Disclaimer

The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling. I get nothing out of this except enjoyment.

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-

4th year

Harry sat impatiently in the living room of Number 4 Privet Drive, his excitement mounting. This was his last day at his aunt and uncle's house for the year – in just a few minutes the Grangers were going to pick him up on their way to the Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole. There he and Hermione would join the Weasley family to attend the Quidditch World Cup final. He wasn't sure how Mr. Weasley had obtained all the tickets, but he was thrilled at the opportunity to see the best players in the world in action at his favorite sport. He shook his head with a wry grin on his face as he thought about the girl whose parents were providing his transportation. She was by no means a quidditch fanatic like he and the Weasleys were, but he hoped she'd enjoy the match nevertheless. After all, she always came to Gryffindor's matches at Hogwarts.

As he looked around the pristine furnishings of the room he was in, he let out a sigh of relief that it was the Grangers who would be coming to get him instead of the Weasleys. He could only imagine how much chaos that encounter might cause. The Weasley family's idea of 'normal' modes of transportation – floo, apparition, even the flying car he'd heard about – would not sit well with his uptight relatives.

At least this summer had been more tolerable than the previous ones. He'd not been locked in his room and forbidden access to his school things. There'd been no acrimonious encounter with Aunt Marge, as the disagreeable woman had avoided visiting the house while he'd been in residence. It seemed that a brief mention of his godfather – the notorious escaped prisoner who'd been serving a life sentence for murder – had thoroughly cowed his relatives. Harry had somehow neglected to add the little detail of the man's innocence.

Harry paused to reflect on that line of thought. He was coming to accept that he seemed destined to face deadly situations at Hogwarts every year. The twist for the last school year was that it turned out not to be escaped murderer Sirius Black who was the danger, as everyone had thought, it was the prison guards who were hunting him down! Harry shuddered. He detested the foul creatures known as dementors, whose very presence caused him to remember the worst time of his life – his mother pleading for her infant son's life, then being killed trying to protect him.

The memory was so traumatic that he'd passed out from the ordeal. It had happened too many times for his liking – on the train to Hogwarts at the beginning of the year, at the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff quidditch match, and finally at the end of the year. He'd had to learn the Patronus charm from Professor Lupin to be able to ward them off.

In fact, one of the few bright spots of the year had been when he'd successfully cast the charm during his second quidditch match (vs. Ravenclaw), only to learn that his Patronus had tripped up Malfoy and his sidekicks attempting to distract him. Thinking of bright spots, another big plus for the year had been meeting two of his parents' best friends!

But his last encounter with the dementors had been the worst by far. A large swarm of them had almost sucked out not only his soul, but also that of Hermione and Sirius. Only for the three of them to be saved at the last instant by himself and Hermione using a time turner! Bizarre!

Harry shook his head again, slipping into his reminiscing about the year prior. Hermione had been amazing with that time turner, not only that night but all year long. He was sure he'd have messed up for certain with trying to keep track of where he'd been and what he'd done, so as not to run into his previous self. But Hermione had managed splendidly, as she did in nearly everything she set her mind to.

-oooOOOooo-

Harry had picked up on the impossibility of her schedule immediately. Ron and Neville had as well, but had been put off by Hermione's assurances that she'd fixed everything with Professor McGonagall. Not so Harry, who was more attuned to his best friend.

When they'd selected their electives, Harry had signed up for Arithmency at Hermione's urging, Divination to placate Ron, and Care of Magical Creatures because of Hagrid's influence. Actually, every Gryffindor had selected that class, although they'd later come to have second thoughts about the choice. Hagrid was subsequently elevated to professor status, and ended up teaching the course, and his ideas on 'interesting' creatures had not always been appreciated by the students.

Hermione, however, had signed up for every elective, and there simply weren't enough hours in the day to fit everything in. Hence the time turner. Harry had promptly sussed it out when Hermione had both Muggle Studies and Arithmency scheduled at the same time. Since he was in Arithmency with her (they were the only two Gryffindors taking the difficult course) he knew she was physically present for that class period. A quick inquiry with Susan Bones, who was taking Muggle Studies, confirmed that she was simultaneously present in that classroom as well. (1)

When he confronted her about the duplicity, she swore him to secrecy. He agreed, but only on the condition that she also use the device every day to rest for an hour or two, preferably taking a nap. He was now convinced that this had made the year much less stressful for her.

