Alright, here's the third chapter. Two heads up:

1) This chapter is short, a.k.a. it's merely a transition chapter until the two main chars get back to Hogwarts (or at least the train)

2) This has a lime scene... so you know, there's that.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The next morning, Hermione was the first to wake up. Having slept quite a bit the day before, she hadn't needed much sleep to begin with.

She noticed that she was lying on something that was rhythmically moving and, looking up, became aware that it was the chest of one Harry Potter, who was sleeping soundly next to her (read: wrapped around her). She smiled at his calm visage and looked down to check the time on the nearby table only for her eyes to notice a bulge under the covers. Said eyes widened with glee and some apprehension when she figured out just what part of Harry that was. Her first thought was to try and prod it, but then she thought better of it and slowly sat up, trying to make sure that she didn't wake him. It was a futile effort, however, as Harry's eyes opened as soon as the covers shifted.

He sat up and looked around for a second before focusing on Hermione and grinning, saying, "Morning, love."

'Love, huh... I like the way that sounds,' Hermione thought happily as she responded, "Good morning to you too."

Harry smiled and quickly kissed her before asking, "Would you like to shower first?"

Hermione, being in a slightly teasing mood this morning, said in a sly voice, "Why, do you think you'll take much longer trying to get rid of some... tension?" Her eyes flickering back and forth from his face to his morning erection gave her thoughts away to the raven-haired young man.

"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" Harry said in a deadpan voice, making Hermione nearly fall off the bed in laughter. She kept chuckling as she stood, deciding to stretch her body.

As she stretched her arms up as high as they could go, she heard Harry whistle lowly and then say, "Man, if I get to see this beautiful sight every morning, I'm going to die happy."

The bookworm blushed at his praise but decided to tease him further by making a show of shaking her bum in his direction and giving him a wink over her shoulder. Harry smirked and slapped her lower cheeks with a speed she couldn't follow, making her yelp and give a small jump of surprise. She mock growled at him, but he merely smirked at her.

She finally huffed and smiled at him before grabbing her things and going into the bathroom. As he heard the water start to run, Harry put his hands in a cross hand seal and mentally said, 'Shadow Clone Technique.'

In an explosion of smoke, a solid copy of Harry stood next to the bed, already nodding to the original. The Clone used the Transformation Technique to clothe itself then ran out of the room and outside the Leaky Cauldron to a store across the street.

Harry sat on the bed, one knee up and his right arm leaning on it, as he waited for the clone. He couldn't stop smiling at the fact that kept coming up in his head: that Hermione was now his, just as he was now hers. The teasing they had been doing to each other over the last hours only proved to him that their relationship would not be a dull one.

His face reddened as his thoughts drifted to the fact that his beautiful best-friend-now-girlfriend was currently showering nearby. The thought of a naked Hermione glistening with falling water was not helping his erection. On the contrary, it only made it much more difficult to hide. But once he thought about it, the image would not leave his mind.

His clone suddenly returned with a small bag, distracting Harry slightly. He grabbed the bag and nodded before the clone dispelled, granting Harry its memories of the trip. He opened the bag and pulled out a pair of black and white knickers, in the same size as yesterday's pair, which he held on to until Hermione came out.

At that very same moment, Hermione had shut off the water and was drying herself, making sure she didn't miss any spots, as her parents had taught her. She quickly brushed her teeth with one of the Leaky Cauldron's complementary self-cleaning toothbrushes, then wrapped her towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom, only to startle when a pair of black and white knickers landed perfectly on top of the clothes she had in her hands, thrown by her smirking boyfriend.

"You know," Hermione said lightly, "If you keep buying me knickers like this, I'm gonna run out of space in my drawers for them at home."

"Hey, better to have a surplus than a shortage," Harry shrugged, standing up while trying his best to hide his almost painful erection from her.

Unfortunately, much like her attempt of trying not to wake him up in the morning, it was for naught.

Hermione's eyes widened and her face became increasingly red when she noticed the tent in her boyfriend's boxers. Had it become larger? She could've sworn it wasn't that large this morning.

