Later that day, the Grangers, Harry and Hermione were heading out to a local art show when Neil received a call from the wife of a friend in Leeds. His friend had been involved in an accident and he left immediately to head north, leaving the others to attend without him. The art show was interesting and took most of the morning and early afternoon. They returned home and were relaxing when Harry decided to spring his surprise. Walking into the living room where Hermione was reading, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. She smiled and put her book down to look at him.
"Mione love, I have a surprise for you. Time to get ready because I'm taking you on a date. Already arranged everything with the Aurors."
"Ooh! Where are we going?"
"I said it was a surprise."
She made a show of mock pouting that was adorable and Harry laughed at her as he helped pull her off the couch. She kissed him thoroughly and then turned to head upstairs. Halfway up, she turned around.
"What should I wear? Formal? Casual?"
"Casual love. This is what I'm wearing."
Hermione let her eyes wander as she openly admired. Harry was wearing her favorite pair of tight black jeans and a red t-shirt that showed his lightly toned Quidditch muscles nicely. Nodding, she turned back around and continued upstairs. Harry meanwhile went to fill Jean in on the plans. She was in her small studio off the kitchen, working on a watercolor.
"Hi Jean. I told you earlier we had plans. Well, actually I had plans. It's a surprise for Hermione. We'll be leaving shortly. The Aurors will be apparating and escorting us."
"Alright Harry, be careful and have fun. Care to tell me the surprise?"
"I managed to purchase VIP tickets to see the Weird Sisters. They've booked a warehouse in downtown London. Half the block is being treated with muggle repelling charms in preparation."
"Ah, so would that explain your mysterious owl message that you wouldn't tell Hermione about when she got miffed?"
"Maybe. I swear, it's too hard to surprise her."
Jean just laughed and nodded. Harry went back to the living room to wait for Hermione. She came down a short while later and Harry goggled. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a short sleeve shirt with long flowing lace over the sleeves. Her hair was pulled back with the comb he purchased her and she had done something to tame it into ringlets. She was wearing a touch of makeup and looked gorgeous. She noticed his appreciative look and smiled as she reached the bottom of the stairs. He crossed over to her and took her in his arms.
"You look amazing love. I don't think I deserve to be seen with you."
She frowned at him and swatted his chest as he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss became more than he planned and he had to exert his willpower to pull back.
"Guess I should stop that or we'll be late."
They stepped into the garage and opened the door. It was getting dark out, but they stayed in the back where they couldn't be seen. A minute later, Frank appeared next to them. With a wink at Harry, he took them each by an arm and apparated them away. They landed neatly in the VIP apparition room of the concert location. Frank turned and looked at Harry while Hermione surveyed their surrounding and tried to assess where they were.
"Alright Harry, I'm going to mingle around and keep an eye on things. There are also Aurors outside for the overall event. Something this big in muggle London always has tight security. Send up a signal with your wand if you need me. You may not see me, but I won't be far."
"Thanks Frank for all your help."
Harry took Hermione by an arm and led her out to a bar and lounge where those with VIP tickets were waiting. The room may once have been a storage area on the back of the warehouse, but now it was draped in dark blue velvet and lit with a variety of colored lights as low music played, increasing the ambiance. The tickets had been quite expensive, but perks like this lounge and the food after made it worth it. He pulled Hermione to him and gave her a quick peck. Then he turned her to the bar, where a large picture of the Weird Sisters hung above. Her eyes got huge.
"Harry! Are we at a Weird Sisters concert?"
Harry grinned and was rewarded by an enthusiastic kiss.
"I figured since this is our first real date we should do something memorable. I should have taken you out sooner."
"You know I don't mind. We've been out before, not really a date, but I don't need anything official."
"Maybe not, but you deserve it. So, we are here for the concert. After, this lounge will be set up with a buffet for late dinner. VIPs only, which is us. I'm told the tickets were limited to 100. We should meet the band then too."