Divination had turned out to be a big mistake, which Harry realized from the very first period. Professor Trelawny, for some reason, had taken a personal interest in him. While this might be a good thing in some classes, in Divination it resulted in her constantly predicting his demise. His life was difficult enough with real threats to his well being, he didn't need to constantly hear fanciful ones from that batty old fraud. He had decided to drop the course at the end of the year. Hermione hadn't even made it that far. She'd walked out in the middle of a class after one final nasty disagreement over yet another prediction of doom for Harry.

That particular course, unpleasant though it might be, was far from the worst aspect of the year. That honor went, of course, to the Dementors. Another candidate was the trial of the hippogriff Buckbeak, which resulted in the order for the proud but dangerous creature to be executed, despite Hermione's exhaustive efforts on his behalf. And finally, on a more personal level, there was the misunderstanding about the Firebolt.

Harry had been quite miffed with Hermione for going to McGonagall about the mysterious present, resulting in it being confiscated. In his ire, he'd avoided her for a week. That ended abruptly when Neville, of all people, dragged them both into an empty classroom and demanded that they sort it out, pointing out that the two of them were too good of friends to let something like this break them apart. (Harry noted to himself that he owed Neville big time for that.) (2)

Harry had grudgingly agreed with that sentiment; friendship was probably more important than a broomstick. Hermione had flung her arms around his neck and burst into tears. She'd apologized for going behind his back, and he'd conceded the possibility that the broom might have been tampered with. Inwardly, he recognized that this was one of Hermione's flaws – she occasionally got an idea in her head that she was certain she was right about, and became rather single-minded in following through with it, without always considering all the consequences. It was something that he would just have to deal with if he wanted to be her friend. And he very much wanted that.

-oooOOOooo-

Harry frowned. Things had not worked out so well with Ron. The redhead had oddly seemed to take the Firebolt incident even more personally than he had. When he'd learned that Harry had reconciled with Hermione, Ron hadn't been happy at all, going so far as accusing him of betrayal. Belatedly, Harry had wondered if Ron saw this crack in his and Hermione's relationship as an opportunity for him to get closer to Harry. The breaking point had come with the disappearance of Ron's rat, which the hotheaded boy had immediately blamed on Hermione's cat, which he'd never liked. Ron had not spoken to either of them for the rest of the school year.

-oooOOOooo-

By the end of the year they had figured out part of the mystery of Sirius Black, but didn't put it all together until that fateful night. In hindsight, the chain of events actually began during Harry's Divination final, when Professor Trelawny temporarily went into a trance and made an actual prediction – something about a servant returning to his master. Later, as Harry and Hermione were preparing to go out to Hagrid's for Buckbeak's appeal, Harry was checking the Marauder's Map when he noticed the presence of Peter Pettigrew in Hagrid's hut. That had led to a chase across the Hogwarts grounds involving the rat, Crookshanks, and the large black dog (who they'd spotted lurking around the castle for months) that ended up under the Whomping Willow and finally in the Shrieking Shack.

There they finally sorted everything out – the dog was in fact Sirius Black, the rat, Scabbers, was actually Pettigrew, and Pettigrew, not Black was the secret keeper who'd betrayed the Potters to their deaths. Unfortunately, just as the whole situation seemed under control and the danger past, they'd been set upon by a horde of Dementors while returning to the castle. (3)

That was where the entire sequence got confusing, but Pettigrew had escaped, with Crookshanks chasing after him, while Harry, Hermione, and Sirius had collapsed from the overwhelming mental pressure of the sheer numbers of the foul, soul-sucking creatures. When Harry and Hermione had awoken later in the Hospital Wing, they learned that Sirius was about to be Kissed. Following a hint by Dumbledore, the pair had used the time turner to rescue not only Sirius but also Buckbeak, as well as saving their previous selves with Harry's Patronus.

