Hermione roused with a smile on her face. She laughed to herself. She couldn't remember a time when she woke up smiling and feeling giddy. She remained lying in her bed for a few more minutes, which was a little different from her usual routine, as she normally didn't dally in bed and would begin preparing for the day immediately.

"Mum? Are you awake?"

She sat up and smiled at the young boy standing at the threshold of her room, the door opened. "Good morning, love." She patted the space beside her.

The boy smiled at her and scrambled to get up on her bed to sit where she indicated. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned his head on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him, as well. Ethan looked up at her, smile still in place. Somehow, he ended up looking quite a bit more like her than his father. Although his hair was wavier than her own curly locks and a lighter shade of brown, he had her golden-brown eyes, pert nose, and rosy lips. He was quite tall for a nine-year-old, almost reaching her shoulder now. But he would always be her baby.

"Good morning, Mum. I didn't hear you come in last night."

"Well, I got in pretty late. What did you do last night?" she asked, tapping his nose with a finger.

Ethan removed one arm from her and tapped his chin with a finger, thinking. "Hmm. Mrs. Johnson cooked spaghetti last night for supper then she let me watch the telly for a bit. Aunt Marga arrived sometime later and let Mrs. Johnson go home," he answered.

"Ah yes. I spoke with your Aunt Marga when I got home last night," she smirked, remembering her encounter with her blonde friend last night.

"Hermione?"

A voice startled her from her thoughts of a gorgeous green-eyed hunk. She saw her best friend, Margarethe, peeking from the doorway that led to the kitchen on her right side. Hermione schooled her expression to a scowl and glared at her friend.

"Uhm," Margarethe came out to the hallway and fidgeted under her hard stare, "How was the meeting?"

Hermione simply raised her eyebrow and proceeded to remove her coat and boots without answering, placing them in the coat closet by the front door. She turned towards her friend and walked to the kitchen. She already had the kettle on the stove when she heard Margarethe enter the room and sit on one of the bar stools in front of the counter across from the stove Hermione stood at.

"Hermione, I know you're right pissed at me for setting you up. I-"

Hermione quickly turned around to look at her friend. "You're damn right I'm pissed, especially when I explicitly expressed I didn't want to start dating, let alone date Harry Bleeding Potter."

Margarethe looked down in shame. She knew her best friend's heart was in the right place and Margarethe just wanted her to be happy. Hermione felt bad for her friend, but only just a little bit. She decided she had punished the woman enough.

"But I have to thank you for conspiring with Harry for tonight. I truly had a wonderful time." She smirked, as Margarethe looked up at her with wide eyes, a smile growing on her pretty face.

"Really? Did you, really?" Hermione nodded in response. Margarethe breathed in relief and Hermione laughed at her. Margarethe began to laugh, as well, and continued to do so even as Hermione served tea for both of them. She sat down beside her friend and silently drank her tea.

"So, what happened?"

Hermione told her about how she was both surprised and annoyed when she realized the "meeting" was a setup, and that she and Harry were behind it. She told the other woman how the evening started shakily and how she told Harry that she wasn't the type of woman he dated, which he agreed to but explained why she was better than the other women he had previously dated. She also told her when Hermione finally dropped the bomb on Harry about Ethan.

"Really? You told him just like that? Why?" Margarethe's surprise was quite evident.

Hermione shrugged. "I guess I was just tired of the whole dating thing. If I laid it out to him at the beginning, I'll know whether this thing between us was worth pursuing or not."

"And how did he react?"

"That's the thing. He was surprised by it but he just said that he likes kids and told me all about his godson. He acted like it wasn't that much of a big deal."

"Wow."

"I know. I didn't really expect that, so for a while, I didn't know how I was supposed to respond to him."

"And then, what happened next?"

"He asked about Ethan's father, if he was in the picture. I told him he was never in the picture. He just proceeded to ask more about Ethan," Hermione paused, looking at the teacup in her hands. "Harry seemed quite interested in getting to know him," she added thoughtfully.

"Maybe he is. What did he say about Damien?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not much. I think he kind of sensed that I didn't want to talk about Ethan's father so we moved on to other topics. When we left the restaurant, he insisted on accompanying me home." She couldn't help but blush at the memory of what had gone on out in the hallway just barely an hour ago. She tried to hide her reddened cheeks but Margarethe caught it and squealed.

"Why are you blushing?! Tell me everything!"

"Nothing! Nothing happened," she insisted, but knowing her friend, she would see right through that blatant lie.

