Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. It all belongs to the Queen, J.K.

My beta is the best beta! Dreamingofstars85

A/N: This is a long chapter! I LOVE the reviews you are leaving! Thank you so much! Xoxo, Luce!

CHAPTER TEN

Ten Points to Gryffindor

When Hermione stumbled through the Floo at The Burrow, she was quite surprised to find the room empty and quiet. Dusting herself off, and watching Crookshanks disappear around a corner, she listened for a moment before calling out.

"Hello? Ron? Harry?"

Getting no reply, Hermione started to walk toward the stairs but stopped when she heard shouting outside, and quickly turned to head toward the door. She walked outside and followed the commotion into the Weasley's yard. What she saw had her both slightly alarmed, and stifling back a laugh.

Mr. Weasley was standing on a precariously balanced Muggle ladder, with what looked to be a string of Christmas lights tangled all around himself, attempting to affix them to the roof. Mrs. Weasley was quite unsteadily holding the ladder from below, one hand on her hip, shouting up at her husband a flurry of angry reprimands. Hermione was sure she heard one or two oaths sternly whispered under the woman's breath as well.

The rest of the group was equally comical. The twins were off to the side, mischievously whispering to one another. They kept glancing at Ron, who was on his knees a couple meters away, peering into a bush, and shouting at Harry something about stunning a gnome.

Ginny was perched on the stone fence, with a peculiar expression on her face. Hermione followed the girl's gaze, and saw her ogle Harry's arse as he bent over on the other side of the bush, and she laughed at how obvious and unashamed the girl was.

Ginny heard Hermione's laugh and looked over to see their friend smiling at them. She waved to her and hopped off the fence, bouncing over and throwing her arms around her friend in a tight embrace.

"Hermione!" Ginny squealed, "Ron! Harry! Mum! Look who's here!"

As soon as the others spotted her, the scene shifted from one kind of chaos to another. Hermione was soon being hugged by so many arms she couldn't tell who was who. Until she got to Harry that is. His hugs were always very distinct. As he wrapped his arms around her, Hermione nuzzled her head into the crook between his neck and shoulder, and finally felt herself relax a little.

They had always had a rather intimate friendship, although neither was romantically inclined toward the other in any way. Harry had been so starved of love and affection growing up that when he realised how physically affectionate Hermione naturally was, he'd gravitated to her.

"Harry," she sighed into his embrace, and the two friends hugged tightly until Ginny cleared her throat loudly and clapped Hermione on the back.

As soon as Harry was out of the way, Mrs. Weasley began fussing over Hermione, dusting leftover soot off her jacket, and tsk tsk-ing under her breath about how thin Hermione looked.

"Fred, George! Make sure your father doesn't fall off of that Muggle death trap. We're going to get our Hermione all settled." Mrs. Weasley shouted over her shoulder as she all but drug Hermione toward the house, Harry, Ron, and Ginny following along.

Once inside, Molly instructed Ginny to take Hermione up to 'the girls' room', which made Hermione chuckle under her breath, since it's just Ginny's regular bedroom. Harry and Ron quickly followed the girls up the stairs before she had a chance to insist they start some meticulous cleaning task, and Mrs. Weasley set out to prepare lunch.

Ginny chattered the whole way to the bedroom. Once they were all inside with the door shut, Harry and Ron began catching Hermione up on everything The Burrow, as well. Apparently a lot can happen in a week when there is an upcoming wedding and a very stressed out Molly Weasley in one residence.

She had insisted that the garden be de-gnomed every day, at least once, but often trying for a second time in the afternoon. If you wanted to leave the house at all, it had better be on Official Wedding Business, as she called it. 'If you had time to lean, you had time to clean.' It went on and on.

They chatted until Mrs. Weasley was hollering up the stairs at them, insisting everyone come down for lunch. The Weasleys and their strays, as Fred and George called them, all gathered around the long table and shared a very loud, but enjoyable meal together. Conversations were being held in all directions; Hermione could barely hear Harry who was sitting right next to her. It was always a bit of a shock to the system, coming to The Burrow after being at home— though it was a very welcome feeling, being surrounded by so much family.

And after all these years she really felt like the Weasleys were family. Molly treated her like another one of her brood, and Ron was already like a brother to her. She knew Harry felt the same, too, only for him it was not exactly a second family, since his first was so awful. The Burrow is where he was able to be a part of a family that wanted him to be a part of it.

After lunch, Hermione and Ginny were summoned to the kitchen to help clean up, while Harry, Ron, and the twins were sent back outside to finish up things in the garden. Mrs. Weasley had left with Fleur to do some last minute wedding shopping, and the house seemed to collectively sigh in relief when she departed.

