Okay, here is my first fic... please be gentle... or not. Compliment, criticize, whatever floats your boats, dearies.

I own nothing associated with HP... everything is the lovely JK Rowling's.

Chapter One,

Avoiding the Past, and Bad News

The War was finally over, but it did not leave much room for celebration. Voldemort took out hundreds of wizards and muggles alike in his final rage against defeat. Many good people died in the Final Battle. Perhaps the saddest death was that of Harry. This was a death that Hermione would relive every waking moment of her life.

"Harry, Voldemort's gone, you did it!" yelled Hermione, running towards him, arms spread wide for a hug. As they embraced, Harry said,"It's over, finally, it's ov-" His words were cut short as he saw Bellatrix Black emerge from the shadows. She raised her wand toward Hermoine's back, and began the killing words, "Avada Kedavra."

In a split second decision, Harry spun himself and Hermione around, getting the full blow of the curse square in the back. Before Hermione could realize what happened, Harry was dead on the floor. She was engulfed with rage as she saw the grin on Bellatrix's face erupt. Lestrange raised her wand to utter the killing curse to Hermione, but was too slow as Hermione had already spoken the fatal words.

Hermione was completely lost to all reason after this. In her eyes, Harry's death was her fault. He, the savior of wizard and muggle alike, was killed not by Voldemort, but by protecting her. She hated herself, and figured that everyone else hated her too. Yes, they were still kind to her, but she knew that in their innermost hearts, they hated her. Or, at least Hermione thought that was the case. To spare them, and herself from the torment, she dropped out of the wizarding world all together.

The Weasley's were devastated by Harry's loss. He was like one of their own. But Hermione was one of the family as well. They still loved her, and her vanishing made the reality of the loss after The War all the more painful. Ron was exceptionally distraught over the whole situation. One of his best friends was dead, and the other had deserted him in their time of grief. However, they slowly moved on. Ron went to work as an auror, the twins reopened WWW, and Ginny was working as a clerk in the Ministry.

It had been almost a year since the final battle, and no one had seen Hermione since Harry's memorial service. She had decided to go to the States for a bit of down time, and was working as a waitress at a crummy restaurant in a desert wasteland called Arizona. It was there that she ran into Lee Jordan.

She was wiping down the bar when he walked into the restaurant. When Hermione saw him walk through the door, she felt like she would faint. She couldn't let him see her, he would tell everyone where she was. Instinctively, she ducked behind the bar, and crawled into the back kitchen.

There she stood at a sink, washing the same plate over and over again. Her ritual was halted when another server came up to her. "Hermione, there's someone outside to see you." said Kellie. "Tell him I am not working here any longer." Hermione stuttered, her heart beating faster by the second. "He said that if you said something like that, that I should tell you that there is an emergency with the Weatley's." said the other waitress, clearly annoyed at playing messenger.

Oh no, the Weasley's? What has happened? I have to go find out, even if my hiding place is blown.

Hermione slowly walked out into the main part of the restaurant. Seeing Lee at a booth, she quietly slid into the pleather seat opposite him. He looked very sad. His eyes had dark circles around them, and he looked as if he hadn't slept well in months. "Hermione, I have been looking for you for months. There is something you really need to know." Lee stated his words slowly, searching for the right ones. With those words, and the look on his face, she knew it was really bad. " What is it? What has happened to them?"

That was when Lee told her about Fred.