AN: Hello! Yes the beginning of another story! Can you feel the excitement? Anyway on to business, this story is taking place two years after the trio graduating Hogwarts. They went all seven years. Dumbledore isn't dead and nothing is what it seems! It is a parallel universe so there is barely anything in here that goes by the book. Be open-minded! Also I would like to note that this story will probably be updated every so often. It's hard to find a decent internet connection in my area, and the holiday season is quite busy for me. But I had to get this chapter out! Please tell me how you feel and any ideas you have! I am planning for this to be 30-40 chapters long. I have most of the story put together. I just have to fill in the gaps! Enjoy my readers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The strip's lights were blazing as Hermione Granger stepped out of the shadows. After weeks of digging around in a dark cave at the edge of Australia, the lights were almost blinding. Her dark curly hair fell past her shoulders to the base of her back, her muggle attire, which consisted of a black hooded jacket and matching black tight pants, were covered in brown dust making a few on lookers give her a disgusted expression. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

This is starting out brilliantly.

She opened her eyes and looked around for a familiar landmark; seeing none, she took a step forward and was immediately swept into a crowd of noisy tourists. They all had glazed looks and were gesturing around wildly at all the sights. She glared at the women yapping into a small metal box and pushed past her ignoring the lady's sounds of protest as the metal box clanged to the floor. She gripped her wand that was hidden in her jacket pocket, and resisted the urge to blast the crowd out of her way.

Bloody Muggles. They are like a disease infecting everywhere and everything they come in contact with.

Finally freeing herself from the crowd she crossed the street, earning a few rude gestures and loud honking noises from the cars. She hissed as one of the metal contraptions swerved towards her causing her to trip over the curb of the sidewalk. A gentle hand helped her to her feet and she flinched back from the strangers touch.

"Are you ok? What do you think you were doing just walking into the street like that?" The stranger; a man that looked to be in his mid-forties asked while looking her over for injuries. Hermione gave the man a haughty look and took a step away from him. "Get your filthy hands off me I can take care of myself." She snapped brushing past him. She checked her watch, thirty minutes. She quickened her pace leaving the muggle shouting words of worry after her. Her own mother had stop kissing her cuts when she was three, she didn't need some creepy old stranger fawning over her scrapped knee. Not that she would let the disgusting muggle touch her in the first place. Just the thought of all the diseases that man could have transferred to her in that simple act of helping her up made her shiver. Vermin.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She had bigger things to worry about. She looked up at the street signs and the urge to use magic became stronger. She was getting nowhere and her time was beginning to run out. She scanned her surroundings and ducked into a narrow alley between to casinos. She walked further down the alley trying to put some distance between her and the hustle and bustle of the streets. The last thing she needed was to be held up by the ministry. Not that a simple Point Me spell would fire off any alarms, but better to be safe then in a prison cell in Azkaban. If she even lived that long. Hermione now had thirteen minutes to reach the designated meeting point before she was considered a 'rogue.' Biting the side of her mouth in frustration she pulled her wand out and cast a look around for any signs of people.

Seeing none she held her wand in her hand and watched intently as it spun in a circle and finally rested towards north. She was a few degrees off but she was more or less heading in the right direction. She pocketed her wand and continued down the alley until she came out in a shabbier part of the downtown area. It was less crowded and some of the street lights were broken. There were only a few muggles wandering the street and most of them seemed to be highly intoxicated. She walked past a couple stores that had bars on the window to keep people from the wares inside. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought of how easy it would be to break into the store and rob the place blind without triggering one mangy muggle alarm. She had more pressing matter as she glanced at her watch, ten minutes. She broke into a brisk walk ignoring catcalls from a group of drunken men that had stepped out of a bar, they were lucky she was running late or they would find themselves without eyes. She heard them call out behind her but she quickly left them in the dust as she slipped down another alley. Her mind began to race as she took many different turns, occasionally having to whip out her wand to make sure she was on the right track.

Three minutes.

She made another right down the back ally of a store that had long been abandoned and continued on her heart beginning to race slightly. She had never been this close to being late since her Hogwarts days when she had to juggle homework, Head Girl duties, and secret meetings. All the while Hermione tried to seem like the model student without attracting too much attention from the empty-headed staff. A few times she had been caught entering the castle after curfew and had been taken to the Headmaster's office. Each time she had been given a light talk about abusing Head Girl privileges by the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, the biggest fool in the staff.

She was so focused on thinking about all the times she had fooled the Headmaster she didn't notice the figure approaching her from the shadows.

"'ey sweetie, where ya' headed?" One of the sleazy men from the bar said stepping towards her examining her body in a way that made her cringe inwardly. He raked her body with his eyes as though he was admiring a trophy he had just won. "Need a lift? I have my bike parked out front." He winked at her and gestured towards the front of the store. "I can get you where you need to go."