"Hermione Jane Granger! You're not going to start hiding things from me, especially anything that had to do with a certain Harry bleeding Potter!"

If she could have blushed even further, she would have. Seeing as she didn't have a choice, she reluctantly told Margarethe of the mind-blowing, bone-melting, heart-stopping snog she'd shared with Harry out in the hallway.

After she spoke, Margarethe had a shit-eating grin on her face, "So that was the noise I heard outside of the door! I was about to check it out, you know. Good thing I didn't. Probably would have ruined the moment."

"Oh, you!" she admonished, but she couldn't stop the heat that ran through her body at the thought of the kiss. How could he evoke such feelings in her with a mere kiss? If I felt those things with just a kiss, imagine what I would feel when we finally-

She stopped those thoughts right away because she was sure her friend would see right through her. She placed her hands on her reddened cheeks to try and control the heat on her face.

"Are you going to see him again?" Margarethe asked after a few minutes of sitting in silence.

Hermione took a deep breath, "Yes, he said he would like to take me out again. I said, I would love to."

"FINALLY! Oh, Hermione, I'm so happy for you!" Margarethe hugged her tightly, Hermione returned the hug with the same intensity. She really hoped in her heart that this would not end in heartbreak, for her or for Ethan.

"So what did you want to do today, little man? I'm not going into the shops so I thought maybe we can do something together," she told her son. The resulting smile her statement garnered was enough to cause a little guilt in her. She realized she had been working quite hard for the past few months and had barely spent a day with her son. She watched as her son adorably pondered what activities they could do that day.

"Can we go to the park then catch a movie in the cinema? We haven't done that in a while," he said.

"Of course, darling! We can definitely do that and if we have more time, we can drop by that little festival by the Thames," she replied, pinching her son's chin, "But first! Breakfast!"

They simultaneously got up from her bed and Hermione walked to the chair of her vanity table to grab the robe that she put there the night before. Ethan was waiting for her by the door as she tied her robe tightly and walked towards him. He took her hand and walked with her down the stairs to the kitchen. She had always loved how Ethan was an affectionate boy. Usually, boys his age began to hate being coddled or hugged or kissed by their mothers, but Ethan loved it all. He headed towards the icebox while Hermione went to the cupboard to retrieve a cup for her tea.

"What did you want for breakfast, love?" she asked after putting the kettle on. She turned to see Ethan had taken the jug of orange juice from the icebox and went to sit on one of the barstools by the counter in the middle of the kitchen. Hermione whipped out her wand and levitated a glass towards him.

"Thanks, Mum!" he said as he opened the jug and poured juice in the glass, "How about some bacon and eggs? And muffins?"

"That sounds wonderful. Sit tight and your wish is my command, good sir!"

"Thank you, madam! I look forward to your scrumptious cooking!" her son responded, catching on to one of their games.

An hour and a half later found the mother and son leaving their flat. They were talking animatedly about what they were going to do that day. They walked for half an hour and reached the Fryent Country Park. They chose a slightly secluded area with low grass. Looking around to make sure there weren't any people around, Hermione opened her beaded bag which was charmed with expansion and weightless charms. She reached in and produced a football for them to play with. She knew she wasn't all that good with the sport but she was willing to play with her son. His father should have been the one playing with him but since she refused to include him in Ethan's life, not that he wanted to be a part of it anyway either, it was her job to be both father and mother to her son. Ethan smiled at her and they began to play, kicking the ball back and forth between them.

After an hour of playing, Hermione called for a break. They headed to a tree that provided plenty of shade from the summer sun. Again, Hermione looked around to see if there were onlookers. Once making sure they were alone, she retrieved a miniature picnic basket from the beaded bag and a checkered blanket. She and Ethan laid the blanket on the ground before she enlarged the picnic basket and placed it in the middle of the blanket. They sat across from each other, Hermione waved her wand towards Ethan to cleanse him of the sweat and grime they'd acquired from their game and cleaned herself. Once she was sure they were clean enough, she began pulling out items from the basket. There were sandwiches and chips, some of Ethan's favorite fruits and two thermoses, one filled with hot tea for her and the other with cold orange juice for the boy. They ate silently, just enjoying the summer weather they were graced with that day.

"Mum, do I really need to go to Hogwarts when I turn eleven in two years?" Ethan suddenly asked. She was about to drink her tea, which she put down to answer his question.

"Well," she began carefully, "It's not that you have to. You can still go to Muggle school if you so choose. But your magic is not going to go away. And Hogwarts is there to teach you how to be able to control it and do wonderful things with it."

