a/n: I've never included an author's note with this story before, but I felt that this chapter warranted one (or two, if you count this one.)

Hermione stretched as she did every morning, but when she looked around, she didn't recognize her surroundings. For a moment, her eyes widened in fear, but then she remembered...she stayed with Draco last night...and a smile spread across her face. She reached out to find his side of the bed empty. Propping herself up on an elbow, she scanned the room, wondering where he could have gone.

"Good morning, Beautiful." His voice came from the window sill behind her, prompting her to roll from her right side to her left.

"Hi." She yawned. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"

"Long enough." He replied.

She smoothed her hair, sure it was unruly as was typical every morning, and gave him a quizzical look. "Long enough for what?"

"Oh, nothing," he lied, discreetly sliding his sketchbook behind the velvet curtain, before sauntering over to her and gently placing a kiss on her untamed locks. "Today's Saturday," he announced, wandering toward the bathroom, "Hogsmeade day. Any chance you'd be up for a visit?" He paused in the doorway, half turned to her and awaited an answer.

"Hogsmeade." She thought aloud. "Yes. A day trip to Hogsmeade would be lovely."

"Its settled then." He smiled happily, and ducked into the bathroom, reappearing moments later, toothbrush in use. "I thought I 'eard 'arry mention something about going today too, maybe we'll see 'im there."

As if on cue, Harry's voice accompanied by frantic pounding could be heard in the hallway. "Hermione! Hermione, are you in there? Hermione, are you okay?"

"We just told him we were together last night. He can't find me here or he'll think we slept together...while he was in the adjoining room!" Hermione whispered, staring wide-eyed and panic-stricken at Draco.

"Technically, we did." He chuckled behind his toothbrush.

"You know what I mean!" Her eyes pierced him with a look that meant this clearly was not the time for his sarcasm. "This is not funny!" She hissed, springing out of his bed as if something had stung her.

Her obvious discomfort was too adorably funny for Draco to handle. He barely made it to the bathroom sink before exploding in laughter, spewing toothpaste down the drain. Meanwhile, Harry's cries grew louder and more desperate until suddenly they stopped. There was a knock on Draco's door.

"He's a big boy, I'm sure he can handle it." Draco teased shutting himself in the bathroom, forcing her to either face Harry or leave him in panic mode, which was not an option since panic mode tended to send Harry's better judgement out the window.

Hermione threw one last dirty look at the bathroom before calmly and confidently striding toward the bedroom door, and her best friend on the other side of it. Placing her hand on the handle, she took a deep breath, then swung the door open. "Good morning, Harry."

It took Harry several moments to register what was happening, during which he simply stared at her dumbfounded. Hermione could tell the instant the light bulb went off as heat immediately rose to his cheeks and his eyes dropped to the floor. "Hermione... I, uh... Oh Merlin... I'm glad you're okay." He stammered before turning and shuffling back to his own room.

"We didn't have sex!" Hermione awkwardly yelled to his closing door.

"See that wasn't so bad." Draco had snuck up behind her, and was snaking his arms around her waist.

She tried to struggle free in mock anger, but melted when he brushed his lips softly against her neck. "You're horrible." She chuckled.

"Yeah...But you love me anyway." He retorted.

She spun to face him. "I really do." She replied, pulling him close until his lips met hers.

As tempting as it was to pull her back into the room and more specifically the bed, Draco grudgingly pulled away from their embrace, and advised, "I'm going to grab a quick shower before heading to Hogsmeade." A hint of lust flashed in Hermione's eyes, and he could not resist adding, "You're welcome to join me, if you'd like."

Again the longing shone in her eyes, but she answered flatly, effortlessly turning the tables on him as only she could "Not today, Malfoy. Maybe soon, but not today." She left him standing open-mouthed and speechless as she made her way across the landing to her room.

Harry and Ginny were cuddled on the couch in the sitting room when Draco and Hermione emerged from their respective rooms nearly an hour later. Both showered and dressed in muggle attire, ready for a leisurely day away from the castle. They joined hands and made their way down the stairs to their waiting housemate and his fiancee.

