She woke up at 8AM. She had overslept, but that was inevitable considering her lack of sleep the previous night. Or the same night- she wasn't sure. Traversing half the world made you lose track of days. She quickly freshened up and climbed down to the kitchen to see Kreacher in the midst of preparing a full breakfast. 'Would Eggs and sausages do, miss?' he asked good naturedly. His amiable personality hadn't ceased to amaze Hermione yet.

'Yes, Kreacher. That sounds wonderful.'

She left soon after, and apparated close to her home in Hampstead Gardens. She walked up to the doorway, glancing at the well manicured gardens. She supposed Uncle Harvey had at least paid the Gardener to fix things. 'Alohomora', she whispered and the front door swung open. She stepped over the threshold and into the entrance hall. A wave of nostalgia washed over her as she walked around the house. Most of the furnishing was still intact. She walked into the family room, and remembered that this was where she had obliviated her parents. Shaking her head, she walked around the whole two-storey house. A few scourgifies and some anti-dust charms later, she found that the place was as livable as it ever was. She took a stock of the inventory, made a list of essential groceries and left for the nearest store.

The whole exercise took a few hours, but she was soon satisfied with everything. She climbed up to her room on the first floor and unpacked her trunk. A wave of her wand had her clothes arrange themselves in her walk-in closet. Just then, a tap on her window distracted her. She walked over and let an adorable screech owl inside. It held out its leg and she untied the letter, recognising Harry's writing.

The Dragon's Lair, 7PM.

It was a well known pub in Diagon Alley, slightly more elegant than the Leaky Cauldron's. Maybe she ought to don something better than her usual denims. 7PM meant she had a little less than two hours. She felt a little icky after the clean up so she hopped into her shower for a quick bath and once done, perused her wardrobe for something to wear. She chose a soft yellow dress that fell just to her knees. It had a high neck and a string belt that wrapped around her slim waist. She pulled some of her hair to the left side and loosely plaited it. Donning her tan coloured shoes, she gave herself a look over in the mirror. Maybe she should put some lip colour on? Ron might like that. She plumped her lips with some pink gloss and apparated straight onto the steps of the Leaky Cauldron. She tapped her wand along the bricks and they separated. She felt a wave of nostalgia pass over her, as she walked down Diagon Alley. The Dragon's Lair was nestled a little away from Flourish and Blotts. She entered and immediately spotted a couple of red heads at the far end of the room and made her way.

'Hermione!' shrieked Ginny. 'You look amazing!'

Blushing, she said, 'Thanks Gin, so do you!' Ginny always did look effortlessly gorgeous, and tonight was no exception. She wore a long navy colored floral dress that made her hair color pop and her complexion stand out in a delicious way.

Harry grinned and asked, 'Choose your poison, Hermione.' He looked relaxed in a Henley shirt that emphasized his pectorals and washed out denims.

'She'll have some elf-made wine,' came a voice from behind her. Ron pulled her into a crushing hug just as she turned around.

'Oof! Ron!' she laughed, her face squashed against his broad chest. He loosened his grip just a bit. She sighed and breathed him in as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He smelled of freshly laundered clothes and his Oxford shirt was rolled up to his elbows. 'I missed you.'

He looked down at her and smiled, his hair falling into his eyes. 'So did I.' He kissed her, right on her lips, in the middle of the pub. And she kissed him back. She felt everything melt away as his warm lips engulfed hers. Barely a few seconds later, she heard a wolf whistle and someone say, 'Get a room!' She broke away from the kiss and looked around to see Seamus Finnegan walk up to them, with Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom trailing behind. Ron simple laughed and said, 'Ayy, Long time mate!'

'Hermione, you're a sight for sore eyes!'

'Seamus! Thought you were in Ireland.' she said, just as Neville walked up to her and hugged her.

'He was visiting me. Saw Harry's letter and decided to drop in.' said Dean, helpfully.

They all slid into their seats and caught up with each other. Harry bought the first round and Seamus fought for the second. A few rounds in, Hermione got up to head to the bathroom. She was walking back when a hand from behind a curtain to an alcove accosted her and dragged her in. It was Ron. He seemed pretty tipsy.

