"Hey, Harry."

Smiling, Hermione opened the door to her apartment. She was happy to finally see her best friend again after he had been up to his ears in work for the ministry for the last two weeks. Not that she had much time herself. On the one hand she gave a course for young ministry candidates on how to use written sources for research, on the other hand she had to pursue her own work, the study of magical artifacts of the past. And then there were the dates with Ron, which she had to accommodate somehow. So, it was definitely not Harry's fault alone that they had not heard from each other for so long.

"Evening," he replied much less enthusiastically as he stepped in and peeled off his jacket. Surprised, Hermione noticed that he had clearly visible dark circles under his eyes, his face looking sunken in the flickering light of her candles.

She automatically went into listener mode. "Fancy a cuppa?"

"That sounds perfect!" Harry nodded and with a deep sigh let himself sink onto the sofa in front of her fireplace. He remained silent while she prepared the tea in the kitchenette adjacent to the living room.

When she finally came to him with two cups of tea and placed one in front of him, he took a deep sip, not caring about the temperature of the hot tea. Then he pushed the cup back onto the table and with another sigh buried his face in his hands. "Hogwarts has been a long time, hasn't it?

Thoughtfully, Hermione tilted her head. That was a direction she had not anticipated. Carefully, she hitched up. "The battle seems like an eternity ago, even though it was only two years ago."

Her eyes rested attentively on her best friend. His face was hidden, but the tension in his shoulders and the shaking of his knees were clear signs that something was wrong with Harry.

"I never thought I would say this," he murmured inaudibly, "but everything was easier then. Growing up... sucks.

Worried, Hermione moved closer to him on the couch and put one hand on his thigh. "Can I help you with something?"

"Ginny broke up with me last week," it finally burst out of him.

"What? Why?"

Slowly, Harry sat up again and looked directly at her. "She said ... she thought she had idolized me all her life. And during the war, when we were all living in constant fear, she never even thought of questioning her feelings for me. So she says. I don't know... she said that in her daily life with me she noticed that there were no butterflies in her stomach.

Instinctively, Hermione felt anger rising within her. "That's normal! Infatuation will pass eventually, we can't have butterflies in our stomach all the time, we would die of excitement. What does she expect?"

Beaten to death, Harry leaned back, eyes closed. "What do I know? I really tried everything. We only moved in together six months ago. I thought it would help us. More closeness and all that. But obviously ... it was the opposite."

"Oh, Harry," whispered Hermione with compassion. Without thinking about it, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him to her chest. In an instant, he returned the hug, pressed her tightly against him and buried his face on her shoulder.

They remained like this for minutes, both in silence. Hermione did not dare break the silence. She wanted to wait for Harry so he could have the space to show his feelings openly. And she really felt sorry for him. Ginny had been his first real love after Cho, and she knew that he felt sincerely for her. And the other way round, Ginny had always had a crush on him, even when she had tried other boys in between. That they would not marry and grow old together was a completely absurd thought for her.

"We'll always be friends, won't we, Mione?"

The hardly noticeable trembling in Harry's voice almost broke her heart. She squeezed him a little harder. "But of course, Harry. We are not just two students who met by chance. We have been through so much together. You'll always be my best friend."

Slowly he released himself from the embrace, "And you my best friend. You and Ron are the two most important people to me. Don't you ever break up, okay?"

Uneasily, Hermione rolled her shoulders. If she was honest with herself, she had been doubting for weeks whether her relationship with Ron still had a future, but at the same time the very thought of leaving him just felt wrong. With a crooked grin she nodded. "Don't worry, we've had plenty of time to sort out our feelings back at Hogwarts."

Her grin was reflected on Harry's face. "Yes, really. Ron has made every effort not to see his own feelings, I don't think that now that he has finally recognized them, there'd be a big change."

Hermione could only shrug. It was not the right time to talk about her own relationship problems, but sooner or later she would need Harry's advice. She stood up. "Would you like another cuppa?"

"Gladly," Harry replied, who was obviously relieved to have finally expressed his heartache. A new sigh escaped his lips. "Oh, I just don't know what to do now. Ginny is keeping the flat, so I'll move out as soon as I find something new. It's okay for her, but ... I don't know if I can still be in a room with her without ... I'm just so angry and sad and I don't understand it. You know?"

Hermione chewed on her lip as she waited for the tea to be ready. She understood only too well that living with Ginny without being able to get close to her was torture for Harry. She briefly laid her head back and thought, but she knew that she had actually already made her decision.

She returned to the coffee table with both teacups in her hands. "If you want, you can stay with me for the transition. The sofa here can be converted into a bed, it's quite comfortable. And I wouldn't mind, we both go to the ministry every day anyway."

Harry looked at her with big eyes. "Really? I mean... that would be great, but... wouldn't I be in your way?"

Laughing, Hermione shook her head. "You're one of the most unobtrusive people, I bet I don't even know you're here."

"You really are a lifesaver!"

With a broad grin, Hermione let him hug her once more. She hoped very much that Ron would not mind that Harry stayed with her, although she had never offered her boyfriend that before. She had always told Ron how much she needed her space and that she did not want to move in with him quite so fast. She was no longer sure herself if that was the real reason, because the thought of living with Harry for a few weeks was more exciting and appealing than disturbing. It was really time for her to analyse her feelings for Ron!