Chapter 3:

"Well, we've established what you don't want and what everyone else wants. Now, you have to figure out what you do want. At twenty-one years old, we are reasonably educated as far as Wizarding Britain is concerned. But for the rest of the Wizarding World and the Muggle World, we've barely scratched the surface. We are established financially so that's not a worry, and for the most part we are done with the hormones and irrational decisions that plague teenagers... we can do anything we want with our futures. Set aside what you think other people expect of you. What do you want for your life?" Hermione was practically on Harry's lap at this point, he was holding her so tightly to his side.

"I want to keep learning and advancing professionally and I don't think that is something the Weasleys will understand or ever fully support." Harry murmured into her hairline, as he was busy burying his nose in her curls.

"How so?" Hermione asked. She already knew what she thought the reason was but she was curious to hear Harry's thoughts on the matter. He pulled back as he thought about his response.

"Well, none of them make any endeavors to advance in their careers. They leave Hogwarts and immediately find something that will pay enough to keep them fed, and that's all they ever do. I wouldn't even call what George does advancement. He creates new products to keep the stock fresh and stay afloat. But, he isn't trying to invent something that will change people's lives or putting in enough effort to expand his business to become even moderately well-off." Hermione's fingers played with the fabric of his jeans near his right knee, tugging and petting. Sweet little touches that were driving him spare.

"I've noticed that laziness on a criminal level is a common occurrence among people who were raised in Wizarding Britain. It's much less common in other parts of the world from what I can tell." She rubbed her face against his shoulder and collarbone, Harry's arm still wrapped around her shoulders. "What else do you want to do?"

"I want to take a whole mess of classes and learn more in the wizarding and muggle worlds. But, this time, I want to enjoy school and be proud of myself when I do well instead of dumbing my work down so I don't do better than Dudley or Ron." He had trapped one of her ringlets with his hand, twirling the strand around his fingers as he spoke.

"You know your yearly grades in the individual courses don't matter at all and you killed it on your OWLs and NEWTs." Hermione felt the need to defend her wizard from himself.

"Because I put forth full effort during the exams and studied like crazy in my bed at night with the curtains drawn so I didn't have to hear Ron's mouth. And I did that using the copies of your notes that you made and left in my trunk even though we never discussed it because you knew what I was doing all along and how much I would appreciate it." Harry poked at her side at the mention of her spontaneously appearing notes.

"You always understood the course material. Always. Even in potions where your practical application was hindered by Snape's prejudice. But, as far as the Weasley's go, you're right, none of them care to educate themselves past Hogwarts or seek out further professional development opportunities. Maybe if you count the training Bill received through Gringotts as a Curse Breaker or Charlie's training to work with Dragons. But those are trades. Once you learn the trade, there is very little further training required to maintain employment and neither of them are involved in any sort of research to further either field. Don't even get me started on Ronald's training in the Auror Academy. Considering the Aurors act as the police and the vanguard for Wizarding Britain, their magical law and public safety training, along with their ethical detainment education are all severely lacking. And that's not even touching on Azkaban and their use of demons. I'm appalled, honestly." Amused by her little soapbox rant and fed up with pretenses, Harry plowed ahead like a true Gryffindor. Gripping Hermione's thigh and tugging her leg towards him, he hooked her knee over his before running his hand up and down her inseam, over and over. If he thought she would protest, he was quite mistaken. Her only response was to snuggle deeper into his side and press her face to his neck, breathing him in. Her magic was practically preening, wrapped up in his wholly for the first time.

"I don't want to just get comfortable where I am and never better myself or experience anything new. I lived the first eleven years of my life in a cupboard and the next seven fighting various forms of the same evil madman. I need to see and do more." Harry tried to keep them on point, but it was tough. It seemed to work, as his watch surfaced from the crook of his neck, reaching for a fresh new butterbeer that had appeared on the table moments before.

"I get that, but don't sell yourself short." She always was his biggest supporter. "You spent the first couple years out of Hogwarts playing Quidditch professionally, which is not uncommon for a wizard with your talents. Then, you worked for the last year on setting up your Non-Profit to benefit the War Orphans, which you funded entirely out of your own vault. That is where most magicals in Britain with your level of wealth would stop. But, you want to grow and succeed in a career beyond just being able to support yourself or your future family, which is super attractive by the way." Wink. "Growth and development is definitely something I also desire. Right now, I am currently at a plateau. I can continue wasting away in the Muggleborn Liaison Office where I get nothing accomplished and everything I try to do to help Muggleborns is buried in red tape and Pureblood politics, or I can leave the Ministry of Magic and go out on my own, thus allowing myself room to expand my knowledge base and find better ways to contribute to Wizarding society and bring their backward ass ideals out of the dark ages."

"You should definitely do that second one." Harry had been trying for months to talk her into quitting the Ministry. It was going to ruin her, he could already tell. He knew his girl.

"What sort of career path do you see yourself taking?" Hermione questioned him. Harry had actually given this a fair bit of thought recently.

"I really enjoyed getting to occasionally work directly with the children. I've been thinking a lot about studying to become a Magical Social Worker."

