Disclaimer: All characters and elements of Harry potter belong to JK Rowling. Nothing is mine except the story line itself and any extra/added characters.

PART ONE

"Hermione is everything alright? You've barely touched a thing on your plate."

I looked up into Ginny's worried eyes. My three best friends surrounded me while sitting at the corner table of the best restaurant in Diagon Alley.

Five years after the war and we were still being given special treatment by the Ministry and anyone who recognized us. Harry and Ron seemed to bask in the never ending glory of the day that changed the Wizarding World. Personally, I felt it was a waste. We weren't the heroes. Fred. Tonks and Remus. Snape. Lavender. Colin. They were the heroes, and yet, who remembered them? They were never given free dinners or gifts. No shouts of glory and praise. They were greeted by death, something I could never let go of.

"I guess there's just a lot on my mind." I picked up my fork and ignored the concerned looks Ron, Harry, and Ginny were giving me. Stabbing my grilled meat, I listened in to the conversation around me.

"Ronald get your grimy little hands off of my plate! This is a nice restaurant!"

"Ginny, calm down it's not like he has a plate full of his own food or anything," Harry replied sarcastically. Ron took a drink of whiskey and rolled his eyes, turning back to his own meal.

"So Hermione." I perked up at my name and found Harry looking toward me. I just couldn't get a break.

"Yes kind sir, what is your bidding?" I asked. Ron chuckled and Harry made a face at me.

"Cute. Anyway, I was wondering what the situation is with you right now." Ginny elbowed him in the ribs, but Harry shrugged it off.

"My situation as in who I'm dating?" I asked to clarify. Ron was sitting back in his seat, glass in hand, waiting for my answer. Ron and I had dated for a year after the battle. Somehow we had just drifted apart, at least romantically. In a way, we had never officially broken up. It wasn't any hard feelings. In fact, we were closer than ever.

Harry nodded to my question. "Well," I started, "currently no one. My 'situation' is single."

"Are you ready to date again?" Ginny asked. I shrugged. Ron was the last person I was with in a real relationship. Over the years I had gone on a few dates; it just didn't feel right somehow.

"Maybe with the right person. And maybe not now either. Soon I guess."

Ok, yeah my answer was cryptic. I couldn't help it and I'm sure that they saw behind my lies. In all actuality, I was fiercely against marriage. Dating could lead to marriage. That was a risk I wasn't willing to take. Marriage was so... committal. Yes, even I, Hermione Jean Granger, had commitment issues. I hated staying in one place. My entire childhood was spent running around, beating the bad guys, never not doing something; staying with one thing for too long was not my cup of tea.

Before anyone could break the silence, our waiter came to collect our now empty dishes. Harry asked for the check as the waiter, who may have been named Peter, carried away the plates. Ron began heatedly describing his first weeks of Quidditch practice with Harry. He had made the Chudley Cannon's team and would be the new keeper their next season. Needless to say, Ron rarely spoke of anything else.

Peter returned a minute or so later. His hands were without any checks; Harry's eyebrows raised.

"Mr. Potter, it would be the pleasure of our restaurant to give you and your friends this meal for free," Peter said.

Harry, who was used to these statements, replied with as much elegance as he could muster. "We would gladly pay for our meal. We came here to enjoy the experience and be here as friends. Not to be given a free dinner."

"I have been instructed not to take any money from you. My manager has your meal covered. We all owe our safety to you."

I wanted to gag. The exchange disgusted me. Harry finally caved, but left a very large tip to try and make up for it, at least for Peter.

As we were leaving Ginny tugged my arm and pulled me into the bathroom.

"Alright, spill," she said. "Why have you been so out of it lately?"

"Out of it? Really Ginny?"

"Only eating half of your dinner. Staring off into space. Barely answering our questions. Not noticing when Peter was staring at you before-" Ginny rambled on. She was counting each instance on a finger. I had stopped listening as soon as she said Peter was 'looking at me'. Unless he was a real sneak, the wedding ring on his finger showed otherwise.

Ginny snapped her stubby fingers in front of my face. "Are you even listening Mione? I'm trying to help here!"

"That's the point! Ginny I'm fine I don't need help!" I exclaimed. She stormed out of the bathroom and left me to the dank atmosphere of the empty stalls.

By the time I was outside of the restaurant, only Ron was still remaining. I wrapped my coat tighter around myself as I walked to him. The London air was quite brisk, especially in the winter. Ron stood with his hands shoved in his pockets. He eyed the sky almost dramatically, the twinkling shown in his bright blue orbs. The sound of my heels against cobblestone brought his view to me.

"You didn't have to wait for me," I said. He put his arm out and I took it as we slowly began to stroll the streets.

Ron shrugged his broad shoulders. "Ginny seemed mad so Harry left with her to calm down. I didn't want you to have to walk home alone."

