A/N: I think I went a little over the time limit I set myself, but here's Chapter 8.

Enjoy :D

xBx

~ Chapter 8: The End of Summer ~

By 6:30pm Harry's party was in full swing. Hermione had turned up at 3pm as planned, to assist Molly and Ginny with the food preparations, and George had turned up an hour later to deal with the decorations. Andromeda had turned up with Teddy not long after George, and from 5:30pm a steady stream of visitors arrived, so that the Weasley's yard was nicely full when Harry and Ron rolled in from the office a little after 6pm.

While Harry did his rounds, Hermione was sat under on of the trees with a glass of rosé, when Ginny came over to sit with her, closely followed by Luna, who had been one of the earliest to arrive. Luna had changed a little in the past year, just like the rest of them, while she still retained her dreamy expression, her conversation was more serious that it used to be, less talk of wrackspurts and nargles - though there were still some days that Luna was as surreal as ever, today seemed to be more along the serenely serious lines, as opposed to the slightly surreal.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind," Ginny stated as she sat down next to Hermione. "Care to share?" she asked.

Hermione smiled, "It's nothing, I'm just enjoying the rare summer evening." She said evasively, then hastened to change the subject.

"Hey, did you two get your Hogwart's letters today?" She asked.

Ginny grinned excitedly, as Luna answered, "Yes, we did. Congratulations on attaining Head Girl."

Hermione looked a little taken aback, "How did you know?" she asked.

"I got a list of the fellow heads." Luna explained, as though this was obvious – which, if Hermione had fully engaged her brain, did make sense, seeing as she herself received the same list.

"Of course," Hermione conceded, "Congratulations to you too, I'm looking forward to working with you."

"I believe you are the only person I'm looking forward to working with. I didn't particularly like Zacharias Smith from our days in the DA. And while Draco Malfoy is considered to be an extremely attractive specimen of the opposite sex, I believe his above average appearance is his only redeeming quality." Luna stated matter-of-factly.

Hermione laughed, "I'll drink to that, I guess." She said then turned to Ginny, "And you? You decided to go right into Seventh year as well, didn't you, so you wouldn't have gotten prefect?"

"Correct." Ginny assured her, with a grin, "But you are looking at the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain." She boasted.

Hermione beamed, "I knew you'd get that, you were the obvious choice. And, you know that puts you on equal status with the prefects now?" She told her, "You get to use their bathroom and everything."

"Yeah, 'cause that's the real reason I wanted the captaincy." Ginny claimed, sarcastically.

Hermione laughed, "Mock all you want, the prefects' bathroom is divine." She assured her.

"Yeah, well, moving on. What perks do you two get for being Heads?" Ginny asked.

Luna answered first, "The deputies get the same perks as the prefects really: the luxury bathroom, separate dormitory, later curfews. And we have the same level of authority as the main Heads."

Ginny then looked to Hermione, "Anything extra for the main Heads?" She asked eagerly.

Hermione grinned, "A tower." She stated simply. Ginny raised her eyebrows, even Luna showed a look of faint surprise.

"A tower?" Ginny probed.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah: The Head's Tower. It has a sitting room, a study area with a small library, private bedroom and bathroom."

Ginny's jaw dropped, "Are you kidding me?!" She exclaimed. "Perce never got that, when he was Head Boy! How come you get such a sweet deal?"

Hermione shrugged, but Luna answered for her: "It's most likely down to the increased intake of students this year." She explained, "The number of seventh years will be higher than usual due to the re-takers; then there are even more first years expected this year due to the fact that many were not invited into Hogwarts last year due to their parentage. It's likely the house dormitories will be stretched to capacity this year, so the school will be freeing up space where they can. That's why they have introduced a Prefect Dormitory." She told them.

Hermione nodded, she remembered reading that in her own letter that contained a full briefing of her duties. To Ginny, however, this news was another surprise.

"They have?" GInny qualified.

"Yes." Luna confirmed, "It was in my letter, the Deputy Heads have their own private rooms in the prefect dorm. The prefects will be split according to gender, but not according to house, it's intended to promote-"

"Inter-house unity." Both Ginny and Hermione spoke at the same time as Luna, finishing her sentence with her. All three laughed.

"I thought they'd be making a point of that this year," Ginny said, shaking her head, then turned to Hermione, suddenly remembering something.

"I'm assuming the Head's Tower is a joint residence of both the Head Girl and Boy?" Ginny enquired with a sly grin.

