This is a fic written for a birthday challenge. It will be an affair fic and I must warn Ginny fans-this is not in her favour.

Please review so I know what you like and not like about the story. Love, Lucia

The elevator closed slowly; the faint sound of a voice announcing its next stop could still be heard when Harry Potter started to walk towards his office in the Auror Department. He knew that he should be happy and to anyone on the outside his life appeared perfect. Just recently, he had taken the position of Head Auror and he did happen to be married to a beautiful woman. He loved his job, but he couldn't say if he loved his wife any more. He had been married to Ginevra Weasley for almost three years now, and with every new day he felt that he would never achieve marital bliss. Just this morning, she had thrown his breakfast in his face when he told her he wouldn't go to the soiree organized by Ginny's friend Millie. If one would think he'd be sorry for his wife's distress, they'd be very wrong. He hated Ginny's need to be in the spotlight and go to every gathering of the high society. He had played along for the first year of their marriage, but his patience broke when she never wanted to spend a cosy evening at home, but instead chose to go out with her new friends Millicent and Pansy. Even thinking about his marriage made him moody.

He made a mental note to go to a shop later and get a gift. Not for his wife-she already had access to his vault and allowed herself all she wanted to have, but for his house elf Tipsy, a cousin of Dobby's, who had been crying while collecting the shards of her master's breakfast. His wife could be so insensitive!

'Hey boss, it's a good morning today.' A smiling young Auror, Williams, handed him a cup of coffee. Harry mumbled an incoherent reply, but it seemed that Williams didn't mind Harry's bad mood.

'And oh, a hot bird is sitting and waiting at your office door. She's got very nice legs and…' the young man whistled, having a very content expression, 'could you send her to me if her case isn't that important, boss?'

Harry just nodded absent mindedly, sipping the hot coffee and strolling quickly towards his office at the end of the door. From not too far away he noticed a woman in an emerald green suit sitting at his office door, her foot tapping impatiently and her head was buried in a magazine. He wondered why she was here so early, normally he didn't get visitors at nine o'clock on a Monday morning, but one could never know; maybe she had something very important to tell him.

Coming closer to his door, Harry finally recognised the woman. He hadn't seen his best friend, Hermione, in two years, as she had been away at Salem Institute for Witchcraft studying Advanced Defence. He stopped still in his track, having a closer look at her. It was still his Hermione; she just looked more radiant and happy than he remembered. At least someone's happy, he thought sadly.

'Oh, Harry, I've missed you so much!' she stood up and flung herself at him, hugging him tightly.

'I'm very happy to see you, Hermione.' He patted her back, carefully vanishing his coffee cup to keep from spilling its content on her.

They broke the hug, her cheeks slightly flushed, and eyes sparkling. Only now Harry realised how much he had missed her. And it had been too long since someone had hugged him so sincerely.

He let go of these thoughts and invited her into his office. By Merlin, she looked better than he ever remembered. The green suit was modest, but clung beautifully to her curves, accenting her feminine beauty. Even though she was much shorter than him, her legs seemed endlessly long. Williams had been right- she had really nice legs. And a shapely bum, too. Harry shook his head. He was positively leering at his best friend. He shouldn't do it; he couldn't stare at other women when he was supposed to be madly in love with his wife. He sighed deeply and sat down at his desk, reminding himself to look into Hermione's eyes and not the ample cleavage, cleverly hidden under a teasing top.

'So what brings you here, Hermione?' Harry smiled at her, feeling happier than he had been in a long while.

'I'm here to work for you, that is, your department. I got a letter from the Ministry inviting me to join the Auror department as a special advisor, so here I am!' She smiled back at him, handing him a piece of parchment with ministry seals on them. She had purposely left out the part that she'd only agreed to the job because she was assured that she would only have to answer to Harry, as Minister Shacklebolt had full confidence in both of them.