"So I heard you two spent the night together..." Ginny announced excitedly, drawing a grimace from Harry, who obviously was hoping to avoid any further discussion of that subject.

Hermione stole a guilty glance at the blonde standing next to her. She blushed deeply as she responded to her best friend, "Its not what you're thinking. I just went to his room to talk and it got late, so I stayed. Nothing happened."

Ginny threw her hands up. "You don't have to explain anything to me... To us," she corrected herself while nudging Harry, prompting him to nod uncomfortably in agreement. "Whatever did or didn't or will eventually happen is none of our business." She sounded convincing, but the look she gave Hermione said they'd definitely be sharing some girl talk about this later. "Anyway, Luna wanted us to meet her in the Great Hall so she could walk with us to Hogsmeade. She said she has some news to share with us."

"Then we'd better be on our way. I'd hate to keep her waiting." Hermione replied.

They found Luna lingering just outside the Great Hall. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the two couples approaching. "Harry... Ginny... Hermione... Draco..." She greeted them joyfully. Hermione suddenly realized she had never told Luna about her relationship with Draco, but almost on cue, Luna addressed the two of them with a twinkle in her eye. "Finally making public appearances, I see." Hermione felt a twinge of guilt rise inside her, but just as the Ravenclaw always did, she assuaged all concerns by continuing, "Can I let you in on a little secret?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I've known since bumping into you that night a couple months ago, but I didn't want to pry into something you weren't ready to share. I knew you'd find a way to tell me in your own time."

"Honestly, Luna," Hermione sighed, "I don't know how you do it, but you always seem to know what's going on around here, often before the people involved actually do."

The blonde shrugged her shoulders, "Its just a gift, I guess."

"Lovely day for a walk, not a wrackspurt in sight." Luna had informed them her news was something she'd rather show them than tell them, so they were left curiously listening to her pleasant ramblings on the walk to Hogsmeade. "Ah, there he is." She exclaimed at the edge of town, pulling ahead, leaving them to wonder who was this 'he' she spoke of. They followed as she wove through the crowded street, and came to a stop outside a shop none of them recognized. Though the building was unfamiliar, the flame-haired man who was hugging her eagerly was unmistakable.

"George!?" Ginny exclaimed in shock.

The elder Weasley slid his arm casually around Luna's shoulders before addressing his sister. "Ginny." He nodded a quick greeting to everyone else, knowing full well Ginny would demand all his attention.

"How did this... When did this..." Ginny stammered. "I mean...this is great! I couldn't be more excited, but... how?!" Her sentiment was echoed by the stunned silence from Harry, Hermione and Draco.

George laughed at the dumbfounded group standing before him. "Why don't you all come in, and we'll tell you everything." He motioned them through the door, and followed behind, his arm still firmly around Luna, hers now resting around his waist.

Once through the door, they immediately realized they were standing in the newest branch of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It was smaller than the main shop in Diagon Alley, but all the signature goods were strewn chaotically about.

"We open in two weeks." George called, bringing their attention back to the newly revealed couple. "It was always Fred's dream to open a second store here in Hogsmeade. After he passed, I didn't think I could bring myself to do it, but..." He gazed down at the blonde in his embrace, pulling her closer, "Luna convinced me I should."

"Yeah, about that..." Ginny was ready for answers. "You wanna fill us in?"

"Of course," George laughed at his sister's persistence. "But let's go to my office, it's much more accommodating." He lead the way through the boxes to a door on the far side of the shop. When everyone was situated on the couches, he explained. "Do you remember that day you three," he indicated Luna, Ginny and Hermione, "and mom stopped by the store in Diagon Alley to visit?"

Ginny chuckled. "You mean the day we found you hog tied on the floor? Of course! That's something I'll never forget."

George smirked. "That's the one. Well what you might not remember is that Luna gave me something that day."

"I remember." Hermione chimed. "It was some sort of medallion, right?"

"Right. Well, sort of." He pulled the silver medal from his pocket. "Its a memory pocket watch."

"A what?" Harry asked, confused.

"A memory pocket watch." George repeated. "Instead of giving me the time, it plays a loop of memories from this day in years past."