Hermione's smile crumpled and she sighed, preparing for the ridicule she could feel brewing in Ginny, "Yes. Yes it is." She reluctantly admitted.

Ginny threw back her head and laughed in unrestrained glee, even Luna gave a small giggle. Hermione rolled her eyes, muttering darkly: "Well, at least some of us are enjoying this situation."

"I'm sorry," Ginny laughed, clearly not that sorry at all, "But I can't wait to see the fall out of this. You and Draco Malfoy, living together, its just disaster waiting to happen."

Ginny laughed again, and Luna followed suit, finding the prospect just as amusing. Hermione tried to look irritated, but the laughter was infectious, and even she could see the funny side of the situation, and she eventually let a small chuckle escape her.

At that moment they were sought out by Harry and Ron, who had been making the rounds of the guests since they had arrived from work, but were now at leisure to sit with the girls as long as they wanted.

"What's the joke?" Ron asked as he took a seat between Luna and his sister.

"The prospect of Hermione's year." Ginny said gleefully.

Harry, having taken a seat by Hermione's feet, opposite Ron, looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione rolled her eyes and explained, "We got our Hogwarts letters today. I got Head Girl-"

"Obviously." Ron interrupted. Hermione frowned at him, but otherwise ignored the interruption, continuing her explanation.

"Long story short, The Head Boy and Girl get to live in the Head's Tower, instead of the House dorms, this year."

Harry nodded, "And this is a trial because?" he asked, thinking Hermione would much prefer her own tower, than going back into Gryffindor Tower, this year.

"The head boy is Draco Malfoy." Luna explained in a tone that suggested the boys should already know this knowledge.

The boys' reactions were sufficiently characteristic: Harry was quietly indignant, though he refrained from saying anything – He knew Hermione could handle herself in anything, and at the end of the day Draco Malfoy seemed to be turning a corner, and trying to start again; and like Hermione, Harry felt there was no use making a deal out of something they couldn't avoid.

Ron did what Ron did best: spluttered his drink and turned Red, "You have to share a tower with that slime-ball?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Ron relax. I think Malfoy and myself have grown up enough over the past couple of years to survive the year without serious misfortune and pettiness. We're both their with the same intentions: to get our NEWT's, I'm sure he will want to keep his head down as much as I do this year." Hermione commented with exasperation.

Sensing Hermione's keenness to turn the conversation, and a wish to simply sit back and relax, Harry stepped in to diffuse the ticking time bomb that was Ron's temper, and started up a conversation about Ginny's plans for the Gryffindor team this year, having already been informed of her captaincy by Molly.

Hermione smiled gratefully at Harry, knowing he had purposefully picked a conversation that would easily distract Ronald, but that she could easily keep out of without any question, allowing her to just sit back and enjoy the peace of a summer evening.

Harry gave her a smile, and a discreet wink, as she leaned back against her tree and let the late summer sun wash over her. After a while the conversation became a dull murmur to her ears, as she looked out across the garden, to the stream running at the edge of the plot, and her own thoughts began to intrude. Unbidden, she began thinking of Richard, and the heated conversation from earlier: there was still some passion there between them, but it only seemed apparent when they argued, and that was not what she wanted to rely on for passion, particularly not in a marriage. She began to unconsciously chew her lip as she thought about the following Saturday: She felt that their date on Saturday would cement her fate, she would either find that Richard and herself could regain the relationship they had lost, in which case, perhaps she could continue with the engagement. Or, there was no connection there any more, and the only way she could go through with this marriage would be is she was bound, gagged, and forced down the aisle.

The rest of the evening passed in a relaxed daze; the five beneath the tree managed to last an hour undisturbed, but as the sun began to lower to the horizon, Molly sought them out to scold them into socialising.

The rest of the week passed in a haze of the routine Hermione had slipped into, and before she knew it, Saturday afternoon was upon her. Hermione was in her closet, scrutinising her appearance in the full-length mirror, a mountain of discarded clothes lay beside her. She had spent the past hour trying to find the perfect attire for her 'date' – she had finally settled on the classic little black dress, which fell to her mid thighs. Though the dress only had thin straps, it had a lace overlay that flowed to just above her knee, and lace sleeves, which she had cleverly modified to cover her entire arm, thus discreetly disguising the 'mudblood' scar on he forearm. Her hair had been pulled back into her favourite French braid, which was then curled into a loose knot at the top of her neck.

