Summary: After breaking up with their respective Weasleys and "losing their breakups," Harry and Hermione find themselves hanging out alone together - a lot. What starts out as friendship soon grows into more as they realize they aren't the same people they were at Hogwarts. Post-Hogwarts / Harmony / Drama / HEA.

Rating/ Trigger Warnings: This story is rated M for sex, and not much else. No trigger warnings apply.

Logistics: This picks up three years after the end of the war. Everything in the books happened, except the Epilogue.

Chapter 1

June 2001

Hermione was bent over her desk, lost in a legal brief, when Ron walked into her office. He stopped in the doorway and watched her work while he waited for her to notice him standing there.

He smiled when he saw she was wearing a navy jumper, even though it was summer and very hot outside. It was one of the jumpers his mum had knitted one year with a large, bronze H on the front. Hermione kept it at her desk to wear anytime she was cold - which was all the time. Hermione was perpetually cold.

Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, which Ron knew was odd for a Thursday. Hermione washed her hair in the same way she did most things in her life - consistently and on a strict schedule. Every Monday and Thursday she washed her hair, let it air dry, and wore it down in loose curls for the rest of the day.

On Tuesdays and Fridays, she'd re-curl any crumpled bits with her wand and wore it down again. And on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, she wore her hair up, since it was usually too messy by then to be worn down.

Ron wondered what had happened to mess up her schedule. He also wondered if it was weird that he knew so much about this witch, then figured it was fair, since she knew just as much, probably more, about him.

After a full minute of watching her (which was, admittedly, slightly creepy), Ron figured she was too lost in whatever she was doing to notice him and cleared his throat.

"Hi, Ron," she said without looking up from her parchment, proving his earlier point that she knew him very well. She recognized him just by the sound of his throat clearing.

She finished writing out the current line she was working on, then looked up and smiled. Ron felt guilty that in a few moments, he was going to say something to erase that smile from her face.

"What's wrong?" Hermione could tell Ron was nervous about whatever he'd come in here to say. She wondered if it was personal or work-related, then wondered which one she'd prefer.

Ron closed the door and looked at her sheepishly. He kept his hands behind him, on the doorknob. So, personal, Hermione decided. He must be holding the door so he could make a quick escape. Whatever he'd come to tell her was going to be something bad.

"I have to tell you something," Ron said in a low voice, like he was worried someone was going to overhear.

"Go ahead and sit." Hermione waved toward one of the chairs in front of her desk.

Ron hesitated at first, but finally took the chair on the left, the one closest to the door. He leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him, then sighed heavily.

"Come on, just get on with it!" Hermione blurted. She couldn't remember the last time he'd struggled so much to tell her something. Even their breakup conversation had flowed better than this.

He gave her a lopsided grin and her heart jumped, slightly. Not overly so, she was happy to note. She was still on her way to getting over him completely, but it was getting easier each day. And she had time. They'd only broken up two months ago. It was normal to still love him, especially since he hadn't done anything terrible to cause their breakup – they'd just realized that they weren't the right people for each other.

And the fact that they were sitting alone now, with very minimal awkwardness between them, was a testament to all the work they'd put in right after their breakup to stay friends. It had been hard to see each other in their normal social situations, especially since all their friends were paired off, but they'd powered through, and were getting more used to just being friends again.

Ron sighed again and Hermione started running through non-painful hexes in her head (just something small, to shock him a bit and get him talking), when he finally started speaking in a rush.

"I've started dating someone, and I wanted to be the one to tell you and not have you find out by reading it in some paper, or worse, from some reporter looking for a comment from you."

Ron announced this to the floor. He was too worried about what he'd see on Hermione's face to say it to her directly. He and Harry were similar like this. They had no problems walking into a Dark Wizard's house, or a potentially dangerous crime scene, but with witches, all their purported bravery disappeared.

[In his defense, Hermione could be very scary, more so than a lot of the Dark Wizards he'd encountered, so his fear wasn't entirely unfounded.]