Hermione grinned and started kissing him again. Soon they devolved into a full snog that elicited a couple whistles, causing them to pull apart. They went to the bar and order a couple fancy drinks, both of which were smoking. They wandered and talked with a few people, including Hannah Abbott and her cousin Rachel. The Greengrass sisters from Slytherin were also in attendance, but they passed them with barely a nod. Then they saw Draco Malfoy and steered wide as he sneered at them from across the room. The average age in the room was around nineteen and the majority were wealthy purebloods. Hermione was a bit disconcerted, realizing she was probably the only muggleborn in the room. They were definitely mixing with the elite. Then she remembered that she and her husband were probably the richest people in the place, or at least in the top percentage. That thought helped her to settle as she clung to Harry and sipped her drink. Soon the lights flickered and changed and one wall of the blue velvet curtains separated. Several ushers stepped forward to scan wands for identification and show the VIPs to their seats. Harry was happy when they were led in the opposite direction of Malfoy. The seats he had purchased were in the first tier, suspended directly above the main floor. They were absolutely perfect, giving them an elevated view set back just enough from the stage for a bit of perspective. Their seating area was small and much less crowded than below. They sat down and finished their drinks. Almost immediately an usher arrived to see if they wanted something else. Harry handed her a good handful of galleons and ordered another round. The tip he gave the usher assured that they would be well looked after for the evening.
Twenty minutes after they were seated, the opening act came out and everyone screamed when it turned out to be the Hobgoblins. They weren't as big as the Weird Sisters, but were still a well-known band in the wizarding world. They set the mood perfectly as they wailed and rocked the stage. Harry and Hermione were on their feet, no longer using their seats and enjoying every minute. When they hit their third song and slowed it down for a ballad, Harry happily took his wife in his arms and slowly danced with her. Then the fourth and last song of the opening act picked the mood right back up. After the Hobgoblins left, the stage went black and the only lights in the audience were blue as everyone looked around, barely able to see as they waited for the Weird Sisters to arrive. After a few minutes of murmurings from the crowd, all of a sudden the lights on stage flashed on at the exact moment that the two guitars and the bagpipes started. The entire band was right at the front of the stage and immediately kicked off with one of their loudest songs as the crowd roared to life. For the next hour and twenty minutes, the Weird Sisters put on a pulse shattering, amazing show. They ended with two encores as the crowd sent sparks in the air with their wands. Harry wondered briefly about underage magic, but figured with the amount of people in the building it would probably be impossible to pin a single spell to any one person. He thought about sending up sparks as well, but then decided that it may alert Frank and desisted. When the show was finally over, the usher was back at their side and escorted them back to the lounge.
Harry separated from Hermione briefly while they both used the loo. He was at first hesitant to let her out of his sight, but he knew she was fine. Not long after the concert ended, the buffet started to be set up. Harry and Hermione each got a third drink and were feeling quite relaxed. While they waited to eat, they visited the merch table and each bought Weird Sisters t-shirts. The food was all quite excellent and they enjoyed sitting with Hannah and Rachel. Hannah was Hufflepuff and neither knew her well, but they enjoyed getting to know her better. Rachel was American and visiting from the States. Halfway through their meal, the band arrived and everyone cheered and applauded. The guys were all nice and slowly made their way around the room to talk to the different VIPs. When they reached Harry, Myron stopped and realized who Harry was. All the band immediately gathered around and Harry proudly introduced his wife. Then he made sure to also introduce Hannah and Rachel. The band then graciously pulled out their wands and signed everyone's t-shirts before moving on to the next table. After the band left, Harry went and gathered cake for himself and Hermione. They finished their drinks and dessert as the VIP crowd gradually started to disperse. Harry looked over to one side and saw Frank. A brief wave brought the Auror to their table. They said good night to the Abbott cousins and Frank took them to apparate them home. They arrived late, but Jean was still awake watching an old movie on the telly. She looked up and smiled when they came in.
"Hello you two. Looks like you had fun."
"Yes mum. Harry spoiled me. VIP tickets to the Weird Sisters! And we had a buffet after. The band even came around we got our shirts signed!"
Hermione waved her shirt at her mum and Jean chuckled. It was good to see a flash of normal teenage girl in her daughter. She was flushed and quite happy. They'd obviously had a few drinks as well. Harry was grinning from ear to ear and had his hand resting on her bum. The two of them really did deserve a nice night out relaxing like a normal couple.
"Well, I'm glad you two had fun. My commercial is almost over now though, sorry."
Hermione laughed as her mum turned back to her movie. She took Harry by the hand and led him up to their bedroom. Once they were there, she began kissing him hungrily. Just as he started to fondle her, she pulled back.
"I'm going to the loo. You go ahead and get comfortable Harry."
