Given that he was hated by them, he couldn't help but to regard them with pride. They had survived the war and he had helped them, whether they knew the full extent of his assistance or not. It wasn't as if he wanted them to actually thank him. He just wanted someone to acknowledge that he had been on the side of the Light.

The man sighed heavily and shook his head, his shaggy black hair falling in front of his dark eyes, breaking his gaze at the group that had seemed to forget he existed for the last four years after the war ended. 'They probably think that I'm dead…or hope that I am anyways.' He turned on his heel and stalked off in the opposite direction, not noticing that the female he had just been regarding had turned in that exact moment to say something to the tall males following in her wake.

"Honestly Ron, I don't know why you don't just ask Lav to marry you! You've been together forev-" she halted seeing a tall, thin dark haired male walking away from them about three shops down, his robes flaring out in a shockingly familiar way. "…forever!" she finished in a rush. "Sorry Ron, Harry. I have had a stroke of inspiration for my latest potion," Hermione quickly lied.

"Alright there Mione?" Harry asked, concern written across his face. "You look like you've seen a dementor." He started to turn around, but Hermione caught his arm.

"I'm fine Harry, I just saw that the apothecary has a discount on Dragon Scales and Pixie Dust. I think I can use the Pixie Dust to deter the side effects that seem to accompany my last experimental potion. Really though, I must go and get some before they sell out!" She grabbed the boys in a fierce hug before running back the way they had come.

"Bloody hell! I thought she only reacted like that to Florish and Blott's!" Ron looked at Harry and grinned. "Guess she is human after all!" The boys looked at each other and laughed.

"Come on, mate. She'll owl us when she needs us. You know Mione and work." Harry grabbed his best friend of eleven years around the shoulders and tousled his hair. "She is right though. When are you going to ask Lav the big question?"

As the boys kept walking amicably, Hermione continued to follow the dark figure for several blocks before he vanished before her eyes. "Wha-" She was suddenly yanked into the alley, slammed into a wall, with a warm body flush against hers, a wand digging into the side of her neck and a hand clamped over her mouth.

A/N Much shorter first chapter than the one I posted yesterday, but I plan to update this one again tomorrow. "Know Your Place Miss Granger" is going to be a longer fic than this one to build character background. This one is going to be fairly short with a bit of humour. =]