Outside the Three Broomsticks, Nicola stood in the shadows. She silently fumed as she watched Albus lead Hermione into the restaurant. She was completely disgusted by their behavior. Not only was Hermione dressed like a cheap whore, but also they were going into the restaurant unsupervised. That was completely unheard of.

'This girl had absolutely no manners,' thought Nicola as she waited for a chance to spoil their little date. She wanted so badly to go inside and just slap the happy smile right off Hermione's face but there was no way she would spoil her image. Normally she would have had one of the other girls do her bidding for her but for the most part Hermione got along with everyone. Sure, many, ok all, of the girls were jealous of her brains but they wouldn't go out of their way to get her in trouble. If they did she wouldn't help them with their work. So they sat idly as far from Hermione and Nicola as to not get involved in the war brewing between them, a war that Hermione was blissfully unaware of.

Inside Hermione and Albus had started their meal. The young woman who had brought the food to their table brought them out of their reverie and they quickly let go of each other's hands, Hermione still blushing fiercely as she picked up her fork. They ate in silence, happy to be in each other's company. Occasionally Albus would look up at Hermione and a smile would play on his lips. He couldn't remember being happier in a long time and all it took was for Hermione to smile back at him and he felt as though he could die at that very moment a fulfilled man.

Hermione was having similar thoughts. This had to be the best date she had ever been on. Yes, the ball in her 4th year with Victor had been amazing but it was more the atmosphere that had been wonderful instead of the young man who had escorted her. He had been sweet and given her his undying attention but instead of feeling happy she had felt a little smothered. He had walked her everywhere and almost never let her out of his sight. He hadn't even wanted her to dance with Ron or Harry, her friends. Somehow the word 'friends' was never realized inside his thick skull.

She had gone out briefly with Ron but they both realized that they were better off as friends. He had kissed her once and while it had been sweet and gentle it held no passion. There was no fire in his eyes when he looked at her and there were no sparks or burning skin when he touched her. Hermione still thought she was extremely lucky that their friendship hadn't been ruined by this break.

But then again she hadn't seen either of her friends in months, had they given up on her? Did they think she had been kidnapped or killed in some freak attack by Death Eaters? Or with time changes and other confusing entities, did they even know she was gone?

For a moment Hermione's brow crinkled in deep thought. Albus noticed this and wondered what caused her distress. As quick as her pain came on, it was gone and she smiled happily again. No matter how she missed her friends, she was living in the moment and her feelings for Albus were growing.

"Is everything alright?" he questioned, even though her face had become bright again and there was a smile on her lips.

"Oh yes," she countered. "I was just thinking of home for a moment. But it's alright, no worries here." She smiled again trying to placate him. She didn't want to dwell on the future it wasn't worth her breath trying to explain things. There were too many questions she couldn't answer and so many that she really wanted too. Often in the past week since he had asked her out she had contemplated telling him the truth. It was bubbling inside her, practically bursting to get out. If she didn't tell him anything really important, wouldn't everything be alright? Or what if… what if she really did try to change the future?

For another moment her face turned serious as she contemplated her choices. But then she shook her head slightly, it wouldn't work. It would change too many things and she wouldn't give up her memories with Ron and Harry for anything. There was too much of a risk that she would lose them if Harry had a happy childhood, if maybe he wasn't desperate to gain Ron's friendship, if they hadn't saved her from the troll. Maybe if she stayed in the past longer she would trust him with her secret but now it was too risky. And she was brewing her return potion so it would be alright soon.

Suddenly there was a shadow looming over them, a shadow in the form of older woman. Looking up they started into the face of Professor Noddle. She had a slight smile on her face though it was easy to tell that it was forced.

"Hmm… are the two of you enjoying your meal?" She stared at them both, her eyes going from Hermione to Albus and back to Hermione. "Somehow I expected better etiquette from both of you…" She shook her head then and her 'smile' was completely gone. "You are without proper supervision," glancing at the bar tender and waitress she shook her head again. "I am disappointed that you would feel that you are better then etiquette dictates. Are you wishing to lower your status? Look around here, there are plenty of good connections you could make for future jobs. But you are here looking purely scandalous. It would surprise me if you are offered anything once graduation commences." She shook her head again.

Hermione had never seen her teacher look so disappointed in a student. Her shame crept onto her face. Professor Noddle had always been so understanding of Hermione. Allowing her to dress and act mostly as she had in her time. But now she had gone too far. She hadn't left the castle before unless in a large group and never before had she been alone with one other person, even when browsing the different shops. Thinking back now there had always been a teacher nearby, always looking over everyone. She hadn't realized that going out with Albus would cause such a stir.

Putting on a brave face Albus looked up to his teacher and smiled brightly. "I apologize Professor. Please do not think Miss Granger had anything to do with this, as you say scandalous, adventure. It was all my doing. I manage to convince her that there would be no harm in our actions and being that she still does not fully understand the etiquette, you so kindly reminded us of, trusted me and joined me here for lunch."

