AN: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.

Hermione's laughter echoed throughout her apartment. Harry had been gone for four years now. He left due to his obligations and to undertake training to become an Auror. Ron had visited Harry once or twice over the years unlike Hermione, she was so busy with her healing classes and exams, and therefore resorted to any measure she saw possible to still be in contact with Harry. She had bought herself a home phone and instructed Harry to by a mobile phone. So every night at around eight thirty, she would hear her phone ring, and within three rings she picked up the headset to hear the smoothing voice that belonged to Harry Potter.

Hermione was curling her long curls while listening to Harry joke about his Auror friend Jake and how hopeless he really was when it came to women. Their conversations lasted for hours; Hermione even lost a few room mates due to the noise she would produce when on the phone to her best friend. They had talked about loves, relationships, their lives, work and just generally keeping up with each other's lives in the best way that they could. Hermione had not seen a photo of Harry in years, nor Harry, both were completely oblivious to how the other had matured and changed physically yet mentally Hermione was still was a persistent know-it-all and Harry wanted nothing but a normal life.

The constant phone calls between Harry and Hermione first went unnoticed, until Lavender, Hermione's best friend noticed a change in Hermione. Hermione soon began to include Harry in whatever conversation they were having, speaking of him as if she had been through it with him, by his side like the old days. Any man that Hermione dated was soon bombarded with Harry stories, so much so that they practically all gave up, as who could compete with Harry Potter. Harry was also dateless, of course he had been through a few ladies in the last four years but a relationship was off the cards due to the amount of travelling Harry did, Berlin, to Australia to the U.S, Harry had seen the world.

Hermione glanced up at her kitchen clock, it was two in the morning and she had work early. She sighed into the phone.

"Time to go?" Harry asked, sighing back.

"Harry its 2am here, I have work in the morning, I hate to go but I must" Hermione replied, sinking into her kitchen stool chair.

Harry looked at the clock in his hotel room, it wasn't late for him, in fact it was still daylight, he always hated saying goodbye to Hermione, however he knew that with each goodbye a new day would dawn and he'd be back chatting away to his best friend once again.

"Well, same time tomorrow night Hermione?" Harry asked excitedly.

A smirk was plastered across Hermione's face, "Of course, how will I survive"

Both said their goodbyes and after a battle over who would hang up first, Hermione ended the escapade ending the call. Hermione sat there staring at her phone; she sighed and slowly got up and made her way to bed, when she heard her phone ring. She ran back to the phone and picked it up, panting. Harry sat on the other end of the phone, lying on his king size hotel room bed; he smiled when he heard a rushed 'hello' from Hermione.

'Hello?" Hermione panted.

Harry let out a small chuckle. "Hermione don't you have a cordless in your bedroom?"

Hermione frowned, "Yes… and why do you ask Harry?"

"Well you're going to sleep, I'm wide awake, and can we keep talking till you nod off?" Harry asked, not knowing the response he would get from such a question.

Hermione's face yet again had a smirk plastered across it. 'I suppose so, just give me a second to change, ring me back and I'll pick up in my room." Before she could finish her sentence Harry had already hung up. And Hermione ran across her apartment, frantically turning off every light, making sure doors were locked, and finally tossing an old shirt of Harry's from their Hogwarts days on, in a speed that was not known to man kind yet.

She heard the ring, and dived for her bedroom phone.

THE NEXT MORNING:

"Bloody hell Hermione, you look like a ferret" Ron commented when he walked past her on her way into St Mungo's hospital, Hermione groaned and barely lifted her head and responded with a nod. Her hair was as high as the Eiffel tower, and as fizzy as well it looked like a ferret had made a home on her head. Ron shook his head and continued through the exit of the hospital. Hermione had been up till well about an hour ago, Harry had kept her awake with jokes and intriguing stories and whenever she looked at the clock and thought that she should hang up, Harry's smoothing voice whispered through the phone asking if she was still awake.

After a powernap and a rather overly strong coffee, Hermione fixed her hair and continued on with her days work, she clocked off at four thirty and made her way to the usual Wednesday night gathering she had with all her friends. Ginny and her partner Neville, Ron and his girlfriend Lavender and finally Hermione all hunched over a very small table, chatting away, drinking butter beers and catching up on a weeks event.

Ron commented on how much better Hermione's hair now looked, referring it to sex hair, and therefore getting all the girls interested into why Hermione's hair was fizzier than usual.

"Who is he and when are we meeting him Granger" Ginny spat.

"Yes, must be special keeping you up to all early hours of the morning" Lavender butted in.

Hermione shook her head and held up her hand to dismiss the accusations. "It was just Harry" she replied.

"What Harry? Phone sex, never would have guessed" Ginny pondered, Hermione shot her an angry look, and chucked some peanuts at her head.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Gin, we were just talking, you know how we have our usual talks….." Hermione went on.

Lavender groaned, 'Not this again, we know you and Harry talk every night, blah blah blah blah blah" Lavender whinged. Hermione's best friend was clearly over hearing about Harry.

Hermione shot an angry look in Lavender's direction as well. "What are we supposed to do? He is so far away, and he's the only one who gets me out of all you bunch" Hermione continued.

