Hermione:

She tried to remember the last time that she had been this stressed over an outfit. There was the time her parents renewed their vows and she had wanted to impress the guests (Ron) by looking sophisticated and mature. Looking back, she missed being that young.

There was the Yule Ball, with her long blue dress robes and sleek hair the touched the tips of her shoulders. She hadn't straightened her hair since, but the idea always resonated in the back of her mind.

It was a tricky thing, this date with Draco. In her mind she had never looked beyond touching and arguing. The idea of peace…of a quiet meal in a detailed room was foreign to her. More than that, she found herself excited in that way you can only compare to waiting on your very first boyfriend to pick you up and take you out. She had never had that, being a witch since before puberty. Ron had come to get her of course, but they had apparated out. She doubted Draco even knew what a car was, but in comparison to Ron he seemed so normal. The Draco she knew anyway.

She wondered if it would lead to more and if she would care when it didn't…if it didn't. She decided she wouldn't, as long as they stayed friends.

"None of this will do." She sighed and pushed all of the items she had laid out in front of her off of her bed. One item, a sparkly blue dress that she had worn to a party at work, fell on Crookshanks who was previously sleeping on the carpet. He mewed angrily and stomped off.

She was lost. She had no one here to help her get pretty and fawn over her before she left. She almost wished she could skip ahead to where Draco and her were in love and it didn't matter what she wore.

As soon as the thought left her head she gasped and a few more skirts and shoes fell off her bed as she sat down and put her head in her hands. Did she really want to be in love with Draco Malfoy?

Of course not, it was stupid to even think that. But then, she wondered, why was she going on a date? Didn't dates imply that one wanted more eventually? Draco had been the one to ask her on the date, and yet she had a weird feeling that crept up her skin like a ladybug that she was the only one having these worries.

Panic rose in her throat and she clawed at it with her nails. She couldn't breathe and she felt so alone. She knew immediately what she had to do. As she prepared to leave, her mind focused on her destination, she heard a knock at her door and she came back to the present. Madge came in and smiled.

"Oh, sorry dear. Are you leaving?" she asked.

"Yes." Hermione stammered, nerves working in every inch of her body. Her legs shook.

"Well that's nice. Where are you off 'ta?"

"To see my friend…Harry Potter."

-X-

He was lying on the couch with one arm draped over his chest and the other dangling off the edge, fingers skimming the soft gray carpet. Glasses rested slightly off of his face, hooked behind only his right ear. She smiled at how comfortably normal this felt and then grimaced at how long it had been. She swallowed and sat down next to him, the couch sinking in a little under her weight.

Hermione gently took his teetering glasses off his face and held them in her hands. The tug from behind his ear woke him and he groggily opened his eyes.

"Oi, mate. I said not till-"

He sat up. She handed him his glasses and he put them on firmly. When he saw that it was she, he blinked and said nothing.

"Hey." She whispered. He didn't respond. "So…I brought you something."

She reached into her bag and pulled out an unopened bottle of Butterbeer. He made no move to take it from her and so she stood, twisting the bottle in her hands.

"Shall I get you some, then?"

She moved to walk into his kitchen, finding that everything was just where it had always been. Her hands moved effortlessly to pull two cups from the top right shelf in his cupboard and placed them on the table. The cork wouldn't budge and she struggled, placing the bottle between her legs and wrenching on it with both hands.

"I can never-"

He came from nowhere-she hadn't even seen him move from the couch. Aggressively-angrily, he tore the bottle from her hands and ripped the cork out. Then, smoothly like a bartender, he poured them both an equal amount of the liquid.

"Are you here to stay?"

"No."

"I know what you did to Ron."

"I figured as much."

He took a sip and winced as the initial shock of warmth hit his lips. She peered at him over her glass and watched his face soften. She had missed those green eyes.

"Why did you do it, Hermione? He's a wreck. He doesn't leave his house and not even his flat-the Burrow. After working so hard to get his own place he's back at home because he can't let go of the last time he saw you. You did that to him."

"I know." Her heart pounded and she felt it in her gut.

"That's not enough. Knowing is not enough."

"He can't know I'm here Harry. He-"

"Right. Because you're just going to leave me to, aren't you? Get what you need from me and then leave me curled up in my bed like a miserably sod."

