This story is a sequel to my story "Drowning Sorrows." It is possible to read this independently, though it may be a little confusing at first.

Though the first story was written from Fred's POV, this story will be told from Hermione's POV.

I whimpered miserably as the alarm clock sounded. Grudgingly slipping my arm out from under the warm blankets, I reached over to my bedside table. My fumbling hands failed me and the alarm clock fell to the floor with a crash. Too lazy to reach down and get it, I grabbed my wand from the bedside table and silenced it. I plopped my head back onto the pillow and looked over at the ginger-haired man snuggled close to me. I couldn't help but smile. He snuggled closer and I nearly fell off the bed. It was a rather tight fit for the two of us in my single bed, but neither of us seemed to mind. It was a good excuse to be so close.

I never knew that one person could bring me so much happiness, or that I could be that same happiness to someone else. Fred completed my in ways I never thought possible. Our relationship was still rather new, but it felt as though we'd been together for years. It was hard to say when exactly our relationship started. It all started very awkward and only got more complicated. Though we'd only been officially dating for a month and a half, our relationship, if you could call it that, started four months ago, but only as a casual sexual agreement. After only a few weeks, it became a rather prude friendship. Two months ago, our true feelings were exposed, though still not uttered. That night we made love for the first time – not the sex that we had shared before. It was something more. And yet it was a bittersweet memory as Ginny and Ron had walked in on us. It took us another two weeks before I finally confessed the love I had for him all along.

I smiled to myself as I thought over these things, just as Fred said I would. Why couldn't my life ever be normal?

Our relationship was as close to normal as I could hope, for now. Though, to anyone outside our close circle of friends, our living arrangements would seem quite odd. I was still officially living at Grimmauld Place with Harry and Ginny, while Fred still lived in the flat above Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (what we simply called Wheezes' Flat) with George. But that only meant to us that that was where we kept our belongings. We couldn't leave each other, spending every evening with each other. We alternated, on a random schedule between our homes. Last night we ate dinner at Grimmauld Place and Fred stayed the night, while the night before we ate with George and I slept at Wheezes' Flat. Fred asked me nearly every day to move in with him, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to consent. I think Mrs. Weasley was a large part of my decision. I had to admit that I was afraid to disappoint or upset her. I had yet to get on her bad side, and I didn't want to start now. Ginny also didn't want to see me leave Grimmauld Place.

I glanced down at the alarm clock and groaned. I did not want to get up this morning. I turned on my side to slide out of bed when a warm arm snaked around my middle and pulled me to the center of the bed. "Don't leave, 'Mione…" His voice was hoarse and sleepy.

"Believe me, I don't want to. But you know I have to," I whispered.

"Take the day off. Tell them you're ill," he urged. "I don't want you to go there…"

I had to admit that he tempted me. I would love to stay here in bed with him and the story wouldn't be a complete lie. I was feeling a little sick to my stomach since last night. It was nerves. I always felt ill at the thought of visiting Azkaban.

"It's not like I want to go. No one ever wants to visit Azkaban, but I have to." I groaned again. I really, really didn't want to go, but it was part of my job. I worked for the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Beings Division. It was one of my many tasks to oversee the Dementors. After some of them had left Ministry control to follow Voldemort during the war, we kept a much closer eye on Azkaban. Every month I had to go there to take count to make sure that they we not sneaking off or increasing in number.

"I still don't like it," said Fred. "How are you supposed to take a count of all of them without passing out or losing your soul? I'm kind of fond of it, you know. And then there are the criminals. There are a lot of Death Eaters there that aren't exactly fond of you."

I smiled and sat up. "The Dementors are not all in one place. They're scattered and they wouldn't dare attack Ministry officials. I walk the halls and take a tally. I'll have others with me and I'm not completely helpless, you know."

"I know. But I don't care. I still don't want you to go," he pouted.

I delicately placed my hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead through his mess of ginger hair. "I'll be fine."

