Was it all enough? - Year 7

Neither Kelly nor Sirius had been to the restaurant before and they really liked the food and being able to watch the people down on the street. They had teased Harry to no end when a beautiful girl came over saying how terrible Cho was and that he deserved someone who would appreciate him. Harry blushed and made some story about still trying to get over Cho and not wanting to date right now.

"See Sirius. This is why I liked that pool hall place the last time we went to Paris. Nobody treated me special."

Kelly turned and said, "You went to Paris with him? Wasn't he with Cho then? I can't believe you would have been a third wheel like that."

Harry's eyes quickly lit up and he got a mischievous grin. "Oh, he wasn't a third wheel, he was with Kristi."

Sirius started stammering, "Well yes, I went as a chaperone and just played pool with Kristi, nothing more. Tell her Harry."

Harry smiled slyly and said, "That's all they did, at least until they went to her bedroom." Sirius gave him a look that said he better fix this so Harry said, "I'm kidding Kelly. They only played billiards."

"I knew you were kidding Harry. That's not the look Sirius gives when he's been caught in a lie. It was sweet that it bothered him," she said before kissing Sirius.

Kelly had mentioned about wanting to go to a small jazz club she had heard about so they went there for a few hours before Harry left them and went home.

Harry agreed to meet Cho in a back booth of the Leaky Cauldron so that the press wouldn't find them right away. When he saw her walk toward the booth, he immediately was torn between too strong emotions. On one hand, she was gorgeous and he wanted to be with her and flashed back to all the fun they had. On the other, he wanted nothing to do with her and flashed back to her kissing Weisman. He didn't see how that second emotion would ever go away. They hugged quickly and began a somewhat strained conversation.

Harry asked if she wanted to go for a walk and she seemed very interested. However, he said that he didn't want to be around any press and wanted to get away. He took her hand and apparated to a spot Sirius had mentioned being good for walking. When they appeared and walked out into the cobblestone streets she asked where they were.

"We're in Rome. I've learned how to pull you when I Apparate. Have you ever been here?" Harry asked. Cho hadn't so they just started walking around looking at the marvelous architecture. The ended up in the Muggle part of Rome so no one paid any attention to them; they were just like two ordinary people wondering around.

Harry was really trying to act as normal to her as he could, having made a decision to give this a fair chance of working out. The two had a nice quiet meal and walked around a bit more. They were sitting in a small café having a drink before heading home when Cho said, "I've really messed this up haven't I?" Harry looked confused. "I can tell you're having to try and be nice to me."

"I'm really enjoying being here with you Cho, I'm not faking it," Harry responded. "It can't all go to normal after one date."

"Be honest Harry. If this was our first date, would you ask me for another?"

Harry thought for a minute and said, "But this isn' our first date. I know how good things were for us. We wouldn't have the issue to work through if it was our first date."

Cho looked at him. "So, how was the Holiday ball?"

"It was pretty good. You know how they are."

"I hear you took a ghost. You're right, I wouldn't have been jealous, even though I heard she looked pretty good."

"I owed Myrtle anyway. She helped me out once and turned out to be a better date than I expected."

"Everyone is talking about your and Hermione's dance. I think they will be for a long time," Cho said sadly. "That did make me jealous."

"Sorry. I didn't mean for it to hurt you. Hermione just wanted to be remembered for something other than being smart. This was one part of it."

"I know you would never do anything to hurt me Harry. My gosh, you risked your life to save me. That's why I think we should make a clean break." Harry was kind of stunned. "I can tell you're not comfortable being around me right now and I can't really blame you. Let's go back to just being friends from school. No forced dates or notes." She reached into her pocket and gave him the engagement ring back.

"Cho, you don't have to do this. I'm willing to try and get over how I feel," Harry said surprised that Cho was returning the ring right now.

"I know you are. You'd keep trying even if it made you unhappy. That's not what I want. I don't want us to do any more damage to whatever friendship I haven't destroyed. I know I won't be your manager any more either. Take me back to the Leaky Cauldron please; I'd like to go home."

