***DISCLAIMER*** I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with the series; JKR and WB do. I am not attempting to make a profit.

A/N I posted as soon as I could! Fanfic.net was being a bit cranky for a while and wouldn't let me upload, however, I was able to get to work on more stories! So it's a mixed blessing. The fountain bit is based on an experience I had with some friends - shout out to you three!

Kang ~ Dude, I'm writing them as fast as I can! You know how busy I am! Haha, glad you liked TNL; come again!

David Ken ~ A new name! Thank you so much! I'm glad you like my story!

MinMuni ~ Hey! I was wondering if you were reading my fics. ; - ) Thank you! Your review made me feel all warm and fuzzy. : - ) Enjoy!

Tears from the Moon ~ Thanks! BTW, I'm working on the next chapter of Jessica, but I've been writing more of the later chapters because I have those ideas fresh in my mind at the moment, as opposed to forcing myself to write the beginning. So, if you like, I can email you those, but you have expressed a desire not to know what happens (in other words, to wait until you get to the chapter . . . you don't like to read ahead) in past reviews. Anyway! Enjoy the chapter!

Angelofboox ~ Hehe, I think you'll enjoy this chapter too! Thanks for the ideas; I looked up some pictures on Trafalgar Square and London in general online and the city is really beautiful, at least the pictures make it look so! I really want to get over there sometime. Enjoy this chapter; I'll try to make them longer, and the last chapter was long for me, but I really have a *ton* of stuff going on in my life right now - end of year projects, finals, etc. Hehehe, it's very fluffy.

Herbie ~ We shall see, won't we. ; - ) Enjoy!

Tigereyes320 ~ Thanks! I sent you an email regarding how I'm doing the ages in my fics. Enjoy!

TallemeraRane ~ I'm glad you liked it! Enjoy this next chapter!

Felicia ~ Don't worry, we've still got a good 8-10 chapters left! And I have some other ideas in mind.

Triniroo ~ Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate the compliment!

Chocolate Milk ~ Thank you for adding my story to your favorite stories! Yeah, I've always wanted a CD player that could play all the songs I like rather than having to switch CDs in and out! I figured that with magic Hermione would be able to do that. Enjoy!

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How Many Ways

Chapter 14 ~ A Lovely Night

By AmericanAngel

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Hermione was writing a report for Percy and sitting alone at a table in The Leaky Cauldron in the early evening in early November when two strong arms wrapped themselves around her from behind. She jumped a little at first, but then smiled and turned to see Ron's face looking at her the way he always did when he was excited. It had been an unspoken agreement between them after Halloween that the rules, at least partially, applied no longer. She had now placed more trust in the red-haired Auror and he had done his best to watch what he said and make sure he wouldn't hurt her, even if it was unintentional.

"Hey," she said looking up into his blue eyes and giving him a smile which made his heart leap out of his chest.

"Good afternoon, Mione. Now, tell me, what is a pretty lady like you doing sitting here all alone in a pub writing a report? Sounds a bit shady to me!" he sat down across from her and she laughed at him.

"I was hungry, that's all, and I figured you were busy. I guess not; anything going on tonight? Have you had dinner?" she asked him.

He gave her a questioning look, "Well, maybe; see, here's the deal. I was planning this thing for a special person I know to do with some of our friends but I don't know if this person is available. Might you know?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, it would be much easier to help you if I knew a bit about the person."

Ron gave her a thoughtful look, "Well, she's a bit short, but I like her that way."

Hermione interrupted, "Aha, so this person is female.

Ron winked, "You bet she is. She has long brown and wavy hair and beautiful brown eyes. She likes to read and study and is one of the smartest witches I have ever met. Sometimes, my entire mood can change based on how she treats me or what she says to me. Do you think you know who she is?"

Hermione giggled, "I have a good idea."

He grinned, "Good! So, tell me, what are you up to tonight?"

She eyed him suspiciously, "Well, I was planning to stay home and do some work."

Ron gasped, "Mione! On a Friday night?! You must be joking! How could your boyfriend do that to you?"

"Well, my boyfriend hadn't made any plans with me so I wasn't sure what I was going to do," she replied sweetly.

He leaned forward and whispered to her, "Oh, but he has, and he is going to sweep you away." Ron offered her his hand and she looked up into his eyes.

"Where are we going?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well, first back to your flat so you can put your things away," he told her in the same soft voice, "And after that our immediate plans are to meet Ginny and Marc, and Harry and Cassie, in an undisclosed location. We have all had dinner; I was going to have dinner with you as well, but I couldn't find you. This was the last place I thought to look! I was actually planning on going to Flourish and Blotts, but then I saw you sitting back here, so I didn't. Do you want to come?"

