Author's Note: I like this chapter. A lot. I hope that you like it, too! I want to thank everyone who reviewed – thanks a bunch!Oh, and I'm really sorry for getting this out later than I usually do. Stupid homework.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything related to Harry Potter. Duh.


Nineteen Years - Chapter Twelve

It's amazing how one person can ruin your day. It's pretty annoying, too.

Harry clutched his friend's hand as they apparated into the Burrow. Hermione had recovered from the incident just three days before, and she was back to her normal self.

"Harry! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley said as she rushed up to the two young adults and pulled them into her infamous hug.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," they replied in unison.

"I have your rooms settled. I hope that you don't mind sharing a room with Ron, Harry," the aging witch said to the black-haired wizard. "And Hermione, well, you can stay in the guest room."

Harry smiled and nodded, then looked over at his friend; her smile was greater, since she was not sharing a room with Ginny.

"We should put our belongings in our rooms, then?" Harry said as he walked up the creaky stairs with Hermione.

He approached the room that Ron and him were sharing, and opened the door. "Hey, mate!"

"Hey, Ron. I'm moving in here…"

"Yeah, mum told me. She had to set up the guest room for Hermione so that the two girls don't kill each other," Ron laughed, and Harry joined in.

Finally, all of Harry's belongings were put in their proper places; the Quidditch posters near Ron's, a picture of his parents on his nightstand, his clothes in his dresser, and several other things spread out along his side of the room.

Suddenly, the door bursted open. "Ron, we – Oh my goodness, Harry! I didn't realize that you were here already!" a young witch said as she flipped back her long, red hair and batted her eyelashes over her crystal eyes. Her perfect teeth were revealed in a warming, yet unusual smile, and Harry noticed close up she had grown a few inches taller.

"Er…Hi, Ginny," Harry replied softly.

Ginny laughed and sat down on his bed, crossing her legs and placing her hands on either side of her. "I'm so excited about the Christmas party. Even though it's a few months away, I have the perfect outfit. I think you'll love it," she said with a wink. Harry looked over at Ron, who was in too much of a shock to really do anything else.

"Yeah, I'm, uh, sure that I will. But right now I have to –"

"Let's cook lunch together! It'll be so fun! I have ingredients out and everything!" Ginny exclaimed while she clapped her hands together, admiring herself for coming up with such a "wonderful" idea. Before Harry could protest, she clutched onto his wrist and pulled him out of the room and into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was standing in the middle of the kitchen near the table. Next to her was Hermione, whose smile faded when she saw Ginny holding Harry's arm.

'Help' he mouthed to her with a scared look as he glanced at Ginny. Hermione didn't seem to see him do this, because she was now looking ready to throw a punch at the red-haired young witch. Harry actually wanted her to do so at this moment.

"Harry and I are going to cook lunch today!" she announced to Mrs. Weasley and Hermione.

"Oh, fantastic, dear. You're, er, used to cooking, right, Harry?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley. I cooked for the Dursleys many times."

"You guys have fun cooking," Hermione said with an attitude, and her eyes were screaming sarcasm as she flipped her bushy hair behind her and rushed upstairs.

"I think I should go with –"

"We're already here, silly! Let's cook lunch already!" Ginny said as she tilted her head to the side and stroked Harry's hair. Quickly, he pushed her hand away, leaving her with a confused look.

Harry got immediately annoyed by Ginny with her flirtatious behavior and the constant giggling. Hermione would never do that, even if she did in fact like him more than as a friend.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" he asked as the young witch leaned in towards his face.

"What do you mean?" she smiled and continued to lean closer in towards him. Harry pulled away.

"But you're my boyfriend! Girlfriends and boyfriends kiss each other!"

"You're kidding me, right? We are NOT together romantically. I think I established that pretty clearly before," Harry said with his muscles growing tense.

"I can not believe this, Harry! We loved each other! Why can't we be together now?"

"Because people fall out of love all the time."

"Stupid Hermione," Ginny muttered silently, obviously hoping that Harry wouldn't hear. But, he did hear her, and he was ready to shoot a million hexes at her.

"HERMIONE IS NOT STUPID!" he defended his friend.

"Well, you keeping choosing her over me! 'Oh, I should hang out with Hermione.' 'I'm going to see where Hermione is.' Hermione is practically everything to you!"

