AN: I don't own Harry Potter. Wish I did, though.
Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and faves. Either me, this story or another one, thank you.
Shall we bowl? I don't know how well I wrote the bowling stuff, because I've only been bowling once, and absolutely hated it.
Alright, my lovelies. Go! Read and enjoy!
"Alright, before we start, we need to pick out a ball." Hermione said as she and Neville finished putting the bowling shoes on and placing theirs under the bench at their lane."
"Okay." Neville said, standing and following her. He wasn't sure, but he could swear Hermione was swaying her hips more than usual as she walked in front of him.
Once they were in front of the bowling balls, Hermione turned to Neville. "Now, the way my dad taught me was that the best ball to use weighs at least ten percent of how much you weigh. So, and this is embarrassing, for instance, I weigh one twenty five, so I'm going to use a twelve pound ball." she said.
"Okay." Neville said slowly. "So, I'd need a ball weighing," he said, doing some calculations in his head, "about sixteen pounds, right?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes." she said absently as she tried to choose a ball.
After Hermione chose a black ball and Neville went with red, they went back to their lane, where Hermione proceeded to explain how to bowl to Neville.
"You got it?" she asked after the second run through of how to play.
Neville nodded. "I think so. Basically, you can't go past the black line, you have to keep your ball in between the gutters, and the goal is to knock down the most pins." he said.
"Right." she smiled. "We'll do a couple of warm up frames first. Just so you can get the hang of it." she said.
"Sure. You can go first, if you'd like." he said. As Hermione walked up to the lane, he watched her. He knew he wasn't imagining things now. She was definitely swaying her hips more than usual.
Hermione took a deep breath before she walked up to the line and let her ball go. She crossed her fingers as the shiny black ball rolled down the lane before knocking over all ten pins.
"Yes!" she yelled, raising her arms in the air. "Alright, Neville, you're up." she said, turning back to him.
Neville shook his head as she caught his attention. He had been focused on her shapely behind as she threw her ball, and completely missed her shot. "What?" he asked.
Hermione pointed behind her. "It's your shot." she said with a small smile.
"Oh! Right." he said, going up to the line.
'Come on, Nev. You can do this. Don't make yourself look stupid in front of Hermione. That's old Neville. Show her new Neville. Confident, smart, capable Neville.' he thought, giving himself a small pep talk before tossing his ball down the lane and hoping to Merlin he knocked over at least one pin.
Hermione watched Neville walk to the line and smiled a bit. She hadn't spent much time of her youth observing the male form, but could certainly appreciate a nice bum on a man. And one thing was for sure. Neville had a very nice bum. Blushing as she watched him, she turned her attention to the lane just as Neville's ball knocked down ten pins as well.
"Wooo! Way to go, Neville!" she yelled excitedly, not caring that the other four people bowling looked their way.
Neville smiled to himself as he watched his ball knock down all the pins, and blushed as Hermione yelled for him. He was glad the bowling alley was fairly empty this time of day.
"That was a really good shot, Neville!" Hermione exclaimed as he sat down beside her. "You ready to play for real now?" she asked.
"Thanks. And yeah, I think I'm ready." he smiled.
"Okay. I'll keep score, then." she said.
They played the next four frames with Neville surprisingly in the lead. He had knocked down all ten pins four out the six frames. Hermione, meanwhile, was not doing so well, having knocked down only seven pins each frame.
"Are you thirsty, Neville?" she asked.
"Yeah, a bit." he said as he sat down.
"Alright. Wait here and I'll go get us some drinks." she said, getting her wallet out of her purse. "Be right back." she smiled as she walked off.
Neville smiled as he sat alone for a few moments. He felt a bit bad about beating Hermione, but only a bit. He was happy he was good at something for once that had nothing to do with plants.
"Here we go." Hermione said as she sat down again and handed him a red cup with a straw, taking a sip of her own. "I got you a lemon soda. Hope you like it." she said.
Neville took a sip and was surprised at the flavored drink she got him. "Wow! That is really good!" he said with a smile.