"Oh Harry, you'd be wonderful at Social Work and able to do so much good for so many families. Bonus, it would definitely help temper your 'Saving-People-Thing' and, because you would work with kids daily and get your fix, your future wife will get the chance to stop at one or two pregnancies instead of having to pop you out a whole gaggle of children." Hermione's joke was tempered by the reality that she really didn't want to have to spend years and years pregnant. She would do anything to make Harry happy, but would be satisfied with only two or three children, herself.

"Ha ha. Be careful about making me the butt of your jokes, missy. I've gathered plenty of dirt over the years on your emotional baggage."

"You mean, mean man." Hermione nipped his jaw with her teeth.

"What will you do when you leave the Ministry?" The hope in his voice was palpable. The witch tried not to roll her eyes.

"I've always loved the idea of studying Healing Magic. But, I hated the thought of working at St. Mungo's like every other Healer out of Hogwarts."

"You would be a magnificent Healer, Beautiful." He left a soft peck on her forehead and then another on her lips. "Or would you want to go more in the direction of research?"

"Probably both. I'm really interested in mental health and mind healing. I've thought it fascinating ever since I spent so much time researching to restore my parents' memories."

"You know I'll support you in anything you want to do in life." And he meant it. There was no one in the world more precious to him than this woman.

"I know." Hermione wanted to crawl inside him at this point. Which was ridiculous, because she was a grown adult who could control her urges… she told herself. Then she was struck with an idea.

"What if we thought bigger than just generic Social Worker and Healer?"

"Did you just call me generic?" Harry kidded.

"Hear me out! You could pursue your education and certifications in the magical world and the muggle world so that you can specialize in Blood-War Orphans, Squibs and abused Muggleborns, and I will study medicine in both worlds as well but specializing in Mental Illness, Mind Magics and Cognitive Curses. That way we can turn your Non-Profit into something amazing! You could Advocate for the children's welfare, work through adoptions and help get abused children into better homes. My education and training would take a bit longer than yours, but I could eventually offer assistance with basic medical care and initial trauma counseling or more intensive mental health treatment depending on the individual child's needs." Her voice became more animated the more she spoke. And Harry knew then that he would follow this witch to the ends of the earth if it meant he got to witness each and every time something excited her this way. It was breathtaking.

"That would be a good way to make sure we can always work together, especially since we don't actually need to work. And we would be working for ourselves and not lost in the crowd of employees at St. Mungo's or as part of a Ministry-Affiliated Welfare Agency." It was a good plan, totally workable in Harry's opinion.

"We could hire Daphne Greengrass to handle the legal side of things." Hermione laughed aloud at Harry's squawk of disbelief.

"I'm serious! She is in her third year of studying Wizarding Law now and recently came out as gay. Her parents disowned her when they found out and she promptly announced in the middle of Diagon Alley that she gave zero fucks about blood purity. There was a photo of it along with an entire article about Daphne in Witch Weekly. Her rebellion was beautiful." Hermione took a moment to remember the outburst fondly. "The article mentioned she's shagging a wealthy muggleborn that graduated in Percy's year from Beauxbatons. Apparently, Daphne's lesbian lover is more than thrilled to cover the cost of tuition just so Daphne can stroll into the Wizengamot and piss off a bunch of Purebloods. If she agreed, she could act as the legal representation or even the Guardian Ad Litem in any Wizengamot proceedings involving the children we advocate for and help us push for better legislation for anything from Muggleborn and Squib rights to ethical treatment of Werewolves, House Elves and other sentient Magical Beings. We could go through the ICW and press charges against the British Ministry for inhumane laws and unethical treatment of magical beings."

"That sounds like exactly the kind of karma the sheeple running this country deserve." He chuckled.

"We could even open and fund our own orphanage if we so desired. We could change the magical world, Harry." His gorgeous witch was on a roll, planning their future together. It was supremely sexy.

"We could, together. Well, mostly. I'm not big into business or finance, Love. We'd have to figure that part out."

"Draco Malfoy." Hermione offered. As soon as the words left her mouth, they felt their collective magic, which had been swirling and intertwining around them all evening, hum warmly. "That was weird." She repeated the former Slytherin's name and felt the same warm hum. She couldn't tell if it was her magic, or Harry's, or some combination of the two. She looked to her companion, confusion evident on her face.

"I felt it too, but I've got no idea." Harry admitted.

"Okayyyyy, let's shelve that issue for the time being." She didn't want to even begin to unpack that one. "Regardless, I know he's not our biggest fan and may not be willing to assist us. But, maybe if we reached out at some point to see if he has any recommendations on financial planners or accounting firms that can navigate the magical and muggle worlds, he might be amenable. For all their pure blood politics, Malfoy Industries has a lot of holdings in muggle business ventures. Malfoy was known for being the top student in Potions during school, but he was above me in Arithmancy as well."

"He's taken control of the Malfoy Estate after Lucius was given that life sentence." Good riddance as far as Harry was concerned. Some people were beyond saving. "Neville told me that he heard from his Gran that the younger Malfoy pulled out of any businesses with Dark leanings or Pureblood hiring practices. He seems to be trying to clean up his family's reputation in the wake of the war. He may help us just for the benefits of being professional acquaintances with Harry-Bloody-Potter."