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe she is!" Harry said truthfully. Leaving Ginny with her jaw dropped, he turned on his heels, only to see a bushy-haired young woman with teary eyes and a smile facing him. "Hermione, I –"

"Follow me," she said, leading him into the study of the Burrow.

The second they entered the room, Hermione wrapped him in a tight embrace, crying into his shoulder. Harry realized that her eyes were filled with tears of joy, rather than of sadness.

"That was…so sweet…I never even thought…" Hermione said as she pulled away and locked eyes with him, not really completing any thoughts.

Harry looked down at his friend and simply smiled. He realized over the time that he had lived with her that she was a very nosy person – of course she was there to see him defend her, and even hear a little truth come out of him. But Hermione had also seen Ginny practically kiss Harry.

"Lunch is ready! With no help from Harry!" Ginny exclaimed from the kitchen.

Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes as they met Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Ron, and Ginny in the kitchen for lunch.

"How about a game of Quidditch? We haven't played one in a while," Ron interupted the meal.

"Er…I don't think so," Harry said.

"Why not?"

"Because we'll be leaving Hermione out…again."

"Then we'll teach her how to ride a broom."

"Excuse me?!" Hermione exclaimed, dropping her silver fork onto her plate. "I am not getting on one of those death traps, and you can't make me!" She folded her arms across her chest, pulling away from her food.

"I think it's a good idea, actually," Harry said softly.

"Do you want me to get killed?"

"Of course not!"

"I seriously don't want to be hurtling in thin air with only a thin piece of wood underneath me, thank you very much."

"You'll ride with me at first! Come on, it'll be fun!" Harry said as he stuck out his bottom lip, causing Ron to go into a fit of laughter.

"You know, I've never seen you on a broom, dear," Mrs. Weasley joined in the conversation.

"Oh, fine!" Hermione shouted.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances and smiles. "Who else wants to play?"

"Me!" George said, jumping up from his seat like a kindergartener in a classroom.

"I guess I'll play," Ginny said in a grumpy tone, shooting a glare at Hermione.

After running upstairs, Harry and Ron came down into the kitchen with four brooms – Hermione was going to ride on the same broom as Harry. The five of them walked outside into the garden, where Mrs. Weasley stepped out with them to murmur the complicated charm to transform the garden into a Quidditch pitch. Saying their thanks, everyone mounted their brooms.

"Hermione, sit in front of me," Harry said.

(From Hermione's point of view)

Hermione nervously mounted the broom, remembering how she had seen Harry mount his broom plenty of times before. Harry sat behind her and said, "Are you ready?"

Nervously nodding, Hermione felt her feet lift off the ground. "Harry, I don't know if I should be doing this…"

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered. Hermione smiled; she could trust Harry with her life, and she trusted him now.

The game began, and Harry was moving the broom all over the pitch, searching for the snitch. Suddenly, Hermione felt a huge increase in speed as Harry reached pointed to thin air in front of them. "Get it, Hermione!"

"What?"

"The snitch! It's right in front of you!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione was completely puzzled. What was he talking about? There was absolutely nothing in front of them – just thin air.

"There is nothing there, Harry!"

"Trust me."

Hesitantly, Hermione reached out in front of her and caught the air in front of her. She looked into her hand and gasped – it was the snitch. How Harry had spotted it so well was unbelievable. "I-I caught it!" Without even thinking about it, she threw her left leg over to the right side of the broom and hugged Harry, while they were still in midair going at an incredible speed.

"AH!" she exclaimed as she realized that she was literally clinging onto Harry for her life.

"I've got you, Hermione. Calm down," Harry said as he wrapped her arms around his friend.

"You're not even holding on to the broom!" Hermione trembled in Harry's arms. She saw him smile slightly as he lowered them to the ground.

There stood three Weasleys with jaws dropped open. "What was that?" Ron said as he saw the two finally pull away from their close embrace.

"Hermione decided to let go of the broom and throw her legs on one side of it – risky move, if you ask me," Harry laughed. "And she caught the snitch."

"Bloody hell! How'd you do that, Hermione?" George interupted.

"Actually, Harry saw it first – I don't know how he saw it in thin air like that."

"Quidditch is in his blood. And I thought that you were the smart one here," Ron said.

Ginny was standing there, jaw still dropped, and she was staring at Harry in anger. She occasionally shot evil glares at Hermione, like usual. Basically, Ginny was being typical Ginny.

