Hermione smiled to herself as she looked around the room in contentment. 6 years after they had graduated, and Hermione was very surprised to see that everyone had changed, not just physically but mentally as well. It was as clear as daylight that they carried their own scars - their own mementos from the war. The person who was, perhaps, the most affected by the war was none other than the saviour himself: Harry Potter.

She watched him while he mingled with his friends, his girlfriend Pansy Parkinson, by his side. They had been living together for a year now. How it happened, Hermione didn't know. She was very curious but respected their privacy nonetheless. Harry smiled politely and took his leave. Hermione didn't know whether she should be happy or not with his behavior. Happy because Harry had finally acquired some sort of self-control and unhappy because of how he got it in the first place.

Harry and Pansy soon approached her, just like how Hermione knew they would. Harry glanced at her briefly before giving her a hug which she returned a second later. Reserved or not, Harry was still Harry, and he was still her best friend.

"Merlin, Hermione," he said while he pulled away from her as if he hadn't seen her for ages; which he hadn't because Hermione made sure of it. "I missed you. We missed you." She knew that he was talking about everyone, but Ron in particular. "Where have you been?" he asked. "Why didn't you answer my letters?"

"I was assigned in Romania these past couple of years," she replied, her voice even. It wasn't true though. Hermione wasn't simply assigned to Romania. She had volunteered. She just wanted to get away from everything that had happened - away from Ron. "And I couldn't answer your letters because I was too busy. I'm sorry, Harry..." She paused and added as an afterthought, "But I'm here now."

Harry looked at her, disbelief written all over his features. Hermione nodded tightly and then a very loud laugh was heard from all over the room. Ron Weasley had just entered the premises and, suddenly, understanding dawned on Harry. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze causing Hermione to smile gratefully at him.

"I believe that you and Pansy have met." He was nervous, Hermione could tell with her eyes closed. She could understand where he was coming from. After all, Pansy was part of the group that had made her life hell when she was studying at Hogwarts. Hell, Pansy had been the one who wanted to give him up to Voldemort.

Some part of her wanted to smack him in the head and shake him until he gave her a reasonable enough answer as to what he had been thinking. But the other part of her knew that it wasn't her place to say anything. Even though she was still technically his best friend, she hadn't acted like it. Not for the past 6 years. Pansy had been the one to support him when he need it. She had been the one to take care of him when she wasn't around to do so.

"It's nice to see you again Pansy," Hermione greeted with a gentle smile. Pansy looked taken aback for a moment before she regained her wits.

"I'm surprised that you aren't nagging the bloody hell out of Harry right now." Hermione had to laugh at that while Harry let out a nervous chuckle.

"Believe me, I am sorely tempted."

"If you do want a fight for him though, I'm more than willing to show you that I won't back down." Pansy was serious. She was willing to give it her all if that would prove to Hermione that she loved Harry. Harry stared at her with a mixture of shock and fondness. Hermione found herself studying how they reacted to each other. How Pansy moved just a little bit closer to Harry, and how Harry brushed his arm against hers.

"That won't be needed Pansy. I'm not going to get in the way of your relationship." Hermione didn't know why in Merlin's name she was comforting Pansy Parkinson of all people. But something told her that what the duo had was very much real. The girl and her boyfriend visibly relaxed. "So," Hermione continued as she opened her arms wide at the couple, "mind telling me just how all this happened?"

Harry and Pansy looked at each other and blushed? Well, this was bound to get interesting.

"Well-"

"I was given hell by the wizarding world," Pansy blurted out. "I turned into a drunk and basically gave up on life. I knew that I couldn't ask for anyone's help because they would be caught up in my problems. I shouldered it all, until I finally cracked, and then Harry found me." The sentence ended in a whisper and since it was spoken very fast, Hermione needed some time to process her words. With a nod from Hermione, Pansy continued. "It was just another night out four years ago; I'm kind of surprised that he didn't leave me there to die."

Harry started to protest, but Pansy shot him a look to keep him from talking. His hand immediately grabbed hers and Hermione could literally see the tension leave her body. "If you think that I'm the one who fixed him, you're terribly wrong. We fixed each other."

"One question then." Harry turned around in surprise as Pansy stiffened. "Why didn't you tell me all these, Harry?" The question didn't come from Hermione because right behind them was Ginerva Weasley. A tense silence settled over them.

"Ginny!"

"'Mione!"

The two girls hugged the life out of each other but neither seemed to care all that much. She was so blissfully happy. Being reunited with your loved ones was of course, a wonderful thing. That was until Ginny ruined it.