Harry did just that. No one was home when Harry got there so he just slept on the couch. Winky was good enough to wake him the next morning so he could get to the Weasley's at a decent time. Harry was going to have to try really hard to be good company. Even though he didn't think it would work out with Cho, knowing it was officially over still hurt.

Harry apparated right outside of the Burrow. They always told him to just pop inside but he felt more comfortable going to the door. Stepping up, he knocked on the door, which was quickly answered by Mrs. Weasley. "Harry!" she said giving him a huge hug. "How many times do we have to tell you, family Apparates inside."

"Happy Christmas Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"Harry!" Ginny yelled and gave him a hug.

"Hey Ginny," Harry replied and went into the other room where the rest of the family greeted him.

"It's about time mate," Ron said. "We were just about to start without you."

The greeting from the twins was a bit tense but Harry tried to make them see he didn't blame them. The next hour was madness with everyone tearing open their presents. This is how Christmas is supposed to be Harry thought, a great family enjoying their time together. Harry was removing his robe to put on the sweater Mrs. Weasley got him and didn't notice something fall out of the pocket until he heard. "Oh my gosh!" from Ginny.

Ginny had picked up the box the ring was in and opened it. "I'm sorry Harry. It fell out of your pocket and I just opened it." Mrs. Weasley saw it when Ginny handed it back.

"That's ok Ginny. I forgot it was in my pocket. My fault." The family was looking at him expectantly so he went on. "We tried having a date last night. I took her to Rome for the evening. We could both tell it wasn't going to work so she officially ended it. It was better than dragging it out." Harry put the ring back in his pocket.

Ron said, "You took her to Rome for a date?"

"I wanted to give it a fair shot at working. If it didn't feel right in the Muggle part of Rome without any press around, it's not going to feel right in Diagon Alley where people pester me all the time. Now, how's the campaign going Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked signaling an end to talk about Cho.

The others took the hint quickly and Mr. Weasley spoke up, "Actually very well. It should be very close. I still can't thank you enough Harry."

"Nonsense. Remember if you win, I want my security clearance back so I can visit the Unspeakables," Harry joked.

"Fletch has already asked for the same thing so that won't be a problem."

They talked for a while about how great it would be for Mr. Weasley to become the Minister of Magic. The twins were talking about how much trouble they could get out of by having their father in an important position.

Later that evening, Ginny asked, "Want to take a walk with me?"

"Sure. After eating so much, I need the exercise," Harry responded.

"Let me grab my cloak and we'll go," Ginny said but Harry stopped her.

"You won't need it." She looked confused but Harry just said, "Trust me."

It was very cold when they stepped outside and Ginny looked at Harry who just smiled and quickly cast a warming charm around them so they felt comfortable again. They walked for a ways before Ginny said, "Are you ok with the breakup?"

Harry didn't answer for a bit but then said, "You know, I really am. It just wasn't right anymore. I'm upset that it ended and really hate the thought of finding another girlfriend. I don't want any of these girls who just want to go out with me because of Quidditch or my damn scar." Harry looked at Ginny and said, "I'm sorry, I'm whining aren't I?"

"No you're not. It's just so unusual for you to talk about anything that's bothering you. You should do it more often." She smiled back.

"I can just talk to you and Hermione better than anyone else, even Sirius or Ron." Harry studied her for a minute. "So Miss Weasley, how am I ever going to find a girl that likes me for being just Harry? Keep in mind that I'm pretty slow on figuring out what women are thinking. And, she's got to be able to handle the fact that anyone who I'm close to becomes a target of an evil madman"

"She's out there Harry, you just have to make sure you see her," Ginny said silently wishing it could be her.

"Wouldn't it be easier if she just hit me over the head and told me how she feels? Even I couldn't miss a signal like that," he joked before saying, "C'mon the others are probably wonder what we're doing out here."

"Let them wonder, it gives them something to do." Ginny laughed.