If Ron had looked up, he would have seen a look of utter shock, and felt a little offended, so it was probably best that he'd kept his eyes on the purple carpet under his feet. Hermione could not believe that after a two-year, serious relationship, he'd moved on after just two months. There had to be a proper ratio for the amount of time to wait before moving on, and she doubted one month per year spent dating was appropriate.

She made a mental note to look it up, then wondered where in the hell she would go for that sort of information. Ginny might know. Either way, it felt fast.

Hermione's continued silence was making Ron uncomfortable, so he kept talking. "I know it's sort of quick. Hannah told me I can't handle being alone because I grew up in such a big family."

Hermione nodded. There might be something to that. What did that say about her? Since she was an only child, was she destined to be a spinster?

Before she could think more about it, her brain latched on to Ron's mention of Hannah. She was annoyed he'd told Hannah before her. Did their entire group of friends know? Was she the last one he'd decided to tell? It wasn't a huge thing, though Hermione was fairly certain if she'd started dating someone, she would have told Ron before she told Hannah.

Ron finally chanced a look at Hermione, since she'd been quiet for too long. Luckily, she wasn't holding her wand, like he'd feared, but was thinking hard, unsurprisingly.

When Ron looked up at Hermione, she was snapped out of her thoughts. "Thank you for telling me," she said evenly. "I certainly would have hated to find out in Witch Weekly."

Ron nodded. "Of, course."

"Okay," Hermione paused, her mind racing again. She was trying to think which of the fifty questions that had popped into her head were appropriate to ask and wouldn't make her seem too desperate. "I have questions," she said, to buy herself time as she decided which one to ask first.

"Oh, okay. Uh, what do you want to know?"

Is she pretty? Is it serious? Do you love her? Hermione discarded the first three questions that popped into her mind and went with the fourth and fifth ones instead.

"Who is this witch? Do I know her?"

"No. I don't think so. Her name is Lucy Kippling. She was in Hufflepuff, two years below us."

A Hufflepuff. Hermione was not sure how she felt about that. Well, that probably explained why Hannah knew. She probably knew this Lucy girl from school, maybe she'd been the one to introduce Ron to her in the first place. Had he been looking for a new girlfriend, or was it just an accident?

Ron was watching Hermione's giant brain at work and wondered if she was running through hexes in her mind. Merlin, he hoped not. He patted his wand in his robes, just in case.

Hermione was wondering again how pretty this Lucy Kippling was. Prettier than her? Probably, most witches were. She sighed before asking her next question.

"Can you keep your public displays of affection to a minimum? It would be nice if there weren't loads of photos of you two snogging all around."

"I - yeah - of course. That was the plan."

Hermione raised an accusing eyebrow at him. They were both thinking of Lavender, but neither of them was going to say her name, since she was dead. They engaged in a short staring contest, then, eventually, Ron broke it with a big roll. "That was sixth year. I'm loads more mature now."

Hermione responded with a "hmph."

"Okay, well, any more questions?" he asked, desperate to change the subject.

This time, it was Hermione who dropped her eyes and looked at the purple carpet. Ron was a little startled and leaned in, instinctively, ready to comfort her if needed.

"Are you going to start bringing her to, um, everything?" she asked in a soft voice.

Hermione didn't have to elaborate. Ron knew "everything" referred to all the events among their group of friends. The intimate ones where they didn't have to worry about cameras or reporters. Dinners at someone's house, game nights, lunches at the Burrow.

The events they had both determinedly attended the weeks following their breakup, even though they and their friends were uncomfortable, because they would not let their breakup affect their friendship, or any of the other close friendships in their life.

Ron hadn't thought of bringing Lucy to any of those events until now, and he answered instinctively. "No, I don't think so." His response surprised him and he added, "Maybe a few things here or there, but not all the time." He wondered why his initial response had been no.

It was hard to put into words, but when it was just their original group of friends, him, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Luna, it felt sacred. It would be weird to bring an outsider in. But Neville and Luna had invited their significant others, Hannah and Rolf, and now they were a part of the group. Would it be like that with Lucy? Ron couldn't picture it.