"Where in Merlin's name have you been?!" Ginny bonked her in the head causing Hermione to hiss out in pain. "Did you know how worried I was?! I didn't even know if you were alive! There are still remaining death eaters out there, Hermione! What if you had been captured! What if -"

"Come on Gin'," Harry interrupted. "You know that Hermione's very strong." Hermione nodded and grunted in agreement, but Ginny didn't seem to hear. She whipped around and glared at him causing Harry to step back in surprise. She was very angry.

"Just like how my brother was? Strong and brave, right Harry?" she asked, pain lacing her tone. "You know, before he died." Guilt flashed in his eyes, and Ginny knew that she had crossed the line. Pansy was about to open her mouth to retort on his behalf when Harry spoke up. Hermione watched this all happen in silence.

"I- I'm sorry..."

"No, no!" Ginny exclaimed, her face aghast. "I shouldn't have said that... I'm the one who should be sorry, Harry."

Again, silence fell on them. And Hermione knew that she needed to salvage the situation before it could turn even worse. Judging by the heated looks that Pansy sent Ginny and the downcast look that Harry had on his face, it was about to happen real soon.

"Well, that was a lovely chat," she told them wryly. "Any other news that I should know of?" Harry, Ginny and Pansy exchanged dumbfounded looks before they promptly burst into laughter and just like that the tension disappeared.

"Well," Harry began somewhat hesitantly after their laughter had died down. "Krum is still missing."

"W-what?" Hermione asked. She didn't know that. She didn't know that her previous boyfriend and current close friend, the only one who had actually showed an interest in her back then, had gone missing. She realized that she didn't know anything.

"Relax, Hermione." Ginny put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "They're going to find him."

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long has he been missing?" Her voice was calm, and it didn't reveal the internal turmoil that she was feeling. What else had happened while she was away? What are the things that she had no idea about? Things that people are probably stressing over? Hermione thought that the silence would stretch on, but then Pansy spoke up.

"3 years, Granger." Hermione clenched her fists and gritted her teeth together. Harry, sensing her guilt, frowned at her in disapproval.

"It's not your fault Hermione."

"I should have been here!" she exploded. Luckily, they were a bit farther from the others so no one heard her outburst. "I should have been here, Harry! Helping!"

"It wasn't your fault! Besides, you had your own problems to deal with! You were -" Harry trailed off as his eyes shifted to the distance. The group followed his line of sight and saw Ron Weasley approaching them. Hermione stiffened for a bit before she relaxed. There was no point in getting worked up over something that already happened; Especially if that something was already behind her.

"Hermione!" Ron grinned and hugged her tightly the moment he got close. He prolonged the hug more than he should have and stepped back to examine her. "Romania did you some good, eh?" Hermione blinked at him, unsure whether the words spoken were a compliment before something dawned on her, and her blood turned cold.

"How did you know where I was?" Hermione asked, suspicion lacing her tone. She had been very careful. She tried not to let anyone from her past know of what she had been doing for the past 6 years. She didn't even let any reports of her success reach them because they would get an idea. Hermione thought that she had completely disappeared from their radar. So how could Ron, the very person she ran from, know where she was?

Ron shrugged and gasped in mock surprise as if he had only noticed their audience.

"Pansy!" Ron called and grinned sarcastically at her. Hermione wanted nothing more than to wipe it away. She may not have hang out around Pansy much, but she knew that the girl cared for Harry - cared enough to show her face even if she didn't want to. "I didn't think I'd see you here. I thought you'd be too busy running from reporters, you know."

Pansy stiffened at his words and scowled but said nothing in return. She unconsciously shifted closer to Harry and as if sensing her discomfort, his arm automatically would itself around her waist.

"Ron," Harry called in a warning tone. Ron may be his best friend, but he wouldn't allow him to just insult Pansy. Not after what she had been through. Ron looked at Harry and held up his hands in surrender.

"I heard that Malfoy and Greengrass broke up," Ron continued with a sadistic sneer planted on his face. Harry shook his head in resignation. He supposed that there was too much bad blood between them to ever have a chance of a decent relationship. While he was thinking that, all Hermione could think of was: Malfoy and Greengrass were together? "Do tell me how the ferret is doing."

"The ferret," another voice cut in, and all eyes within the group widened and stared at him, "is doing fine, thank you very much."

Draco Malfoy together with Blaise Zabini stood behind Ron with the ever present smirk on his face. Blaise rolled his eyes and tried to remember the reason why he had even bothered to come. Pansy grinned at her best friend while Harry nodded respectfully at Malfoy; an act which he returned without a second thought. Hermione gaped at them in awe. Just how much had changed while she was gone?

"Draco."

"Potter."

