Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Ok, I feel like I owe you guys something—which I do—so I'm going to post this chapter before I write the next one. I hope you enjoy it, and please review!!!!!!!!!
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Seven
Two days later, Oliver woke to hear the Alister twins try--and fail, due to his new booby-trapped door, specially made just for them--to come into his room and wake him up. He smiled, yawned, and rose.
Stretching, he went over to the window, and opened the curtains to let the sun shine in. He bent to touch his toes when there was a knock on the door.
He glanced through the peephole before opening the door. His face split into a grin as he opened the door to reveal Hermione Granger, standing there with bags in hand.
"Hello there," she said. All of a sudden, she blushed, and looked off behind him.
He glanced down, and realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Quickly, he strode over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt that read: 'Feminist Chicks Dig Me.'
Hermione's face lit in amusement when she read his shirt. "Really?" she said, putting her bags on the ground next to the spare bed. "How interesting."
He laughed. "Not really," he assured her. "Leo, being Muggleborn, and having a wicked sense of humor, bought this for me two or three years ago when he was over here for business."
"What does Leo do, anyway?" Hermione asked, rooting through what could only be her carry-on. "Aha," she muttered, and pulled a green glass bottle out.
"What's that? Oh, Leo's an author," said Oliver, highly amused by something. "He writes Muggle fantasy about an alternate world where there are people with magic who live in London and that sort of rot."
"I think that sounds really good," said Hermione. "I rather like fantasy."
"I'm sure you do," he said, patting her shoulder. "I'm sure you do."
Hermione glared at him in mock anger. "I do!" And she stuck her tongue out at him.
He laughed, and picked up his duffel bag full of clothes. "I'll get dressed, and then we'll go down for breakfast, ok?" He closed the door of the bathroom behind him. "By the way," he called to her, voice muffled by the wall, "how did you get here?"
Hermione grinned, and took a drink from her bottle. "I flew."
Oliver poked his head out of the door. "I didn't know you used broomsticks," he remarked, doing up the zipper on his pants.
Hermione laughed. "No, silly, I flew as in on an airplane. I love planes, and with the Galleon-pound exchange being as it is now, I had enough for a first-class seat, which was heavenly." She sighed, remembering the flight. "I finally had room enough to stretch my legs out," she said, smiling. "And coach seats are awfully close together."
"Oh," said Oliver, hopping out of the bathroom, still fighting the stuck zipper. "Who'd you fly with?"
"As in a person or the airline?" asked Hermione, walking over to him. "Stand still." And she unstuck the zipper.
"Person. Thanks." Oliver zipped the zipper up the rest of the way.
"Oh, Harry and Ron came with me," said Hermione, nonchalantly.
Oliver frowned. "They came? But I thought-"
Hermione nodded, cutting him off. "Yeah, Harry had a meeting with the American Head of Sport and Games, and Ron is on assignment."
"Ah," said Oliver, face clearing. "That's right then. Shall we get some breaky, then?"
"Sure," said Hermione, grabbing her purse. "Let's go."
They left Oliver's room and went downstairs. Going to the buffet, Oliver advised Hermione to only get the waffles. She listened, and was extremely happy for it. Oliver led Hermione over to the table where the team sat.
"Hey, Hermione," chorused the twins.
She looked at them with her you-must-obey-me look. "Excuse me?" she said simply.
At once, Ian grabbed an extra chair from another table. Eddie placed it next to Oliver and pulled it out for her. She sat, and he pushed her back in.
"Now, you two aren't as talented as the Weasley twins," she remarked. "That would've only bought me a grin from one of them, and a piece of enchanted taffy from another. Clearly I'm used to the best." This chastised the twins, and they bashfully sat back in their chairs, eating quietly while the rest of the team stared at Hermione. She glanced at them and shrugged.
"How did you learn to manage them like that?" breathed Simon, absolutely shocked.
Hermione grinned. "Well, when you're used to getting Gred and Forge to do what you want, these guys," she jerked her thumb at the twins, "are a piece of cake."
"Really?" said Oliver. "I don't really see a difference."
Hermione grinned. "When you've spent five summers and some other holidays with them, you know all their tricks."
"Wow," said Katie, amazed. "I'm engaged to George, and even I wouldn't want to spend all that time with both of them."
"Well, of course not," said Hermione, eating her waffles, "you'd want to spend all your time with George. But I don't recommend that. Fred gets jealous, and then George ends up siding with him."
"Thanks," said Katie, not knowing that particular piece of information.
"No problem," said Hermione. "What are we doing today?"
"Capitol Walkway," said June and Oliver at the same time. Oliver grinned sheepishly. "I memorized the itinerary last night," he said, scratching his head, embarrassed.
Hermione patted his shoulder. "That's ok." she said, smiling. "I do that all the time. You wouldn't believe the inside of my head." She winked at the girls, who laughed.
Oliver saw this, and grinned evilly. "Well, we're walking to it," he said, smugly.
Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "Really? I'm taking the bus with Katie and June. Have fun!" She winked at him as she, Katie, and June went outside and got on the bus that took people directly from the hotel to the Capitol Walkway.
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The guys arrived at the Walkway hot and sweaty, even though it was a crisp autumn day. They spotted the girls sitting on a bench sipping hot apple cider.
"Tired?" asked Hermione smugly. She took a sip of the cider and smiled. "This is really good cider. You guys should get some."
Oliver gave her an annoyed look. "Ha, ha, ha." He dropped into the seat next to her and grabbed her cider, taking a long drink. "You're right, this is good cider."
