A/N: I actually only read one book out of the Legend of the Seeker series, SereniteRose, but I did watch the TV series. The book that I did read from the Legend of the Seeker series is a prequel to the series, "Magda Searus the First Confessor" just because of the hype around it. Using that book as a reference, I'd say it's a pretty enjoyable series with well-developed characters.

I actually haven't noticed that part about Hermione telling Ron to pi- off, because somehow one way or another, the characters I write tend to start having a mind of their own after a few paragraphs, if that makes any sense. But when I re-read the chapter I did see it and enjoyed it. Thanks for pointing it out! I just didn't like how Ron treated Hermione in most of the canon series which is why I can never ever write a Hermion x Ron fiction and I can practically envision her with anyone (poor Hermione).

Thank you for those of you who have read and enjoyed the previous chapters.


Hermione decided to spend summer at her parents' London home even though some expects her to go to the Weasleys for most, if not some part of the summer. While she does enjoy aspects of the wizardry world, she does have a life of her own and a family whom she often felt she neglected. Then, there's the fact that Bong will be coming to London for some time to write a report on the political clime in the British Wizarding Community.

While she followed Dumbledore's advice of not contacting Harry through the owl post (he didn't explain his reasons very well and Hermione didn't take well to following anyone blindly), she contacted him first through snail mail and then via telephone. She scheduled to call him during those times when the Dursleys are away from home.

Hermione had long realized that Dumbledore sees Harry solely for his role as the "savior" of the wizardry world. He seemed to have forgotten what it felt like to be young or that Harry is not just a hero but a person. She knows that Harry often felt lonely and abused when he's at the Dursleys and the least she can do is to talk to him. Before the events that led up to Harry's trial, Hermione had been his sole connection to the world he'd grown to love seeing that it is his respite from this dreary unimaginative world that the Dursleys inhabit.


One of the things Harry asked during their lengthy conversations had been about Bong whom rumors say is her boyfriend. Hermione told him the truth of how she merely implied such so that her dorm mates would stop pestering her about her love life.

After this admission, Harry asked Hermione how she felt about Ron. "I see him in the same way I see you. You're like brothers to me both, except, Ron's the more annoying youngest brother." Hermione answered truthfully. Unseen to Hermione seeing that this was just a phone conversation, Harry was nodding his head in understanding. "That's all?" Harry confirmed. Hermione affirmed her answer. "So, what do you feel for Bong? Do you see him as another brother?" Harry asked. "No." Hermione answered abruptly. Hermione's deflection and swift change of topic says all that Harry needs to know.


Two days before Bong was supposed to go to England, he was lounging in the bar where his deceased ex-girlfriend, Rachel, last went to before she committed suicide and where his ex-girlfriend, Sai Fung, works as a bartender. He first went here to try and make sense of the reason for his ex-girlfriend's death but ended up being a frequent patron. Sai Fung poured him a shot of tequila.

"You know, you're lucky to have Hermione, despite the long distance relationship." Sai Fung noted as the man took a pinch of salt, licked it before downing a bitter shot and sucking down the lime. "We're not together." Bong interrupted.

"You kissed her, even if it was accidental. She kissed you deliberately before she left. You chat every day, for which you make sure to come home for every night. You're more devoted than many husbands out there." Sai Fung argued. Bong scowled at her.

"Oh! Don't give me that look. You've had countless of flings, 6 break ups, which somehow all ended because you can't share that part of you that Hermione owns." Sai Fung told him. Bong shook his head. "This should be an awkward conversation. You're one of those ex-girlfriends you've counted." Bong pointed out as he took another shot before following it with lime.

Sai Fung snorted. "I'm also your bartender, which makes me like some sort of confessor. It's a sacred bond." Sai Fung retorted before she shouted obscenities at a man trying to grope an unwilling woman and calling out for the bouncer to intervene before she turned her attention back to Bong.


Bong sighed, knowing that this conversation would never end if he didn't just agree with the woman. "Fine! You win! How am I lucky?" He asked, humoring the woman who insisted on her ideals. Sai Fung gestured towards some of the guys in the bar, constant patrons that Bong now knew the names of. Many of these patrons often had to be dragged out at some point or another because they weren't even sober enough to walk.

