Bienvenido al México

She braced herself but still landed with a thud. Her knees bucked underneath her as she straightened her robes. Lifting her eyes from the white marble floor she gasped. The sight before her was unbelievable. The white marble continued to the desk to her left. The lobby was large and open; in the center a swath of topical trees was placed. As her eyes gazed over it she saw exotic birds resting happily on the branches. Looking further down the lobby she saw a dark wooden walkway flanked by ponds with flamingos standing on their stilt-like legs in the water.

"Oh Harry." She whispered quietly. He smiled at her awed face and laughed to himself.

"Never seen a flamingo before Hermione?" She looked back, her eyes sparkling.

"Not in person." He smiled and grabbed her by the shoulders. She tore her eyes away from the brilliant site in front of her and stepped lightly on the marble. The sound of her heels echoed hollowly as he led her to the front desk.

"Hola." The desk clerk smiled brightly at them, her golden robes shimmering. "¿Como estas ustdes?" Hermione glanced over at Harry, her eyes slightly wider. Harry chuckled at her confused expression and turned to the receptionist.

"Hullo. I'm Harry Potter." The clerk's eyes were the ones to widen now. "We've got a reservation for two Oceanside rooms." The clerk nodded quickly and looked down at the parchment before her.

"Here it is." She said in slightly accented English. Her voice was high and perky, perfect for a receptionist. "Mr. Potter…La Marea Suite." Harry furrowed his brow.

"I reserved two rooms."

"I'm sorry sir; I only have one on my list. Would you like me to fetch el director?"

"Yes please." Harry responded curtly. He looked over to Hermione who had missed the whole debacle, too enthralled with a Macaw that had landed on the desk beside her. "I'm sorry." He said woefully, bringing her out of her parrot induced daze.

"For what?"

"They've only got one room down for us. I was so certain I had booked two." Hermione stared at him, her face unmoving. "You don't want to go home do you? Because we could always try a muggle resort; I hear they're very good as well…" Hermione laughed.

"Don't be silly Harry; we've slept in the same room before. It's really not a big deal. I'm sure they'll be able to remedy it in the morning." She took a breath and a tall dark man walked up behind the desk. His smile was so bright, Hermione had to look away.

"Mr Potter." He exclaimed, smiling wider than Hermione even thought possible. He had exceptional teeth…she laughed softly to herself and thought of her parents. What would they think about her impromptu vacation when she rung them later. "Mr Potter I am so sorry about this little inconvenience. Unfortunately, the resort is entirely booked." Harry raised an eyebrow. "All the other rooms will be full until next Friday."

"But that's a week from now." Harry exclaimed. The man nodded sadly. Harry groaned. "I made a reservation to take my best friend on vacation and because of you it's ruined." He turned to walk back to the Portkey arrival and departure station. Hermione rolled her eyes and ran after him and grabbed his shoulder.

"No Harry, let's stay. After 10 months of hunting down horcruxes with you and sleeping in any shelter we could find, I'm sure I can last a week in the same room." The manager smiled at her and she again had to avert her eyes. "Now let's go down to the beach as they take our things to the room. I need to see the ocean." Harry's eyes softened as her looked at her. After a pregnant pause he nodded. He took the offered key from the manager and Hermione linked her arm through his.

"The beach is straight ahead, past the pool!" The receptionist called brightly after them.

They walked slowly along the wooden path. The sky was darkening and the sun was going down. As they strolled, taking everything in, they relished the comfortable silence. There was no need for words anymore. After all they had been through; their friendship was stronger than ever. The War had cemented a bond that would never break.

"Thank you." She said. Her eyes were fixed in front on the path they followed.

"You deserve it." He replied, smiling to himself. "You work too hard."

The path soon led past the azure pool, lit from the walls inside the water. She looked down at the inviting water and beamed. Her work clothes were starting to stick to her because of the extra humidity. A skirt suit and lab robes were perhaps not the most appropriate attire for a Mexican holiday.

When she saw the sand she squeaked excitedly. Taking off her heels and grabbing Harry's hand she ran for the shoreline. He laughed and ran alongside her. She saw the water and let go of her grasp on Harry's fingers. She tentatively stepped into the ocean. Walking until her ankles were submerged she sighed happily. She took another deep breath and gazed in wonder and the glowing sky. She felt Harry walk into the water beside her.

"Wow." She said breathlessly.

"I know."

"I really needed this."

"I know."

"Let's go back and check out our fancy room." He nodded at her and they walked side by side along the beach. The building they were residing in was not far away. She ran quickly up the stairs and he bounded behind her. Room 220 was at the end of a long green hallway.

"Here goes nothing." He said turning the key in the lock and opening the door. There was a soft light glowing in the main room. The lamp was sitting on a table between two plush looking chairs. One large bed with unbelievably soft sheets faced the wall with a window on it. Infact the window was so big it was the wall. The bathroom was to the right and Hermione peeked her head in to find sky blue marble everything. A gigantic bath was full of warm scented water. Candles and rose petals floated lazily on the surface. She giggled. Someone obviously thought Mr Potter had more than innocent intentions when it concerned his beast friend. When she looked back into the room she saw that Harry had wandered out onto the balcony. Two wooden lounges with bright yellow cushions were there with a small table with two drinks on it rested between them. Harry was laying on one, his hand holding one of the drinks. His eyes were closed and a serene smile was on his face.

"I love this place." He said dreamily as she laid down on the other lounge.

"I can tell."

"First time I came here was with Ginny." He shook his head chuckling. "She hated it." Hermione laughed.

"I can't imagine Ginny being able to sit still on the beach for very long." Hermione said smiling.

"No. And the sun gave her a sunburn, and she doesn't like the ocean, and she won't eat seafood…I guess I didn't really think it through coming here with her."

"Is that why you broke up?" Harry snorted.

"We did break up right after the trip, but not because of it. It just wasn't right. After the War everyone wanted us to have a relationship more then we wanted to have a relationship. The adoration and love that was there when I was sixteen was gone. The feeling was mutual."

"Plus she was in love with Draco." Hermione said slyly. Harry grinned.

"That too. That boy has got a lot to handle in Ginerva Weasley." He said.

"I do really think she loves him though."

"I know she does. And he loves her back. It's odd you know…" Harry said quietly. Hermione grabbed her drink from the table and took a sip.

"Hmm?"

"It just seems strange that all the couples that were so serious at school all sort of fell apart after the War."

"We grew up Harry. We grew up really fast." He nodded sleepily.

"I think we should get some room service to eat and then pounce on that glorious looking bed over there."

"Deal." She said standing up. She offered him her hand and he took it gratefully.

While he ordered food through the in-house floo network specifically for the hotel, she started to relax. When he was done he went to sit on the bed. She peeled her robes off and was left standing in her knee length black pencil skirt and a white oxford shirt that was covered with a red jumper. She smiled at Harry and he smiled back. He was watching her, not in an obvious way but he was watching her. She lifted her jumper off and in doing so showed a little bit of the smooth skin of her lower back and hips. Harry swallowed loudly as he felt the familiar longing. He shook his head quickly to rid all thoughts from his mind. She was Hermione. There was a line. He wasn't about to cross it. As he watched her let her hair out of the ponytail it had been confined in he took a deep breath. Line.

A/N: I think it's pretty funny. All my fellow Harmony shippers do not dismay. By the time the other rooms are available there will be no need for them. Please let me know what you think, if you've ever written something you know how frustrating it is to see that 5 people put it on story alert and 1 person put it on favourites and there are 365 hits and there's one review…from someone who didn't put it on favourites or story alert. I don't get it. So please review. Cheers.

K