School: Mahoutokoro

Year: 5

Theme: Zonko's Joke Shop

Main Prompt: [Genre] Romance

Additional Prompts: [Event] Party

[Colour] Baby pink

Special Rule: Incorporate the colour grey and the meaning behind it in your story: Depression

Wordcount: 3547

A/N: Beta credits to the amazing NinjaDevil! She's a beta-angel!

Harry flopped down on the bed in his bedroom.

"Does Master need any help?"

Harry jerked in surprise.

No matter how obedient Kreacher had become, he never failed to surprise Harry. He got up on his elbow and looked at Kreacher.

"Uhh… not really."

He glanced at the clock near his bed. Five minutes to eleven. Damn, if he started packing now it would take him more than an hour and he would still forget something. His portkey was scheduled at seven in the morning. He would hardly get some sleep.

"I suppose you could help me with packing?"

Harry cringed internally, thinking how Hermione would react. Technically he was paying Kreacher, but she would balk at him assigning work to his help at eleven in the night.

'Such unethical work hours, Harry. I'm disappointed in you,' She would say, shaking her head.

"Kreacher knew it."

Harry rolled his eyes.

At 7:01 (UK time, not New York), the Portkey left him at the arrival room in MACUSA. It was the middle of the night. Thanks to his absent mindedness, he had booked very late and this was what he got. After he had been welcomed and had recorded his arrival time, he floo-ed to a wizarding hotel to catch up on his remaining sleep.

A loud, persistent knock on his door woke him up. He rushed to open the door.

"Forget to set your alarm?" Hermione asked as she breezed inside his hotel room.

Harry realized, just then, how bright the sun was.

"Shit."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You are not late. I got you some breakfast."

Harry grinned at her as he summoned his clothes from his bag, "You are a godsend. The whole last year has been difficult without you."

"I can only imagine. At what ungodly hour did you take the portkey."

"Don't ask," Harry called out from inside his bedroom, where he hurriedly changed his clothes.

"Just so you know," Hermione said as he exited a moment later and she handed him his breakfast, "-don't expect this from me again. I decided at first not to wake you up, but I took pity on you."

"Merlin, Hermione, you sound just like Malfoy."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "We did have to share a common room for a year, though."

"Are you excited?" Harry asked her.

"A little, yes." Hermione gave a small smile.

Apparently, a British smuggler had been caught selling magical toads in seedy markets of New York and Harry had been assigned to deal with the case. He convinced Robards to let him take Hermione along as his partner. It had been a month since she had started working at Magical Beings Department after her graduation and even though, technically it was not in her job description (toads weren't exactly magical beings) Robards and Hermione's Head agreed. It was for experience after all.

So here they were in New York (Hermione had probably arrived at a more reasonable time) on their way to the Ministry.

This was his third visit at MACUSA since he had joined the Auror department. He knew the people well by now. It was still awkward since he was The Boy Who Lived and people knew him everywhere, but he had adjusted to his fame.

Harry wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or if he had just been blind his entire life. But now that he knew what was going to happen, he couldn't stop thinking (or staring) at Hermione. She was busy laughing and talking with some girl. Her thigh length floral pink skirt with brown boots, looked incredibly fetching. His mouth went dry.

They had been invited to a house party and, had, albeit reluctantly, agreed to go. Hermione informed him that it would take her a little longer and that he should go ahead.

So, when he reached the house, he did not expect to be pulled aside in the kitchen and Jake, who was the host, apologetically explain the situation.

"So, you see, these guys are gonna play 7 Minutes in Heaven. Very childish, I know but they have spelled the bottle to land on you and Hermione. It's just a joke. I tried to knock some sense but they were insistent it was all fun. I thought I would give you some warning." He patted Harry's shoulder and left.

All the while Harry was lost as to what just happened. What on earth was 7 Minutes to Heaven? And why would it be bad?

It wasn't until the game started that he understood. The issue was that Hermione would go into this completely blindsided.

He needed find a way to tell her. Harry was curious how she would react to the news. Whether she would be curious or disinterested. Would she shrug it off and let it play out or would she balk, thinking he was too much like a brother to her? Or would she be interested in knowing him in a different way? Harry sighed. Why did his life have to be so complicated?

"Time's up!" Jake hollered to one of the couples. It had been five minutes since Hermione had arrived and he didn't know how to approach her and tell her.

A couple came out of the cupboard, flustered and dishevelled.

Harry's hands started sweating.

