A/N: All standard disclaimers apply.

Thank you to those I bothered to read and give me their opinions. Special thanks to JoA and her patience as my sounding board. Much love! Read and review please!

Chapter One

July 19, 2013; 8:05PM

"Expelliarmus!"

Hermione Granger launched herself over a wooden crate with one hand, the other adjusting its rather slippery grip on her wand. Crouching behind it, she fought to catch her breath after that last spell. Her fatigue came as no surprise though. She had been running from her chasers for a long while, and dodging all those spells cast by six other wizards while somehow attempting to remain on the offensive was bound to take a toll. If she were anyone else, Hermione would be wishing that she could go back in time and change how she got into this mess in the first place. However, she was not just anyone else. She was Hermione Jean Granger, one-third of the Golden Trio who defeated Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters, the brightest witch of her age. So what if she had a dead end job in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and this was the most action she had seen since the Second Wizarding War? Just because magical creatures had settled down since Voldemort's death did not mean she felt just as much at peace. After years of fighting evil she now muddled through her days like a zombie. Combined with her strong sense of justice, and restlessness, there was absolutely no way she could have ignored what she had witnessed from the Witches' lavatory.

One hour, thirty-five minutes ago.

A relieved sigh left Hermione's lips as she shut the restroom door behind her and leaned against it. "This has got to be the most excruciatingly long blind date that Ginny has ever set up!" There was only so much whining a girl could handle from her date. If Wilber, her set-up for the evening, had complained one more time about his job she would have screamed. It explained why she made an excuse to visit the restroom, like one of those 'I am going to go powder my nose now but I'm really going to have a friend call and save me from this hellhole' type of thing you see in movies. She understood that being a Curse-Breaker was difficult, but quite frankly, Hermione was surprised Wilber was still alive. Judging from his professionalism, he seemed rather incompetent. She personally thought being a Curse-Breaker was exciting compared to her desk job at the Ministry.

Crossing the room to the Wizarding World's version of a sink, she cast a quick Aguamenti and watched as a jet of water from her wand tip filled it. Next came a scrying spell similar to the one she had seen portrayed in Halloweentown High. Oh, how she loved when Muggle and Wizarding worlds collided. It was similar to a floo call, but allowed her to see and speak to another witch or wizard through the surface of the water. Hermione waited patiently as the "dial tone" echoed.

"Hey, 'Mione! How'd the date go?" Ginny Weasley's voice rang through the silent restroom before an image of her face swirled and wavered on the surface of the rippling water.

"Gin, what in Merlin's name were you thinking when you set us up? Was it 'Oh, here's Wilber Cattermole, as whiny and unimpressing as they come. What a great match for my unsuspecting friend, Hermione Granger!'" said Hermione, as she grasped the lip of the sink and leaned closer to make her point.

"Ah, Hermione, he can't possibly be that bad. I mean, he seemed nice enough when I met him last week. In fact, Bill introduced him to me," Ginny pouted. She knew Hermione's weaknesses. Unfortunately for Ginny, enough was enough. Hermione had had plenty of Ginny's blind dates to last her a lifetime, and then some!

"Honestly, Ginny. I doubt you would want to know what he said about Bill, his boss no less!" Hermione glanced up at the mirror above the sink and brushed an errant strand of hair away from her eyes. She wasn't particularly bad looking. Her hair was no longer bushy but was instead what Ginny's hairdresser had called "beautiful waves of auburn". Her teeth were rather straight now, and definitely pearly white; it would be considered blasphemous if she did not keep them that way, especially since both her parents were dentists. Her skin was, thankfully, clear and her cheeks were almost constantly flushed a delightful pink. No, Hermione Granger was certainly not ugly, even with her lack of suitable dates so far. It did not hurt that her reflection in the mirror had been quiet since entering the room, as mirrors in the Wizarding world were known for their penchant of advising anyone who looked into one on how to improve their appearance.

"Look, Gin, no more, okay? I am perfectly fine with not finding 'The One' right now."

"Oh, alright. I just want you to be as happy as Harry and I are, Hermione." Ginny looked quite chastised and Hermione was just about to reassure her once again that she was fine when a noise filtered in from the small window above one of the toilet stalls.

It seemed Ginny heard it also as the next words out of her mouth were, "Did you hear that? What was it?" Ginny craned her neck but could not see past the lip of the raised sink that doubled as a scrying bowl.

Hermione's brows furrowed and she turned back to the window. "Hold on, Ginny. I'm going to check."

She rushed to the stall and pushed its door in. She hesitated; in order for her to see out the window Hermione would have to stand on the toilet seat. "Well, at least they have automatic sanitary charms." Grimacing anyway, she climbed on, using the stall's walls for support. Standing on her tippy toes, she pushed up on the window's ledge to see better. Yes, she was that short; but in her defense, that window was not there for peering out of!

