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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

"Hey honey. Do you know this Harry Potter person?" Asked Zack, "I mean I know he is the person who defeated Voldemort and the all that. But do you know the actual person? Like how he behaves this character?"

Zack was a wizard and the very concerned best friend of one Hermione Granger. He had moved with his family from America to France, where he and Hermione had become neighbours. The friendship had only grown stronger when both found out that Hermione, a muggle-born was a witch. Even going to different schools in France to study hadn't dampened their friendship. They were siblings more than anything else. So when Hermione decided to move to Britain, Zack decided it was time for a new chapter in their lives and followed her.

"Why this interest all of a sudden in Harry?" asked Zack's long-time girlfriend and now fiancée, Daphne Greengrass. She and Zack had meet when he helped her out in France. They had become friends and exchanged letters when Daphne had returned. That turned into more when Zack moved to Britain and asked her out a week later.

They both knew why Zack was asking but Daphne wanted to hear Zack say it out loud. She knew Harry and Hermione had become closer ever since she started teaching at Hogwarts. Harry was a nice bloke but that didn't mean that Daphne didn't worry about Hermione. She had become like a little sister to Daphne which all three appreciated.

"You know why. But you're gonna make me say it." Zack replied, "I'm worried about her. I just want to know that he's going to treat her right. She didn't have many friends, not to mention boyfriends while growing up. Always into reading books and learning new things, she was."

"Well, I don't really know Harry that well. Except he and Ginny Weasley were and item in school and he always treated her decently. I even heard other girls trying to get him but it never worked, if their complains were anything to go by. Her brother, Ron Weasley, is Harry's best friend, along with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom." Answered Daphne.

They talked about Harry, Hermione and their relationship while they got ready for bed. Daphne said that she would like to invite the both of them and Harry's friends to dinner so that they could get to know each other. Zack agreed to the idea, it was a nice way to get to know Harry without being the protective older brother, which wouldn't sit well with either Zack or Hermione. Little did he know that was why Daphne had suggested the idea.

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Harry and Hermione had now been dating for three month and things were progressing nicely for them both. They had tried to keep it a secret from their friends but it had come out eventually when Minerva had asked Harry about Hermione's reply in front of his friends during Christmas. The story had spread and soon enough Zack had known about it. Luckily, he let Hermione explain the reason for secrecy and understood them.

The second term had started with little incidents. Some of the students had found out about the relationship and for a few weeks there were many witches shooting glares at Hermione whenever she was around. This stopped when Harry got irritated by a comment he heard and made an announcement during dinner. It was quite the speech Hermione thought, as she recalled it.

Flash back

Dinner had just ended when Harry stood up and asked all the female students to remain seated as he had a few words for those present.

"It has come to my knowledge that some students do not like Professor Granger because she is now my girlfriend. While I know that some of you have crushes on me, what I'd like to say is why are you letting my personal life affect you. If you act up in Professor Granger's class, the only one at a loss in you because your education suffers, which is what is going to help you in life. Not some crush on a person you know nothing about except what you read in the newspapers", after saying that Harry walked out of the hall, leaving the audience with mixed reactions.

Seeing that some of the girls didn't quite understand the seriousness of Harry's words, Hermione stood up and asked, "Would someone here tell me how finishing your education with the best scores possible will help you?"

All present in the hall looked at Hermione as if the answer should be obvious to her. Finally one girl gathered her courage and stood up to reply," Completing our studies will help us get the jobs we want and achieve our goals." Saying this the girl sat back down. Hermione looked at the brightest third year student in her class.

"Correct Miss Hall. And now can anyone else tell me, how having a crush on Harry Potter will help you further in life?" said Hermione.

Again no one answered. Just as Hermione was going to continue, a small voice from the back said, "It won't help us in anyway."

Hermione nodded her approval of the answer and walked out. The professors that had stayed back were still in shock, except the Headmistress, who stood up to talk to the students, "I hope you all have understood what Professors Potter and Granger were trying to tell you."

End Flash back

The tapping of an owl at the window brought Hermione back to the present. Wondering who sent the message, Hermione gave the owl some owl treats and water, and went to open the mail. The owl flew off while Hermione was reading the note.

It was from Zack asking her to invite Harry and his friends to dinner one night. And of course she was expected there early to help set up. Hermione pulled some blank parchment over and wrote out a quick reply. As it was nearly time for lunch, she decided to tell Harry about the invite then.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry had just started to eat when Hermione finished her talk with Professor Flitwock and turned to him. Looking at her, he could tell she had something on her mind.

"Harry, are you free for a few minutes after lunch? I have something to tell you." Said Hermione. Harry nodded his reply and continued eating.

They left the hall together, which didn't go unnoticed but there were fewer glares directed towards Hermione. They entered an empty classroom near the hall. Harry looked at Hermione to start the conversation, wondering what she had to tell him.

