Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all Harry Potter content, but I'll be damned if she doesn't wish she used it to write something as wholesome as this chapter.

Chapter 10

For ten years, summer for Harry Potter meant hiding in bushes from his cousin Dudley and his gang of sadistic sycophants. Summer meant walking alone in the fresh air while other kids his age went to the pool or the movies or the mall while he roamed empty streets and playgrounds, accompanied only by his thoughts. Summer, in short, sucked for Harry Potter.

'Not anymore.' He thought to himself as he strolled through Sapphire Park – a gorgeous area within walking distance of the Granger residence. He couldn't help but widen his smile as he passed a family walking their dog. A year ago, the sight of a happy family would have been agonizing, serving as a cruel reminder of what he had to endure. But today, it only increased his happiness.

Harry hadn't stopped smiling since he'd entered the park an hour earlier. The warm weather, the cloudless sky, the rolling green fields bordering a beautiful pond, everything was going exceptionally well.

'Oh, and Hermione happens to be holding your hand.' His inner voice whispered. Harry looked down at his left hand and felt his body warm up at the sight of his bushy-haired friend's fingers intertwined with his own. The moment the front door had closed behind them that morning, Hermione had grabbed him by the hand and briskly walked towards their destination, recounting all kinds of happy memories she had from Sapphire Park – riding her bike, fishing with her dad in the pond (unsuccessfully), and learning to throw a Frisbee, among other things.

She'd been rambling about how much she loved the park for the entire hour they'd been walking, and as much as Harry enjoyed hearing Hermione's passionate rants, he'd started to zone out and take in his surroundings a bit more. He was fascinated by a nearby family walking their golden retriever, by two teenagers kicking a football back and forth, and by a man and woman having a picnic on the rolling green field ahead of them. Harry felt light as a feather as he continued along the meandering footpath near the pond.

"Harry? Are you listening?"

He turned his head, his train of thought vanishing into thin air as he locked eyes with Hermione and smiled at her.

"Sorry, what did you say?" He asked innocently. Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Clearly you're enjoying the park…" She smirked as she led him to a park bench. "Right? You're having a good time?" She asked anxiously, turning sideways in her seat so she could face him. Harry nodded eagerly.

"It's amazing. Everyone here is so happy, and it's just so pretty. It's all…amazing." Harry grinned as he looked around.

"Brilliant!" She said. "I felt bad about dragging you to the library each of the last few days – mum suggested I take you here since it's so nice out." Hermione explained.

"This was your mother's idea?" Harry asked, surprised. Hermione nodded, turning to face the pond in front of them.

"At first I thought she wanted all of us to go, but she insisted I take you here, just the two of us. At least for the first time." She answered matter-of-factly. Harry nodded absentmindedly as she continued. "There's an ice cream truck that usually comes around here at two-thirty. I figured we could grab something from there and head back home. Mum and dad wanted to take us shopping at the mall later."

"Shopping?" He asked uncertainly. "For what?"

"Clothes, Harry. We're going clothes shopping. We might pop into some other types of stores, but we are definitely upgrading your wardrobe, mister. Have you ever purchased anything for yourself to wear that wasn't our school uniform?" Hermione asked, gesturing to Harry's baggy T-shirt. Harry shrugged, his eyes darting to the ground. He felt Hermione nudge his arm good-naturedly. "Buying yourself clothes you like is the best feeling in the world Harry, you're going to love it."

"You really associate the best feeling in the world with clothes? Not books? Who are you and what did you do to Hermione Granger?" Harry laughed, nudging her back. Hermione huffed sarcastically.

"Very funny, Harry Potter. Truly, utterly hilarious." She bit her lip in an unsuccessful attempt to hide her smile. She turned back towards the pond with her arms crossed. "I'm just saying, you'll enjoy yourself. And I wouldn't mind seeing you in clothes that fit." She added, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth. "I just – I just meant, you know, because you're always wearing such baggy clothes – you know, it'd be nice to see you wear something your size. That's all."