Ginny charmed the dishes to wash themselves, and plopped down on a chair in the kitchen, "I can't wait for this wedding to be over. Mum's getting a tad mental these days."

Laughing, Hermione charmed the table linens to fold, and sat down next to Ginny. "I can tell! She seems a bit… intense, right now."

"You have no idea!"

"So," Hermione glanced around making sure they were alone, "any news you want to tell me? It's been a week now that you've been living with Harry. Have you had any… progress?" she giggled.

"He is as thick as ever, that one. I have not been subtle, Hermione."

"I wasn't aware the word subtle was even in your vocabulary. It might be time to try a more direct approach. Harry wouldn't see subtle if it was a whomping willow branch that hit him upside the head."

Ginny's mouth slowly turned up at the corner, in a sly smirk, and she had a mischievous look on her face that rivaled that of the twins.

"Oh no. Ginny, what are you planning?" Hermione was shaking her head, already anticipating the ridiculous idea she was surely forming.

"Oh, just you wait and see. Just you wait." She smirked.

Fantastic, Hermione thought.

After they had cleaned everything from lunch and set the kitchen to rights, the two young witches headed out into the garden to watch the disaster show that was happening there.

Mr. Weasley was back on the ladder, trying to use a staple gun and his wand to get the Muggle Christmas lights to stick to the house.

"Does your dad know those are Christmas lights, Ginny?"

Ginny nodded. "He wanted to decorate the house with them for the wedding. Mum said she didn't want them anywhere near the marquis, so dad took that to mean he could plaster them all over the house. Not exactly what Mum meant, mind you, but better here where they won't really be seen." She laughed, watching her father wobble on the ill-balanced ladder.

Ron and Harry were back around the bush, both wands drawn, and trying to outsmart a gnome, it appeared. Ron had come at it directly, while Harry was creeping along the back edge, to surprise it. When Ron lunged at the gnome, it turned and ran, to Hermione's surprise, straight into Harry's waiting arms.

"Ginny, did you see that? Harry and Ron made a plan, together, without me, and it worked." Hermione elbowed Ginny in the ribs, pointing to the boys. Harry had just flung the gnome over the fence, and was high-fiving Ron.

"I actually didn't think they were going to manage it. That bugger has been hiding out in that bush for days now, and Mum has had us out here morning and evening trying to get rid of it." Ginny stated, before shouting at the boys, "Took you long enough, tossers!"

The girls fell into a fit of giggles as Ron made to pretend kick at Ginny, and ended up falling on his arse. Harry was laughing as well, though he did offer his fallen friend a hand up.

Once the garden tasks were taken care of, everyone headed inside to their rooms before Mrs. Weasley could come back and set them on another project. Ginny had bolted off after the twins, saying something about returning favors owed to her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed into the boys' room, where Hermione locked and silenced the door, before turning to her friends and saying,

"So, Horcruxes —"

xXxXxXx

An hour later, when there was nothing left for the trio to plan, Hermione looked at Harry and shrugged her shoulders feeling disheartened.

"Harry, I'm not sure how we are going to do this if we can't find any more information — there just isn't enough here. It's like trying to find a bowtruckle in a tree."

"We will figure something out, Hermione. Maybe when we have more time in the library next year, we will make more progress. Ron and I will buckle down and really work on finding stuff, won't we Ron?" Harry elbowed his friend.

"Ouch!" Ron rubbed his ribs, but seeing Harry's stern glare, he added, "Oh yeah, sure 'Mione. We will do loads more next year. It'll all be fine."

A light rap on the door interrupted Hermione's response. She hurried to shuffle their papers and books underneath a pillow while Harry opened the door.

"Oh, hey Gin," he stepped aside to let Ginny into the room.

"What are you three up to?" she asked, noting the way Hermione was protectively trying to hide a rather lumpy looking pillow.

"Nothing!" all three voices said at once.

Laughing, Ginny sat down on the floor, leaning up against the bed. "Oh and that wasn't suspicious at all." She rolled her eyes, and chuckled.

"So, what's the plan then?" Ron asked, looking to Hermione.

"Why am I always the one who has to come up with the plans here? You three have brains, just the same as I do. Use them!"

"To be fair Hermione, no one has a brain quite like yours," Harry teased.

She threw a pillow at him, and then had to duck as he threw one back.

Gasping, she put a hand on her hip, "Harry James Potter-" She couldn't finish that sentence, because she was suddenly hit with a pillow from behind.

Ron was laughing loudly, and suddenly all four friends had grabbed a pillow of their own and it became an all out war. Ducking, covering, lashing out with their makeshift weapons, they were having entirely too much fun. Harry had just hit Ron with a blow that nearly knocked him off his feet when they heard laughing and quick banter from the door.

