I can't believe I'm leaving, thought Hermione as she folded up her blouse and tucked it neatly into her trunk. Most of her things were packed away already. She had sorted through her belongings, disposing of the items that she didn't have room for. Her room looked rather barren now, she imagined it would be transformed into an office, or perhaps a home gym. Or maybe her parents would leave it the way it was for sentimental reasons. Whatever would happen, it wasn't going to be her residing bedroom any longer.

She sighed and looked around, it was nice knowing you. She carried her trunk down the stairs and out of the house, turned the corner into a narrow alley and disapparated.

Ron checked himself in the mirror with a dissatisfied stare. I'll never look good enough, he thought to himself. Despite what anyone might try to tell him now, years of being picked on as the youngest brother weighed down his self- esteem and he was sure he was just plain unattractive. He did his best to arrange his hair more handsomely and threw a couple mint leaves in his mouth to chew, it'll have to do.

It would have to do for Hermione, as he knew deep down it would. Despite his self-loathing, she had chosen him. Not the boy who lived, but him. It felt good knowing that someone wanted him. He smiled a little as her face flitted across his mind, her big shining eyes. He thought dreamily of the day of their first kiss. He had been so nervous before, yet when it happened, despite his heart thumping out of its chest, his nervousness turned to excitement and joy. And in that moment when he pulled her close to him he could feel her heart pounding too. He thought of her sweet little giggle and the red flush on her face, he kept wondering what other parts of her body might also be blushing.

"Ron!" came a shout from down the stairs as Ginny jolted him out of his daydream. Yikes, what a contrast. "Mum says you've got to clear out the gnomes from the garden, and I've got to help you so come on!"

He reluctantly stood up to head down stairs. The day cannot come fast enough when I move out of this house.

Hermione appeared on a grassy hill. Ah, the countryside. She had become so familiar with this hill that it was more like home to her than her own parents' house at this point. And now that she was coming into adulthood, it felt more than ever like it was where she belonged. The sweet air filled her senses and the light sun skimmed her face. Knowing that this would be her home for now, she acknowledged her surroundings with a new perspective. Home. Once she got her fill of it, she walked down the hill and headed towards the tall, oddly built house of the Weasleys.

She held her hands out to the tall grass as she walked down, feeling them brush against her fingertips, until she arrived outside of the garden. She could see Mrs. Weasley through the kitchen window talking to some unseen person.

Knock knock

Hermione could hear a set of feet scurry to the front door just before it swung open. Just the face she wanted to see. "Hi," Ron breathed out the words like he had been holding them in all day. He wore a perfect smile on his face and Hermione reflected it right back.

She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the lips so as not to embarrass him too much, "Hi Ron, I missed you." They smiled at each. He was her rock now. Her everything. As she smiled she looked into is eyes and knew that her happiness lie here with him, or wherever he decided to go for that matter. This is it, I'm grown, and I've chosen him. Finally she managed to break away from her loving daze and look around the room.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley," she said cheerily, pulling herself away from the gooey eyed red-head. Mrs. Weasley looked as good as ever. The war was over and her constant worry of dead children had been somewhat alleviated. Now she was back to cooking and caring for her nest as she loved to do. She smiled at Hermione with a motherly glint in her eyes.

"Hello Hermione," she greeted with a large grin, "How was seeing your parents?"

"It was good," Hermione replied, "But I'm glad to be here now." She glanced at Ron dreamily. Mrs. Weasley smiled back with a special kind of acknowledgment.

Now Hermione turned to Ginny who had been sitting at the table reading a piece of parchment. "Hi Ginny. How have you been?"

"Okay." She responded not looking up, "I've just received my letter from Hogwarts a few days ago. I can't believe it's finally my last year." Ginny waved the parchment around signaling what she was holding. "It looks like we're going to have to go to Diagon Alley and pick up a few things, mum."

Mrs. Weasley crumpled her face, no doubt concerned about costs, and said, "Yes, we can go tomorrow if you like, Ginny. And you're welcome to come along as well, of course, Hermione."

"That would be nice, thank you." She replied politely. After spending a few weeks with muggles, parents or not, it would be nice to take a trip to the wizarding shops, especially now that she was a free woman to use magic whenever she pleased.