She smiled, "Sure. Let's go!" He took her hand and they Apparated to the flat.

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"Take my hand, Hermione," Ron said softly after they had finished putting her things away.

"Where are we going, Ron?" she asked hesitantly as she reached for his hand.

"Just trust me," he said, "And concentrate on going wherever I go. I'm going to Apparate us both there together. Ready?" She nodded and within seconds the two were transported to a familiar place in London.

"Kensington Gardens," Hermione said, "I love this place. Peter Pan was one of my favorite stories when I was little."

Ron smiled, "I thought you might. We're supposed to meet the others here."

"And here we are!" Harry said behind them. Ron and Hermione turned to see Harry, Cassie, Marc, and Ginny sitting on one of the park benches nearby, huddled together for warmth against the cold November air.

"Well, you look all warm and toasty," Hermione teased.

"Shush, Hermione, it's a good thing you are here," Ginny said, teeth chattering, "I'm not sure how much longer I could stand sitting!"

"Well, shall we go then?" Marc asked the group.

"Where are we going?!" all three girls asked at once, and the guys grinned.

"You really enjoy keeping us in suspense, don't you?" Cassie said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh yes, my dear," Harry replied, "Very much indeed."

"C-Can we start walking n-now?" Ginny asked, shivering some more.

Marc gave her a look of concern, "Aww, baby, I'm sorry that you're so cold. Yeah, let's go guys."

The six started off together through the park, and the guys directed them in the way to go. Hermione cast a charm which would place an invisible bubble of warmth around them to keep them warm, even as they were walking briskly through the cold night air. Hermione thought to herself, *Wow, this really is cold. Even cold enough to snow,* but she looked up and saw that there were no clouds in the sky, already growing dark. As they walked Ron placed his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close to his body to share in his warmth and she snuggled closer, wrapping her own arm around his waist.

The six walked out of Kensington Gardens and down the streets of London, past shops and people walking all around them. Cassie and Harry walked hand in hand a little faster than the other four, but they were only a few steps behind. Marc had his arm around Ginny the same way Ron had his around Hermione, and she gradually grew warmer until she was no longer shivering.

"Are you alright now, Gin?" Marc asked with concern a few minutes later.

She nodded, "Much better now. Thank you."

Hermione heard Cassie ask Harry her question from before, "Harry, where are we going?"

Harry laughed, "Just wait, Cass. We'll get there soon enough, and then you'll see." Cassie rolled her eyes and he laughed at her again, "See, that's why I like you. You're so cute when you're angry." She punched him lightly on the arm, but was smiling all the same and softly laughing to herself. Hermione grinned, happy to see that Harry had found himself such a sweet girl.

He hadn't dated anyone in a while, as he had been busy at Hogwarts and working with the Auror Reserve, of which he was a member. He had wanted to be an Auror, like Ron, while he was at Hogwarts, but he also wanted to play Quidditch. Professor Dumbledore had suggested that he apply for the Auror Reserve, and in that way be able to do both. Harry hastily agreed and sent in his application, traveling with Ron to the Academy the summer after graduation and Voldemort's defeat, and then going back during the Quidditch off-season until he had completed the year's worth of training, allowing him to fight against the remaining Death Eaters. It was in one of those battles that he became injured from a curse thrown at him by a Death Eater. This curse knocked him unconscious and raised his temperature to a high fever. The Healer was able to bring down the fever and revive him, but he was then faced with a choice. The witch told him that he could either play Quidditch or he could battle Death Eaters. As a precaution, he could not do both. He chose the latter, as it was a more pressing and important task. He took up teaching at Hogwarts that same year.

After leaving Kensington Gardens, the group walked about fifteen minutes before Ron turned to the girls and told them what was going on.

"Ladies, we have reached our destination. I've always wanted to see what this place looked like at night."

Harry piped up, "Yes, and I brought a camera so we can take pictures."

Ginny snickered, "You sound like Colin. But you still haven't told us where we are going!"

Marc smiled, "Well, let's walk a bit more."

Within minutes the girls found themselves facing Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, lit up against the night sky, looking at the two fountains. Water blasted out of the stone statues in the pool and high from the fountain in the center, like many stars falling into the water from the sky. The water in the pool of the fountain sparkled with inner light and looked cool and refreshing to the eye.

"It's beautiful," Hermione whispered, "I've never been here at night either.

"Well, we didn't come here just to look at it," Harry said with a mischievous grin, "Chaps? Split up and regroup?"