Harry tilted his head perplexedly, not sure if there could be any other meaning. Judging by Hermione's flustered reaction there was, but it was beyond him. He shrugged and turned to face the pond, excited about finally getting some new clothes. The pair admired the natural beauty in front of them for a few minutes before they heard a faint music ring out across the park. Hermione eagerly jumped to her feet and grabbed Harry's hand once again, yanking him up and dashing towards the sound. Harry could barely keep up but didn't stop grinning as the two ran along, eliciting all kinds of smiles and laughter from everyone they passed.

"How adorable…" Harry heard a woman chuckle as the two of them passed a cluster of picnic tables.

"So sweet!" Laughed another as they ran through a pavilion.

"Just like us when we were younger, right dear?" A man laughed as they sprinted past a couple on a park bench. Harry almost stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that, but a ferocious pull from his brown-eyed friend sent him stumbling along.

"Here we are!" Hermione squealed as they joined the line of people eagerly awaiting their sweet treats. Harry laced his fingers on top of his head as he gasped for breath, while Hermione panted with her hands on her hips. Despite their exhaustion, the two beamed at each other and didn't stop until they arrived at the window.

"What'll it be, chaps?" The driver asked with a grin. Hermione ordered them two mint chip cones and the duo quickly found a picnic table nearby, sitting across from each other and sharing occasional smiles as they went in on their ice cream.

"Thank you, Hermione, that was delicious!" Harry said upon finishing his. "I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything, Harry, it's what friends do." Hermione responded, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"No, really. Once Gringotts writes me back about getting some of my money sent back in muggle currency – "

"Harry, really. Don't worry about it. Ready to head back?" Hermione asked, standing up.

Harry nodded, slowly getting to his feet. Hermione held her and out this time, not aggressively grabbing it and pulling him along. Harry took it with a shy smile and the two began a leisurely stroll back to the Grangers' house. They meandered through the pavilions, past the picnic tables, along the lake, and past their park bench, passing all kinds of pleasant people.

'I'm going to pay Hermione back. Hermione and her parents.' Harry kept thinking to himself as they walked along. On one of the first days of the summer holiday, he'd written to Gringotts asking if there was any way he could have a portion of his significant wealth withdrawn and sent to him in the form of muggle currency. Despite Hermione and her parents constantly telling him he didn't have to worry about paying them back for anything, he had to find some way to compensate the Grangers for their kindness. After Harry sent the letter, Hedwig had returned the next day with a hastily scrawled note only reading that he'd receive a formal answer in the near future.

Hedwig had seemed particularly disgruntled, and Harry was surprised the note lacked any official markings from the Wizarding World's most prominent bank, but he'd shrugged it off. Now, it was almost a week later and he'd heard nothing. He sighed, hoping he'd hear back soon enough.

The two continued their stroll, hand-in-hand, until they arrived back at Hermione's house. Hermione nervously pulled her hand away to wipe her brow before opening the front door, and Harry found himself looking at his empty hand in a daze as they entered.

"Welcome back, you two! Harry, how'd you like the park?" Mrs. Granger asked, putting down the book she had been reading.

"It was brilliant! Really, really brilliant. Everyone there was so nice, and the pond is beautiful!" Harry grinned, much to Mrs. Granger's delight.

"Wonderful! Did Hermione tell you our plan for the rest of the day?" She stood, guiding them into the kitchen. He nodded, and made eye contact with Mr. Granger, who was washing his coffee mug out at the sink. He sent Harry a wink before setting the mug down.

"It'll be a blast, Harry. Going to the mall with these ladies is always an adventure." He grinned, earning himself a playful swat on the shoulder from his wife.

"Sarcasm doesn't look good on you, dear." She giggled. "Anyway," she continued, "we'll head out in about fifteen minutes, so don't get too comfortable!" The pair nodded in acknowledgement, and Hermione quickly dashed up the stairs, beckoning Harry to follow before disappearing to the second floor.