She couldn't take her eyes off Harry. He looked so handsome. She had been away for two years and there was never a day she hadn't thought of him. The reason why she chose to go to Salem was simple. She had been in love with Harry since their fourth year, but had never acted on her feelings, hoping he'd notice her one day. However, when Harry had happily announced his wedding date to Hermione, her heart broke and she packed her things and arranged to arrive in the states earlier than planned. She just couldn't watch the man she loved marry another woman. She knew that this action was illogical, but she couldn't bear the thought of watching him be bound to Ginny. Yes, that was raw jealousy.

She had hoped that the time spent away from him would help her to forget her love for him. She had tried to chide herself, thinking it was just puppy love. But she felt like there was a part of her missing when she wasn't around Harry. She had immersed herself in her studies, excelling in all subjects. Of course, she did occasionally date, but somehow all men she chose to date were tall, dark and green eyed...and just not Harry.

And now she had the man of her dreams sitting in front of her. True, he had never fulfilled her dreams the way she wanted him to. He hadn't asked her to the Yule ball in their fourth year, even though she had secretly hoped he would. But, first and foremost he had done something which had shattered her heart in a million pieces when he married another woman. Hermione wasn't really much of a friend to Ginny. They had a passable friendship, but she felt that Ginny's interests were too shallow and didn't come close to Hermione's craving for knowledge. She supposed everyone had favourites on their own- be it books or baubles.

'Welcome to the team, then,' Harry said, handing her a copy of her contract. She loved his untidy scrawl. It reminded her so much of their school days when she had corrected his essays.

'May I show you to your office?' he asked, mimicking a formal tone. That voice. She loved how it sounded, like a warm lava flooding through her. Not too harsh, but not too soft either. Oh how she'd wanted to hear that voice first thing in the morning. Well, now she would, kind of. Not in bed when the first rays of light would shine over them, but in the office, where he'd come in slightly ruffled and grumbling under his breath, and it'd feel just like back in the days at school. But it wouldn't be like that. No, he'd never notice her 'that way'.

'Lead the way, Mr. Potter!' she said, giggling, but in truth it was a way to suppress her real sadness.

He led her to a door next to his office. The small room was cluttered with boxes and other items and the small desk in the middle of it was covered in a layer of dust, but still it seemed like the best office for Hermione, since it was just next to Harry's and it was her first real office. She didn't have her own office at Salem; she just shared a room with several aspiring Defence Masters.

Hermione stepped forward, but she didn't get far as she tripped over a file which had been carelessly thrown on the floor. She was sure she'd fall and ruin her fine silk stockings, but halfway through her fall she was caught by a pair of strong arms and pressed against Harry's chest.

'I see you still haven't lost your seeker reflexes?' she whispered, turning around in his arms to face him. It would've been such a perfect romantic situation, if only she was allowed to do what she wanted to. His face was just a few inches away from hers. His lips seemed so inviting. She wanted to kiss him, first gently, then deepen it and show him her love. But she couldn't do that. He was a married man, she had to remind herself. He surely was head over heels in love with Ginny, so making a move that forward might ruin their friendship, and that was something she cherished along with her unrequited love.

For a second, a flash of surprise sparkled in Harry's eyes, but it was soon gone and he was back to his dull and a little sad expression he had been wearing when she first saw him. Maybe he was just tired. After all, being Head Auror at such a young age was a great achievement. And that was just another point added to the long list why Hermione adored him so much.

The magically intimate moment between them was broken when an airplane-shaped ministry memo fluttered in between them. Harry let go of her and caught the little note nonchalantly.

