Hermione Granger put her flat iron down and switched it off. It felt weird to be using it, but her parents had always felt a little uneasy at the thought of her doing magic with regards to her body. It hadn't been an issue at home, of course, since she wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school. Now, she was of age and out of school, and technically, her parents weren't there to stop her – they had remained in Australia after the war. She knew that eventually she'd have to stop taming her hair the Muggle way, but for the time being, it would do.

Her life at home had always been quite different from the one she led at Hogwarts. At home, she took the time to do her hair, apply makeup, and generally cater to her appearance. At school, she had far more important things to worry about. Besides, primping helped her fit in with her Muggle friends.

Today was rather significant. She was officially moving out of her childhood home and into a little flat of her own. The main difference, to her, was that she was moving away from Muggle London. Her friends were throwing her a going away party, as it would be the last time they were all together. Hermione hadn't told them where exactly she was moving, since she knew that none of them would be able to come visit her, and she didn't know when or if she would come back to visit them. It was getting tricky to keep her life – school, work, and relationships – a secret from them, and she certainly couldn't tell them.

She double checked her outfit – a cute but casual party dress that Hogwarts Hermione would have never worn – and stowed her wand in her handbag, just in case. Having already altered the wards to keep mostly everyone out, she shut off the bathroom light and exited through the front door, locking it behind her.

''''''''''

The party was fun, considering it was a Muggle one. Hermione always forgot just how different her life was. She had fought in and survived a war, while her friends had been finishing school. Sure, she enjoyed the company of her "summer friends", but any doubts she had about moving to a wizarding neighbourhood flew out the window during the party.

It wasn't a long walk back to her parents' house but she took her time, mentally creating a list of things she would need for that night – her first night in her new home. Since the war, she had stayed super conscious of her surroundings, and despite her distracted mind, she noticed the slightly agar door of her house before she reached it. Knowing for sure that she hadn't left it open, she kept walking until she reached the street corner. The whole time, her hand had been reaching for her wand. Once she reached said corner, she ducked into the telephone booth and cast a disillusionment charm on herself. Hermione then slipped out of the booth and quickly ran back towards her house. Gripping her wand and still invisible, she silently made her way up the front walk. She knew she would have to be careful – if they were Muggles, doing magic in front of them would be tricky, and if they weren't, well, that could be even worse.

The door swung open when she pushed on it, and she muttered a spell that revealed that she wasn't alone. Four more silent steps led her to the living room where she confirmed that the people in her house were Muggles. The first things to tip her off were the firearms that both men had. The second was the fact that they were stealing her TV, instead of staring at it, wondering what the heck it was.

She muttered another spell and a siren started going off. The panicked looks from the two men told her that her impromptu plan was working. They both started towards the door and she hit them each with silent a confundo before speaking out loud.

"You were never here. You never want to come back here. This is your idea."

They nodded, looking dazed, and left, and Hermione removed the charm on herself before locking the door again and magically putting things back where they had been previously. A few moments later, someone knocked at the door. Hermione sighed, knowing what was coming.

"I'm – oh, hello Ms. Granger," the young wizard paled slightly. "I'm here because we got word that magic had been used in front of Muggles…"

"Well I am in a Muggle neighbourhood…" she said, knowing that her voice held a tone of annoyance. She didn't feel guilty for lying – it had happened before both to her and others that chose to live in Muggle neighbourhoods. The Ministry was apparently working on a solution to the mix-up, but so far, it was still procedure to send someone to double check.

"Right. I – uh – had to…"

"Make sure, I know. That's why I'm…" she stopped. Few people know that she was moving, and she planned to keep it that way. "That's why I answered so quickly," she amended.

Once the wizard had left, she flopped down on the couch. Her state of relaxation lasted for about five minutes before she forced herself to get up. She could just as easily relax at her flat. With a wave of her wand, several boxes came towards her, stopping their forward motion just before reaching her. She shrunk them before putting them all in her handbag. She altered the wards to keep everyone out and Apparated to her flat.

The good part about living in Wizarding London was that she didn't have to worry about hiding her magic. It wouldn't be strange for her neighbours to never see her door open – she could either Floo or Apparate as she wanted.

She could also unpack with a wand wave, which she did.

The party had been relatively early in the day, and it wasn't five o'clock yet, so Hermione set her Muggle alarm clock for four thirty and allowed herself to take a nap on the couch. Unfortunately, it wasn't the alarm that woke her; it was the incessant tapping at her window. She groaned as she rolled over and stood up, realizing only after she had opened the window that she could have done so with her wand. Old habits die hard, she thought.

Hermione,

Tea?

-Harry

Hermione grinned. She flipped the parchment over, found her quill (because while wand-unpacking worked, the organizational skills associated with it were sorely lacking), and replied that she'd love to – after 5:30 – as she had plans. The letter was sent off, and Hermione made her way to her new bedroom to get ready for the meeting. She had just managed to brush her teeth and her still straight hair, and lay out her clothes when her fireplace came to life. Hermione heard Harry's voice coming from the living room and stuck her head out of her room.

"Harry, you can come in, you know."

Harry's head grinned at her from the green flames. "I know. This will only take a minute. Ginny got a hold of Fidwig before I could reply. I was thinking we could try that new place down the street from your flat. It's in Wizarding London but they serve tea and coffee along with butterbeer and the like."

Hermione nodded. "That sounds good to me."

Harry gave her directions before disappearing from her fireplace. Hermione checked the time and quickly changed out of her Muggle dress and into robes. Her meeting was at a bookstore, which, Hermione realized after arriving, was directly across from the coffee shop in question.

''''''''''

"Neville," Hermione said kindly, putting her book down. "How are you?"

"Great, thanks. And thanks for meeting me. I know you're busy."

Hermione waved it off. "It's what friends are for. Now let me see that article." As Neville handed over the parchment, Hermione though about how things had changed since the war. Harry and Ron had gone on to become Aurors, Ginny was playing Quidditch, Neville was contributing to The Quibbler with articles on plants (and by doing so, was helping the odd newspaper build credibility), Luna was slowly taking over said paper, and Hermione herself was working at the Ministry, helping Kingsley change laws and undo things that had been done under Fudge, Umbridge, and the indirect control of Voldemort. It wasn't exactly what she had hoped to do, but it was needed. Kingsley had assured her that she'd be able to deal with reform for house elves once the Wizarding world was running smoothly. Sadly, while they had been working almost non-stop, there were still snags that reminded her just how messed up the Ministry had been.

The purpose for her meeting with Neville was to look over his article. Even though Luna always did, and even though Neville was dating her, he still felt more comfortable if Hermione checked the article if he had had difficulty with it. It never took long. Neville had a surprisingly exception talent for writing when it came to unusual plants, and though Hermione had told him that several times, she was still asked to check a few of them every so often. It gave her a chance to catch up with Neville, so she did it without hesitation. It was harder to see her friends than she had imagined – everyone had lives of their own now, and their schedules always conflicted.

Neville left just before 5:30, so Hermione purchased the book she had been reading and crossed the street to wait for Harry. She ordered a cup of coffee and opened the book to where she had stopped at, not noticing the blonde boy watching her from across the room.

AN: Welp, hi! For those of you that know me, welcome back. For those that have never heard of me before, feel free to look around. Let me know what you think about this one. The speed at which I update is directly related to the number of reviews. Peace!