Hermione sat near the pond at the Burrow, her nose tucked into Hogwarts, A History. Her old copy, purchased at Flourish and Blotts when she was only eleven, had survived with her for seven long years. It served the same purpose for her than Molly Weasley's cooking served for Ron—comfort for the soul.
As she turned the pages of her weathered copy, she thought back over the previous years since she had learned that she was a witch. There was her first year at Hogwarts, the year when she, full of energy and pure joy for life, had found her calling in life. She had, for the first time in her life, made friends. Before Hogwarts, Hermione had always been an outcast, her magical tendencies driving Muggle children to see her as a freak. Childhood had been hard for Hermione, despite her loving family. Harry and Ron were like the brothers she had never had, and they were true friends to her. Despite a rocky start to their relationship, after the incident with the troll they had accepted her as one of them, and she had never looked back. Those two boys had been there with her just about every step of the way. Barring the few moments in their teen years when they had let irrational emotions get the best of them, Harry and Ron were her rock.
Hermione let her mind wander through her own personal history, noting that every event which she recalled involved Harry and Ron. Most of all, she let herself think about the small moments which highlighted her friendship with them. There were all the times she had helped them with their homework, partially because she did want them to succeed and partially because it was honestly just so exhilarating to write—words were a magic of their own, one she had discovered before she knew she had other magic within her as well. There was third year, when they had enchanted her hat as a prank so that her hair turned a bright purple, she had only pretended to be upset. Instead, she focused on the fact that they had produced extraordinary magic and that they loved her enough to make her the recipient of their prank. There was fifth year, when they had spent moments together after DA meetings just sitting and being together, reveling in the silence of the Room of Requirement. There was the small moment before Bill and Fleur's wedding when the three of them sat in the Burrow's living room laughing uproariously about a prank which Fred and George had played on Rita Skeeter, enchanting her quill to write a glowing story in the Daily Prophet about Dumbledore which also discredited her own work.
They had been there with her during the harder moments, too, and she remembered how deeply comforted she felt in their presence during their search for Horcruxes. Even the horrendously soul-sucking locket couldn't do its worst because Hermione knew, deep within herself, that she was loved by Harry and Ron.
A new version of Hogwarts, a History was soon to be published, highlighting the events leading through the War for Hogwarts. Hermione had been asked to contribute to the new edition and she had snatched up the opportunity. Hogwarts, a History had always soothed Hermione. It served as a reminder that, with time, everything passes. Perhaps this is why she had always loved history. No matter the chaos of the moment, at some point, that moment would become mere history and would melt into the past. Smiling, Hermione remembered what her father had told her when, at the age of nine, she had been bullied by classmates for her eccentricities. "Love, everything passes with time. When you feel like the world is against you, hold onto your own inner goodness, because it will always be with you," he had said before wrapping her in a hug and taking her for ice cream, a huge treat given her parents' proclivity for avoiding sweets. Reading about the history of her beloved school reminded Hermione that, although she had been involved in the most recent terrible part of the saga, there would be new wonderful events happening in the near future.
Even since the final battle, Hermione had seen her life turning right-side up. Her kiss with Ron, imbued with the passion of the moment, had ignited a brief fire which burned out. In that brief moment, they allowed their feelings toward each other—true love and affection, but not romance—to transform into something they truly weren't. A few months of kisses and affection ensued, but those feelings could not last for either member of the pair, and they ended their romance amicably. After all, Hermione reasoned, a triangle is the strongest shape, and it is only right that the three of us will be stronger than any two of us alone.
Hermione had spent the last year in a sort of golden haze of happiness. She had been able to spend long days curled up with a book in the Burrow, where she had moved in and was sharing Ginny's room, working her way through an independent study for her NEWT's. Only a week before, she had taken her examinations, and she felt confident that she had performed well on each exam—except of course there was the fact that she just knew she should have studied the advanced theory behind vanishing charms in more depth, and she completely had forgotten that Mooncalf dung is a particularly strong fertilizer for the Sopophorous plant. Oh, well.
Hermione had secured a job as in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, where she had been assigned to a committee working to ensure the equitable treatment of intelligent magical beasts and beings internationally. She loved her job—the diplomacy and international travel; the hands-on work with house-elves, centaurs, and mermaids; even the paperwork was enjoyable to Hermione because she knew she was making a difference in the lives of traditionally oppressed creatures. One of her primary goals in her work was to legislate in tandem with them, not on their behalf. This seemingly subtle change had altered the relationship between magical beasts and beings dramatically for the better even over the past year.
It is a good life indeed, Hermione thought to herself as she turned the page to read about the tenure of Phyllida Spore as Headmistress of Hogwarts beginning in 1408. The author of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi had long been an inspiration to Hermione, as Spore was both an academic and an author, two future aspirations for Hermione herself.
Hermione continued paging through her book until she heard Ron calling for her from the Burrow's back door. She picked up her book and her mug of tea, enchanted to stay permanently warm, and headed back to her second home.