Even in such a basic way it was easy to see the effect that Albus' words had on Amelia Noddle. She blushed slightly at his compliments and nodded approvingly at his understanding of his mistake. She turned and smiled at Hermione, this time her smile genuine. As Hermione had shown such intelligence in school, she had quickly gained the affections of her Professor and this was no exception. Amelia Noddle would never believe that she had purposely put herself in such a situation and was quick to forgive.

By the end of Albus' little speech his Professor had completely mellowed. Her smile was warm and there was no sound of accusation in her voice. With a quick good bye she seated herself at a nearby table so that she could keep an eye on them. While she was forgiving overall she would not let such actions continue, at least with her watching over her two students other people would not think so badly on what was going on.

Humming softly to herself, Nicola confidently entered the Three Broomsticks. She was sure that her plan had work.

While standing with a bunch of girls outside the candy shop (what would become Honeydukes) she had whispered to Professor Noddle the happenings inside the pub. She had only tattled out of the goodness of her heart, she had murmured. She didn't want bad things to be said about her two friends she had stated. And she thought that Miss Hermione Granger was a bad influence over Mr. Albus Dumbledore, she had practically yelled.

And now she was going inside to make sure that everything had gone accordingly. On the low end of the scale she hoped Hermione would get in trouble, a detention would be nice. On the high end of the scale she wanted the two other Gryffindors to be forced to not see each other. Though somewhere in the middle would be nice as well.

Nicola stopped dead in her tracks causing the girl behind her to step on her heals. Albus, her Albus, was still sitting with the Mudblood and to top it off, he was holding her hand again, though she as unaware of that fact. Quickly her eyes scanned the room. Where was Professor Noddle? Her eyes narrowed when she found her prey. Her teacher, who she had been so positive would discipline them to the fullest extent, was now sitting happily at the bar, a weak drink at her hand and a smile on her face.

"This was going to be harder then I thought," she realized as she walked towards an empty booth. Surreptitiously she kept her eyes on the happy couple. They were making her sick. She was going to have to something drastic to fix this situation and she was going to have to do it soon.

"I'm really glad you came out with me today," Albus said as they walked back towards the castle.

"I think you may have said that once or twice before," Hermione responded, her voice light with laughter. She was holding onto his arm as they walked inside the castle. Neither she nor Albus noticed the cold eyes following them as they headed for their dormitory.

The rest of the meal had gone smoothly. While neither had seen the shocked glances when they had walked into the pub they were happy to see smiles following them after Professor Noddle had come in to reprimand them. After talking about different subjects they had settled in a comfortable silences, listening to the din of the restaurant. After finishing their meal they settled on walking through Hogsmeade for an hour or so and then headed back to the castle.

Reaching the portrait Albus said the password and then helped Hermione through the entrance. There were a few younger students in the Common Room as most of the older students were still out for the day. Some were doing their schoolwork while others were playing games or chatting softly. Noticing the chairs near the fire were empty they headed in that direction.

"Perhaps at the next weekend we could do that again?" he questioned as they sat down.

Hermione's smile seemed to grow on her face and she nodded quickly. "I would like that very much."

Albus smiled then, relieved at her answer. Then boldly he said, "I'm not sure if you have heard the rumors but the Head Girl, the Prefects and I have been talking to the Headmaster about having a Christmas Party before everyone leaves for the break. I'm fairly certain that we are winning him over with the idea. If the event were to take place… would you like to be my date?"

Hermione was slightly startled. She had heard no such rumors though it did seem that Professor Altwood was rather fond of celebrations. Looking back at the last party the school had held, she remembered that it was more extravagant then any she had seen before. There was no doubt that this party would be just as nice.

"Yes, I think being your date would make the evening very enjoyable." She blushed slightly and looked down at her hands. If things continued like this, she and Albus would be dating. Hermione felt a flutter in her stomach and blushed harder.

'I never thought I could like a guy so much,' she though to herself. She was not surprised with this revelation. She had known that they got along well and spending the afternoon with him had been wonderful. Even when thinking about the man he was going to become, about the things he was going to face, Hermione wanted to be with him.

After a few minutes of just smiling, both looked nervous when they realized how silly they looked, Albus asked, "What are you doing for the holiday break?"

"Oh, I'm staying here. Even being so close to home I decided that that was the better choice. My parents are alright with the idea and they are busy that I probably wouldn't be able to see them much anyway." She had toyed with the idea of going home with one of the other girls. She was hoping that Valloriey might ask her to spend the hols together but then realized that would mean spending time with Nicola as well and decided that even if was asked she would decline. Being in a school setting, where she could almost easily get away from Nicola, was one thing. Being in Nicola's home would be completely different. Hermione didn't even want to think of how hard it would be to have to live with Nicola for three weeks. While she was friendly with the other girls in her year they weren't close, reminding Hermione very much of how it was in her time. So she had decided to stay at school, it would be easier and after all, leaving would pretty much ruin her potion. So it would all work out. She nodded once as if finalizing her decision.

Albus looked at her strangely, his left eyebrow crooked slightly. "What do you mean, you're staying here? No one stays at school over the hols. Even the teachers leave."

Uh oh.