Thinking back, Harry realized that those summer holidays were the happiest that he had ever known up to that point. After only just a fortnight at the Dursleys, Dumbledore himself had shown up to collect him. After a short visit to recruit Horace Slughorn, he found himself back at Grimmauld Place being hugged happily by Hermione while Sirius looked on approvingly. A few other surprises awaited him, as well. First of all, he learned that Kreacher was now gone. Apparently when Hermione had moved in after the end of term, Kreacher had been so verbally abusive of the "Mudblood stain in the Noble House of Black" that Sirius had been furious enough to add his head to the house's already prevalent collection. Fortunately, his new sister had talked him out of it and they asked Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall for advice at the first Order meeting of the summer. What they all decided was for Kreacher to go to Hogwarts and help in the kitchens there – since he knew too many secrets to be freed or to be sent to the closest Black relative – Narcissa Malfoy.
Meanwhile, it was agreed that Dobby and Winky could come to Grimmauld Place if they chose to - since they were both technically free elves. Having seen the state that Winky had worked herself into after her separation from the Crouch family, Hermione had slowly come to understand house elves better. Therefore, she reluctantly asked the house elf to bond with her since it was obvious that the little house elf, unlike Dobby, needed more than just a knitted hat and a nice nest in the attic to be ecstatically happy. After the bonding, the joyous change in Winky was so immediate and positive that Hermione knew that she had done the right thing and had to concede that maybe she had not understood the whole situation very well, after all. Not only had Winky flourished, but by the time that Harry arrived just two weeks later, Grimmauld Place was barely recognizable! Winky had taken the lead, and Dobby was so excited that he was going to serve his favorite wizard (as well as his godfather and his knitting friend) that he was extremely willing to happily follow Winky's orders. Between the two of them and their powerful combined house elf magic, they removed all of the grisly and dangerous remainders of the Black family's fascination with Dark magic and even managed to do the impossible when they removed Walburga Black's portrait from the wall. Sirius then promptly burned it in the fireplace and experienced such a catharsis from the action that he just couldn't stop smiling for days afterwards.
Therefore, it was finally to a real home that Harry returned that summer. Harry realized that, just like the Burrow, Grimmauld Place could now be warm, cozy, full of laughter… and even love. He had Sirius (who was much happier now that the house looked nothing like the place where he grew up - even though he was still technically stuck there for the time being), Remus (who now had a permanent room on the second floor- next to his oldest and best friend), and then there was…Hermione. As the summer wore on, the two of them became even closer than they had ever been. Harry had never really had the chance to hang out with just her before, because even when Ron wasn't talking to one or the other of them, they were still surrounded by the other students. Therefore, he was quite amazed to realize just how much fun Hermione could be when she wasn't stressed out about school – or anything else! He was also a bit surprised when Hermione helped him to rediscover a love of reading when she introduced him to a series of adventure books where Quidditch players (who all reminded him of a cross between Viktor Krum and James Bond) solved dangerous international mysteries. Therefore, they spent many nights together lounging on the new thick rug in front of the library fire with books in their hands – while Sirius looked on with a strong sense of joyous pride at the cozy scene.
Harry, for his part, contributed to the friendship by spending a large part of the summer trying to help Hermione overcome her fear of flying. He often took her for flights in the small warded garden behind the house and he soon realized that he felt an entirely new kind of thrill than he usually did when riding his broom with her! This was especially true when Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself against his back as she held on to him tightly while her nervous breath tickled his neck and ear. Then, he started to teach her to be more comfortable and feel more in control of the situation by getting her to sit in front while he rested his hands on either side of her waist. When this happened, he couldn't help but to wonder, had his best friend always been this curvy? This was one of the thoughts on his mind the day her shirt had ridden up and he had inadvertently stroked the bare skin of her hip – causing them both to gasp in surprise…and maybe a little bit of pleasure, as well.
