A/N - Okay, this chappie is all about Kevin and Hermione's feelings for him. Thus, it is very appropriately labelled 'Mr. Perfect'. I've tried to retain some mystery, though, and I don't want to make Hermione a typical gushing teenager, so I've tried to bring in elements of the wizarding world. I hope you like it; R & R to let me know. Here goes...

Chapter 6 – Mr. Perfect

Hermione headed straight back home when she left the store. Her head was full of Kevin and the thought of her date with him. As she got off her taxi in front of her house, she thought things were looking up. Harry had promised not to fight with Draco and, as for Draco himself, well she would soon forget about him, now that Kevin was there. Also there was the weekend with Harry to look forward to. Things were definitely looking up.

She went inside the house and said a very cheerful hello to the housekeeper, Miss Watson. She went up to her room to daydream about Kevin alone, though she was jerked right out of her daydreams straight back to reality when she realised that she had nothing to wear for her date with the object of her daydreams. She had been planning on buying some new clothes at the boutique, but she moaned when she realised she had forgotten all about them while meeting Kevin. She decided she would just have to go to a different store and pick up something.

"Miss Watson, can I borrow your car?" she asked the housekeeper while going down. If she was going to buy some nice clothes, she would have to spend as little as possible on things like taxis. Besides, even without the clothes, she couldn't afford to take taxis all the time.

"Sure thing, honey. It's been a little rusty this week, but if you can manage, I'm sure you're most welcome to it," replied Miss Watson.

"Thanks a lot!" she cried as she left the house for the second time that day.

She decided to go to a more high-end boutique. She had some money she had been saving for a very expensive pair of boots that were to be her fashion indulgence for the year, but she decided she didn't need the boots and to spend the money on clothes would be equally worthy. So she turned Miss Watson's old Toyota towards a budding designer's shop and parked there. She went inside the store and emerged an hour later with quite a few purchases. She had bought six pretty tops that were okay for everyday wear, three for parties and more formal occasions, four pairs of trousers and two dresses. She was, undoubtedly, quite broke, but still happy.

As she went to her car in the parking lot, she thought she saw someone who looked just like Draco – very light blonde hair, grey eyes and a tall frame – but then changed her mind. "Yeah, like he would come to the muggle part of town," she said to herself.

If Hermione had looked closer she would have noticed those grey eyes watching her very closely, following her every move.

She drove home listening to the radio, in high spirits. Once back, she went up to her room again, this time faced with the dilemma of which of her new clothes to wear. She didn't want to be overdressed, but she had to look nice. She had to look casual, but not careless. After a lot of consideration and a lot of trying things on, she decided to wear a peasant top and blue jeans. But she didn't put them on then; she couldn't risk dirtying them! She would put them on just before leaving.

"Okay, this is getting weird; I never obsess about my clothes!" she said to herself as she was putting them away.

Then Miss Watson called her down for lunch, which comprised a large turkey sandwich and diet soda. Hermione ate with a good appetite and chatted away to the housekeeper. After lunch she went back to her room, finished an article she was writing on the ill treatment of house elves and read Octavia Mellhorn's Most Amazing Spells for a while before starting her toilette. It wasn't a very long one, really, but compared with her usual ten-minute routine, it took ages. She didn't do anything fancy, but she did add a touch of eye shadow and some mascara to enhance her big brown eyes and put on a light lipstick, but she applied these things so carefully and with such skill, that it was half an hour before she was finished. She then carefully put on the top and jeans that she had chosen and strapped on a pair of heels. She looked at herself in the mirror and was satisfied. She had ten minutes to reach the boutique and took a taxi to get there.

It was just past six when she reached and she paid off the taxi driver and went in. She saw Kevin taking off his work coat and just stood admiring his impressive physique for a few seconds. He turned and caught her staring. She blushed.

"Hi," he said, with a smile that clearly showed he knew she had been looking at him. "You look great."

"Thanks," she replied, still blushing. 'What is wrong with me?' she wondered.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm.