"To be honest, you were like that after your ex, Rachel died. You came here for answers but you went from a guy who wouldn't drink anything with alcohol in it to a drunkard with severe drinking problems in a matter of days." Sai Fung pointed out.

"She's underaged." Bong interrupted again. "Yet, she's done more for you than any other older women, which includes me." Sai Fung said sadly. Bong looked sheepish at that. "It's okay, I was over you some time ago." Sai Fung assured him. Bong nodded but didn't say a word. "My bartenderly advice is don't push her away." Sai Fung continued. Bong looked up at that. "I never pushed her away." He replied.

"No, I meant if you get jealous of some boy she pays too much attention to, tell her instead of downing a whole bottle of vodka and pretending that everything's okay." Sai Fung continued as she mixed orders. "Why would I do that?" Bong asked petulantly. "Because of the loving way she looks at you and the adoration on your face whenever you talk about her." Sai Fung explained as she handed a customer his drink and gave said customer a wink.

"She's 16." Bong insisted. "She's of the age of consent." Sai Fung practically as she started cleaning the counter. Bong didn't say a word at that and just stared at the wall. Sai Fung sighed. "You're a nice guy and she's a nice girl. You both deserve to be happy." Sai Fung insisted.

"If only it were that simple." Bong replied. Sai Fung laughed at that. "It was simple with Rachel and you weren't satisfied, you felt there was something missing. It was simple with me and it didn't work out. You like it unconventional and complicated, buddy." Sai Fung replied.

Bong mused at that, he realized that Sai Fung was right in her own way but she was also wrong in another. Circumstances aside, what he had with Hermione is actually less complicated than any other relationship he ventured in. It felt seamless, like they were two pieces of a puzzle that match. While he and Sai Fung talked about almost everything and anything (barring the fact that he and Hermione are magical), what sets whatever it is he has with Hermione is that Hermione understand him and he likes to think he does the same for her as well.


He had managed to settle in the apartment he'd rent for the duration of his stay in England. Hermione helped him with the arrangements and now they sat in front of each other as they tried to organize the seemingly endless papers he's stuck with. He remembered the conversation he had with Sai fung as Hermione started telling him that she's been calling Harry as frequently as she could, to see how he's getting along.

"Won't Ginny Weasley be jealous that you've been calling Harry when she can't communicate with him?" Bong asked as casually as he could. Hermione shook her head. "Harry and Ron are like the brothers I've never had." Hermione explained, and then her hand stilled mid-air as a sudden realization hit her.

She looked at him, seeing that he's still engrossed with what he's doing. "Does it bother you that I call Harry often?" She asked in a soft voice that he almost didn't hear. "No, if he's clear on the fact that he's just a brother figure to you." He answered without looking up as he highlighted a paragraph and set it aside before moving on to the next piece of paper.

"He knows that." Hermione answered. Bong merely nodded but didn't say a word. They continued on working until Hermione had another realization, one that could either make or break whatever this thing they have.

"Were you jealous?" She asked looking at him intently. He stopped what he's doing and looked at her. Without missing a heartbeat, he answered. "Yes, I was." He replied before going back to his work. Hermione looked at him in shock before leaning forward and giving him a small kiss to his cheek. Bong closed his eyes and smiled as she did so.


Hermione had not been very comfortable with lying to her parents about what she does while they work at their clinic. She's had enough of those lies of omission about the things she did at Hogwarts. Given her parents' significant age difference and the young age her mother married her father, she figured they'll understand her situation better.

Of course, she didn't tell them that she spent the Christmas break with him. She only said that he's that guy she's been chatting and exchanging letters with and that they are good friends. She even showed them the pictures they took together, even the recent ones from this summer break. Her mother found him to be handsome. Her father didn't say a word but he patted her shoulder. Both parents want to meet him.

Her parents understood what she didn't need to say, that she has feelings for this guy, because she wouldn't need to mention him to them if that wasn't the case. She'd never been that specific whenever she talks about her friends. Her father only reminded her that she can tell them anything and they will listen.