"I should, uh – "

"Go on, sweetheart." Mrs. Granger smirked. Mr. Granger suddenly found his coffee mug to be the most fascinating object in the world. Harry felt his cheeks warm up a bit before following his best friend upstairs.

He made his way down the corridor towards his and Hermione's rooms. Hermione poked her head out of her room and yanked him inside before slamming the door shut.

"Hermione, what are you – "

"Hush, this is important." She hissed, glancing at her door before sitting on the edge of her bed. Harry remained standing, crossing his arms. "My parents' anniversary is this Wednesday, and I was wondering if you'd help me get them a gift today." She said, pointing at the calendar on her wall. Harry nodded eagerly as he wandered over to it, flipping it up a page to see Mum & Dad's Anny. scrawled across the square marked July 1st.

"Of course I'll help with the gift. June 1st, that's a pretty date…" Harry mused, and couldn't help but glance at the rest of July, since June was practically over. He saw all kinds of reminders to study and go to the library ('Makes sense.' He thought to himself) until he got to the very last square, with two words and a heart written on it. "You remembered my birthday…" He whispered quietly, turning back to Hermione.

"Of course I remembered your birthday, Harry." She smiled softly. "What kind of friend would I be if I forgot?"

"Yeah, but I only mentioned it the one time, on the train to Hogwarts…" He trailed off.

"Well, do you remember my birthday?" She asked pointedly.

"September 19th." He responded automatically.

"See? I only told it to you once and you still remembered it. You even gave me that sweet card with the Flourish and Blotts gift voucher and you'd only known me for two weeks." She smiled fondly at the memory. "Harry, this is what friends do."

Harry felt his eyes grow hot from tears threatening to spill out, so he managed a quiet thank you and excused himself to his room to get ready. Hermione nodded in silent understanding. He slipped out to the hallway and into his room, wiping his eyes.

He'd had one person wish him happy birthday, ever, and that was Hagrid upon his unexpected arrival last summer. Now, he was going to spend his birthday with a true friend that remembered it. He found himself shaking his head as he calmed down, once again wondering if this was all too good to be true. A friendly knock from Mr. Granger asking if he was ready to go informed him that it was, in fact, all very real.

Mr. Granger gingerly wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders as they made their way downstairs. Harry bristled a bit but didn't recoil.

"Listen, Harry, while we're out today I'm going to bail you out of spending the entire time with those two lunatics." He whispered, leaning in close so Hermione and her mother didn't hear any of their conversation. "I suspect you're in need of some sharper clothes, and I know this mall has a few places happy to oblige. How about I help you dress to impress?" He smiled. Harry nodded, realizing his wardrobe was rather lackluster, considering it was all hand-me-downs from the absurdly overweight Dudley Dursley. Mr. Granger, on the other hand, always dressed quite neatly, even on days where he didn't have to work. Harry had to admit the prospect of clothes like that was quite an enticing upgrade over the baggy jumpers and sweatpants he was stuck with.

"Thank you, sir, that's really nice of you." He grinned, surprised at the sincerity and kindness from Hermione's father.

"Ah, don't mention it." He replied with a smile of his own as the two arrived at the car, where Hermione and Mrs. Granger were waiting expectantly. "Showtime!" He called out as he climbed into the driver's seat.

As the car cruised along, Hermione handed Harry a piece of paper filled top to bottom with her tiny handwriting. He raised an eyebrow as he took it and scanned over the contents.

"Is this some kind of study guide?"

"Ha-ha, very funny, Harry Potter." She huffed. "It's a list of all the stores in the mall, with little descriptions about what they sell. Hopefully this prevents you from wandering into something like Victoria's Secret." She smirked.

"Is that like a makeup store or something?" Harry asked as he scanned the paper, earning some barely-stifled giggles from the ladies in the car. "Oh!" He cried out in shock as he found the store description on Hermione's cheat sheet. "OH!" He exclaimed again, his face a mix of shock and disgust.

"You two are cruel…" Mr. Granger muttered, catching Harry's eye in the rearview mirror. "Don't worry, Harry, I'll make sure they don't subject you to the horrors of places like that." He winked.