She took it and smiled at him.

The next two hours were like a dream. He took her to a small Café that was a five-minute walk from the boutique and there they sat and talked. Hermione found out a lot about him; that he liked music, that he was a basketball player (and a good one, judging by the amount of games he seemed to have won for his team), that he had worked hard in school to get a scholarship to the University of London, but once he had gotten it, his high school coach had told him he would do well in professional basketball and he had liked the idea, so he was now working to get a sports scholarship to a good university, that he liked to do new and different things and that he loved a good book. To Hermione, he seemed like the perfect blend of seriousness and fun. He was very funny and could joke about anything, but he also knew when to be serious and had very definite opinions on everything from politics to Britney Spears.

By the end of two hours, she had discovered that they had a lot in common and was already falling for him. He seemed to like her, too, and she was on cloud nine. They had left the restaurant and he was walking her to the main road.

"This has been fun...a lot of fun," he said.

"Yeah, it's been great," she replied, smiling.

"Can I see you again?" he asked, in an unexpectedly tender voice.

She replied, "I think so", and then mentally hit herself for not coming up with something more creative.

"How about tomorrow? We can take in a movie if you like; I get off work early," he said.

"That would be nice. What time do you get off?" she asked.

"Two. I can pick you up if you like," he offered.

"All right, my house is pretty close," she said, taking out a piece of paper and writing down the address for him.

"Great, then, I'll see you tomorrow," he said, smiling his cute smile.

"Right. Bye then," she said, as a taxi stopped for her to get in.

"Hermione?" he caught her hand. He hesitated for a moment, and then kissed her on the cheek.

"See you," he said.

She had stopped breathing for a second. "Bye," she smiled a slightly surreal smile and shut the door.

Hermione was, as can be expected, walking on air. She felt she had found a kindred spirit; someone who was just like her, yet different enough to be interesting. Not only was Kevin amazingly handsome, he was also smart, funny and sweet. She felt herself thinking for the millionth time that day that he was quite perfect.

It was eight-fifteen by the time she reached home and both her parents were there.

"Hermione! Where have you been?" asked her mother. Hermione bit her lip as she remembered that she had forgotten to leave a note or tell Miss Watson where she was going, when she was under strict orders to always do so.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I forgot to leave a note," she replied. "I've been out on a date."

"A date?" asked her mother, shocked. "With who? I didn't know you had any friends in this part of London."

"I know; I didn't. I just met him today at Mrs Jones' boutique. He's working there and he's quite perfect," she said, with a self-satisfied smile.

"Well, I'm glad you've found someone you like so much, my dear, the Lord knows you deserve to," replied her mother.

"I know! And he's so sweet! And so handsome!" she exclaimed, spending the next half hour elucidating on all his wonderful qualities. By the end of it, Mrs Granger could tell how hard and fast her daughter was falling, but Kevin seemed to be a nice boy and Hermione could always bring him home to meet them if the two got serious. Though Mrs Granger wasn't too keen on the idea of Hermione getting into relationships, it was very clear how happy she was and she would never want to stand in the way of her happiness.

So she stood smiling, listening patiently to her daughter gushing about the 'perfect' boy in her life, and only said, "He sounds great, but I do hope that you'll be careful. People are not always what they seem."

"Oh, Kevin's not like that," replied Hermione, brushing it aside. "He's very sweet and very upright."

"He probably is, but be careful all the same," advised her mother.

"I will be," replied Hermione distractedly.

Mrs Granger went back to a book she had been reading when Hermione had come home and then said, "Oh, by the way, Harry had called."

"Harry?" she was shaken out of her daydreams. "All right. I'll call him back tomorrow."

She then had her dinner and went to bed. She wasn't really tired, but she wanted to evaluate her date with Kevin in solitude. She thought about it and a few other things for a long time before going to sleep.

At the same time as she fell asleep, a tall figure in a grey coat turned away from her house and vanished into thin air.