"I can handle myself Ronald. I don't need protection everywhere I go. These aren't the days of death eaters roaming the streets anymore."

"Would you let me be a gentlemen for once?" Ron asked. I looked up at him. He had a charming look about him in his dark gray blazer and new tie his mother had gotten him no doubt.

"Fine. Take me home though. I must say I am worn out." I yawned and soon heard him say, "Hold tight," before being pulled away with a crack to my front doorstep.

My home was just outside of muggle London in a small village of a few hundred. A few other wizarding families lived nearby including Neville and Luna. They had moved in together and announced their engagement not more than a week later. It was a small house with elements of my original home with my parents. The outside was a pale blue with dark shutters. A rustic fence surrounded my property and the beds up front had berry bushes. In the summer and fall blackberries grew. Raspberries started even before the others, giving me fruit almost year round. Except the winter. I hated the winter. The cold reminded me of days spent in the lonely tent in the woods with only Harry and Ron as company. It wasn't always as bad as it seemed, but it certainly wasn't paradise.

"Hermione?" Ron said into the darkness.

"Yes?" I said.

"Oh, uh, nothing. You looked like you had zoned out. I wasn't sure if you had heard me."

My eyes softened at him. "I'm sorry Ron. There's just- never mind it's nothing."

Ron stared down at me. He leaned lower and kissed the top of my head. "When you're ready to tell me, let me know. Goodnight Mione."

I gazed into his eyes and something clicked. That something that makes you want to kiss someone. So I did.

I pressed my lips to his softly, gently. He stayed still and let me keep my lips on his, waiting for my release. Moments later I said goodnight and entered my house, making sure to lock the door behind me.

I dropped my coat and purse on my living room chair. All I wanted was to relax and not think about anything. The floor beneath my feet felt cool, my heels tossed carelessly into the hallway. I climbed the single flight of stairs to the bedrooms above the first level of my home. I passed by my wall of photos; my wall of remembrance. I tried to avoid it, but it was my own fault for making it so visible. I saw only one of many people smiling widely in their respective frames.

It was a boy I didn't remember but had heard of in my years of schooling. He was a fifth year when he died. I kept walking, quicker now, and decided I would have to remove the photographs soon. Over fifty hung on the wall.

I closed the door of my bedroom and grabbed my laptop and DVD case that lay on my bedside table. My bedroom bathroom slowly filled with steam as the bath I turned on began to fill. I turned on the fan to whisk the hot air out before dropping my clothes. I set my laptop on a small table in the room and clambered into my tub. The hot water seeped up the side of the white freestanding bath as I sunk in. My hair, that I tugged into a high bun, rested over the side and out of the water. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, letting everything go. I opened them slowly again and sat forward to start the disc in my laptop.

The comforting sounds of eerie music and Echo and the Bunnyman filled my ears; my favorite muggle movie playing on the screen. Quotes of dark voices and men in giant bunny suits filled me. "She said that every living creature on Earth dies alone. I don't want to be alone."

Two hours later, the bathwater now cold, the credits streamed down the screen. I shut the laptop and drained the tub, wrapping a towel around my small frame. I pulled my robe out of my closet and replaced the towel with it. I put my wand in my pocket, never leaving my room without it. I started down the steps and into my kitchen. The room was dark in the evening, the skylights letting only the moon's reflection shine on the marble counter tops. I prided myself on my kitchen. I had it renovated after buying the home. It started out being very...brown. It looked like a tree had thrown up on the room. So I gutted it. I replaced everything with pale colors. Whites and tans opened up the room to make it light and airy. I set a kettle on my gas stove to boil water for my evening tea. It had become a habit of mine, and even though it was nearly eleven, I had to have my tea. Just as I set my favorite mug and tea on the counter, I heard a knock. Just a silent knock that I may not have heard if it hadn't been such a quiet night. I thought nothing of it, and probably wouldn't have answered, if not for the second set of banging. I gripped my wand and set out for the front door.

I breathed in and then out deeply and swung open the door.

A disheveled man in a dark suit stood in front of me on the porch. I loosened my hold of the vine wood in my fingers and tugged my robe closer to my skin. The man crumpled a piece of parchment in his hands and shoved it in his back pocket. The suit moved with his shoulders and arms, tugging back the fabric showing a green button up below. He looked sad and confused all at once.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello," I returned.

He shifted in his stance. "Ah, may I come in?"

I wanted to laugh. Let him in my house? "Are you serious? You expect me to let you in my home?" The kettle on the stove began to cry. I glanced back and stepped out of the doorway.

"Come in."

Authors Note:

Please review (and or follow/favorite)! I'd really appreciate the feedback! PS If you know what movie Hermione was watching you get bonus points for being amazing.

Also...the Echo and the Bunnyman song featured above was The Killing Moon.