This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The excerpt at the beginning is from Green Day's Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), which is available on their Nimrod album. I make no claims on it.

A/N #1: This fic takes place five years after the graduation of the trio from Hogwarts. This makes our Harry, Hermione, and Ron all 23 years old. In the fic, Hermione is born on September 19th, 1980, not September 19th, 1979. Just wanted to clear that up.

She's leaving behind some of the things she's grown up with—Harry, Ron, and the safety of home. This provides the setting for a Hermione-centric fic.

Time Of Her Life

Prologue

Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf of
Good health and good time
Tattoos of memories
And dead skin on trial
For what it's worth
It was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

Journal of Hermione Granger

Thursday, July 31st, 2003

It all depends on where you want to go in life, I suppose. There are people who will curse you, trip you, and generally try to make you fall flat on your face. You never know when these people will strike. They could be your best friends, your most trusted allies... they could strike you at the most fatal moment. Turn their back on you.

How do I know, Journal? Well, ever since I left Hogwarts, it's been so incredibly hard to forget all the shit that's happened with Ron and Harry. The Burrow turned into a hideout for the Death Eaters and Ron was left out on the streets for so long... I wanted to shelter him, protect him like I've always done, but something happened. I didn't. I left him alone, and Harry ended up taking him in.

What happened to me after that? I don't know. It doesn't seem like a very life-changing trauma, does it? But it made me open my eyes. All my life I've been stuck with Harry and Ron... from the first moment I stepped afoot on the Hogwarts Express, I've been part of them. They've been a part of me. But during all that, I've been missing out on a lot of things. I've missed out on love. I've missed out on discovering myself.... Why do they always expect me to prod them about studying for tests and such?

Well, Journal, I'm out on the "real" life now. It's not as awful as Percy made it seem.... But there's still this unfillable void in my heart that makes me feel as if I'm missing out on something. Something major, something that I've forgotten to do all these years.... It's like I'm trying to remember something important from a long ago that I've forgotten. It's been bothering me for so long.

And oh... today's Harry's birthday. Ironic that I'm having all these thoughts now. I've sent him another Broomstick Service Kit. Today is his 23rd birthday... I got him his first one when he was 13. Seems fitting, doesn't it?

Well... then, I'm off to say goodbye to Ron before I leave for London. I hope Ron doesn't cry. What am I talking about...? Ron never cries.

*

"So you're going to work as a Spellmaker. For the Ministry of Magic," Ron said lamely. He held one of Hermione's heavier bags in one hand, and wore a very awkward expression on his face.

"It's not good-bye forever, Ron," Hermione said, refusing to look at him. "I'm only going away to London... you can come and visit me anytime you want. Tell Harry he can do it, too," she added.

Ron awkwardly managed to ease his face into a grin.

Hermione's last words hung in the air for a long time as they craned their necks to look down the street for the cab that she had ordered half an hour ago. Nothing was said; Ron had gazed at Hermione meaningfully for a few minutes, but she was so intent on not looking at Ron that she did not notice. It was a silly game.

"You can't leave like this," Ron murmured under his breath softly. "You can't say your good-byes, 'Mione... not now... not here..."

"Did you say something, Ron?"

"No, nothing."

"It's not good-bye forever, Ron. Don't look so glum," said Hermione harshly. "Like I've already told you, you and Harry can come and visit me anytime. Just don't bring too many people," she added lightly, smiling to herself.

"It's not good-bye forever, I know, but it feels like it."

"Harry, you, and I have been together for—" she paused. "Twelve years. That's a long time, Ron. We got out of Hogwarts five years ago, and yet, we've done nothing independently. Nothing. This is just something I want for myself. Can't you understand?"

"We've had no time to do things independently. Harry's always so uncomfortable that Voldemort's still not gone, and it's our job as best friends to help him out... " He paused, and took a good, long, hard look at Hermione, and realized that she was not who she was five years ago, or even two years ago. He realized that he had known that for a while, and yet she had never changed completely in his mind... to him, she would always be that bossy little bushy-haired eleven-year-old girl. "Besides," he gulped, "it's our moral duty to help out the Order whenever we can. Isn't it? Hermione?"

Hermione turned around reluctantly, brushing mahogany curls out of her eyes to stare at Ron. She opened her mouth to say something along the lines of "Did I just hear Ron Weasley say 'moral'?", but she knew it wouldn't be the right time for humor. Ron's whole point didn't deserve to be ignored. He had been overlooked his whole life and.... Hermione couldn't bear to just turn around and ignore him, being one of the few people who had gotten so close to him.

"I'm sorry," was all she offered, her voice quivering. "Why is this such a big deal? I'm only going to London..."

"That's farther than we've ever been apart. Harry's gone to the States in a month and...." Ron looked away, and swallowed. "And Dumbledore's dying. Sirius is injured... Remus is unconscious, and there's so much Dark activity going on. Are you sure you're going to be safe?"

"Of course. You know I'm going to be."

Long pause.

"That's not all that's bothering you, Ron, is it?"

"We're falling apart. The Dream Team has ...broken."

Damn you, Ron. Damn you for making me feel so guilty about trying to change my life.

Hermione rose her eyebrows at the thought of Harry, Ron, and her being so boastfully named "The Dream Team", and wondered why Ron had decided to use something that Snape had called them. She turned around again. "People change, Ron. Things change. Things fall apart. People change."

*

A/N #2: To be continued in Chapter 1, Wish You Were Here.