After discussing more specific plans with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Hermione headed upstairs to his bedroom to put away her things and settle in. It had taken a bit of awkward conversation, but Mrs. Weasley had finally agreed to allow Hermione to stay in Ron's room during her stay, as opposed to Ginny's which was far more traditional. For a moment Mrs. Weasley insisted that Hermione occupy George and Fred's old room, however, perhaps with the threat of war still fresh on her pallet, she had succumbed to Ron's pleas. Or maybe it was because Ron had demanded so firmly that I stay with him, she thought, his mother had perhaps been so impressed that she respected his request. She smiled to herself at the thought, oh we're both so young.

Ron's heart beat heavily in his chest, but it was not out of nervousness. It did not jump or skip as he led Hermione by the hand up the stairs to his room, though it did flutter a bit to feel her fingers intertwined with his own. This was his everything. Years of dreaming, sometimes literally, and the girl of his dreams was here with him. Having been friends for so long already allowed him to feel ultimately comfortable with her. Her scent, her hair, her eyes, it was all so familiar.

When they made it to his room he set her trunk to the side and led her to the bed, removing his shoes and getting more comfortable. "Do you want your shoes off?" he asked sweetly getting on his knees before her. She nodded and he proceeded to unlace her small boots, slowly and taking care to not jerk her feet around much. Slowly he slid one shoe off and caressed her foot with his cheek to which she sighed pleasantly. He moved to the next foot and slowly pulled off the shoe and sock and kissed it. She let out a little satisfied moan as he kissed up to her ankle. "Hermione," he said quietly looking up at her. She looked back down at him calmly.

"Come up here." She patted her hand on the bed next to her, and he slowly moved up and around her until he lay on the bed next to her. Looking into his eyes, she leaned down and laid down next to him, face to face. "I missed you" She whispered.

"I missed you too. I thought you'd never arrive."

They laid together for a long while, the sun's warmth beating in through his window onto them. With their arms and legs intertwined, the heat slowly lulled them to sleep. Ron watched as long as he could as the girl of his dreams lay before him, sleeping in his bed, until he himself slipped into a nap.

Diagon alley was alive again. After months of ruthless intimidation and crime, the street was again bustling with eager shoppers and excited children crowding around this or that other desired new toy displayed in a window. Harry Potter smiled as he saw a group of kids gaze longingly at the newest broomstick through a window, Oh how it felt to want. He walked passed them and into the shop.

"Mr. Potter, what can I do for you today?" The man said cheerily from behind the counter.

Harry nodded at him with a smile, "Hello Mr. Leatherby, How are you? I'm going to need another favor."

Mr. Leatherby smiled in a knowing sort of way, yet almost tired like. As he spoke his thick moustache quivered upon his lip, "Up to no good again, Mr. Potter? You know you ought to stick to the things you know best."

"Well if that be the case," said Harry, now shuffling through a small sack hanging from his shoulder, "then certainly getting up to no good is what I'm best at." He finally found what he was looking for in the seemingly small sack (though he managed to dip his arm all the way inside of it), and removed a broomstick and placed it on the counter. It was practically brand new with a glimmering, newly finished handle and hardly had wear on the bristles at all.

The man examined the broomstick with care, sweeping his hand up the handle and looking closely at the very tip. "Where did you pick up this find, then?" He asked looking up at Harry.

Harry gave him a most unbending look, "you know that isn't important, sir." He said, putting extra emphasis on the word sir. He reached his hand out as if to take the broom back, "But if you are concerned about the matter, I could take it to someone else…"

"Now, now, let us not play games again." He jolted, pulling the broomstick back towards himself, "I'll give you ten galleons for it."

"30"

"You're mad, Potter. No more than 20"

"Done," Agreed harry, thoroughly satisfied. After all, he had gotten it for free. It was all profit.

As Mr. Leatherby counted the galleons he asked, "How long are you going to keep at this, Potter? A powerful sorcerer such as yourself surely can find more satisfying ways to make a profit."

Harry chuckled then thought for a moment. That was true, he supposed, "Where am I to get my fill of thrill now that all the bad guys have been put away?"

"Oh, don't you worry," said Mr. Leatherby with a grave tone in his voice now, "to stomp out all the evil is ideal, but there will always be 'bad guys' who need a good roughin' up." He continued looking at Harry as though expecting him to agree and immediately saunter off to find the said bad guys. Instead Harry took his 20 galleons, thanked the man, and left.