"Okay, further education and training opportunities. Check!" Harry had just returned from a trip to the loo, and promptly pulled her half onto his lap just as she had been. Their combined magic was thick in the air over the booth, and the feel of it was both comforting and arousing. Harry was happy to be touching her once again.

"Even if it means having to leave Great Britain for years just to come back and help me fix this backward ass country?" Hermione was eager to spread her wings, so to speak.

"Especially if it means we get to leave." That earned him a shining smile, his witch delighted at his cavalier use of the word 'we' like it was a given that they would be together wherever they went.

"I'd also like to take courses in Advanced Runes, Arithmancy and Spell Crafting… you know, for fun." That was a statement Ronald wouldn't have hesitated to use against her. Denigrating her love of learning seemed to be one of his favorite pastimes.

"I'd love to learn more about Defense Against the Dark Arts and different forms of magical self-defense and dueling, myself." Harry smiled at the wrinkle of her nose at the thought of him dueling anyone ever again. "Speaking of getting out of Britain, I want to travel. To try new foods and meet foreign people. To see amazing architecture and museums full of masterpieces, enormous wonders of nature, exotic animals and creatures."

"That sounds so amazing!" Hermione gushed. Harry leaned in close, and whispered his hopes and wishes into her ear, knowing it wouldn't be long before his tether reached its end and he was rushing her out the door in favor of laying her under him in the middle of his bed, finally.

"And I want someone to share it all with. Someone who burns with my passions and cools my hot temper. Someone to be my soft place to land and my steady comfort. Someone who is loyal and brilliant and exciting. Someone who will lift me up and still let me be her support system too. Someone who will argue with me and call me on my shit and sass me until I want to make her use her mouth for something so much better. Someone who is lovely and irresistible and so fucking sexy. Someone who has never once let me down or put anyone on earth before me and my needs. Someone that I've wanted… desperately, for so long."

"You better be talking about me, Harry Potter, or I'll curse you silly." She was grasping his shirt tightly, pulling herself as close as humanly possible.

"It's you, it's only ever been you. And to think, when I first met you I had no idea I would need you this much. I'm genuinely worried that if I kiss you, truly kiss you after all this time I might not be able to stop."

So she made the decision for him. And it was consuming. Shattering. Remolding. It was… everything. His lips on hers, his tongue moving against hers, his hands gripping her hips, sending jolts of pleasure straight to her core. It was too much. It would never be enough. And then, all too quickly, it was over and she was gasping for breath, moaning at the soft presses of his lips on her neck.

"What do you think, Harry? Are you ready to piss off a few gingers now and more than a few Blood Purists later?" His rumbling chuckle was music to her soul. Harry's lips found their way back to hers and he spoke even as his gentle kissing continued.

"I have a strong feeling you will be worth any hardship I am forced to endure as long as I get to call you mine. But, you may need to provide me with sufficient motivation to hold myself back from cursing the shite out of people who think they can have an opinion on my life."

"I can't suck your cock if you're in Azkaban." Harry groaned loudly and moved to deepen their kiss again, pulling her to straddle his lap. Hermione's protests were feeble at best, citing the excuse that Rosmerta would catch them in such a compromising position. Harry's reminder about Rosmerta sending a patronus to check on them earlier and the lack of other patrons in the pub was more than enough to quiet her.

"What do you call me?" She broke their kiss to ask some time later.

"What?" Harry wasn't sure what she had meant at first.

"In your head. What do you call me? I'm dying to know." Hermione explained. It had been bothering her all damn day. Her wizard snorted as he remembered their earlier discussion of nicknames.

"Which pet name do you want to know? The one I call you when I'm thinking about how much I adore you endlessly and wish you were mine? Or the one I groan out when my hand is wrapped around my cock and I'm imagining you naked and riding me?" Harry revelled in her moan and the way her hips groan down against his obvious arousal.

"Oh, Merlin."

"Which one, Hermione?" He rumbled in her ear as his hand found its way beneath her tank top, gripping and caressing the soft flesh of her back.

"The sweet one!" Hermione finally managed to gasp. He leaned in close to her ear and granted her request.

"It's Princess. I call you my Princess."

"Not your Queen?" Hermione panted the words.

"No, not my Queen. Don't get me wrong, I worship the hell out of you, witch. You've got me on my knees in more ways than one. But, the way I feel about you, it's…" He seemed to struggle to explain. "I want to protect you, provide for you, indulge and spoil you. Not because I think you can't do those things for yourself, but because you're mine. My Princess." It was all she could do not to strip naked in the middle of the pub and lay herself out on the table for him, honestly.

"And the other name?" She fairly begged.

"Uh uh, you have to earn that one by sitting on my dick." His filthy mouth made her wetter than she had ever been in her entire life.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Take me home."

"Fuck yes!"


**Comments get me pumped to finish writing, and the lemons are next so... you know. Do your thing!**