Hermione was looking back up at Ron now, eyeing him curiously. "I – uh – won't bring her around to hangout when it's just, er, us, until it's a bit more serious, I think." Ron stumbled through his words and wondered what Lucy would think of this.

"Okay. I didn't mean to suggest you shouldn't. I just wanted to be prepared."

Ron leaned back in his chair and sighed. "This is weird," he admitted.

"I know," she replied with a small smile, and Ron instantly relaxed.

"It's already better than it was," she continued, "and I think it will just keep getting easier."

"Right. Um, any more questions?"

Hermione was biting her lip, considering if she should ask her final question. It was out of her mouth before she could talk herself out of it. "What's she like?"

"Oh. The exact opposite of you," he said with a small laugh, then instantly regretted it. "I mean, that came out terribly. She's just – like, frivolous, or, um, more interested in a good time than placing a mark on the world-"

"Fun," Hermione cut in. "The word you're looking for is fun, unlike me."

"I didn't say that, you did!"

Hermione sighed. Why were they fighting? Ron wanted to have fun, so what? This had more to do with him than it did with her, and she needed to let it go. She waved her hand over the desk. "It's fine, really, I'm fine."

"Are you?"

She waved him off again and Ron narrowed his eyes and studied her appearance again. She was a bit of a mess. She had ink smeared on the side of her hands and arms, the skin under her eyes was dark and sunken in, and he hadn't forgotten the abandoned hair washing schedule. She was clearly overworking herself again, but this time she didn't have someone looking after her and forcing her to eat and sleep.

Ron made a mental note to tell Harry and Ginny to check on her. He wasn't surprised they'd been neglecting their friendship duties, especially given what Harry had confided in him last weekend. As the thought popped into Ron's head, he jumped at the change in conversation.

"I have gossip," he said quickly.

She gave him a predictable, stern expression, but didn't tell him to stop talking. He guessed she was just as eager as he was to talk about something else. "Harry and Ginny are probably going to break up."

Hermione's eyes widened, then she looked sad. "Who did you hear it from, Ginny or Harry?"

"Harry. Why? Has Ginny said anything to you?"

Hermione shook her head. She wasn't surprised Harry hadn't told her, though she was a little disappointed. But Ginny was her best girl friend. It was becoming more apparent, however, that Hermione was not Ginny's best girl friend, at least, not anymore.

She'd been getting closer with her Quidditch teammates over the past year, which was understandable since she spent so much time with them. It hurt Hermione's feelings, but she had never told Ginny this, obviously, since it was slightly pathetic.

"Well, what did Harry say?" she asked Ron.

He shrugged. "Just that they've been fighting more about stupid stuff, and, I don't know. You know that night we went out to celebrate our graduation from Auror training?"

"Yeah," she said in a sad voice.

How could Hermione forget? She, Harry, and Ron had gone to a dodgy pub in Muggle London to celebrate. It had been a trivia night and they'd been awful at it since they knew next to nothing about the Muggle world. Ron had thought it especially entertaining that Hermione, for once, was out of her element when it came to spouting off facts.

They'd all had too much to drink, then ended the night at a Muggle playground, on the swings. Harry was in a thoughtful mood and had been going on about how until that moment, he'd never let himself hope for a happy future.

The prophecy had obviously played a big part in that. But even after the war ended, he was worried something else would go wrong. But it was finally happening, just like he'd wanted. Monday he was going to start wearing Auror robes, he had a girlfriend he loved, and one day they'd have a family.

Harry had started describing scenes from his future he was finally able to let himself believe in. Weekends at the Burrow with all their kids playing together and Hogwarts drop-offs at King's Cross station.

Hermione had sat on the swing with her head resting against the cold chain and cried. In the haze of alcohol, her mind finally let her consider the truth of her relationship with Ron and how the lovely future Harry was describing wasn't going to work out for them.

She'd told the boys the swings were making her sick and that she needed a break. She walked around the playground twice, then settled on the grass, looking out at the tall buildings of London. Harry came to her side first, followed a minute later by Ron. They sat on either side of her.

"What's wrong?" Harry had asked.