"That... looks almost painful, love," Hermione stuttered.

Harry sighed but responded truthfully, "It kind of is."

Hermione giggled and crossed the room to where Harry was, standing to his left and looking down at his erection. From Harry's point of view, he could see a familiar gleam in her eye: a spark of curiosity and an almost maniacal willingness to learn something new.

Harry then realized that she was bending over, intending to see it in her own eyes, he guessed. He couldn't help but look back when he noticed that Hermione's towel seemed to be riding up slightly, starting to show some creamy skin...

He shook himself from those thoughts and reached down to grab Hermione's hand with his own.

Hermione began to reach down, intending to prod her boyfriend's penis as she had wanted to in the morning. She felt as if she were in a haze, lost in the desire to see something that she had never seen before but read much about. She was startled from this haze when she felt a hand stop her own and, looking up, noticed that it was Harry, who was giving her a small smile while his eyes flickered every so often towards her back or, more appropriately, her buttocks.

"Hermione, not now," Harry said forcefully, both for her and for his sake and possible sanity.

Hermione gave him a pout and said, "Can't I even see it, Harry?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the question, but relented after a small internal struggle. He wasn't even twenty-four hours into the relationship and he had already fallen prey to his girlfriend's variation of the Puppy Dog Eyes. How… quaint.

Smiling, Hermione fully reached down and, instead of reaching into his boxers like he had expected, pulled the boxers down to the floor, exposing him completely.

Hermione covered her mouth at the sight that greeted her. While he was not the biggest she had heard or read about, she could comfortably say that Harry was no pushover. With her mind already doing calculations, she realized that, while fully erect, Harry was nearly twenty two centimetres in length! (That's about 8 and a half inches).

Harry was now slightly uncomfortable at Hermione's continued staring. That she had followed this up by poking and prodding at his penis was not helping.

When she attempted to wrap her hand around it, he hit his breaking point. He grabbed her hands and pulled up, making her face him completely and drawing a yelp of surprise from her, then drew her against him with a growl of lust and slammed his lips against hers, snogging her with lustful abandon. Hermione moaned into his mouth as she felt his tongue enter her mouth and subdue her own appendage. Looking to get him back, she reached down and wrapped her fingers around his penis, just barely managing to get her hand around it. She had to marvel at the fact that for a slightly malnourished young man, Harry was very well equipped, and she could only shudder as her imagination went into overdrive.

With quick but precise movements, Hermione began moving her hand back and forth over Harry's erection, trying to get him off. She noted that Harry was shuddering slightly at her movements and continued with more vigour. Not one to be outdone, Harry slowly slid his hands inside of her towel, his slightly rough hands finding and softly grabbing Hermione's breasts. Hermione gave a small moan into Harry's mouth as the raven-haired wizard massaged her breasts. As she sped up her thrusts, he squeezed and moved faster, sometimes pinching her nipples and rolling them between his fingers.

By this point, both teens had released the other's mouth and were simply leaning their foreheads against each other's, their breaths coming in pants and gasps of pleasure.

It was minutes later, when both teens had hit the proverbial glass ceiling in their lust, that their release had come. For Hermione, it was when Harry had trailed his left hand lightly down her body only to stop at her now very moist lower lips. With a small nod of permission from her, he had reached down and slowly massaged the small bundle of nerves that was on the innermost parts of her folds while extending his middle finger fully inside of her. With a small cry of Harry's name, she had come, liquid gushing from her nether lips and trailing down her legs to form a small puddle on the floor. For Harry, it had come mere moments after his girlfriend's. The combination of Hermione's strokes with the feeling of her breasts and lower lips had driven him over the edge and, with a similar low cry of Hermione's name, he had also ejaculated, his seed gushing from his penis and landing some feet away, some of it sticking to Hermione's hand on the way out.

Both teens leaned against each other, catching their breaths and looking at each other with a mixture of love, lust, and happiness. Hermione was the first to move, releasing Harry's penis and bringing that hand up to inspect the ejaculate that had stuck to it. She turned her hand this way and that, studying the white, creamy liquid while Harry watched in amusement. She finally shrugged and lightly licked her hand, taking off most off the semen there while at the same time slightly shocking Harry, whose penis gave a small twitch at the arousing sight.