Hermione was nervous, she didn't know Zack's agenda behind the dinner but decided that she would ask him soon and dissuade him from any stupid ideas he might have about playing the protective older brother.

"You know Zack, my best friend. The one you thought was my boyfriend." At Harry's nod, she continued, "Well his invited you and your friends over for dinner one night."

Harry was stunned. This person was like a brother to Hermione, which meant he would be grilling Harry over his intentions, just like Ron had done when he was dating Ginny. But having his friends over meant that there might not be anything to worry about. He didn't know what to do but to delay it would only make it worse.

Having decided Harry answered, "I'll ask Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna when they are available and let you know."

Hermione was relived but told him that Zack might pull a protective brother act and Harry's response was that it couldn't possibly be worse than the one the Weasley brother's had given him. They both left shortly thereafter for their classes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A week later, Harry told Hermione that Ron and all had agreed to dinner for the following Friday. Hermione sent off a note to Zack and Daphne telling them that they all agreed to the dinner for next Friday, if there were no problems. With that done, she entered her classroom to teach transfiguration to the third year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

Hermione noticed a note on her desk when she returned to her chambers. Reading it she decided to write a quick note to Harry when she was interrupted by knocking at her door. Opening it, she found the person of her thoughts standing on the other side.

"I hope I didn't disturb you. I wanted to find out your plans for tomorrow night before you went to bed" said Harry as he entered her chambers.

"Hmmm. Tomorrow night. I have nothing planned as yet. Why? What did you have in mind?" asked Hermione as she walked towards the couch. Harry followed her sat down close to her.

"I was thinking of dinner and a surprise after. If you would like to accompany me" said Harry.

"That's not a lot to go on especially the surprise. But I'll agree as I'm curious." Hermione was sure Harry wanted her to ask about the surprise so the look on his face when she replied was worth it.

"Let me get this straight. The only reason you're agreeing to dinner is because you're curious." Harry put on a sad face and continued, " I'm hurt Mione. Here I thought you would enjoy spending time with me but…"

Before he could finish Hermione burst out laughing and Harry couldn't stop the answering grin that spread to his face. He loved hearing her laugh. Getting her breath back, Hermione said, "You knew that I was joking."

"Of course. But I wanted to see how far you'd take it" said Harry. They sat talking and sharing intimate moments together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry lay on the couch with Hermione on top of him. He didn't want to wake her, she looked so innocent and peaceful asleep, but they needed to get up now if they didn't want to be late for their morning classes.

Gently nudging her, Harry called out, "Hermione, wake up. We need to get ready for class."

Hermione gave a small yawn and opened her eyes to see a smiling Harry looking at her from below. Just then her brain kicked in and she realised they were on the couch and it was time to get dressed if they didn't want to be late.

Half an hour later saw the two of them sitting down to breakfast in the great hall before starting their day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her last class had just ended when a Hermione noticed a note on her desk that had not been there earlier. Picking it up, she read the note telling her Harry would meet her in her chambers at 8pm. Seeing that she had a sometime before she should get ready, Hermione sat down to grade assignments.

With an hour to go until Harry got there, Hermione stepped out of the shower and got ready. Looking in the full length mirror, Hermione thanked Daphne for talking her into buying the dress. It was jade coloured knee-length dress with criss-crossing straps at the back. She sat down at the vanity table and applied some light make-up. Just a she finished fastening the buckle on her heels; there was a knock on her door. She went to open it and saw Harry standing there in a white shirt over dark blue jeans and in his hand was a darker blue sports coat.

"Come in. I'll just get my purse and wrap and we can leave" said Hermione. As Hermione went to gather her things, Harry took the time to look at her. She looked beautiful in the dress even though he could tell that wasn't what she would choose for herself.

"Shall we?" asked Harry as he walked towards the door with Hermione following behind. Once they reached the castle gates, Harry pulled out a letter and gave it a tap after telling Hermione to hold on. The portkey activated and soon they were standing on a beach.

Hermione was awed by the sight before her, soft white sand on the beach, clear blue water on one side and a lush green forest on the other side. Turning to face Harry, her gaze fell on a table decked out with white and red table cloths and dinner ware. Next to the table was a barbeque that was being tended to by a house elf.

Just as Hermione was going to comment about the house elf, Harry spoke, "Come on, I want to introduce you to Dobby. He helped me in the war against Voldemort. He's not my slave but a friend. Although, he refuses to stop the formal speech in front of others. The twins must have put him up to it again."

"Master Harry Potter Sir, Dobby is happy to see you and your Miss. Dobby has prepared everything just the way Master said," saying this Dobby bowed and apparated away. Hermione stared at the spot where Dobby had been moments before.

"His an enthusiastic elf. Mi Lady," said Harry while holding out a chair for Hermione.

Hermione sat down and waited for Harry to do the same before saying, "I think that's an understatement. I have never seen a more hyper elf then him which is saying a lot since I have met quite a few elves during my school years."