Her mother affirmed the same thing, but to her horror, dragged Hermione along to an OB-GYN the next morning for a check-up, papsmear, prescription of birth control pills and an IUD just for certainty, much to the teenager's horror. Her guilt at spending the Christmas break with him prompted her to just allow this small comfort for her mother. This would be one of the things Hermione would be too embarrassed to tell Bong.


Bong straightened his tie and checked himself in the mirror. "Why am I doing this? It's not like I'm meeting with a girlfriend's parents for the first time or something." He asked himself out loud. 'Oh, aren't you?' asked his inner voice, sounding eerily like Sai Fung.

Hermione's parents had been pleasantly surprised to find a typical (meaning he doesn't stand out in the crowd of muggles around them) young man. He knew pop culture and understood things around him even as they dined in a muggle restaurant. Hermione explained that Bong used to be a Police Inspector with the Hong Kong police before he became an Auror.

Hermione's parents knew that their daughter is quite mature for her age so it didn't really surprise them that she would prefer someone who is older. Thus, they didn't bother Bong about the age difference or what the real score is between the two. They only asked about his job, his family and his life in Hong Kong, which the man readily gave answers to.

Bong also explained that he is back in England to write a report on the political situation in the British Wizardry World. He was about to expound when he saw Hermione subtly shook her head, she effortlessly steered the topic away to her parents' practice and he realized that there were many things that Hermione did not tell her parents.


Professor Dumbledore sent an owl to Hermione that Yau Kin-bong already told him about the report and that he knew that she is helping out in the report Bong is writing for the Asian Enclaves, he bid her to be impartial. He advised her to distance herself temporarily from the situation her friends are currently facing in order to write a clear non-biased report, which Dumbledore believes would enable the Asian Enclaves to prepare for the worst case scenario of Voldemort defeating Harry and those who stands against him.

Dumbledore would also send Bong and Hermione, documents and materials from the first Wizarding World War. But it had been Hermione's reports of being unable to call Harry that had prompted a speedy reaction from Dumbledore.

Harry would not resent Hermione seeing as she did call him when no one else communicated with him and he would later find out that what she and Bong were doing had been given the green light by Albus Dumbledore.

When Ron groused about Hermione's absence and suggested that perhaps she and her boyfriend did something more than just write, Harry and the Weasley twins jumped to Hermione's defense. Harry insinuated that he better just accept that Hermione only sees him as a brother while Ron blundered through his reaction and denial over what Harry claimed. Hermione only laughed.

"It's okay, Ron. Don't worry about it. I know you would have been equally concerned if it were Ginny, but my mother had me on pills and IUD just to be on the safe side, soc I won't worry about pregnancy." She said a bit condescendingly, leaving the flabbergasted teenagers in her wake with an insinuation that they had done it more than once, which required such constant protection from pregnancy. Only Harry knew better and he's not going to talk.


Bong and Hermione would finish the report about a week before the school term starts. They spent the last week touring Diagon Alley and the rest of London, but as Bong said, the feeling in the air feels akin to a calm before the storm. They would take a brief visit to the Museum of London with Hermione's parents and Professor Dumbledore would even invite Bong to one of the hearty meals of the Order of Phoenix.

Bong was excited with the pranks of the twins and told them such ideas would be an instant hit with the wizards and witches of Asia. Ron, however, is blatantly rude to Bong despite his parents rebuke over his behavior. Bong, on his part, ignored Ron as one would a wayward child, which he acted. Harry would set him aside and tell him that he should be happy for Hermione, seeing that she was really happy with this guy.

It would take some time for Ron's heart to heal, seeing that he had not even been aware of his affections for his friend. But Harry knew that he'd get over it and he was right, seeing that Ron latched on to a very willing Lavender Brown by the time they went back to Hogwarts. Hermione would not even notice his very public romance seeing that she was still busy keeping up with her studies, trying to keep her head down to avoid the new and worst DADA professor named Dolores Umbridge and chatting with Bong.

But before Hermione went back to Hogwarts, Bong had to leave. This time, their kiss had been mutual, unlike the two before it. Bong rarely felt such warmth and care, in just a kiss while Hermione only felt this feeling for the first time. Both wondered if this is love.