Harry nodded and watched her bum wiggle as she stopped in the closet and went to the loo. She looked over her shoulder and winked at him and he felt himself twitch as his already tight jeans tightened more. He quickly stripped down to his trunks and found a pair of sweatpants. He laid back on the bed and waited for Hermione as he thought about how well the evening had gone. Then his thoughts were interrupted when Hermione came out of the bathroom. She was wearing nothing but lacy pink knickers and a tight white tank top. Harry's eyes devoured her as he sat up on the bed. She crossed the room and took a wand from the nightstand to cast the charms on the room. Then she crawled over on top of Harry and began to nibble his ear. Soon their tongues were entwined as his hands slid under the lace and cupped her bum. His cock hardened completely and he groaned as she ground herself down on him. Then she sat up, straddling him as she slowly removed his sweat pants. She looked at his trunks and grinned wickedly.
"Those look a bit tight love. Aren't you uncomfortable?"
"Why don't you do something to help me out then?" Harry growled.
Harry sat up suddenly and his mouth was on her as he ripped her tank top off and began to fondle her breasts. Hermione loved it when he played with her and she made up her mind completely as she pulled back, panting.
"Harry love, I want you tonight. All the way. Make love to me. Please."
Harry's eyes shot open as he suppressed a groan that started from between his legs.
"Really? You're ready?"
"Yes. You remember a week ago when we went to Diagon and I stopped at the apothecary? I picked up a six month supply of the Potion. I started it so that I would be prepared when the time was right. You've been patient with me, but I don't want to wait any longer."
Harry cupped her face and smiled at her.
"I love you so much Mione. We'll take this slow. I want this to be as special as possible."
He kissed her slowly, letting his tongue explore her as he rolled them to the side as they lay down together. He began to trace kisses all over her as a hand worked into her knickers. She began to squirm and moan and he could feel how wet she was. He was a virgin, but the guys in the dorms talked a lot and he knew that was a good sign. He slowly removed her knickers as he continued kissing her. Then she pushed him back enough so that she could finally lower his trunks and free his rock hard cock. She gripped him as he kicked the trunks off the bed and thrust himself into her hand. Then she released him and he moved over her, kissing her deep as he positioned himself, preparing to enter her. He looked at her and she nodded as he started to push in slowly. She was wonderfully tight and hot and felt exquisite. Then he saw a bit of pain cross her face and he stopped. He hated hurting her.
"It's fine love, keep going slow."
Harry continued and was mostly in her when he reached her barrier and stopped. She was biting her lip and he leaned forward to kiss her as he stopped moving and let her adjust to his girth. She gave him another nod and he decided to get it over with quick as he gave one short thrust and pushed himself the rest of the way in. Hermione yelped and her nails dug into his shoulders as a couple tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. He stopped and leaned forward to kiss the tears away. The feeling for him was magnificent and he had been afraid he would come immediately, but as he worried for her he found himself holding back. He kept kissing her and muttered endearments quietly in her ear while he waited for her to be ready to continue. A couple minutes later, she kissed him and smiled.
"Thanks love, I'm better. You can move now."
Harry began to slowly pull out a bit and then push back in. He gradually lengthened his strokes and watched her face closely. The pain was gone and soon was replaced with happiness as she began to move with him. He was close and started to think about a particularly bad potions class to hold himself back. He wanted to see her come desperately as he lengthened his strokes and adjusted himself. As he pulled slightly to the side, her eyes shot open and she yelped as she threw her head back. He seemed to have found a spot she liked and he held her leg slightly as he repeated what he had done. She thrust up to meet him as he went into her even deeper. She was panting and begged him to speed up, which he did. Then she looked right at him and the look of ecstasy on her face made him tremble. He could almost feel her climax as she suddenly came and squeezed down on his cock. That finally made him lose it as he shot off inside her and they both called out to each other. As they mutually climaxed, something familiar happened as the room filled with blue-white light and the chimes of their soul bond returned. As the chimes sounded, Harry pushed into her once again even though he thought he was done he came again as she screamed and shuddered to a second climax as well. Gradually they both settled as he softened and slid out of her, rolling to her side as they held each other tightly. As far as they were concerned, they were the only ones in the world at that moment. As Harry looked into Hermione's eyes, his own contentment magnified as hers rolled into him. She felt the same from him and thought that no one could ever truly understand what they had. A few minutes later, their bliss was interrupted when a silvery boar bounded into the room. The patronus started talking immediately.
"This is Frank. What's going on? I'm calling backup."
Harry groaned and jumped out bed, reaching for his sweatpants. He tossed Hermione a robe as he grabbed his wand and dissolved their privacy charms. He opened the bedroom door and groaned as he saw Frank and Jean both standing there.
"Hi Frank. Don't call backup. We're fine."
Hermione appeared behind Harry and Frank looked over the two teenagers. They were both looking quite rumpled. Hermione's hair was a sight.
