A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! I was really not expecting this. Glad you are enjoying my take on a different relationship between Hermione and Neville and I hope you enjoy all the awkwardness and fluffiness and sexiness that is yet to come. You can follow me on tumblr, where I occasionally post sneak peaks and the like of future chapters.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter two and be on the lookout for chapter three soon!


The morning after Harry and Ginny's engagement party, Hermione felt a little bit of regret at accepting Neville's invitation to join him in Fiji. She wasn't used to doing anything that impulsive, and she hoped that Neville hadn't made the offer just to be nice. Merlin, that would be embarrassing.

Still, Kingsley had approved her time off - insisted that she take it really - and Neville had been very obliging in the details when they owled back and forth through the rest of December. By the time that January 1st had rolled around, Hermione was actually really looking forward to her vacation.

She'd indulged a bit in some shopping, rationalizing it at needing new clothes. After all, she didn't wear a school uniform any more, so she would need new clothes. A couple new swim suits were purchased, because the one bikini she owned was from the summer after third year when her parents had taken her to Greece. She tried it on and found that it was so tiny that it was indecent. And really, that just wouldn't do.

Another thing that she was looking forward to was getting to know Neville a little bit better. Their letters made her realize that she didn't really know as much about her friend as she'd previously thought. Of course, they'd been each other's first new friend at Hogwarts, when they met on the Express, but then, Hermione had been friends with Harry and Ron and they'd drifted apart.

Or well, Hermione drifted away.

Couple that with her year spent on the run, and Neville's terrible year at Hogwarts, and she barely even recognized him any more. He'd once been a short, pudgy little boy, but he was now really quite tall, so much so that he made Hermione feel tiny in comparison. He'd been nervous and unsure of himself, but a year of standing up to the Carrows and his greatest fear, Headmaster Snape, had erased the scared eleven year old. In his place stood a confident, funny young man.

Hermione was sure that they would have loads to talk about, too. She was fascinated to hear all about his Herbology mastery, as she was quite curious about the process of attaining a mastery in general. Plus, while she'd been in the top of her class at Herbology, it didn't come naturally to her, like Transfiguration did. She was sure that Neville would know loads of interesting little facts.

Not to mention, she would finally get a break from the annoying romance swirling in the air, which had done nothing but increased in the last few weeks. Hermione supposed that there was the added pressure of the holidays, Christmas, New Years, and of course Valentine's Day. She'd recently narrowly missed a lust potion infused muffin at the patisserie near her flat, and she just need a break.

So, with her tiny traveling case - extended with an undetectable charm, of course - in hand, Hermione happily made her way to the International Portkey Office, where she'd agreed to meet Neville.

She was impressed that when she arrived there, Neville was already waiting for her, because she knew she was early. Hermione always arrived early because she detested making people wait for her, and it was nice to see that someone else shared her desire for punctuality.

"Hello Neville!" She greeted her traveling companion cheerfully. His blond hair was mussed slightly, but he looked really good. "Ready for a grueling couple of hours?" She asked him.

"Hermione." Neville greeted. He was significantly more weighed down by all of his herbology implements, as well as his regular suitcase, so he wasn't able to give her the hug that he normally did. Instead he bent over, brushing his lips on her cheek in a friendly hello. "Yes, I think they said it would take about six hours. Have you taken an international portkey before?"

"No, but I've read a lot about them. I hear that it can be quite draining, so I hope that you don't mind if I go straight to bed when we arrive." Hermione teased. "Where to first?"

"Well, our first stop of five is Germany." Neville said, with a sheepish look on his face. Maybe he should have told Hermione about all the stops that it would be before she agreed to go on the trip. He knew it wasn't going be very pleasant.

"Excellent. Well, shall we?" She asked him brightly, leading the way to wear a ministry official was holding a rather large serving spoon, which he assumed was their first portkey. Shrinking all of his baggage to put into his pockets, Neville lead the way over to the man, who cautioned them not to let go until they were absolutely positive they'd arrived.

The trip to Germany felt like it was going to go on forever, though the actual travel time was only about ten minutes. Once they were there, they only had about five minutes to get to their next portkey, which would take them to Turkey.

The trip to Turkey seemed to take even longer, and Neville was beginning to feel quite ill. They had a much longer layover in the country, which Neville was grateful for, after he threw up all over his and Hermione's feet. Hermione looked quite sick herself, but vanished the mess without question.

From there, they made their way to India, and Neville had to argue with their ministry's official, who insisted that they were a day late for their portkey. It took a while, but they finally got things sorted, once Hermione took over the negotiations. From their, they had their longest journey yet, to Australia. It took about thirty minutes to get to the former colony, and Neville was feeling completely drained, though Hermione seemed chipper.

She even mentioned perhaps stopping in Australia on the way back so that she could visit her parents. She'd been able to reverse the memory charm on them, but they had decided they loved the heat and the sun so much that they were going to stay there. Plus, their dental practice was flourishing.

When their last journey was set to begin, Neville greedily took hold of the old tyre iron, wanting to just get checked into the hotel so that he could get some rest. This was certainly not the kind of trip he wanted to partake in on a regular basis.

By the time they arrived, even Hermione's chipper attitude was replaced with exhaustion. They were staying on one of the smaller islands, which catered exclusively to wizards, and looked uninhabited to the muggles. Because of this, Neville was quite excited to see what kind of natural magical fauna existed on the island, but tomorrow, once he got a bit of rest.

"You wait here while I go check in." Neville told her before walking over to the little desk where a wizard was waiting. "Hello, checking in for Longbottom."

The wizard pulled out a book and flipped through page after page in a book that contained all reservations. Honestly, it always made Neville nervous, thinking that they weren't going to be able to find it. He was a bit forgetfufl after all. What if he hadn't ever sent that owl in and it was sitting on his desk back in the greenhouse at Hogwarts?