The second round started. And when the bottle's spin came to a halt , Hermione's posture went from relaxed to stiff in milliseconds. He did not know how they ended up in the darkened cupboard but here they were.

"I have turned on the timer!" Someone yelled from outside.

Harry stared at Hermione dumbfounded, completely at a loss on how to speak or act.

"What's happening?" she asked him.

"Harry," she whisper-yelled and poked him.

"Yes, uhm…"

"The longer you take, the longer you'll be stuck in there!" Another person read aloud the rule.

Hermione took that as a cue and smashed her lips against his.

"Honestly, Harry," she whispered against his lips. "I'm not that unattractive."

He finally came to his senses and started kissing her back. He placed his hands on her shoulders first but then they slid down to her waist. He couldn't stop now that he kissed her. The kiss had started softly but then it heated up quickly.

Before he knew, they were kissing as if their life depended on it.

Harry watched Hermione from the corner of his eye. Her fingers were dancing, making a spiral twist with her Scoobie strings. She always made a spiral patterns when she was nervous. A habit she had reverted to after her parents forced to leave her nail-biting.

They were seated near the window of her hotel room.

"Hermione," he called out to her.

"Hmm." She continued twisting the strings expertly.

"Say something."

"What?"

She was ignoring him.

Irritated, he snatched the half-completed model from her hands.

"Hey!"

"I was trying to talk to you."

"'What do you want me to say, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Did you like it?" he asked softly.

Hermione nodded yes but didn't look at him. He could see a pale blush on her cheeks.

He put an arm around her and pulled her close.

"Would you- Do want to try it again?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him in question, a suppressed smile on her lips.

"Just to cross check again."

Hermione looked at him for a moment and leaned in to kiss him. It was softer this time. And more thorough.

"What does this mean?" Hermione asked once they parted.

Harry stroked his finger across her cheek. "We can take it slow. If you want to, of course. No pressure."

"Like, more than friends?"

"Yeah."

"I don't want things to get complicated between us Harry. Just in case it doesn't work out."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Okay then." She entwined her hands with his, "We'll take it slowly."

"I thought you had a thing for Malfoy." Hermione glanced at him. "In fact, I thought that you two were seeing each other."

They were having dinner at a café near their hotel.

"What?" Harry spit out, incredulously. "What made you think that?"

"It's just that, I've noticed you sneaking glances at him and I'm pretty sure I caught him checking you out."

He did have a thing for Malfoy. Not that he was sure what it meant. He had even entertained the idea of dating men briefly.

Once every month, Malfoy left Hogwarts to visit Ministry for his probation. He would also supply any information about Death Eaters. Harry was tasked to overlook this. At first both of them had been unhappy about the arrangement, but Harry had to be professional and Draco self-preserving, so they made it work.

After Draco was done with Hogwarts, he joined the Ministry. It was one of the terms of his release. The two weren't on friendly terms by any means but they were cordial.

"I actually thought he had a thing for you," Harry mumbled

Hermione digested the fact for some time and then said, "So… he has a thing… for both of us?"

Harry and Hermione stared at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"Maybe when we go back, we could seduce him together."

Hermione folded her legs and rested her chin on her knees, "I wonder how Ron and Ginny would take it."

Harry shrugged. "Hopefully well."

Hermione noticed that he was distracted.

She turned and wrapped her arms around him from the back.

"Are you fine?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He patted her hand.

Hermione stared back of his head with narrowed eyes (or so he guessed).

It was late at night and Harry asked if it would be okay if he joined her. They had shared a bed plenty times before, but he clarified that he just wanted to sleep next to her.

She made him face her.

"You seem a little off, Harry. And I've been noticing this since a month." She kissed his cheek softly. "Tell me."

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Is it Ginny?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"No, not that. We both have moved on."

Their break-up had been amicable. A couple of months into their relationship was when they realised that things were not working out.

Hermione shrugged. "Then?"

"It's crazy."

"I'm sure if it's been a cause of worry for you for so long, it's not crazy."

"I don't like my job anymore," he whispered.

"Oh, Harry." She palmed his cheek.

"After everything, this job feels like a burden. People expect me to plan, they expect me to lead missions. They probably think the Horcrux hunt was a walk in the park for me. That I had planned everything." Harry scoffed. " If they only knew. I don't like the pressure. At first, it was fun, yes I admit that. When we were rounding up remaining Death Eaters, things were alright back then. Now every mission feels like a chore. Now that Voldemort is history…" he trailed off.

"What should I do?"