She was just fastening some emerald earrings, when Victoria's voice came travelling through from the bedroom door. "Hermione?"

"In here!" Hermione called out, inviting her mother to join her. Three seconds later, Victoria was behind her daughter, smiling at her appearance.

"You look nice." She approved, then noticed the pile of clothes, "Tried a few options did we?" she asked.

Hermione laughed, "Just a few. Did you need something?" She asked, pleasantly.

"Richard is here." Victoria informed her, she seemed to hesitate, and then decided to continue: "I'm glad you're really giving him a second chance, I know you were reluctant at first, but I'm glad you humoured me. I know it will all work out."

Hermione smiled, but refrained from responding, instead she flicked her wand at the clothes, sending them back to their correct hangers, she then slipped into the emerald satin, statement heels next to her, picked up her matching clutch and slipped her wand inside. She caught her mother's frown, and raised her eyebrows in silent question.

"You're taking your wand?" Victoria asked, slightly bemused.

"Of course. I take it everywhere." Hermione said proceeding to walk out of her room.

"But surely you don't need it, you'll be among muggles." Victoria said, following her daughter, and the pair descended the stairs together.

"I'm hoping I won't be using it, but I will never go anywhere without it. You wouldn't understand, but I feel naked and vulnerable without it. Everything we're taught involves wand-work. It's a tool to channel our magic, we feel lost without it. And that's not a pleasant feeling." She informed her mother.

Victoria let the conversation drop as they descended into the entrance hall where Richard was waiting. Hermione couldn't help but smile, despite her trepidation at the forthcoming evening, Richard was looking incredibly attractive, wearing a dark suit, with a light grey shirt that had an almost silver sheen to it. The top two buttons of his shirt were left open, and the suit jacket was held loosely in one had. His entire ensemble had an expensive look to it, without being ostentatious, and while the attire could be deemed formal, he managed to carry it off in a casual way – Hermione knew she was going to be the envy of every woman they saw this evening, simply for being on the arm of what could only be described as a God.

"You look amazing." Richard told her, as Hermione stepped down onto the entrance hall, Victoria carried on, going down to the Kitchen leaving Hermione to her own devices.

"Thank you," Hermione smiled. "So do you." She told him truthfully. "So where are you taking me?" She asked, heading straight for the door.

Richard smiled as the walked to the car that was waiting for them at the foot of the stone stairs,

"A new bar," he told her, opening the rear door for Hermione, "It will probably take about forty minutes to get there, it's right in the centre of York, but it's great." He told her as he followed her into the car.

"What kind of bar?" She asked slowly, she was under the impression they were having dinner and a few drinks.

"It's a cocktail bar, with a twist." He said slyly, "Very classy, great food as well."

"What's the twist?" Hermione asked, getting more worried by the moment.

"I'm not going to spoil it for you, so stop with the questions, but I know you're going to love it." Richard assured her. Hermione decided to let it drop: she knew she wouldn't be getting anything else out of him.

Instead, Richard turned the conversation, and asked Hermione about the rest of her week, having not seen her since their disagreement on Harry's birthday. The drive into city was comfortable enough, though Hermione was a little anxious at what she was about to be exposed to.

When Hermione stepped out of the car, she saw they were along the waterfront, near the more high-end restaurants and bars. Richard led her down some steps to the water level, and into a side door, flanked by two bouncers who nodded to Richard as they passed. Inside they went down another flight of steps, bathed in bluish-white light, which in conjunction with the marble floor gave the effect that they were walking into winter.

"We're going into a basement?" Hermione asked with trepidation, expecting the place to be rather confined.

Richard grinned, "Yes, but don't worry, it's very spacious." he assured her, correctly guessing her fears. "When it was being done, they dug out the floor to give the rooms extra height. And the design is such, that you can sort of forget you're underground." He said vaguely.

At the foot of the stairs they went through another doorway, and Hermione stopped short as she looked around: The theme was apparently some form of magical wonderland, an ingenious mix of Alice in Wonderland and Narnia.

"I don't know whether I've walked through the wardrobe, or tumbled down the rabbit hole." She said, in awe.

