Sorry this is a little later in the day than usual, I've had a bit of a crap one. One of my kittens is poorly and someone tried to scam me for a substantial amount of money. Luckily, this chapter helped cheer me up.

One of my reviewers asked if it was coincidence that all my fics were named after Taylor Swift songs. And the answer is kind of. I use songs that are relevant to my fics, even if it's only a teeny link as I can never think of actual titles. It's just coincidence that most of my fics are named after Tay Tay's amazing music. She's one of my favourite artists. Feels Like Home is a Chantal Kreviazuk song! :-)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Betsy is my favourite character ever! xxx

Hermione's birthday celebrations continue and she receives an invite to an meeting with the Minister of Magic.

Hermione woke early the next morning, her head pounding slightly. She had definitely drunk too much wine last night. She groaned and rolled away from the sunlight pouring in from the sole window in her bedroom. She didn't get to fester too long in her hangover though; as she started to wake up properly the memories of last night came flooding back. It was definitely one of her favourite birthdays. Ron was her boyfriend again and everything was starting to feel right. Saying goodnight to him after all their friends had gone home had been hard, but she hadn't wanted to push her luck with him. The memory made her slightly giddy.

She pushed herself up out of bed with a small smile, reaching over to scratch Crookshanks under his chin. She took a hangover potion with her breakfast and finished the last of the tidying up. After grabbing a quick shower, she pulled on her Harpies fan top and a pair of her comfiest jeans before heading back downstairs to wait for Ron. He'd been adamant that he would come and collect her so that they could turn up to the VIP box together; he was really looking forward to seeing the looks on his family's faces.

Ron eventually apparated into the living room, looking a bit out of breath. He was late, as usual, but Hermione was in such a good mood she wasn't even tempted to reprimand him for it. She grinned as he spotted her and made his way over to her, his patented Weasley smile plastered over his face.

"Good morning beautiful…"

Hermione stood up, taking a joking glance at her watch. "It's just about morning still, you're lucky…" She gave him a quick kiss as he got to her before pulling on her jacket.

"Yeah… I drank far too much last night and woke up with a pounding hangover. I had to go to mum's for a hangover potion and ended up having breakfast with her and dad…"

"I'll have to remember to send you home with one after a night of drinking…" Hermione finished getting ready and took his hand, laughing as he pulled her to him.

"Well maybe it won't be long until I'm staying the night?!" Ron wriggled his eyebrows playfully at her before dropping his head to give her a proper kiss. He drew it out, keeping it slow and soft before finally pulling away. "You ready to face my family? Mum is going to fuss over us all day and ask us for all the gory details!"

"Well it's a good job there's no gory details to tell…" Hermione rolled her eyes but gave his hand a firm squeeze.

"I know… She didn't mention anything to me this morning either, so I guess Ginny managed to keep her mouth shut for once. Mum did look a bit suspicious when I said I had somewhere to go before getting to the game…" Ron looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well she'll find out soon enough…" Hermione pulled his wand out of his pocket and handed it to him. "You do the honours?"

Ron laughed at her and took his wand, tightening his grip on her before apparating them carefully to the Quidditch Stadium at Holyhead. Once their feet were back on solid ground, they joined the throngs of fans making their way towards the pitch. Hermione kept a tight grip on Ron's hand as they moved. The first game of the season was always a popular one for fans and since Holyhead were putting a really strong team forward, including Ginny starting as a permanent first team Chaser, there seemed to be more people there than usual.

Harry spotted them heading towards the VIP entrance and waved them over. He glanced down at where they were holding hands tightly and smiled to himself. So it wasn't just the wine last night, they were definitely giving things another go. The thought made him happy. He'd known they were meant to be together for a long time and selfishly, this made his life a whole lot easier.

"Good morning! How are your heads this morning?" Harry gave Hermione a brief hug, forcing her to let go of Ron's hand.

"I had to go to mum's for a hangover potion. Which bright genius opened the Firewhisky?!" Ron rubbed his forehead slightly.

"You I think!" Harry laughed. "Have you forgotten how to look after him, Hermione?!" He let go of her, smiling fondly as she immediately gravitated back to Ron.

Ron shifted a bit awkwardly. "Uhm… we're not at the staying over stage yet…"

"Oh…" Harry looked equal amounts surprised and awkward too. "Sorry, I just thought…"

"We're taking it slowly this time, step by step… see if that works better for us!" Hermione smiled and reached up to kiss Ron's cheek, giving his hand a firm squeeze.

"Yeah, yeah it is…" Ron was momentarily distracted by Hermione, a dopey smile plastered across his face.

Harry gave his two best friends an even bigger smile. "Well I didn't say it last night but I really am pleased for the two of you and not at all upset that you felt you couldn't tell me…" He smirked and started to lead them towards the entrance.

Ron laughed as he followed. "Oh fuck off. If I told you then the rest of the family would have known before I even had a chance to take Hermione on a proper date! You and Ginny tell each other far too much and Ginny immediately blabs to mum!"

The three of them flashed their VIP passes at the Welcome Witch at the door, though there was really no need for any of them to identify who they were. The witch blushed and eagerly ushered them inside and towards their box, even know they'd been there plenty of times before.

Hermione tightened her grip on Ron's hand reassuringly as they entered the box behind Harry. She gave him a meaningful look as the conversation suddenly died out, the room going quiet.