She was quiet for a long time, and surprisingly, it was Ron who had answered. He wrapped an arm around Hermione and said in a rough voice. "That future, Harry, it's beautiful. And we're both really happy for you. You deserve it, after everything. I think what Hermione has just realized is that in that future you described, the two of us won't be together."

It had been devastating, hearing her fears come out of Ron's mouth, but also, in a way, comforting. It was the closest she'd ever felt to Ron. For the first time in their two years of dating, they were on the exact same page.

Ron nodded knowingly. "I know, hard night to forget. Anyway. When Ginny got back from Scotland the next day, Harry told her about the whole night and I guess she didn't exactly like the future he'd painted for them."

"Oh – I, wow. I guess I've never talked to Ginny about any of that. What was it? She doesn't want kids? Or doesn't want Harry? Or…what?"

"I don't know."

They were silent for a second, thinking about their friends. They were both thinking it would be nice if another couple split up, so they wouldn't be the only ones, but they both felt too guilty to voice this thought aloud.

"Poor Harry," Hermione eventually said.

"Not poor Ginny?"

"You know out of the two of them, he'll suffer more."

They nodded at each other, then exchanged guilty smiles. They both knew if Harry ever found out they were talking about him like this, he'd be furious. But it was true – Harry needed Ginny more than she needed him.

It was nothing to be ashamed of. Harry had been to hell and back (literally, though an empty King's Cross platform with Dumbledore probably didn't qualify as hell). Either way, it made sense he'd come out of the whole thing a little worse for the wear – neither Hermione nor Ron faulted him for it.

"I know," Ron replied with a sigh. He got up from the chair and grabbed the back with his hands. "I should go. Are we okay?"

Hermione smiled and nodded back at him. "Yeah. I do appreciate you telling me, really."

Ron opened the door but stopped before walking into the hall and looked back at Hermione. She'd already picked her quill back up and was looking at the parchment on her desk again. "I've been looking for that 'Quick Guide to Muggles' book you gave me. I was going to lend it to Donnor, but I can't find it anywhere. Do you-?"

"You brought it home to show your dad," she replied without looking up from her work. "It's probably in your old bedroom at the Burrow."

"Brilliant, thanks." He hit the doorframe and finally turned to leave, but she called him back as soon as he stepped into the hall.

"Yeah?" he asked, popping his head back into her office.

"It's Percy's birthday this weekend, in case you forgot."

"Oh shit. I definitely forgot." He grinned widely and Hermione was happy to note that her heart did no acrobatics in response. "You're the absolute best, you know that, right?"

"I do. Bye, Ron."

An hour later, Harry appeared in the doorway of Hermione's office. He stopped in the same spot Ron had and watched her work for a few seconds. Unlike Ron, who had been talking to Hermione for several minutes before recognizing something was off with her, Harry noticed immediately.

He frowned. Harry and Ginny were supposed to be keeping an eye on her. Ron had warned them that left to her own devices, Hermione would work too much and fail to take care of herself. He smirked to himself as he pictured Hermione's reaction if she ever found out they talked about her like that behind her back.

"Ready?" he asked.

Hermione jumped, then scowled at the clock on the wall. Damn, where had all the time gone? It felt like five minutes had passed since she'd talked to Ron, but it had been an hour. She was getting nowhere with this draft. She should set it aside and work on reviewing the new law from Boyle instead.

"It will all be here when you get back, Hermione." Harry had crossed the room and was taking her quill out of her hand and pulling her up by the elbow.

"Yeah, you're right." She gave him a small smile and tried to keep the pitying look out of her eyes as she remembered what Ron had told her about Harry and Ginny. She stood up and stretched, then took off her jumper. It would be hot outside, and eating spicy Indian food always made her feel warm.

She looked longingly back at her work. She really didn't have any time for this lunch, but in the past two years, she'd never once canceled on her weekly lunches with Harry. But she had also never been this close to getting one of her own laws passed.

Harry knew exactly what she was thinking. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the hall.

