Author's Note: As usual, thanks everyone for the awesome reviews! This chapter will mostly be about finalizing relationships among other couples, but don't worry, action from our favorite H/Hr couple will ensue. Please enjoy!

CH. 13-New Beginnings

I was reaching into my locker to pull my books out when I felt warm arms wrap around my waist. I smiled as I felt strong hands turn me around and I looked into my favourite pair of green eyes. He smiled back at me just as brightly before leaning down to kiss me passionately on the lips. Forgetting about my books momentarily, I responded back immediately, feeling his tongue lightly enter mine. Things were going great until…

"Oh not again. Gross!" Ginny announced as she opened her locker next to mine.

We broke the kiss looking knowingly into one another's eyes before I turned my attention to Ginny. "Hello, good afternoon to you too," I replied feeling myself blush uncontrollably about being caught.

"Yeah, yeah. No one more than I could be happier for the pair of you, but I don't want to see you playing tonsil hockey in the middle of the hallway. Find a nice broom closet or something like the rest of us," She answered filling her bookbag with an assortment of pencils.

"By us, you mean you and Draco I am assuming," I said purposely speaking loudly, which caused her to look around at the crowded hallway for possible students listening in.

"God Hermione! Not cool," She muttered disapprovingly. Harry laughed at our antics before placing an arm around my shoulder.

"Well I thought it was pretty brilliant. Hermione's just so beautiful, funny, smart, sexy…must I go on?" Harry said looking down at me. I hit it him playfully on the shoulder before Ginny rolled her eyes, muttering something about stupid lovebirds sucking all of the fun out of the world.

This whole week had been the best week of my life so far. Harry and I were getting closer than ever. I felt like our friendship had never ended and picked off right where we left it. Add in the extra bonus of him being an amazing boyfriend and I was in heaven. We had tried to work on our project more this week, but we always ended up getting distracted, having the most incredible make-out sessions I had ever experienced in my entire life. Sometimes I wondered where he learned to do that and then I remembered Cho.

To say that Cho wasn't taking the news of our new relationship very well would be putting it lightly. Harry and Cho ended up having a shouting match after school one day that ended with her attempting to hit him brutally with her tennis racket. Ms. McGonagall had heard the shouting from the parking lot and had rushed over just as Cho had taken her first swing at Harry. McGonagall firmly told her that her actions were extremely over the line and that she should have been ashamed to display such unlady like behaviour. Cho had been suspended for the last three days after the incident. And that is exactly why McGonagall was my favourite teacher.

I heard from Ginny that Cho had now concocted the idea that Harry was just going through a "phase" and would come running back to her by the end of the week. It was now officially the end of the week, so…

"Where the fuck is Draco!" Ron yelled angrily interrupting my thoughts.

"Wow, calm down mate. I think he had to finish an assignment for Mr. Flitchwick. He should be here relatively soon. You alright?" Harry responded, confusion showing all over his face.

"The bloody wanker is going to die that's what," Ron said, balling up his fists as his red face started to match his hair.

"What are you on about now?" Ginny chimed in crossing her arms across her chest.

"The nerve of you, just standing there like nothing is happening. I know what you two are doing. Rebecca told me!" He asserted, eyes blazing at his younger sister.

Harry and I looked at each other in shock and mild horror. This was not going to be good…

"What did she say exactly Ron?" I asked, trying to ease the tension.

"That Draco is shagging my baby sister! Its true isn't? Don't lie to me. I am going to cut his bloody balls off!" Ron replied, shaking in pure anger now.

"Harry, do something," I whispered frantically.

"Uh mate. Rebecca isn't the most reliable source on the planet. She could have just made the whole thing up because she is mad at Draco for skiving her off. You know since they are no longer screw buddies," Harry interjected reassuringly.

"But why would he stop doing that unless he found someone better. Someone like my little sister!" Ron countered.

Harry had a helpless blank face that I just wanted to kiss all over to comfort him. Before Harry could think of anything else to remotely save the situation, Ginny spoke out. "I am not your property dear stupid brother of mine. I can damn well sleep with whomever I want, whenever I feel like it," She asserted taking a step towards him.

"Oh Ginny, don't make him more mad then he already is," I said, trying to help out my redheaded friend.

"Hey, what's all the shouting about? I could hear you all the way down the hallway…" Draco announced trailing off as he looked between Ron and Ginny, his eyes finally lighting up to what was happening. "Look Ron, don't get mad at Gin mate-" He tried to get out.

"Don't you fucking talk to me you liar! She is not another one of your sluts to brag to us about. She is my sister. She doesn't deserve that. How could you do that to me?" Ron interrupted pushing Draco against the locker. Harry immediately stepped in between them.

"Ron, I know that. I really care about her okay? I wouldn't do that to her, you have my word. There is no one else. Just her and that's all I want it to be," Draco replied looking Ron in the eye.

Did Draco just admit that he and Ginny were dating?

"Did Draco just admit that he and Ginny are dating?" Harry whispered aloud to me. I nodded at him in shocked agreement. That was my Harry, brilliant minds did think alike.