She looked up from where she was putting her wallet back in her bag and smiled at him. "So, you like it, then?" she asked.
He nodded, taking a larger sip. "Yeah, I do." he said.
Hermione let out a breath of relief. She had given Ron a lemon soda once when he and Harry came over to her house the summer after fourth year, and he didn't like it. He actually accused her of trying to poison him.
"Good. Now, I think it's my shot." she said, getting back into the game while Neville sat drinking his soda.
"I'm sorry, Hermione." Neville said as they walked. "I'm so sorry." he said, shaking his head.
"Neville, it's fine." Hermione smiled, grabbing his hand.
"I didn't mean to win, you know." he said.
Hermione laughed a bit. "Neville, honestly, it's fine." she said. "I wasn't expecting you to be so good, though. Are you sure you haven't played before?" she asked with a playful squint.
"No, I haven't." he said, still shaking his head. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You did great for your first time, and I'm happy for you." she smiled, squeezing his hand.
"Thanks, Hermione." he smiled, relaxing now that he knew she wasn't upset he beat her. "How much do I owe you for today, by the way?" Neville asked. "I mean, you paid for the shoes, the drinks, the pretzel, and I feel like I should pay you back." he said.
Hermione shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It barely cost anything." she said.
"Yeah, but..." he said before she interrupted him.
"Neville, really, don't worry about it." she said.
He felt bad that she had paid for everything, but just nodded as she told him not to worry.
"Alright. But the next thing we do in the wizarding world, I pay for." he said.
"Deal." Hermione said. "Now then, I believe I owe you a dinner." she said.
"Oh, you don't..."
"Yes, I do. We made a deal, and I want to hold up my end. I offered to make you dinner if I lost, which I did, and you agreed." she said, looking up at him. "What would you like me to cook for you?"
"Uh...what can you cook?" Neville asked hesitantly.
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You've been listening to Ron complain about my cooking, haven't you?" she asked.
"I just heard him complaining that one time right after the war, really." he said. "And maybe a few times since." he said under his breath.
Hermione frowned and sighed at that. "The only reason Ron has to complain is because out in the middle of a forest, all I had to work with was mushrooms, wild onions, and maybe a fish or two...if we were lucky." she said. "I started learning how to cook before I even heard of Hogwarts. So, you name it, and I'll make it." she said.
"Oh, okay then." he said. Thinking about it for a few minutes, he looked down and smiled a bit at her. "How about I make it ladies choice? You can just surprise me with whatever you cook."
Hermione nodded. "Yeah, okay." she said. "When would you like it?" she asked.
"Tonight's good if you'd like." Neville said. He was eager to spend more time alone with her in a more domestic setting.
"I would like that." she said with a smile. "How about I come over around eight? That good?"
"Yeah, that's good." he nodded.
Hermione walked into the Burrow with a smile. For the second night in a row, she had a date. Not just a date, but a date with the sweetest guy around. Not to mention one of the best looking guys, too.
"Hey, Hermione." Ginny said from the kitchen table where she was chopping carrots. "Have a nice day at work?" she asked.
"It was alright." she shrugged, sitting across from Ginny and grabbing a carrot to chomp on.
"You get your permanent assignment yet?" Ginny asked.
Hermione shook her head. "No, that's not until I finish the internship." she said. "I'm hoping when I get it, I get the obstetric ward, though."
"Well, good luck." she said. "Where've you been, anyway? Didn't you get off work almost three hours ago?" she asked, getting up to put the carrots in a pan.
"Yeah, but Neville came to pick me up and I took him bowling after I got off." Hermione said. "By the way, I won't be here for dinner, so don't set a place for me." she said, getting up.
"Oh? And where will you be?"
"I agreed to cook Neville dinner if I lost, which I did." she said.
"Neville beat you at bowling?" Ginny asked in surprise, looking at Hermione over her shoulder.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah, and it was great. He did really super for his first time at it." she said proudly. "I gotta go get ready. I'll see you in a bit." she said, going upstairs.
