"That's all?"

Hermione looked sceptically at the suitcase with which Harry had just entered her apartment. She could not imagine that a grown man had so few possessions that it would fit into a single suitcase.

"Well, I don't have as many books as you do. And the furniture in our apartment, I left all of it to Ginny. I'll buy new furniture as soon as I find a place of my own. I'd only remember her if I took some of it with me anyway," Harry explained with a shrug as he put the suitcase down. A bit awkwardly, he stood around her living room as if waiting for her to tell him where to put it.

Smiling, she crossed the room and pointed to a now empty bookshelf. "Here, I've put the books out, you can put your things in there. I've made a curtain in front of it, so everything is protected from the eyes of curious guests. I will turn the sofa into a bed for you in the evening. You are welcome to use the dining table as your desk. I prefer to sit at the desk in the corner over there anyway. Eating alone at the dining room table always seemed... nonsensical.

"You sure I'm not in the way?"

Hermione smiled warmly at her best friend. "Of course not. Oh, Harry, not at all. I'm almost glad to have a roommate for a short time. It'll be fun, believe me. We can go to work together in the morning, we'll cook dinner together in the evening, and if you ever have nightmares, I'll come and hold your hand."

At the last words she had to fight not to laugh out loud, but when Harry gave her a playful slap, it was all over for her. She burst out laughing and infected Harry with it. It was liberating and beautiful, and almost like when they used to go to Hogwarts together and no one thought of war.

"You know what? You unpack in peace and I'll cook us something nice and then we'll just make ourselves a cosy evening, what do you say?" Hermione suggested after they both could breath again. Harry still nodded with a grin, then turned to a suitcase with a deep sigh.

As her cooking skills were limited, Hermione opted for simple pasta with pesto, a dish for which she always had all the ingredients in the house because it was quick and tasty. It did not take more than ten minutes for Harry to approach her from behind and look over her shoulder into the cooking pot. A strange nervousness seized her.

"Well, what is it?"

She turned to him, only to find that he had actually been standing right behind her. Surprised at his sudden closeness, she blushed slightly before taking a step to the side to reveal the view of the stove. "Something very unusual! Pasta!"

"Mmm, my favourite dish! And it's so rare! Pasta, that's so extraordinary!" Harry giggled.

Sulking, Hermione put one hand on her hip while she waved the wooden spoon in the other in front of him. "Sorry I'm not a Molly! There'll have to be a few more kids crawling out of my hips before I have the leisure to just cook all day!"

Laughing, Harry took cover from her cooking spoon. "Oh no, better not. So many kids are just ruining your figure, and we don't want anything to ruin your perfect body!"

Hermione's laughter got stuck in her throat. If Harry wasn't working through his break-up with Ginny, she would have suspected he was flirting with her. She knew she was just imagining it, especially as he was Ron's best friend, so it was impossible. That she interpreted it that way said a lot more about herself. Obviously, she hadn't experienced a real flirtation for so long that she already misunderstood the harmless fooling around with an old friend.

Determined not to let her nervousness show, she pointed to the refrigerator. "Will you bring me the glass with the red pesto, please? We might as well eat now."

Harry complied with her request without further ambiguity, and when she finally mixed the steaming pasta with the pesto, the stimulating smell of paprika spreading through her small flat, Hermione realised that she was infinitely hungry. And hungry, she had never been quite sane before.

Instead of going to the dinner table, Hermione lowered herself into her sofa, preferring cosiness to proper table manners. Her parents had been strict with her long enough, now she was her own woman, she could decide how she wanted to live.

Silence filled the living room while they both devoted themselves to their meal, but it was not unpleasant. Hermione remembered how she had been alone with Harry for a long time during their search for the Horcruxes, after Ron had fled, overwhelmed by his negative feelings. Even then, Harry had had a wonderful way of dealing with silence. With him she could simply enjoy the silence. Happy with herself, with the food, with Harry and everything around her, she simply enjoyed the relaxed evening.

"What's on your agenda tomorrow?" Harry finally broke the comforting silence.

She could only roll her eyes. "I've got to go to the Malfoys. My department has traced a black-magic vase It seems Abraxas Malfoy acquired it ages ago, so it may still be in the family."

A wry grin appeared on Harry's face. "I can see you're deliriously happy."

Playfully angry, she stuck out her tongue at him. "If you were in my place, you'd probably have to send a chaperone along so you wouldn't kill each other."

A loud laugh rang out. "A chaperone would probably be the last thing we need. If anything, we'd need one here."

Still his wry grin on his lips, Harry looked over at her and raised one eyebrow. Again, Hermione blushed and again she wondered if Harry was flirting with her or if she was just imagining it. In a firm voice - or at least she hoped her voice sounded like it - she replied, "You're so conservative sometimes, Harry. As if a man and a woman today seriously need a chaperone just because they share a room."

He laughed again. "Wait till you get into my bed..."

"Harry!" Hermione interrupted him, now flaming red. He went far too far with his jokes, serious or not. She got up hastily, picked up the two dirty plates and went to the kitchen.

When she turned back to him, she pulled out her wand and pointed to the couch. "I'm going to change your bed now. One more dirty word and I'll give you a mattress of stone!"

Harry's grin widened even more, but he remained silent and behaved well.