Richard laughed, and gestured to his right: "Through there," he said, pointing down a short corridor that had been spectacularly painted to look like a forest, the added extras of live foliage along the wall, and a collection of leaves and other ground debris which were encased in the floor tiles, gave the impression than one truly was in the middle of the woods,

"That leads directly to the dance floor, where there is a smaller bar, and some seats: that way, people who arrive well into the night, simply to dance can go right through, without interrupting those who wish for a quieter evening. And wait until you see the ceiling in there: painted to look like a night sky, vary magical." Richard informed her.

He then walked her forward into the main seating section and it was like stepping into a large forest clearing: the same sort of mural was painted across the walls and up onto the ceiling, the lighting gave the effect of twilight which was incredibly romantic. The furniture was an eclectic miss-match of wooden tables, of varying heights, shapes and sizes, all with similar centrepieces of candles surrounded by a simple collection of woodland flowers. A varied collection of chairs, again made primarily of different solid woods, were gathered around the tables: some plain wooden stools, and some more extravagant, high-backed and upholstered chairs; along the walls ran simple wooden benches, loaded with a collection of plush cushions.

"Am I at the Mad Hatter's tea party? Or Mr Tumnus' house?" Hermione said with a smile.

Richard laughed, "Admit it, you're impressed." He said.

Hermione nodded. "I am." She said looking around. It was clearly quite popular, as many of the tables were taken, and the bar was already collecting a crowd. "Did you book a table?" she asked.

Richard gave a knowing smile, as if he knew something else he hadn't shared with Hermione yet,

"No need." He said, taking her hand and leading her across the floor towards a corner that edged onto the other room. On a raised section sat three tables made from large tree stumps, designed to look like they naturally grew from the ground. A wooden bench ran around the corner, looking as if it had grown from the wall, and was covered in a multitude of plump cushions. A collection of more plush seats were also collected around the tables and the whole corner was sectioned off with railings that were tangled with wild flowers and vines.

In front of the step leading up was placed a large sign declaring: Private Area. Reserved.

Hermione looked at Richard as he led her around the sign and up to the tables.

"You have your own area?" she inquired, "What aren't you telling me?"

At that moment, a man who could only be the manager appeared behind them, "Richard!" He greeted, then seeing Hermione, "And this must be Miss Granger?"

Hermione held out her hand, "Hermione, pleased to meet you." She said politely.

The manager shook it, saying: "Paul, anything you need, ask for me." He told her. Hermione smiled her thanks, and Paul turned back to Richard, "A case of that Champagne you wanted to try for this place arrived today, for us to test out. Shall I bring you a bottle?"

"Did they send the pink or the white?" He asked.

"Both, they believe both will fit the venue." Paul said with a roll of his eyes.

"Bring us two glasses of each then, we may as well taste them both." Richard told him, and then asked, "How are the dishes going down?"

Paul smiled, "No complaints and a lot of compliments. You didn't try them after we modified the menu, did you?" he asked.

Richard shook his head, "not yet."

"I'll send a selection out for you both." Paul said, and then turned away.

Richard turned back to Hermione and joined her on the bench. Hermione gave him a measured look, "Personal service from the manager, and your own corner." She stated. "It's time to share the secret." She told him.

Richard laughed, "I own the place."

Hermione's jaw dropped, "Since when?" she asked with incredulity, stunned he hand't mentioned it earlier.

"About a month ago. The guy, who originally owned the place, had already sought the planning permission and the right licences for the premises. How it's set out is pretty much to the original plans he set. But he got into some severe financial difficulty a while back: the work kept on, he thought he could solve his problems. Turns out he couldn't, and that's where I came in. I bought the place from him, and finished the project. Nearly all the work was done - all that was left to do was the interior design, and we made a few changes to the bar layout to compliment the theme, and how we really wanted the place to look and feel."

Hermione couldn't help but be impressed; "All this was your idea?" she clarified.

"Yep," Richard said, clearly proud of himself, "Admit it, now you're really impressed."

Hermione laughed, and nodded, "Yes, I am very impressed." She commended him as a waiter came with a tray carrying four champagne flutes.

"Tell me what you think of these." Richard said handing Hermione a glass of white and a glass of pink champagne. "We only opened Monday, we haven't got Champagne of the wine list yet, Because the original one we got wasn't that good, so I'm thinking of stocking these. "

Hermione picked up the white first and raised a toast, "To your new business venture." She said, "I hope your work pays off."

Richard his glass, adding, "And to us. It's seems we're finally getting on track again." He smiled.

Hermione smiled, and took a drink, refraining from any comment. Despite the romantic atmosphere around her, she was still finding it difficult to find any emotional spark.