Glancing around, Hermione tried to find the noise's origin. Now that she was closer to the window though, she could clearly hear that there was pitiful sobbing coming from the dark alley below. It was a child's voice! Hermione could not see clearly but from the slight shapes she could make out that there were six adult surrounding a smaller figure she assumed was the child.

"P-please, I don't know where they are! Don't hurt me!"

Hermione's heart just about broke when the child – a young boy, judging from his voice – pleaded, still sobbing. She was just about to yell for them to get away from him when one of the adults drew closer and cuffed what she assumed was the boy's ear. She could watch by the sidelines no further. Hermione jumped off the seat and practically flew from the restroom, leaving behind a panicked Ginny yelling for her. At the restaurant's table, Wilber had been waiting patiently when Hermione ran in. He stood quickly with a smile but she ignored him and he was left looking baffled.

Hermione stopped for nothing, and leaped over things left haphazardly on the ground of the dank alley, but skidded to a stop at a corner when she saw the flash of green from around it. That could only mean one thing. Avada Kedavra. Hermione had witnessed enough death by this spell during the war, and was not about to let this one go.

Anger rushed through her as she stepped around the corner. She could see now that there were more than the six adults from before. In addition to them, and the boy, was a portly man, not much taller than her, with cruel features and a growing smirk to match as he caught sight of her. His wand arm was still raised and at the end of it was a wand with its tip still glowing a bright green. He stooped with surprising grace for one with his figure and pocketed something from the clenched fist of the crumpled body at his feet. Behind him were the six men, one with a strong grip on the child whose sobbing had grown louder and more pitiful. Hermione could not tell if that was because he had just seen a murder, or because he knew the person who died. Perhaps both.

The man stood up now, but in the time he had done so, his smile had grown wider and crueler. Hermione supposed that he got what he came for. Without looking back at his companions, he uttered two words that made her blood run cold, "Get her." With that, his form contorted and swirled into nonexistence, signaling his departure by apparition, all while keeping eye contact.

Hermione gritted her teeth and adjusted both her stance and wand grip. She did not learn nothing from the Second Wizarding War. She could, however, admit that six grown wizards might cause her some trouble. They knew it as well, judging from the large grins on their faces, teeth gleaming from what little of the moon's light that had reached the alley. Hermione spared a glance at the boy. He was quiet now but his eyes were wide with fear and unshed tears. She hoped that her eyes had conveyed that she wanted him to run as soon as she created a diversion.

Hermione's features hardened as she raised her wand. From the tip flew six bright white orbs that hit her opponents before they could even raise their own wands. It was difficult, and draining, to cast such a wordless spell, but Hermione knew that she needed this momentary advantage. Her spell caused the wizards to fly back a distance, and fortunately, the boy was freed from his captor's grasp. He wasted no time running away from them through another alley. Smart boy, that one.

As soon as he disappeared into the murky darkness, Hermione turned and ran the opposite direction, hoping the lackeys would chase after her instead.

Present: July 19, 2013; 8:05PM

Drawing in a ragged breath, and holding it in to keep quiet, Hermione glanced at her surroundings. She was no longer near that alley behind the restaurant. In fact, she was far from it. She would wager that this was part of Knockturn Alley. It was noticeably darker and danker. The stench was almost unbearable, and combined with the air of oppression it had her on edge. It was even worse, for she was behind the crate sandwiched between two buildings. They were so high, no light could be seen from the moon.

"It's quiet, too quiet." She should have at least heard thumping footsteps if they were still chasing her. "What if they'd gone back for the boy?"

With that thought, Hermione rose carefully to her feet. It was too risky to go back to the main street in front of her; best to keep to the back alleys to find her way back then. Keeping her gaze in front, she slowly, one foot at a time, backed away. Not five steps later though, did she bump into a hard surface. Her head turned back slowly, to try to catch a glimpse. Hermione could see, from the corner of her eye, that it was not a wall as she had hoped. It was a man. The one who had lost his wand due to her last spell. His raised arm came swiftly down upon her head. The thud of a brick he had found hitting its mark was the only sound made.

There was a moment where she remained standing, stunned. It did not last long. Hermione lurched forward, falling heavily upon her outstretched hands. She could hear shuffling behind her, most likely from the wizard coming closer. Hermione raised her wand arm shakily, and did what she should have done from the very beginning.

"Expecto… Patronum…" She collapsed fully now, her right cheek pressed upon the wet ground. The smell was worse from here. From her extended wand swam her patronus. The otter flipped, and looked back at her with worried eyes before leaving to do its mistress' bidding. Hermione's vision blurred. As it faded, the last thing she saw was the back of her otter and its trail of wispy silver.