'What are you doing?' she said, looking around the small space. It held a few barrels of cider.

'Necking my girlfriend.' His lips found a sweet spot on her neck. His lips were warm and wet, gently sucking and biting down to her clavicle.

Before she knew it, he was snogging her thoroughly. Lips moved against hers and his tongue dipped into her mouth, overwhelming her with his desperation. His hand moved from her waist to grab at her arse and his hips moved against hers. His hardness pressed up against her stomach. She broke the kiss to gasp for air and he immediately moved to her neck again. His left hand came up to grope her breasts and he moaned with need, his hips digging into hers even more. After some time, his hand pulled her left leg up by the knee and he pushed his arousal into her heated core. She could feel him through her flimsy knickers.

'Ron!' she hissed. 'Not here!'

He groaned in frustration, but nodded against her chest, and let her leg back down. She straightened her skirt and looked up to see him struggling to make his arousal disappear. A few moments later, his hand found hers and they both headed back to their friends.

She spotted a new face and cried in surprise, 'George!'

'Hello there, Hermione! You're looking well- well snogged!' he amended as he eyed her, and grinned mischievously.

She felt herself turn red.

'Sod off.' said Ron, half amused and half embarrassed. His ears turned pink.

Nearly two hours later, they were all progressively drunker and louder. When they all broke into a song- Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, she knew they were in trouble. George whipped his wand out, stood on the table and started to conduct them through their school song. Towards the end, he attempted a particularly fancy maneuver with his arm, but promptly lost balance and fell over, scattering their drinks and accidentally punching Seamus in the mouth.

'All right, you lot! Party's over!' came a disgruntled shout. The owner and barkeep hurried over and started pushing them out.

'Oof! My tooth!' a wide eyed Seamus sputtered through his bleeding mouth, his tooth between his fingers. Dean erupted in a laugh at the stupid look on his face, but Ginny took pity on him.

'Here, let me fix it for you.' she flicked her wand and muttered 'Densreparare'. His tooth flew from his hand and fixed itself back with a painful crack that left him in tears. She winced. It shouldn't have been so painful, so she was clearly not in complete control of her faculties. She vowed not to attempt more magic for the night.

She then looked around and found George still sprawled across the table where he fell. Hermione was giggling uncontrollably, while Harry looked on with a grimace. Ron and Neville were being pushed up and away by the owner toward the exit.

She sighed and approached Harry. 'As fun as this evening has been, I'll need to take George back home. I'll ask Ron to help. What are we going to do about her?' She looked at Hermione with concern.

'I'll see to her, don't worry,' he muttered and got up to steady Hermione, who was now nodding off.

Ginny nodded and then shook her head, 'Let's not do this again. It should've been just the two of us. I hate picking up after others, specially my idiot brothers. Happy Birthday again, love.' She kissed Harry on his cheek before shouting 'Oi! Ron! Get over here. Help this one up!'

It took both of them to haul George's dead weight. Ginny took his left shoulder while Ron took his right. With a last look and smirk in Harry's direction, she took a pinch of the Floo, shouted into the flames 'The Burrow!' and disappeared.

Harry looked around the bar, Neville, Seamus and Dean had been carted out. With a sigh, he reached out to Hermione, draped her left arm across his left shoulder and pulled her up by her waist. He looked longingly at the Floo. How he wished he had an established Floo connection at Grimmauld. He vowed to get one as soon as he could. He finally stepped out of the Dragon's Lair, onto Diagonal Alley to walk to the nearest apparition point. The night was cool and Hermione seemed to have regained some of her faculties.

'Where are we going?' she muttered, trying to right herself.

'I don't know where you live. I think it's best if you crash over at my place. You still carrying enough in that bag of yours to leave the country?' He nodded towards her beaded purple handbag. She still carried it around everywhere.

'Of course.' she muttered. She tripped a little as her toes came across a dislodged cobble.

Harry shook his head and chuckled. 'You're a lightweight, Hermione.'

'Well, I should hope so! Wait. What are we talking about again?'

Just then, a flash went off in their peripheral, stunning the both of them. 'Mister Potter! Miss Granger! Are you both seeing each other?' A reporter screamed needlessly. The street was nearly empty this late at night.

