Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A giant hug of thanks to my beta Genevieve for all of her help with this chapter.

The fire that burned in the fireplace glowed orange-red, sending little flickers of light all around the room.

Hermione sank down further into the couch with Harry's youngest boy on her lap. Young Noah was sitting quite nicely that day as he read through the book on dragons that Hermione had given to him as a present. Noah's preoccupation with the creatures was amusing, and she was not one to discourage him if it was his interest. She was pleased that he had taken to reading. Lucas, the eldest Potter boy, was not so inclined and preferred to run around outside, playing with his toy broomstick.

She stroked her hand through the boy's messy hair, brushing the dark brown locks out of his face so that he could see properly. He eagerly devoured the book, pointing at the pictures and asking her questions as she read the words on the page to him. If anyone had told her seven years ago that Harry would end up married to Pansy Parkinson and have two beautiful children, Hermione would never have believed them. However, over the years, she came to understand that Pansy was different from the person she had known at Hogwarts, and was an excellent wife and mother to their children.

Hermione looked up a moment later when Pansy walked into the room with a tray of sandwiches wearing an apron that looked like something Harry must have bought.

'Lovely apron,' Hermione said with a smirk.

Pansy looked over at her and rolled her eyes. 'Harry got it for me,' she replied as she sat down on the couch beside her. 'I know it's hideous, but I didn't have the heart to tell him I hated it.'

'So, Harry tells me you're planning a big third birthday party for this little one here,' she said, ruffling Noah's hair. 'Do you want some help with the preparations?'

Pansy flashed her a grateful smile. 'I would love some help,' she answered. 'With another baby on the way and only a few weeks left to get the party planned, I am going to be extremely busy. I don't want to wear myself out too much when I have less than two months before my baby girl is born.'

'You both must be excited to finally be having a little girl,' Hermione said, picking Noah up off her lap and sitting him down between her and his mother. 'Would you like a sandwich, my darling?'

Noah looked up at her with wide green eyes and smiled happily. 'Can I have one wif cheese, Aunty 'Mione?' he said.

Pansy pointed to the sandwiches on the left side of the tray where the cheese sandwiches were located. Reaching over, she grabbed one of them and handed it to the young boy beside her who accepted it with a smile and squeaked a 'thanks' at her before jamming it all into his mouth. Hermione helped herself to a sandwich triangle and then wondered where Harry and Lucas had gone. She was just about to voice her curiosity when the door to their chambers opened and Harry and Lucas walked inside.

'Where have you two been?' Pansy asked as Harry sat down in the armchair on the opposite side of the coffee table.

'Lucas and I were just helping Hagrid with the pumpkins for the Halloween Feast tomorrow night,' he replied, lifting Lucas up onto his lap.

The three adults tucked into their lunch and when the tray was empty and everyone was full, Pansy took the tray away, waddling into the kitchen in her pregnant state. Lucas toddled off, following his mother to try and offer his help. Harry stood and moved over to sit beside Hermione on the couch, covering his boy with a small throw rug.

'So tell me, how have you been, Hermione?' he asked.

'I've been great, actually,' she said with a smile. 'I've had a lot to do at work ever since I've been home, but it'll be rewarding when I get that promotion.'

'I still can't believe that you are going to try and help Lucius Malfoy get out of Azkaban,' Harry said with a heavy sigh. 'I know your job is important to you, but really? You know what he has done – what he is capable of.'

'I don't like it either, you know,' she said, slightly annoyed. 'I wouldn't be fighting for him if it were not for the inherent greed that makes man. I will be ensuring that he has extremely strict regulations should my case lead to his release.'

'I'm sorry,' Harry said when she had finished speaking. 'I know this must be hard for you as well.'

'It's hard on all of us, Harry,' she replied. 'I don't really want to talk about it though. Let's not spoil a perfectly lovely day with that wretched man, all right?'

Harry nodded in agreement. Pansy walked back into the room and walked straight over to Harry, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek before continuing through to the bathroom with Lucas in tow.

