"Hermione! Hermione! Hey, wait up!" screamed Ron. Lavender walking quickly behind him trying to catch up.

Shit, he saw me.

I have been avoiding Ron since I heard he was engaged to Lavender. Just a week ago I thought I still had a chance with Ron and that Lavender was once again a passing fancy. But come to find out that I am the passing fancy.

Ron wearing a burgundy jumper that only made his hair stand out even more and Lavender wearing matching witches robes dress made them seem like a perfect couple. Maybe they are made for each other. Besides if I really thought about the only thing that me and Ron have in common is Harry and of course our dangerous adventures.

"Hey Ron, Lavender." Lavender nodded at me. It's like she thinks that she is second choice. Ron is only with her because I said no in the first place. Ha! All lies. After we kissed in the Chamber of Secrets, I asked him if he wanted to take our friendship to the next level. He was the one that rejected me.

At the time it seemed like I was the one that was being extremely emotional especially with all of the after war that was going on all around us.

"So, I just wanted to tell you the news. Me and Lav are finally getting married. I asked her last night it was wonderful." Ron said with an excited smile on his face.

"Yes it was wonderful, very romantic." Why does Lavender look the opposite of happy then. Maybe she has indigestion.

"Either way I have to go to the loo really fast. Can you keep Lav company for a bit?" He was walking away as he asked this.

"Lavender, Are you excited for -"

"Oh my god, it has been an absolute disaster this past week. I mean I love Ron but did he have to propose to me under a dying rotting tree he could have planned this better. Why did he just do what I suggested when we were talking about proposals like 2 months ago. I do not know what I am going to do with that man. UGH!" She kept rambling and I tuned her out.

To be completely honest she should be happy Ron proposed at all since a few nights ago he asked me to marry him, he was pissed drunk, I bet he doesn't even remember the night. But it did make my heart do a small pitter patter.

Flashback

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and surprisingly Theodore Nott we were all at the Upside Down Broom, having a drink. Theodore Nott has been becoming a staple with our group and to be honest he's great. Smart and I could actually have conversations with him. He keeps saying that he is going to invite more snakes to our little group. But this is his third outing with us and he hasn't brought anybody yet.

Ron and Harry was completely sloshed and I was halfway there. In fact I should probably get home. I turned to Theo.

"I should get myself home before I turn into a disaster."

"Yeah, me too." To me he looked fine. "You should also see about the fumbling duo over there." He pointed to Harry and Ron trying to hold each other up. I make my way towards them and Ginny bumps into me.

"I got Harry, Hermione. You get Ron. Honestly it's like they are still seventeen the way they drink."

"Come on, babe. We got to go home. I bet you want your bed." Ginny grabbed Harry pulling him towards the door.

"Gin, oh Gin, you're so pretty and nice. I love you so much." Harry was all over Ginny as she took him toward the door to apparate out.

I grabbed Ron, "Hey Ron, you want to head home, I'll apparate you and let you get to bed."

"Hermione. Heeerrrrrrrrrrr-my-knee! Your names weird. But I love you just the same. I just want you to know." He gives me a cheeky grin, I roll my eyes. He's really heavy. I took his arm and slung it over my shoulder and partially carried him out.

"Thank you, Hermione." I apparated and land in his living room. Ron has been living alone for sometime. Lavender has been really admandent about not living with him without being married. It was a small place with one bedroom but his living space was quite spacious with a connecting kitchen only separated by a counter. He had a big comfy sectional couch. Ron's place was homey just like him.

I took him to his bed room and removed his shoes, as he sat on the bed and just stared at me while I did this.

"Hermione," he said just as I finished. I looked up and noticed he looked starry eyed. "I know that I said I needed time at the end of the war when you asked if I wanted to be more than friends. But I realize now that, I have always loved you, let's run right now and get married. What do you say?"

My heart stopped, I didn't know what to think. I wasn't breathing, wasn't making any movements. I just stared at him. He laid down with his feet still hanging off the bed and me kneeling on the floor. "I just really love you, Hermione."