Draco then noticed Hermione and surprise flashed in his eyes before it was taken over by amusement. Blaise followed his line of sight and snickered under his breath while the rest of the group raised their eyebrows. Hermione felt embarrassment and dread settle at the bottom of her stomach. He couldn't have told Blaise... right?

"Granger."

"M-Malfoy," she stuttered. Ron shot him an irritated look, but neither of the duo caught it. Draco was too busy staring at Hermione in amusement, and she was far too busy avoiding his eyes. Well, no one can blame Hermione for being nervous. After all, Draco Malfoy had been the last person to see her before she left for Romania.

Hermione remembered that encounter.

"Granger?" She heard someone mutter in surprise. Hermione looked up at the voice from her position on the ground, her face tear-stained and her eyes bloodshot. She came face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy. Hermione felt her dignity die a little more on the inside, but the guilt and pain that she was feeling overtook any embarrassment that she felt. She wasn't worried at all that he may use this against her. She knew that he had changed. That doesn't mean that she was willing to let him see her weakness just like that though.

"Go away, Malfoy." She wanted to make it sound clear and demanding, not whiny and needy. She felt him sit on the ground beside her. Why was he even there? Hermione chose the shrieking shack because she knew that no one visited that place. So what was Malfoy, of all people, doing there?

"I can't do that," he said, and for a second she thought that meant he couldn't leave her alone. "Pansy won't ever forgive me if I stood her up; especially since I was the one who asked her out in the first place." He must be worried. Hermione didn't really know anything about Pansy's current situation.

"This is hardly the ideal date location, Malfoy," she told him, sniffling. He chuckled low in his throat but didn't acknowledge what she had said.

"And besides," he continued. "As a gentleman, I can't leave a damsel in distress now, can I?" Hermione laughed sarcastically at that. She waited for another funny remark, but he stayed quiet, as if he thought his mere presence was comforting enough.

"You're hardly a gentleman," she retorted. He didn't say anything back. Silence settled over them like a blanket for 15 minutes. Hermione grudgingly admitted that perhaps it was sort of comforting, seeing as her tears had stopped. That was until she broke it.

"I caught him..." she mumbled under her breath, and Draco didn't have to ask who she was referring to or what happened. It was like a routine already, and he found himself shaking his head at Hermione.

"Again?" he asked incredulously. Hermione nodded numbly and he sighed in exasperation. "Merlin, I thought you were smarter than that, Granger."

"I am," she replied irately. "I broke up with him." And then the tears were back. They sprung unbidden into her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. Her heart, which had been somewhat numb the entire 15 minutes felt like it was broken again, crushed into tiny little pieces that seemed impossible to fix. "I can't face him. I don't want to see him. Merlin, I don't want to have anything to do with him!"

Draco regarded the broken witch beside him with a troubled expression. He realized that he didn't want to see The Hermione Granger like this. He didn't want to see someone who saved the wizarding world, someone who beat him in ever exam when they were students, and someone who was as kind as Granger - no matter how annoying she was at times - so dreadfully broken.

"So leave."

"What?"

"Leave." He was staring at her intently, and as if there was a spell uttered, Hermione found herself unable to look away. "And come back when you're ready."

Hermione wasn't really sure about the rest, but the next thing that she knew, she had packed and had sent a letter to her boss stating that she accepted his position for her in Romania. Hermione briefly hesitated, the thought of Harry and the Weasleys flashed through her mind before she felt the remnants of her shattered heart scream at her to stop thinking and move on with it already. With the feelings of pain and anger fresh in her mind, Hermione forgot about everything else and without another word, she was gone.

"I see you're back," he told her, smirk widening slightly. Hermione knew what he was thinking though.

Are you ready?

"I'm glad to be back." She grinned at him then and ignored the surprised looks thrown at her.

Yes, I am.

"Since when did you and the ferret become so close?" Ron asked in annoyance, anger wafting off of him in waves. Hermione barely spared him a glance and directed her answer to the whole group.

"We aren't."

"Uh huh," came Ginny's disbelieving voice. "And you're not trying to claw his eyes out for no reason at all." The whole group - except for Ron - laughed. Hermione studied him out of the corner of her eyes and her brows furrowed in slight annoyance and confusion. What was his problem? He was acting as if she was still his girlfriend.

"The real question though is how are you faring without Granger, Weasley? Still a drunk?" Ginny gasped, Pansy and Blaise smirked, Harry looked like he wanted to curse Draco for saying that, and Hermione shot him a dark look while Ron stiffened.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Malfoy," Ron spat. Draco's smirk widened to the point that it was a grin. It always amused him how working with Weasley for 4 years didn't change the other man's attitude concerning him.