Yes, there will always be bad guys, but for once he felt that the world was not in imminent threat of genocide and tyranny. And it felt good to not have such responsibility weighing down on his shoulders, digging him into the ground. Though he did still feel the pull of excitement wherever it found him, and oh how it found him. Just a day ago he happened upon the cave of a dangerous troll. And yes, happened upon it. Now that the dark lord was vanquished and all surviving death eaters in hiding, it was perfectly safe to apparate up and down the coasts and countryside, and that is exactly what Harry was doing. Feeding his need for adventure, he explored a new region every time he had the chance. This particularl time, he stumbled upon the final resting place of some unlucky wizard who thought he was perhaps vacationing in the cave by himself. Fortunately for Harry, though the man was certainly dead and gone, his broomstick remained, nearly unharmed. Merlin knows I don't need the galleons, he thought imagining the large pile of gold and the like sitting safely in his vault at Gringgott's, but who wouldn't take advantage of such an opportunity to investigate a cave? And he certainly didn't need the broom, having a high quality one of his own at home. Someone else can now enjoy someday what the poor sod left behind.

Harry was heading home now, to his new place here on Diagon Alley. It was a small loft above a café, but size was unimportant to Harry, certainly this was the largest private home he ever inhabited. It was the locaton, right in the center of the market, which he loved. After so many years of wishing to be ordinary, to be left alone to decide his own fate, he was surprised to find out that he had become accustom to so much activity. This place was perfect for him right now. In the morning he would pick up a pastry from downstairs and enjoy it in the midst of his fellow witches and wizards. It was just the place he wanted to be.

"Harry!" he looked around, being pulled from his reverie. "Harry, how are you!" he finally spotted her in the crowd, it was Hermione, a fabulously familiar face.

"Hermione, I've been really well," he managed to say with a grin as she threw herself into a hug, practically smothering him. "How have you been?"

"Not bad at all. Honestly I'm mostly just happy to be back here. Not being able to do magic at my parents' house is painful now that I'm old enough to use it whenever I want."

"Are you here alone?" he asked looking around her.

"No, I came with Ron." She said, and Harry understood. Things were different for them now, they finally managed to build up the courage to snog each other, about bloody time. "We accompanied Ginny and Mrs. Weasley," she continued, " they're doing the shopping for her final year at Hogwarts." She seemed to search his face for clues, and he could feel that he was probably giving some away.

"Oh," was all he could manage to think up. He and Ginny hadn't spoken since the end of the final battle. After the battle they spent days together, entwined emotionally, and often physically, hardly separating at all. He had made love to her sweetly on a picnic in a forest grove on the edge of the forbidden forest. It was slow and perfect and the ideal end to any war story. But then summer came and Mrs. Weasley brought her back home, and Harry was on his own. No more returning to the Dursley's, and no more hiding out in the woods. It was time for his life to really begin. That's when he found the flat here, above The Porcelain Tea Pot. Since then he had been doing whatever he could to stay occupied. Looking for trouble in the far off regions of the country, or, on less frequent occasions, fighting off trouble that came to find him. Yes, there are still bad guys indeed, he thought as he reminisced about an attack launched on him no more than a week ago. Old death eaters perhaps looking for action, they and Harry stumbled upon each other while he travelled outside a small muggle town on the Northern coast of Scotland. They recognized him immediately and pulled out their wands. Harry thought how foolish they were just before he pulled his own wand out and sent the two men flying. He didn't kill them, only paralyzed them before sending a message to the ministry requesting an arrest. You would think that they would realize, I took down Voldemort, you hardly stand a chance. The ministry had nearly ten death eaters in Azkaban with Harry to thank for their fate. They kept seeming to find him. All in all, he hadn't found himself finding the time to send an owl to Ginny, not to mention that he no longer had an owl. He felt somewhat bad about it, but tried to reason with himself. She was going back to Hogwarts now. He would hardly be able to see her within that time. Might as well let her move on and date someone her own age. "How long will you guys be here? You ought to come inside, I'll make a pot of tea."

Hermione looked up at the building to which Harry was gesturing, "You live here?"

"Oh, yes." He blinked, "I haven't told you that?"

She shook her head, "I'm surprised you chose someplace so crowded. I would have thought you would want a bit more seclusion."

Harry chuckled a little, "Yeah, I would have thought that too, but maybe later in life that's what I'll need." He stopped and waited for an answer to his previous offer, still standing.

"Why don't I meet you there in a bit, I have a few things to pick up still." She said, and he nodded his approval of that plan. "Shall I bring the others too?" She asked, thoroughly unsure at this point.

He thought for a moment then nodded, "yeah, of course. I love all of you guys, it'll be nice to see everyone." Hermione nodded too, gave Harry another hug, and then turned to continue her shopping.

Harry quickly rushed upstairs to tidy his place.