Despite the lack of romantic feelings on Hermione's side, she had a very enjoyable evening: She and Richard conversed as easy as ever, discussing his new career venture. When a selection from the improved menu arrived for them to try, they were occupied for another hour critiquing the food, though Hermione found the cuisine exceptional and there was very little she could suggest for improvement.

"But, after living off wild mushrooms for the better part of a year, I am easy to please at the moment." Hermione joked, carelessly.

Richard frowned, "Wild mushrooms?" he questioned, "What led you to have to resort to that?" He asked in harmless curiosity.

Hermione mentally kicked herself for letting her filter momentarily slip. She shook her head, "Never mind, it's not important. But there was a period of a fair few months where actual food wasn't available to us, and we pretty much had to live off the land as best we could. Anyway." She said, picking up her glass, leaning back into the cushions and determining to change the course of the discussion.

"Have you considered hiring the place out as a private venue? This place would be perfect for theme parties: weddings, birthdays, engagement parties - even proms!" Hermione suggested, "You could provide a package: negotiable menu, a set wine selection. You could make a killing."

"I hadn't thought of it, properly" He admitted, "But it's definitely something I would look into, and that I'll be discussing with Paul very soon." Richard said, accepting Hermione's change of subject without question.

After discussing Richard's intended direction for the bar and they had finished a bottle of the champagne, Richard took Hermione to the dance floor. Stepping down from their raised platform, her turned left and went through an archway, from which draped down a vast amount of fine silks in pastel blues and aqua's that glistened in the lights that shone from the top of the arch thus giving the effect that one was about to walk through a waterfall.

On the other side, Hermione was once again struck with awe at the design: The forest mural hand continued around the walls, and a long bench ran the perimeter of room, again stacked with an ample amount of cushions, interrupted only by the bar in the back left corner, and small round tables were dotted intermittently along the bench. The floor, however, was now no longer reminiscent of the forest, instead the floor was palely lit from underneath, and glowed a crystalline blue, giving the effect that they were now standing upon a frozen lake. This clever design also helped to light the room, without taking away from the magnificence of the ceiling, which was a deep sapphire, and dotted with silver stars. Richard hadn't been lying, the place really did have a magical feel to it.

"Wow!" Hermione breathed, "You have done good. This place really is amazing." She commended him.

"I knew you'd love it." He grinned, not at all modest. He then took he hand and led her to the middle of the room, saying as he did. "Now, dance with me."

###

Hermione awoke very late on Sunday morning – so late it was almost afternoon, with a very dry mouth, and a slight headache. She had to admit; she had had a very good night, last night. She had sampled every cocktail on the list, and danced so much her feet were slightly swollen, it was the first time she had let her hair down in a long time. But despite all this, the night had done nothing to rekindle the spark she had once felt with Richard. Hermione sighed, she had tried, but it was no use: To her, Richard was just a friend, a very close friend, but a friend all the same. Now she had to try and convince her mother of this fact: Hermione groaned, this thought made her head throb even more, so she rolled over and went back to sleep.

After spending most of Sunday in bed, Hermione was up at the crack of dawn on Monday morning, and after taking a long breakfast, and an equally long shower, Hermione apparated to the Leaky Cauldron where she would be meeting Ginny at 10am. Looking at her watch she noticed she was five minutes early, and with Ginny's tendency to be ten minutes late, Hermione sat herself at the bar and ordered an iced tea.

When Ginny turned up, precisely ten minutes late as expected, she made her way over to the bar and sat next to Hermione.

"I'm sorry, I thought we were coming here to shop, not drink?" She said, in lieu of a greeting.

Hermione grinned, "I had to do something to pass the time, knowing you would be late."

Hermione finished the last of her drink and stood up, "Right then, I guess we ought to make our way to Gringotts first." Hermione said, trying to sound cheerful at the prospect, though a knot had formed in her stomach.

When they entered Diagon Alley through the archway, Hermione couldn't help but smile: the change since her last visit was remarkable. All the shops were back open, and people were milling about in the summer sunshine, stopping and talking on the street, with not a care in the world. It was the Diagon Alley that Hermione remembered from her early Hogwarts days, when her days were hopeful and exciting.

When they made it to Gringotts Hermione stopped outside the doors, looking at the inscription warning against thievery and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Ginny, who had continued walking and had opened the door, looked back confused, "Are you okay?" She asked.