"Ay, Forge, a pillow fight!"

"Just what we always hoped we would walk in on, Gred!"

"Except I think we always imagined it with all girls, Forge. At least I did —"

"Yeah, and none of them our sisters! What do you say Gred?"

And then in unison, "Everyone out except Hermione!"

At that, everyone burst into laughter, and Hermione's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The four put their pillows down, all breathing heavily. Fred and George walked the rest of the way into the room, and closed the door, standing with their backs to the wall, clearly hiding something.

"Oi, what do you have there? Please tell me we aren't about to be another one of your unsuspecting test subjects. I still haven't recovered from the last time yet!" Ron paled, clearly having been on the receiving end of the twins' pranks one too many times this summer.

"Aww, wittle Wonniekins. You don't like supporting your favorite brothers?" Fred chimed.

"No matter, Fred, we're still Ginny's favorite brothers."

"Traitor," Ron whispered under his breath.

"Oh come on now, you know I hate you all equally!" she laughed. "Now, have you two fulfilled your end of the bargain, or am I going to have to —"

Quickly cutting her off the twins said in unison, "ALRIGHT!"

"No need for harsh words here! George and I have procured the goods." At this, Fred and George produced two large bottles of Firewhisky from behind their backs.

"Now, you four know we are required to give you the big brothers talk —" George smirked.

"But we will make it short," Fred finished for him.

"Don't. Get. Caught!" they emphasized together.

"Debt paid, Ginny," George said, and the twins turned to the door, and left the four staring after them for a moment, before the trio rounded on Ginny.

"What was that about!?" Ron questioned, "What do you have on them?"

"Did you not just stand here for that entire interaction, Ron? We had a deal, they fulfilled their end of the bargain, and now my lips are sealed," Ginny scolded, placing the two bottles of Firewhisky under the bed.

"Ginny, what are those for?" Hermione had her eyebrows raised, and was gesturing to the bed.

"You see, Hermione. Witches and wizards sometimes drink those kinds of things, to become intoxicated, and have a grand time."

"Yeah, but why do you have them?" Harry specified.

"We are going to be having quite the night tonight," She smirked, and then walked out of the room.

"Well that was weird. Any idea what's gotten into her?" Ron asked.

"Not. A. Clue." Hermione stated, just bewildered as the boys.

xXxXxXx

After dinner that night, the four youngest members of the Weasley household had received knowing smirks from the twins just before they departed up the stairs and gathered in the girls room. Ginny quietly instructed Harry and Ron to head back to their room, and return under the invisibility cloak, with the Firewhisky, in no less than one hour. They left, a tad confused, and Ginny shut and locked the door, turning to Hermione.

"Subtlety is going out the window tonight!" she grinned.

Hermione watched Ginny prep herself for the evening and wondered, not for the first time, why that innate female need to beautify oneself had completely skipped her. She had never been one to get done up, for any occasion, really. It had been a miracle when she looked presentable for the Yule Ball. It had also been Ginny Weasley who had performed said miracle.

It was just this last year that Hermione had finally figured out how to tame her hair with a couple charms, and even the minute it took to perform those seemed excruciatingly long. Though, she had to admit, she quite liked the results. It somehow turned her wild mane into perfectly formed curls that ran down her back, and stayed put.

She loved magic.

A little less than an hour later, when Ginny had fixed her hair, done her makeup, shaved her legs, rubbed lotion all over her body, and sprayed perfume in places that had Hermione questioning exactly what the young witch had planned for the night, she turned to Hermione and stood. She grabbed her hand and took them both to her closet and shoved Hermione in before following herself.

"Alright, Hermione. You've dodged all my other efforts to doll you up, but this you aren't skipping." Her voice was stern, and she had that look in her eye that told Hermione any arguing would be useless.

"Fine Ginny, I'll change into that sweater you lent me a few weeks ago. That was nice, right?"

"Oooh no Miss Granger. No, no, no. We aren't going for nice, tonight."

"You do realise that if you are trying to — lure Harry, then the only one left for me is Ron. Your brother." Hermione hoped Ginny wouldn't notice just how awful that idea sounded to her.

"Oh, come on Hermione. I know you don't fancy Ron. Ew. But look, if I look like this," she gestured her hands down her body, "and you look like… that— well, it will look like I'm trying too hard. If we are both dressed up, then we can say we just wanted to have some girl time!"

"Honestly, Ginny. Those two have been my best friends for six years now. They'll know you forced me the moment they see me," She chuckled.

"Hermione Jean Granger, I NEED YOU! Please do this for me? Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" the girl dropped to her knees in front of Hermione, and was literally begging— hands clasped, eyes pleading and all. Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes at the dramatic display in front of her.