"You're not skipping this. Come on. It's good to stop and take breaks – you, yourself told me that – remember? Something about the creative mind firing better when it's relaxed, and you told me to remind you of this anytime you go into workaholic mode."

When Harry got her into the lift, he let go of her. He leaned against the wall and smiled at Hermione, who was lost in thought. He didn't know if her mind was still on the work, or the article about the importance of taking breaks that he'd just reminded her of.

"Hi," he said a little louder than normal.

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. "Hi, Harry." She gave him a warm smile and looked down and noticed she had ink smeared on her hands and arms. "Shoot." She pulled out her wand to clean off, then leaned against the wall opposite Harry and sighed. Harry was looking at her, clearly amused.

"I'm kind of a mess. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. Why don't you tell me what tempted you to skip out on lunch with me, which you have never missed, and why you didn't wash your hair this morning, even though it's a Thursday?"

"I – " Hermione pulled her hand up to her hair. "How do you know about my hair washing schedule?"

The door to the lift opened and they walked through into the lobby. While walking to the entrance, four people said hello to Harry and one person took a picture of him. He greeted the people kindly (even though he didn't know any of them). He was used to it by now.

When they reached the door to the outside, Harry held it open for Hermione and said simply, "Ron told me."

They both stopped to remove their outer robes, which Hermione stuffed into her bag, and Transfigure their clothes. "Yes, I figured Ron told you. But in what context?"

Harry shrugged and started walking along the pavement. "It was sometime during a stake out, but I don't remember how it came up. Those are so boring. You're just sitting there for hours with nothing to do. When I get partnered with other people, we have stuff to cover, stories from school and the like. I can't talk to Ron about any of that, he was there for every story I have."

"So you talk about my hair."

"Yep." He winked at her. She wanted to ask what else Ron had told Harry about her, then decided she didn't want to know. "So, what happened? Why didn't you wash it this morning?"

"There's no big story. I was up late working and overslept. I didn't have time this morning; I'll wash it tomorrow."

Hermione was clearly annoyed. When they stopped at the crosswalk, Harry turned to her and placed his hands on her arms. "I didn't mean to upset you, really. I'm just worried about you. You do this thing where you dive into work and completely neglect yourself."

"I know," she grumbled.

"Well, what's going on at work? Something good, I hope."

She smiled and nodded. For the next four blocks, she told him about how the law she'd drafted at the beginning of the year had been approved to go to the Elders for review and that she'd be presenting it to them in two weeks' time. Harry listened politely and when they got to the restaurant, they leaned against the brick wall outside while she finished.

They had a rule (implemented by Harry ages ago) not to talk about work inside the restaurant. They also had a rule not to talk about Quidditch, which had been implemented by Hermione.

"So, you got all the creature groups on board? Even the centaurs? When did that happen?"

"I – " Hermione cut off. "I got them on board last month. How do you know that's what I was waiting on?"

Harry nudged her in the side. "Hermione, you've been telling me about this law all year. How could I not know?"

Hermione stood up and turned to the door of the restaurant. "I say a lot of things," she said to the door. "Usually, no one's listening."

She disappeared inside the restaurant and Harry hesitated outside. What was she talking about? There was an unmistakable bite in her tone, but it didn't seem to be directed at him. When Harry finally walked into the restaurant, Hermione was sitting at their usual table, pouring over a notebook and cross-referencing it with the menu.

He took the seat across from her and smiled as he watched her decide their order for the day. He didn't remember how these Thursday lunches started, but soon after Hermione graduated from Hogwarts and joined the Ministry, they'd begun meeting for weekly lunches at this Indian restaurant.

Originally it had been Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but they got sick of Ron constantly complaining about Indian food and how he didn't really like it, so they'd told him to just stop coming. A few months in, Harry had been saying how much he loved the family-owned restaurant and wanted to try everything on the menu. Hermione had declared that they would do just that.

They had a system where they each ordered two dishes they'd never tried, then they'd share, each eating half. Hermione explained how it was more efficient since they could get through the menu twice as fast. She'd logged their progress in a notebook and kept track of their ratings for each dish.