The other two nodded and Ron led Hermione to the edge of the fountain. They sat on the rim and Ron began to talk.

"Hermione, are you having a good time?"

She nodded, "It's wonderful, Ron. Honestly; and I'm here with you, which makes it even better."

He trailed his hand through the water and smiled as he spoke, "Good, I'm glad. I can't wait for the concert next week. Have I told you the plans yet?"

She shook her head, "Not yet, what are we going to do?"

"First we are going to treat you girls to a home-cooked dinner at mine and Harry's place. Then we'll Apparate to the concert, followed by a late night trip to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade."

Hermione smiled, "That sounds wonderful; Lifehouse is a great band, it should be loads of fun."

He blushed and took her hand, "I'm glad it makes you happy. You deserve it more than anyone else I know."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before Hermione gave him a small grin, "Ron, what are we going to do with Harry's camera?"

He laughed, "Well, the idea was to roll up our trousers, step into the fountain, and snap pictures of us all."

Hermione's jaw dropped, "In the fountain?! But it's freezing!"

He nodded, "Yup, that's the plan anyway. And we can always use drying and warming charms. Does that sound cool to you?"

She grinned, "Yes, but when the others are in, we should push them down the whole way."

"You've been . . . around . . . my brothers too . . . much," he said between bouts of laughter.

She laughed at him, "It's a good idea though."

He nodded, "Yeah, let's do it!"

After a few more minutes the six regrouped by the fountain; at appeared that Harry and Marc had both told Cassie and Ginny what was going on as well.

"Well," Ginny said, "How are we going to do this?"

Marc piped up, "Let's take individual pictures first, then two couples at a time."

Ron nodded, "Alright, Hermione and I will go first."

She agreed, and the pair rolled up their trousers to the knee and then took off their shoes, setting them a few feet away from the fountain. Ron hopped up onto the rim of the fountain and reached his hand down to Hermione to help her up. When they were both standing on the rim, he stepped into the water which reached his knee and then placed his hands on her waist to bring her into the water as well. She shivered when her bare legs entered the freezing water, and then slipped on the slick bottom of the fountain, but Ron caught her before her body entered the water and held her close to himself, sending a warm feeling through her body.

"Ready?" Harry asked, camera poised.

Ron nodded, "Ready when you are, mate!"

Hermione and Ron smiled and Harry took the picture. The others were all laughing as the pair came out of the water, and Marc handed them two towels which he had shrunk and stuffed into his pockets.

"Your turn," Hermione said, winking at Ginny and Marc. They did the same as Ron and Hermione and Harry quickly snapped the second picture, followed by Cassie and Harry getting into the water and Ron snapping the picture.

"Alright, you four, now you get in and we'll take a group picture," Ron told the others, who nodded in agreement. They stood together as close as possible waiting for Ron to take the picture, when he suddenly put the camera on the ground and he and Hermione rushed over and lightly pushed the others into the water. They landed softly on their backsides and came up laughing.

"Alright, no fair, you two are going in," Harry said. Ron and Hermione started to jog away, but Marc and Harry quickly took out their wands and summoned them towards the fountain. The six were having so much fun chasing each other around the fountain and splashing that they didn't notice two officers come up and stare at them.

"What are you lot doing?" one of them asked in bewilderment. They all stared at each other and burst out laughing again.

"We, uh, we, well, we wanted to, er . . ." Ron stumbled over his words.

"We were just taking pictures when two friends, who shall remain nameless," he glared jokingly at Ron and Hermione, "Decided it would be hilarious to push the rest of us in the water. Of course, we couldn't help but get revenge so we summ-, er, chased after them and pulled them in as well, and, well, will you take a picture with us, sir?" Harry asked casually, "It'll be a good story to tell."

The officers looked at each other and then, to the wizards' relief, laughed. One, a taller, bulkier man, replied, "Alright, mates, we'll take a picture with you. Who shall we recruit to take it?"

"Well, uh, maybe we could ask one of those chaps standing by Nelson's Column," Marc suggested. Harry nodded and went over to ask them. They appeared to agree and Harry came back a few minutes later.

"You should have asked them, Marc, they're Americans," Harry said as he joined the others, "Took them a few times to understand me, but they're coming over now." Sure enough, the American tourists walked over and greeted the others.

"Hey, dudes, I'm Sam and this is Anna. We're here from DC, and we heard that this place was one of the coolest places in London. We wanted to come see all the pigeons; there are so many of them! I thought there couldn't possibly be more than there are in New York, but there are a ton of them! What is it you want us to do, now?" asked the chap, a taller man with brown hair and brown eyes. He and the girl were holding hands; she had brown hair about shoulder length and blue eyes.

