He wasn't sure when he realised he may be on the verge of what some people might call 'stalking'. He had always been aware of her, even at Hogwarts. She was friendly with Lily and Alice, but never someone that really hung around their group during that time. He always noticed her though.

In school, she always drank coffee with just a splash of milk. She always had a book propped up so she could eat and read. She favored the nook closest to the restricted section in the library that had a view of the lake.

They had only spoken a handful of times during their Hogwarts days, but even after they finished school, he kept an eye out for her. She had been pulled further into their group by Lily, who was a trainee healer on the same shift. They all had dinner a few times a week, the occasional party at Sirius' flat. He wasn't sure how to make a move though. She seemed to be immune to Sirius and his incessant flirting, he had never seen her with a man.

He knew if he asked for help, all of his friends would jump to help him, but he knew what that help would be. James would try to tell him how to woo her, saying that he got the girl with wooing, but Peter didn't want to wait six years for her to feel sorry enough to finally date him.

Sirius would tell him to seduce her, wine and dine her. He didn't want to seduce her, well he did but he wanted more than a romp between the sheets. Remus is probably the only one who would give him good, genuinely helpful advice. He would crack and tell Sirius though, who would then tell James, who would tell Lily, who would surely tell her.

He needed an in. A way to get her to himself without any of their well-meaning friends interfering. He knew she would be at St. Mungos today, working in the emergency department. He decided to make a (stupid) decision, and 'trip' down the stairs of his flat. Mid-tumble, he realized he should have just written her an owl.

"Peter! What happened? Are you alright?"

Peter had to force himself not to groan when he heard Lily's voice ringing through the emergency department.

"I tripped, Lils. Fell down the stairs at my flat. I didn't think you were working tonight, where's Hermione?" He tried to say this as casually as possible but judging by the smirk on Lily's face, he hadn't succeeded.

"She's not been feeling well so I offered to take her shift so she could get some rest. She's been working a lot of overtime lately, burnt out finally."

Well isn't that just perfect, Peter thought. Throw myself down stairs and she's not even here.

"You'll just need to take some skele-gro and you'll be fine. Your arm is going to be a tad sore for a day or so, you'll need to wear a sling. I'll go get your potion and be right back."

Peter groaned, throwing his head against his pillow. Well this was just perfect, now he had to figure out a new plan.

Lily came back in, watched him take the potion, then helped him into the sling.

"You're good to go, Pete. Please be more careful, yeah? I'll see you tomorrow for dinner."

As Lily started to walk out the door, she turned around "Tomato soup and a grilled cheese."

Peter looked up "What?"

Lily smiled at him "That's Hermione's favorite thing to eat when she's not feeling well. There's a deli down the road from her flat."

With that, Lily left Peter with a new plan.

"Just knock on the door. You can do this. If you can throw yourself down a set of stairs, you can knock on a bloody door."

"Peter? What are you doing outside my flat? Is something wrong?"

Hermione was standing in the doorway of her flat, hair falling down past her shoulders, wearing an oversized t shirt and a pair of soft shorts. He thought she looked beautiful.

"Oh hi! I um, was just at St. Mungos and Lily mentioned you weren't feeling well so I uh, thought you might like some soup. It's tomato and grilled cheese."

Peter held out the bag to her, willing the blush he knew was coloring his face to stop.

"Oh Pete, that's so thoughtful! Why were you at the hospital? Is everything alright?"

Gesturing to the sling "Nothing a little skele-gro can't fix! I took a bit of a fall down my stairs. I'm fine though."

"Do you want to come in? I was getting ready to watch a film, I understand if you'd rather go home and rest."

"NO!" Peter shouted at her "I mean no, I'd love to watch a film with you."

Hermione blushed and gestured for him to follow her into the living room.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you though."

Hermione sat on the sofa, patting the seat next to her when Peter just stood there, unsure of if he should sit next to her or on the chair.

"I don't bite, I promise."

"Maybe I want you too." Peter immediately wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. He was going to die of embarrassment, this was more painful than falling down the stairs.

"Well, I thought we could go on an actual date before there's any biting."

Hermione was smiling broadly at him when he finally pulled his hands from his face.

"A date? With me? The idiot who throws himself down stairs so he could talk to you? A date?"

She leaned over, touching his hand "You threw yourself down the stairs? Why didn't you just owl me?"

Peter leaned his head on the back of her couch and sighed "You make me nervous. You're so much smarter than me, you're so beautiful and kind. I just didn't know what to say to you."

Hermione leaned back against the couch and gently laid her head on Peter's shoulder.

"I've liked you since school. I've never been good at dealing with guys, especially ones that I fancied. We make a right pathetic match don't we?"

Peter turned his head so he could look at her "Hermione, would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow evening? I've fancied you for ages and would like to see if there could be something between us."

He held his breath as she stared at him for longer than he thought was necessary, then she was leaning towards him, her lips were on his in what was the sweetest kiss he had ever gotten.

"Oh, I definitely think something is there. I'd love to have dinner with you."

Hermione leaned into his side, Peter wrapped his good arm around her shoulders, thinking the broken arm was definitely worth it.