By now, they'd tried everything on the menu and she used the notebook to assist in some elaborate system she'd developed for figuring out what to order each week. She'd tried explaining it once, but it had been too complicated for Harry. There was something about not ordering dishes they'd rated with a three or lower, and not ordering any of the same dishes within a month.

The waiter came up to the table and he and Harry exchanged knowing smiles while they waited patiently for Hermione to decide on their order.

This was one of the things Harry liked best about Hermione. Everything would be going to shit, but he could always rely on Hermione to be there, following some system or sticking to a plan. The funny thing was, she actually wasn't a huge stickler for rules, like everyone thought.

It was just her own, personal rules and routines that were sacred to her, and she clung to them extra hard in times of stress. Like now. Between her breakup with Ron and all the work she'd been putting into this new law, she'd been especially on edge lately.

Eventually, she looked up from her notebook and she and Harry had a short chat with the waiter before she rattled off their order for the day. When they were alone, an awkwardness settled between them, for the first time in a very long time.

The rule about no work or Quidditch talk was a good one, since over the years, it forced them to talk about more personal things. Harry had told Hermione about his healer appointments and gave her more details on what it had been like growing up with the Dursleys. He'd talked through his feelings toward Snape and Malfoy and wondered if it was okay to forgive them. He'd especially wanted to know her opinion on the matter as a Muggleborn.

Hermione had talked to him about her parents and her efforts to get their memories back, then last year, once that was done, her efforts to get them to trust her again. She'd told him about her lingering insecurities of feeling like she didn't truly belonged in the Wizarding World, since she was a Muggleborn.

But sometimes they talked about frivolous things too, like their favorite and least favorite parts about the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds, what was going on with their friends, or interesting stories from the news.

Today, however, they each had one thing at the top of their mind, and they were both uncomfortable about bringing it up. Harry was thinking about Ginny, and their broken relationship, while Hermione was thinking about Ron and his new girlfriend.

[In addition to their spoken rule about no conversations about work or Quidditch, there was an unspoken rule that they didn't talk about their relationships. Neither of them had wondered why or stopped to consider whether their unwillingness to discuss their romantic pursuits with each other spoke to something about their friendship.

If they really were "just friends," then why was talking about love off limits? If they really were, like Harry had said once, like brother and sister, why would they feel awkward discussing their romantic lives with each other? But that's jumping ahead in the story, back to the lunch.]

Hermione did, eventually, break the unspoken rule. She looked down at the table and said in a small voice, "Have you met her?"

Harry winced. So, Ron had told her about Lucy. Shit. She didn't need that stress on top of the presentation for the Elders she was working on, but Ron wouldn't have known any better. Harry shook his head.

Hermione saw it out of her periphery and kept her eyes down. She assumed it was a good sign that Ron hadn't introduced his new girlfriend to Harry. He'd said it wasn't serious. She reminded herself that she didn't want to be with Ron, they'd had a mutual breakup. But still, it seemed too soon.

"Okay," she said.

Well, that had been a short conversation. And now they were back to their awkward silence. Hermione was thinking about what Ron had told her about Harry and Ginny. She wondered if Harry would tell her anything about it. Probably not.

Even all these years later, she knew that sometimes, he still saw her as that bossy, judgmental girl she'd been in school, and when he was feeling particularly vulnerable, he didn't want to hear any of her harsh opinions.

But Hermione was not that girl anymore. She had learned restraint, and tact, and when it was best to just hold her tongue. But she knew it was hard to see the people you grew up with differently. Sometimes she'd look at Harry and see that underfed boy who was starved for love, even though he wasn't that person anymore, either.

[For the record, Harry didn't think Hermione was bossy and judgmental. He knew she'd changed, but Hermione tended to have an overly harsh view of herself, which was a common trait among perfectionists.]

Harry's voice cut into Hermione's thoughts.

"Are you, Hermione? Okay?" Harry's green eyes were swimming with concern. Hermione figured he'd misread the sadness in her eyes and waved his question away.

