A/N: This is actually an amalgamation of three separate drabbles I wrote around the concept of Harry and Hermione both returning to Hogwarts as Head Boy and Head Girl. After reviewing the passages, I realized that I had unwittingly written a proper little sequence of events. The mind works in mysterious ways…

"That's all of them accounted for," Hermione stated officiously as she stowed her notepad into her pocket. "I think that went rather well. You're a natural."

"I don't know about that but yeah…not bad," Harry mumbled in agreement as he followed her toward the Hogwarts Express. "I'd forgotten how terrified and clueless I was as a first year."

"They're so tiny," Hermione chuckled. "They make me feel so old."

Harry chuckled. "Not looking forward to this next bit though."

"It will be fine," Hermione stated as much for her own reassurance as for Harry. It just felt a bit off, coming back here after everything that had happened…everything they and the returning Hogwarts students had been through in the last year.

"Just remember what we planned. Let me do most of the talking and you just chime in when you'd like, or if you think someone is getting out of hand. The important thing is that they need to be respectful and understanding to each person's situation and experiences, and you're not listening to a word I'm saying are you?"

"Course I am," he replied casually as he stepped onto the Express. "We need to be respectful and understanding…and there was a bit about each person's situation-"

"Fine," she grudgingly replied, "you were listening. I'm just nervous and I'm used to being around Ron and he never listened."

"Sorry about that by the way," he consoled.

"Is it awful that I'm kind of relieved he didn't come back this year?"

"Kind of," Harry said with a laugh, "but I get it. It's going to be weird being around Ginny."

"She turned down the prefect position because of it I think," Hermione informed.

"She did," Harry replied in annoyance, "Ron made a point of telling me several

times."

Silence reigned in the Head Cabin as she reviewed her notes for the upcoming prefect meeting one final time. Hermione glanced up to see Harry doing the same. She smiled.

"I'm really glad I came back. I wasn't sure before but…I'm really glad," Harry shared as her alarm sounded, indicating the meeting would be starting in a few minutes. The prefects would be arriving at any moment.

She was so happy he'd come back. "Ready?"

"Ready."

As the prefects filed out of the room Hermione allowed her anger and frustration to finally burst through.

"What's wrong with you?"

Harry's cluelessness only served to anger her more.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that everyone is bored or annoyed at everything I say? Until Harry Potter says he agrees with me of course…then it's nothing but nods of agreement and smiles."

Harry let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like Chosen One and she forced herself not to grin. Being charmed by Harry's joke would not properly convey the seriousness of the present situation.

"Look, you are telling them what they need to hear. It's boring and annoying but they respect you for it." She fought the urge to hex him for his pathetic attempt at making her feel better.

"Boring and annoying, thank you so much for the pep talk, Harry."

"Being in charge and reminding prefects of their responsibilities is boring and annoying, Hermione. If you want me to keep my mouth shut next time-"

"Of course I don't want that, Harry. I just wish they would…I don't know…respect me more."

Harry laughed. He was really mucking up this cheering up thing.

"And they say I'm the clueless one. They all respect you...loads more than me."

She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Okay, as much as me," he amended.

"Do you have any plans for Hogsmeade next Saturday?" he asked inexplicably.

"I thought you would be going with Ginny," she replied in confusion.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and slumped down beside her. "We've sort of fizzled out…I think I'm a bit too boring for her tastes," he observed.

"So…Hogsmeade?" he repeated. He seemed slightly anxious.

"I volunteered to patrol the village in the morning…"

"I can join you."

"And I was planning on spending at least an hour in Tomes & Scrolls once my patrol was over. I have a voucher and you know how long it can take me to decide…"

"Look, if you don't want me to take tag along just say-"

"No!" she blurted before calming herself. "No. I would love the company."

"Good," Harry said with a relieved grin.

Hermione immediately change her plans for the evening, deciding that revising the patrol schedule for next week wasn't that urgent. She needed to decide what she was going to wear on Saturday…

Hermione mentally cycled through her options before she retired to bed for the evening.

Review and revise her NEWT study schedule? No. Not only was it a Saturday, but it was her nineteenth birthday. Revising her schedule again on a Saturday evening, and on her birthday no less, would be pathetic.

She could start working on the prefect patrol schedule? Next week's had already been distributed but it couldn't hurt to get started on-

No. Again…Saturday…birthday…pathetic.

Maybe she could finally start reading that muggle fiction novel that her mother had recommended a few weeks ago. Yes, that sounded slightly more like something someone should be doing on their birthday. It was still boring, but slightly less boring.

She was all set to dig in when she heard a soft tap on her door. Despite spending virtually the entire day with the Head Boy she found herself smiling at the opportunity to see him for a few more minutes.

"Come in, Harry," she called, putting her book aside.

Harry walked in with his hands behind his back and a nervous expression on his face. It had been awhile since she'd seen that look, but she recognized it immediately. Harry was…up to something.

"I thought we should end your birthday with a proper celebration," he supplied, revealing the glasses and Firewhisky he had been concealing.

Her immediate thought was to quickly and fervently refuse. First of all, they were Head Boy and Head Girl, secondly she had never done such a thing before. Even in the drunken commiserations after the final battle she'd refused every offer to participate. The thought of losing control…especially when thinking about all the suffering and loss they'd gone through…hadn't appealed to her in any way.

But thinking about losing a bit of control in the safety and normalcy of her room…with Harry…was very tempting. She'd been waiting eight years for that.

