter. Or any letter. His Uncle Vernon was too afraid to stop any owls from coming, he was afraid to do anything now that Sirius Black had been officially cleared and therefore had no fear of being seen. But it had been several days since Harry had heard anything, although earlier in the summer Ron and Hermione had been owling him regularly.

A beautiful gray owl suddenly came swooping in clutching a letter. She landed next to Hedwig's cage and the two began to chatter in their own language as Harry picked up the letter and started to read.

Dear Harry, We have an awful emergency, and the Weasley's are coming to fetch you in the Anglia. Love, Hermione

Harry's heart raced as he threw his possessions into his trunk while the gray owl complacently groomed herself. He prayed that none of his friends had been hurt, and was relieved when he heard the puttering of an engine outside his window. Arthur Weasley was at the wheel, and he beckoned for Harry to quickly get in. Harry didn't bother leaving a note, he knew the Dursley's would be glad that he was gone.

He arrived at the Burrows shortly afterwards and Arthur rushed him into the house. All of his friends were standing there: Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. A few of the other Gryffindors were as well and

"Professor Dumbledore!" Dumbledore smiled jovially as he handed a package to Harry.

"Happy Birthday, Harry." Harry looked around, grinning at his friends. He'd never had a surprise party before.

"It's not every day your young man turns fifteen," Hagrid said as he revealed a slightly crushed cake. Harry looked around missing one face, but his own face lit up as he heard a motorcycle outside and he ran to greet his godfather.

"Sirius!" The two hugged each other.

"I hope those Dursleys weren't too horrible this summer. Or does your criminal of a godfather have to teach them a lesson?" Harry laughed and shook his head.

From the twins, he had a box full of pranks that would do the Marauders proud, from Ron he had broom wax.the list of presents went on and on, Harry had never been so happy in his life. Mrs. Weasley had made an enormous chocolate cake above which candy quidditch players flew around chasing cherry quaffles and a tiny chocolate snitch wrapped in gold foil. The last two gifts were the package from Dumbledore and a small box from Hermione.

Harry opened the package from Dumbledore and found only a key. He looked up at Dumbledore, puzzled. Sirius handed Dumbledore a letter, which he then handed to Harry.

Dear Harry, Happy fifteenth birthday! I know that you're tired of living with the Dursley's, and I thought I'd suggest another option, with Dumbledore's approval. I have rebuilt your old house at Godric's Hollow and was hoping that we could live there. If of course you'd prefer not to, this key is your property deed and the house is yours to do what you wish with it.

Sirius.

Harry looked up with tears in his eyes. He had a home. And a family.

"Harry," Hermione said impatiently. "You're not finished." Harry smiled at her as she handed him the last box.

He opened the box to reveal.nothing. He looked at Hermione, rather amazed that she had pulled a prank. She smiled serenely back at him.

"Well, I suppose there's a time for everything and now is not the time." Harry looked at her, not for the first time, as if she belonged at St. Mungo's.

After several exhilarating games of exploding snap and too much cake and ice cream, most of the guests apparated or flooed home or went to bed upstairs in the Burrows. The only candy quidditch player that was left flew over the remains of the cake exhaustedly looking in vain for the snitch which had already been eaten.

But Harry was still too excited to sleep. He wanted to be awake when he really did turn fifteen, at midnight. He went and sat outside underneath a full moon, turning the box Hermione had given him over in his hands.

He felt someone slide next to him. It was a warm someone and when he looked, he saw Hermione next to him. She was still smiling serenely.

"Hermione, what is this?" She shook her hand and pulled up his sleeve to point at his watch. It was quarter to twelve. Harry looked back at her, and this time saw something different. Her face was soft in the moonlight and he noticed how beautiful she'd grown in the past five years. He smiled to himself as he remembered the bookish girl she'd been at first, and then she'd grown more and more beautiful until she could attract even Viktor Krum. Remembering Krum, he swore to himself. "Bugger."

"What did you say," Hermione asked. Harry shook his head and wished that he could hold her hand. Hell, they were friends, he decided and reached out to take her hand.

She squeezed his hand and he squeezed it back.

"So, did you have a nice vacation?" Hermione nodded.

"Bulgaria was a fascinating country. I'd always wanted to visit there, ever since I read about it. Viktor took me up on his broom and we flew over the mountains. It was very beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Harry said without thinking. You stupid git, he thought, mentally kicking himself. Hermione was looking at him rather oddly.

"Thank you, you're not so bad yourself."

"Oh, what a compliment," he returned dryly and they laughed.

"You know I can't resist those eyes," she teased.

"You better not let Viktor hear you say that," he teased back and instantly regretted it for she did not laugh but grew silent. After some long moments she said,

"I don't think it would matter to him. We're not together."

"Hermione, I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" She took a deep breath.

"I broke up with him, actually. I just realized that he wasn't the person I wanted and it wasn't worth pursuing no matter how famous he was. Clearly, fame isn't everything" she said, mimicking Snape and causing Harry to roll his eyes.

"Who do you want," Harry asked, his heart pounding. His crush on Cho had faded and he'd found himself thinking of Hermione more and more over the summer. Until now, he hadn't realized why. Hermione shrugged in answer to his question.

"It doesn't matter. He's not interested and besides, it wouldn't work out."

"If he's not interested in you, then he's crazy!" Harry exclaimed and then blushed.

"He is crazy, definitely. But he likes someone else. She's older and she's beautiful and she loves the same things he does."

"You're beautiful. And how do you know he still likes her? After all, it's been awhile since school. Maybe he changed his mind."

"I wish. But he was so crazy about her, I just don't think it's possible." Harry reached out and gently twirled Hermione's hair around his finger.

"Anything is possible," he said softly. Then he thought to himself, "I just wish it was me that was making you sigh at dinner." When her eyes widened, he realized that he had said the last part out loud.

"Harry.I.Why?" He sighed, mentally kicking himself once again.

"Because you're the most beautiful girl I know. And you're smart and brave and you're my best friend and I think I might be in love with you." He wouldn't look at her and she looked down at her hands.

"Well aren't we in a mess then. Best friends aren't supposed to fall for each other, but we have." He suddenly looked at her and saw her smiling at him. Then he heard distant muggle church bells chime midnight. "Open your present, Harry."

When he opened the box, suddenly the interior was filled with all sorts of things. Hermione had charmed it with a size spell so that it could hold everything. There was a photo album with pictures of the three friends all the way back to first year, there was a packet of clippings about Harry and his deeds. There was even a Rita Skeeter dartboard, which caused Harry to laugh. He found a locked box and pulled it out, expecting Hermione to give him a key.

"That's my heart, and it belongs to you," she said solemnly. He reached out to stroke her hair again, and sliding his hand down her neck, pulled her face to meet his in a gentle kiss.