"Oh, alright Ginny! Pick something, and I will wear it."

She should have been a little more specific when she made that concession.

Ginny chose to wear tight jeans, and a low cut burgundy shirt that accentuated her figure. For Hermione, she had chosen black leggings, and a slightly loose dark green shirt. At least it covered her bum. Actually, the shirt was something Hermione liked, except Ginny insisted that the buttons down the front be undone an indecent amount. She drew a line when the young, insane, witch had tried to unbutton them so low her that the skin below her bra showed.

"Ginevra Weasley! Those boys are like my brothers. I will be surprised if they aren't disgusted by this. My shirt cannot be this open." She stood her ground.

"Oh, alright then," she huffed, replacing one button into its hole. "But let me assure you, Hermione, however close of friends you are, a guy always notices, and appreciates, the female figure. Especially when it's one like yours." Ginny winked at her, and then turned back to the bedroom, missing Hermione's blush.

Before leaving the closet, Hermione did one more button up, hoping Ginny wouldn't notice. Just as she was walking toward the bed to sit down, there was a knock at the door. Ginny answered, and stepped back into the room, waiting a moment before shutting the door.

Once the door was shut, Harry and Ron appeared as the Cloak fell off them. Harry's eyes were trained on Ginny, and he looked pretty pleased.

"Wow, Gin, you look— great."

"Hermione and I decided to have some girl time before you lot got here." Ginny nonchalantly gestured to the other witch, who happened to be glaring at her that moment.

Ron and Harry turned to say hi to Hermione, and both boys were a bit shocked to see their friend in very non-Hermione clothing.

"What are you wearing 'Mione?" Ron's tone was almost accusing.

Harry elbowed Ron, trying to save his friend. "He means you look great too, Hermione."

"Uh huh."

Turning to Ginny, Harry asked, "So what's the plan, Gin?"

With a mischievous grin on her face, Ginny held her hands out to take the Firewhisky from Ron. She walked over to her dresser and placed the two bottles next to the four cups already sitting there. She then turned and looked up at the clock on her wall. Smirking, she looked at Harry and said, "Part one is taken care of. Part two should be arriving any moment now."

"Part two?" Hermione didn't know about any part two.

Before Ginny had to answer, there were three raps at her door. Six eyebrows shot up as Ginny walked to the door, and opened it again.

"Are we good then?" Bill's voice carried into the room and three dropped jaws joined the already raised eyebrows.

"Your secret's safe with me, Big Brother." You could hear the smirk on her face as she said it. She closed the door and cast a silencing charm, then returned to the dresser with a vial in her hand.

"Ginny, what is that?" Hermione was suddenly very, very nervous.

xXxXxXx

"Bloody hell Ginny, what do you have on Bill?"

"None of your business Ron. He just paid me to keep my mouth shut. And as you're about to benefit from that, I'd suggest you not pester me, or him, about it."

"What are you planning on doing with that, Ginny?"

"Oh come on, Hermione. Brightest witch of your age? I thought it was pretty clear." Ginny had taken the lid off of the Firewhisky, and was reading a small piece of parchment that had been wrapped around the vial. She very carefully poured a bit of the potion into only one bottle, before putting the stopper back on and placing the vial in what looked to be her knickers drawer.

"Veritaserum or Dare?" Harry had walked over to stand next to her, and bent down looking at the potion mixing effortlessly into the Firewhisky.

"Ten points to Gryffindor!" She smiled at him, and used her wand to mark the bottle with the potion in it; a black 'X' appearing on the label.

"Ginny, there is no way I am playing that." Hermione suddenly felt very nervous. She couldn't play. What if they asked something about where she had been the last weeks of school. Or exactly what she had been doing after term ended? No, there was no way she was playing that game.

"Yes you are playing, Hermione." Ginny sounded so confident in her statement but she was wrong.

"You three can play. I will watch."

"I think you and I need to have a quick chat." Ginny gave Hermione a pointed look, before turning and walking to the corner of the room. Hermione reluctantly followed her, and crossed her arms when she was standing in front of the witch.

Ginny turned to throw up silencing charms before rounding on her friend.

"You play, or I tell Harry all about that little fantasy of yours, involving, oh, who was it again? Right, his godfather!"

"Ginny! You wouldn't!" Hermione had shared that in confidence with her friend the summer before, after she had accidentally seen Sirius in the buff in Grimmauld place. He was very fit, even for an older wizard, and Hermione had been none too shy telling Ginny she fancied the man.

"Oh, but I would. How do you think I acquired Firewhisky and Veritaserum on such short notice? My brothers knew better than to think I was lying when I said I'd tell their secrets. You should know better too."