"Hmm... tastes a little salty, yet at the same time rather bland," Hermione stated, smacking her lips slightly before licking the rest of her hand, causing Harry's penis to twitch even more.

Harry shook his head in amusement and said, "I think you're going to need another shower now, love."

Hermione regarded him with a saucy smirk before turning around and walking to the bathroom, stepping on some of Harry's ejaculate on the way. She stopped at the door and looked back at Harry over her shoulder before undoing her towel and letting it fall to the floor, giving Harry a complete and unobstructed view of her back, legs, and of course, perfectly rounded buttocks, which she shook tantalizingly.

"Would you like to join me?" Hermione asked in a husky whisper before walking inside and out of Harry's view.

The raven-haired teen, now fully back at attention, wasted no time in dashing inside the bathroom after his girlfriend. His final thought before the door to the bathroom slammed was, 'Just wanted to see it, my ass!'

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sometime later, the couple emerged from the bathroom, Hermione laughing lightly at something Harry had said. They hadn't gone any farther while showering, but they had given each other a second release and bonded even more while under the hot water, trading stories of their childhoods, both happy and not so happy ones.

"So," Harry began as they stepped fully into the room, "Hardly twenty-four hours into a relationship and we've already slept in the same bed, gotten each other off twice, and showered together. I'm no expert on relationships, but isn't that moving a little fast?"

Hermione thought about his question as they got dressed on each side of the bed. Once they were both fully clothed, they fell back on the bed side by side. Hermione turned to him then and answered the question.

"You know, I don't think so. We've been friends for quite a while now and know each other very well. Really, this a step up in our friendship, our bond, if you will, one that we chose together. So, with the openness that came from our first kiss, we acknowledged that we were really together now, and things like this are just something that we can enjoy together, you know? The beginning of one part of the relationship, I suppose."

Harry stared at her in amusement as she talked, then said lightly, "Or it could be that we're both hormonal teenagers who see each other as sexy, don't you think?"

Hermione giggled and said, "Yeah, it could be that too."

Harry became serious again and continued the train of thought. "I think you're right though. I feel as if another part of our friendship has opened up, one that I don't think we were aware of but that was still there nonetheless. Perfectly in reach in case we wanted to take it." He looked down at Hermione and smiled, "But it was a door that required two hearts beating as one to be unlocked."

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes a little misty. "That was beautiful, Harry."

Harry looked down at his girlfriend and smiled, saying, "I got inspiration from an even more beautiful source: you, love."

Hermione giggled and buried her face into his chest. Harry smiled and held her there, merely revelling in the feel of her happiness. He looked over at the clock for a moment and noticed that it was hardly ten in the morning. Just how early had they woken up today?

"'Mione, I think it's time we call your parents to let them know you're ok. I think they must be pretty worried."

Hermione jumped up as if she had been electrically shocked and ran out of the room to find the nearest public phone. Harry trailed behind her, chuckling the entire time.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Hermione had caught her parents just as they were about to leave for work. She explained to them that she had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for the night and that there were no problems. She also said that she had a surprise for them when they got home. With a few 'I love you's and 'be safe's, Hermione finished the call and turned back to Harry with a hopeful look.

Harry had already guessed what she wanted to ask.

"Meeting the parents already? My, my, Mione, you do work fast."

Hermione blushed and punched his shoulder. "Prat!"

"It's fine, Mione, I don't mind going with you to see your parents," Harry chuckled, "In fact, I'd love to meet them."

"Great," Hermione said with a smile, "Then let's go grab my stuff and go back to my place!"

Harry nodded and followed her back to the room. As soon as they stepped in, the smell of sex assaulted their nostrils, and both blushed brightly as they remembered that it was quite likely that it wouldn't be the last time they'd smell this. With a quick wand movement from both teens, the ejaculate on the floor disappeared and the air freshened. Finally, they grabbed Hermione's things and left the room, with Harry locking it. When they stepped downstairs, Harry told Tom the barman that he would accompany Hermione to her house and come back in a few hours at most.