"I don't know…" her stubbornly responsible side blurted before she could squash it.

"Ron and I had a bit…well more than a bit…on my birthday. It was the first time I'd done that and it was brilliant, except…"

"Except?"

"Except I wished you'd been there. You were still in Australia with your parents and…well…I promised myself I'd remedy that on your birthday."

If his words hadn't laid ruin to her dwindling resistance, than his easy smile would have done the trick. She smiled and conjured a tray, waving him to take a seat on her bed.

As he took a seat across from her, and began pouring out their first drink of the evening, she realized that she was finally acting her age…and it felt…good? Nice even?

Because you're doing it with Harry, her internal voice chimed in, something it had been doing with alarming frequency over the last few months.

"Cheers," Harry enthused as they clinked their glasses together.

The strength and ferocity of the initial taste was quickly forgotten as a lovely warmth began to spread throughout her body. She must have been smiling because Harry was now sporting a full blown grin.

"It's brilliant isn't it?" he asked.

"It is," she answered before taking another sip. She thought of what could happen in the next few hours and the warmth grew. Perhaps tonight would be the night…

HB HG

It had been a mere ninety minutes since her impromptu post-curfew birthday celebration had begun and she was already positive that this was, without a doubt, the best birthday ever.

Apparently alcohol made her want to explain her thoughts even more than usual, because the more she drank, the more she talked. Thankfully Harry didn't seem to mind. He would chime in with an interesting or funny comment once in awhile, seemingly content to let her ramble on as long as she liked. She'd managed to curb her impromptu dissertations somewhat over the years but the firewhisky had unleashed the beast, much to Harry's amusement.

When she agreed to Harry's plan for the evening, she'd promised herself that she would have no more than three drinks, as that seemed like more than enough to get the full 'letting loose' birthday experience. But whether it was the wonderful warmth of the drink, or the alcohol having its intended effect, Hermione was having the best time. She found herself grinning and unconsciously holding out her glass for drink number four before she could think better of it.

Harry grinned as he dutifully refilled her drink. He had such a lovely grin. She couldn't imagine anyone having a nicer grin than Harry. Harry was the best, and this birthday was the best.

"Enjoying yourself?" Harry asked through his lovely grin.

"So much," she enthused as she took a drink. Unfortunately she hadn't managed to quite center the glass on her mouth and a bit splashed on her face. Thankfully she was able to quickly vanquish the offending liquid from her face with her tongue. Waste not, want not.

Harry must have found it amusing because his lovely grin had grown even lovelier. She ruminated on the grin's loveliness for several more seconds before being distracted by Harry running a hand through his hair.

"I love it when you do that," she blurted.

Harry quirked an eyebrow. Thankfully the eyebrow quirking did not diminish or impinge on the loveliness of his smile. "When I do what?"

The proper and normal thing to do at this point would be to stop vomiting out loud the thoughts that she'd stubbornly kept to herself over the last few years. And while the rational voice advising her of such a strategy was still there, it was much quieter than normal, and was drowned out by the other voice. For the first time that she could recall, the other voice was clearly in charge and Hermione found herself enchanted by what it was suggesting.

Before she could talk herself out of it she reached over and mimicked Harry's prior action, running her own hand through his hair. "When you do that," she replied as she leaned back against her headboard.

She knew she should be embarrassed at this point, but for some reason she couldn't fathom why. Harry looked a bit surprised but he was still smiling, and she could feel the dumb grin plastered on her face as she debated which was lovelier; his grin or his hair. Not to mention his eyes. How could she forget his eyes? They were so lovely-

"Thanks," Harry interrupted in bemusement. "I think you have lovely eyes as well."

"Did I say that out loud?" she asked.

"You did," Harry grinned. He had such a lovely grin.

Now this was the point where she knew she would be well and truly embarrassed…mortified even. She'd run her hand through Harry's lovely hair and told him about his lovely eyes!

But she wasn't mortified at all, because Harry was still smiling, which just made her own smile grow. As she took another sip she realized she was outpacing Harry.

"How many drinks have you had?" she asked.

"This is my second one," he answered as he held up his half-full glass.

She frowned, which made Harry grin even more. "I want you to drink more too!" she exclaimed.

"It's all right," he consoled. "I thought it would be best if I took it easy and let you properly enjoy yourself. That way, if anything happens in the castle tonight, I'll be able to get us both sobered up with potions.

"You have sober up potions?" she asked.

"Just in case," he replied. "George's shop sells them. I picked them up a couple of days before we came back to Hogwarts."

"You planned it out that far ahead?" It felt like her mouth had dropped open, and she thought she probably looked like a proper idiot, but the other voice reassured her that it was fine.

Harry nodded. "You always seem to be the one doing the worrying and planning. I thought I could do the worrying and planning tonight so you could let loose a bit. It's your birthday after all."

The other voice was practically screaming instructions now and she acquiesced to its demands without a second thought.

"I fancy you," she blurted.

Harry let out a breath. "Me too."

"A lot," she added.

"Me too."

A different kind of warmth spread throughout her body, a million times stronger and lovelier than what the firewhisky had managed.

"I was hoping you would kiss me tonight," she continued on, staring into those lovely eyes.

"Me too. I swear that wasn't why I was trying to let you get drunk tonight, but yeah- Me too."

She couldn't pinpoint exactly when it began, but at some point during their back and forth, she and Harry both began leaning forward…and before she knew it the normal and the other voice were singing in unison that she should kiss the boy as soon and as long as possible.

So she did.