Hermione held her head high and gave him a disgusted look. "Thanks, but no thanks." She said in a cold voice stepping past him. He caught her arm and held on to it tightly, stopping her in her tracks.

"No need to be such a bitch." He spat, tightening his grip on her arm in a way that was sure to leave a bruise. Hermione quickly assessed her opinions; she could blast the muggle fool into a bloody mess but that would only cause her more trouble, any type of magical mess would alert the authorities to her presence in the area and that was the last thing she needed seeing as though she would most defiantly be late for her rendezvous. She did know a few fighting moves that would free her from his grasp but she wanted to do more to the muggle pig who thought he could entrap her.

"I'm sorry I just really have to make an important meeting. That would be very kind of you." She said in a false sugary voice, batting her eyelashes at him.

The man loosed his grip a bit and gave her a wolf like smile. "No harm done. Let's get you to that meeting, eh baby."

Her insides curled at the man's gloating tone but she kept an innocent smile on her face. The man was doomed to face her wrath. She glanced at her watch, she was five minutes late. She would have to end this quickly.

"I thought you said your bike was out front." The dark-haired girl asked faking worry as she glanced around. The alley was worse than the last and the street was far ahead. He had taken to her the perfect spot, no one would be able to hear them and if they did it would be too late. For the man that is.

"I decided to have a little fun before we left. Sound like a good idea to you?" He asked. He swung her arm around and none too gently rammed her into the alley wall. His leering face was merely inches from hers.

"Let me go!" She said faking panic as she tried to scramble away from the man. He held her in place, his hand gripping her shoulders. She placed her hand behind her and was able to slip the small dagger she had hidden in the back of her jacket into her hand.

"Aw, come on sweetheart. Be a good sport." His breath was rancid as he leaned closer to her. She wrinkled her noise and gripped the dagger in her hand minutes from plunging it into the man's side.

"Hey! What are you doing?" A shout came from the direction of the street. A figure was approaching the both of them and the man produced a gun from his side pocket. He mentioned for Hermione to keep quiet and he pointed the gun at the newcomer. "Why don't you return from the way you came, mate, and mind your own god damn business before I splatter yer brains on the side of this wall?"

The figure didn't slow down his pace.

Hermione was surprised to hear the newcomer to let out a chuckle.

"I suggest you step away from her before I'm forced to hurt you sir." The figure retorted angrily. "I'm making this my business. It would be in your best interest to remove yourself from my sight before my temper gets the best of me."

The man's grip on Hermione loosed and he took a hesitant step forward. The other man's cockiness seemed to throw the offending man a bit. Hermione watched the two men's exchanges trying to keep the bemusement off her face.

"Now listen here ya' little prick. You have five seconds before I pull this trigger and waste yer ass." The man had let go of Hermione and placed both hands on the small gun as though he was steadying himself. "Five." He placed his finger on the trigger.

"Four."

Hermione scooted away a bit not wanting to be caught in any type of muggle crossfire.

"Three."

She watched as her 'rescuer' made a sudden movement toward the muggle holding the gun. It spooked the man enough for him to skip his counting, a loud bang went off echoing off the walls and Hermione was thrown backwards. There was a flash of light and she guarded her eyes with her arm. She heard a grunt and peeked out from her arm. The muggle man who had held the gun was lying at her feet unmoving. He seemed unharmed; it was hard to tell with her vision still adjusting from the sudden light than sudden darkness.

"Are you ok ma'am?" A kind voice asked. She heard them step closer to her and she slipped her dagger back into her jacket.

She then looked in the direction of the voice and tried to make out the figure's face. When she didn't speak she heard a whisper and her eyes were once again harassed by a bright light.

She only had a few moments to make out a flash of blonde hair and grey eyes before the light was extinguished from his wand.

"Shit."

The figure turned and began to run the way he had come. Hermione was after him in seconds, the light may have only shown his face for a quick moment but it had been enough to trigger her memory. There was no way she was letting her 'rescuer' escape. Not again. Not this time.

All caution was thrown to the wind as she worked her wand from her jacket and fired a spell to try and knock out the retreating figure. It hit a trash can and it exploded leaving debris in her way. She jumped over it and dodged a stunning spell sent from her prey.

Instead of running out into the street the man took a sharp left turn and disappeared from her line of sight. Hermione was quick to react and turned down the street only to see the man disappear once more behind another turn. Frustrated she charmed her shoes and she sped up slightly, just enough to get the man in sight for another curse. She shot a tripping curse and watched with satisfaction as he hit the ground. Hard. Smirking she ran up to the man before he could get up and pounced upon his back. She lifted his face by his hair and her smirk became more pronounced as she heard him hiss in pain.

"Now, now, what do we have here?" She cooed, "Lumos!"