Harry left late that night and arrived at an empty home. He once again fell asleep on the couch, and slept in before finally getting cleaned up and ready to go. Kristi had told him not to pack much since she was taking him shopping. He wore some of the clothes that Cho had picked out since they were the most modern he had. After Apparating, he found himself outside of Kristi's flat. Harry knocked on the door and Kristi greeted him warmly. Harry thought she had a fantastic apartment overlooking a busy pedestrian street.

"First things first, we need to go shopping," Kristi announced. "Come with me." She grabbed his arm and he followed her out the door. The two walked along the street; Kristi pointing out interesting areas. For December in Paris, it was a pleasant sunny day outside. They had been in and out of at least six clothing stores before Kristi was satisfied with the results.

The teammates spent the rest of the day doing very Muggle-like things and had completely avoided the wizard areas. Harry was enjoying seeing a different side of Kristi and how she acted away from the press. That evening she was taking him to a rock club where a good friend of hers was playing in the band. She made him wear his dragon-hide boots and black leather pants with a black shirt. Harry thought he looked very strange but she assured him it would be perfect for the club they were going to. Kristi also was dressed in all black, which made her platinum blonde hair all the more striking. The club was at the far end of one of the side streets in the wizarding community. It didn't look like a very safe place to be but Kristi didn't seem to mind. There were people standing around outside that reminded Harry of 'biker gangs' that he had seen on TV at the Dursley's.

Kristi noticed Harry's look of apprehension and said, "These people look tough but their bark is much worse than their bite." She appraised him and added, "Now you on the other hand, I'd say your bite is worse than your bark." She smiled before pulling him inside. The music was very loud and was the kind that you really couldn't make out most of the words. Kristi pushed her way directly to an area where about five tables were pulled together in a corner. Once the occupants of the tables saw her, she was immediately greeted warmly. Kristi introduced Harry to all of her friends but Harry knew he wouldn't remember many names since it all went so quickly. There were about ten girls and four guys. Most were dressed in black and a couple of the girls had large tattoos on them. The guys seemed much bigger than Harry; he thought they looked like Slytherins. However, they did seem nice to him, which definitely wasn't like a Slytherin.

After a while, Harry actually liked this club. There wasn't any real dancing, mainly people listening to the music and hanging with their friends. It was a very loud club and it was hard to tell the people were even wizards and witches. Harry thought that Sirius may enjoy this place and he would have to bring his godfather back sometime. It was nice listening to the stories the other guys were telling about things they had done recently. Harry found out a couple of them were very successful business people and they all had good jobs.

Kristi didn't make Harry stay trapped with anyone for very long. Even when she was off talking to someone, she would break away and introduce him to other people. Not one of her friends mentioned anything about The-Boy-Who-Lived. After being uncomfortable at first, Harry started to feel more confident around her friends and was really enjoying the evening.

The band quit playing around one in the morning and the crowd thinned down considerably within the next hour. Harry met the members of the band and found out they played all over the country and had known Kristi for many years. Some of her friends wanted to go other places but Kristi declined and spent the next few minutes saying goodbye to everyone. They all were very nice to Harry and said they hoped to see him again sometime. Harry had told Kristi he didn't mind if they went with her friends but she said she'd rather just go home.

Back at her place, they changed into comfortable clothes and Harry was again struck by how different Kristi could look. You almost wouldn't think it was the same person that had just been dressed in all black. She had a blue soft cotton nightshirt that almost hung to the floor. She poured them both some wine and put on some music. For the next couple hours, they sat on the floor just talking. Harry was feeling very comfortable with her and began asking about her past. Kristi gave him an appraising look and told him about her parents. It seemed Voldemort had killed them as well when she was younger. She happened to have been at her grandparent's house that day but found out when the Ministry officials came to give her grandparents the news. She had only been four years old and it had been two months before Harry's parents were killed. Harry sat there in shocked silence while Kristi told what she remembered of the scene. She then grew up with her grandparents.