"Ah, yes. Here you are. Mr. Longbottom." The short wizard finally looked up at Neville, before looking past him to where Hermione was waiting. He smiled at the witch and even gave her a little wave. "And, we received your owl that you were adding another guest to your accommodations."

Neville nodded, glad that he hadn't forgotten either owls. "Excellent." He said with a smile.

"Compliments of the manager, we've upgraded you to one of the overwater private villas, in the hope that you enjoy your honeymoon." The wizard grinned lasciviously at Hermione. "And might I say your wife looks ravishing even after a long day of traveling."

Neville was completely gobsmacked, and was instantly transformed into a bumbling fool. "Um...what? Hermione's not my...did you say private villa?"

"Yes, its our premier honeymoon villa." The wizard told him, wagging his eyebrows at Neville. "Completely private."

Neville shook his head, annoyed that this was happening. "That's not necessary. We'd just like the room that I booked originally." He said, confidently, hoping that they could still avoid disaster.

The hotel wizard ran his finger down the long page of paper. "Not possible, I'm afraid. Everything else is completely booked."

Neville turned around to look at Hermione. She'd specifically come with him to get away from all the romance in London, and now they were going have to spend weeks in a honeymoon suite? She was liable to kill him! But then, maybe it wouldn't be so bad...it might not even be decorated in any particular way. Best not to tell her unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Alright, if we could just have our keys then." Neville said, his shoulders deflating. He took the keys from the wizard before walking back over to Hermione.

"Everything alright, Neville?" She asked, having noticed the long and convoluted conversation he seemed to have had with the concierge.

His cheeks went a bit pink. "Oh, I think everything should be...fine. We were just upgraded from the room I'd gotten in the hotel. Instead, we will be staying in an overwater villa. He's assured me that it's quite nice." He scratched the back of his head, before leading the way to the enchanted boat that would take them to the villa.

The whole ride over, Hermione was excited to see their accommodations, but Neville was stiff and uncomfortable, hoping that she wouldn't be too upset. She gushed over the beautiful sunset in the background, and the perfect temperature, and how blue the water was.

By the time they got to their villa, completely out of the view of any other rooms, they climbed the little ladder to get to get to the villa. Hermione gasped, seeing a small private pool and a hot tub. "Oh Merlin! This is fabulous." She told Neville with a grin. Sure, swimming in the ocean would be lovely, but how nice would it be to also relax in the hot tub with a full glass of wine?

Neville held his breath, as she hadn't actually been inside the villa let. He unlocked the door, stepping aside so that Hermione could barrel in after him. He couldn't stand to face her.

He heard her drop her small traveling bag, in what he assumed was shock. The decor was tastefully done, but it was very obviously romantic. Deep reds accent the cream colored walls, and there was a distinct sensuality to the furniture...not that he knew furniture could be sensual.

Hundreds of tiny candles lit the room, and a trail of red rose petals lead out of the room and into what Neville assumed was a bedroom. Clearing her throat, Hermione asked sharply. "Just why did you say we were upgraded to this villa?"

Neville sighed. She was clearly very annoyed, but she wasn't cursing him yet, either, which was a positive. He turned to face her, a guilty look on his face. "They got it in their heads that we are married...this is the honeymoon suite."

Hermione's cheeks turned quite pink and Neville would later swear that her hair crackled with magic. "Well, did you tell them they were wrong?" She questioned him sharply.

"Yes, I told him, I promise, Hermione!" He quickly told her, feeling really bad for the girl, who was basically stuck here with him now for the next few weeks. "I asked to have the original room, but they said that everything else was booked! I'm so sorry."

Hermione softened, seeing that he was truly upset. "It's alright, Neville, I don't mean to get mad at you. I know it's not your fault." She could already feel the tension building in her shoulders, and she thought about seeing if she could get a massage the next day. "It just feels like the Universe is conspiring against me."

Neville smiled at her, understanding the feeling, having shared the sentiment many times before. "Well, shall we check the rest of the place?" He offered, leading the charge. They had a fully stocked kitchen, with just a small table, obviously meant for only two people. Hermione was impressed to see that the living room had a muggle television.

On the deck, there were two loungers, with comfortable looking cream cushions. Hermione would definitely be reading a book on those later. The bathroom was immaculate, with partially frosted glass that still allowed you to look out over the ocean in the shower, while still obscuring your form.

The only problem was the bed. Hermione and Neville stood at the foot of it, looking uncomfortable. It was a heart-shaped monstrosity, with decadent red cotton sheets. Hermione ran her fingers over the linens, and was sure it was at least 1000 thread count…if that even existed!

They quickly came to the conclusion that this bed - obviously primed for hot, honeymoon sex - was the only bed available in the villa. Neville shifted his weight back and forth on his feet, before remembering that he was a wizard. "Ah, well, we can just split it in two! With magic!"

Hermione quickly nodded, before raising her wand, before a neat seam formed down the middle of the heart, and the bed separated in two parts. "That was a bit therapeutic." Hermione admitted, having broken that absolute symbol of love cleanly in half.

Neville nodded, waving his wand at his suitcases, sending his clothes to fold neatly in the dresser that was provided for them, his toiletries shooting off for the bathroom. Hermione did the same with hers before moving back towards the kitchen.

"Well, I think that they left some champagne chilling for us in the other room." Hermione said brightly, feeling like this wouldn't be so awful after all. "We better not let it go to waste."

He thought that sounded like a great way to start off their vacation - well, not that it was really a vacation for him - and gladly took the champagne glass from Hermione. They drank it out on the deck, enjoying the last bit of warmth from the sun, while watching the sun set over the ocean.

The whole scene was rather romantic, but he certainly wasn't going to say anything about it to Hermione.