A/N: Thank you to paulaa90 (thank you!), china (thank you for spotting those errors, i haven't fixed them yet but i will. Not sure about the kippers though, i am sort of attached to them even if battering them is inaccurate), guest (THANK you thank you thank you!) KrnGrangerdeBlack (muchos gracias), Lady Delphinea, ndavis77, rainbowJH, and thanks to everyone else that faved/followed. Glad you like Lenny/Sirius!

I am also writing a JamesHermione story "Don't Overthink Things" which is almost finished and which you might like if you like mischievous troublemakers like Sirius. I didn't plan to write a Jamione but it sort of snuck up on me.

Also Leonard is still feeling bad and confused about the incidents in the last chapter, so that is why he is in a bad mood with Jess.


Appearances


"You're no fun tonight," the thin lanky girl complained. Her name was Jessica, and they'd been in the same year when they'd done their GCSEs and kept in touch since then. Or rather she kept following him around the small village.

Her pale freckled hands were winding their way through his long hair, twirling his long dark hair around her finger as if he were a doll. He shuddered as he remembered how she'd tried to braid his hair once.

"Talk to me Lenny."

"I can't," he said and tried to bat her hands out of his hair. It was annoying how she always played with his hair. "You wouldn't understand."

"And what I'm too thick now to understand is that what you're saying?" Jess raised her voice dramatically.

"I didn't mean that." He buried his face in his hands, because he was really getting tired of her mood swings.

Jessica's blue eyes widened in anger. "You know what Leonard, next time you can just do it with your hand, I'm not going to be there to get you off!"

"C'mon Jess. Hey! Sorry." He tried to pull her back in the bed by the sheets but she was already climbing out and wrapping the sheets around her stick-thin form like some sort of self-righteous greek statue.

"No Lenny. I've had just about enough of your attitude lately!" she shouted and began to pick up her clothes from the floor.

"Lately? What d'you mean lately?" He ran a hand across his brow. "C'mon Jessie."

"How many times do I have to say not to call me Jessie, it's Jessa or JESS!"

Leonard suddenly snorted. He knew it was the inappropriate response, sorry, but it was just too funny that her name pronunciation was what she was getting angry about.

Jess narrowed her eyes even more at him, shooting daggers out of them if that were possible. "You're an arse Leonard Colt and I'll be glad if I never see you again!" She turned on her heel and stormed out. She slammed the door behind her, then came back a second later, and grabbed her phone off the dresser. "And don't even try calling me because I won't be answering! You'll be blocked!"

Then she slammed the door again. Even louder than the first time.

Leonard winced as the 5ft2 terror with red hair known as Jess, stormed her away out of his house. He hoped that she didn't wake his aunt or uncle on the way out.

Too late.

There was a commotion and some loud barking.

Then, from downstairs, his aunt and uncle were asking what all the commotion was, before they must have laid eyes on the teenage drama queen and she shrieked at them.

He quickly tore out of bed after Jess, before she woke up the whole neighbourhood.

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They were having desert when Harry pulled out her seat for her again and Hermione had to stop herself from cringing.

"Harry," she whispered, "You don't have to pull the seat out for me, everytime I stand." She shifted her eyes around the room, hoping she wasn't making a scene. "It's demeaning. I can do it myself."

Harry actually stood his ground, his hands still on the back of her chair, and stared at her. "Hermione this is a very formal restaurant and it's a wizarding custom. It's sort of expected that I draw out your chair for you everytime, otherwise I would look rude." He raised a brow at her, his eyes somewhat mischievous.

"Harry since when have you ever cared about wizarding societal norms?" she whispered harshly back at him, conscious that they were getting more than a few curious glances.

"Since I've lived here since I was 11. Same as you. Don't you think we've both become more accustomed to living in this world than the other?"

Hermione thought about it that way. "Yes it's true." More than uncomfortably true. How much she'd distanced herself from the muggle world. And even some of her muggle family (her parents weren't exactly forgiving of the obliviation-Australia stunt she'd pulled during the war). Still, that didn't she had to follow all wizarding customs.

She felt aware again that a few people were staring at the boy-who-lived and his best friend. Watching their every move as if they were a sideshow attraction.

"Harry can we just skip desert and go so someplace else?" she pleaded.