Molly was the first to stand up, her arms thrown wide as she made a beeline for them. "Oh does this mean that you two…"

Before she could even finish her question or give them chance to answer; the Weasley matriarch had flung her arms around her youngest son and his girlfriend, pulling them into a tight hug. Hermione could have sworn she saw a tear as she was pulled from Molly's arms (and Ron's tight hold on her hand) to be passed around the family for celebratory hugs. She tried her best to keep up conversation and answer questions, most of them far too intrusive coming from family members, but she found herself distracted as she watched Ron interact with the family. For an intelligent girl, she found this happening far too often; though she knew what this meant and the thought made her feel all warm inside. She had been stupid to think she could be away from him for any length of time.

The weekend passed quickly in a blur of food, drink and plenty of family time which meant that Hermione didn't once think about the week she was facing in work. Therefore, she was surprised when she finally got to her desk Monday morning to find a ministry owl waiting for her, an official looking note tied to its leg. Hermione felt her stomach lurch suddenly and she wondered briefly if she might be sick.

She took her time taking off her outdoor robes and replacing them with her Ministry ones. She tidied her bag away under her desk, trying her best to ignore Betsy bouncing away in her seat in excitement. But then she ran out of distractions so she sat down and untied the note from the owl's leg with a shaky hand. She unrolled the parchment slowly and took a deep breath before finally reading it.

Betsy tried her best to wait patiently, almost turning purple with effort. Eventually, she couldn't take any more waiting. "Miss Granger, what does it say?"

It came out as a rush of words and Betsy had to take a few breaths before trying again, this time a bit slower. She had never been one to be patient and she had spent the entire weekend up at the castle, worrying about the forthcoming news and what it would mean for her future at the Ministry. She really enjoyed working with Miss Granger and she really wanted to make other house-elves lives better, the way hers had been since she started her new job.

Hermione eventually stopped reading and passed the parchment across the desk to Betsy. "We're being summoned to a meeting with the Minister at 11. Both of us."

Betsy read the note for herself before lifting her head up from the parchment and staring at Miss Granger, her mouth open wide in surprise. "Even Betsy? But Betsy has never spoken to the Ministry of Magic before!"

"He's a good wizard; probably the best Minister we've ever had. He was there at the trial Betsy…"

"Yes, but Betsy never had a chance to speak to him 'cos the Minister was all the way up there with the Wizengamot and we had to sit all the way down there in our seats. Now we'll get to be face-to-face. I will be able to tell him why Betsy loves working in the Ministry and that she doesn't want to stop!"

"Definitely keep that thought in your back-pocket Betsy, just in case the conversation doesn't go the way we want it to!" Hermione took the note off Betsy and folded it carefully into a pocket. She reached for an internal memo, sending a quick note to Harry and Ron to let them know about the meeting.

"We should revise the key points Betsy. I know we know them inside out, but I wouldn't want the Minister to throw us a curveball and we wouldn't be able to answer…"

The pair spent the rest of the morning down in the library, both of them finding it a lot more comforting than the busy office.

The time came for their meeting with Kingsley. Hermione felt the walk to his office was the longest walk she'd ever taken, yet she found herself at his door far too quickly. Her stomach was a whirlwind of butterflies, but not the good kind. She lifted a shaky hand and knocked once. Betsy was stood closer to her than usual; the house-elf really didn't have any perspective of personal space, but Hermione found it comforting. It didn't take long for Shacklebolt to summon them into the office.

The Minister was sat back in his seat, fingers pressed together as he waited patiently for Hermione and Betsy to take their seats.

"Well Miss Granger, your Dobby's Law has definitely created a stir amongst the Wizengamot." Although the Minister's tone was stern, he had an amused look on his face. "Never has a law been debated in as much detail as this one. It split the Wizengamot completely in two."

Hermione felt her stomach lurch again. It had to be bad news. She tried her hardest to focus on how lovely a weekend she'd just had with Ron and his family, but she couldn't stop her brain from racing ahead. She couldn't stop thinking about how it would feel to tell them she'd failed. It made her feel sick. She tried to speak, but her throat was tight. She swallowed hard and tried again, her voice quiet and drawn.

"I understand…"

"Nevertheless…" The Minister interrupted her. "We eventually agreed to accept Dobby's law, with a few stipulations. We will need you to complete your house-elf register so that we can track and monitor the elves. There is a list of amendments that will need to be made to the law itself; Betsy and you should work with Claire Radford to get those reviewed and agreed. She was very impressed with your impassioned speech and has been your biggest advocate, which is highly commendable given how much she was against the law to begin with. You should aim to complete all of this by the New Year. Well done Miss Granger and Betsy…" The Minister stood up from his desk and held out his hand.

Hermione was lost for words. It had taken so long for the Wizengamot to debate the law that she had been expecting only bad news. She forced herself to stand up and shake his hand. "Thank you so much Minister. I promise I'll give this my all so that we can release the law on time."

The Minister moved on to shake Betsy's hand. "I'd expect nothing less of you. Congratulations Miss Granger. You are now the youngest witch to ever get a law passed via the Wizengamot."

Hermione eventually left Kingsley's office with Betsy hot on her heels. She was still stunned and didn't even notice Harry and Ron lingering in the corridor.

"Oy, Granger!" Ron frowned as he watched her walk straight past them.

Hermione spun on her heel as she heard his voice, a huge grin appearing on her face. "The Wizengamot accepted Dobby's Law!" She felt tears appear in her eyes as both boys pulled her into a huge hug. It felt great being able to share this with them; they'd both contributed to get getting this far in one way or another and she knew she was so lucky to have such great people in her life.