Hermione nodded, "I'm just remembering the last time I walked through these doors." She told her, "I was disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange, going to steal from her vault." She admitted, and let out a nervous laugh. Before taking a deep breath and walking through the door Ginny was holding open, determining not to read the inscription as she passed.

Ginny simply stared, then followed – she hadn't heard that part of the Gringotts story. , she realised now that there was a lot that her brother and his two best friends hadn't told her about the past year. Ginny already had a bag of money to shop with, but Hermione needed to convert her Muggle Pounds into Wizard Gold, so they set off across the large marble room to one of the vacant counters.

As they were crossing the floor, Hermione saw the Goblins surveying her with less than friendly looks: they obviously remembered the last time Hermione was here, and Hermione dropped her head in discomfort. Ginny, however, was too busy taking in her surroundings with a frown to notice.

"It looks different." Ginny stated, suddenly, "I thought the floor was more extravagantly designed. And wasn't their a really magnificent, gigantic goblin-wrought chandelier?" she asked, looking up to the ceiling and adding severely to Hermione's discomfort.

Hermione wanted to cry, but instead she cleared her throat and mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, "Yes, you're right. But Harry, Ron and I destroyed it all when the dragon we were escaping on, clawed its way up through the floor, and up out of the roof. That was after we successfully stole from a top security vault, by the way." She added, "So can we please just hurry up, because I need to get out of here soon before the Goblins try to kill me." Hermione begged.

Ginny looked at Hermione for a moment, then laughed loudly, drawing even more attention to them. Hermione gave her a glare, which silenced her immediately.

"I'm sorry," Ginny whispered, "But that is a little bit incredible. And the goblins must hate you." She couldn't help but point out.

Thirty highly uncomfortable minutes later, Hermione and Ginny emerged from the bank unharmed. Hermione knew that the break-in had been pardoned by the Ministry due to its results of helping bring about the demise of Voldemort. But it was clear that the Goblins did not forget, nor forgive, as easily.

"Well, I think we can safely say that a career in banking is not going to be in my future." Hermione said causing Ginny to laugh.

The girls spent the next few hours happily shopping at an easy pace: they visited Madam Malkin's, where Hermione purchased a new robe and new winter cloak as hers was a little worse for wear after her months living in the forest. They spent a good forty minutes in Flourish & Blotts, picking up their necessary textbooks, which only took ten minutes, but Ginny had to virtually drag Hermione away from her idea of heaven. The tables were turned when they visited Quality Quidditch Supplies, as Ginny needed some new gloves, but spent thirty minutes discussing the latest broom models with the assistant behind the counter, before Hermione could finally drag her away. Throughout the afternoon, Hermione was subject to a lot of whispering and pointing, and while Hermione had been perusing the shelves of Flourish & Blotts a young girl, who looked to be about ten, had even approached her and who asked in a breathless voice of admiration:

"Are you Hermione Granger?"

Hermione was slightly taken aback, but answered politely, "Yes I am."

The Girls face broke into a huge grin; "I'm Verity. I've heard all about you." She announced, "You spent the year with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, didn't you? You helped defeat You-Know-Who!" She said excitedly.

Hermione didn't quite know what to say, so she simply nodded, while Ginny giggled quietly at the end of the row. The Girl seemed to get even more excited, and gushed:

"I start Hogwarts in September, I can't wait to go. I want to be in Gryffindor, just like you."

Hermione smiled, and said kindly, "Gryffindor would be lucky to have you."

"Can I have my photo taken with you?" Verity asked suddenly, and then turned a brilliant shade of pink, as if she suddenly felt she had been far too forward.

"Er…um" Hermione stammered, thoroughly lost for words this time. Ginny chose this time to step forward, saying:

"Why don't you let me take the photo, for you?" She said kindly, then added, "And when you get to Hogwarts, you can ask her to sign it – she's Head Girl this year, you know."

Hermione could have killed her. But she smiled happily for the photograph all the same.

After the girl had happily bounded off to find her mother, Hermione turned on Ginny, "Why did you tell her I'd sign it?" she hissed, slapping Ginny across the arm.

Ginny grinned, "I don't know, it felt like a good thing to say at the time. Now can we please leave, we still have things to buy."

An hour later, Ginny had had her fill of Quidditch, and the pair finished gathering their necessities. After visiting the apothecary to replenish their potion supplies, they called into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to say hi to George, before returning to the Leaky Cauldron, where they would be meeting Harry, Ron and Andromeda for dinner.