"Alright Harry. What the bloody hell? I saw a light coming from up here when I was outside. It was so bright I thought there was an explosion, except I didn't hear anything. I came barging in, frightening Mrs. Granger who was on the way up the stairs. That's when I heard some kind of music."
Harry blushed. "Um, yeah. The lights and music is part of the soul bond magic. It's happened before."
"Well you could have bloody warned us. Should we expect this a lot?"
Hermione decided to take over, even though she was blushing more than Harry.
"I'm not sure Frank, but I don't think so. Soul bonds are unique and not understood. We hadn't anticipated that happening again. I think our bond is complete now though so I think it's done."
Frank nodded and a look of realization finally hit him. He did his best not to smile.
"Hmm, yes, I think I understand. Well, my apologies for the intrusion. I'm glad everything is alright."
"Frank? Since you didn't call backup, does this have to be part of your official duty report?"
"What? No. Since you're alright, I don't think it needs to be."
"Thanks."
Frank turned and left the couple and Jean standing in front of the door. She smirked at the two of them and yawned.
"Well, since the excitement's done, I'm going to bed. I'll let the two of you continue."
Jean went down the hall while Harry and Hermione went back to the bedroom and closed the door. They flopped on the bed and cuddled up again.
"Well that was bloody embarrassing."
Hermione giggled. "Definitely. Although the part before they showed up was quite spectacular."
Harry smiled and kissed her. They were soon wrapped around each other as they quickly forgot the interruption. After a few minutes, Hermione pulled back and smiled.
"I really wasn't expecting anything quite like that again. I guess our bond really is complete. It made it quite memorable."
"Yes. I hope it won't be hard to match the memory of that first time."
"Well, why don't we try?"
Harry grinned and leaned over her as she reached to guide him back into her. Their second time was slow and delicious as they each focused on pleasuring and loving each other. Harry marveled at the experience. This was truly making love. It was more than sex. More than a quick shag. When they both came it wasn't accompanied by lights and music, but it was just as spectacular and this time Harry was the one with tears in his eyes. They were both finally satisfied and when they finished, they fell asleep embracing.
The next morning, Hermione was the first awake and she smiled at her husband, her lover. He was completely peaceful with a small upward turn to his mouth that made her smile. His hair was a shock and it was sexy as hell. She looked down and saw that he had his usual partial morning wood. She considered waking him to take advantage of it, but she was still sore from the previous night. The pain was to be expected and it was completely worth it in the end. Harry had been an amazing and wonderfully patient lover as she knew he would be. Slowly she lifted his arm off her and rolled off the bed. She grabbed a robe and tiptoed to the loo. Checking a clock, she saw it was still early. She cast a couple cleaning charms and decided that she wanted some tea as she made her way quietly out of the room. When she reached the kitchen, she found her mother was already there. Jean looked up and smiled at her daughter.
"Good morning. I'm surprised to see you awake this early. Harry still sleeping?"
"Yes. I managed to sneak out without waking him. Thought I'd get some tea. Maybe I'll surprise him for a change and make breakfast."
"Sounds good. Also, I wanted to apologize about last night. If I'd understood, I wouldn't have come up there. The light was quite bright."
"It's alright mum. I'm glad dad wasn't home though. Frank was bad enough. We had no idea that would happen again."
"So that's what happened when you bonded in the hospital?"
Hermione nodded as she reached for the teapot.
"Well I guess I understand why it made such a commotion. Quite remarkable. I also understand a bit more about the magic of a soul bond now. I think though that I won't mention it to your father. He already has nightmares about the two of you."
"Really mum? We're married. Married by magic, but still. As you've see it's more of a bond than a lot of people get with a quick ceremony. We waited over two weeks before we completed the bond and Harry let me make that decision."
"I understand dear, but these things are difficult for fathers. And you're still so young. Not that I'm delusional about things these days. I know a lot of girls your age sleep around. And you are married. I'm glad your consummation was so spectacular."
"Thanks mum, but I don't think I want to talk in detail about it."
"I understand. Just one more thing. I have to ask. I'm a mum. Have you and Harry discussed family? Truthfully, I'm not quite ready to be a grandmum."
"We're definitely not ready for family. We have school to finish and a dark wizard to defeat. You don't have to worry, I started the Potion earlier this week."
"Ah, okay. I know you're smart. Thanks for reassuring me."