Besides the look of amazement and gratitude on Sirius's face at the window as he realized he was going to be rescued, there were two other enduring memories of that evening. First, how his heart skipped a beat when Hermione pulled him close in order to loop the chain of the time turner around both their necks, briefly brushing her cheek against his. (4) And second, how it felt to ride Buckbeak with Hermione snuggled up behind him holding tight for dear life. Harry wanted more than anything to experience those feelings again.

-oooOOOooo-

As he finished reminiscing and looked out the window again, he wondered if he'd be able to work up the nerve to ask her out this year. He hoped so. With his signed permission slip from Sirius in hand, he was really looking forward to possible dates with her on Hogsmeade weekends.

-ooo-

On the drive to Harry's house, Hermione sat up straight in the back seat watching out the window, focusing intently on the street signs and other possible landmarks. They had made this trip two years before, and she wanted to determine how well she remembered it. More importantly, there was a good chance she might be making this drive herself in a couple of years, and wanted to be sure she could find her way. As an added bonus, her concentration on this task helped keep her mind occupied, reducing that chance that she'd hyperventilate with the excitement at seeing Harry again. Not that she was obsessed or anything, she insisted to herself.

For probably the hundredth time that summer, she vowed again that she would work to control those aspects of her personality where she tended to go overboard – her obsession with her schoolwork and her tendency to stubbornly insist on the rightness of her positions. Not that there was anything wrong with being dedicated to her studies or in having strong convictions, she just needed to do better at keeping things in perspective. She knew she had these problems, and her parents had tried their best to help her control them, but they still persisted, manifesting themselves most strongly when she was feeling insecure about herself. The previous academic year was a perfect example of how these tendencies got her into trouble.

Despite advice to the contrary from her parents and Professor McGonagall, she'd insisted on taking every elective course Hogwarts offered, which ended up requiring a time turner to fit everything into her schedule. She still didn't know how McGonagall had managed to obtain one of the rare devices for her. She was glad now that Harry had found out about it and made her ease up a bit. The thought that he was looking out for her like that warmed her heart and brought a smile to her face. She knew that left on her own that she would have overdone it, not bothering to take rest breaks, and burned herself out by the end of the year. This year she would do better, she told herself firmly; she'd dropped Muggle Studies as well as Divination, so now she'd have a more realistic course load.

Her smile faded as she recalled another consequence of her obsessiveness and her stubbornness about being right – the misunderstanding about Harry's Firebolt. It seemed that something different came between them each year that ended up in a quarrel. She had been proven right about the broom being sent by Sirius Black, but now realized she had gone about it entirely the wrong way. She'd decided that she knew best without taking Harry's point of view into consideration, or worse, even bothering to consult him at all! She firmly resolved to communicate better this year, and try not to always insist on her point of view.

At least she'd had good intentions. Her actions, of course, had been entirely motivated by her concern for Harry's well-being (and not jealousy over Harry's getting a nicer present than her, which was Ron Weasley's ridiculous claim). She recalled how her heart had been in her mouth when Harry fell from his broom when dementors showed up during his first quidditch match. And she so admired his determination to learn the difficult Patronus charm to defend against the foul creatures. She'd joined with him in learning it in a show of support, but had been amazed when he'd mastered it first. Usually she was the first one to learn a new spell in class.

She shivered as she remembered trying to cast the charm when they were surrounded by the dementors on the shore of the lake. When their spells had fizzled and faded out she was certain they were about to lose their souls. But then she'd awakened in the Hospital Wing and an already incredible adventure had turned into the most extraordinary night of her life!

