Story of a girl called Hermione Granger [Harmione]

12. Ginny Weasley's Birthday Party

"We better leave. The venue is a little far from here." Harry said, looking at Hermione.

"Ok then, bye mum, bye dad" Hermione said.

With that, Harry and Hermione left for the party.

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Once Harry and Hermione were in the car, Harry started the engine.

"So, how have you been doing?" Harry asked, as car started moving forward.

Hermione looked at him, but he wasn't looking at her.

"I'm doing great." Hermione replied nonchalantly.

"You are looking very nice." Harry said out of the blue.

Hermione looked surprised at his compliment. "Thank you." she replied softly.

"You're looking nice as well." She said. He was looking quite dashing in his form fitting dark blue jeans, white collared shirt and black blazer.

They both were silent for some time, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

Hermione had started to feel a bit restless, as they had not spoken for 15 minutes. Harry was focused on the road so Hermione decided to break the silence.

"How long will it take to reach the venue?" Hermione asked.

"I think 30 minutes more." Harry replied, though his eyes were still on the road.

Hermione was getting frustrated.

'What's wrong with him? He was all right when we talked last time. Now he can't even spare a glance towards me.' Hermione thought sulkily.

Unknowingly she groaned with aggravation, not too loudly, but Harry was able to hear it.

Harry looked at her curiously; he smiled and then started laughing.

Feeling Harry's eyes on her, Hermione looked at him.

"Why are you laughing?" Hermione asked indignantly, thinking that Harry was laughing at her.

"Sorry." Harry said as he tried to control his laughter. Hermione waited for him to continue, looking ahead on the road.

Being Sunday, roads were not crowded as they would be on any normal working day. Therefore, Harry was able to keep the ride smooth while talking to Hermione.

"Isn't it strange? We're both are acting like nervous teenagers, going on their first date." Harry said with amused voice.

"Well technically, this is our first date." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, but we are just pretending. This isn't even real and we're acting nervous." Harry said without thinking.

Hermione's head jerked in his direction. She didn't catch the sentence completely. Only one thing registered in her mind.

"Why are you nervous?" She asked curiously.

Harry looked at her unblinkingly.

"Uhhh...I am not saying I am nervous. I am just saying that we are acting nervous." Harry said, trying to cover his slip up from earlier.

Harry hadn't thought for a second before he spoke about his nervousness. It just slipped out with the rest of the sentence. Though he doubted that, more than the slip of the tongue, it had something to do with the presence of the brunette sitting next to him in the car.

Harry had started to feel that he wasn't completely on guard whenever he was around Hermione. He wasn't doing it intentionally, but there was something about Hermione that made him feel comfortable. As if she were a very close friend, with whom you didn't have to pretend.