Jean came around and hugged her daughter as the topic of conversation thankfully switched to a choice of what to make for breakfast. By the time Harry showed up a while later, breakfast was almost complete. He came into the kitchen and pulled Hermione into a hug. She turned to kiss him and he decided to not let her go until she pushed back.
"Harry! Stop distracting me. I'm going to burn the pancakes."
"Mmm. Pancakes. Alright, I guess I'll stop. For now."
Jean laughed and Harry looked over at her and blushed
"Morning Jean. Um, sorry about last night."
"No worries Harry. Hermione and I already chatted. Everything's fine."
Harry nodded and went to pour himself some tea. Soon the three of them were sitting down to the delicious breakfast and Harry praised his wife's cooking. After, he insisted on doing the cleanup. Then he and Hermione went back upstairs to shower and dress. When they reached the room, Harry offered to let her take the first shower.
"Actually, why don't we save water and shower together love?"
Harry grinned and dropped his sweatpants to the floor as Hermione chuckled. The shower actually took much longer than planned and in the end Harry doubted that any water was saved. Hermione was still too sore for anything strenuous, but they had both managed to pleasure each other orally and both had come enough that they had wash a second time. Eventually they got clean and dressed and decided to do some studying. After the events of the previous night, Hermione decided that it was time to read their book on soul bonds. With their schoolwork and other studies, she had set the book aside. It wasn't a very large book and she figured it wouldn't take it long to read through. Harry seemed to think it was a good idea, even though he didn't voice this. While she settled into the book, Harry continued one of the defense books, reading about unusual charms applications. The two felt quite content as they snuggled up and studied together. Hermione could almost feel the peaceful vibes coming from Harry. She was about a third of the way through the book when all of a sudden something she read made a few things start to click into place. Harry had set his book down and looked over at her.
"Need to tell me something love?"
Hermione looked over the top of the book and stared at him.
"Harry, why did you stop right then and ask me that?"
"Um, I don't know. I guess I thought you wanted to tell me something."
"Well I do, but how did you know right then?"
Harry shrugged.
"Well I think I have the answer. And it explains a few things. Apparently it's been noted in most soul bond cases that the soul bonded individuals are capable of feeling their partner's emotions. In a few rare cases the partners even reach the level of mind speech with each other. It's also been reported that there may be knowledge sharing among bonded individuals through their mind link."
Harry's eyes popped open.
"Well that does explain a bit. Last night when we were together, I could feel your climax almost like a wave coming at me. At first I thought it was part of mine. I mean, I'm not that experienced. Except that what I felt was different, less but still wonderful. And when we separated at the concert to go to separate loos, I was worried at first, but then I just knew you were alright."
"I've had similar feelings, especially last night. I felt the same from you. I guess our love making will be something really special if we feel our own and each other's climaxes. And when you were talking to dad the other night, I was in the kitchen but I came out because I felt you were uneasy."
"I wonder to if it's helping with our studying? Like when you helped me with the potions homework. It was almost like once you saw what I was working on, it just made more sense to me. The next day when I read the Charms chapters you had read before, they seemed familiar."
"Wow. This could really help with classes."
"So, does the book say how long the bond takes to grow completely? Does it keep growing all the time?"
"Well, it doesn't give a timeline. The maturity of the bond is unique to each couple. It does state that there seems to be a point of maximum maturity. I'll keep reading."
Harry nodded and leaned over to kiss her as they each returned to their own readings. Fifteen minutes later Hermione paused again and Harry looked up, knowingly.
"Listen to this Harry: While the initial soul bonding experience can occur from any intense physical contact, the actual consummation of the bond is most intense with intercourse and some bondings have even reported a secondary bonding experience upon initiation of sexual contact. There is evidence that this consummation will also produce a marked increase in soul bond linkage and skills, including potential mind speech and magic growth."
"Wow. Maybe we should have read that sooner and been warned about what happened last night. It kind of makes sense after what happened that our linkage will be more intense now. What does it mean by magic growth?"
"Well, it doesn't say specifically, but all wizards and witches go through periods of magic growth. Just like our physical bodies, our magic grows and matures. If you think about it, you cast the privacy spells last night and those have never been your strongest. Yet, you cast them so strong that an Auror had to send a patronus into the room because he couldn't break through them. Also, when I cast the privacy spells before we talked to my parents, I felt they were easier than before. Now that we are bonded our magical cores are linked. So I would surmise that we can draw on each other's power. Of course, that could be dangerous if we over exert."
"Hmm, I guess we need to practice carefully while we see out how this works."