"I'm sorry Kristi, I never knew," Harry said feeling bad for not knowing this before.

"How could you know? There were so many attacks back then; none of them were special until yours. It may sound stupid, but when I was little, I used to be kind of mad that he hadn't attacked you before getting to my parents. I wasn't mad at you, just mad at the timing." Harry didn't know what to say and was feeling a bit uncomfortable. She must have sensed this and said, "You were different than what I expected when I met you. I thought you would be bigger," she said and laughed.

After that, things moved back to more pleasant topics and Harry felt glad Kristi had told him about her past. It made him understand more why she had treated him good from the start. Kristi said goodnight and went to her room. Harry took the blankets she had given him and curled up on the couch. He felt like he slept better than he had in a long time that night.

They both slept late and when Harry was coming out after taking a shower Kristi mentioned a couple of owls had delivered two notes. Harry grabbed a piece of toast and opened the first note.

Harry

Good news, you're security clearance is back. The Minister of Magic authorized it last night. I hope you'll be able to come and see us before long. With everything that's happening, I'd like to remind you that we'd love to have you work for us once you get out of school. I'm sure we can easily work around your Quidditch schedule. I understand from Professor Dumbledore that you're making great progress this year.

Have a good holiday and come see us soon.

Fletch

P.S. Keep the item for a bit. Some things aren't fully secure yet.

Harry was beaming so Kristi asked, "I take it that was good news?"

"My security clearance for the Ministry got re-activated. The Minister of Education locked me out a while back. This is great news," he said with a smile.

"The other one looks important. Minister of Magic seal on it and everything," Kristi said with an amused look.

Harry

Sorry to bother you while you're in Paris but I wanted to send this. It was announced today that the Minister of Education dropped out of the race. The official reason was that he thinks we could make a better team if he retained the Minister of Education position. In some ways, I wish it had gone to a real election so he would have lost some power but at least it's over. I actually won!

I can't thank you enough for all your help and I know I couldn't have done it without you. I talked to your friends in the Unspeakables and your access is being restored. I know they were anxious for that to happen.

I thought you would get a kick out of me using official parchment and everything.

Thanks again Harry and I'll try to do everything I can to help our community. I'm working on how to spread the news that You-Know-Who is actually back.

Minister of Magic

Arthur Weasley.

"Mr. Weasley became the Minister!" Harry shouted and hugged Kristi. "I can't believe it." Harry went on to tell her everything he knew and she seemed happy as well.

"How did they find you here?" Kristi asked.

"Oh, they tend to keep pretty close track of me," Harry said rolling his eyes. "They don't think I can take care of myself. I really wouldn't be too surprised to find out that we were followed the whole time last night. If there was some big attack, I bet they'd be here dragging me away in no time."

"That must make you feel pretty good that they all care about you?"

"It makes me more annoyed than anything. Why do they worry so much about me? They don't do these things for any other wizard. It's not right. And, I can take care of myself," he said adamantly.

"Think about it. If people start believing You-Know-Who is back they're going to be more worried than they are already. Then, if they find out you've been killed this time, they'll really be a panic. Older people would really be bothered by that. To younger wizards, you're more of a Quidditch player but to older ones, you're the one who stopped him the first time."

That was all the conversation about Voldemort, but for the rest of that day, Harry was in a fantastic mood. He almost wished he could leave and head to the Burrow to celebrate but was enjoying the time with Kristi. That evening Kristi said they were going to the opening of an art exhibition. A friend of a friend of hers was some big artist and they were going to the big party. Kristi picked out the clothes for Harry to wear and he really liked them, and they weren't totally black. Kristi also dressed very nice in a longer form fitting dress. She had arranged for a limo to take them to the opening and had warned Harry that there would be press there.

When the car stopped and the door opened, Harry heard the press calling Kristi's name, then as soon as he stepped out he heard even more yells. Harry just followed her lead and stopped a few times with her for pictures. She had said that any publicity would help the artist so Harry didn't mind. Kristi led him around most of the night. She amazed Harry by being so comfortable in almost any situation. She fit right in at the rock bar and also at this high-class party. Harry tried to pay attention and learn how she did it. The night wore on and it was rare that Kristi wasn't right by his side. Harry was amused that Kristi obviously felt more comfortable leaving him with her friends at the bar than with the people at this party.

Back at her apartment, they sat around talking again for a couple hours before Kristi went to bed and Harry fell asleep on the couch. The next morning, they had a late breakfast and Harry told her how much he enjoyed the couple of days. "This has just been great Kristi, thanks again."

"No problem. Next time I want to see your place."

"That seems fair. I don't know as many exciting things to do though."

"It'll be fine doing anything. Trust me," she said kind of mocking him since he always told people to just trust him.

He gave her a hug and apparated away. Dropping his stuff, he decided to go to the Burrow to congratulate Mr. Weasley in person so he quickly popped over there. The house was in even more chaos than normal. All of the children except for Percy were still there. He had to tell Mrs. Weasley that he couldn't breathe she was hugging him so hard.

Mr. Weasley said, "I hope you don't mind me sending the owl to Paris. I didn't want you to find out in the papers before I told you."

"Not at all. I think Kristi was impressed an owl from the Minister of Magic came to her apartment," Harry responded.

Immediately the twins said, "So, you were staying at Kristi's apartment were you?"

Harry saw Ginny and Mrs. Weasley look at him sternly but all the boys looked anxious. "On the couch! I stayed on the couch. I promise."

Ron grabbed him and said, "C'mon mate, we can talk in private about your trip."

They were having supper still talking about all the changes that Mr. Weasley wanted to do when Charlie looked up from the paper he was reading and handed it to the twins who started laughing and went to pass it to Ron but Ginny grabbed it. After reading a bit she said, "You don't dress like that for us? Been doing some shopping?" Harry looked confused until she turned the paper around to see a picture of Kristi and Harry at the exhibit opening.

Harry blushed and said, "She thought I could use some new clothes. She has a friend who is an artist, that's all."

Charlie looked again and said, "You make a good couple she's a babe."

This comment drew an angry look from Ginny who said, "She's not Harry's type and probably just using his fame."

"I don't think so, she's pretty famous on her own. She told me that her parents were killed by Voldemort about six months before mine were. I think she's just being nice to me, that's it," Harry said convinced he was right.

This caused the subject to be changed back to Mr. Weasley. Before leaving Harry asked Ginny to take a walk. He was asking about how excited she was for her father. On the way back she stopped and asked, "You're not going to start dating Kristi are you?"

Harry looked at her deeply and asked, "You don't like her?"

Ginny kind of blushed and said, "I don't think she's your type, that's all."

"I can't even think about dating right now. Every time I do, I keep seeing that picture of Cho. Kristi was just being nice to me."

The next afternoon, Harry was preparing to go to the Grangers. He was kind of nervous about this. He had only met them quickly a couple of times either near Diagon Alley or the train station. He packed some nice clothes for the party and apparated outside of their home. It looked like a very nice home with a large yard. The other houses on the street looked great as well. He knocked at Mr. Granger answered the door. "Harry. Come in, we're glad you could join us." The man said shaking Harry's hand.

Harry followed the man into the living room where Mrs. Granger greeted him. "It's good to see you again Harry. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

"You have a great home Mrs. Granger," Harry said looking around.

"Thank you. Hermione's upstairs reading," she said.

"Probably studying," Harry joked.

"Yes, she keeps saying that she needs to catch up to you," Mrs. Granger said.

"I seriously doubt that's the case," Harry replied just as Hermione was coming down.

"Harry! I thought I heard the door." She hugged him tightly. "C'mon let me show you your room." She grabbed his arm and dragged him upstairs and to a room across from hers.

Harry put his bag down and said, "This is a really nice house Hermione."