Harry gave him a grateful smile as he continued reading over the paper Hermione wrote for him. He found a pen on the floor of the backseat and underlined a few stores that piqued his interest, much to his bushy-haired friend's delight. He asked her a few questions about what she had written, and the two conversed quietly until the Jaguar pulled into their parking spot.

Harry found it difficult to subdue his amazement at the ornate features of the mall as they entered – the pristine white walls, the marble floors, the luxury cars on display in the middle of everything, it was like he'd entered a completely different world. He could have stood there, hands on his hips, gazing around in fascination for hours if he didn't feel a tug on his shirt. He turned to see an overjoyed Hermione pulling him towards one of the stores he'd underlined: J. Crew.

The four of them split by gender as they explored the shop. Harry must have tried on dozens of different items, and Mr. Granger gave him feedback on every one.

"A bit long, it looks like." He muttered as Harry exited his dressing room wearing a new pair of khaki pants.

"Too tight. Good lord, Harry, can you even breathe?" He asked with a laugh when Harry walked out in a button-down shirt that was clearly a size or three too small. But more often than not, his feedback was encouraging.

"Perfect!" He grinned when Harry strolled out wearing a pair of well-fitting black jeans.

"Goes well with your eyes, doesn't it?" He asked when Harry tried on a green sweater. Harry nodded sheepishly.

"Girls are gonna like that outfit, I can tell you that." He gave a playful smile as Harry showed him a white dress shirt paired with a black and blue striped tie. Harry blushed a bit and added it to his pile of clothes that had earned the Dan Granger seal of approval. When Harry tried on the last article of clothing he'd opted to pull off the hangers – a gray Henley shirt with long sleeves that he particularly liked – he noticed the size of the pile.

"Mr. Granger, this is way too much." Harry stammered as Mr. Granger began carrying all his clothes towards the register. "Stop, really, I can't ask you to buy me all of this – "

"Then don't." The dentist responded with a wink, cutting off anything the boy wizard might have had to say. He paid quickly, and Harry watched in stunned silence as his host grabbed the bags of his new clothes and handed some of them to him. "Let's see what kind of a ruckus our cohort is causing. Ah, there they are." He smiled as he caught sight of Mrs. Granger applauding Hermione, who had just walked out of a dressing room in a pale blue blouse. "They get very into it whenever we go shopping. Hermione's not big on appearance-related stuff for a girl her age but she loves to go shopping. You should probably write that down." He smirked. Harry stood in silent confusion, then realized Mr. Granger was just messing with him again, and let out a laugh.

'I have got to get used to this dynamic…' He thought to himself as the two of them strode over to the other duo.

"Well, you two have been busy!" Mrs. Granger beamed as they approached, eyeing the bags they carried. "Hermione here was just trying on some summer outfits before we checked out. What do you think?" She asked, casting an eager glance at Harry.

He turned to Hermione and felt his heart slow to a standstill. Hermione's blouse was far and away more eye-catching than anything he'd ever seen her wear, but between her Hogwarts robes and the plain jumpers she'd worn for the past week and a half that wasn't saying much. He especially found himself intrigued by the color – the periwinkle hue looked wonderful on her pale skin.

"It's a really nice color!" He managed, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. "I like it." He added for good measure. Both Granger women beamed at him, and he caught Hermione's father rolling his eyes.

"Don't rope the poor boy into your extravaganza, Jean." He sighed, earning a giggle from his wife. "Come on then, let's see what kind of damage you lot caused."

Hermione raced back into her dressing room to change into her regular clothes before returning, handing the blouse to her mother. She stood next to Harry as they waited near the front of the store for her parents to pay for what they'd selected.

"Can I see what you got?" She asked, turning her eyes to the bags in Harry's hands. He nodded, quickly setting them down and pulling out a few of the shirts he and Mr. Granger had picked out. "Ooh, I like this one! I bet it goes nice with that tie…" She said when he pulled out his white dress shirt, reaching in and pulling out his new blue and black tie. Harry felt his cheeks grow a bit warm as he remembered Mr. Granger's comment but kept his mouth shut.