"I've never heard of such a thing." Draco surprised everyone by joining the conversation.

"That's because I made it." Luna smiled. "It was my mother's idea, actually. She did all of the research and made several prototypes, but never could get it to work quite right. After the battle of Hogwarts, I found all her notes and decided to pick up where she left off. Turns out she was closer to success than she realized. All it needed to work properly were the tears of the one who'd be using it." She rested her hand against George's chest and raised her eyes to his, looking for his approval to continue. He nodded slightly, encouraging her to go on. "At Fred's funeral, I had followed a garden troll off into the tall grass and happened upon George, crying and alone. I comforted him the only way I knew how. I silently held him in my arms until his sobbing ceased and tears no longer fell." She gently reached up and wiped a single tear from his cheek. "What I didn't know at the time was that those tears were activating the prototype I had gotten into the habit of wearing as a necklace. Once I realized what had happened, I knew where it belonged, but it was something I also knew should be delivered in person, so I waited until the day we all visited Diagon Alley for supplies."

"But she couldn't have known how much something like this would mean to me or that it was exactly what I needed in that moment." George's voice was more serious than Ginny had ever heard it. "I sent her an owl to thank her, and we ended up owling each other daily, sometimes multiple times a day. After two weeks of nothing but letters, I asked her to meet me in Hogsmeade. She did, and has been every weekend since." Luna smiled up at him, a gesture he returned with a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Does mum know?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow at the couple.

"She does actually, but she's the only one. I asked her to keep it quiet at least until we had the chance to tell all of you. She's actually been here the last few weeks helping us get the store ready." George beamed.

"This is fantastic." Harry stated. "I mean, I never would have seen this coming, but now that it is right in front me, I can't deny it makes total sense."

"It more than makes sense, mate." George announced. "Our relationship and the shop aren't the only surprises we wanted to share with you today. The real announcement is that we're engaged. Planning a wedding for right after school lets out, actually."

Four sets of stunned eyes remained fixed on the couple. "Of course I'll want you both to be bridesmaids." Luna stated, indicating Ginny and Hermione.

The reality finally sank in and Luna's two best friends broke out of their shock to happily accept her request. The three of them exchanged tear-filled hugs while their counterparts shook hands properly. In the midst of the celebration, Ginny declared, "This is great! Maybe we can have a double wedding." Her hand shot straight to her mouth, trying to push the words back in, but it was too late, George was already fixing her with a 'is-there-something-you-need-to-tell-me' stare.

"What was that, Sis?" George asked.

Ginny was not prepared to deny her engagement, especially to the one brother she was closest too, so she came clean, "Harry asked me to marry him over the summer, and I said yes." She moved to Harry's side, took his hand in hers and gave him an adoring look. " We were planning to tell everyone at Christmas."

George smiled genuinely. "That's great, Gin...Harry. I mean its not much of a surprise because we've been taking bets on when it would happen since he rescued you from the Chamber of Secrets, but still it's great." His face dropped and he let out an audible sigh.

"What?... What's the matter?" Ginny demanded.

George lifted his eyes to hers, his signature mischievous twinkle sparkling brightly, "I just realized Charlie won the pot. There'll be no living with him after this. You know how he gets when he beats the rest of us at anything."

They entire group shared a laugh and went on to celebrate the engagements with a bottle of firewhiskey.

a/n: I must start off by saying this is a very hard note for me to write. I apologize for taking so long to update, but I have been experiencing some personal upheaval. About three weeks ago, my husband of nearly 13 years told me he no longer wants to be married to me. We have 4 kids together, and I have been dealing with the emotional and physical stress of transitioning to single parenthood. I fully intend to continue writing this book until it is completed, but I can only sneak in writing for about an hour a night after everyone has gone to bed, so it will take longer between updates. I also do not want the quality of this story to suffer because I am an emotional wreck and unable to think straight. That being said, I am not 100% happy with this chapter. I got all the "stuff" into it that I wanted, but the language/writing feels a bit subpar. At some point, I hope to go back and polish this up, but it serves it purpose in the grand scheme of the book, so I am updating it as is for now. I thank you all for your continued support of Relentless and ask you to please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers.