Hermione POV
“Hermione!”
Hermione had no sooner touched the floor in Harry’s home before she found herself being enveloped in a tight hug by her very enthusiastic best friend.
“Harry!” Hermione laughed. She tried to hug her back but Harry had her arms pinned to her sides. “Happy birthday!”
“Oi!” Ron grinned at the girls and gestured to his siblings. “Do we not get hugged?”
“No,” Harry said simply as she continued hugging Hermione. “Hoes before bros.”
Hermione let out a startled laugh at Harry’s little quip which did prompt Harry to finally release her.
“We’re hoes!” George cried.
Harry laughed and let the twins hug her while Ron pouted and Ginny smiled.
“Careful boys,” Ginny warned her brothers, “Harry’s got a new man in her life and she’s quite obsessed.”
“Draco Malfoy in sixth year obsessed?” Ron grinned.
“Worse,” Hermione told him.
Harry had only sent a couple letters since moving, but they all were filled with—
“When do we meet this Jacob?” Ginny asked Harry as Harry moved to hug her. Hermione was relieved that Ginny seemed to be taking Harry moving on so well, she’d been worried that it would drive a wedge between her two closest friends.
“He’ll be here so soon!” Harry squealed happily. “Come out back, I can’t wait for you guys to meet everyone! You’re the first here, but I’ve invited Jacob and his friend and Bella and… and everyone! I’ve met so many people!”
Hermione shared a fond look with Ron as they followed Harry through the cute house she shared with her godfathers out to the backyard.
Hermione missed Harry, she missed her with all of her heart, but Harry’s perky personality and never ending vivaciousness was occasionally exhausting.
“You made it!” Sirius cried when they stepped out into the lavishly decorated backyard.
Hermione looked around and smiled at the red and gold balloons and stacks of gifts and banners. Sirius had always gone all out for Harry’s birthday, ever since her fifteenth when Harry so casually told Sirius that her aunt and uncle never celebrated her birthday.
Even if Sirius was irresponsible and impulsive at times, he was a wonderful godfather and Hermione had been incredibly pleased that Harry finally got to join her godfather and his husband as a true little family. She was not as pleased that upon the end of the war, Harry and her family immediately moved away. Though, she could understand to an extent, as Harry could never be herself back in England.
She would always be the Girl-Who-Lived, Woman-Who-Won, and occasionally The Next Dark Lady(?) to them. Here, she was free, free and so happy that Hermione couldn’t help but smile.
“This is lovely!” Harry cried, flinging herself in her godfathers arms and laughing when he spun her around. “Padfoot, have I told you today that you’re brilliant?”
“Not today,” Sirius grinned.
Harry patted him on the head, “Maybe tomorrow then.”
Sirius laughed and dropped Harry to the ground, causing her to scowl, before he turned to the rest of them. “How’s London?“
“Brilliant,” Hermione said enthusiastically. “Professor McGonagall sent out letters yesterday, inviting us back for our NEWTS.”
“I got that letter too,” Harry said brightly. “I burnt it.”
Ron and his siblings laughed while Hermione sighed heavily.
“Of course you did,” she told Harry with a shake of her head. “Are you really not going to get your NEWTS?”
“Nope.” Harry grinned and Hermione realized that she was wearing makeup… which was odd. “I’m going to muggle high school with my new friends. Isn’t that brilliant, Hermione? Imagine me using a pencil!”
“Sounds horrible,” Fred groaned. “You can’t even use magic to cheat!”
“Harry doesn’t need to cheat,” Hermione told him waspishly. “She’s quite smart.”
“Awe,” Harry gave Hermione another hug, “but cheating makes it so much easier!”
Hermione laughed and pushed Harry away. “You spend too much time with Sirius,” she accused her. “Professor Lupin won’t want you to cheat.”
“Professor Lupin doesn’t really mind,” Professor Lupin said as he levitated a giant cake from the backdoor to a table in the yard. “Harry’s a shameless cheat anyway, I’ve learned to just stay out of it and let her learn natural consequences.”
“Consequences? What are those?” Harry grinned. “I’ve never— oh! Do you hear that?”
Hermione tilted her head to the side and heard a distant sound of what was probably a motorcycle.
“Motorbike means hot new boyfriend,” Ginny grinned. “Wands away, Weasley’s.”
“Oh, you can keep them out.” Harry conjured a mirror and made an attempt at smoothing her wild black waves down, a move that had Hermione and Ron sharing sly grins at her very girly and un-Harry-like behavior. “Jacob’s a shapeshifter, as is his friend Embry. And since Edward’s a vampire and Bella will be one in a year, there’s no silly secrets here.” She waved her wand, causing the mirror to disappear as the rumbling of the motorcycle died in the front yard.
Harry must have finally noticed Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the Twins’ gobsmacked expressions because she smirked with an impish little look on her face.
“I’m certain I mentioned that,” she hummed.
“I’m certain you didn’t,” Hermione said dryly. She saw Sirius and Professor Lupin roll their eyes at each other behind Harry’s back. “And I’m certain you did it for shock value, didn’t you?”
“Me? Shock value? Never!” Harry gasped. “You wound me, Hermione. Hold that baseless accusation, I’ll be back!”
“She’s such a prat,” Ron laughed as Harry ran off toward the house, undoubtedly to greet Jacob. “Only Harry bloody Potter could move somewhere and meet shapeshifters and vampires in a muggle town.”
“Potter luck is a deadly force,” Sirius said solemnly. “You guys want something to drink? We’ve got lemonade and pops over there.”
“Yes, thank you,” Hermione said as they moved toward the table Sirius pointed them to. She had her back to the door, and had began describing the changes to Hogwarts to Professor Lupin, who insisted that she not call him that, and was startled when Ginny let out a long and quiet whistle.
“Holy hell,” Ginny breathed. “Hermione, look at that.”
Hermione spun around and nearly choked on her drink. She didn’t typically curse, as much as all her friends did, but she wasn’t perfect either.
“Holy hell,” she agreed in a sigh.
Harry was beaming as she led the guy who could only be Jacob Black out in the yard by the arm. Jacob had Harry in the crook of one arm, a bundle of red roses in the other hand, and still somehow looked like the sun was shining directly on him.
He was tall, tan, had perfectly shaggy black hair, a bright and open smile, and was so terribly fit that Hermione felt briefly jealous of Harry for the second time in her life. The first had been when Hermione thought Ron and Harry were secretly dating, a ridiculous notion she had in their third year.
Ron cleared his throat and tapped Hermione on the shoulder. “Try and close your mouth, love, you’re drooling.”
Hermione scowled, but Ron didn’t seem jealous, only amused.
“Guys, this is Jacob!” Harry said as she and her Jacob approached the group and Sirius and Professor Lupin discreetly slipped away. “Jacob, this is Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jacob said politely. He smiled at the twins, “Do you just go by the twins?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” George sniffed. “We go by Gred and Forge.”
“They’re terrible pranksters,” Harry warned Jacob, “don’t ever accept food from them.”
“How rude!” Fred cried. “We happen to be wonderful pranksters!”
“And you gave them most of their ideas,” Hermione added wryly.
Harry hummed and inspected her nails. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Hermione. Besides, wasn’t it you who helped us perfect the potion for Canary Creams?”
“A lapse in judgement that I’ve never forgiven myself for,” Hermione said truthfully. “The only upside is I can smell that potion from across a room.”
“I’m going to regret asking what Canary Creams are, aren’t I?” Jacob asked with a wry smile.
“You should try one,” Ginny suggested innocently. “Maybe they don’t work on shapeshifters?”
“Do not prank Jacob,” Harry snapped, suddenly all business. She raised one of her dark brows at Ginny threateningly. “Don’t make me duel you, Gin, it’ll be embarrassing.”
“For you,” Ginny hummed confidently.
“Don’t you have muggle neighbors? And muggle friends coming?” Hermione asked quickly while the twins and Ron exchanged gleeful looks.
“Nope. Bella’s a soon-to-be-vampire and our yard is warded,” Harry said brightly.
Harry and Ginny, nearly simultaneously, both pulled their long hair up in ponytails and began backing apart from each other.
“HARRIETTE POTTER, DO NOT!”
Hermione let out a relieved breath as Sirius saw Harry pull her wand and went rushing to her.
“Do you know how hard Remus worked on that cake?“ Sirius demanded with his hands on his hips. “Were you even going to cast something to protect it? Huh?”
“Let’s find a safe spot to sit,” Hermione sighed. She should have known that Sirius wasn’t going to stop a friendly duel from breaking out in his muggle backyard. It would be a marvel if none of them wound up with a fine from MACUSA by the end of the year.
Jacob seemed torn between watching Harry cast charms on the decorations Sirius and Professor Lupin worked so hard on and moving a safe distance away to sit on the ground as Hermione, Ron, and the twins did.
“Oi, come sit,” Ron called to him. “Ginny won’t hurt Harry.”
“She would if she could,” George corrected him with a grin. “But Harry’s a spiffing lass, isn’t she, Fred?”
“Positively spiffing,” Fred chimed in, easily copying his brother’s grin as they looked up at Jacob. “Normally we’d give you the same speech we gave Ginny about being mean to our little Harrikins, but…”
“Seeing as Jacob could probably kick your arses, you won’t?” Ron suggested, causing Hermione to snort-laugh.
“We actually aren’t warning him about hurting Harry because we’re afraid she’ll yell at us again for ‘confusing her with a witch who needs our help’,” George said.
“And those scars she left never healed,” Fred shuddered.
Jacob laughed with the boys and sat down on the ground, appearing entirely comfortable around the three wizards and witch. He leaned back on his hands and kept his face turned toward Harry as she danced around the yard with Ginny and Sirius, rearranging things to accommodate their duel.
“Oh, you’ve got it so bad,” Hermione laughed softly at the look in Jacob’s eyes as he tracked Harry around the yard.
“That he does,” Professor Lupin agreed, appearing from behind where they sat with a chair in one hand and a drink in the other. He took a seat and shook his head fondly toward where Harry and Sirius were. “And Harry’s just making him miserable.”
“She’s not,” Jacob said quickly, not even bothering to deny how badly he had it. “She’s perfect.”
Hermione joined the Weasley boys in their laughter at the absolute worst way to describe their Harry.
“Harry is a terror,” George said.
“A nightmare,” Fred added.
“Mischief personified,” Ron said with a wink to Hermione, clearly proud of himself for the term.
Hermione grinned, “Harry is a monster.”
“I can hear youuuu,” Harry sang loudly. She spun around and pointed her wand threateningly at their group with a playful smirk on her face. “Quit trash talking me and watch me humiliate your sister.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the twins said with obedient salutes.
“Sure you aren’t going to wolf out and try to protect Harry, Jacob?” Sirius said with a look that was something between a scowl and a smirk as he came jogging over to sit on the ground beside Professor Lupin.
Hermione and Ron shared a look and tried to hide their laughter. Hermione bit her lip and focused on the two girls making ridiculous curtsies and bows at each other in the center of the yard.
Sirius certainly hadn’t minded when Ginny was the one trailing after Harry with lovesick eyes.
“GO!” Ginny shouted.
Everyone was suddenly struck silent as the two girls, so similar in their lithe builds and fiery personalities, began dueling. Harry was in her element, as she always was in a duel, and looked as graceful as any professional dancer as she spun around, her pleated skirt flying around her, and flung silent spells at Ginny.
“Nah.” Jacob’s eyes were all but glowing as he stared at Harry with the dumbest and most adorable grin on his face. “She doesn’t need me to, does she?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Hermione agreed. “I hope Ginny wins though, Harry’s insufferable when she doesn’t get beat.”
“Ever since she learned silent magic to spite Snape, Harry’s been unbeatable in duels,” Ron explained to Jacob. “She does a lot of her best work out of spite.”
Jacob threw his head back and laughed before becoming entranced by the duel between the girls once more.
Ginny was brilliant and creative; always casting a different spell, never using the same thing twice. Harry was just… a terrible combination between reckless and powerful. Harry didn’t care to take a mild jinx if it gave her an opening to land a better one. She also didn’t care to fight dirty, conjuring snakes and instructing them to attack- a genuinely hilarious attack that Hermione knew Harry had worried she’d lose when the horcrux was removed from her.
“Harry’s just showing off,” Sirius scoffed when Harry began hissing at a small snake army while keeping Ginny on her toes with spells.
“Can’t imagine where she gets such behavior,” Professor Lupin said with a sarcastic tone that went right over Sirius’ head.
Harry looked poised to truly do something dramatic, she rose up on the balls of her feet and—
I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want.
“Pause!” Harry cried, throwing a quick shield up and then scrambling in her blouse.
“Is… is Harry’s chest singing Spice Girls?” Hermione asked, speaking very slowly so that she didn’t lose her voice to uncontrollable laughter.
Jacob grinned and nodded. “She keeps her phone in her top, she said it’s so she can keep her wand in her skirt.”
“BELLA!” Harry yelled, interrupting all other conversations. Ginny rolled her eyes and pocketed her wand before skipping over to them while Harry began waving hers around while talking in rapid fire on the phone.
“Good try, Gin,” George said. He held up a tiny bracelet made out of the little flowers that grew all over the yard. “Would you like a consolation gift?”
“I didn’t lose,” Ginny told him firmly. “Harry gave in. Ow!” Ginny jumped and rubbed her shoulder, turning to glare at where Harry was headed toward the house with her wand still brandished. “Cheater!” Ginny yelled.
“Envy doesn’t suit you, Ginevra,” Harry sang.
“What a prat,” Ginny laughed. She accepted a glass of lemonade that Fred snagged for her and flopped gracelessly on the ground in front of Hermione. “Mione, my true best friend, remind me why we didn’t just kill Harry off when we had a chance?”
“Because you were too busy being in love with her,” Ron said, incredibly insensitively.
Ginny only laughed, as did the twins, it was Jacob who looked startled.
He cocked his head to the side, looking a bit like a curious puppy with his big brown eyes focused on Ginny. “Did you and Harry used to…?”
“Ginny was Harry’s first love,” Sirius said stoutly. He winked at Ginny, “Always thought she’d be my goddaughter-in-law.”
Professor Lupin swatted the top of Sirius’ head and gave him ‘a look’ when Sirius peeked up at him, but Ginny had clearly decided to taunt Jacob herself. Hermione doubted if she did it to be malicious, Ginny just seemed to thrive on mischief the same way that Harry did; it was one of the reasons that Hermione didn’t truly think her two best friends were a good match, they were too similar.
The other reason was simply that Hermione was afraid that Harry and Ginny would get bored one night and take over the world, just as they’d gotten bored in fifth year and threw a party in the Chamber of Secrets to ‘clear away bad memories’.
She would help them take over, obviously, but she’d really rather not deal with the Holyhead Harpies quidditch matches becoming public holidays.
“Harry and I dated for years,” Ginny sighed, playing the part of nostalgic ex quite well. “I know her better than anyone. And when I say I know her, I do mean alll of her,” she winked.
“Gross!” Ron cried while the twins cringed. “Gin, Merlin, we don’t want to hear that!”
Hermione was interested to see that Jacob didn’t seem jealous in the slightest. In fact, he didn’t look discomforted at all by Ginny’s incredibly unsubtle dig.
“It’s good you guys are still friends,” he said to her, sounding entirely earnest. “Some people break up and their friendship is over.”
Hermione was watching Jacob quite curiously at that mature response. It wasn’t that Hermione thought all boys were immature it was just that all the men she spent her time around were rather immature. Of course, all the men she spent her time around were also ginger and named Weasley. Either way though, she didn’t think that any of them would be quite so relaxed when being taunted about their girlfriend by their girlfriend’s ex. Jacob must either be incredibly confident in his relationship or—
“Shapeshifter,” Hermione gasped just as Harry let out three new guests from the backdoor.
“No, vampires,” Ron said, his eyes boggling as the group got to their feet and Harry led her friends to them.
Jacob gave Hermione a swift searching look and frowned. “Could I talk to you? Please?” he whispered quickly.
Hermione narrowed her eyes and jerked her chin in a slight nod. Harry was brilliant, of course, but Jacob seemed much too confident in their admittedly early relationship for it to not be influenced by something, and Hermione suspected that it was imprinting.
It was just like Harry to be the soulmate of some fit shapeshifter too. And Ron’s poor mum had high hopes that Harry and one of her son’s would still ‘hit it off’ now that Ginny and Harry were just friends.
Harry smiled at them all as her other friends were brought to their group. “Guys, this is Bella, future vampire, her soulmate Edward, a current vampire, and Edward’s sister Alice, also a current vampire! Bella, Edward, Alice, these are my godfathers and my friends, all terribly famous witches and wizards, and my boyfriend,” she winked at the obvious muggle in the group, “Jacob, who I believe you already know.”
The muggle girl laughed quietly, sounding both amused and nervous, and Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at one another. Harry was such a jealous twit sometimes; she was also terribly unsubtle. She must believe Bella had a crush on Jacob to be so blatantly possessive. Bella was probably lucky that Harry must not feel threatened by her, poor Michael Corner never was able to regrow his pinky after Harry tested a prank item on him after he flirted with Ginny.
All of Hogwarts had been relieved when the two girls quit their odd dance around each other and finally began dating. It had began to be hazardous to speak to either of them for fear of retaliation from the other.
Hermione smiled at the brunette muggle girl, the beautiful vampire girl with short dark hair, and the bemused vampire boy. “It’s wonderful to meet you,” she said politely. “Excuse me.”
Hermione walked off toward the house, intending for Jacob to follow her, while George began making short work of trying to chat up Alice and the others began introducing themselves. Jacob caught up to Hermione just as she heard Ron, brave and wonderful and tactless Ron, blurt out-
“Future vampire?!”
Hermione adored him.
She spun on her heel to face Jacob the instant they were inside the kitchen and narrowed her eyes up at him. “Does she know?”
Jacob, to his credit, didn’t play daft. He raised his hands innocently and shook his head. “I’m telling her tonight,” he said quietly. “Please don’t tell her, I want to do it right.”
Hermione snorted. “Harry isn’t going to be happy. She wants to travel eventually, see the world, experience life. And you,” Hermione jabbed a finger in Jacob’s muscular chest, “are not going to stop her.”
“Stop her?” Jacob raised his dark brows and leaned against the doorway. “Why would I stop her? If Harry wants to travel, we’ll travel.” He grinned, a boyish and sweet grin, “I know a bit of Spanish?”
Hermione wasn’t going to be distracted by his… his distractiveness. Harry was her best friend and she deserved to do all the things she wanted in life. “And if Harry wants to move back to London and get her NEWTS?” she asked him.
Harry didn’t want that part of life currently, but she might one day.
Jacob hesitated, his face blank, and he blinked quickly. “I don’t know what newts are but if Harry wants them then I’ll help her get them.”
“Oh.” Hermione’s indignation faded at the honestly in Jacob’s eyes. “You love her, don’t you?”
Jacob shifted, his shoulders shrugging and his lips curling up in a half-smile. “Well if I did, I couldn’t tell you before I did her, could I?”
Hermione laughed and decided that Jacob would be a half-way decent brother-in-law one day. “You poor bastard,” she sighed, using Harry’s favorite expression. “She’s going to lead you around on a leash.”
“Who’s leading my boyfriend around on a leash?”
“Jesus Christ!” Hermione shrieked and jumped as Harry abruptly whipped her cloak off her head and grinned at them from the doorway that Jacob had been leaning on. “What is wrong with you?!”
“A tragic lack of maternal love at a young age,” Harry quipped solemnly. “A woman’s touch could have truly turned me into a lovely young woman, unfortunately, this is who I am now as a person. So back to that leash for Jacob?”
“Nothing,” Jacob said quickly, smiling so brightly at Harry that she knew for a fact he must already be at least mostly in love with the mad witch.
“Hmm,” Harry hummed thoughtfully. “Well, Sirius is insisting we eat cake, unless you two would prefer to have little secret chats?”
Hermione smiled at her, too used to Harry’s antics to be bothered. “It isn’t much of a secret chat if you’re sneaking around under your cloak eavesdropping, is it?” she asked sweetly.
Harry laughed and took the cloak fully off, tossing the priceless magical artifact on the kitchen counter, and linked arms with both of them. “Not at all,” she agreed brightly. “Let’s go have cake.”
They sang to Harry, and ate cake, and Hermione was nearly hugged to death when Harry opened the photo album she painstakingly made for her.
“This is so lovely!” Harry cried. “Our era of adventure is truly over! I love it! I hate it!”
Hermione laughed and hugged her just as tightly. “We’ll have more adventures.” She pulled her back and looked at her sternly, “Safer adventures, Harriette Potter.”
Harry stuck her lip out in a pout and made her eyes big and round, a look that worked on everyone aside from Hermione. “I truly will miss you, I already miss you! Bella won’t go on adventures either!”
“I told you I wouldn’t go cliff diving,” Bella, the perfectly polite, if a bit boring by Hermione’s standards, girl who seemed to love classic literature as much as Hermione did, sighed. “You are insane.” She looked up at her boyfriend who had been by her side the entire time and shook her head, “Harry wanted to jump from the cliffs above the rocks.”