"Ready, kids?" The dentists asked in unison as they joined the children. The pair nodded and Harry picked up his bags eagerly. The four of them marched out of J. Crew and proceeded to roll through store after store. Harry enjoyed the sportier shops in particular, like Primark – where he got a new black hoodie that he instantly fell in love with – and JD Sports, where Mr. Granger insisted on buying him some new trainers, so he picked out some sleek-looking Nikes. He chose to ignore Hermione's sarcastic remarks that Quidditch was turning him into a jock as they left another athletic store.

They made quick work of a few other stores, with Hermione selecting some new shoes of her own and a few more outfits. Harry had decided that he'd run up enough of a bill and opted to browse for the remainder of the day. They were in a facial care store and Harry was absentmindedly browsing some moisturizers when Hermione suddenly hurried over to him.

"Hey!" She whispered glancing around in a panic.

"Hey yourself." He replied, lifting a bottle and pretending to read the label.

"So, listen, my parents really love skiing, and we go every winter – "

"And you made fun of me for being a jock…" He muttered distractedly as he put down the bottle and picked up another one.

"Oh, hush, you! Anyway, I was thinking we could get them new ski jackets as an anniversary gift. I'll get one for my mum, you get one for my dad. How does that sound?" She asked. Harry sighed, glancing anxiously at his best friend.

"I think it's a brilliant idea, Hermione…" He paused and let her squeak in excitement. "…but I think your dad's just starting to like me. Like, not just tolerating me, but enjoying being around me. I don't want to mess it up by getting him an ugly skiing jacket." He mumbled dejectedly.

"Harry!" Hermione swatted him on the arm hard enough to make him wince. "My dad is quite the fan of you, he always has been. Since the moment he met you, really. I personally think it's the whole Quidditch and rugby thing, but I digress." Harry rolled his eyes but didn't interrupt. "The point is, you're not going to muck up your relationship with my father over a single jacket. And I doubt you're going to pick out something ugly anyways. If it's something egregious I'll step in before you buy it, how does that sound?"

Harry managed a nod, then gestured subtly to Hermione's approaching parents. They quickly engrossed themselves in the moisturizer bottles in front of them until the dentists approached.

"You two ready?" Mrs. Granger asked, trying to adjust the plethora of bags that lined each of her arms. The pair nodded.

"Actually mum, Harry and I were wondering if we could go browsing for some new bags for school. That way you guys can go shopping for some boring adult stuff on your own for a bit." Hermione smiled slyly, throwing Harry a mischievous glance. Her parents simply laughed, sharing an amused glance before turning back to the kids.

"Fair enough. We'll be at the boring cookware store and you two can wander off for a little bit and get whatever you need. How about we meet at the food court in half an hour?" Mrs. Granger answered, checking her watch – which was quite the feat considering she was holding almost a dozen shopping bags.

Harry and Hermione agreed and scampered off towards the ski store they'd passed earlier. Once they were inside, the latter glanced outside for her parents.

"Hermione Granger, you are one saucy girl…" Harry smirked as he began browsing a rack of skiing jackets. "Boring adult stuff, that was pretty good." He mused. He heard his friend squeak in embarrassment before she made herself busy looking through the women's section.

Harry finally pulled out a jacket he found appealing and looked at it closely. It was a sleek shade of black, with gray zippers lining the pockets to match the zipper that ran the length of it. It was a tad thinner than most of the other jackets he'd looked at, but a glance at the tag told him it would keep the wearer warm up to -10 degrees. Harry liked the look of it, compared to the bulkier and flashier jackets he'd looked at this one just seemed…cooler. He ran it by Hermione, who had picked out a similar looking purple jacket, and the two checked out hurriedly, with Hermione paying. Harry made another mental note to write to Gringotts if he didn't hear from them by the end of the month.