"Oh really. And why would you have met so many elves?" said Harry.

"I needed some information on a project and they were happy to help," said Hermione, then adding, "Where are we?"

At this Harry pretended to straighten his clothes and preen himself, before saying in an a very formal tone, "Let me welcome you to Harrythe Potter Date Island in the Carribean. First started when my father brought my mother here for a date just before they got married. Then my godfather, an unofficial Potter, proposed to Pania here…"

Harry continued with this until Hermione could hold it no longer and burst out laughing. Harry just sat there with a grin on his face.

"I don't believe the name for this island is Potter Date and you have grossly exaggerated the rest," said Hermione.

"You may be right, you may be wrong. I'm not going to say anything else."

Harry got up to serve the dinner Dobby had cooked. Over dinner the conversation seemed to be centred around trivial things until Harry brought up the subject of dinner with Zack. Hermione could see that Harry was nervous despite his attempts to cover it. She decided to put him at ease and said, "Don't worry about the dinner. I'm sure Zack just wants to get to know you, not intimidate or interrogate you. He wouldn't have invited your friends otherwise."

Harry smiled, "Rationally I know that. But this is the first time I'm meeting a girlfriend's family without knowing them beforehand. I mean Ginny was my first girlfriend and I knew Ron and the Weasleys for a long time before we started to date."

After that they sat in silence, each lost in their thoughts as they watched the sunset. Dobby had already come by to tell them he had prepared a room for them. Harry and Hermione had decided to enjoy a night on the island before returning to Britain and Hogwarts the next day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The week went by quickly and before anyone knew it was Friday. Hermione gave Harry the address to Zack and Daphne's place in the morning, saying she was going to leave at 4.00pm after her last class and he wasn't expected until 7.00pm. The pair spent the day alternating between teaching and praying that nothing went wrong during dinner.

At , Hermione arrived at Zack's place, hoping he was home so that they could have some time to speak before everyone arrived. As luck would have it Zack opened the door when Hermione rang the bell.

"Mione, my favourite person in the world after Daphne, of course" said Zack as he hugged her.

"Well if it was anyone else I would object to that statement but since its Daphne, I'll ignore it." replied Hermione as she went to hug Daphne.

"It's good to see you Hermione. You look happy. Seems that being with Harry is good for you" said Daphne who then laughed at the looks she got from the other two in the room. As she prepared to leave the room, Daphne said, "I know you two want to talk so I'll go to the kitchen and prepare dinner. I have just one request. Please be civilised, we're going to be having guests over in a little while."

With that Daphne left the room. She had refereed enough fights between them to know that this would end with nothing changed or the two of them ignoring each other. She just hoped they had the sense to listen to the other before saying anything wrong. They were just so stubborn at times.

Zack took the cue and began, "Listen Hermione, I know you like Harry a lot. You've done nothing but talk about him the past month. I just want to get to know him better. Don't worry I won't go overboard with the protective brother act."

This defused some of the tension in Hermione and she laughed out.

"And to think that I might have had to beat that into to your skull with something blunt" saying that Hermione and Zack spent a few minutes catching up before heading to the kitchen to help Daphne with the preparations.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Nothing to be nervous about, mate. We've all got your back" said Ron as they arrived at Zack's place. Neville, Luna and Ginny just smiled and nodded at Ron's comment. This helped calm Harry a little. Reaching out he pressed the doorbell.

The little group froze when they saw who had opened the door. Harry couldn't believe that standing in front of him was Daphne Greengrass. She didn't seem to suffer from the same problem as the rest and opened the door wider for them to enter which they did.

Ginny was the first to speak, "Daphne what are you doing here? How do you know Hermione?"

Just then Hermione walked into the room followed by Zack. She made the introductions while pointing to each person, "I'm sure you guys would know Daphne as she too went to Hogwarts. This here is my best friend-like-a-brother Zack."

After the initial shock wore off, the rest of the night was quite enjoyable. Harry relaxed more after Zack explained that he had talked with Hermione and the only agenda behind tonight was to get to know each other and nothing else. His exact words were "I know two brilliant witches who wouldn't hesitate to punish me if I did something wrong". Various topics dominated the conversation during dinner. The main one being what had happened to Daphne after Hogwarts.

They had just finished dinner, when Hermione let out a very loud squeal, which of course brought all the attention to her and Daphne who she'd been talking with. Zack at once knew what had happened and looked accusingly towards Daphne.

Daphne shrugged and said, "What I couldn't help and she deserves to know before everyone else, especially our parents."

The rest look confused until Harry asked the question that was on all their minds, "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's just fine. Hermione here found out about our wedding date and couldn't contain herself I imagine" replied Zack. The next thing he knew he was being pushed so that the other girls could congratulate Daphne while he got some pats on the back from the guys. Unknown to Harry and Hermione they were both wishing for the same happiness they saw on Daphne and Zack's faces.