"You're a right bitch, Ginevra Weasley."

"I'm a bitch who gets what I want." Smirking, Ginny released the silencing charm and walked toward the boys. "Everyone's playing!"

Hermione followed her over and grabbed a piece of parchment and quill before sitting down on the floor. She quickly wrote on the paper, and then waited as both Harry and Ron sat down, followed by Ginny with the two bottles. She placed them in the middle of the small circle the four had formed, and then summoned the glasses.

Hermione waited for her to pour the drinks, out of the Veritaserum bottle and push them toward each of her friends before she spoke.

"Since apparently there is no getting out of this little game, I have a stipulation, and you will all be signing this contract so that you know I am serious.

"Oh come on, 'Mione, it's just for fun." Ron started, but quickly closed his mouth at the glare he received.

"I'm just going to assume that you two have informed Ginny of my position in the Order." When they both looked guilty, she continued, "I have been given strict instructions not to discuss any aspect of my position in the Order. So any questions pertaining to that are off limits. I think you'll all remember the contract we used for the DA. This has now been spelled similarly. I don't need to remind you there is a wedding here in a couple of days. Don't ask about the Order." She gave each of them a stern look before passing around the parchment and quill for them to sign.

"Way to bring the mood down, Hermione." Ginny sassily took the parchment and signed before placing it off to the side.

"Well I'm sorry, but I only just got in the Order, I don't want them kicking me out already!" Plus, I don't want to deal with you lot's reaction to Draco, she thought.

"Alright everyone, glasses up." Not letting the party spirit be dampened, Ginny raised her glass and waited for the other to do the same, before shouting "Cheers!"

They touched glasses, and each of them took sips of their drinks, then were all silent for a few moments. After Hermione met Harry's eye, the two shared a look and then burst into laughter.

"Oi! What's so funny?" When he got no response, but his two friends continued to laugh like children, Ron felt his lips begin to smirk, and suddenly he was laughing along, followed closely by Ginny.

"Why are we—" clutching her side, "even playing this? We already know most everything about each other anyways!" Hermione could not contain the laughs that were erupting out of her, and she had to put her drink down to keep it from spilling.

Eventually they were able to pull themselves together enough to stop laughing, and they decided to just drink and talk instead, because Hermione was right, they already knew all there was to know. Or at least, they thought they did.

The group chatted about school and Quidditch, and the wedding, among many other things. They all found their lips were quite inclined to blurt out the first thing that came to their minds, which led to some funny realisations.

"I don't care what her face looks like, her body has got to be fit under those robes!" Ron blurted out after Harry mentioned Madame Hooch.

"EW! Ronald! Madame Hooch?!" Hermione blurt out, and then clapped her hand over her mouth. She wasn't one to talk ill of professors.

They were all well into their third glasses of Firewhisky when the conversation died down into a more relaxed, albeit somber, tone. Someone mentioned Dumbledore, to which they all raised their glasses.

Hermione could tell Ginny was being especially forward to Harry, and it made her giggle to watch him completely miss it. That boy couldn't pick up a hint if it hit him in the face.

"Can you believe Parvati slapped Seamus right in front of everyone when he asked her out?" Ron was looking at Harry, "Why do ya think she did that?"

It was Ginny who answered, "Not three nights before he said the same exact thing to Padma. Even that he thought she was the prettier twin! Obviously she had told her sister, I don't know what he was thinking."

"She slapped him? What a horrible thing to do!" Hermione chided, not having heard this before.

"Oh, thats right. You were grading papers with McGonagall when that happened Hermione." Harry mused.

"I wasn't grading papers—" The truth had slipped from her mouth before she even knew it was coming. Once it was out, Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, as she watched her friends expressions grow incredulous.

"What do you mean you weren't grading papers? You went to McGonagall's office every night—"

Hand still glued to her mouth, Hermione shook her head and cast a pleading look with her eyes.

"What the bloody hell, 'Mione! What were you doing?"

She squealed, determined not to speak at all, feeling the effects of the potion and not wanting to blurt out the truth.

"Merlin's beard Hermione! Were you doing Order business that whole time!?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

Hermione just nodded her head, and pointed with her free hand toward the parchment that was still off to the side. Three heads slowly turned to look where she was pointing, then quickly clamped their jaws shut. No one wanted to risk that hex.

"Oh. My. Gods." was all Ginny said.

After that they switched to regular Firewhisky.

Things are awkward for a bit, but the alcohol quickly helped that pass, and the friends had all but forgotten that admission by the time Ron was slurring at Harry.

"Mate, truth or dare?"

"We aren't even playing any of those silly games, Ron!" Well, Harry was clearly drunk.

