Chapter 1: Prologue - After the Battle

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It had been two years since the Battle of Hogwarts. It was a time of rebuilding; a time of healing; and a time of growth. Everyone who had been involved had been forever changed that night. The wizarding world had been forever changed.

If one thought back to that night, they would remember a piercing silence, broken only by the occasional sobs of their fellow wizards accepting the losses of those they loved. There was a feeling of unity and of relief that the Dark Lord had been defeated, but it was mixed with the somber reality of grief and uncertainty of what lie ahead.

When the dust settled that night, Harry, Ron and Hermione helped tend to the wounded, keeping them company as the Healers made their rounds as fast as they could. Everyone helped with the clean up after the battle, removing rubble while the more experienced witches and wizards erected new structures; new beginnings.

The Weasley's mourned the loss of Fred that summer; George vowing to continue their path of making others laugh. He had started on a new product called the Fred-ulant Friend which created a hologram replica of the user as a mirror image 10 feet away, (which would only exist for about 30 seconds before dissipating), that he hoped could be used for some bait-and-switch pranks.

Harry moved to the burrow for the summer, helping the Weasleys around the house and finally being able to spend the quality time with Ginny that he had been deprived of since he realized his feelings for her two years ago.

Ron and Hermione had set out on a journey to find her parents and return their memories. They found them in Australia after about a month and after a teary reunion, helped to move them back to England. After spending another month with the Grangers, Ron and Hermione had returned to the burrow for the last bit of summer.

Harry and Ron applied to the Auror's office, determined to be the youngest Auror's in history (and hoping to avoid going back for a 7th year at Hogwarts). They were both accepted to an accelerated program that would begin in the fall, welcomed eagerly by the Head Aurors, who had, of course, heard of their stories.

Hermione always knew she would return to Hogwarts, where she could finish her education and focus on deciding what she wanted to do for her career. She had been doing a lot of soul searching that summer, knowing that with going back to school and a lot of big life decisions ahead of her, there was one more thing she had to do.

"Ronald," Hermione grabbed his hand from behind as she followed him up the stairs one day, "Could we talk for a moment in the bedroom?"

Harry, who was behind her, stopped mid-step, "I'll be downstairs," he said turning back around.

Ron looked back, eyes questioning, "Of course," he said, leading her down the hall and shutting his door behind them.

They sat down on the bed and Hermione looked at him sadly, "Ronald, I know that I love you and I believe that our future is together," she started.

Ron looked down, her hands were shaking slightly as she held his on her lap, "Why do I feel a 'but' coming..." he asked quietly.

"But," she looked up at him, "I think that I need to set up my own life independently before I can start a life with you."

Ron sighed, it was everything he loved her for, "I know you do," he said, a sad smile on his face.

"I'm returning to Hogwarts and you'll be off to Auror training. I think this is the opportunity for us to move forward as individuals and accomplish our own goals. When the time is right for us to start a real relationship, I think we'll know," she returned the smile.

"I've always loved you, Hermione," Ron pulled her in for a tight hug, resting his chin on her head.

"I've always loved you too, Ron."

That fall, Hermione returned to Hogwarts, picking back up on her 7th year courses, joining Ginny who was returning as well.

Hermione graduated from Hogwarts that year, choosing to follow her passion for innovating and improving the wizarding world by accepting a position in the department of magical law enforcement. She would start as a Level 1 Investigator, learning the wizarding laws and practice, and researching and helping with cases, hoping one day to find herself Minister for Magic, with the power to really make a difference in the world.

Hermione took an additional year with the department of magical law enforcement to complete their training and licensure program. Once she was licensed, the cases she took on by herself at first were small, ranging from theft to wizard-to-wizard disputes. A few months in, she found herself on a case that appeared small, receiving a tip by anonymous owl that a wizarding residence was seen receiving a delivery of large eggs, which the person believed to be dragons.

"Probably don't know what they're talking about," her boss, Alden Northcott, sighed to himself, shaking his head and calling out from his office, "Granger, I've got a new one on my desk if you've got some bandwidth to take it on."

"Of course, Mr. Northcott," she walked over from her office across the room, grabbing the file that was on its way to her in mid-air.

"Alden," he corrected with a wry smile as she appeared in the doorway, constantly trying to remind her to call him by his first name, "Suspicion of dragon eggs. You'll need to do a quick stopover to the address they noted and find out what it is they received. It's probably just a lot of paperwork, but it'll be good practice!" he gave her an apologetic look.

"Never minded a bit of paperwork," Hermione smiled at him, heading back to her desk to read.

Alden Northcott was a burly man in his mid-thirties, low voice, dark hair and dark eyes - very intimidating until you sat down and had a conversation with him. He was really quite friendly, and luckily for Hermione, very helpful as a superior. He took his time explaining cases and details, and laying out his expectations. Hermione could already see him as a wonderful mentor.

The possible dragon eggs turned out to be a much bigger operation as the initial interview with the address of interest turned out to be that of an exonerated Death Eater who was, indeed, receiving dragon eggs, along with a plethora of other illegal items.

The case kept Hermione busy for almost three months chasing down leads, eventually resulting in the capture of five "ex"-death eaters that were originally exonerated in the trials after the Battle of Hogwarts, all thanks to Hermione's dedication to digging into the case when the pieces didn't seem to be fitting together. There were signs that could have been easily missed by others that she couldn't let go until it all made sense, and the real conspiracy operation was uncovered. The exonerated Death Eaters and likely others still under wraps, were planning something new; something big.

With possibly the most dangerous and high-profile case in the department, others were brought in to help, with the understanding that she would continue as the lead investigator with the support of the department behind her. It seemed as if they, too, had come to realize that she really was the brightest witch of her age.

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A/N: Just a quick note, this fic started out rated T, but I recently upgraded it to M for future chapters. It's a slow burn, so sit back and enjoy :) xx