AN: I don't own Harry, Hermione, Ron, the Weasley family, Neville, his Gran, Luna, Lavender, or any other character from the Harry Potter series.
Thank you guys so much for the reviews, follows and faves so far. You guys all rock.
Just FYI. I think some of Hermione's muggle roots need a bit of attention, so she asks Neville to a muggle place for a mid afternoon date.
Also, for those of you wondering, Luna and Lavender, as well as the others, will be making an appearance in the next couple of chapters.
Alright, my lovelies. Go! Read and enjoy!
"Hey, Neville. What brings you by?" Harry asked as he landed. He'd been having some alone time flying in the Weasley's orchard when he saw Neville apparate just past the wards and begin walking up.
"Oh...I came to see Hermione." he said as he greeted Harry. "I'm not interrupting something again, am I?" he asked as he eyed the broom in Harry's hand.
Harry shook his head as he walked with Neville. "Nah. Just taking a few laps." he said. "Uh...you do know Hermione's at work, right?" he asked.
"Really?" he asked, looking at his watch. "I thought she'd be off by now." he said.
"No, not until half past three." Harry said. "So, she's still got a half hour. Maybe more if she has a lot of paperwork to finish."
"Oh, well, maybe I'll go wait for her." Neville said. "You know, pick her up from work." he shrugged.
"Sounds like a good idea." Harry nodded. "Hermione will like that." he said.
"You think so?" he asked nervously.
"Definitely." Harry said. "Here's a little tip. She won't admit it, but Hermione wants a guy who does all that cheesy, romantic crap from books and the cinema. You know, picking her up from work, a candlelight dinner for two, flowers, candy, long walks on the beach, that kind of stuff."
"Yeah?" Neville asked.
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I went to her house once and we ended up watching some frou frou girly movie, and she got all dreamy eyed when the guy did that kind of stuff for his girl." he said.
"We already had the candlelight dinner." Neville said as he thought about what Harry had just said.
"Good start." Harry said, patting him on the back. "Another tip? Picking her up from work makes her feel special knowing you couldn't wait to see her, AND it shows that she's taken to any guys who might have their eye on her."
Neville tensed. He knew Hermione wasn't easily swayed, but the thought of some big, bulky wizard making a pass at his fiancée made his blood boil. Having spent a bit of time at St. Mungos with his parents, he knew of a few Healers who had reputations for getting 'friendly' with the Medi-Witches and other Healers. Like Healer Robards, the brother of the Robards who worked at the Ministry. He was well known for his scores with the ladies. 'The bastard.' he thought.
Nodding, he let out a slow breath to calm himself down. "Yeah. I just might do that." he said, bidding Harry a good day and leaving.
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Maggie exclaimed as she walked up beside Hermione who was filling out some patient reports at the Medi-Witch's desk. "I finally get to go home." she sighed.
"You finally off, then?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the report she was working on.
Maggie nodded as she stuck the clipboard she'd been holding in a slot on the wall. "Yeah." she sighed again. "I'm gonna go home, light some candles, pour some wine and spend some quality time with a long, hot bubble bath."
Hermione sighed. "That sounds like a fantastic idea."
"Yeah, it does." Maggie smiled.
"I for one would love to take a bubble bath, but since I'm still staying with the Weasley's, that's impossible." she said.
"Why? How many of them are there living there?" Maggie asked. "I mean, I know the Weasley's are a big family, but how many of them still live at home?"
"Well, there's Molly, Arthur, Ron, Ginny, Harry, me, Percy moved back in after the war, the twins stay every now and then, and whenever Charlie's in town. So," Hermione said, counting on her fingers, "seven full time. But there's only two bathrooms, so..." she said, trailing off.
"Gods, I think I'd go insane living with that many people." Maggie said.
Hermione shrugged. "It's not so bad. It's actually really nice being apart of the Weasley's. I welcome the chaos, and the noise, and the people."
"Why? Surely you've thought about moving into your own place?"
"Yeah, I did. But, I grew up an only child, with parent's whose lives revolved around their work, and who traveled a lot. I grew up in silence, basically. Trust me, the chaos and the noise is a welcome sound after that." Hermione said as she propped her head up on her hand. "Plus, I'll be getting married and moving in with Neville soon, so it's not so bad." she added.
"Speaking of which, if I were you, I'd finish that report quickly." Maggie said as she looked past Hermione. "Your future husband is here." she said with a smile as she watched Neville walk off the lift.
Hermione turned her head in the direction Maggie was looking and smiled. Getting up, she walked around the desk to greet him.
"Neville! What are you doing here?" she asked as she hugged him and took comfort in the feeling of his arms around her.
"Well," he said, kissing her briefly, "I thought I'd come and escort you home." he said, smiling as she smiled up at him.
"Sounds good." Hermione said. "I just have a report to finish and I'll be ready." she said. "If you want, you can wait in the waiting area over there." she said, nodding to the small waiting area to the left.
"Alright." Neville nodded. As he left, he turned his head and smiled at her. "You look cute, by the way. I've always liked fairies, you know."
Hermione blushed as she looked down at herself. She, being a more modern witch, had foregone the typical green robes of the Healers at St. Mungos and instead opted to wear muggle scrubs. The scrubs were a light blue and had little images of Tinkerbell on them.
As she turned back to the desk, Maggie was still leaning against the desk and smiling. "I wouldn't leave him alone for long. You never know who might come along."