She blushed a bit and said, "My parents work really hard. Isn't it great about Ron's dad? You should see the owls I got from Ron and Ginny. They went on and on about how they couldn't believe you made this happen for them."

"I didn't make anything happen. Mr. Weasley was the best person for the job."

"But he wouldn't have run without your help and that note. You really did good," she said. "So, what do you want to do for the next few days?"

"Anything you want Hermione. The only thing I want to do is to take your family out for being so nice and letting me stay here."

"You don't have to do that, but it would be nice to get out. I'm sure we can talk them into it. After that it's anything I want huh? I'll think on that." She looked down and said, "I heard about you and Cho. Amazing you went all the way to Rome to break up."

"I didn't plan on breaking up, it just happened. At least I've seen Rome now," he said.

They spent a few hours down talking to her parents and she showed him all around the house. Mrs. Granger fixed a nice supper and they were all sitting around talking. "That was a very nice picture of you in the paper Harry," Mrs. Granger said.

Harry looked confused until Hermione said, "The one with Kristi."

"Oh. Thanks. I'm sure she asked me to go since I talked her into helping with Mr. Weasley's fundraiser a while back. She has a friend who is the artist," Harry replied.

"Still, it must be exciting to go off to Paris for something like that," Mrs. Granger said.

"Hermione can do that too," Harry said not understanding why they thought it was special.

"But I won't be able to go to exhibit openings or anything like that," Hermione added.

"Sure you can. We'll find some way to get invited and then you and I will go." He hesitated and said, "If your parents don't mind that is."

Mr. Granger chuckled. "Nice manners Harry, but she is an adult and could go if she wanted."

They went on to talk about school and the special project Hermione and Harry were working on. Harry got up and insisted on doing the dishes since Mrs. Granger cooked. Hermione came in to help and they made a mess by hitting each other with soap suds. Before her parents could find out, she magically cleaned all the mess they made.

Hermione and Harry stayed up much later than her parents talking and practicing little bits of magic. The next day the pair went to the Leaky Cauldron and was deciding whether to walk down Diagon Alley or out into muggle London when Hermione had an idea. "Let's go down Knockturn Alley."

Harry looked at her. "Hermione. You're really getting into this dark art stuff."

"No I'm not. It's just really interesting watching the people. Come on, we'll pull our cloaks up. Ron will be shocked when we tell him."

They went out into Diagon Alley and found the street leading to Knockturn Alley. Standing off to the side, they pulled up their cloaks and went down, staying very close to each other. Harry had to admit it was interesting being down here seeing all the strange people and creatures. He was letting Hermione lead and hoped she knew how to get back out. They spent a couple hours wandering around Knockturn Alley, going into the strange shops before returning to muggle London and going to see a movie.

On the way to supper that night, Hermione warned her parents that Harry would be recognized and it may be uncomfortable. They both laughed slightly and told her that they would be fine if some sports fanatic came to talk to Harry. Hermione looked at Harry and whispered, "They'll see. I tried to warn them." They got to the Leaky Cauldron, which her parents knew well by now. Tom greeted them all warmly.

They had only gotten to the main street in Diagon Alley when Harry started hearing his name being talked about. He instinctively took Hermione's hand to make sure he didn't lose her and felt good when she squeezed it back. It was a crowded evening and by the time they got to the restaurant he could tell Mr. & Mrs. Granger didn't know what to think about everyone pointing and calling his name. Harry took them to the same restaurant that he had taken Sirius and Kelly. Even with the line, they were seated immediately and the staff all called him by name. They got Harry's favorite table overlooking the street and started to look through the menu.

"My godfather and his girlfriend both really liked the food here. I hope you do," Harry said.

Mr. Granger looked at him and asked, "Is it always like that when you go out?"

Hermione spoke up, "I told you how it would be dad. You should have believed me."

