The Halloween ball was now only two weeks away. Harry stumbled into the head's common room with his robes ripped one evening. What he saw made him gasp.

Hermione had cleared the sofa and chairs so there was a large space and had set up a gramophone out of which a waltz was playing. Neville was with her and he was steering her round and round, but being Neville they had been forced to stop rather frequently as he kept treading on her toes.

As Harry watched they ended the dance and Neville went to change the record to a tango. This time it was Hermione who trod on his toes as she struggled to get the timing right.

Neither had yet noticed Harry hiding in the shadow of the portrait hole.

"Ow!"

"Sorry Neville! I think both our toes have suffered enough tonight. Shall we continue tomorrow?"

"Yes, I think that would be best. Good night, Hermione."

Neville bowed and Hermione curtseyed. Harry decided that now would be as good a time as any to reveal himself. He emerged from the shadows clapping.

"Harry!"

"Excuse me, I must be going. There's that defense essay I have yet to start."

"Neville, remember that wonderful link you made to me concerning the uses of that Mediterranean sea limpet or something to ward away an attacking Grindilow. That was a rather brilliant discovery from you. You mention that in this essay on the Grindilow attacks, and I guarantee that you may even beat Hermione's grade. Off you go."

"What happened to you Harry? Why are your robes ripped?"

"Why do you think?"

"Not Malfoy again! He's gotten so much worse since I kissed him for that prank."

"You know why he does it?"

"No I haven't a clue. Tell me." Hermione looked eager and her eyes sparkled in such a cute fashion.

"He wishes it was himself in my place. He wants to be your boyfriend instead of me. I shall have to watch my back."

"I shall have to do something about it."

"Revenge I'm thinking."

"Anyway, go change and bring them to me and I shall mend them for you."

Harry left and returned quickly. He carelessly tossed his robes onto the sofa next to Hermione. She had conjured a sewing box and, smirking at his offhand behavior, took them and started to patch them up.

"Isn't there a quicker way of doing that? Isn't there some spell you can use?"

"No Harry, there is not. I shall have to do them by hand. I had thought that Molly Weasley would have invented such a spell. Nevertheless she has not and during the holidays when you couldn't join us she would teach Ginny and I how to darn. Besides I like it. I feel it is somehow soothing."

As Hermione took the crumpled robes onto her lap Harry sat down next to her and watched her working. Gradually she leant back into his shoulder and used him as a pillow as she worked.

"Harry, have you decided what you want to be when you're out of school yet?"

"Yes, I have been offered by the England Quidditch team to join them and be the reserve Seeker and join the team when Killick decides to retire to save his limbs."

"And what do you do when you cannot use your limbs much on the pitch anymore?"

"Then I think I should like to come back here and teach defense."

"I want to teach here too, but I should prefer charms or something. I think I have to go and work for the ministry or something for a few years and then come back and teach."

"I can see you teaching. Not here but in Beauxbatons."

"I couldn't possibly work there, I'd get far too depressed at how beautiful the girls are and how graceful they are. They're too perfect out there, it would just make me sad because I would compare myself to them and get depressed."

"I don't think you have any reason to get depressed about it. You're perfect in your own skin and they are a little too perfect. I don't see why you should get so depressed if you did work there. Personally it would be my dream come true if I go there to visit my darling girlfriend and…nevermind." Even Harry couldn't talk himself out of this look Hermione was sending his way. It was something along the lines of 'If you don't shut up right now I'll shove your wand somewhere you really don't want it to be!'

"Since when am I your girlfriend?"

"Well…since…well…since I told you that you were my Lilly and you said I was your Captain Wentworth. We've been going out since then, haven't we?"

Hermione sniggered and turned her eyes back to the robes.

"I know…I was just testing you. You fall for things like that so easily. I know I'm your girlfriend, you idiot."

Harry sat and thought about it.

"If you know you're my girlfriend, then why haven't you kissed me yet?"

"I have kissed you."

"Not on the lips. You never kiss me on the mouth. Most of the time its me kissing you, and you keep dodging whenever I try to kiss you on the lips anyway."

"Just keeping you on your toes."

"I may as well go back to Ginny and go out with her again."

"Don't you dare!"

"Hah! I knew it! Just testing you!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"Fine I will!"

Hermione chucked the robes onto the floor and the sewing box went flying as she turned around quickly and sat on his lap.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he paled slightly.

"What do you think?"

She leant down and started to kiss his neck. Then slowly, teasingly she moved up his neck and then she kissed the corner of his mouth. His hands found their way round her waist and then one went lower and one went higher. She felt this and stopped kissing him. She smiled at him and winked before climbing back off him and picking up the robes again. The wind was completely taken out of his sails. He blinked, then he blinked again. Then he repeated this several times in a rather bemused way.

He looked at her and she felt his bewildered gaze and he could sense her smiling, no, smirking at him.

She held the shocked silence until she couldn't take the glare any longer. The giggle started small and she did try to suppress it. But she couldn't. She snorted and then clamped her mouth shut where the snort could still be heard in the back of her throat. Harry just glared harder.

"What? What's wrong Harry?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

Pause.

"How could you do that to me?"

"I knew you were going to say that."

"Answer the question, Mione."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why must you be such a tease? Never mind. More importantly, why did you do that? Why did you get me all aroused and happy and then drop the bomb?"

"I didn't drop any bomb on you. I didn't do you anything."

"I was just getting into it and then you stopped. And I want to know why!"

"I think it'll do you good to wait till you can have me. I like to keep you on your toes."

"If you carry on like this you may never get me!"

"Aren't you pleased that you got closer to snogging me? I would have thought you would be over the moon about getting that close."

"I am. I'm just a bit disappointed that I didn't get more."

"God, you sound just like Sirius!"