The girls had a couple of hours to kill, so they commandeered a round table at the back, and whiled away the time with a bottle of nettle wine. While they waited for the rest of the party to arrive, Ginny starting quizzing Hermione about the state of her relationship with her brother:

"What happened between you and Ron?" She asked, "At Bill and Fleur's wedding, you two seemed to be making good progress."

Hermione shrugged, "It just never happened. There was always that undercurrent while we were at Hogwarts, but then when things went wrong at the wedding, and we ended up going on the run, all that was put to the background I guess. I mean, Harry, Ron and I had more important things to focus on than our love lives." Hermione said with a harsh laugh. She paused to take a sip of her wine, and Ginny asked:

"So what about now? Now that the war is over?"

Hermione shook her head, "I can't, not now. Things changed for me just before Christmas. When he left us -"

"He did what?" Ginny asked quickly.

"Left… us…" Hermione repeated slowly, "You didn't know. I thought you did. Oh dear, I've just landed him in the shit haven't I?" Hermione said, feeling slightly guilty.

"I think you need to explain." Ginny said bluntly.

"We'd been searching for months, living in the tent, moving from place to place every couple of days, pretty much living off the land. We were cold, we were hungry, we were tired, and we seemed to be hitting dead end after dead end. In the end it got too much for Ron, there was an argument, and he walked out." Hermione explained.

"He came back though," Hermione defended hastily, "He didn't find us right away, because we kept moving, and our protective enchantments were so thorough, but he found us eventually." Hermione paused, then seeing as Ginny couldn't get anymore annoyed at her brother than she already was, Hermione decided to be completely honest.

"But he did leave, and at the time it felt like he abandoned us. We were at our lowest point, and we needed each other more than ever: when it got too tough, he bailed. After that, I can't trust him the same way. I still love him, he's one of my best friends, but we argue a fair amount, and if we were to enter into a relationship, I would be waiting for him to bail when our arguments got too much for him. After last winter, I'd always be waiting for him to bail again, I wouldn't trust that he would stay." Hermione admitted.

Ginny was silent for a moment, then said through clenched teeth: "I am going to murder that son-of-bitch when I see him next."

Hermione laughed, "Ginny relax, it's happened, it's done. Harry and I forgave him, he paid his dues, and he made up for it when he returned. It's time to move on, please don't bring it up. I think all three of us would like to think of the past year as little as possible."

Ginny looked defiant for a moment, then sighed, "Fine." She conceded.

"Thank you. Now, Ron and I, we have established, are a no go. But what about you and Harry?" Hermione asked.

Ginny leaned back in her seat and sipped her drink thoughtfully. "I think Harry and I have ran our course. When Harry broke up with me after Dumbledore's funeral, I knew the next time we could be together again would be after the war, but I had no idea how long that would be. I also knew that Harry would be a very different person when the war was over – we've all changed, we've been through, and seen, too much for us not to change. We had a high-school romance, one that legends are made of. But now, I think it's time to move on. I mean, we had a few moments at Hogwarts, those weeks after the battle, but it was different, it wasn't like before." Ginny explained, shaking her head, "No, I think Harry and I are finished."

Ginny thought for a moment, then asked in a hesitating way, "So, since you and my brother are never going to happen in a million years. What about you and Harry?" She asked slowly.

Hermione laughed consciously, "Harry and me? What made you think that?" She asked.

Ginny shrugged, and smiled, "I don't know, you two just seemed closer than ever after the battle of Hogwarts, and with Teddy in your life now, you seem have to bonded even more. I mean you two always seemed to know what the other was thinking, but recently it seems to have heightened, i think." Ginny supplied truthfully.

Hermione smiled, she couldn't deny any of what Ginny had said.

"Harry and I are simply friends, very good friends, but just friends all the same." Hermione assured her.

Ginny grinned then said, "That's shame, I think you could be good together. And he is good in bed." She added with a wink.

Hermione laughed, and without thinking said: "Yeah, I know."

"You do?" Gin asked, her eyes wide with shock, and her grin momentarily lost.

Hermione bit her lip, and a faint blush spread across her cheek: she couldn't believe she made such a slip-up.

"You do!" Ginny said again, leaning forward, her smile starting to come back, "When did this happen?" she asked.

"Christmas." Hermione admitted, "You're not mad?" she asked, worried.