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(From Harry's point of view)

It was perfect. Harry had planned this out for a few months, and the house was finally built. The garden had plenty of exotic (though not fatal) plants, the yard was huge and freshly cut, the windows were perfectly clean, the house's white paint was brand new, and the roof's black shingles stood out in the clear blue sky. Perfect.

Harry rushed inside, taking his shoes off, and walked into the first floor. The kitchen was a very nice size, with a dining room trailing off to the right. The sitting room, with a fireplace, was very similar to the sitting room in Twelve Grimmauld Place (Harry had asked the builders to construct the specifics of this particular room). The builders built the house by magic; therefore the house was constructed within a day. Harry walked around the rest of the first floor, and then moved up to the second floor where there was a living room, a study, and much to Hermione's content, a library. A few other rooms, such as bathrooms and a room with a fireplace for the Floo Network, were placed on the second floor.

Harry walked up the marble staircase the third floor, where the bedrooms were. He had requested the exact dimensions and decorations that he wanted the rooms to be in. He first walked into what would be his room. It was a red and gold theme, and his queen size bed was placed in the center of the back wall. His dressers sat on the right wall, while Quidditch posters were placed on the left. Several of his belongings were unpacked and already scattered about, but the room was basically neat.

Next, Harry went into Hermione's room. It was gorgeous. The light purple walls stood out from the silver secondary coloring. Her queen size bed with light purple and silver sheets and pillows was on the center of the right wall, with her dresser across from it. Bookshelves covered the back wall, and tons of newly purchased books were set up in alphabetical order. Hermione was going to love it.

With complete satisfaction in the house that he and Hermione were going to live in, he apparated back to the Burrow. There stood his and Hermione's luggage at the foot of the living room doorway, and the Weasleys were standing around Hermione. They were coming along to see the new house as well.

"Is it ready?" Hermione asked with anticipation.

He smiled. "You'll love it."

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys apparated into Seventy March Lane. Hermione covered her mouth and gasped. "Harry, it's beautiful! Just perfect!"

"You haven't even seen the inside yet."

The Weasleys looked at the estate in awe. Harry had actually taken a small portion of the Potter fortune out to get this house built. Finally, the five Weasleys got back to reality and followed Harry and Hermione inside. Everyone went separate ways to explore the rooms and floors, but Hermione stayed by Harry's side. He led her throughout the first floor, where she commented on everything, saying that it was absolutely amazing. The second floor didn't have much to it, except for the library in which it took Harry fifteen minutes to get her out of there. Finally, they reached the third floor. She admired his bedroom, and they made their way to her room.

"Oh…my…goodness! Harry, it's…amazing! I love it so much!" Hermione said as she threw her arms over his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you!"

Harry simply smiled as he led her back downstairs to meet up with the Weasleys. The only response they got from the gasping and blank stares was of course from Ron, "Bloody hell, mate."

"It'll be perfect for the Christmas party!" Ginny exclaimed to George and Ron, ignoring Harry's glare.

"That reminds me…I forgot to show you the backyard."

They stepped outside and even Harry had to gasp at the scene, although he had seen it already. There was a small water fountain in which water was pouring into a small pool, the wooden decks was spread out and open with chairs and tables, and the yard was freshly cut. The setting looked overall amazing, and Harry knew that he would be spending some time in this backyard.

"How'd you afford all of this?" Mrs. Weasley asked softly, although she seemed to be asking herself more than Harry.

"Er…I just took a small portion out of the Potter fortune, that's all."

"A small portion?" George interupted.

"Uh, yeah, a small portion." Harry ran his fingers through his hair, feeling uneasy about sharing the fact that he was extremely rich; even the Weasleys.

Finally, after the five Weasleys got over their shock, they said their goodbyes. Hermione let her head rest against Harry's shoulder. "It really is the perfect house," she said.

"I'm glad you like it. And I put all of the protective charms known to wizards on it – well, all of the ones that I can conjure."

"I realized that when we could only apparate to the outside of the yard."

"Actually, you can apparate into the house."

"What?" Hermione gave him a perplexed look.

"The builders said that with all the charms I put on here, only one person would be able to apparate in and out of the house the house for any reason, most likely for safety. I set the charms so that you would be that person."