It had culminated with Harry and her riding Buckbeak up to Flitwick's window to rescue Sirius. Hermione had initially been extremely apprehensive at the idea of flying on the back of the hippogriff, and had wrapped her arms around Harry's waist, squeezing him tighter than she ever had. She wondered if he had noticed; he hadn't mentioned anything at the time, of course, given the circumstances. She remembered the feeling as if had happened only yesterday. Holding him so intimately had calmed her down, and by the time they'd reached the window she'd been able to function normally, using her wand to unlock it and let Sirius out. Then he'd climbed on behind her, sandwiching her between himself and Harry. That had made her scoot up even tighter against her best friend. And even though it was no longer necessary for her to hold onto him as tightly, she hadn't loosened her grip in the slightest. And then they landed on the roof and Sirius and Buckbeak flew off into the night, while she and Harry raced back to the Hospital Wing before they were discovered.

As Hermione pondered that narrow escape her thoughts were redirected to the present, wondering what danger might be in store for them this year. She would have to get Harry to tell her more about those disturbing dreams with Pettigrew and Voldemort in them. They sounded quite ominous. She would make certain that he kept Dumbledore informed about them. They had to stop trying to solve every mystery on their own!

"Are you all right dear?" Hermione jumped a bit, startled by her mother's voice. Her parents shared a concerned glance, having noticed how worked up their daughter was getting, and decided a conversation to distract her might be in order.

"So, tell me again about quidditch," her father suggested. "You said it was like football played on broomsticks?"

"Something like that," Hermione replied. "Except there are three different kinds of balls. The keeper's really the only position that's nearly the same in both sports." She went on to explain about the three hoops that were the equivalent of the goal, the quaffle, and the chasers. Then she described the bludger and the beaters, causing her parents to wince at the thought of being struck by an iron ball traveling at a high rate of speed. She finished with the seeker and the golden snitch.

"So the game isn't timed at all, it simply ends when the seeker catches the snitch?" her father asked by way of clarification. "That must make the seeker a pretty important position."

"Yes, that's true," Hermione agreed. "The seeker often determines the outcome of the match, at least in the games I've seen at Hogwarts. I'm not sure if that's also the case on the professional level."

"And Harry plays seeker?" This question came from her mother, who smiled inwardly as her daughter's face brightened at the mention of her best friend (or perhaps more?).

"Oh yes, and he's very good at it," Hermione answered enthusiastically. "The best at Hogwarts for certain. He was picked for the team in his first year, which hadn't happened for more than 100 years previously. I suppose he's not on the same level as what we'll be seeing at the World Cup, although people say he's better than Charlie Weasley, and he supposedly could have played for England's national team." She paused, realizing that she was beginning to ramble on a bit. She blushed lightly – that seemed to happen more often when she was talking about Harry.

Her father was struggling to keep a grin off his face. "You were never that much of a sports fan before you went to Hogwarts," he teased.

"Well, I go to all of Harry's … I mean, Gryffindor's games," she hastened to explain, her blush deepening. "But not any of the others. Harry goes to all the games at Hogwarts. So do Ron and his brothers." A brief frown flashed across her face at the mention of the Weasleys. She and the youngest Weasley male had had a bitter falling out during the school year, and while they'd reconciled once he'd learned the truth about his rat, some things were said that were not easily forgotten. (5) On the other hand, she was still friends with Ginny, and Harry was still close to Fred and George, so she hoped it wouldn't be too awkward at the Burrow and the World Cup.

Up in the front seat, her parents shared a knowing look at her slip of the tongue regarding her true reason for attending quidditch matches. Their fourteen-year-old daughter was definitely smitten with the boy they were about to meet again.

"And who did you say was playing in this World Cup?" her father asked. Hermione frowned as she tried to remember. Surely one of the letters she'd exchanged with Harry or Ginny must have mentioned which countries had made the final? She mentally scanned the contents of each letter until she came up with the information.

"Ireland … and Bulgaria," she announced, pleased that her prodigious memory had come through again. Only to have her triumph tarnished when she noticed her father's smirk in the rear view mirror. He'd been having a go at her!

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, turning to stare out the window again, avoiding his gaze. Honestly, what difference did it make who was playing in the match? It wasn't as if she knew any of the players. Or that she was likely to ever meet one of them, much less make their acquaintance.

By now they had arrived in Surrey, and were entering the village of Little Whinging. Minutes later they pulled into the driveway of Harry's aunt and uncle's house, and Hermione thought she was going to burst with excitement. Harry's face appeared at the front door, and he waved eagerly before turning to get his trunk.