Ginny grinned, "I'm not I said, Harry and I broke up; I knew he would be different after the war. I had no idea what you guys would be going through, but I knew you wouldn't come out of it the same. I've known for a long time Harry and I wouldn't be getting back together. And to be honest, I thought you would be the girl he would end up with, you and Ron were never quite right – and after what you told me, how he abandoned you," Ginny's temper flared again, but she calmed within a second, "anyway, I had a feeling something would happen between you and Harry."

"It only happened once, it was after Godric's Hollow," Hermione told Ginny, "It was Christmas, we'd had a really bad couple of days, and we just needed comfort, closeness. I think we just needed to forget for a while." Hermione said, remembering the night with a mixture of pleasure and sadness.

Hermione lapsed into silence, and the pair ate quietly for a few minutes, then Ginny suddenly said:

"By the way, how was Saturday? Who were your dinner plans with?"

"Do you remember me telling you about Richard, a couple of years ago?" Hermione asked.

Ginny nodded, "I think so, that muggle guy you've known for years, who you had a bit of thing with over the summer after the Ministry incident?" She clarified.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded, "With him. We went to a new Cocktail bar he bought recently."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up for the second time "He bought a bar?" she asked incredulously. "Just like that? Just out of the blue?"

Hermione laughed, "Yep, pretty much. It's actually a pretty great place, really unique."

Ginny shook her head, "How rich is this guy?" she asked, in semi-rhetoric.

Hermione frowned; she never liked to discuss money, "He has money enough." She said evasively, putting an end to that particular line of communication. Thankfully she was spared any further probing on the subject by the early arrival Andromeda and Teddy.

"This conversation is over," Ginny muttered, as Andromeda approached, "I want to hear all about rich Richard."

Hermione, who hadn't seen Teddy in a few days, now became entirely engrossed by her Godson, taking him from his pram to sit him on her lap, while Ginny and Andromeda exchanged pleasantries.

When Andromeda sat, Hermione joined the conversation, indicating to the numerous bags Andromeda had just set down, she said: "You've been on a spending spree, I see."

Andromeda looked a little guilty, and nodded. "I think I may have over-done it again." She admitted, "It's the second time I've gone to pick up a few things, and come away spending a small fortune. It's all for the manor: a few pillows, throws, some side ornaments, those kinds of things."

"Feminine touches." Ginny supplied, helpfully.

"Exactly!" Andromeda agreed, while Hermione raised her eyebrows glancing back at the mountain of bags.

"That's a lot of feminine touches. Especially if the first pile was as big as that." Hermione said, and Ginny chuckled.

Andromeda smiled guiltily, "The first pile was bigger." She admitted, and Hermione returned her raised-eyebrow look to Andie, causing her to say: "Draco gave me the exact same look, but that place needs a woman's touch." She defended, while Hermione frowned at her first comment, not appreciating Andromeda comparing her to her Nephew, yet again. Ginny, on the other hand, found the comparison hilarious, and laughed rather loud.

Andromeda rolled her eyes at Hermione's frown, and said, "I know you don't appreciate me comparing you with my nephew, but truly you are more like each other than you realise."

Ginny laughed even harder at this, and Hermione decided to keep the conversation moving along, by saying "How is the manor looking? About ready to move in yet?"

Andromeda nodded, "Just little finishing touches, the place looks fantastic – completely different, a lot more positive. All I need to know now is when Narcissa will be released, and I'll move in with Teddy." She finished.

At that moment the boys appeared at the table, and Ginny said: "Perfect timing, ask Harry, he should know."

"Ask me what?" Harry asked, as he took his usual place next to Hermione, promptly reaching out to take Teddy from her. As Hermione handed him over, she caught Ginny's smirk and knowing look. When she caught Hermione's eye, Ginny wiggled her eyebrows as if to say "Just friends? yeah, right."

Hermione scowled at her, then turned back to Harry, "Andie was wondering if Narcissa had a release date." She informed him.

Harry looked across the table and said: "Funnily enough, she got it given to her today. The trials are coming to an end; we have all the information from her we need. She'll be out at the end of next week."

A/N: And another chapter done. I know we didn't see anything of Draco in this one, it's all very much about Hermione. Let me know what you think. I will post the next chapter at some point tomorrow, not much left to right, then it will be edited and uploaded.

And next chapter we finally make it to September 1st, which means I finally get to bring Draco and Hermione together.

Until then, if you feel like leaving a review please do :)

xBx