Prepared for the light she smiled with glee as she looked into the grey, stormy, hating eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, someone is far from home." She said pulling his head further back to get a better look at him. He had a cut on his lip and his hair was a mess from the fall. "Aw, looks like your little tumble hurt your pretty little face."

He tried to flinch from her touch but her position on his back limited his movement. He struggled for a few seconds more and Hermione leaned over and plucked his wand from the place it had fallen besides them.

"Aw, what's wrong Malfoy?" She jammed his own wand under his throat. "Cat got your tongue?"

He stopped moving and gave her a glare of pure hatred. His eyes were cold and his breath came out ragged. "Fuck off Granger. If I had known it was you I would have just left your ass to rot." He spat angrily.

"Is that anyway to greet an old schoolmate? I bet your wishing you did." She cooed again. "Now your little time on the run is over, and you are mine. Did you honestly think we would never catch you?" She asked giving him a wicked grin. This night was turning out to be in her favor. Being late was now the last thing on her mind. She had easily done what others before her had failed to do. She shifted her weight and realized too late what a mistake it had been.

Malfoy seemed to use all his strength and flipped their positions, ripping his wand from her grasp in the process. He straddled her, using his knees to pin her arms down. He pointed his wand under her chin and gave her his own twisted smile.

"Now, now, what do we have here?" He asked in a deathly whisper, eyes lit up. Hermione glared up at him daring him to make the next move. He leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder, his breath tickling her ear. "I want you to remember this moment, Granger. The moment where Draco Malfoy the worthless half-blood got the best of you, best witch in her year, high standing pureblood bitch, Hermione Granger." He gave her a humorless chuckle. "Remember that I had you at my mercy and instead of wasting you away here on the pavement of the back alley muggle society you love so much, I am going to simply let you free. Free to face any sort of embarrassment and punishment for letting me out of your grasp. Once again."

He shot a stunning spell and she watched enraged as he got to his feet and winked at her.

"Next time I won't be so kind." He gave her a serious look and with a 'snap' he vanished into the night. Hermione laid there for a few more moments waiting for the spell to fade. Finally she was able to move her limbs. She stood up, swore loudly and kicked a chained fence nearby causing a cat to run out into the alley way. With a flick of her wand the animal lay dead and she kicked past it imagining it to be Malfoy's head.

One thing was for sure, next time she saw Draco Malfoy it would be his lifeless head she was kicking.

He was leaning against a broke lamp light when Hermione finally arrived at the rendezvous point. His face was twisted into an angry scowl and it only became more pronounced when he spotted her. He clenched his fist and walked towards her.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" He asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him.

"Nice to see you too, Weasley," She said coolly pulling her arm from his grasp. She had enough of being manhandled, literally, that night. She took a step away from the red-head and brushed the dirt of her jacket.

His anger seemed to deflate noticing her dark mood. He knew there were only a handful of things that could have come up to make Hermione late and have her not care of the consequences.

"Hermione," He said in a more gentle tone but still laced with anger. "He is furious; I had to beg him to not make any hasty decisions. Everyone else left. He'll have your hide for being so late." He gestured to the door behind him that belong to a large warehouse. The exact kind of place you would expect for a shady meeting to go down.

She sighed and placed a consoling hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's been a rough night, Ron. But believe me when I say I had a pretty valid reason. He won't raise his wand to me when he hears what I have to tell him."

"I trust your mission was a success than?" He asked stepping towards the door and holding it open for her. She shook her head and gave him a secretive smile. He rolled his eyes use to her secret keeping with big news, knowing she would tell when she thought she would get the best reaction.

Or payment.

They walked past rows of large crates to a small lighted area where the last member of their 'bloody trio' waited.

"Hermione," Harry snarled turning his dark green eyes to glare at her. His black hair was mussed, suggesting he had been running his hand through it in frustration. "Just when I was about to send out the hunting party," He gestured to the seat across the large table he was leaning over. A map was spread out across the table and she walked up to him. She kissed him on the check and sat in the chair he pointed out.

"Speak." Harry said sitting in his own chair. She waiting until Ron had taken the seat in between them to begin. She quickly recounted the events of her mission in the winding tunnels of the caves she had searched for the last two weeks. How she had found no trace of the old vampire coven she had been looking for until the last two days of her adventure. In the process of the discovery, two of her other members of her team had been bitten and one had been offered as a sacrifice. The vampires had accepted their proposal and the remaining of her team and she had retreated. She told the two boys about men about her run in with a few trolls and then her escape into a muggle tourist city.

"So?" Harry said when she stopped speaking. He had marked down the place where Hermione had said the coven could be found and was now taping his quill impatiently on the table before them. "I fail to see how this could have made you forty-seven minutes late."

Hermione gave him a sly smile and took a sip of the firewhiskey she had conjured.

"I had a little run in with the Chosen One. Draco Malfoy."