A/N: The Potterverse is J.K. Rowling's. 1985 is Bowling for Soup's. The plot, however, is mine, so while canonical elements are present, do not assume everything must be as it was in the books and movies. If that bothers you, this may not be a story you want to read. Among other changes, in this universe, Neville stays a close friend of Hermione's after the train ride to Hogwarts.

… just hit the wall

She never had it all

One Prozac a day

Husband's a CPA

Her dreams went out the door

When she turned twenty four

Only been with one man

What happened to her plan?

1985, by Bowling for Soup

"This wasn't my plan at all," thought Hermione Granger.

To be fair to Hermione, a large portion of her plan had changed suddenly the day she turned eleven years old. That was when an older woman named Minerva McGonagall showed up at her home and personally delivered a life-changing letter, an acceptance for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione and her parents, fully expecting to be the victims of a practical joke, had their jaws drop lower and lower as Professor McGonagall showed them impossible feats using a stick cut from a fir tree.

That same evening, Hermione went to her room and pulled out an old journal, containing her carefully crafted life plan, and begin making some alterations. First, she checked off "Get into prestigious school." Professor McGonagall had said that Hogwarts was the premier magical institution in the world; can't get much more prestigious than that. Next, she marked a lot of school-related goals "Delayed", as she didn't expect that magical schools would have the same type of education as her previously expected schooling, but she certainly hoped to come back to them later. Finally, she made a new list of goals to accomplish at Hogwarts. It wasn't a long list yet, but after going shopping in Diagon Alley, she had some idea of what goals she could set now.

And then came first year. Befriending Neville on the train was a good safe friendship to cultivate, even though most of her peers wouldn't have suspected how important it would later become. The rest of that year was anything but safe, and much of it seemed to revolve around one Harry James Potter. From getting rescued from a troll, to suddenly becoming a close friend, getting caught out of bounds after sending a dragon away, and surviving the challenges set up by some of the greatest magic users in the country, that boy didn't seem to understand the words "safety" or "normal."

Second year was also fairly off the tracks, but missing weeks of time tended to do that. Luckily she had figured out what was causing the petrifactions, though she still had trouble believing that Harry took that beast on by himself! Though the events of that year did teach her that while Harry rarely seemed to know what was going on in the world, his instincts were still very good once he thought he had something figured out.

The only time Hermione didn't trust Harry's instincts turned out to be both right and wrong on her part. "The Half-Blood Prince" and his Potions book very nearly drove her and Harry apart, and she still sometimes kicked herself for allowing that to happen. What was worse is that they had all seen Snape's handwriting before (he had been their professor for 5 years, after all, and he did do his own grading), and she had never put it together. Of course, since she refused to look at the book, she had less chance to make the connection than any of her friends, but even that did not stop her from occasionally wondering why she hadn't. Even Neville, who had only seen the book in passing, had thought something seemed familiar, but he couldn't say what.

And then came that damnable scavenger hunt all around the countryside. Manipulative old man just couldn't give Harry a straight answer for once in his life, so they had to spend an entire year searching, hoping to get a clue, and stumbling into a series of events so fortunate, Hermione still wondered if they had been purposefully set up.

Since that hunt took place during what would have been their 7th year, Hermione had been forced to discard or alter many of her plans, including "Get a steady boyfriend," which had been added to the plan during fourth year on the off chance that she needed a distraction from studying for NEWTs. Since Harry was still focused on finishing his task (and Neville appeared to have finally gotten close to Hannah Abbott, the girl he'd been pining for almost all of 6th year), Hermione took a chance.

In another time and place, that kiss might have brought Hermione together with its recipient, one Ronald Bilius Weasley. But in the here and now, only one thought ran through Hermione's mind as she broke away; "If that really meant something, shouldn't I have felt something?" It was only as a dazed-looking Ron continued to stare off unseeing into the distance that Hermione remembered the words she had printed in big block letters at the top of her plan long ago, words that had served her well through all of her biggest challenges: "Never settle. Adapt."

Clarity struck Hermione in that moment. If she became entangled with Ron, would she be able to complete the rest of her plan? Would she be able to complete any of it? She certainly liked the Weasley family, but did she really want to become a part of them? Would she be able to chase her University dreams if her present and future was inexorably tied to the Wizarding World? Hermione did not like the answers that her brain was supplying to these questions, so she frantically looked around for the person she was just sure would be able to provide the answers she wanted to give those questions. She spotted him trying to sneak down the hallway while putting on his father's invisibility cloak.

Luckily for Hermione, running and putting on a cloak meant to hide oneself were not activities conducive to each other, so as her target made the staircase, she grabbed at where she hoped his shoulder was. "Harry," she said softly, "where are you going?"

Harry Potter turned his dazzling green eyes to her soft brown ones. "I've got to do one last thing for our quest, Hermione. And I've got to do it alone."

She looked deep into his eyes, and saw a hint of fear being overwhelmed by determination. Whatever it was Harry needed to do, he was certainly afraid of it, but just as certain that he had to fight through his fear and complete the task. Hermione made her decision right then, that if she was going to stay true to herself and her goals, she needed this man to make sure she met and surpassed that standard.

Hermione grabbed the sides of his face and held his head gently in her hands. "Harry, whatever you're going off to do, I believe you can do it. You're a great wizard, and a great friend, and as a great friend I need you to promise me one thing. Can you do that for me?"

Harry nodded, and brought his hand up carefully to rest lightly on Hermione's wrist. "Anything."

Hermione leaned in and kissed Harry softly on the lips. As a small smile appeared on his face (matching her own quite nicely), she whispered, "Come back to me. Whatever it takes, I need you to come back to me." Hermione paused, and moved her lips close to Harry's ear before continuing. "I love you. Good luck." She hugged him tightly, a hug which he briefly returned before pulling the cloak around himself and disappearing from sight.

A/N 2: I may someday return and write an epilogue for this story, but you can probably fill in the blanks from here yourself if I don't. This story fought me for a long time, before the last third came together all at once. I'm really proud with how this turned out, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.