Harry actually smiled at that. "I was hoping you'd say that." He rubbed at his scar and she felt at ease with him again, this shy boy she'd known for most of her life. "This place is nice but it sort of attracts the wrong crowd."

He patted his hair over his forehead, as he often had through the years, whenever self-conscious about his scar.

The scar, that despite so much passage of time, was still there like a beacon to his identity. So many times she'd wanted to wipe that scar clean. But he wouldn't be the Harry he knew without it, would he?

They waived over the waiter to get the cheque.

"Sure you don't mind skipping out on desert?" he asked again.

"Not a chance." Hermione said quickly getting up and grabbing her purse.

Harry sounded relieved. "Let's get out of here."

.


They walked out in the cold autumn night lit only by tall lampposts and passing taxis. Harry kept a few paces beside her. They were both wearing smart trench coats and to all the world, they probably looked like a couple on a late night stroll. People gave them sweet looks and smiled at them as they passed.

"Nice night, isn't it?" An elderly couple tipped their hat at them. The elderly gent had his arm around his smiling wife.

They were muggles and had no idea who they were.

"Yes, I always like it this time of year," Hermione smiled archly, because it was endearing how obvious they cared for each other. She looped her arm around Harry's. "If I can get him to take some exercise, he'd rather always just take the..." floo "er, bus," she corrected herself before she revealed something to the muggles.

The woman laughed and leaned towards her eagerly. "My husband's just the same way and the poor thing had a stroke last year if you would believe it. He wouldn't do any exercise if it weren't for me," she teased. "Not that your fellow's in bad shape!" The old woman eyed Harry's athletic form a bit too thoroughly and Hermione had to stop herself from laughing. (Though it was true, Harry was in good shape despite never exercising. I mean if you used magic for everything, you would expect him to have no muscle tone left.)

"Have a nice night, then loves, you and your wife," the man said pleasantly and tipped his hat at them.

"Oh we're not-" Harry and Hermione both said..but then trailed off, because the elderly couple were smiling at them so happily, and really what was the point correcting them? And telling them, actually Harry was a divorcee and her own heart was a mess, with two failed relationships and a string of one night stands that went nowhere. No, that would probably not go down well with the older generation.

"Night," is all they said eventually and Harry and Hermione waved them off.

They watched amiably as the couple strolled off another corner, disappearing into the night.

Harry smiled briskly at her and they started walking along the cobbled streets of old London. "You know, I often wondered if..."

"If what...?" Hermione asked, slightly disconcerted at the change of conversation.

Harry stared up at the stars, which were barely visible above the pollution of the metropolis, then down at her again. He stepped towards her.

"If it could've been me and you." He motioned a hand between them. "Us."

She frowned deeply. Oh it was true she'd thought of it sometimes, and merlin there were so many what ifs."Harry you can't think like that. So many things could've been or not been..." She bit her lip and thought of Sirius. So long ago. And still so fresh in her heart. He might've been alive if she'd done something different. He might've been here. She shook her head. "There's no use."

Harry seemed angered by her refusal to even see his way. "But it's simple really, if you hadn't gone with Ron and I hadn't been with Ginny, we might've happened. None of the Weasleys worked out for us in the end, did they?"

"You're oversimplifying things Harry." Not the least which that she'd gone with Ron to forget about Sirius. To forget about exactly such 'what ifs'. Things that could never be. "It doesn't do to dwell on the past." Harry couldn't just erase his divorce from Ginny, no more than she could erase the contents of her own heart. "C'mon Harry let's just go home."

She walked towards the entrance to an alcove, where they could apparate without being seen.

"No." He pulled at her arm then, drawing her towards him with uncharacteristic aggression. "You're refusing to even look at the future." He held his hand up to her and cradled her face, daring her to look away from him. "I'm right here Hermione and you don't want to even see me."

There was an intensity in his green eyes that she'd never seen before. It frightened here, and she realized she'd been skirting around this issue all evening.

"You're confusing your feelings for Ginny with me..." she protested. Though suddenly Harry was so close and her hand on his arm and she could feel his muscles through his coat.

And maybe she was just tired and exhausted by everything, but she ached to close her eyes and just forget about Ginny and Sirius and Ron and Leonard and the past and everything that kept closing in on her.

"No, Hermione, I'm over Ginny. All I see is you."

He pressed down his lips to her.

.

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a/n: Who do you think Hermione should be with Harry or Leonard? tell me what you think Thanks!

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