Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything in here but the storyline and the character Lee Barnes.

A/N: Please review!Thanks loads!

Graham Mallalieu: Thanks. Your encouragement is much appreciated.

ohyhimacgy: I already have an idea of what to do. But I'll take that suggestion into consideration.

harry'n'mione4ever: Haha I'm also eager to get to them getting together. But I want to slowly build up their relationship again. This will be roughly a 7 chapter story.

jrvic65: It's reviews like yours that keep fanfic authors here want to continue writing even more.

Thank you all for reading and taking the time to review. So without further delays, here's the next chapter of Decisions.

Decisions

Looking around the place all furnished with the things he bought, he said to no one in particular "Well this is definitely a step up from the Dursley's and The Leaky Cauldron. Thank Merlin the goblins uphold confidentiality. Nobody will know that Harry Potter is back. Okay, other than Remus."

After purchasing the house diagonally opposite Hermione's, Harry wrote out a list of expenses he might incur on furniture and renovation and found out that he didn't have enough money on him and had little choice but to withdraw some from Gringotts.

He had been staying at The Leaky Cauldron for the past few days while construction went on. He would have liked to use magic to renovate his house but being in a Muggle neighbour prevented him from doing so. He knew his soon-to-be neighbours always looked at his house which denied him the luxury of magically putting everything in place. Knowing that Hermione started work at 9 and knocked off at 6 in the evening, Harry managed to convince the construction crew to finish as much as possible in that time frame. He himself would go and check out the progress but mainly preferred to stay in his room at The Leaky Cauldron.

In his life, Harry always felt he was a little messed up. Maybe it was due to Voldemort chasing his arse around all the time trying to kill him but Harry never seemed normal to himself. This time was no exception.

Bloody hell, here I am trying to avoid Hermione by running away from Remus but I end up trying to be close to her by buying a house near her. What is wrong with me? And now I'm trying to get a job at the Ministry to be near here. I cannot be serious about this. As Hermione would put it: honestly!

As night fell, Harry laid in his newly furnished room, dreaming of a certain witch and the requirements of joining the Ministry.

Meanwhile

She had seen the constructions going on near her house. Initially, she had been surprised at the short time that the house was up for sale before remembering that this area was much sought-after by many. She wasn't sure if No. 10 now belonged to a Muggle or a wizard/witch. As this place was close to the wizarding world but on Muggle territory, there was an integration of both worlds although the Muggles never found out about the magical side of some of their neighbours.

She moved away from the window and settled into her favourite chair. Reaching out to grab Hogwarts: A History from her coffee table, her eye fell on the picture next to it. Forgetting about her book, she picked up the frame and stared at Ron, Harry and herself back in 7th year after defeating Voldemort and attending the celebrations. She still remembered the event that changed their lives after that picture.

" Everyone was running around the common room drinking butterbeers and firewhiskeys The graduation ceremony was over and everyone had a few hours to kill before the train back to King's Cross Station came.

"Ron, have you seen Harry? I've searched everywhere around the castle and he's not there." Hermione turned to the red-haired wizard while stretching her head out to find her other best friend.

Ron merely shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's in he's dorm. Did you check there?"

She shook her head and startled Ron when she turned to the door and ran out towards the Head dormitories. Ron sighed and shook his head before running after her. He had seen the looks that Harry and Hermione gave each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. Frankly, it was rather unnerving for him as he was uncomfortable early on when he first realised that they both had feelings for each other but managed to get used to the lovesick look on his friends' faces.

As she stepped into the common room she shared with Harry, she called out for him. Receiving no response, she checked his room before meeting the sight of his room being completely bare of his personal things bar a letter lying on his bed.

She picked up the letter and read its contents.

Dear Hermione and Ron,

I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this face to face but I had to do this for my own sanity and health. I spoke to Dumbledore about leaving earlier and he was supportive of my decision and I hope that you are too. I know you 2 deserve much more than just a letter but I had to leave immediately. I'm really sorry for just leaving this to both of you. Please take care.

Harry

P.S: Please take care of Hermione, Ron. She deserves it.

Letting out a strangled sob, she turned to Ron, who held her close in comfort.

She still couldn't believe that he had left so abruptly. How could he just leave a letter? And to make things worse, he didn't leave her a private message of some sort but did so for Ron. As she tried to stifle her sobs and wiped away her tears, she leaned into her couch and fell asleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Harry, going by the name James Evans, found himself hired by the Ministry in the same department as Hermione when he went to apply for a position there a few weeks back. He had thought to himself, O life is just too cruel. Of all the positions available, only the Runes department had vacancies. Thank Merlin Hermione had taught quite a bit of runes last time.

He had come up with the idea of disguising himself with a few simple Transfiguration spells to change his appearance rather than having to travel with a cloak and cap. He had enjoyed his walkabouts in Diagon Alley with his blonde-tinted hair and slightly tanned skin. The only thing he couldn't change was the colour of his eyes.

One day though, Harry felt that his life was finally taking a turn for the better. He had been sent out on a trip to recover some runic inscriptions near a reported Dark area with his partner, Lee Barnes. They had sent the item back to the Ministry and were back at their desks feeling out their reports. Trying to start a conversation with his new colleague, Lee asked "James,which school did you go to as a kid?"

Harry continued with his work before hearing Lee call his name out again. "James?"

Harry looked up, a confused look on his face before remembering the question he was asked. "Huh? Oh, I went to Hogwarts. You?"

Happy at the response, Lee continued. " I went to Hogwarts too. I was a year below the Trio. I was so in awe of them. Potter was…well he was Potter. That's says it all doesn't it? But Granger, she was the total package. She was smart, kind enough to tutor me when I was struggling in Charms and a plus, she's a looker. Always thought she and Weasley would get together but who knew that Weasley would fall in love and marry my housemate in Luna Lovegood. Talk about surprises huh?"

Shocked and relieved. Those were the only words that could describe what he was feeling now. Shocked at the fact that it wasn't Hermione but Luna that he was marrying. After all, he had been the one out of the Trio calling her Loony all the time. But most of all, Harry felt relieved. Ron's marriage to Luna meant Hermione wasn't getting married! He rejoiced at this news inwardly but it crept on to his face as a large grin broke out on his face.

When the bell for the end of the day went off, Harry took his robes and proceeded out the door. Barely a step out, he found himself colliding with someone who was rushing into the office with tomes of all sizes falling to the floor.

Stumbling only a few steps back, he quickly helped picked the tomes up. Looking at the titles, he realised these were books that his office had passed to Hermione for translation. Shifting his focus from the tomes to the person in front of him, he came face to face with a certain Hermione Granger.

Her voice rang out, breaking him from his reverie. "Sorry about that. I'm just rushing to return these tomes to this office and look for someone at the same time."

"O-oh it's ok. Are you alright?" He stammered. I'm a nervous wreck seeing her again! Merlin!

She was peering deeply into his eyes before she pulled her gaze away and nodded. "I'm looking for a James Evans. My boss says he wants to speak us tomorrow morning at 8.30a.m in his office."

He briefly wondered about her stare earlier before replying. "I'm James Evans. And I will be there on the dot tomorrow morning."

She returned his smile and once again apologised for the collision. Harry then offered to place the books back and she thanked him before turning and leaving, unaware of the pair of eyes that followed her movement away.