Hermione glared at him and took her cider back. "If you want some, buy it yourself."
"Fine," he said, arching his eyebrows superiorly, "I will." He went over to the cider stand. "Ah, one large cider," he said, pulling out his money pouch.
"That'll be one Sickle and fifteen Knuts," said the stand's clerk.
"One Sickle and fifteen Knuts?" Oliver said, amazed.
The clerk nodded. "Yeah, 'cause when ya buy a large, ya get a free cookie. What kinda cookie do ya want?"
Oliver peered at the cookies. "A snickerdoodle, please," he said, handing over two Sickles.
"Here's yer cookie, and your two Knuts. Thank ya, and have a nice day," the clerk said, handing Oliver his change.
Oliver went back to the bench and sat back down next to Hermione. "Mmm," he said, taking a sip of the cider. "It's better the next time."
"Yeah, whatever," said Hermione, breaking off a sizeable chunk of his cookie.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Oliver protested, pulling his cookie out of her reach.
"You drank my cider, I'm eating your cookie," she said, breaking off another piece of the cookie. "Yum, it's delicious."
Oliver glared at her, and took a large bite of his cookie, licking the rest. "There," he said triumphantly. "You want it now?"
Hermione smirked. "I'll still eat it." And to prove what she said, she took a bite of the licked cookie. "Yum."
Oliver sighed, and handed her the cookie. It wasn't worth the energy to argue.
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After the guys had all had their cider, and Hermione finished Oliver's cookie (though, she did let him have another bite) they got up and walked through the Walkway.
As they came up on a store, Oliver poked Hermione.
"Look," he said. "It's Goalposts and Brooms. We're all going in." She followed him into the store, rolling her eyes.
He went over to the broomsticks, and she stood beside him as he told her which one he wanted. She smiled, and picked up the Firebolt 3000, balancing it in her hand. She dug in her purse, and pulled a cell phone out. Flipping it open, she dialed a number.
"Hey, Harry," she said, stilling holding the broom out of Oliver's reach. "Listen, could you tell me which broom is the best?" She paused, and a few "Mmhmms," came out. "Ok, Har, thanks. Love you too, bye," she said, flipping the phone closed. She put the broom back. "It's junk," she said, sniffing at the broom. "Don't buy it. I'll buy you the best, don't worry."
Oliver looked at her curiously. "But the Firebolt 3000 is the best money can buy," he protested.
Hermione grinned. "Yeah, but I've got a bit more information," she said, walking over to the counter. "Excuse me," she said politely to the clerk.
The clerk's eyes popped open. "Hermione Granger? What can I do for you, ma'am?"
Hermione smiled. "I'd like to place an order for a Silver Streak, please," she said, pulling her checkbook out, pen ready.
The clerk's eyes widened more. "But-but those aren't even on the market yet!"
"Ah, but I know someone in a high place. The order form?"
"Oh, right," said the clerk. He pulled a form out from under the counter. Hermione filled it out, and wrote a check, which Oliver had a chance to peek at.
"Three hundred Galleons!" he said to Hermione, shocked.
Hermione grinned, and patted his shoulder. "Well, you're a friend. I'm buying one for Ron, too."
"Hermione, this is too much," he said, as the walked out, to wait for the others. He spluttered a bit, put an arm around her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her.
For a second Hermione was frozen. But she thawed, and wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers dug into his hair.
They kissed until they heard a coughing sound to their right. Separating, they saw the team standing to their right, amused. Hermione fixed her sweater, and smoothed her hair. Oliver fixed his jacket and hair, also.
"You," Gerald said to the rest of the team, "owe me twenty Galleons. Each. Told you they'd get together at less than a week after the party at The Grand Merlin."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Simon, pulling out his money pouch. "And even I couldn't break them up at that party."
June shoved him. "You just wanted to win your bet," she said, pulling her money out. "And unfairly, too."
"Wait a second," Hermione and Oliver said simultaneously. "You bet on us?"
"Yeah, of course," said Eddie, handing over his money to Gerald. "We also bet on when Ian would propose to Eileen, his now-fiancée, and I won."
"That wasn't a fair bet," said Katie. "You're his twin."
"Yeah, well no one believed me when I said two years," Eddie said. "Ian romances very slowly. The only person I know who's slower than him is Oliver."
"What do you mean?" Oliver demanded, glaring at Eddie.
Eddie rolled his eyes, exasperated. "It was clear that you liked Hermione. When you first met up with her, all you could do was babble on and on about her. It got to be so annoying, we started the bet."
"What exactly did you bet?" Hermione asked.
"When you'd first realize you liked each other, and snog the hell out of each other," said Gerald. He waved a hand at them. "You could continue, you know."
"Go. Away," said Oliver, glaring at his teammates. "I won't snog with a audience."
His teammates left, grumbling. Oliver turned to Hermione, gathered her up in his arms, and smiled. "Well," he said, "where were we?"
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A/N: All right, what did you think? I am going to be slaughtered with tomatoes or what? I'm really sorry for the delay, but my computer got a virus, and I had to rewrite almost everything. I don't think I'm going to continue much past this chapter, but I think I'll write an epilogue. So, look out for it sometime in the next month, and in the mean time you could go read Tutoring A Dragon again and then Growing Up. Anyway, I don't know if I'll continue Meetings and Letters past writing an epilogue, but I'm going to have to see if I've got the inspiration for it. I don't think I do, but thanks to everybody who has (and will) review[ed]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!