A/N: So this is my first fanfic. I've read a lot and finally wanted to start my own. Please read and review! Your suggestions will help guide this story!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, or creations. They all belong to fantastic J.K. Rowling.

"I remember you as you were in the last autumn.
You were the grey beret and the still heart.
In your eyes the flames of the twilight fought on.
And the leaves fell in the water of your soul..." ~I remember you as you were~ Pablo Neruda

Ch. 1

The day was bright. All the children preparing to go to Hogwarts sang and laughed and ran around all the shops in Diagon Alley. The parents were smiling wide, proud smiles as the first-years carried their books like they were carrying trays of rare and precious food, their eyes wide with awe as they took in the festive school year scene.

One set of parents in particular were walking into a book shop, The Dragon's Treasures. The door was a deep mahogany with a gold dragon wrapping itself around the door frame. In its left claw it held a quill and in its right it held a piece of gold-leaf parchment with the names of different famous muggle writers.

The door was heavy, but that didn't stop them. As they stepped through the door, a bell rang above. It was hectic in the shop, with children running to and fro looking for the books they needed for classes. A woman, working at the front was trying to count all the coins from one customer when another woman with long, curly auburn hair twisted and held up haphazardly with a clip walked over with a slight frown on her face. She took over for the other woman, whose dark black hair was equally as dark as her eyes.

"Go help Matilda in the back, please Meredith?" The woman with the auburn hair asked. The other nodded and rushed towards the back of the store. Once the brunette had finished helping the customer, a parent from the cluster that just entered yelled out.

"Hermione!"

The woman turned and, upon recognition, smiled a soft warm smile and responded, "Harry! Wait just a moment please!" With those words Hermione waved over another staff member, this one blonde with golden eyes, before heading over to her friends.

"How have you been?" She said as she embraced the raven haired man.

"Great, you?"

"You know, always busy. Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed as she caught the fiery redhead in a strong embrace. The woman returned her hug with equal strength and excitement.

"Hermione! I can't breathe!" Ginny said with a laugh in her voice. "Seriously though, I'm starting to get light-headed."

"Sorry, sorry. I just missed you; we haven't talked in what feels like ages." Hermione pulled back and brushed her haphazardly falling curls. Her brown eyes were soft, warm and happy at seeing her friends.

She looked older than their last encounter, but so did they all. Ginny, who had become a house-wife looked happy and content, but small lines at the corners of her mouth were signs of the strain of children. Harry, whose glasses had been traded in for upgraded ones, had hard lines around his eyes. Being an Auror was hard work, Hermione should know. She was one before her retirement from the Ministry of Magic.

Behind Ginny stood the familiar lanky figure with a tousle of bright orange hair. Ron, who smiled sweetly at Hermione, but there was still a hardness to his edges.

"Hello Ronald. How have you been?" Hermione said as nicely as possible, although unsaid accusations and curses hung in the air between the two.

"I'm fine. You, 'Mione?" His smile softened as he used her nickname. "How are you doing?"

"Good, everything's good." Hermione caught blonde hair just behind Ron and saw that Lavender Brown—Weasley—was looking at her with an expression of contained pride and resentment. But instead of being cruel to Hermione she walked over, pink dress flowing around her legs, soft and graceful. It must be a werewolf thing, Hermione thought, because she never walked like that back in school. It had been a blessing that Lavender had survived Fenrir's attack. After Hermione blasted him off her body, and Professor Trelawney's execution with the crystal ball, they took her bleeding to Trelawney's office where the kind teacher spent the time saving her.

"Hermione, so good to see you again." Lavender's overly sweet voice was sickening as she wrapped her hand around Ron's. "You're looking very…bookish." Lavender's smile was dazzling as her blonde hair shone in the light.

"Well I do own a bookstore, Lavender." Hermione replied in a strained voice.

Lavender's nose crinkled a bit at what Hermione said before she flicked her blonde hair over a tan shoulder and kissed Ron on his cheek. "I'm going to go to Flourish and Blotts. I think their employees know better service than this drably store with its moldy books." With a swish of pink ruffles, she was gone. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't feel like getting into a battle of the insults with Lavender today, especially when most of her insults would go right over the blonde's head.

"Sorry about her, she's a bit…overbearing at times." Ron shrugged.

"At times?" Hermione let one slender eyebrow rise. Ginny, sensing an argument on the rise hopped between the two begging Hermione to show her around the shop, and maybe even help her find some interesting muggle books. She had been growing to like them ever since Hermione opened her shop.

Hermione, being the pleasant owner of the shop, agreed and quickly she and Ginny were swept away by book pages, and separated from Harry and Ron by a sea of students.

"I cannot believe he ever got engaged to that bint." Ginny fumed and raged as she went on, her short red hair flipping out at the ends like crazy licks of flames. Hermione looked at her out of the corners of her eyes. Even over the years, and how she's aged, Ginny still looked as fiery as ever, and Hermione loved that. Even having three kids and a job at the Daily Prophet couldn't drag her wild personality down.

"It's all right, since it was my fault after all." Hermione said, trying to soothe her friend's anger at Ron.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't even do anything with Malfoy when Ron broke it off between you two."

"I didn't. But I wanted to." Hermione sighed as she tried in vain to tuck her curls away. They had reached towards the back of the store where Hermione kept her muggle collection of books. Back here, they wouldn't be overheard considering all the kids and parents were at the front of the store.

"There's a difference between wanting to and acting on. You wanted to. Ron acted on. And with Lavender of all people." Ginny crinkled her nose. "I wonder how he deals with the smell of wet dog."

"Ginerva!" Hermione hit her friend on the arm as she giggled. Hermione shook her head. "Maybe he uses some extra strong air freshener spell when she gets out of the shower." Ginny looked at her with a slight curve of her mouth before both of the women burst out laughing.

"I've missed you so much. It's been too long." Hermione said, leaning against the bookshelf.

Ginny took a moment to look at her friend. Her hair was long, so long that the weight of it kept it from getting too frizzy. Plus, Hermione said something about using some type of shampoo that smelled like jasmine that was apparently helping. Hermione's eyes were older, but then again all of theirs were. However, hers still held that spark of passion only found in an adventurous, wild person. It seems the years still couldn't take that away from Hermione, or her love of knowledge. The way her eyes lit up when Ginny would bring up a book for discussion was something that was uniquely hers, and would always be.

The two began talking about what they were doing with work, Ginny and Harry's kids and plans for the future. In the front of the store the two men were also so deep in conversation that no one noticed a blonde man with a nice tan walk in the store. They didn't even look over when the bell rang. It wasn't something anybody would really notice, the man wasn't someone that anybody would care about seeing. However it would matter to certain person, to a certain owner with wild auburn hair.

Hermione turned a little to fully face Ginny, and by doing so she knocked over a copy of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Hermione turned to retrieve the book when a tan hand in a white sleeve picked up the book. A familiar deep, pleasant voice spoke. "'Journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man's son doth know.'" Hermione's eyes widened in recognition of the voice. Her head slowly began to rise as the voice continued. "Or perhaps it should be, 'Journeys begin in lovers meeting,' don't you think, Hermione?"

Hermione looked fully at man before her. His angular cheeks, arrogant smile, smothering silver eyes, white blonde hair that fell into his eyes and framed his face. All were so familiar and yet so foreign. It was true that time changed people. Hermione took in a shaky breath before she replied. "Hello, Draco."