Harry replied, "Well, we'd like you to take a picture of us with these two officers. Can you do that?"

Sam nodded, "Sure, man, what were y'all (A/N or ya'll; I've seen both spellings, and I'm not sure which is correct. Everyone where I live spells it as ya'll, but it seems like everyone everywhere else spells it y'all) doing anyway?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows when he said, "Y'all," but replied, "Well, we thought it would be funny if we pushed our friends in the fountain and they decided to push us in as well. We sort of got into a water fight after that, when these officers came up."

"Wow, that's so tight! Alright, where is the camera?" Sam said enthusiastically. Ron pointed to the group by his feet and Anna bent down to pick it up, giving it to Sam who snapped the picture after the eight had gotten into position by the fountain.

"Well, see y'all later. Hope you have fun, er, doing whatever else you are doing," Anna told the group.

"Thanks, have a good holiday," Ginny called after the pair.

"Thanks," they replied and headed off towards the Thames.

"Alright, we'll let you off, but get out of the fountain! And get inside somewhere to get warm. It's freezing; you'll catch a cold," the tall officer said.

The six adamantly agreed and climbed out of the water. They walked a safe distance away and into the shadows where they quickly whispered drying and heating charms to warm their bodies against the cold. Cassie looked down at her watch.

"Oh, Harry, I have to get home," she said with disappointment.

He furrowed his brow, "Why?"

She replied, "I promised my parents that I would spend the day with them tomorrow and I have to Apparate to their house early. It's almost ten now, but I sort of want to walk home, even though it's cold."

He nodded, "Alright, I'll come with you. See you later, mates."

"Gin, did we want to go for a walk too?" Marc asked her slowly. Ginny nodded.

"Sure, Marc, we can do that. We'll see you two later."

"Bye," Ron and Hermione called after them.

Hermione turned to Ron, "Well, do you have any other brilliant plans? Or are we just going to go back to our flats now?"

He smiled, "I have something up my sleeve. Come on." He offered his hand and she took it, smiling at him contentedly. They walked out of the square and down to the Thames. Ron bought them tickets for a boat ride down the river.

On board the boat Hermione asked casually, "I don't suppose there is any point to asking you where we are going?"

Ron shook his head, "No, no point at all. You catch on quickly. You must be a smart witch."

She laughed, "An insufferable know-it-all perhaps?"

He reddened, "No, I am no longer eleven years of age. You are a beautiful, amazing, and smart witch."

She blushed in the darkness and leaned in towards him as he wrapped his arms around her. He kept her warm as they sailed down the river, watching the other boats and looking at the city lights.

"This feels like a dream," she said quietly.

"What?" Ron asked.

"A dream," she replied, "It doesn't seem real; it seems like a fairy tale. Like, I'm a lady and you're a knight and you're trying to be chivalrous and such."

He smiled, "Well, the knight is my favourite chess piece."

She looked up into his eyes, "I know." She stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips, sending shivers up his spine and making him feel as if he were flying.

"What was that for?" he whispered.

She shrugged, "Nothing, and everything."

He was puzzled, but held her tighter and felt her hot breath against shoulder where she had laid her head. A while later, they reached the Tower Bridge.

"My lady, we have reached our destination."

"The Tower Bridge?" she asked.

He nodded, "Is that okay? I've heard the city is beautiful at night from up there."

She agreed, "Sure." They disembarked from the boat and walked towards the bridge.

"Let's go up to the observation area." She nodded her agreement and they walked up to the top of the lit bridge. It was a clear night and, despite the cold, there was hardly any wind. A rare night in London, to say the least. There was only one other couple on the bridge and they didn't notice Ron and Hermione as they went to the opposite railing to look out over the city. Ron again wrapped his arms around her and they stood in silence marveling at the beauty of London at night. Hermione could see all the stars sparkling in the sky and the city lights made London look dazzling against the black velvet base of the sky. She could see boats moving up and down the Thames and little dots of people walking across the bridge below. It was so silent that she could hear the water moving along and lapping against the shore in a peaceful rhythm.

The pair stood up there for a long time in silence, just listening to the water and finding hope, company, and joy in one another. They finally Apparated back to Hermione's flat around midnight and shared a kiss goodbye after a perfect night.

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Review, review, review!

I hope you liked this one! Last week of school! Yes!

If you have time, check out my author profile. I have ideas for three new stories, and I want to see what you think. Thanks!

Have a great week, everyone, and a great beginning of the summer!

~AmericanAngel