"Truth or dare, Mate!" Ron's volume had so suddenly increased that Hermione jumped and nearly knocked her glass in an attempt to not fall over herself.

"I just—" Harry slurred

"Dare's what you get, then," Ron swigged another sip of his drink, and it looked almost painful for him to say the next bit, "I dare you to snog Ginny."

Hermione squealed, Ginny's jaw dropped, and Harry just looked dumbfounded.

"What—" he started, but was quickly cut short.

"Oh come on Harry! You are the only one in this room who doesn't see what's going on, and that is saying something, 'cause I'm usually a pretty dense bloak."

Hermione turned to Ron, and held out her hand. "Help me up, Ronald. I think I hear— Oh, just help me up." Making up a quick lie was apparently not an ability she had when she was drinking.

Ron looked at her quizzically, but reached for her outstretched hand anyway; the two using each others weight to pull up to standing. Not letting go of his hand, Hermione led Ron out of the room, with one glance and a wink back at the remaining couple.

Very quietly, Hermione pulled the bedroom door shut, though not before hearing Harry stammer something before a surprised "ungh," which she assumed was Ginny throwing subtlety to the wind.

"Come on Ron," Hermione had to pull him the entire way to the boys' room, where she led him straight to his bed, and let him flop face down. He passed out within seconds. She pulled the blanket up over his body, and turned to lay on Harry's bed, unsure if she would be sleeping there, or eventually returning to her own bed.

xXxXxXx

Hermione had crawled under the covers and cast a Tempus, surprised at how early it still was; ten minutes until eleven. She rolled away from Ron, putting her back to his line of sight, though it was a bit pointless since he was already asleep.

She pulled her necklace out from under her shirt, and took it off, rolling it between her fingers like she'd seen a Muggle magician once do when her parents had taken her to the circus as a young child. Draco turned out to be quite predictable. He sent her a message every night at exactly eleven. Never a minute after. She wondered if he waited up to send it to her, or if he was busy until then. Either way, every night, eleven o'clock had Hermione holding that Galleon, waiting for it to warm up, and for him to ask her how she was doing.

Ten minutes still needed to pass before that happened though. And Hermione was most certainly drunk. It had been an interesting night, to say the least. She sure hoped Ginny got the outcome she desired from the whole thing. She would have to beat Harry over the head with Hogwarts, A History if he hadn't picked up on the hints after that. Smiling to herself, she thought how nice it would be for Harry to have someone. Especially Ginny. She could keep him grounded, and young. He needed that. Harry had been forced to grow up way too fast over the years.

She had too, honestly, but as usual, Hermione placed Harry's happiness above her own. Typical, she thought. That thinking had gotten her into some pretty risky situations recently, but she couldn't help the way she felt. Harry was her best friend, and there was nothing she wouldn't do for him, even at the expense of her own feelings.

Sighing, she cast another Tempus. Three minutes. And what the hell Hermione?! When did you become absolutely dependent on another person—a boy, for Merlin's sake! She chastised herself, still clutching the coin tightly.

When it started to warm, Hermione cast a lumos and read the message she already knew would appear.

Hi. Alright?

She knew her standard response would be to say 'Hi. Yes, you?' but tonight she couldn't settle for standard. She still felt the alcohol buzzing in her system, so with that borrowed Firewhisky-courage, and a page from Ginny's book, she sent her reply:

I miss you.

His response came a minute later.

Is that code for 'I've been kidnapped?'

Har har, Draco, she thought. Smirking, she sent:

That's Firewhisky for 'I miss you'

She was starting to feel that nagging doubt, wondering if she should have just stuck to the standard reply.

Are you drunk?

That's an understatement, she thought. Hermione could actually still feel a bit of the Veritaserum running through her veins, and idly wondered if Bill had given Ginny the proper dosage instructions.

I am. We are. Firewhisky and Veritaserum. Not the best mix for keeping your mouth shut if you ask me.

His reply was instant.

What did you say?

Oh honestly! Did the boy think she was dense?

You underestimate me. Nothing.

After another minute, Hermione read his response, and the smile it caused had her covering her mouth, trying to hide it, even in the dark.

I miss you, too. Goodnight.

Hermione whispered Finite, plunging the room into darkness, andput the necklace back around her neck, tucking it under her shirt, before cuddling down into the blankets of Harry's bed. She was about to just give up on staying awake and call it a night, when the door to the boys' room opened.

"Harry?" It was too dark to see the figure.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd still be awake." She could hear the grin on his face.

Hermione sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, "It went well, I take it?"

Chuckling, Harry crossed the room and sat down next to her. She felt him sway in his drunkenness, and she smiled. "Yeah, it went well."

"You deserve to be happy, Harry." Hermione leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So do you, Hermione."