"I am – I just – it's fine, Harry. I know we don't talk about this, our relationships. It's not one of the rules, but it may as well be…" She let her voice trail off and looked past Harry out the window.

She was trying to think of something else to talk about when Harry said, "I've been fighting a lot with Ginny lately."

Hermione's eyes darted back to focus on Harry. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Harry could tell this wasn't new to Hermione and figured Ginny must have already told her. This was why they never discussed their relationships. It was too weird, since they were best friends with the each other's significant other. But Harry was curious to see what Hermione would say, so he powered on.

"She thinks I got together with her for her family and that I love them more than her."

Hermione considered his words for a few moments. She took a sip of her water before responding. "I can see that," she said carefully. "It makes sense you would want a big, stable family given how you grew up, and you've always had that from the Weasleys. Do you think part of what she said is true?"

Harry appreciated that there was no judgment in her tone. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Did you tell her you didn't know?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione let out a laugh. "You're too honest. That's like hesitating before answering whether or not a girl looks fat."

Harry screwed his face up at that. "Ginny never asked me questions like that, thank Merlin."

"Yeah, she wouldn't. I wish I had her confidence," she muttered as she grabbed her notebook, which was still on the table, and stuffed it into her bag.

Harry cocked his head at her. "You ask those trap questions? You don't seem the type."

Hermione shrugged. "I'm pretty insecure, you know that. It's from the nonstop bullying from the Slytherins. Also, everyone's complete shock at finding out I was a girl in fourth year didn't help," she added matter-of-factly.

Harry looked at her for a long time. Hermione watched him, curious about what he was thinking. Eventually, he said with a smile, "You're not fat, Hermione."

She laughed, then kicked him under the table. "Don't look for so long before saying so, next time."

Just then, their food arrived, effectively ending their conversation about their relationships.

On the way back from lunch, Harry and Hermione stopped in an abandoned alley just outside the Ministry entrance to change back into their Wizard's robes. Hermione was holding Harry's robes out for him, but he wasn't paying attention, focusing instead on something behind her. She turned around, but it was just a blank brick wall.

"Harry?" she asked, shaking the robes slightly.

Harry ignored the robes and looked at Hermione seriously. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course."

Harry finally noticed the robes and pulled them on before sighing and saying, "It's about Ron."

"Oh. Okay."

"How did you know it was time to end it? Was it coming for months? Or was it sudden? Was that night at the playground the first time you'd thought of it?"

"Have you not discussed this with Ron? Perhaps on one of your stake outs?"

Harry smiled and shook his head. "I never let him talk about your breakup with me. I didn't want to take sides. I still don't want to."

Hermione nodded. "There are no sides. But to answer your question," Hermione paused to sigh.

"It's hard to say. We were fighting constantly, but then again, that had always been our dynamic. We both enjoy arguing, as you know. But then, more recently, it stopped being fun and seemed more like a chore. The – I don't know – spark? – seemed to be gone.

"I think it was gradual. But once we figured it out, we were eager to end it. I think we knew if we let it go too long, we might get to a point of no return. That night after the pub, when we decided to break up, we actually talked about you, and how neither of us wanted to lose you as a friend, or put you in the middle of a bad breakup."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You make me sound like a kid in the middle of a divorce."

Hermione just shrugged. "Anyway, we're a lot more mature now than we were, and I'm glad. As far as breakups go, I think it was a good one, because I never wanted to lose Ron. I owe him so much, and we did a ton of growing up while we were together. But now, we're grown, and are no longer suited."

Harry was looking at her sadly.

"Did that answer your question?" she asked.

Harry nodded and motioned toward the main road. They walked back to the Ministry in silence as Harry considered her words. In a nutshell, they'd outgrown each other. She was right, Hermione and Ron had both grown a lot in the past few years.

Hermione was more mellow. She'd learned to listen before speaking and was less aggressive about sharing her opinions, though Harry could often see them behind her eyes. She'd also learned to focus her energy on a few things, rather than every injustice she encountered.

Ron was more intuitive and patient, and less quick to judge. Harry wondered how much he'd grown and considered the possibility that he may have outgrown Ginny. Though he feared it was the opposite that was true, that Ginny was the one who had outgrown him.