Hermione was constantly surprised by the change in their former school foe. She was softer, warmer and gentler. She had not believed it when she had first discovered their relationship. Hermione had been studying in France for only six months when she came home for the weekend and Harry brought Pansy as a date to the Burrow for Sunday lunch. They had married a year later and soon after Harry accepted an apprenticeship at Hogwarts and had left Auror training. When he was ready, he received his mastery in education and took over teaching Muggle Studies, to everyone's surprise.

Even thought it had confused Hermione to begin with, she knew that it was the perfect role for Harry. He needed stability in his life after giving up his childhood and teenage years defeating the Dark Lord. Ginny had wanted a career and to travel, which had not suited him at all. Pansy was the perfect wife – having had a disrupted childhood herself, she wanted to settle down and build a family. She worked as the Librarian at Hogwarts and the two of them were very happy.

Hermione smiled inwardly at the thought of being that happy. She had never met a single person in her life that made her feel the way Harry and Pansy felt about each other. While part of her didn't care and thought that a relationship would get in the way of her career aspirations, another part of her longed for that level of caring. Ron had been interested in pursuing that with her – unfortunately, Hermione had not been so inclined. She had never quite been able to forgive Ron for cheating on her with Lavender Brown shortly after they had graduated from Hogwarts.

Lucas suddenly jumped up onto the couch, startling her out of her thoughts.

'I have a few questions,' she said, turning to look at her friend.

Harry smiled at her, and she could tell just looking at him that he was curious. He had become her primary source of gossip while she had been abroad, and that had not changed at all since her return.

'Ask away,' he said with a chuckle.

'I want to know when Neville went from that awkward, shy, forgetful and clumsy boy, to the second in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,' she asked, getting straight to the point.

Hermione figured that there was little to no point trying to hide anything from Harry. Despite his absolutely appalling taste in aprons and his awkward manner in front of people he didn't know, her best friend was still able to read her like an open book.

'You've had a bit of a one-track mind lately it seems,' Harry pointed out.

She swatted him on the arm lightly, smiling despite herself. 'How could I possibly not? Kingsley assigned him to work with me for the duration of my case, so I have to see him every day,' she exclaimed. 'It's near driving me to distraction.'

'You don't really seem like you mind too much to me,' he quipped lightly, earning himself another swat. 'Why don't you just ask Kingsley to assign someone else to your case instead?'

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. 'If I do that, knowing my luck, he'll stick me with Ron, and we both know how that'll turn out,' she replied with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose to discourage an oncoming headache. 'Besides, Neville and I are working together just fine. It's just so confusing to be around him these days.'

'Neville is… well he was already starting to grow a backbone before we returned for our seventh year at Hogwarts if you recall,' Harry pointed out. 'Surviving a war and a Dark Lord tend to make people change, Hermione. Some for the good it seems.'

'I think he is one of the ones who has changed for the better,' she murmured, more to herself than anything. 'That's not to say he was bad before. He was just painfully awkward and shy.'

'I loved having him as a partner while I was still in Auror training with him,' Harry mused. 'He was a surprisingly fast learner and was always so enthusiastic. Ron hated it, of course. But then, Ron always did like being the centre of attention.'

Hermione rolled her eyes at that comment. 'I am still going to have to work with Ron at some point during the case. Kingsley assigned him to the security detail for Lucius Malfoy's transportation to and from Azkaban.'

'That's unfortunate,' he said, laughing at the frown she wore.

'If you loved me, you would pity me at this moment,' she grumbled.

'Chin up, Hermione,' he replied. 'At least you know he's seeing Lavender and won't try to make a pass at you now.'

'Oh joy,' she said sarcastically.

'You know, I have a little more information about Neville that may be of some interest to you if you'd care to know it,' Harry said with a mischievous look in his eyes. 'I'm not sure if you recall, but our dear Neville was, in face, dating Luna Lovegood for a number of months after we had all graduated from Hogwarts.'