Hermione was ready for the evening by seven. She had decided to keep it casual for the night, donning a pair of jeans and a white peasant blouse with her trainers, her hair pulled into a low ponytail. She had to hurry, though. She had to floo to the Leaky Cauldron, go into Diagon Alley for a few things at the grocery, walk back to the Leaky and floo to Neville's, and only had an hour to do that.
Walking downstairs, she grabbed her bag from where she had hung it on the bannister and went into the kitchen, smiling at the family members assembled.
"Good evening, everyone." she said.
"Hey, Mione." Ron said through a mouth full of food. He said something else she didn't understand, making her cringe as he sprayed the table in front of him with food.
"Uh...what?" she asked in confusion.
"Ronald! Swallow and then talk!" Molly scolded from her seat to the right of Arthur. "Hermione, dear, we were wondering if you'd like to invite Neville over for dinner on Sunday? We're having all the kids bring their matches over so we can get to know them." she said with a smile.
"Oh!" Hermione said. "Yeah, I'll invite him over." she answered. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a date." she smiled, saying her goodbyes to everyone.
"Here, let me take those." Neville said as he let Hermione in. She had been holding three grocery bags and they looked heavy, making him wonder what she was cooking.
"Thanks." Hermione smiled, leaning up to kiss Neville on the cheek in greeting. "You like fish, right?" she asked as she followed him to the kitchen.
Neville nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Good." she sighed in relief. "Because I was planning on making Pan-Seared Tilapia, and would really be up a creek if you didn't like fish." she said.
"Sounds good." he said as he set the bags down on the counter in the kitchen.
"Uh...Tipper and Tulip don't mind that I'm taking over the kitchen for the night, do they?" Hermione asked as she began unloading the bags.
Neville laughed. "Oh, no. I gave them both the night off, actually, so don't worry." he said. He watched as Hermione searched through the cupboards. "Can I help in anyway?" he asked.
"Yeah. You can tell me where you keep the mixing bowls and things." she said, continuing her search.
He stepped up behind her and reached over her head to open a cupboard. "Right here." he said, getting a couple down for her.
Hermione blushed as she felt him behind her. "Thank you." she said, taking them from him.
"No problem." Neville said, smiling to himself. He got a kind of pleasure out of knowing she was affected by him like he was by her. He placed his left hand on her waist as he pressed a kiss to her temple, inhaling the scent of her hair as he did. He sighed as he smelt that familiar scent from when they were younger. That comforting scent of vanilla and coconut he enjoyed so much.
Neville had always wanted a big family. Just him, his wife, and their children. And Gran, of course. He owed it to her to take care of her when she got older, just as she took care of him growing up. Three kids who were a perfect blend of him and his wife. The kind of wife who was her own woman, but was also dedicated to her family. To have a loud, noisy, chaotic house to come home to after work. A wife who asked about his day as they cooked dinner together.
And now, with Hermione, he could see that coming true.
Hermione smiled as Neville kissed her temple. She could just picture what they looked like - her, fixing dinner for her...partner, she supposed...while he showed his affection with a small kiss during a one armed hug. It was a scene she had seen many times growing up, and always dreamed of being part of. People often made the mistake of thinking Hermione only wanted to be a successful career woman. Truth was she wanted to be a successful career woman, but she also wanted the loving husband and children to go home to, as well.
The kind of family with the kids who come running to smother her with hugs and kisses when she gets home from work, excited to see her. She greets her husband with a kiss as he comes home from work later than she does. The two of them cook dinner together as they discuss their day while their children play in another part of the house. Maybe a dog who sits in the kitchen while dinner's cooking, hoping some scraps will get dropped for him. The kids are put to bed and then she and her husband fall into their bed, too exhausted to do anything but sleep.
Perhaps it was clichéd, but that's what Hermione wanted. And with Neville, she was halfway there.
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Til next time!
XOXO - Onyx Obsidian
