A/N: You will only see this stuff on the first chapter:

Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. I am just playing dirty with her characters.

Triggers: Mentions of past eating disorders, and slight anal play.

Special thanks to Witches_Britches for being my Alpha!

Hermione took a deep breath as she apperrated to the gates of Hogwarts with Ginny. She had decided to go back for her final year and she was excited and nervous to be back. She was about to be the oldest student to ever attend Hogwarts as she was already 18 and would be 19 in less than 3 weeks. She could have taken the Express, but didn't want to feel trapped, and Ginny wanted to spend a few more hours with Harry.

Headmistress McGonagall had asked if she would like to come back a few days early and get settled in, but Hermione had declined. She hadn't been quite ready to leave Ron and Harry yet. She was anxious to live without them after the last year of only having the two of them to depend on. There were always letters, and McGonagall was letting the "8th Years" go to Hogsmeade every weekend, but she knew it wouldn't be the same. Thank Godric she would have Ginny with her.

After waking up in Hogwarts after the final battle the trio and Ginny had met in the common room. It was clear that Harry and Ginny belonged together and Hermione and Ron didn't. They had lived together like siblings for too long and it was just too awkward. Instead of driving them apart, the four of them became closer.

Her last 3 days before heading back to Hogwarts were spent at 12 Grimmauld Place. The home become a sanctuary for the quad after the war. Hermione had helped Harry reset all the wards on the house. They closed all the floo connections and replaced the Fidelius Charm with Harry as the Secret Keeper. Only the four of them could get in and it was much nicer now that Hermione had agreed to let Harry hire an entire army of house elves to renovate the house so it was finally livable and free of all the dark objects. They still spent most nights at the Burrow, but it was nice having a place to escape to.

She wasn't sure how it started, but one night when all four of them were drinking tea in the drawing room, they started talking about the war. It was a subject that was off limits at the Burrow. By the end of the night they had all yelled, cried, laughed, and shared things they had been hiding from each other and themselves. It was so therapeutic they decided "therapy nights" needed to happen a few times a week. They talked about everything from the war, to missing Fred, the Lupin's, Sirius, and Hermione's parents, to their future plans. It was there that Hermione and Ginny decided they wanted to get their NEWTs and Ron and Harry were going to the Auror Academy.

"Are you ready for this Granger?"

Hermione looked at Ginny "The real question is: Are you ready for my NEWT study timetables?"

"Absolutely not! But with you as my study partner at least I will get high scores. Just make sure I still have time for quidditch ok?"

The girls laughed at they touched their wands to the gates and they opened to admit them. Besides Dumbledore's tomb and the large war memorial, Hogwarts and the grounds looked the same. It was amazing what magic and 4 months could do. They both knew there would be hallways and places on the grounds they would always avoid, but seeing the outside look whole made Hermione feel better.

"I still can't believe you turned down the Head Girl position Mi. It was your dream forever."

"I know, but I am sure there is a girl in your year with that same dream. If there hadn't been a war, I wouldn't be here this year. I don't want to be the reason someone doesn't get to be Head Girl. Plus, it will be nice to focus on my studies and not worrying about extra duties, or..."

"Helping the boys pass their classes?" Ginny giggled.

McGonagall met them in the Entrance Hall with a smile and a hug. "I am happy to see you ladies made it. Place your trunks in the corner there and they will be taken to your rooms. The Express just pulled into the station so the other students should be here soon if you want to get seated."

Hermione knew she should have paid attention to the sorting song and who the newest little lions were but she just didn't have it in her. Everywhere she looked she saw dead bodies, flashes of spells, heard the screams of friends, and that final thud of Voldemort hitting the ground. Suddenly she saw the food appear before her. Even though it had been 4 months since she stopped living in the tent, she still had a hard time eating. Her stomach had shrunk so much that the first month she couldn't eat more than a few bites at a time (which wasn't easy when you lived with Molly 'You're too skinny!' Weasley'). She had just started gaining weight again and could no longer count each rib, just the bottom four on each side.

She saw the elves had made her favorite dish, steak and kidney pie, for the feast. Her mouth started to water as she served herself a large scoop. She hadn't had anything this good in so long. She groaned happily as she quickly took her first few bites.

Ginny laughed at her. "Don't eat too fast Hermione. You don't want to get sick again."

"Too late" she said as she jumped off the bench and ran to the bathroom just outside the hall.

Leaving the stall she used a mouth freshening charm on herself and looked in the mirror. She looked a bit peaky, but not too bad. She headed back into the hall and took her next few bites much slower. Ginny gave her a sympathetic smile as McGonagall stood up to dismiss everyone to their dorms.

"Before you leave, if the 8th years could please stay behind; the rest of you are dismissed."

As everyone stood up and left, Hermione looked around and realized hardly any students had stayed to complete their final NEWT year. Most students had elected to either not take them, or take them via independent study.. She and Neville were the only Gryffindors, there were no Ravenclaws, and Hannah Abbott was the only Hufflepuff. Slytherin had the most students returning, which wasn't too surprising as some of them, like Draco, Theo Nott, and Millicent Bulstrode were there as part of the Ministry's rehabilitation program. But Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass had remained neutral during the war so they must be attending by choice.

McGonagall looked at the small group and had a sad smile on her face but took a deep breath as she addressed them. "I know it was a hard choice for all of you to come back this year. The last few years have been hard on all of us, no matter what said we stood on. I implore you all to look past your differences and try to start anew. This group is unique to Hogwarts. While you all still belong to your own houses and will have access to their common rooms, the school as provided you with your own common room and bedrooms. Your common room is located on the 5th floor two paintings past the prefects bathroom. The password is Unity. Goodnight."

A/N #2: I'd love honest feedback! I just started writing in Feb 2019 so any positive or negative feedback is welcome. Just don't be a twat waffle about it.