"I don't really think -" I heard a loud snore come from Ron. I took a deep breath and shook my head and stood up carefully as to not wake him. Even though I should. Headed to the livingroom and apperated out to my apartment.

End of Flashback

I honestly don't understand what happened afterward I decided to see if he would owl me the next day. But nothing changed, he was still with Lavender and I was still alone and wanting someone that supposedly didn't want me in the first place. But don't they say that, 'A drunk mind speaks a sober heart' does he actually love me?

Let me not confuse myself and let's look at the facts. Ron rejected me after the war. He is now with Lavender and has been with her for the past 3 years. Not once in the past 5 years has he acted or given me a hint that he has feeling for me. This dictates that, that night was a total fluke and he really does not feel anything for me except platonic feeling of a friendship that has lasted almost 12 years.

"Ok, Lav lets go! Bye, Hermione see you for Sunday dinner, yeah?" Ron had come back and Lavender looked significantly happier. I guess she got past proposal faux pas'.

"Yeah, Sunday dinner." Sunday dinners, every single sunday, I got see up close and personal how single I actually was everyone had a significant other. They were either married about to get married or on a speedy road to engagement. Even Luna had Neville and they both made an appearance at the dinners. Everyone went it seemed.

The Ministry was slightly busy today it seemed. People arrived here from all over. After the war the Ministry revamped itself and made stronger connections to other Ministries and Government around the world. And made a stronger connection to the muggle world as well. They saw the benefits of advancing into a better age, because it seemed to me, when I arrived it was still stuck in the middle ages, with its archaic views and practices.

I made my way towards the elevator, making my way inside and saying my saying my destination. "Department of Mysteries". The Department of Mysteries was a massive portion of the Ministry. Many people knew about the different sections that were actual mysteries and those are the parts that most people know about but do not know specifics.

I work in a subsection, of a subsection of the Ministry called Potions. Mostly we create new potions and researched ingredients that might increase, decrease or change the way a potion might affect the population.

Many of the subsections opened up after the war because of the views between dark and light magic. A lot of Dark magic is very useful but is considered dark because they might use a ingredients or have intent to do harm, same with light.

This interested me early, when I started my travels. Especially intent on spells, the fact that someone could cast an Imperio, with the intention to make someone take better care of themselves or something not intended to take away their free will but as a tool of therapy, seemed particularly interesting.

But then towards the end of my travels I encountered several dark ingredients and researched their properties to see if they could be used in order to make certain potions stronger. Other magical cultures were using different ingredients to do the same thing. I realized there was a fine line between dark and light magic and that, that line could be easily be erased just by seeing the reactions that a light potion meant to cure an illness could do to a dark potion meant to poison its victims.

In all my research, studies and travel were very fruitful and the Department of Mysteries continues to see the benefits of having me on their team. I was actually offered many positions within the ministry but this one allowed me to actually do what I love best, research a topic to death.

I worked rather closely with Severus Snape, he is my superior as he has a Masters in potion which I am working towards by apprenticing with him as well as working for the Department of Mysteries. I love all the work and research I do.

Professor Snape has a rather interesting story, he was indeed bitten by Nagini and was left to die by Voldemort when Harry, Ron and I stumbled across him. I fortunately had something in my little purse to help him. That thankfully gave him enough energy to get to the hospital wing before he bleed out to death or was killed by Nagini's poison. He almost did not make it and it was by some magical miracle that he was able to survive.

After about 2 years of healing, he was able to go back to teaching at Hogwarts but after a year he decided to resign. Saying that he was done teaching children that don't appreciate that fine art of potions and Headmistress Mcgonagall, let him. She had offered me a place to teach at Hogwarts but I had refused as well saying that I wanted to explore and act my age for once. She understood of course and said that if I ever needed a place to stay that Hogwarts was always open for me.

Professor Snape said that he apparently had improved a potion that the Ministry was using that had some negative effects on people, and after that they had offered him a place in the potions department.

It's been 5 years since the end of the war. The year following the war I went back to Hogwarts seeking to finish my education, Ron and Harry decide they would much rather work as Auror since the positions were basically thrown at them. Severus was not there it was quite dreadful without a competent potions professor.