"If you don't like it, then leave it. You've never had a choice. But now you do. Now you're free to do as you please. Remember that."

"I'll keep it in mind. It's getting late. We should sleep."

Hermione probably understood that he was getting uncomfortable, so she didn't push.

Their last day found them ambling around in Central Park.

"How do you think the Weasleys will take this?" Hermione asked, as she popped a caramelized groundnut in her mouth.

"Don't think about that now. We can tell them at our own pace," Harry said as he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his chest.

"I'm worried about Ginny and Ron." When she got no response, she tilted her head up to glance at Harry. His eyes were closed.

"Harry." she jabbed at him, "I'm talking to you. How are you even walking with your eyes closed?"

"I was just trying to relax Mi." He grinned at her murderous expression.

Their department at MACUSA thought it to be a cute nickname for Hermione. Harry couldn't remember the last time she had projected that much amount of anger. Their colleagues had taken a hint.

"Are we going to avoid this now? Don't change the topic, Harry."

"No such thing," Harry scoffed. "I'm pretty sure Ron and Gin will be surprised at first, but they will get over it soon. And if you want, then we can tell the two before declaring it to the family."

"Hmm." Hermione was unconvinced that their plan would go smoothly.

"If anyone would be happy, it would be your parents." Harry grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh, God, don't even get started," she mumbled. It was no secret that her parents loved Harry and wanted them to start dating. After he had accompanied Hermione to Australia to bring her parents back and reverse the memory charm, they had been smitten with him. Ron had been unable to accompany them. Since his family had been grieving, Hermione insisted that he stay back.

"Come, let's have dinner and a quite night before we go back to reality."

"Have you thought about what you'll do?" Hermione asked him quietly. Her head on his chest, his arm around her.

"I'll finish pending cases and then resign. I'll talk to Kingsley first, of course. Ron will be a little mad at me for leaving. He's great at his job, strategy and planning."

Hermione smiled at that.

"But I don't know what I should do after that. I wonder if there is something else for me at the Ministry. How will I know?"

"You should take a break. You've not taken out any time for yourself after the war. Go on a solo trip. An exotic island perhaps?"

"Nah. I'm not interested in that. I'd rather stay here. Spend some more time with Teddy."

They both were quite for a while. The noises from the busy city could be heard.

"You can take up cooking classes. Or a cooking course."

"What?" Harry laughed.

"I'm serious." Hermione was suddenly excited and raised herself on her elbows to look at him, "You are good at it. I read an article the other day about Molecular Gastronomy. It's predicted to be the new rage or something in the Muggle world."

Harry stared at her and realised that she was serious, "Slow down, Hermione. Besides, what will that achieve?"

"Does it have to? It's not like you need money. And neither am I telling you change careers. You can just do this for yourself. It'll keep you busy at least."

Harry considered Hermione's words. He did like cooking. And he had an ungodly amount of money. Money from the Potter vaults, the will that Sirius had left him and the Order of Merlin reward that all three of them had received.

"Alright," he smiled down at her, "I'll think about it. But no promises."

"Okay."

Hermione woke up at 7:30 the next morning. Their Portkey wasn't until eleven, so she awarded herself with a little extra sleep. She slipped from Harry's grip and padded to the washroom. After finishing her morning ablutions, she dialled the room service for some tea.

She skimmed through the newspaper as she sipped her tea. And stilled when she reached the fifth page.

"Harry." She went to the bed and shook him awake.

"What?" he answered groggily.

"Look at this." She thrusted the newspaper in his face. He searched for his spectacles blindly and put them on.

Harry swore at the spread covering the entire page. It was a picture of them at the Central Park, with a loop of him hugging her and kissing her forehead and the headlines speculating if they were together. It wasn't a big deal since they were used to such articles, but it was true now.

Harry looked up at Hermione, "So… we'll have to tell the Weasleys sooner than we planned."

Hermione nodded sadly.

"How's the tea?"

"Crap."

Harry sighed.

It was three in the afternoon when they reached London. They had a few hours till dinner at the Burrow. Harry hoped the news would be released in the evening Prophet.

Despite his own reassurances to Hermione, he himself was a little worried about their new relationship. He had not been a great friend back when they were kids. Any squabble and he would side with Ron, no matter how illogical his reasoning was. Despite that, Hermione always stuck with him. During the toughest times, she had stayed by his side. Not that Ron was a bad friend. He had his own shortcomings, but he was loyal and did the best he could.