Reluctantly he let me go and I slipped out of bed. It was still rather dark out the window but I couldn't bring myself to turn on the light and so dressed in the dark. My job started early, seven o'clock, but that always meant that I went home mid-afternoon. Fred started to sit up. I knew he was trying to follow me down to breakfast.

"You're tired. Stay and sleep," I ordered. I pressed him back down against the pillow and placed a kiss upon his lips. "Love you. I'll see you this evening."

"I love you, too. Be careful."

My head rested on my arm as I sat at the kitchen table at Wheezes' Flat. Today had been exhausting. I still felt ill and shaken from my visit to Azkaban. My insides held a small lingering feel of cold emptiness. I glanced up at Fred who stood at the cooker, flicking a fork at the contents of a large skillet. He was so funny to watch cook. It seemed to come so natural to him. He flitted around the kitchen in his purple apron and hummed in staccato. I always felt a little nervous trying to handle more than one dish at once - though I did just fine - but Fred moved from one thing to another with ease.

I looked behind me as the door to the flat opened and George walked in. My eyes widened and I tried to contain my giggles.

"What happened to you?" I asked playfully. I asked only to make conversation. It was very obvious what had happened.

"Ask your lover…" George replied with a smile.

"Hey George," Fred greeted. "Why so blue?"

George's hair, usually a brilliant flaming red, was now electric blue. They had been working on a new potion to change hair color. It was one that you ingested rather than apply directly to the hair.

"You put it in my juice, didn't you?" George asked.

"Yep. You couldn't taste it, could you?" Fred inquired.

"No. How much did you put in?"

"Just three drops," replied Fred.

"Good. It's potent then," responded George.

I giggled again. It was always funny the way they tested their products. And they were talking about George's blue hair so casually. "It even changed your eyebrows," I noted.

"Oh, that's not all, sweetheart," George gave me a wicked smile.

"Yeah, but we're not going there," replied Fred. "So did it change immediately, or did it take time?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. If you had let me know instead of catching me off guard like that, I could tell you. But it took me a few hours to realize it. Customers kept staring at my hair, but I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't 'til I went to the loo that I noticed the change. Imagine my surprise when I unzip my trousers and…"

"I get it, George," I said.

George stopped laughing when he got a good look at me. "You alright, Hermione? You're lookin' rather peaky." He glanced up at Fred.

"She had to take a head count of Dementors today," Fred answered.

George looked very sympathetic, but even when he was serious, he wasn't. "All their heads still there?"

"I wouldn't know," I said with frustration. "We were there for three hours and failed miserably at our task. We were more than half-way through our count when there was a disturbance in one of the cells. All the Dementors left their posts to gather at the source. They got extremely excited and it was difficult to send them back. I discovered that my Patronus is considerably stronger than it was in the past." I sighed and chuckled mirthlessly. Fred and George exchanged looks of concern. "I'm okay," I assured them. "It's just frustrating that it was all for naught. I have to go back the day after tomorrow."

"No, you're not," said Fred firmly. "I never liked you going there…"

"Not now, Fred. I'm tired," I pleaded.

"All right. But that doesn't mean this is finished," he said waving his fork at me.

"So what's for dinner?" George asked, sniffing the air.

"Bangers and Mash," Fred smiled. It was such a simple meal, but it was one of Fred and George's favorites. I breathed in deeply through my nose. The sausages smelled… My stomach did a flip. I leapt from the chair and bolted to the loo. I made it to the toilet just in time and retched into the porcelain bowl. Fred flew into the room just as I finished heaving. He quickly shoved his oven cloth into the pocket of his purple apron. I flushed the toilet and sank onto the floor with my back against the bath.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Fred asked, kneeling next to me.

"I'm fine, Fred. I already told you. I'm just shaken from spending so much time around Dementors today." He looked distressed. "I swear, I'm fine. I'm already feeling a little better."

"You're not going back there," he repeated firmly. "Now let's go get you a bite of chocolate before dinner."

I hated summarizing the previous story. I think I did a poor job of it, but there it is. Let us put it behind us. ^^

Tell me what you think. Please review.