'I think I remember hearing something about it,' she replied. 'Mind you, back then I was so disconnected from everything over here.'

'Luna left Neville after the end of our first year of training,' he explained. 'She said that she wanted to travel and didn't want him to have to wait for her to come home. It was a kindness, even though it broke his heart. He's sworn off relationships ever since. I've never seen Neville go on more than one date with the same woman, and he rarely dates at all. He's become a bit of a slave to his work.'

Hermione listened to Harry in fascination. It was interesting to hear all of this information. It gave her some perspective and insight into what had happened to create the confident, self-assured man she was working with on a daily basis. She'd never known that Luna and he had parted ways, and still would not have were it not for Harry. Her logical mind also automatically recognised that this knew knowledge could be dangerous for her. Now that she knew he was single, some part of her seemed to have decided that it was okay for her to find him incredibly and undeniably attractive.

She groaned inwardly. The last thing she needed was to be attracted to a colleague; those sorts of things always got out of hand. She had seen it time and time again in both her own workplace, and had been told stories about it happening at Hogwarts from Harry.

'That's such a sad story,' she said eventually, looking down at Noah's head as it rested on her lap.

Looking to her right, she saw that Lucas had also fallen asleep, his head resting on the arm of the couch. Pansy walked back into the room then and lifted her older boy up into her arms before carrying him in the direction of the boy's bedroom. Harry got up then too, lifting Noah into his arms and following his wife while Hermione simply sat there on her own, contemplating everything that had been said that day.

A large part of her knew that being attracted to Neville was setting her on a dangerous path, but some small part of her hoped that when he looked at her, he also found her attractive. Shaking the ridiculous thought from her head, she smiled up at Harry and Pansy as they re-entered the room together holding hands. Pansy resumed the spot beside Hermione while Harry sat down in the armchair.

'You two are the perfect couple,' Hermione said, sighing softly. 'It's almost sickening how perfect you are for one another.'

Pansy snorted, trying to cover it up by turning it into a cough. 'Harry and I fight still, you know,' she said with a grin. 'But we always forgive and forget. There is no such thing as perfect when you are in love, Hermione.'

'You make it look so easy though,' she murmured. 'It was never that easy for me and Ron. I practically drove him to cheat on me, if the Daily Prophet is to be believed.'

'The two of you just weren't compatible,' Harry said, joining in the conversation. 'If I were you, I wouldn't worry about the past. It'll just make you miserable.'

Hermione nodded, knowing Harry was right. Ron was in her past. She needed to move past feeling sorry for herself and focus on the things that were important – being with her loved ones, and getting through this nightmarish case.

'I should probably head off and let you two enjoy the rest of the afternoon,' she announced, hauling herself off their couch. 'I have a lot of paperwork to do at home and it's not going to do itself.'

'Hermione Granger, you need to get a hobby,' Harry said, getting up to walk her to the door. 'Don't work so hard all of the time, okay?'

'See you next weekend, Hermione,' Pansy called out from the couch. 'We'll go over party plans then, okay? I should have a list of potential venues by the time you come back.'

Hermione laughed and nodded. 'I'll see you then,' she replied.

Harry gave her a tight hug at the door to their chambers, pecking her on the cheek in a friendly manner. 'Don't be a stranger,' he told her seriously. 'And let me know any Neville gossip you hear, okay? You're the one who works with him now, after all. You'll be the first to know everything.'

'Don't be so sure,' she replied as he released her from his embrace. 'See you, Harry.'

With a smile and wave, she walked away from their quarters and heard the door shut softly behind her as she left. As she made her way off the Hogwarts grounds, she thought about the advice her friends had given her. Perhaps she did need a hobby. She shook her head. No – the last thing she needed were more things to do. Besides, there was a good book at home that she had been meaning to read for weeks. Perhaps she would do that instead of work that afternoon?

A moment before she Apparated once outside the Hogwarts gates she nodded ro herself, resolved to take the rest of the day off.

To be continued.