“Harriette!” Professor Lupin narrowed his eyes at a suddenly distracted Harry. “You can’t jump above the rocks!”
“Jacob does,” Harry said airily as she flipped through the photobook and smiled at all the photos Hermione found of them. “Oh, Jacob, look! Hermione’s included my mug shot!”
Sirius and Professor Lupin sighed, exasperated by Harry’s quick evasive maneuvers.
“Only because she knows you love that photo,” Ron said with a grin. “Egotistical maniac, you are.”
Jacob looked over Harry’s shoulder at what truly was a good photo of her. Hermione had no idea how the Daily Prophet made such a photo, but there was Harry with her hair long and loose, black curls framing her pretty face, her eyes smoldering as she scowled in a pouty sort of way at the camera.
“‘Wanted for the death of Albus Dumbledore’?” Jacob asked. “Harry, did you kill someone?”
If nothing else solidified Jacob’s obvious love of Hermione’s best friend, it was the way the he only sounded curious, not shocked or upset. And, judging by the looks everyone exchanged while Harry and Jacob weren’t looking, Harry was the only one who didn’t know it.
Supposedly.
But Harry had a bad habit of knowing things she shouldn’t, there was a reason they called her the Girl-Who-Gossiped in the Gryffindor Tower.
“I didn’t kill him, my teacher did,” Harry said cheerfully. “Poor Professor Snape.”
“You hated Snape,” Ginny said.
“You tried to poison him once,” Fred added.
Harry’s head snapped up and she glared at Fred threateningly. “That was a secret, Frederick Weasley, I’ll thank you to shut your mouth.”
Everyone except for Edward and Alice laughed, those two poor souls just looked lost. Harry must have agreed because she pat Alice consolingly on the hand with a grin.
“I’ll catch you up during our dreadful muggle classes,” she told her. “Perhaps you, me, and Bella will be the new golden trio at Forks High School.”
Hermione gave Bella a look of complete sympathy. Poor girl, it was dangerous being Harry’s best friend. Alice was a vampire, she would be fine. It was Bella who would need protected from Harry’s mad plans for mischief.
“Oi! You can’t replace us!” Ron cried. “What happened to best friends forever?”
Harry winked and waved her hand at him, “Oh, that ended when I knew you were going to run off and marry Hermione. I’m not interested in being a long distance third wheel, I had plenty of that in fourth year.”
“And third year,” Ginny added.
“Fifth too,” George said.
Sirius sighed, “And who could forget sixth?”
“We were not that bad,” Hermione denied with a blush as the non-wizard guests looked confused. “Harry is dramatic. Ron and I barely even spoke to one another in third year.”
“It’s true,” Harry told the others. “Instead, they whined to me quite pitifully about each other. ‘Her cat ate my rat!’ ‘His rat is a filthy traitor who deserves to be castrated and quartered!’ It was quite ridiculous.”
Hermione grimaced, “I didn’t say that bit about being castrated.”
Not that he didn’t deserve it, merely that Hermione preferred to never think about Peter Pettigrew’s genitals in any manner.
“I did,” Sirius said brightly. “Nasty little rat he was,” he told the poor vampires eagerly. “Some vermin shouldn’t be allowed to live, right?”
“Right,” Edward agreed, his lips quivering as if he were fighting back laughter. “I agree completely.”
“This has been a marvelous birthday,” Harry sighed. “A truly perfect day with all my favorite people.”
Jacob coughed quietly and pulled a little golden box out of his pocket. “Before it’s over, I got you something.”
Harry couldn’t hide the look of pure surprise or delight on her face. “You got me flowers, Jacob—”
Hermione and Ginny did not miss the quick flick towards Bella that Harry’s eyes did when she said that.
“—you didn’t need to get me anything else.”
“Fine, I’ll keep it.” Jacob went to grab the little box and pull it back, laughing when Harry swatted his hand. “Open it, babe.”
“Ooooh, babe, he said,” Fred snickered.
“It’s soooo cute,” George sighed dramatically.
Sirius threw back the rest of the amber colored liquor in his glass and looked up at the sky. “Adorable,” he agreed flatly.
Harry winked at her godfather before ducking her head and opening the little golden box.
“Oh! It’s beautiful! Yes, I will marry you!” Harry flung herself in Jacob’s arms and began kissing him while mayhem broke out.
