Harry stayed beside Hermione as they entered the small pub. George, Fred, and Ron led the way to what was obviously their usual booth. Waiting for them were two very attractive men and five women; four of whom looked excited.

"Jillian!" George exclaimed as they reached the large table.

"Hey George. Looks like we got a lot of company tonight," the pretty brunette said before hugging him.

"That's right," George said.

"Date night," Fred completed. "Hey Phyllis, looking good." He hugged the shortest girl, also a brunette.

"George and Jillian, Fred and Phyllis, do you think they planned that?" Harry whispered close to Hermione's ear.

"Probably," she responded with a smile.

"Alright, Anne this is Ron, my brother, your date," George introduced them. "Next we have Cally and Sarah for Harry. And last-"

"Wait," Harry interrupted, "Cally and Sarah?"

"Yup," Fred said, grinning. "We figured it gives better odds that you'll like one of them."

"Typical," the perky red-head smiled. "I'm Cally Thomas." She held out her hand.

"Harry Potter," he returned reluctantly. He wasn't surprised as her eyes widened and darted up to his forehead. What did take him a moment to register was the suddenly attentive blonde, Sarah.

"Hello Harry, I'm Sarah Longbottom." She smiled toothily and offered her bent-wrist hand, to which both Cally and Hermione scoffed.

"Right, hello." He shook her hand briefly, and then crossed his arms defensively.

"And last, we have Michael and Gary for Hermione," George finished.

"Excuse me. A word, George," the tall dark one said, barely glancing in her direction.

"Sure Mike," George answered, looking slightly weary.

With a half-hearted smile, the short and burly Gary followed close behind the others a few feet away.

"George," Mike began, "you said-"

"I know exactly what I said," George cut him off. Hermione pretended to not be able to hear them. "And I delivered. That there is Hermione Granger, the good humored, smart, and attractive bird that I promised."

"Granger? That sounds familiar," Gary spoke for the first time.

"It should. She was three years behind me and in Gryffindor, but even I know who she is," Mike said with a sneer. "In Ravenclaw, she was most often referred to her as the bossy little Granger girl and for good reason."

"It's been a long time since Hogwarts." Fred narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Not that long."

"Look at her," George said. "That is a woman. Besides, she can't be the bossy Granger girl anymore; she's practically a Weasley now."

"Still, you told me she was good looking," Mike continued. "Look at her; she's…plain and boring."

"And you're blind," Fred countered. "Besides, the longer you know her, the better looking she gets."

"You must have known her a real long time then."

"Listen," George stopped them, "this isn't getting us anywhere. Either you stay or you go Mike. But if you stay, you had better treat our girl right."

"Let me think about it," he sighed, looking at her again.

Hermione kept her face averted, watching the conversation between Harry and his two dates, or rather his defiantness to their flirtations. He had his arms crossed still, standing apart from them, still beside her. Both of them however, were leaning in towards him, occasionally reaching out to touch his arms, chattering like there was no tomorrow.

"Why are we all standing around?" George questioned when he returned with Fred and Gary. "You should be dancing."

"Or drinking," Fred said, noticing Harry's defensive posture. "Phyllis, let's go shake a leg." The twins left the others on their own and made their way to the dance floor with their dates.

"So, Harry, shall we sit?" Sarah gestured to the empty booth beside them, before sliding in easily and patting the spot beside her.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go get some drinks," Harry said, walking towards the bar. Hermione started to follow him when a hand caught her around the arm.

"Sit," Cally said enthusiastically. "Isn't he dreamy?"

"He's alright," Sarah allowed. "Kind of pale, don't you think? He could use a haircut for sure."

"Yeah, but he's Harry bleeding Potter, isn't he. Does it really matter if he's a bit pale and thin?" Cally asked sliding into the booth beside Sarah.

Hermione still hovered, not liking the conversation one bit but also not wanting to drive off George's picks for Harry; it really had been a long time since he dated. He was perfectly content to sit at home and raise his godson.

"Come on then, Herminney, have a seat," Gary said while sliding into the booth opposite the girls and smiling loosely at her.

"Alright, I guess," she mumbled, sitting next to the bloke. She really wished he'd take his arm off the back of the seat. "And it's Hermione."

"Mione," he countered with a lopsided grin, she supposed was supposed to be sexy.

"No, Hermione." She glared at him, so he knew she was serious.

He scrunched up his brow a bit like he wasn't used to being corrected or turned down. "You win, Hermione, it is. Waitress!" he shouted over her, leaning in too close. A gorgeous, tall woman walked over to them with a smile.

"What can I get you?" she asked Gary, ignoring the women.

"Mead," Gary answered, "and this lovely lady will have a butterbeer."

"No thanks," Hermione told the waitress.

"Oh come on, Granger," Michael said, "It's only butterbeer." He flopped onto the booth next to her, forcing her closer to Gary. "Surely you can handle one little butterbeer."

"Excuse me," Harry mumbled to the waitress, sliding into the booth beside Cally. He carefully sat his load on the table, sliding the elegant wine glass over to Hermione. "I wasn't sure what you two would want, so I brought you butterbeers," he said, indicating the two brown bottles setting to his right. He took a sip of his own drink that matched Hermione's.

"Typical," Michael scoffed.

"Excuse me? What's typical?" Hermione asked, she wished he would just leave.

"You'll take whatever Harry Potter sets in front of you, but you snub a butterbeer from your date."

"It's elderflower wine," Harry and Hermione both exclaimed. They looked at each other and Harry finished, "It's her favorite."

This chapter was un-beta'd so please excuse any errors you find. Thanks for reading, please leave me a review so I know what you liked or didn't like.