"What does that mean?" Hermione asked, sitting back down.
"Hermione, sweetie, look at that man." Maggie said, pointing to Neville. "Not only is he a war hero, he's from a very prestigious family, has money, is one of the sweetest guys around, and is a VERY attractive wizard. Do you know how many witches would give their left tit for a man like that?" she asked. "The answer is a lot, by the way. Vera O'Shea, for instance." she said.
Hermione bit her lower lip and began to write faster. The thought of Vera O'Shea, the easiest witch at St. Mungos, flirting and throwing herself at Neville made Hermione's blood boil. She knew he was loyal, but many good, decent men before him had fallen for Vera's charm. 'That bitch.' she thought.
"Yes, well...I know Neville, and he would never go for a tramp like that." she said in a deceptively calm voice.
"Uh huh." Maggie said disbelievingly. "Just like Healer Brunwick? Healer Jefferies? Healer Martin? Mister Johnson, the squib who cleans up around here? How about..." she said, listing just a few of Vera's conquests.
"Maggie," Hermione sighed, only to be interrupted by her friend.
"No, Hermione. They were all good men who had never done anything wrong, and as soon as she looked at them, they were taking turns on the Vera Express." she said. "If I were you, I'd spend the next three days you have off and make sure that man was so awed by you that no other witch would even register in his mind. If you know what I mean." she said, waggling her eyebrows.
Hermione laughed and shook her head, all negative thoughts vanishing. "Thanks for that, Maggie, but I trust Neville." she said, going back to her report so she could leave and go home.
Ten minutes later, Hermione was finally done with her report. She put it in the patient file and slid the folder into the cabinet behind her with the other patient files in it and stood up.
"Alright." Maggie sighed. "I'll see you in three days, Hermione." she said, hugging her.
"Bye, Maggie." Hermione smiled, hugging her back.
"When I see you next, I hope there's a huge diamond on your finger." she whispered in Hermione's ear.
Hermione just laughed and shook her head again. "Get out of here, and don't drown in your bubble bath." she said as she let go of Maggie and reached under the desk for her bag.
As Maggie walked...well, skipped, more like...to the lifts, Hermione walked over to Neville, who had been reading last month's Witch Weekly and jumped as she tapped him on the shoulder.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked, putting the magazine down and standing.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah." she said. "I have the next glorious three days off, so the quicker the better." she said, smiling as she felt him grab her hand.
"Three? I thought most people only got two?" he asked, pushing the button for the lift.
"Usually they do, but as long as I'm an intern, it's three days." she said, stepping into the lift as the doors opened. "I think they do it that way so you don't get too sick of working here before you're fully qualified." she said.
"Good idea." Neville nodded. "Imagine if you worked the same hours as the full Healers." he said.
Hermione shook her head. "I think I'd get sick of this place very quickly and drop out of the program." she said with a little laugh.
The two stood in silence as the lift went down to the ground floor. They had been friends for so long that neither of them felt the need to fill the comfortable silence with small talk.
As they stepped off the lift, Neville boldly wrapped his arm around her waist tightly. Looking down at her, he asked, "Do you want to go to the Burrow right away, or would you like to go for a walk or something?"
Hermione looked down at herself and her blue Tinkerbell scrubs. "Uh...how about I duck into the loo over there and change real quick, then...have you ever been bowling?" she asked.
"No, I don't think so." he said, shaking his head.
"Well, how about we go bowling, then?" she asked. Seeing Neville looking a little wary, she said, "If you don't have fun, we can do whatever you want next time."
Neville nodded. "Okay, Hermione. You have a deal." he said. "Still carrying the beaded bag, I see." he said, looking at the multicolored bag in her hand.
Hermione flushed a little. "Yeah. It kind of became a habit." she said. "I'll be right back." she said, walking quickly to the loo.
Neville felt bad as he watched her go. He hadn't meant anything by what he said, he was just surprised Hermione still carried the now infamous beaded bag. He knew about habits picked up during the war, as he still tended to quickly and slyly assess a room he entered. There were just some habits you pick up that become hard to let go of. He made a mental note to apologize to Hermione for his careless remark.
Hermione stood in the loo, changing into her normal clothes and thinking about Neville's remark. It was true, with the exception of last night, she always carried her old, beaten and battered beaded bag with her. Always filled with books, a change of clothing, some medical supplies and food such as granola bars and saltine crackers, a couple bottles of water, and a small wallet filled with some muggle cash. The year on the run taught her to always be prepared, and even now, she was.
After she changed into jeans and a white blouse, she slipped her trainers back on and walked out, taking her hair clip out as she went. She found Neville standing across from the loo, leaning against the wall and staring at his feet. Hermione took a deep breath and walked over to him.
"All ready." she said with a false cheery smile.
Neville looked up from where he was standing and smiled a little at her.
"I'm sorry, Hermione." he said. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I was just surprised you still have the bag is all."
"It's alright, Neville." she said. "Really. I think I just took it the wrong way." she said as her fake smile became a real one. "Now, are you ready to go bowling? I'll even sweeten the deal. If I win, we go dancing at a little jazz club I know, and if you win, I'll come over to yours and cook dinner. Deal?" she asked.
Neville laughed and nodded. "You have a deal, Hermione." he said, taking her hand as they turned to leave.
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