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“Hermione!” Harry answered, surprise evident in his voice. With a raise of one eyebrow, picked up the dropped coffee cup off of the floor. With a subtle flick of his wand, he cleaned up the spilt coffee.

“Harry! You can’t do that here!” Hermione hissed, looking around. No one had noticed. Then she hugged Harry tightly, forgetting what he had just done.

“It’s nice to see you too!” He laughed.

“Why are you here? I thought… We were worried you… you…” Hermione didn’t finish, looking at Harry with an anxious, creased brow.

“Well, I’m here and I’m fine. I was actually on my way home, honest.” He smiled at her, trying to forget where he had been for almost a month.

“Well I’m glad!” Hermione’s face quickly returned to a smile. “You know,” she frowned, “I really should buy you another coffee…

Ten minutes later Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, hoods covering much of their faces, ducked into a small cafe tucked into the corner of a London street. Soon they were seated with two hot mugs of coffee in front of them, drying their wet hair in the warmth of the cosy cafe. It was nearly Christmas time in London and, in typical fashion, the rain was pouring down outside.

“So the mission went well then?” Hermione asked under her breath.

Harry nodded. “It’s all done. Just another Voldemort fanatic, I’m afraid. He was dangerous alright, so I understand why I had to go. Going undercover as a muggle was the right precaution in the end, otherwise he would have realised much sooner who we were and would’ve fled. Luckily the team I was working with were good, and we captured him. I was going to report to the ministry, but I wanted to go home first. I was just going to grab a coffee and apparate, and then I was going to explain everything to Ginny.” They sat in silence for a second.

“I’m glad. Ginny was going mad when you didn’t contact, and Ron wasn’t making it any easier. And don’t even get me started on the Daily Prophet. The whole scandal with gnomes means they’re hunting me down, asking for comment,” she sighed. “That’s why I was using muggle transport and was wearing that ridiculous coat. The Daily Prophet just won’t leave me alone!”

Harry nodded. “Sorry about that. They really are a nightmare, aren’t they?” He sighed as she nodded.

“I guess in some ways the scandal was useful,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “It did divert their attention away from the fact the boy-who-lived wasn’t showing up to work.”

“Guess I was lucky they didn’t see me, even now. But quite a coincidence you bumped into me.”

“Literally,” Hermione added dryly. They laughed. “Sorry about that.”

Harry shook his head. “It was as much my fault as yours.” Harry paused, before speaking. “It was really hard, you know? Not contacting you all. Especially not seeing James. Has Ginny been okay with looking after James alone whilst I was gone?”

“Yeah. Ron and I have been round a few times to check up on her and she seems to be ok. But I have to say, James really is a troublemaker… Following in his father’s footsteps I see.”

Harry smiled. “I’ll be glad to see him again. I knew being an auror would be a lot of work, but I’m not sure how many of these missions I can take.”

“You don’t have to stay an auror forever, you know,” Hermione said softly. “You have done enough for the community. Even if you enjoy it.”

Harry shrugged. “I do enjoy it… but you’re right. I guess we’ll have to see, huh? Maybe I should join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” he joked.

Hermione laughed. “If you thought being an auror was a lot of work, Harry… are you sure you could keep up there?” The tone in her voice was teasing.

“I probably couldn’t keep up with you, but only cause you’re the brightest witch of your age Hermione. Not all of us can be as brilliant as you!” Harry smiled.

“So Ron keeps telling me.”

“How is Ron?” Harry asked, wondering what he’d been getting up to over the past few weeks.

“He’s good. Working at the joke shop. Business is going well.” She paused, pondering something. “Harry, I need to tell you something…”

“What?” Harry was worried… most news was bad news.

“I’m pregnant!” Hermione blurted out.

Harry looked on in stunned silence. “Congratulations! That’s fantastic!” He beamed at her, thinking of a mini Hermione or a mini Ron running about. “What does Ron think?”

“Ron doesn’t know.” Hermione muttered nervously. Realization dawned on Harry.

“You haven’t told anyone?” She nodded her head nervously.

“I’m just worried… I don’t know anything about being a mother, and I’m not sure how Ron…” Hermione trailed off.

“It’s going to be fine, don’t worry. Ron will be over the moon, he’ll be so happy for you!” Harry genuinely believed it.

“You think so?” For someone as powerful as Hermione, her voice was incredibly small in that moment.

“Yeah of course! You’ll both be great parents… even Ron,” Harry joked.

Hermione snorted. “Only if he stops watching so much quidditch!”

Harry put a hand to his heart. “How could you?”

She laughed. “You know what I mean.” Hermione’s expression softened. “But thanks Harry. I think… I think I’ll tell Ron tonight.”

“Well, Ginny and I will be ready to celebrate tomorrow,” Harry said happily.

“Look at us, though,” Hermione said quietly. “You and Ginny with a young baby. Luna and Neville getting married. And now I’m pregnant… we’re really growing up, aren’t we? Things are changing a lot.”

“They are,” Harry agreed. “But they’re changing for the better.” He reached over the table and took Hermione’s hand. After all these years, she was still like a sister to him. She was still his best friend.