"And I don't think that my broken engagement with Astoria is any of your business, Weasley," he replied coolly. "I'm curious though, did you tell her about that time you almost destroyed half of Hogsmeade in your anger because she left without saying goodbye?"

"What?!"

Ron shot Draco a murderous look before turning to Hermione.

"Don't listen to him, Mione! He's obviously lying!"

"What are you talking about, Ron?" Ginny asked shrilly. "You did destroy the better half of Hogsmeade!"

Draco laughed at the tension that the two Weasley seemed to emit by just standing near each other. It was no secret that the Weasley family had an internal dispute over Hermione's absence. There were two sides. Hermione's and Ron's. On Hermione's side were Ginny, George, Bill and Charlie. On Ron's side was Molly and Percy. The ones caught in between was Harry and Arthur, both who just wanted the entire family to get along.

"Just admit how much you needed her, Weasley," Draco taunted once more. He enjoyed the way that the red-head stiffened as Hermione rolled her eyes at him. His personality may have improved, but he was still very much an asshole.

"You're right," Ron muttered and half of the group almost fell over in surprise. "I need Hermione, and it was a big mistake letting her go. If she would have me though... I'd be the happiest man alive."

Hermione made the mistake of looking at him in the eye, and instantly, her mind began to replay happy images. Their sweet time together when they would just lie around and do nothing but sleep, or images where their nasty spats would always end up in tickle fights and those will end up with his apologizing while kissing her hair.

Hermione blinked in surprise when Draco stepped between them. He wasn't as tall as Ron, but he looked pretty intimidating with the cold sneer that he was wearing.

"That's enough, Weasley," he barked and glared at Ron in anger. "I knew that you were low. But this is a new low." Ron scoffed at him and tried to push Draco away, but years of Auror training formed Draco into quite a formidable opponent. After a lot of useless shoving, Ron finally gave up and opted for glaring instead. The rest of the group was just as perplexed as Hermione was.

"Don't be so assuming, Malfoy," Ron hissed. "I wasn't creating false memories. I was simply helping her remember the good ones."

"You were using a spell on me?!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ron, the bloody Gryffindor, forgot all about Draco, grinned at her sheepishly and said, "I just wanted you to remember what we had, Mione. I didn't know if you still remembered."

"That translates to: Yes, Hermione, I used a spell on you," Draco drawled and raised a brow at Ron who looked ready to punch the daylights out of him.

"Sod off, Malfoy!" Ron seethed. He just couldn't understand the ferret. He couldn't understand why he was coming between them. Unless... he wanted Hermione for himself? No, Ron mused, there was no way that Malfoy would want anything to do with Hermione and her dirty blood.

Meanwhile, Harry secretly retrieved his wand from his robe and prepared for either one of them to explode as Pansy, Blaise and Ginny watched it all happen as if it was entertaining.

"Why?"

The whole group turned to Hermione's shaking form. "Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to get me back now?" The words 'now that I'm happy' was left unspoken, but they knew that it was there.

"You," Ron paused before he continued hesitantly, "didn't exactly give me a chance to explain six years ago..."

Hermione blinked in shock before rage replaced it. Ron stepped back in surprise at the raw anger that filled her eyes. "Are you placing the blame on me now?"

"No!" Ron quickly amended. "Merlin, no, Hermione. I just wish... I just wish that you could give me a chance. Give us a chance."

The group waited with bated breaths and Hermione... Hermione's heart was torn in two by the pure sincerity that could be seen in her ex-boyfriend's eyes. He was serious about starting over... with her. A small voice reminded her that he also looked serious when he asked her for her forgiveness many times before. But what if he was really serious now?

As if sensing her weakening resolve, Ron plunged on, "I swear I'll take care of you. I- I'll listen to you when you talk even if it's something educational. I promise that I'll stop looking at girls if that's what you want. I just... Please, Hermione," Ron pleaded and Hermione's throat constricted from restrained emotions, "please just take me back."

Hermione swallowed and took a step back. She couldn't handle any of this. She hadn't expected this. She needed to think. Ron made the mistake of grabbing her forearm and Hermione flinched in surprise.

"Please, Hermione."

Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breathe before steeling herself to break Ron's heart. She repeated the mantra in her head.

No, Ron, I can't be with you. No, Ron, I've sacrificed too much.

But she knew that it was futile the moment she met his hopeful gaze. Was it so bad to give him another chance? Maybe this time he really was serious. Maybe her dream of marrying her first love could still happen. But did she still love him? Hermione honestly didn't know.

"Hermione," Draco called so softly that no one else could have heard. He placed a gentle hand on her back and shook her out of her reverie. "Don't."

And that one word decided everything.