'What the fuck.' Harry said, angrily. 'C'mon.' He hauled Hermione closer and started walking faster. But the flashes didn't stop.

'When did you first realise you fell in love with her?' The annoying reporter continued, ignoring Harry's worsening mood.

'Leave us alone!' He berated the guy.

Another flash and Harry lost his patience. The hand on her waist turned Hermione towards him and she put both her arms around his shoulders so as to not lose her balance. She accidentally smacked against his chest. 'Sorry,' He muttered. She looked up and he held her tight. 'Hold on, I'm going to apparate us.' and she felt the sensation of being squeezed rapidly.

They landed on the doorsteps of No. 12, Grimmauld Place and she stumbled into the door as Harry swung it open, landing arse up across the threshold. A hoot of laughter echoed off the silent walls and the door clicked shut behind them. Mrs Black's shrieks soon drowned out Harry's laugh. She was way too sloshed to feel embarrassed. Harry lifted her again, his body shaking with his guffaws, and they both stumbled along to the room Hermione had taken up. He gently let her down on the bed and knelt. He unstrapped her sandals and pulled her legs up on the bed.

'Thanks, Harry. I'm fine now.' She smiled at him.

He nodded and got up to leave. She heard a 'G'night' just as the door closed behind him. She looked up. The ceiling was swaying slightly, but she was really tired. It had been a long day. She flipped over and made herself comfortable, wishing for a decent night's sleep.

The sun glared through the window into Hermione's room the next morning, unforgivingly, to wake her up. Someone hadn't bothered to close the curtains. She groaned as she tried to feel around for her wand. After a few futile moments, she opened one puffy eye and spied her wand lying across the dresser. She almost growled in frustration. She buried her head between the pillows, but her mind was now awake. It was also throbbing painfully. Sighing, she got up and made for the bathroom. She felt a bit disoriented. There were a fresh set of towels kept near the sink. She felt like she could have kissed Kreacher for his thoughtfulness. She summoned her toiletries from the beaded bag and opened the taps to the claw foot tub, ready for a nice long soak. Her eyes rolled back with pleasure as she settled in the water.

An hour later, she was dressed in fresh clothes (that were also in her bag) and walked down to the kitchen. The smell of pancakes invaded her senses and her stomach growled angrily. Harry was seated on the wooden table, sipping a cup of tea. 'Morning!' he grinned happily at her. She grimaced a little.

'How on Earth are you so full of energy?' she looked at him suspiciously. She sat down next to him and grabbed some berries from a fruit bowl.

'Hangover potion in my tea.'

Her eyes widened and she made to grab his cup.

'Now, now. None of that. I've got some here for you, Miss!' Kreacher consoled her as he set down a steaming cup of tea in front of her. 'The blueberry pancakes are also ready, shall I serve them, Master?' He asked Harry, who nodded. He proceeded to set down the hot pancakes complete with syrup and topped with blueberries

It was this moment when Hermione's affections finally overwhelmed her and she grabbed the poor elf's neck and kissed him on his cheek. Kreacher wailed at her sudden assault and vanished with a crack.

'Hermione!' Harry exclaimed, half incredulous and half amused. 'You'll be the death of him.' He admonished.

Offended, she was about to retort when there was a tap on the window. She walked over to open it and the tawny owl hopped in with a copy of the Sunday Prophet. She handed the owl a few Knuts and a couple of blueberries before it took off.

'There's lunch at the Burrow today. Molly's going to expect you there, now that you're back. And why are you reading that trash? They don't even cover much news on Sundays.'

'Yes, I know. It's only going to take a second.' She sat down again and flipped the paper open, while finishing the last sip of her potion-spiked tea. Her eyes fell on the photo that adorned the front page and she choked on that sip.

'Are you alright?' Harry was immediately patting her back. She shook her head and pointed at the picture.

It was a picture of the two of them from last night, of the moment when he pulled her up to his chest and she wrapped her arms around his neck. It had been taken right before they disapparated and it looked deceptively intimate.

The headline screamed:

"HARRY POTTER'S BLOSSOMING ROMANCE WITH HERMIONE GRANGER"

They were both speechless.