Before any one could really make a statement to Draco's revealing announcement, a wispy voice sounded from behind Ron.

"Ronald, I think that it's about time that you take me out to dinner sometime. Does that sound good?" Luna asserted as everyone turned to look at her in shock for changing the current heated topic at hand.

"Um, alright?" Ron replied looking at her and us with an equally shocked expression on his face.

Leave it to Luna to ease over a tense situation with an awkwardly surprising one.

Later that day—

"Oh this reminds me, my parents want you to come over one day this week for a family dinner," I said before taking another sip from my soda.

"That's odd. Why?" Harry asked, taking a bite out of his chicken leg.

"I don't know, I imagine it has something to do with us officially dating now. Dad probably wants to set the ground rules," I answered, rolling my eyes at the thought.

"Well I have probably broken most of them thus far. Nevertheless, I will do my boyfriendly duty and attend a Granger function," He replied smiling at me.

"Silly, it's not a duty. You should never do anything you don't want to do of course," I said reaching for the corn.

He looked at me with an odd expression on his face that made me raise my eyebrows in response. "What?" I asked finally, no longer able to take the peculiar expression.

"Its nothing. I am just so incredibly lucky to have an amazing girlfriend like you," He said before reaching over and pecking me softly on the lips. I smiled at him, trying and failing not to blush. Before he could reach in and continue the kiss, there was a knock on the window of his car. I pushed the button to make the window come down.

"Sorry about the wait, here is the mash just as you ordered," a young man said, handing me the bag of KFC.

"Thank you," I answered politely, sitting the bag down on the floor.

"Hey, if you aren't busy later, maybe you and I could..." the man started to say to me before the glass started to rise up quickly to silence the man. I looked over to see Harry's finger on the button that controlled the windows.

"Honestly, bloody prick had the nerve to hit on you while I am in the car. No home training I tell you," He said disapprovingly. I laughed at his antics.

"Harry, that was so mean. Poor bloke, he was just being nice," I replied, barely containing all of my laughter.

"Hey what about me? Here I am trying to give us a nice little dinner and a bloody wanker has to come and ruin it."

"I'm sorry poor little baby. You deserve better."

"That's all I ask."

"After all, you did take Sirius' Aston Martin without asking and everything."

"A special occasion calls for a special occasion car."

"I want to be there when you tell Sirius that."

We laughed for a couple of minutes before we continued to eat our meal in the car. I loved moments like this where the silence was not awkward but just comfortable.

"So today was quite eventful wasn't it?" He stated before he reached for another chicken leg.

"Definitely. Well, at least Draco and Ginny cannot hide anymore. The whole campus knows that they are dating now," I responded.

"And Luna? That was intense. I'm glad that she did it though. I thought that Ron would never find out otherwise."

"I know right? She's liked him for years now. Oh Merlin, what time is it?" I asked looking down at my watch. "Its half past 10, you should probably take me back soon," I said softly in thought.

"What's wrong?" He asked in concern.

"Harry, do you know what day it is?" I replied trying to restrain my emotions.

"I know. I never forget. I just didn't want to think about it when things were going so well," He said dropping his chicken on the paper plate.

"Let's do it. I feel bad all these years with you having to deal with this every year on your own."

"Hermione, I need to take you back home. I don't want your parents to get angry with you."

"Harry, this is more important. Let's go," I asserted grabbing his hand in mine.

He nodded once before turning the car on, backing out of the parking lot.

I bent down to light a candle that we picked up from the store and placed two lilies down next to it. Rising back up from the ground, I walked back a few steps to where Harry was standing. I looked back down at the gravestone, Lilly and James Potter's gravestone to be more exact. Tonight was Halloween night, the night that Harry's parents were forever taken from his life by a crazed mass murder named Tom Riddle. Every year on that night since we were 10, Harry and I would go to the cemetery, light a candle, and place two lilies next to they're gravestones. It wasn't that far from the park, so our parents had always let us go together. But we had stopped going after our falling out and I always felt bad about that. I secretly still lit a candle for them every year at home in honour of their death. But today was going to be different, Harry and I were together now and he needed me.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, speaking in the dark of night.

"Just how hard it's getting not to remember anything about them. It's not fair, it will never be fair," He replied in the cool air.

"You won't ever forget them. You will always have people to remind you of them. Sirius will never let you forget them, you know that."

"I know. It still makes me angry that they never caught Riddle."

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around his waist in comfort. He held on tightly to me and together we stood in the cemetery, watching the flame slowly melt the candle. Suddenly, I had a strange sensation came over me as if someone were watching us, turning around discretely so as not alarm Harry, I saw a man look back at me before disappearing into the night.

So this chapter was about establishing the relationships. Over the next few chapters, it will focus more on the romantic side of H/Hr's relationship with some lemony goodness I assure you. I also decided to give the story a little surprising twist to keep the story interesting. So who do you all think the man in the night is? Or was Hermione just imagining it? O.o. Click to the next chapter to find out!