Shaking her head a little, Hermione patted Harry's leg, and stood up. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

She quietly walked out of the boys' room, down the hall to the girls' room. She closed the door behind her as quietly as she could and walked over to Ginny's bed, and plopped down.

"So?!" she bounced up and down on the bed, impatiently waiting for the younger witch to give her the details she knew were sure to be titillating.

It only took her a moment before she was jumping up and squealing.

"He kissed me! Hermione!"

"Good Godric, it took him long enough!" Hermione giggled, and waited for more.

"At first he was really shy— you know Harry. But then once he— well, I sort of just ended up jumping him, but he definitely kissed me back!"

Hermione had fallen into a fit of giggles, imagining Harry's stunned face when the witch in front of her threw herself at him, and now that she had started, she couldn't get herself to stop. The effects of the lingering Firewhisky had her feeling more free than she'd felt in a long time, and she liked the feeling.

"Ginny, this calls for more drinking!" Standing and walking over to the dresser, Hermione made sure she was pouring from the unmarked bottle, before returning to the bed and handing one of the glasses to her friend.

"I just hope he remembers all of this in the morning!" Ginny was also laughing, and it was just so liberating being in a place she felt safe, with her very best friends, people she considered family, watching them in their happiness.

The girls laughed and drank until their glasses were empty, and Hermione listened to Ginny gush about Harry until she nearly had a crush on him herself. Shaking her head, she looked at her friend, and grinned.

"Ginny, I am so happy for you. But I'm tired, and you need to get some sleep." She hugged the still smiling red head, and then stumbled to her own bed.

Crawling under the covers, Hermione hardly had time to place her wand under her pillow before her lids were heavy, and unconsciousness was dragging her under.

xXxXxXx

The room was still pitch black when Hermione awoke in a sweat, panting and shaking. The dream had felt so real, and the only thing that kept her from screaming out was the fear that if it was real, she didn't want to be found. Casting a quick lumos, Hermione saw Ginny's red hair spilling out from the bed across from her own, and recognised the familiar surroundings. She was still in The Burrow. She was safe.

But she was still shaking, and she couldn't get the images out of her mind. She'd been having nightmares for a long time. Since before the night at the Department of Mysteries, if she was being honest, though she had always been able to calm down on her own before. They had grown even worse when she found out that she was Rodolphus' daughter, and Bellatrix was keeping an eye on her. That woman was insane, and there was no knowing the lengths she would go for anything.

Hermione couldn't even bring herself to close her eyes, let alone sleep again. Instead she sat up and rolled out of bed, quietly leaving the room and walking down the hall. Opening the next door, she let the light from her wand die, so as not to wake the occupants.

Kneeling down at the head of the bed closest to her, she whispered, "Harry—Harry?"

It wasn't the first time she needed him in this way, and she knew it likely wouldn't be the last. Harry cracked open his eyes, and rather incoherently mumbled, "Hermione?"

"Scoot over?" she pleaded, and he immediately obliged, opening the blanket for her to slide in.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Noticing she was shaking, Harry put his arm around her body, holding her close.

"No," Hermione pressed her back into his chest, trying to calm her breathing, as he rubbed his hand along her arm.

"Okay," he sighed deeply, and Hermione felt so weak. She hated that she needed this. They had all been through unimaginable terror, why was she the only one suffering from it still? Her mind went back to a conversation she had with Harry one of the nights she had come to him.

"Hermione, it's not weak to need someone."

"I don't see you crawling into Ron's bed every other night, Harry." She sounded bitter, which made her hate herself even more. He was just trying to help.

"Ron and I depend on you probably more than you'll ever know, Hermione." She hadn't ever thought of it that way, and it actually alleviated her fears a bit to know that he was right. When she hadn't answered him, he went on.

"Friendship is a give and take, Hermione. You have to let us give when we can, because we take so much."

She knew she couldn't tell him about the nightmare she had that night, because then she would have to explain things she wasn't at liberty to disclose. So instead, she reached up to squeeze his hand, whispering to him.

"I'm okay, Harry. You can go back to sleep."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, thank you."

Knowing that she needed his presence more than his active comfort, Harry let go of her hand, and rolled over so they were back to back. She lay quietly, listening for a couple minutes, his breath slowing as he fell back to sleep.

She did feel better, safer, being here with Harry, but Hermione knew she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep yet. Not with the images of her dream still fighting to take her under. Feeling the rise and fall of her best friends breath against her back was calming.

She let her mind wander, and unsurprisingly, found herself wondering what Draco was doing. Not at this time— he was probably sleeping— but in a more general sense. She wanted to know what his days were like now. She wanted to know if he really was alright, or if that is just what he told her so she wouldn't worry. Reaching for the coin around her neck, Hermione hardly thought about it before she sent the message.