As soon as they were outside, Hermione was about to hail a taxi when Harry smirked evilly and said, "Hold on, 'Mione, I know a faster way to get there."

Hermione looked at the expression on Harry's face and was understandably wary. "What way are you talking about?"

Harry simply took out his wand and held it in front of him, waiting for a short while. Hermione was about to question Harry again when a BANG startled her, causing her to step back in shock as a purple, triple-decker bus appeared in front of them. A pimply-faced youth stepped out from the back and said, "Welcum to th' Knight Bus, em'rgency service fer str'nded witch's 'nd wizards. I'm Stan Shunpike and…" Stan finally took notice of who he was talking to and said, "Oh, hey there Naruto! How you goin'?"

Harry smiled and said, "Good to see you again, Stan. The lovely lady next to me and I want to go to her place. Think the bus is up for it?"

Stan smirked and said, "What'chu take us fer, Naruto? You damn righ' it can! What's the lov'ly lady's name?"

"Sakura," Harry said before Hermione could answer, "Sakura Haruno."

Stan nodded and said, "Hop on in!"

Harry and a still speechless Hermione stepped onto the bus, Hermione telling Stan the address to her home. Instead of beds, the bus had several different kinds of seating furniture: bean bags, sofas, plus chairs, folding chairs, plastic chairs, and the like. Harry sat on a bean bag and pulled Hermione on top of him, putting the bags on her lap and holding them there.

"You might want to hold on, love," Harry whispered into her ear. Hermione wasn't sure why, exactly, but she'd come to realize it in a few seconds.

"Take 'er away, Ern!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Never… again…" were the first and only words out of a shell-shocked Hermione's mouth as she and Harry stepped off the Knight Bus mere minutes later.

"Well, take care, Naruto!"

"You too, Stan!"

With a wave from the conductor and a BANG, the bus was gone.

Harry walked up behind his girlfriend and put his arms around her waist, saying, "Well, did you enjoy the ride, love?"

"Did… Did I en… You complete arsehole!" Hermione yelled at Harry, turning around and throwing punches at his chest, most of which he caught easily. "You knew damn well that that bloody bus acted like that, didn't you?!"

Harry chuckled and said, "If it makes you feel any better, my reaction was exactly the same as yours when I got to the Leaky Cauldron."

Hermione huffed and turned around with arms crossed, giving her back to Harry. Harry smirked at her slightly childish attitude. Walking up to her, he leaned down and breathed lightly on her neck, making her shiver. He then placed several kisses up and down her neck, collarbone, and shoulder blade, making her moan in happiness, while his hands rubbed her thighs and lightly squeezed her breasts.

Hermione moaned at Harry's ministrations. She could never get enough of him. It seemed as though he knew just where her erogenous zones were, and was taking great pleasure in using them.

Finally, Harry slowly stopped and turned Hermione around, kissing her fully on the lips, an action she reciprocated. After a heavy snogging session, Harry finally broke the kiss and said, "Well, do you plan to invite me in or are we going to shag right here in the front lawn?"

Hermione turned red but smirked and responded, "Why not? I don't mind giving the neighbours a nice show."

Harry threw back his head and laughed, a sound that Hermione had come to love.

"We'll give them a show later, love. Now come on, I'm a little hungry and I'm thinking of making us some breakfast."

Hermione smiled and nodded, opening the door to the modest two-story house and inviting Harry in. The raven-haired boy looked around, quite taken by the sight of his girlfriend's house. Hermione led him to the kitchen, where she pulled out all the ingredients Harry told her he'd need to make brekkie.

About half an hour later, Harry and Hermione were eating and laughing at her table. In front of them were several dishes, ranging from eggs to bacon to toast. There were two open jam jars next to the toast, one of strawberry, the other of grape. They had both piled their plates high, and once they were done, Harry made sure to save some in case they wanted more later or for Hermione's parents, since Hermione had told him that, due to the fact that their dental practice wasn't too far from the house, her parents normally came back home for lunch.