He just didn't want to hurt Hermione and ruin this bond they had created. Another issue was Molly. He had no clue how she would react. She was an amazing person but a little narrowminded. He would not tolerate the stunt she had pulled on Hermione back in fourth year.

At seven he floo-ed to Hermione's flat. They had decided to arrive a little late.

"Hermione?" he called out.

"Give me a minute!"

She had worn soft, emerald green jumper and black trousers. Her hair was open, and she glowed in the soft yellow light of her home.

She smiled at him, "Ready, Potter?"

No, he was not.

He went towards her and enveloped her in a hug.

He felt her laugh against his chest.

"What's this about?"

He nuzzled his face into her neck.

"Nothing, just missed you," he mumbled.

He hadn't even realised it until he saw her. The one year when she had been away at Hogwarts, had been very difficult. Now that he thought back, he had visited her more than Ginny, before they broke up.

Hugging her was therapeutic. He felt his anxiety from the past six months, melt away. He had never been much for physical affection (thanks to the Dursleys, for isolating him), but cuddling with Hermione would be his favourite pastime. Who even needed sex? (Who was he kidding.)

"We'll be late, Harry."

"Yes," he reluctantly let her go.

"Shall we proceed then?"

Harry nodded and mentally prepared himself for the night.

When they reached, everyone had started to settle down for the meal. Molly was in her usual exuberant state. Ron was surprisingly quite for some reason.

Twenty minutes into the dinner, the table went quiet. Harry thought it to be a good time to broach the topic.

"Well, last week I…" Bill paused mid-sentence, a confused look on his face.

"Last week what Bill?" Ron pushed.

"Uhm… Well, nothing important. Forget it."

Harry cleared his throat.

"So… uhm…" the words escaped him. Everyone looked at him.

Hermione gave him a look.

"I wanted to say that uh…"

What on earth was happening? It was like the words were stuck in his throat.

Hermione interrupted, "What Harry wants to say that is, uhm…"

He saw Hermione frown.

"What is it, dear?" Molly asked.

George sharply turned to look at Ron. "Ronniekins," he said warningly.

"What?" Ron asked, flustered.

"You have done something."

All eyes landed on Ron. He gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back if his head.

"Well, I decided not to discard that recipe you asked me to. I tweaked it a little."

George grinned, "For the first time in my life I am proud to call you my brother ickle Ronnie. Not that the recipe is working as it is supposed to."

"Yeah, well something seems wrong."

"Ron! H-" Molly's face was read with fury. Ron was lucky he messed up his experiment, because Molly would have had his hide. Harry came to the conclusion that is was a potion, judging by the untouched glass of pumpkin juice.

"What was this supposed to do, Ron?"

"A potion that would cause verbal diarrhoea about anything the person feels strongly about. But I think, it's working in the opposite manner"

George snorted, "Verbal constipation?"

"It's not funny you, two. Poor Harry here wanted to say something important." Molly said.

Hermione sighed, got up from her chair and disappeared towards the living room. She came back with her beaded bag, removed the newspaper from New York and handed it to Molly.

Molly scanned the page, until she found the important bit and looked at the two of them.

"Is it true?"

Harry nodded.

Ron snatched the paper from Molly's hand. "Is what true?"

George let out a low whistle from over Ron's shoulder.

"Oh, that's it? I knew it would be coming soon." That was Ginny's response.

Harry looked at her. She smiled and shrugged.

"Though Hermione, you owe me a detailed explanation."

"Deal." Hermione grinned at Ginny.

Harry raised his eyes at Ron.

Ron shrugged with a small smile, "You two should have told me earlier."

"It's not like this has been going on for long," Harry said.

"I'm happy for you, mate."

Harry didn't know how much of it was genuine, but he supposed it would do for now.

They would figure out the rest soon. He knew he could count on Ron and Hermione. Hell, he was considering ringing up Dudley. For now, he was content.

A/N: According to my research, baby pink colour stands for friendship, affection, harmony, inner peace, and approachability. Light pink is used to communicate tenderness. I wanted to show the sweetness in Harry/Hermione's relationship. Hope I have conveyed it well.

I did not want to make this story very sad. So Harry's indecision, dislike and anxiety about his job is how I conveyed my special rule.

If anyone doesn't know what Scoobie strings are, they are these multicoloured strings you get that you can braid and make patterns. I'm not sure what is the purpose of it, but it seems good for fidgeting and you can use them as keychains after you're done making the desired pattern.

Any Harmione shippers let me know what you think, I'm not a huge shipper myself but this round screamed Harmione to me.

Reviews are appreciated