"Hermione." She turned as her mother's hand rested on her shoulder, restraining her briefly. "Remember, you're not twelve anymore." Hermione glanced down at herself. That was certainly true. At twelve her body had just been starting to develop; now, a month shy of her fifteenth birthday she was nearly fully grown into her adult figure. And what she was wearing today made that fact quite evident.

But she understood what her mother was getting at. She needed to act like a young lady, rather than the enthusiastic girl who'd raced up and jumped into a hug with her friend, nearly knocking him over in her excitement. She took a breath and composed herself, then stood up straight (shoulders back, chest held high) and walked briskly to the door, even managing to work a bit of sway into her hips along the way.

Harry looked up as he wrestled his trunk to the bottom of the front steps and his mouth went dry. Striding toward him was his best friend and she … was … Hot! There was no other word to describe her. She was wearing a snug fitting, pale blue, spaghetti-strapped tank top that left her upper back and shoulders almost completely bare, combined with a tight pair of short white shorts. Truth be told, she was dressed exactly the same way thousands of other teenaged English girls were that warm, August day. But this wasn't just any girl, this was Hermione! It was the most skin he'd ever seen her reveal. It also occurred to him that Mrs. Weasley would have a fit when she saw the outfit.

Hermione maintained her calm exterior even as her heart was pounding, by carefully studying Harry's reaction and the expressions that crossed his face. Amazement, then delight, then admiration, then worry. She puzzled a moment over the last one, but then she figured it out and shot him a reassuring smile. She had that problem covered.

Harry regained his composure by the time she reached him and he opened his arms in welcome. During the tight hug that followed he whispered into her ear.

"You look really good. And thanks for coming to get me."

"Thanks. And believe me, it's my pleasure. I've missed you," she whispered back, hiding her blush in his shoulder.

"Me too," he agreed, holding onto the hug a bit longer.

Then, noticing the looks her mother and father were giving them, he released her and stepped back. As he took the handle of his trunk, Hermione picked up Hedwig's cage, then joined her other hand with his. Exchanging shy smiles, and keeping their hands clasped, they made their way with their loads to the back of the car, where Mr. Granger had opened the boot.

Together the two of them wrestled the trunk into place while Hermione's father exchanged brief greetings with Harry's uncle, and her mother had a few words with his aunt. On the surface they were simple pleasantries - yes, it certainly was a hot summer, and yes, they were happy to take Harry with them to Devon, and no, it was no trouble as it was practically on their way, and yes, it was better that the Weasleys didn't come fetch him themselves. But there was an underlying message that was clearly communicated by the Grangers to the Dursleys. We're still paying attention to what's happening here. This summer went fine, but it better continue that way next year too. After they'd established that, they joined the teens in the car.

The drive to Ottery St. Catchpole began with greetings and polite inquiries. What had everyone been doing so far this summer? The responses varied: did his homework, but not much else to talk about – Harry; interesting stories about dental patients – Mr. and Mrs. Granger; describing a few outings and several books she'd read – Hermione; and some tales of another Granger family summer trip to France. This time they'd focused on the cities, cathedrals, and museums.

After about an hour of this, Hermione's father moved the conversation back to Harry by soliciting his views on the Quidditch World Cup the two teens were about to attend.

"It's going to be brilliant!" Harry enthused, his face lighting up. "Ireland has one of the best chaser lines ever put together on a national team, and Bulgaria has a young seeker who's supposed to be the best in the world." He went on for some time explaining the importance of teamwork in the goal scoring portion of the sport, where players needed to anticipate each other's actions. Then he described the more individualistic position of seeker, and some of the advanced maneuvers that he'd read about and hoped to observe.

"Hermione tells us that you're a pretty good seeker yourself," Mr. Granger noted. Harry ducked his head and his face reddened slightly. He shot a glance over at Hermione, who nodded encouragingly, then turned back to reply and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess," he conceded with some embarrassment. "I do all right at Hogwarts. But I've only been playing for three years." The adults nodded at his answer, impressed with his modesty and truthfulness.