The two of them also spent a lot of time with both Sirius and Remus – sometimes separately and sometimes together. It wasn't unusual for Sirius and Harry to play chess while Remus and Hermione discussed books or for Sirius and Hermione to snark at each other just like they had always been siblings while Remus and Harry laughed at them. In fact, in spite of the increasing hostilities in the outside world, Sirius and Remus both seemed much more relaxed this summer than they had been during the previous one. Sirius was thrilled to be alive…again…and was extremely grateful for his little family – which he considered his three housemates to be. Remus was happy for the exact same reasons. Living with his best friend and the two teenagers had helped him to feel not only happier, but also younger and healthier than he had in years – and it showed. Others had started noticing as well and he was suddenly getting more…attention…from a certain quarter that he had never anticipated. At any rate, the four of them enjoyed each other's company immensely – especially since Sirius had given the younger two housemates permission to use magic. When Hermione pointed out that they were still underage, her new brother just shrugged and said that those kind of rules didn't really matter in a magical household – especially when one lived in an unplottable house. He just made them promise not to do it around Molly – who had always had a firm No Underage Magic rule – even though that was probably just to make sure that the Burrow remained standing in one piece. All of which seemed perfectly reasonable when you considered the size and temperament of her redheaded brood!
Harry and Hermione took all of this to heart and tried to be responsible when using magic. However, this resolve often proved difficult because they lived with two of the original Marauders – especially since the two older residents of Grimmauld Place delighted in ambushing the younger ones with surprise attacks and spontaneous duels. The bonus of these constant bombardments was that both Harry and Hermione learned many new hexes from Sirius and even more defensive spells from Remus. They also both became more alert, much quicker on their feet, and more confident in fighting situations. Since they had quite often found themselves in danger in the past, they all knew that this could only be good practice for them for the future!
Harry and Hermione also spent the first part of their holidays together fixing up their private suite. Sirius had carved out the rooms for them by transfiguring the configuration of the rooms on their floor, but left the design and style aspects up to the two of them. Therefore, they decided to model their common room after the one in the Gryffindor tower while they focused on their personal interests in their individual bedrooms. That meant large bookcases and cozy ledges for Crookshanks in Hermione's, and lots of display room for quidditch equipment and high perches for Hedwig in Harry's - as well as large comfortable beds in both rooms. For their common bathroom, they decided on a double vanity (just in case they needed to get ready at the same time since both of them were used to the muggle practice of brushing their teeth). They also decided that a private water closet area as well as a private shower area would be best in case they found themselves needing to use the room at the same time, but for different reasons. This last discussion caused a few blushes on both sides as they each imagined the other in the shower, but in the end they were able to decide that it was a good idea. For colors across the suite, they also agreed on the rich red and gold Gryffindor colors with splashes of each of their favorite colors (dark green for Harry and dark purple for Hermione) as accents. Once these decisions had been made, Hermione's wand made short work of the renovations. Transfiguration was one of her best subjects, after all! Even Harry realized that he was better at it than he thought when he helped Hermione rearrange the size and shape of the furniture in their common room in order to make everything much more comfortable.
They also created a little balcony area off of their common room for some cozy outdoor seating for them and various perches for their familiars. It overlooked the small garden and ended up being one of their favorite places. They spent many quiet evenings out there just talking or star gazing and basically just enjoying each other's company. During these quiet times, they both came to realize that even though they loved their mutual best friend, Ron was quite demanding. Without his constant presence coming between them in all sorts of small ways, they were able to focus on each other for once – and it made all the difference in the world to their burgeoning relationship. Sirius knew this as well, and that was the main reason that he suggested for the Weasleys to wait until Harry's birthday to join them for the rest of the summer. It was also why his grin was so wide when he came up to figure out what had happened to the "mini-marauders" after they didn't show up for dinner one night. He found them curled up together, sound asleep, on their small sofa on the balcony – apparently exhausted from their work renovating the other rooms on the third floor to prepare for the Weasleys' arrival in a week's time. Sirius just conjured a blanket to drop over the two of them and went back downstairs to tell his friend.
"Project Harmony is in full swing, Moony!" he gloated and clapped his hands excitedly in anticipation. Remus just rolled his eyes and continued to eat the delicious meal that the house elves had happily prepared for them. The full moon had just been two nights before and it always took a couple of days of good food and rest to get his full strength back. At any rate, he had heard Sirius's plans for his two young housemates many times already. Not that he didn't agree that Harry and Hermione would make a good couple - because they certainly would. With Harry's nerve and Hermione's brain, they would go far! However, he thought that they should be left to their own devices. He had been on the other side of a lot of matchmaking schemes lately and found that it was quite uncomfortable. At least, he thought with relief, Sirius was being a lot more subtle about the process this time around then he used to be when trying to get James and Lily together - back when they were all at Hogwarts. Of course, his dear friend probably remembered the hexes that Lily had sent his way in retaliation. Sirius was smart enough to know by now that his new little sister was more than capable of doing the same thing herself! In fact, she probably knew even nastier ones than Lily had!