Hi

She smiled at the greeting they both now used, and thought back to when she had given him the Galleon, and he originally thought it was just charmed to say "hi" when he looked at it.

It's late. Why are you up?

Pouting at the coin she thought, Why am I up? Why is he up? Sending her reply quickly, she knew she didn't need to elaborate.

Nightmares.

Are you alright?

Yes. I'm with Harry.

Potty is awake too?

He's sleeping.

You're just watching him sleep?

She didn't reply right away. She closed her eyes, and felt embarrassed again, about needing Harry this way. Part of her knew Draco would understand, but another part of her didn't want to admit that weakness. Especially to someone who dealt with so much worse. Eventually, because she didn't know what else to say, she went with the truth.

It helps, not being alone. After Dolohov… there were a lot of nightmares.

The coin heated in her hand again almost immediately.

Yeah. Get some sleep, Granger.

Reading that stung. It's not like you can read tone in a message, but the way she read it, it stung. Already emotionally raw from the nightmare, Hermione put the necklace back under her nightshirt, which was coincidentally Harry's old jersey, and she turned to face him.

Her small rustle in the bed must have registered to the sleeping boy, because he turned toward her as well, throwing an arm over her waist, and Hermione needed no more invitation to take what she needed from him. Nuzzling her head into his chest, she closed her eyes tightly, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. She stayed like that, snuggled into his chest, welcoming the feeling of safety that her best friend provided.

xXxXxXx

When Hermione woke up the next morning, she could tell it was early by how dark the room still was. She lay still for a moment, listening to the sounds of the boys' breathing, before she uncurled herself from Harry's side, and quietly slid out of the bed. The floor was cold on her feet as she made her way out of the room, and down the hallway into Ginny's. She saw her friend still asleep in bed, as she quietly crawled into her own. Pulling the covers up to her chin, Hermione struggled to fight the chill of her lonely bed, even while she was feeling fortunate to have woken up early enough to slip out of Harry's bed before Ron noticed she had stayed there all night.

Ron was quite a heavy sleeper, thankfully. He knew that Harry had comforted Hermione the few nights she had stayed in the Hospital Wing while recovering from Dolohov's attack, but he had no idea that she had snuck up to their rooms nightly until the term ended, seeking the solace she found when sleeping next to her best friend, a boy who was almost her brother. To her knowledge, no one but Harry knew that she had spent almost half her nights in the boys' dormitory for the first part of the following year, and then at least once a week until just a couple months ago.

She had finally stopped having nightmares— or at least needing to seek comfort from them— right about when constant near burning pain from her cursed scar faded into a manageable dull ache. And now here she was, nightmares returned, now due to an entirely different, but still frightening source. She was hoping Harry wouldn't ask about her sudden need for him again, not wanting to have to lie.

Closing her eyes, Hermione settled on at least resting until the other occupants of the house began to rise. Sleep wouldn't come again, and she knew that.

Luckily the sun rose faster than she had been expecting, and soon she was able to hop into the shower without fear of disturbing sleep before it was acceptable to do so.

When she had dressed and emerged from the bathroom, she saw Ginny leaning on the doorframe to her bedroom, apparently waiting for her.

"Morning, Ginny."

"Where were you last night? I woke up and your bed was empty."

"I, uhm—"

"Are you about to lie to me, Hermione Granger?" Ginny's tone was almost accusatory, and Hermione realised that no matter how many times she said there was nothing between her and Harry, there would be seeds of doubt. Especially with how affectionate their relationship was.

Walking past the young witch, Hermione entered the shared room, and turned to her friend.

"Shut the door, Ginny."

xXxXxXx

After swearing the girl to secrecy, it hadn't taken much time to explain the reason for her absence. Ginny had admitted she had harboured insecurities about Harry and Hermione's intimate relationship, and Hermione had visibly recoiled at the word, which had Ginny laughing, and feeling much more at ease about everything.

Apparently when you're interested in someone, the mere mention of being intimate with them wouldn't make you look like you were about to lose your lunch, and that was enough to convince her that Hermione really had no interest in Harry.

One thing Hermione loved about Ginny was that she wasn't one to pity, or let you wallow. Once she had found out that her friend had been plagued by nightmares for almost a year, so much so that she needed physical comfort after waking from them for months after, the young witch just looked at Hermione, and said:

"My lips are sealed. As long as you are only sleeping next to him, and not sleeping with him," she smirked, "then we never have to mention this again."

"Thanks, Ginny. I just— admitting weakness is hard."

Ginny hugged her friend, and the girls reluctantly trudged downstairs to drown their hangovers in wedding preparations.

xXxXxXx