Hermione had been listening patiently for quite some time, taking delight in Harry's obvious excitement. But now she decided it was a good time to jump into the discussion to point out some of the other benefits of attending this event of global importance (and help her friend out).

"But it's more than just a quidditch match," she reminded them. "It's also an opportunity to meet wizards and witches from all over the world. More than 100,000 are expected to attend! Can you imagine how much we can learn?" Harry turned to her with a surprised expression; he'd obviously never considered that aspect. He shrugged an acknowledgement, but his eyes also showed his appreciation to her for her intervention. Up in the front seat, the adult Grangers managed to hide their amusement, well aware of everything that had just transpired.

Mrs. Granger had been biding her time, waiting for the opportunity to broach another subject. The silence that ended the quidditch conversation presented a perfect opening.

"Did you pick out a nice set of dress robes, Harry?" she inquired. "We had an enjoyable time selecting ones for Hermione. I wonder what formal occasion you'll be attending this year that will require them. Perhaps a dinner of some sort?"

Hermione sat up straight when she heard her mother's question, nervous about where she was going with it. She shot a hopeful glance at Harry, but he didn't pick up on it.

Harry rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "No, I really didn't have any chance to do anything like that. I don't get out much during the summer, you know."

"Well, you'll have to be sure to do that before you go back to school," Mrs. Granger persisted. "Hermione's are simply lovely. You should try to find something to match hers."

The girl in question was now mortified at her mother's blatant suggestion. When she was sure Harry wasn't looking, she shot her a glare that every mother of a teenaged daughter would recognize the meaning of. Mum! You're embarrassing me!

Harry was still oblivious. "I think Mrs. Weasley is going to get some for me while we're at the World Cup," he offered.

But that didn't seem to make Hermione's mum very happy. In fact, the atmosphere in the car seemed to cool considerably after that. Mrs. Granger had a frown on her face. Hermione was staring out her window, avoiding his gaze. Harry tried to catch the eye of Mr. Granger in the rear view mirror, but his expression was impassive.

He leaned back in his seat, reviewing the previous conversation, wondering what he'd said wrong. As they were nearing their destination (the Burrow sat on the outskirts of a small village) he finally figured it out. She was hinting that he should ask Hermione to be his date!

Harry let out a long sigh, wondering what his next move should be. He certainly agreed that it was a good idea, he just didn't know how to go about it.

When Mr. Granger stopped the car at the end of the lane that led to the ramshackle house (which was the strangest looking structure any of them had ever seen), Hermione removed some things from her bag. To his surprise, she stood up outside the car, on the side opposite the house, and began to put on more clothing! First she added a short sleeved, lightweight jumper. It was royal blue, and nicely matched her light blue tank top, which was still visible under the V neckline of the jumper. Then over her white shorts she pulled on a long skirt, with a blue floral print. Harry was impressed.

Hermione noticed his rapt attention. "How do I look?" she asked with a smile, twirling to make her skirt flare out.

"Great!" he blurted out. Then he worried that he was being overly enthusiastic. "I mean, uh …you looked really good before, but this is … this is really good too." He winced at how lame that sounded, but Hermione evidently didn't think so.

She stepped up to him and beamed. "Thank you. You're sweet." Then she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. When his eyes widened she looked away quickly, but then shot him a shy glance back.

Harry took a deep breath, deciding that this was the moment. "Erm … Hermione. You know, this formal thing your mum mentioned. I … I was thinking. Well, maybe we'll need partners, or something like that. Do you … um, think you might want to go with me?"

Hermione's face broke into a dazzling smile. She nodded quickly, not trusting her voice for a moment. She could feel her heart racing, and inside her mind was screaming, Yes!

Behind her, her mother was frozen on the spot, scarcely daring to breathe. Meanwhile her father was grinning as he unloaded their trunks from the back of the car. But neither of the teens noticed; right now their world was just the two of them.

Hermione took his hand and looked into his eyes. "I'd really like that. It would be wonderful."

