Disclaimer: I own nothing. JK Rowling owns all that is Harry Potter.
Chapter 1
Despite the fact that she was Harry Potter's best friend, Hermione always felt sort of unnoticed. She was always in the public eye. After the war the press had hounded her, constantly taking her photograph and asking her to recount war stories. She was always polite and graceful about the situation. She never said much but her name was still widely recognized in the wizarding community. She was Hermione Granger. One-third of the "Golden Trio." The brightest witch of her age. The girl who helped to bring down Voldemort himself. Everyone knew her name and her face. Everyone knew what she did. But she still felt nearly invisible. To men.
She was always just "one of the guys." Although she and Ron had a brief romance it ended quickly and mutually with the decision to stay friends. Since then she hadn't had much luck dating. Since her days at Hogwarts, she had tamed her hair and grown it out a bit. She had filled out in all the right places and shifted from a pretty girl to a beautiful woman.
Maybe it was the fact that Harry and Ron were her best friends. She had always felt like another guy in the group. And that was alright with her. She still had Ginny by her side as well. Hermione had learned long ago that Harry and Ron treated her like a sister. She knew it was hard for men to approach her when she was with them because of the horrendous glares they would always receive. Yes, maybe that was it.
Or maybe it was the fact that she didn't put much effort into her appearance. She figured if she didn't wear flashy, fashionable clothes then people wouldn't notice her as much. She supposed it was better to live like that than to be hit on at the bars by everything with a penis.
She liked her clothes. They were comfortable although they were sometimes frumpy and unflattering. Hermione was practical in every aspect of her life, including her fashion choices. When she looked in the mirror before leaving for work, she always saw someone very plain. Ginny couldn't understand why someone with a figure like Hermione's would want to hide it. Not that she thought she should show off her body as much as possible, but Ginny thought it was time for Hermione to change. Too long she had watched her best friend be alone without male company.
Ginny knew Hermione was lonely. She also knew Hermione had been happy when she was with Ron. She knew Hermione could be happy again. Plus, as a married woman, Ginny had to live vicariously through Hermione's single bachelorette life which was, at the time, extremely dull. Everyone around Hermione knew she wasn't as happy as she used to be. And Ginny also knew that when you dress well, you feel well. So a bit after Hermione's 25th birthday Ginny had finally convinced her to update her wardrobe. "You'll be attracting men like moths to a flame!" Ginny had said.
Hermione didn't really care about attracting the attention of multiple men. However, she did care about attracting the attention on one man. One and only one. He had been on her radar for years now. Hermione Granger secretly fancied the one and only Draco Malfoy.