“I told you so!” Bella laughed at her boyfriend. “I knew it!”
“Absolutely not!” George howled. “You just met!”
“Not until after us!” Ron added, blushing when Hermione raised a brow at him.
Sirius simply looked faint while Professor Lupin rubbed his back and mumbled something about ‘god damn James Potter genes’.
“Harry, you prat, it’s a necklace!” Ginny aimed a kick at Harry’s ankles as Harry was still distracted after peeking in the golden box sitting on the picnic table.
Harry finally turned from Jacob, though she stayed right in his arms, and raised her brows at Ginny. “Oh, is it? My mistake.”
“Grounded,” Sirius gasped, finally regaining some color to his cheeks. “For fifty- no- sixty years.”
Harry rolled her eyes and then lifted the golden chair from the box, showing everyone the dainty wolf pendant hanging on it.
“Jacob and his friends thought they were werewolves,” Harry said with a smirk as she handed the necklace to Jacob and moved her hair so he could help her put it on. “Poor wolves, they were truly put out when I told them all they’re only shapeshifters, not nearly as brilliant as werewolves.”
“Werewolves aren’t all cardigan sweaters and chocolate.” Ginny grinned at Professor Lupin. “But I think it’d be much cooler to be a werewolf, think of the extra strength.”
“Oh, Jacob’s plenty strong,” Harry said with a little twinkle in her eyes. “Just the other night he thr—”
“It’s getting late, we should probably get going,” Edward said swiftly while Alice and Bella giggled and Jacob turned a dark shade of red.
Ron groaned. “That was a sex joke, wasn’t it?” he whispered to Hermione.
“Harry’s a deviant,” Hermione whispered back, receiving a wink from Alice who undoubtedly heard her from across the table.
The party began breaking up after that. Bella gave Harry a hug, as did Alice, before the two of them left with Edward.
Harry promised Bella that they would find “one grand adventure before summer ended” and Hermione swore that poor girl practically ran.
Ginny and the twins helped Sirius levitate the yard furniture back in place while Jacob helped Professor Lupin carry leftover cake in the house.
Harry hugged Ron and Hermione fiercely. “I miss you both,” she said with her eyes so earnest. “I was only joking earlier, Alice and Bella could never replace you.”
“Especially since you don’t seem to like Bella much,” Hermione said dryly.
“No, I do, now,” Harry laughed. “I was afraid she was going to try and take Jacob and I would have to kill her, so I didn’t want to get too attached, you see.”
“Aah, of course.” Ron patted Harry on the head. “You crazy little thing.”
“It’s not crazy, Ronald,” Harry sniffed. She glanced toward the house, her haughty expression softening as she saw Jacob walking inside. “You should always kill for love.”
Hermione let out a tiny squeak of surprise. “Do you love him then?”
“Hmm?” Harry turned to her and Hermione could see it in her eyes. Harry tried to remain aloof though, “Perhaps. Or, I will, soon, I think. It’s very exciting, truly. And It would be hard to not fall in love with someone willing to help me get newts, wouldn’t it?” she winked at Hermione.
“I knew you were eavesdropping!” Hermione scowled, crossing her arms disapprovingly. “You won’t be able to do that at muggle school.”
Harry threw her head back and laughed until tears filled her eyes.
Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione’s shoulder and shook a finger at Harry with disapproval belied by his grin. “You are a menace,” he drawled, imitating Professor Snape poorly. “Pranks and mischief won’t take you far, Potter.”
Harry swiped the tears that fell from her eyes off her cheeks, flicking her fingers dramatically. “Imagine our dearly departed potion professor’s face if he knew I planned on becoming a Black. He would have had to call me Potter-Black all the time, poor man.”
“Imagine Sirius’ face when he finds out you plan on marrying his cousin,” Ron laughed. “You better take it slow and wait at least ten years, Harry, I don’t think his heart can take an early marriage.”
“Oh, Ron,” Harry sighed and this time it was she who ruffled Ron’s hair condescendingly. “When have I ever taken anything slow?”
Hermione gave Jacob an extra hug before she caught the portkey back to the Burrow with the others. She had it halfway wrong before, Harry wasn’t just lucky to have found her soulmate, poor Jacob Black was quite unlucky to have Hermione’s best friend as his soul mate.
She did wish him luck though, because God knew he needed it.