Harry gestured to her outfit. "You look so good in that, and the way your mum was going on about your dress robes, I figured I should ask before anyone else does. I'm sure the other guys will be falling all over themselves when they see you." He was still a bit nervous, and felt the need for an explanation of the long-range invitation.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, but her smile grew even broader. "Oh honestly Harry, it'd be more likely the other way round," she protested. "All the girls will be asking you."

Harry grimaced, but only briefly. He was in too good a mood right now. "Won't matter if they do," he declared. "I've already got a date with the prettiest girl there." Hermione couldn't resist. She just had to hug him again for that.

Harry figured that everything was going so well, he might as well press on. "Well, besides that, maybe you'd want to go with me for anything else that happens this year?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione leaned back and regarded him quizzically, then grinned. "You mean like Hogsmeade visits?" she suggested. Harry nodded eagerly. "Like a regular series of dates?" she continued. He nodded again. Hermione took a deep breath. "Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" she concluded in a near whisper. Harry's final nod was interrupted by a crushing hug.

A pair of taps on their shoulders interrupted the celebratory embrace. They broke apart sheepishly as they turned to see the smiling faces of her parents.

"I'm so happy for you," her mum declared as she hugged them both. Her dad gave Hermione a hug as well, then shook hands with Harry.

"You two take care of yourselves this year," he advised. Harry nodded, understanding the several layers of meaning in that request. Then he turned back to the man's daughter and smiled again, taking her hand. They each grabbed a handle of a trunk, and arm in arm they walked happily up the path to the Burrow.

This was going to be their best year yet!

They'd worry about Harry's dreams later.

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-

(1) According to the book, Hermione had Divination and Muggle Studies and Arithmency all at the same time. Evidently, no one else from Gryffindor took that combination. But here, Harry also signed up for Arithmency, necessitating a schedule change. So she only has two classes simultaneously. And this Harry takes the time to confirm this fact with his friend Susan.

(2) Neville, as a good friend to both Harry and Hermione, would naturally play the role of mediator. Hagrid eventually did the same thing in the book, but Neville's closer to the scene and freer to take action, so does so much sooner than Hagrid could.

(3) Harry still had the map. Since he'd long since made up with Hermione and was no longer influenced by Ron, he didn't sneak out to Hogsmeade and throw mud at Malfoy in an incident that ended up with Remus confiscating the map. So Remus didn't come out to the Whomping Willow and forget to take his potion. (Ron wasn't there either.) Unfortunately, the dementors still attacked them, Pettigrew still got away, and Sirius was still captured. And Snape was still so mad after Sirius's subsequent escape that he 'let slip' that Remus was a werewolf, causing his resignation. Remus was also deeply chagrinned to learn that Sirius had been innocent all those years and vowed to make it up to him.

(4) I find this amusing. How long was the chain on the timeturner? Hermione wears it like a pendant, slipping it out of her robes to use it. A normal length for this would be 24 inches; 30 or 36 inches tops. A 24 inch chain wouldn't fit over two people's heads. At 36 inch chain would be quite snug, requiring the cheek to cheek contact I described. But in the POA movie, in the infirmary Hermione suddenly pulls out a chain that must be at least six feet long! There's no way she could have been using it like that all year. (And, in fact, it's normal sized just a few minutes later when she takes it out of her shirt again to explain it to Harry.) I can only assume that the moviemakers wanted to avoid the cozy scene shown here. Tough luck Dan!

(5) Yes, it took quite some time for Ron to be persuaded of the secret identity of his rat. It involved Harry practically swearing a magical oath, Fred and George suggesting that he would make a good test subject for pranks, and Ginny threatening him with a Bat Bogey hex.

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-

A/N When I originally conceived this story, I planned to end it here. The whole idea was to show how Harry and Hermione progressed from that first meeting to becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Then I realized that nothing much had actually happened yet! The big changes to the larger story wouldn't kick in until after they got together. So I decided I'd better add some more.

Therefore, next chapter will relate the impact of this new relationship on their lives, the events of 4th year, and indeed, the entire wizarding world.