Hermione nodded and continued reading the book. She didn't find anything else that they didn't already know, although there were several stories of other soul bonded couples that were quite interesting to read about. The most recent the book noted was seventy five years previous. Once she had finished, she gave the book to Harry. It had only taken Hermione a bit over an hour to read the brief volume, but Harry took much less time to skim through it since he already knew most of it. Once that was done, they continued on with defensive studies.
Harry and Hermione spent the next two weeks in much the same way, studying and working around the house. Neil had returned from Leeds and both he and Jean kept up full schedules at the practice, leaving the young couple with the house to themselves most days. They enjoyed the time alone and also made themselves useful doing small chores and projects around the house. Ron, Ginny, Neville and a couple other friends sent owl post regularly and they responded on a weekly basis. Ron and Ginny both insisted that they come to the Burrow later in the summer as planned and a date had been set with the Grangers of August 9th, giving them three weeks at the end of summer to spend at the Burrow. Hermione of course asked Ron how his homework and studies were going and Ron of course managed to not answer the question. Harry also traded a couple owls with Sirius, but he had left earlier in the summer with Remus on a trip to the continent. It was some sort of secret mission that Dumbledore set them on and he couldn't say much. Once they were gone, he had only managed to send one owl. Harry had wanted to visit with him, but he was so happy with Hermione that he didn't much mind.
Harry made a point of taking Hermione on a couple more dates, usually just in the neighborhood. They had located a couple small restaurants they both liked and would have lunch out a couple days a week, sometimes meeting the Grangers. They also went bowling once, but both decided it wasn't something they were fond of. They also enjoyed the muggle cinema. Harry had only been to two movies as a child and he felt indulgent when they once went three times in one week. He made a point to try courting Hermione, which she found endearing, although she insisted that she really didn't feel shorted by having skipped straight to being married. Back at home, she and Harry were doing well in their basic defensive studies, but had completely obliterated a few dummies and were longing for more instruction. The books were helpful, but they each felt like they wanted to learn more. When they weren't studying books, they studied each other and often made good use of the empty house during the day. The summertime wore on and they were happy, but starting to get a bit bored. Then one evening at dinner, Neil suggested a vacation.
"Hermione, Harry, your mum and I have been talking and we want to get away. We think it would be good for you as well. We talked about France, but we don't have more than a week that we can take off since John is on leave from the practice right now. So we were thinking, would the two of you like to go to the beach? Suffolk isn't far and we have a patient who has a cottage is Felixstowe. They had it rented out for the summer, but the week after next their rental cancelled so it's open. The practice has been light with everyone else on vacation, so we can clear the schedule by then."
Hermione could feel Harry's happy surprise and his approval of the plan, which she also thought sounded great.
"That sounds good dad. I think we'd like that. Is the cottage big enough for the four of us?"
"Yes, actually it's three bed, so more than enough. Shouldn't you ask Harry though?"
"Like Mione said, we're fine."
Neil gave them both a look as the young couple clasped hands. There was something going on there. Hermione saw her father's expression and decided she should explain.
"Dad, our soul bond is settling in more. As it does, we can feel each other. We actually have had a bit since the beginning, but it's more so now. I can't hear Harry's thoughts, at least not yet, but I can fell his emotions and I knew he was happy with the suggestion as well."
Harry smiled at her and leaned in to give his wife a quick kiss. Neil just shook his head while Jean grinned. With the decision made, Hermione and Jean began to excitedly talk about preparations for their departure in nine days.
The time leading up to their vacation was spent much the same as they had before. The neighborhood hosted a local carnival and both couples decided to go. Harry and Hermione rode the ferris wheel and ate cotton candy, making a complete mess with it and then insisting they clean it off of each other. They were just getting out of hand when the giggles of a couple pre-teens watching them brought them to their senses. Later in the week, they went out to Neil's favorite pub and Harry got his first darts lesson. They still studied plenty, but also found the time to just enjoy the summer together. The Aurors still kept up their guard, but had told them that the Death Eaters were being remarkably quiet. That somewhat concerned the young couple, as they wondered what preparations the Death Eaters and Voldemort were working on. Unable to do anything at the moment, they pushed the concern aside and decided to enjoy themselves. Soon it came time for their long awaited beach vacation. The night before, the house was a flurry of packing. Jean and Neil both laughed when Hermione began levitating her and Harry's things down the stairs to the waiting pile. The Grangers had become quite accustomed to magic in the five weeks that Hermione and Harry had been home. Soon, all but the last minute items were packed and loaded into the Land Rover and everyone headed off to try to sleep despite the anticipation of their upcoming holiday.