"Harry?" Hermione's soft voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. She was motioning toward the open lift and he couldn't remember getting on it. He began walking back to the Auror offices when Hermione pulled him into an empty office.

"It's more than just fighting, isn't it?" Hermione asked once she closed the door to the office.

Harry nodded.

"Are you two going to break up?"

Harry looked down at the carpet. "I don't know. Maybe."

She placed a comforting hand on his arm. "How do you feel about it?"

"It's probably for the best. I think we don't want the same things, and when we first got together it didn't matter. I didn't really know what I wanted, since I was still shocked that I'd survived the war, and she was still in school. But now that we talk about it more, the future, it's clear we're not really aligned."

"How so?"

Harry looked up at her, confused. "Has she really not told you?"

Hermione shook her head and he could tell she was being honest. She was the worst liar.

Harry sighed and leaned against the edge of the desk. "I think maybe a part of her only ever loved the famous Harry Potter. I mean, I feel really bad saying so, because she was incredible for me, exactly what I needed following the war. She forced me to see a healer, and didn't require any emotional support, which was great, since I wasn't in a position to give any.

"She's hilarious, and beautiful, and she challenges me but – I don't know. The fanfare and drama following the war is dying down. And without all that, I don't know if me, just Harry, am enough for her. She wants this big, exciting life and I just want a quiet one with a happy family."

Tears stung Hermione's eyes and it broke her heart that Harry thought he wasn't enough. She wanted to hex Ginny right then for making him feel that way. Harry was watching her, clearly awaiting her response, and she searched quickly for something appropriate to say.

"You're an Auror," she said eventually. "So your life is never going to be completely quiet."

He let out a sad laugh. "Yeah, quiet isn't the right word, maybe just, simple. Fight dark wizards, go home to a loving family, then wake up and fight them again. But no moving around, no reporters, no articles."

Hermione leaned against the desk next to Harry and nodded to herself. She knew how he felt, that was the exact kind of life she wanted. Not boring or quiet, but simple. She'd had enough complication in her youth to last a lifetime.

"I'm really sorry, Harry," she said softly, leaning into him. "I don't know if any of what you're feeling is true. Ginny's never said anything like that to me. You need to say all this to her, if you haven't already, and just see where that conversation takes you."

Harry dropped his head into his hand. "Shit."

Hermione wrapped an around his shoulders. "Yeah, it will suck. But if I can give you any advice, it would be to not let it drag on too long. If you end it soon, you can retain your friendship with her. But that's just based on my experience. It'll be between you and Ginny to figure out what feels right."

Harry knew Hermione was right, but he really didn't want to talk to Ginny, since a part of him knew once they had that conversation, it was unlikely they'd choose to stay together.

Hermione stayed there in the dark office, with her arm draped around him, while he got his emotions back under control. He had a meeting in thirty minutes and didn't want to burst into tears in the middle of it. He took a final steadying breath, then stood up from the desk.

"Don't you have a pile of work to get back to?" he asked Hermione.

"You're more important," she said simply.

Harry pulled her into a crushing hug. "You're the best. Do you know that?" he said into her hair.

"You are actually the second person to tell me that today," she replied with a smile.

A/N: This is the first story I've ever written that I won't be tagging as angsty. I don't even know what to do with myself! Also, to ensure that claim was true, I looked up the definition of angst, and it was really good. Here it is, if you haven't Googled it before: "A feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general."

Anyway, that was a lot of talk about a feeling that will NOT be in this story. It's going to be lighter, with a few sad and poignant parts, but overall, happy. I really hope you all enjoy it, thanks for reading!

Also, in the spirit of keeping things lighter for this story, I'm not committing to an update schedule. I'm just going to write when I'm in the mood, then post as soon as my beta has had a chance to read the chapter. We'll see what that looks like (my guess is two posts a week), but don't worry, I WILL finish this story. I've never abandoned a story yet and don't intend to start now.

Okay, enough rambling. I hope all is well - stay safe out there!