'I need to see Kingsley in a bit, but before I go I'll introduce you to the boys and they'll clean out the office for you, okay?' Harry asked her, folding the parchment scrap and putting it into his robe pocket. He cautiously stepped away from her. The warmth that had washed over him when he had held her made him feel very odd. He rationalised that it must be because of the lack of physical contact with a woman. Ginny had insisted she needed a separate bedroom as he often came back late from his missions and she was too tired to handle his advances and snoring. All he wanted was his wife to be happy, so if she requested separate bedrooms, so be it. As time passed, the thought that he was a bad husband more and more cemented into his mind. In the past, he had hoped to have a loving and caring family life. He had none of this. His wife was not pleased with him and their ever so rare coupling sessions felt like he was shagging a Muggle plastic doll and not a woman. Maybe he was just not good in bed. The boy-who-couldn't-shag, he had convinced himself that he just wasn't sexy. One couldn't be good at everything in life, right? At least he could devote himself to his job, which was something he excelled at.

'Everyone! This is our new Defence Advisor Hermione Granger. She's very powerful, so play nice.' Harry introduced her to the Aurors in the office, the young men were whistling and winking at her, but it was okay with Harry. He had never been a very formal boss, but he knew that when his hand had lightly swatted Hermione's bum that it had gone over the line. He couldn't deny that her bum felt great, he could conclude that even from the short contact. Maybe, just maybe, his brain had got confounded after his continuous perusal of Playwizard and several Muggle 'men's' magazines. Hermione was not like the women in these pictures. She was real, if only a little short, but with curves at all the right places. He chided himself for thinking this way about his best friend, so to escape any further blunders, he swiftly turned and left, mumbling something under his breath.

'Why did he leave?' Hermione asked one of the Aurors, surprised about Harry's sudden exit.

'Oh, do not worry; he has a lot of things on his mind. We're already used to his quirks.' The young man smiled at her.

Hermione felt rather flattered that the young, fine-looking men were almost falling over themselves to help her clear out her office. Back at school no one noticed her, now half of the men in her workplace were her fans. She was sure that this was the start of her new life. She would get over her love for Harry and still remain his friend while she found someone else to be with. She was realistic; wizarding marriages were as likely to be annulled as her acquiring a pet Basilisk. And actually, there were a lot of other free and single men to choose from. Like the handsome blonde Auror, what was his name- ah, Apollo, who had said he'd be delighted if she'd join him at lunch.

She was going to accept his offer, if Harry didn't ask her. Time dragged and Harry still wasn't there. He didn't send her even a note. Well, truth be told, he didn't have a commitment to her. It just would've been so nice to spend some time catching up on things.

Lunchtime arrived and there was still no sight of Harry in the office. She felt rather hungry, but she didn't want to go to lunch alone and sit like a wallflower in the corner. Five minutes past twelve there was a quiet knock at her office door, making Hermione's heart speed up. Maybe Harry had come back and wanted to go to lunch with her after all?

However, when the door opened the tall and muscled form of Apollo Williams came into sight.

'Shall we go to lunch, Miss Granger?'

For a moment Hermione hesitated, her longing for Harry still in the back of her mind, but then decided that she has to let go of the love, possibly as quick as she could.

'I'd be delighted, Mr. Williams.'

'Please, call me Apollo, Mr. Williams is my father,' the younger man said, smiling brightly at her.

It was rather easy to talk to him. He had good manners, was very good looking, his uniform seemed to be stitched on his body, and he had the almost most amazing green eyes.

'Shall we go then?' Hermione stood up and wrapped her arm around Apollo's elbow. Merlin, that was a bold move for her, even though it'd be considered just common courtesy.

Just a few yards away stood a breathless Harry. He had run down the stairs, taking three steps at a time to catch Hermione for lunch. The meeting with Kingsley and all the different Heads of Departments had been endless and boring to no end. Harry had thought that at least a bit of time with Hermione would make up for that boredom, but he was too late. He saw her and Williams enter the elevator and felt a little jealous. She was supposed to be smiling and chatting to him, not someone she just met. He realised the idiocy of his own thoughts. She was a free woman and could do as she wished. But it didn't mean that he had to like that she chose someone else's company over his. Since when had he gotten so possessive over her?