"What I did was wrong, but I lo-"

He held up a hand and silenced her. She turned her cheek and looked at his fridge, taking in the metal and the small chips on the side. He should really paint over that, he-

"People who love each other don't treat each other that way. And I don't mean just with Ron. Christ, Hermione. You and I, we've been friend's forever. Nearly eleven years and that still isn't enough time to deserve a goodbye? An explanation? More than a poorly written letter saying to not seek you?"

His words were nothing but honest, and that was why they hurt so much. She put her drink back on the table and looked sadly at him.

"Things aren't ok…for me. Things are very hard and I…I screwed things up with Ron. More than once. But I love him, I do. Or did. I'm not sure anymore. And maybe that doesn't make me a very nice person, but it does make me human. That's all I am, Harry."

At that he smiled and rested a palm on her shoulder.

"I know you're only human and I can't blame you for that. I never will. But you see, Ron's my best mate, same as you. I'm having such a hard time staying balanced between you both and being kind to each of you. Everything is falling apart and I don't think I can keep it all together. That was supposed to be your job."

"It always ends this way." She said sadly.

"Hm?" he looked at her quizzically.

"The story, Harry." She had picked the drink up again, somewhere between his and her talking, and it remained untouched. She ran a finger around the rim of the cup and licked her finger clean of foam. "Three best friends, two date, they break up and it's never the same. All that's left is for you to toss me out and call me a cunt for hurting your real friend."

He hugged her then, hard and fast and her drink sloshed all over them. She had an overwhelming urge to cry and instead she laughed.

"What's funny?" he asked and pulled back.

"Us. Here. Now." She smiled. "We're adults and we're alive, we're living and yet we're children. We can't figure anything out. You know?"

He shook his head but gave her a familiar grin.

"No but you always seemed to have it all figured out, so I guess you must be right. Somehow."

They walked back to the couch and Harry lit a fire. Here in London it was raining, as usual, and it was rather chilly for July. She curled up on his shoulder and sighed happily. This was what she wanted, forever.

"Why didn't you come sooner, Hermione?"

She looked at the ceiling and considered his question. It wasn't necessarily that she hadn't wanted to see him. Merlin, she missed him at least once every day.

"I think I was scared."

"Of me?" she nodded. "Why?"

"We go everywhere together, Harry. You, Ron and I. But even when he wasn't around, you always were and I just didn't know what to do. I didn't want to deal with your anger, I wanted to skip ahead to the part where you missed me and told me you needed me all along."

He rubbed her shoulder and held her close. She had always liked being close with him; even after the horrible things she did left her feeling disgusted and not worthy of touch. He was gentle. He was kind.

"Hermione, we've always needed you. All of us, not just me Hermione. Neville, Seamus, Justin, Ginny, Lavender, Parvati, and Luna…I can go on for ages. You've always been the glue."

"It never felt that way."

"I think you used to feel sure of this. And then…"

They looked at each other and her eyes cast downwards. He understood now was not the time to bring it up and continued over it like a scratched record.

"Well, afterwards you just pulled away. Eventually it was only the three of us again. Except this time it wasn't the three of us against the world. It was just you. I missed you before you even left. You were never here."

"I'm here now."

"Which is why I can't find myself able to be angry with you, even though I had imagined this moment a thousand times and all of them were much more violent. You're still sad, I can tell. But…you're better."

She nodded, accepting this and sighed.

"I want to be ok. I just…need more time."

"What about your flat?"

"Paid until next month."

"And your job?"

"Quit."

He breathed in and then smiled.

"Good for you." He nodded. "You weren't happy there. Not in the end. But what will you do now?"

"Finish what I started, I guess."

He looked down, sadly.

"That's not here, is it?" she shook her head. His shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry. I need this. I don't know why but it's more quiet there."

"It's your Room of Requirement."

She nodded and squeezed his hand, sharing the memory briefly before standing.

"I love talking with you, but I actually came here with a goal in mind?"

"What, Hermione?"

"I need your help."

He waited and then waved her on. She blushed and the color spread over both her cheeks and the tip of her ears.

"I need help…finding a dress. For a date."

"A date? Who did you find over there? I don't…who?"

"Draco Malfoy."