"Didn't you and my father go to a different school? Why can't I go there instead?" She looked at her son, curiosity clear in his brown eyes so similar to hers.

"Well, since we live in Britain now and Hogwarts is closer than Beauxbatons. If we still lived in France, you would have gone there. Besides, I was supposed to go to Hogwarts, you know. But Granddad and Grandmum decided to move to France before I could go."

"I won't see you for months, though. I'm going to miss you," he said, sadness tinged his voice. Hermione moved the basket away then reached over to hug her son.

"I will miss you, too. Terribly. But think about it: a huge castle to explore, new friends to meet, and so many things about magic to learn." She leaned forward as if imparting a very important secret. "And I've read that they have a really big library. Probably the biggest in all of Europe!"

"Really? Wow!" Ethan's eyes grew wide, excitement filled her son's face.

"Truly! And I know Alice has told you that they have quidditch there, too," she smirked, knowing that quidditch would definitely rouse her son's interests. She didn't know where this interest in sports came from since she wasn't athletic at all, but she'd happily indulge in her son's love for various sports. Alice had brought Ethan to some games and the boy was immediately obsessed. She must have also told him stories about her days as a quidditch player. Speaking of quidditch reminded Hermione of Harry. She wondered what he was doing at that moment but put the thought out of her mind because this day was for her and Ethan. She would think of Harry later.

Once they were done eating and resting, they packed their things and went to see a movie. It was one of the things they loved to do together, whether they were watching at the cinema or at home. Ethan chose the movie Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest because he thought a pirate's life was interesting.

After the movie, Hermione and Ethan went to a cafe near the cinema to have a late snack. They continued to talk about the movie, which parts they liked the best and which ones they thought could have been done better. They did both agree that Johnny Depp was a perfect Captain Jack Sparrow.

When they finished their snacks, they decided to go home since they had already spent the whole day outside. At home, Hermione prepared a simple dinner of spaghetti (Ethan's favorite) and garlic bread while Ethan drew in the sitting room. Once dinner was done, they were both too tired to do anything else so they decided to turn in early. Hermione tucked Ethan in bed, making sure his covers didn't let the cold air in as he slept. She was brushing her fingers in his hair as she hummed a lullaby. Ethan's closed eyes opened and he smiled at his mother.

"I love you, Mum," he told her, his voice soft.

Tenderness filled Hermione. She smiled at him, "I love you, too. Goodnight, my little man."

"Goodnight," he yawned and was out barely a minute later.

Hermione carefully extracted herself from his bed and walked as silently as she could to leave the room. She left the door slightly open before crossing the hallway to her own bedroom. Just as she closed the room's door, her mobile phone began ringing in her pocket. Afraid the sound would wake Ethan, she answered the call without checking who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Hermione."

A smile suddenly appeared on her lips, unbidden. She would recognize his voice anywhere.

She sat on the bottom of her bed, "Hey to you, too. How did you get my number?"

Harry chuckled on the other line, "I have my ways. How was your day?"

Her smile grew as she thought of the day she had with Ethan, "Spent a day with Ethan. We played mock football at Fryent Country Park, then had a picnic lunch there. We also went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie."

"Sounds like a fun day! I've been wanting to watch that movie. Was it good?" She heard a little shuffling sound from his end.

"It was. Ethan and I quite enjoyed it, actually. How about you? What did you do today?" She laid on her bed, her feet still on the floor.

"We had practice today. I swear, our coach is the devil incarnate."

She laughed, "Why? Did he make you all suffer today?"

"And then some." She could almost hear the pout in his voice, "He made us do all our normal drills twice! Just because Robinson and Rick—they're our chaser and beater—went out drinking last night and were hungover when they arrived for practice!"

"Is there a rule against drinking in the quidditch team?"

"Not really. But we make it a point not to drink the night away and get pissed before a practice or a game. You wouldn't want to feel sluggish while playing. With Armond Lewis as the coach, you bet your pretty little head he will rain on your arse twice as hard when he finds out you were hungover."

She chuckled, "So why make everyone do the drills twice instead of just the two guilty parties?"

"A reminder to everyone, I reckon. It's not really that bad. I'm just really knackered from the training." She heard him yawn.

"You should probably get some rest now," she told him.

"Nah, I'm good. Been wanting to hear your voice the whole day and I really wanted to talk to you."

She blushed. She could hear the sincerity in his voice. What is it with this man? "Are you sure? Do you have practice again tomorrow?"

"No, but we do have a team meeting in the afternoon. What does your week look like?"