"But what about you! You're the one that's in the danger –"

"I'd rather it be me in danger than you," Harry said truthfully. Hermione looked up at him and smiled admiringly and rested her head on his shoulder.

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(From Hermione's point of view)

Hermione sighed as Fleur dragged her into yet another dress store. The blonde-haired woman in front of her was "zo excited!" about the Christmas party that she brought Hermione and Ginny to go shopping for dresses. Little did she know that the two girls were in a silent battle that was made up of Ginny giving Hermione death glares, and Hermione rolling her eyes at the immaturity of the youngest Weasley.

"Now Ginny, you must not wear a red dress. It doze not go 'ell with your red 'air. So we will get you…a golden colored dress, no? Eet will be gorgeous!" Fleur exclaimed as she yanked on Ginny's arm and pulled her into a section of the dress department. "We will be right back, 'Ermione!"

Hermione sat down placed her elbow on the arm of the chair she was sitting on. Bored, she pulled a curl out from her hair and twirled it around her finger. After about an hour, Fleur and Ginny emerged from the dress department. Ginny was wearing a golden colored V-neck dress that ended right below her knees. Her dress sparkled with several sequins that were designed around her waist and down the sides of her legs. She turned around and the V-neck went even lower down her back than in the front of her dress, ending right at her waist. Hermione wondered what Mr. Weasley's reaction to this apparel would be.

"You look beautiful, Ginny!" Fleur exclaimed. "Right, 'Ermione?"

"Yeah," she replied, not even looking at the red-haired witch (who, Hermione had to admit, was extremely pretty).

"I wonder what Harry will think of it!" Ginny said, mostly to herself as she looked into a mirror.

Hermione silently snickered and rolled her eyes. But, in the back of her head, she knew that Ginny could seduce any man of her choosing – including Harry. No, Hermione thought. Why do you care? Harry's just your friend! Just a friend!

"It's your turn, 'Ermione!" Fleur said, now yanking on her arm and pulling her into the dress department. "I was thinking about a red dress. Eet will go nicely with your brown 'air and your slim figure."

She looked down and highly doubted that she had a "slim figure". Sure, she wasn't overweight, or even close to it, but she didn't have Ginny's athletic figure.

After searching through several dresses, Fleur finally picked up one at random and said, "Try zees one on."

"But you didn't even see the size –"

"No buts! You will try it on! Now!"

Shocked by Fleur's tone, Hermione rushed off into the dressing rooms and tried on the dress. She gasped at her appearance. The deep red dress didn't reveal as much as Ginny's, but it was the most revealing dress she ever had. It ended just below the knees. There were two strings that tied around her neck from her shoulders, very similar to the muggle halter tops that Hermione had seen. The dress hugged her in all the right places, and she realized that she did actually have a slim figure. I wonder what Harry will think of it, she thought. Oh God, I did not just think that…

As if on cue, Fleur bursted into the dressing room and her jaw dropped instantly. "'Ermione! You are absolutely gorgeous!"

This caused Hermione's slight smile to transform into a huge grin. Then Fleur said, "How about we go show Ginny?"

"Er…"

"Come! Follow me!" she said as she pulled Hermione into the lobby. "So, Ginny, 'ow does she look?"

"She looks…okay. I mean, it's not the best dress for her. Maybe one that doesn't make her look like a prostitute."

"Excuse me?!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling out her wand.

"Now, now, girls. We will buy our dresses and it's best if you two…go to your own 'ouses."

Hermione ran up to the store owner and purchased her dress, then apparated into Seventy March Lane.

"Where were you?" Harry asked as he stood in the living room. "You didn't even leave a note…"

"Oh, right! I was…er…out…"

Harry gave her a perplexed look. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the dress that was folded in her arms. It didn't look too much like a dress, but more like a fabric, when it was folded up.

"Nothing!" Hermione said as she rushed upstairs into her room, leaving Harry more confused than he had been in a few years.

Hermione placed the dress in the back of her closet and smiled to herself. For once, she was excited about going to a party, despite the fact that Ginny was invited, meaning that there was going to be a whole lot of drama heading her way.


Author's Note: Yay! I have big plans for the next chapter. PLEASE read this: If you have any suggestions for what should happen at the Christmas party, than please do not hesitate to tell me. Either review this story, or send me a message. I would really appreciate suggestions! Also, I reply to every single one of my reviews:)