After breakfast, Hermione took Harry to the living room, where she showed him their television, one gaming console, a DVD player, and a large rack filled with movies and video games.

They decided to spend the rest of the day watching movies, as this would be the last day they'd be here. They first picked out some of Hermione's childhood favourites, movies that Harry had never heard of. Starting with Cinderella, Hermione showed Harry many different stories parents told their children. The reason for this was two-fold: knowing that Harry's childhood was anything but, Hermione wanted to give him the things that were denied to him, and anything that made Harry happy made her happy by proxy.

Harry, meanwhile, was absolutely grateful at his girlfriend's thinking and actions. Just with this small act, she had endeared herself into his heart more than he thought possible.

When one o'clock came around, Hermione's parents walked into the house only to come face to face with a perplexing sight: their daughter leaning on a dark-haired, bespectacled boy's side as they watched Beauty and the Beast, while the table near them was filled with several covered dishes.

"Hermione?" Aurora Granger called out as she entered, quickly followed by her husband William.

"Oh, hi mum!" Hermione called out, jumping from her seat and grabbing her mother in a tight hug, which the woman reciprocated with a small laugh. She repeated the gesture with her father, who hugged her back with a smile, although his eyes were still trained on Harry.

"Um... darling?" Aurora asked, looking at Harry with some confusion.

"Oh, right!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping back to stand next to Harry and grab his hand as he looked at her parents with a slightly apprehensive look. "Mum, dad, this is Harry Potter, my best friend and... boyfriend."

Aurora and William looked at them both with unreadable expressions, making both teens wary. Harry, not one to be intimidated nowadays, stood his ground firmly but also gave a small wave and gave them a friendly, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

"So..." Aurora said, walking forward to stand in front of Harry, who was only about two inches shorter than her. "You're the famous Harry Potter we've heard about since Hermione's first year at Hogwarts."

"Yes, ma'am, that's me," Harry said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Aurora unexpectedly moved forward and grabbed Harry into a tight hug, making him startle. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry! I must admit, you're much more handsome than Hermione's letters described. Although the 'dreamy green eyes' and 'messy black hair' are in their right places."

"Mum!" Hermione exclaimed while blushing.

"Oh, don't deny an old lady a chance to tease, Hermione, darling. It's practically a prerequisite of being a parent," Aurora giggled.

"Old lady?" Harry asked in a perplexed tone. "I beg your pardon, ma'am, but you don't look very old to me. I'd say you're into your healthy thirties at most."

Aurora tossed her head back and laughed loudly at Harry's response. Once the laughing fit ended, she said, "Oh my, Harry. Thank you for the compliment, but I'm much older than I look."

Harry shrugged and grinned, saying, "If you say so, ma'am."

"Oh no, don't call me ma'am, that truly makes me feel old. Just call me Aurora, dear," the older Granger woman said with a smile.

Harry nodded with a smile, then looked at the one person he hadn't truly greeted. He walked up to William Granger and, without preamble, put his right hand out, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Granger."

The man looked at Harry for one unreadable second before smirking and grabbing Harry's hand into a firm shake. "The pleasure is all mine."

Truthfully, William wanted to squeeze Harry's hand strongly enough to make him at least wince. But he found that to be an increasingly difficult task as the boy's hand seemed like iron against his own. On the contrary, he was squeezing tightly on William's hand, and it was starting to actually bother!

When Harry caught the tiny twitch of William's arm and left eye, he immediately retracted his hand but maintained his smirk. William, meanwhile, stepped back as well and kept his hands to his sides. Harry looked around for a second then said in a surprised tone, "Hey, where'd the ladies go?"

The question was answered when both males heard the sound of Aurora moaning in delight while Hermione talked about some of Harry's qualities. Harry and William looked at each other for a second before laughing sheepishly and rubbing the backs of their respective heads at the same time. With a double shrug, they walked into the kitchen, with Aurora almost immediately commanding William to sit his butt down on a chair and try the delicious bacon Harry had cooked.