"I'm not really sure yet. I make it a point not to look at work when it's my day with Ethan."

"That's good. Let me know when you can be free, I'd like to see you again," his voice lowered at the last part of his statement. Hermione couldn't help the shiver that went through her body as she remembered The Kiss again.

"I'd love that. I'll let you know tomorrow?" she replied.

"Please do. I've got some plans for us," he said. This piqued her curiosity.

"Do tell, Mr. Potter."

"Uh, uh! It's a surprise!"

"Not even a clue?"

"Nope! Let me know when you will be free next, you'll find out then," he teased her.

"Oh, fine! Let's go to sleep, it's getting late."

"Goodnight, Hermione. I'm eager to see you again."

"Goodnight, Harry. See you soon."

It was the second night Hermione slept with a smile on her face.

It was two weeks later before Harry and Hermione found a day where they were both free.

"Are you going to be okay?" Hermione asked Ethan for what felt like the hundredth time since they decided that he would be sleeping over at one of his football teammates.

"Mum! I'll be fine, I promise! The other boys and I will just be staying in and play video games, maybe some football in the backyard. I'll be home tomorrow afternoon," Ethan retorted, rolling his eyes at his silly mother.

"Do you have everything you'll need?"

"Yes, you packed and checked my stuff three times already," her son pointed out. There was a honk of a car and both looked towards the black sedan parked in front of the lobby entrance of their flat building. A woman left the car and met them with a smile, "Hi, Hermione! My Jason is quite glad you allowed Ethan to spend the night with us."

"Hi, Clarissa! Oh, it's nothing. I'm sure the boys will have so much fun together," she turned towards Ethan, "You will behave yourself and listen to Mr. and Mrs. Baker, alright?" Ethan nodded, then hugged his mother. "Go and have fun. I love you, little man." Ethan let go of his mother and followed the other woman to the parked car. After he got into the car, he opened the window and waved at her. "See you tomorrow! Love you, Mum!" Hermione waved back and watched as the car left. She stood there even after the car was already out of sight. She sighed and looked at her watch. Three o'clock. Plenty of time to get ready since Harry told her he would pick her up at half-past six. She went back to her flat and decided to take a long bath. It'd been a long time since she had a dip in her bathtub so she wanted to use this opportunity of having the house to herself to pamper herself just a little bit.

The past two weeks had been quite busy, both at the bookshop and The Magic Touch. The final preparations for the upcoming book launch at her shop were already laid out that week, they only needed to wait a week for the actual event to happen. There was a sudden surge of events coming in for The Magic Touch. It seemed like a great number of young witches and wizards were coming of age this season and their families would like to throw them parties, so she and Margarethe were busy planning their parties.

This was the first time in two weeks where she was able to get a day to herself. When she learned of her free day, she immediately contacted Harry to tell him. He was busy in training, as well. He and the team went to Scotland for a week-long boot camp and he had only come back to London the day before. They did talk on the phone practically every night since that first call from Harry. They would also send messages whenever they could get a breather from their daily routine. She didn't know what Harry had planned for them tonight but she could not help the excitement from growing inside of her. This was something she hadn't experienced before and it was both thrilling and scary at the same time. She wasn't a teenager anymore, for Merlin's sake!

She still wasn't sure if getting involved with Harry Potter was a good idea but she couldn't deny the way he made her feel. Whenever she thought of it not being Harry's voice on the other side of the phone call, there would be tightness in her stomach and it sickened her. How, in the span of a scant few weeks, did Harry Potter become a conspicuous part of her daily life?

After half an hour in the bath, she proceeded to her wardrobe to choose what to wear. Harry didn't tell her where they were going but he did say to wear something between casual and fancy. She was too busy looking at her clothes that she didn't notice when the fireplace in the sitting room activated and out the floo came her best friend.

"Why are you still not dressed?!" Margarethe exclaimed, looking at her half dressed state from her bedroom door. Hermione jumped a little, startled by the loud voice of her friend.

"Margarethe! What are you doing here?" she asked, a hand on her chest in surprise.

"I wanted to help you get ready for your big date with Mr. Big Shot Seeker!" Margarethe walked into the room and stood beside her, facing the closet. "Where's the little tyke?"

Hermione went to sit on her bed, "His friend's mother already picked him up earlier so I have the house to myself."

"Good! Now, what are you going to wear?" the blonde woman turned to Hermione and put her hands on her hips.

She shook her head, "I… have no idea. It's been a long while since I've gone on a date and I haven't gone shopping recently."