Stashing the jackets in one of Harry's J. Crew bags, the pair checked their watches and hustled over to the food court. They met Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were relaxing on a bench just outside the hub of restaurants.

"No luck?" Mr. Granger asked, seeing neither of the two had any new school bags with them.

"Most of them were pretty ugly." Harry grinned, earning some cheerful laughter from the three Grangers. The adults stood up eagerly and made their way over to another store, and the foursome continued their shopping adventure as a group.

After several hours of shopping and introducing Harry to the fantastic world of fast food at the food court – 'You can get a double cheeseburger for one pound?' He thought to himself with fascination as they chowed down – the Grangers made their way out to the parking lot and into the car.

"Well, Harry, I certainly hope you enjoyed yourself. I'm sure my husband did an alright job assisting you in improving your wardrobe a bit." Mrs. Granger sighed as she fastened her seat belt.

"Oh yes, he was a tremendous help. Thank you all so much for today, I had a really great time." He said. All three Grangers offered him smiled at that.

"Glad I could help, Harry. Glad we could help, sorry." Mr. Granger corrected himself following a playful elbow from his wife. "Now let's get ourselves home. Harry, have you ever tried a hot fudge sundae?" When Harry quietly shook his head, the dentist grinned. "Well, don't worry. The way I make them is the only real way to eat them, so it's a good thing I'll be your first."

Harry gave Mr. Granger an appreciative smile as he backed the car out, earning a wink before they started making their way home. Harry looked out the window to watch the shopping mall grow smaller and smaller as they progressed. He caught sight of his reflection and saw he was still smiling.

He didn't stop smiling for the duration of the car ride. He found himself grinning as Mr. Granger walked him through the proper way to make a hot fudge sundae. He snickered as he sprayed a distracted Hermione in the face with whipped cream and even managed to keep smiling as she lobbed a spoonful of vanilla ice cream onto his cheek. He beamed as he ate and talked and laughed with the Grangers for dessert and maintained his smile all the way up the stairs after he excused himself to go to bed once he was finished.

"Harry!" A voice called behind him just as he reached his bedroom door. He turned to see Hermione making her way towards him, which only widened his smile. The two embraced for a moment, and Harry felt his body nearly float off the ground, as it always did when they hugged.

"Good night Hermione." He whispered as she pulled away. He turned to enter his room when he felt a familiar prickle of warmth on his cheek. It was the first kiss on the cheek she'd given him since the first night. He turned in surprise to see a grinning Hermione licking her lips.

"Just as I suspected." She blushed. "Tastes like vanilla. Good night, Harry." She whispered before slipping into her room. Harry touched his cheek, feeling his fingers brush up against the patch of warmness that still lingered on his skin. He exhaled, then made his way into his room and into bed.

He was still smiling as he closed his eyes.

A/N: Boom! Agh, my heart is still soaring from writing that last section. At long last, after several up and down plotlines, I present my first chapter of total, utter, uninterrupted fluff. No angst, no sadness, no nothing but cheerfulness. I figured y'all had earned it for being so supportive. Harry, Hermione, and the Grangers are all blissfully happy a week and a half into the summer. A happy walk in the park? A fun mall trip? Mr. Granger and Harry growing closer? Not to brag or anything, but I wish I could inject this chapter into my veins. Just…so much happiness.

So, first things first, was I inspired by Cobie Smulders posting on Instagram a Robin Sparkles remake to write a chapter about going to the mall? You bet your ass I was. A fair amount of writing out the mall section must also be attributed to potato19's Baby It's Cold Outside. I tried to be original, but I found a fair amount of parallels. I promise I'm not trying to plagiarize, but it's one of my favorite fics of all time and it's hard to not be inspired by it.

Anyway, hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it, so I really hope that's the case. Once again I want to thank my loyal followers, favorite-rs, and reviewers, you are all total rock stars and I love you all to the Moon and back. If you enjoyed this chapter/story so far, please do review, or follow, or favorite it, it means the world to me and bolsters my motivation that much more. Thanks again, and stay safe!