During Hogwarts, I had gotten a few offers from all over. But I had decide to travel the world and experienced all sorts of culture. Every once in a while I would come to find that nothing had changed drastically. I figured that the war had changed me and everyone but at that time it seemed it only changed me. Everyone was still getting together with their predicted mate, except me.

After my third year of traveling, I heard of an offer for the Department of Mysteries as an assistant Potioneer and I decided to take it. I figured it was time to settle and I had learned and researched different techniques from all over the world. That's when I realized that I would be working closely with Professor Snape, sorry Severus. I would be assisting him, the thought scared me. But we have come to an understanding, somewhat.

"You are late. If you insist on making these potions on your own you should be here on time." I just would like to mention I was almost never late. Hell, it wasn't even my fault this time, stupid Ron.

"Sorry, Professor Snape." We've only been working together for 3 years, I still can't bring myself to calling him Severus. Only in my head. Sev-er-us. I swear he finds it amusing that he can still intimidate me.

The space we have is a grand and state-of-the-art potions laboratory, everything in shine metal so it's easy to clean. It reminds me of an industrial kitchen with high ceilings everytime I go inside. There are several rows of stainless steel tables with holes in them for potions and knobs to control the heat. I could tell Professor Snape loved this place, every once in a while I'd notice a slight smile but honestly it could be a trick of the eye.

I take off my coat and hang it by the door and start to look around to see the status of each of my personal potions and experimentations. They were coming along nicely, if I do say so myself.

There was one potion though, that has been simmering in the back, in one of the biggest caldrons, since before I started working here. Professor Snape had told me that it had something to do with population, and that it was one of the potions that we would be developing over time. He also told me that everything about the potion could be found in the journals right next to the potion. I read them all when I started working here and saw small ways we could tweak the potion to make more lenient on people.

Apparently, the Wizarding population all over the world had been decreasing exponentially every 10 years or so. And all wizarding governments have been in discussion about what to do about it. They don't want to shock the public by bringing it to light before it actually becomes a big problem. But after the war, the Ministry really saw the effects of a decreasing population, there was no baby boom after the war and most couples are now having much more squibs than the years before.

Therefore they started working on this potion and if the problems persist in the next 10 years then they will have to use it or else in the following 50 there will be no wizarding folks left.

I have researched this potion and alternative extensively. The potion was originally just design for the person that drank to have multiple partners in which they would provide a full wizarding child, no matter compatibility. I have adapted the potion to include compatibility on a different type of categories. The only thing that I haven't been able to dull in the attraction. It is quite strong. Of course I have not been able to test it out, but I know it's quite strong because it works like Amortentia, where it creates a fake love. At the same time matching you with a compatible person that you could have a wizarding offspring.

I have several alternatives to dull the Amortentia effect and hopefully one of them work today. At least that is what I am working on today since I had a genius idea on what could work last night as I was having tea before bed. There are multiple herbs that people use to calm anxiety and stress. And I started researching the effects of herbs on potions, and some could change the harsh reactions of some potions.

For example, a person in the mid 1800s dabbled with Veritaserum and trying to calm the reaction by adding a tea herb and he found out that it worked to an extent. You still felt the need to say the truth but it was not painful when you tried to lie. Let just say he got in a lot trouble as he was a fugitive from the law.

I was holding Matricaria recutita extracted oil, Rhodiola leaves and Passiflora Incarnata powder to see if I could make the potion work as desired.

I didn't see it, I swear as I started walking with my 3 ingredients to the potions work table near the clear shimmering steaming liquid in the caldron but suddenly I was flying and the Rhodiola leaves were flying everywhere. I saw them land in the potion, I saw a huge amount land in the potion. My eyes went wide when the potion suddenly rose up about 8 or 9 feet into the lab and exploded into a large BOOM.

I saw the wave originate from the explosion, it knocked me off my feet. I saw Snape running towards me at full speed.

"Ms.Granger! Are you alright?!" I then proceeded to vomit and faint.