Her friend tsk'd and went about browsing through her clothes. "What is this doing all the way back here?" She was wondering what her friend was talking about when she reached deep into the closet and pulled out a black cocktail dress.

"Why have I not seen you wear this before?! This is absolutely gorgeous! Go on, put it on!" Margarethe waved the dress in front of her. She bought it a few years ago in a moment of insanity after one of her dates told her that she dressed like one of those old maids who had no hope in marrying anyone in their life. So in a fit of hurt and anger, she bought the sexiest black dress she could find. But since she wasn't keen on seeing that arsehole again, she didn't get to wear the dress and promptly forgot it was there. With a sigh, she took the dress and went back to her bathroom to change. She looked at the dress for a minute. It was a simple, off-shoulder black dress with a sweetheart neckline, the bodice would hug all her curves and flow down to an A-line skirt that reached her knees. With her petite frame, her curves would be more pronounced in the figure-hugging dress. She had transfigured her cotton knickers to a seamless thong so as not to be visible on the dress (and for no other reason) before deciding to forego a bra, a charm would suffice to support her slightly ample breasts. She slipped into the dress and magically zipped up the back. She barely glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror before exiting back to her bedroom. Margarethe was busy choosing between two shoes when she came back and when her friend looked up at her, her eyes went wide and a huge smile adorned her pretty face.

"Oh Merlin, Hermione! It looks perfect on you!"

Hermione blushed. She wasn't entirely comfortable with how much the dress was clinging to her body and how it limited her movement but when her friend took her by the shoulders and led her to the full-length mirror in the room, she began to feel differently about it.

"See? Oh, we just need to fix your hair a bit and put on some makeup—" Margarethe made her sit in front of her vanity table and went to grab the things she would need. A combination of hair potions and hair charms later, her hair was in a classy but slightly messy french twist—Chic, not too formal and yet still fun, Margarethe said—and her makeup was glowy but still natural. Her eyebrows were done, mascara and eyeliner enhanced her golden-brown eyes, a slight blush on her cheeks and a pale rose color for her lips. Once done, Margarethe stepped back so both of them could admire her handwork. The woman that stared back at Hermione looked like a strong and confident young woman, far from who she truly was. As if reading her thoughts, the blonde woman put her hands on her shoulder and spoke. "Hun, you don't have to look so surprised. You've always had this beauty in you, you just needed to find it in yourself and show it to the world. You are a strong, independent, intelligent and beautiful young woman. I would bet a whole year's income that that's what Harry sees in you and why he's so into you."

Hermione took a deep breath and slowly released it before turning to her friend, placing a hand on top of the one on her shoulder. "Thank you so much, Marga. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"Back at you, you silly woman!" She clapped her hands, "Anyway, now is not the time for drama!" She looked Hermione up and down, "And for the last touch." She walked back to the shoes she was pondering over before and picked up the strappy black stilettos. "Here you go, put these on." Hermione did obediently and when she was done putting them on, Margarethe pulled her friend up from the chair and led her back to the full-length mirror.

Seeing the full effect was like a punch in the gut, "Is that really me?"

"Oh hun, of course, it's you! You're going to knock Harry Bleeding Potter's socks off!" Margarethe smirked at her through the mirror, eyebrows bobbing up and down, "And I'm sure he'll have a hell of a difficult time in keeping his hands off you!"

"Margarethe!"

"Come off it, Hermione! You're gorgeous and seriously hot in that dress! He would be a fool not to want to jump your bones the moment he sees you," she laughed. Hermione thought she probably didn't need the added blush on her cheeks because they had grown warmer because of her friend's words. Did she expect something like that to happen tonight? Was she hoping for it? Would she want it? It was all she could do not to blush even further when her mind shouted a resounding YES to all her questions. She took the black purse see placed on her vanity table earlier and the silver shawl that Margarethe offered her. She was about to thank her friend again when the chime of the doorbell could be heard in the house. The two women looked at each other.

"I'll get the door! You wait here until I call for you, okay?" Margarethe ordered then promptly vanished from the room before Hermione aired any protest. She began pacing in her room, her nerves everywhere. She could hear voices speaking from downstairs and it made her even more nervous.

Okay, it's just a date, she told herself—more like trying to convince herself—you've been to dates before. This isn't really any different from them.

It actually is, you know, another voice in her head told her, You've never been on a date with a man like him.

Thanks a lot, she rolled her eyes. So much for calming my nerves.

"Hermione!" Margarethe called from the bottom of the stairs, "Harry's here."

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly to gain at least a bit of semblance of calm, she went ahead and exited her room.

Showtime.