"It gets old; I just try to ignore it. It's much crazier in Paris since I play for the French team. I wouldn't go there by myself," Harry added

They ate a very relaxing meal and Harry liked watching the look on Hermione's parent's faces while they were looking out the window at all the wizards. They talked about their dentistry practice and about things Hermione did growing up. It was a very enjoyable evening and before they knew it, they had been there for over three hours. Harry insisted on paying and Hermione seemed annoyed at the way the waitress was flirting with Harry.

Walking back out, Harry took Hermione's hand again without thinking. She looked up at him and smiled warmly. She was thinking about how nice it was the two of them having a good time with her parents. They got back out to muggle London where Harry wasn't recognized and he started to let go of Hermione's hand but she squeezed it a bit so he held on. Harry had become more comfortable touching girls since being around R.J., and now Kristi and all of her friends. They were always hugging and taking him by the hand for something.

All the way home, the Grangers were talking about things they had seen along the street. Hermione kept laughing and having to explain what things were. Hermione's parents went to bed not long after getting home but Harry and Hermione sat up talking.

"I think they had a really good time tonight Harry," Hermione said, sitting on the couch next to him.

"I hope so. They're really nice. I had a good time too," he replied.

"Not as good as being in Paris I bet," she said, only half joking.

Harry answered quickly. "I'd rather be with you than in Paris any day."

Hermione could just tell by the way he said it that he was being totally honest. She was kind of lost in a daydream when he asked. "When you go to the university, are you going to live here?"

She thought for a second and said, "I'm not sure. They don't have dorm style housing so I either have to live here or find an apartment."

Hermione could tell there was something on his mind. "What is it Harry? You look like you want to say something."

"You know that after this year, I'm probably going to work with the Unspeakables and play Quidditch." Hermione had said of course. "Well what do you think about the idea of us being roommates someplace?"

Hermione was shocked; this was not at all what she would have expected. Harry could guess her shock and said, "I understand if you don't want to. I mean you'll be on to bigger things and all."

"No. That's not it. I'm just amazed you asked that. You never ask things like that."

"I'm trying to get better with you guys."

"You know, I'd love to be your roommate. Where would we live your castle?" she asked.

"Really? We could live anywhere you want. I'll see if Sirius wants to stay at the castle. I didn't think you'd want to live there. I can't believe you'd be my roommate," Harry said happily.

"We could try the castle. No sense letting it sit there. Why didn't you think I'd be your roommate?"

"I just thought you'd probably want to move on. I mean you're going to be moving into bigger challenges and everything and I'll be doing the same old stuff."

"If I have new challenges, I'd want you there for support. I think it's a great idea. I wish I had been the one to think of it," Hermione said.

"You could do whatever you want to the castle to make it more like what you want. I wonder what your parents will think."

"I imagine my parents would be thrilled. They'd be much happier than having me live on my own. Oh Harry, this will be great."

They went back to lying on the floor reading and both ended up falling asleep only to be woken up by Mrs. Granger the next morning. Luckily, they had the books between them so it was obvious that nothing happened. "Wake up you two. Today is the party and I've got to clean up."

Hermione smiled but Harry was nervous. "I'm sorry Mrs. Granger; we were just studying and fell asleep."

"That's ok Harry, I don't mind. Now go get cleaned up and we'll have breakfast. Mr. Granger is already in the kitchen."

Harry quickly gathered his things and went upstairs, yelling at himself for falling asleep in their house with their daughter. He was about to go into the bathroom when Hermione stopped him. "You really looked embarrassed," she said.

"Of course I am. They probably think I'm a big git about now," Harry replied worried about what her parents thought of him now.

"They do not. My mom said they thought we were really cute lying there. She almost hated to wake us. Now get cleaned up," Hermione said before ducking into her room.

Harry took a quick shower and got dressed. He sat there for a few minutes trying to get all the embarrassment out of his system before going down. He sat down at the table waiting for Hermione and having some juice. Neither of her parents said anything, which made him feel nervous. After a bit, Hermione came down and sat next to him. Mr. Granger spoke up. "Now, I want to talk to you two about sleeping together."

Harry dropped his toast and all the color faded from his face.