They all groaned, and continued to sip on their butter beers until Hermione retreated saying how tired she was, a lie all her friends knew she was telling, as she had told them so many time about what time Harry and her chat commenced at that, they were over her early departures by now. However, they knew something that Hermione did not. Harry had before his chat with Hermione last night informed Ron of his arrival, and to keep it a secret to Hermione, so following Hermione's departure Ron divulged where and when they would meet to welcome Harry home, and watch Hermione have the shock of her life.

Hermione had been waiting for her phone to ring for over half an hour now, this wasn't like Harry, he was always on time. Then she heard the door bell ring, she got up and answered the door to see Ron standing in her apartment hallway.

"Ron? What are you doing here?" She asked puzzled. Ron hardly ever visited her without Lavender; ever since Hermione and Ron ended it Lavender had always been secretly suspicious about them. Ron smiled.

"Sleeping huh?" He joked, "Nah I have a message for Harry"

Hermione gave him a suspicious look, "And what is this message?" She said welcoming him in with her hand, however he refused.

"I'm only here for a bit to inform you that you will not receive a phone call from Harry tonight, as he is currently on a plane heading for London" Ron announced.

Hermione sighed, "Another mission, the poor guy never catches a break…" Hermione paused. "London?"

Ron nodded. Hermione jumped up and down as if she'd won the lottery, millions of questions were blurted out at Ron, why didn't he tell her, when is he due, for how long etc… Ron started to get scared.

"Hermione!" he yelled. "Calm down, you don't need to know anything just be at my house at seven thirty tomorrow night" Ron reassured her. And with one half smile Ron apparated from Hermione's apartment hallway.

Hermione stood at her doorway in shock. She had spoken to Harry about what it'd be like when he returned, if he ever returned, they had made up so many stories on what they'd plan to do together and with all the gang, its just Hermione didn't think it'd be this soon. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down, "Come on Granger" She spoke to herself, "Calm down".

And with that, she opened her and eyes and decided she would get that early night that she had told her friends she was having. Hermione lay in bed staring at her ceiling, in pitch darkness and before she nodded off to sleep, she opened her eyes, and realised, all those phone calls, all those chats, had she fallen for her best friend over the phone, as he was the closest thing she ever had to a relationship. She shook her head, "Impossible" She muttered, before she fell asleep.

Hermione's eye's darted open, her alarm had fallen off the bedside table again, and she quickly threw off her blankets and stepped into her slippers to retrieve her walking and very loud alarm that was now waddling to her bedroom door on noise vibrations alone.

Hermione, quickly got ready for work, had her usual morning breakfast, and ran out the door, somehow even with waking up so much earlier than she was supposed to she was always late out the door. She ran into St. Mungo's hospital to pass Neville, who was shuffling in with a plant of some kind, clearly the hospital had called on his expertise with herbology. "Hi Hermione" Neville yelled, Hermione stopped and spoke briefly to Neville.

"Hi Neville, another call from the hospital, they should just give you an office in here" Hermione laughed.

Neville smiled. "Yes its driving Gin mad, with the early morning calls, oh you excited about Harry's arrival, he's been planning it for weeks" Neville chuckled.

Hermione squinted her eyes. For weeks? She thought. They all knew, expect her? "For weeks, huh, but yes I am how many people are coming?" She asked, wondering if it was just her close friends.

"Oh everyone, Ron practically had to take a day off work to organise it, Lavender had a few miles of owls she has to send out these past few weeks, so hopefully it'll be a good night" Neville smile.

Hermione smiled back, "Yes Neville, ah well better get into work, see you tonight" And she kissed Neville on the cheek and made her way into St. Mungo's hospital.

The day felt like it lasted forever, Hermione was busily healing everything from loss of bones to too many bones. Wizards and Witches always knew how to get themselves into a pickle. However busy the day was however, Harry was at the back of her mind, what would she wear tonight, it was the first time in four years since they'd seen each other, and Ron's visits over the years resulted in no pictures being taken or brought back, what did he look like; did he still smell the same? Hermione was turning herself mental with so many questions, "Relax" she reassured herself, "All will be answered tonight".

Five o'clock hit and Hermione clocked out. Once home she frantically ran around organising what she would wear tonight, she had to look good, she had to look like she had changed, it had been four years if Harry was to come home and see the same old Hermione nothing would change, she had to dress to impress.

At quarter past seven Hermione stared at herself in her bedroom mirror. Her clothes scattered across her bedroom, her half eaten dinner lying on her bedside table, all her shoes laid across her bed, she smiled. Hermione wore tight black legged jeans, showing her trim physic, a black and white top slid down her body frame in all the right places showing off her toned arms. She had charmed her skin into a light tan, and whitened her teeth to a crystal clear finish. Her hair was tamed, straightened and long, she had tied it into a sleek pony tail, she reeked sophistication she looked amazing.

Hermione grabbed her clutch hand bag and gazed around her room. Her apartment looked terrible, this was not like her, everything was usually in order, she would always finish her dinner and well she never dressed like this. Hermione swished her wand before she closed her door so that all her shoes, clothes and her dinner would all reside in the places that they should. She closed her eyes and apparated to Lavender and Ron's house, she could hear the noise inside and with one deep breathe she knocked on the door.