A/N: Hello, everyone. Yes, c'est moi, again. I know, it's been awhile. After HBP, I just really lost momentum with Unspeakable. There's nothing wrong with AU fics, but I just felt that it was wrong to continue. Hopefully, by the time of the seventh book, I won't be very far into this story, so I'll be able to adjust accordingly. Sorry about not writing, but things got really hectic. I can't promise anything with this fic. Writing it was sort of spur of the moment, and I'm not sure of exactly where it's going yet, but I hope my writing has improved some since Unspeakable. Please review with any suggestions, comments, etc.

Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters, locales, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling. This is just fanfiction, written for amusement only. I am not making any money, and no infringement is intended.

Chapter 1

The house was a spacious Victorian, and it had been standing in this particular spot overlooking the ocean for many years from the looks of it. Although it was not a ramshackle dwelling by any means, the house had fallen into slight disrepair after many years of being unoccupied, and Hermione could see that restoring it would take effort. She welcomed the challenge, though. It would be nice to get away, to focus her energy into something, to have a place of her own.

She was surprised she could afford the house, but its owners didn't seem to mind parting with it. They hardly recognized its value. Well, one person's trash is another's treasure.

Hermione took an old fashioned and somewhat rust-ridden key from her purse, and fitted it into the lock of the heavy front door. The door creaked open, and she stepped inside to survey her new home.

The foyer was dark, and with a wave of her wand, Hermione lit the candles that hung in the large wrought iron chandelier. The place was truly a magical home; it hadn't a trace of electricity or any other muggle conveniences that Hermione was used to from childhood. Cobwebs were visible in the corridor, and in the sitting room that lay open to the right, white sheets covered elegant antique furniture. It was obvious that no one had lived here for quite some time.

Hermione had spent the morning moving what few possessions she had into the place and cleaning her new bedroom. She was tired from a hard day's work and would worry about the other rooms of the house in the morning. For now, she had decent quarters to sleep in for the night, and that was all she needed.

She moved slowly up the staircase to the second floor landing and into the room she had chosen as her own. It was smaller than the other three bedrooms in the house, but it seemed more comfortable, more suited to Hermione's tastes. A fireplace was situated in the corner of the room, and the far window overlooked the stormy grayish blue ocean. A four-poster bed was placed with its headboard against the right wall, jutting out towards the center of the room. Hermione had decorated her room in shades of white and pale blue. The room, once lonely and unused, was transformed into a sparkling clean chamber that looked not only livable but also pretty.

Looking around in tired satisfaction, Hermione made up her mind to research the history of the house when she finished restoring it to its former glory. It wasn't as if there was much else to do these days.

After closing the curtains against the imminent dusk, Hermione lay down on the bed. She didn't intend to sleep just yet, but she wanted a quiet moment to relax and let her mind wander.

She wasn't quite sure what had brought her here. Life had become stifling and old in the flat in London, and she had opted for a change of scenery, an escape, a new start, or something of the sort. She was currently in between careers and wasn't really sure of the direction her life would take next. She had enough money to live on for an indefinite while, though. There was no need to rush.

She had looked at many places with disinterest until on a whim, she had decided to take a tour of this place. She wasn't serious about buying it at first; it looked so expensive. It was just intriguing, and a quick tour for amusement's sake never hurt anyone. She couldn't believe her fortune when the real estate agent had offered the home at such a reasonable price.

Ron would have loved it here. They had always wanted a home of their own. They had wanted many things, but the chance for that had passed. To quote one of Hermione's favorite muggle authors, Margaret Mitchell, "It was gone with the wind…"

Hermione sighed and silently vowed to stop thinking so much. Thought was great; it was what separated human from beast she supposed, but it could be quite unfortunate when one's mind chose to wander in certain directions. The past was done, and an incessant parade of what ifs certainly never helped anybody. This was meant to be a change, something of a new start.

She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but Hermione slowly gave way to the luxurious tiredness that filled her. She hadn't meant to sleep, but for once, she might sleep well. The room was dark but for a small candle that burned on the bedside table, and the house was peaceful and still.

Hermione wasn't sure exactly how long she had been sleeping, but when she woke she had an odd feeling. She had always had good instincts, and they had become even better after her years in the auror division with Harry and Ron. Slowly opening her eyes, Hermione looked around the room only to find that she was alone.

Tensed for any sound or movement, she waited with bated breath. The candle had burned itself out, and she wasn't sure what time it was. It was probably sometime in the very early hours of morning, she guessed. Gradually Hermione's eyes adjusted to the darkness, but she could discern nothing but the outline of furniture in the dark.

Hermione reached under her pillow and grasped her wand before rising from the bed and making her way to the door, careful not to make any noise. Cautiously, she pulled the door open and made her way down the corridor, staying close to the wall as she made her way to the stairs.

She involuntarily shivered at the touch of the cold hardwood floors upon her bare feet, and carefully descended to the first floor, moving at an almost unbearable pace now as she tested her weight on each stair. She was not familiar with the house yet, and she wanted the advantage, should anyone or anything be in the house with her.

Hermione froze at the bottom of the stairs. There was the sound she had heard earlier, a few seconds after waking. It sounded as though a breeze was blowing through the house, but Hermione couldn't remember leaving any windows open. In fact, she remembered checking them the previous afternoon to make sure they were shut. It could get quite chilly in this part of the country in the fall.

She remembered her family home in the London suburbs. She had lived there with her parents as a child. It was a beautiful old home that had been in the Granger family for generations, and she supposed that this was why she had such a love of welcoming, antique houses. She had woken up many times as a child, frightened of strange noises in the dark, and her mother had always told her that it was just the old house "settling in." She hoped that this held true now, with this house.

She had entered the main corridor now, and there was that noise again, coming from a door off to the left, the library. Well, it wasn't really a grand, full-size library, but it was a spacious room into which Hermione had moved her many shelves full of various books.

The door was ajar, and Hermione crept up to the door and slowly inched it further open. She had gone unnoticed thus far, but it was at this moment that the door chose to make an untimely squeak on its long neglected hinges, and a voice from within the library called out, "What the hell?!" in surprised confusion.

All attempts at stealth forgotten, Hermione swung the door open, wand pointed at the disembodied voice, and gasped aloud at the shocking sight in her library. What appeared to be a ghost was standing in the moonlight beside the ottoman, staring back at her with an expression that mirrored her own. It was the ghost of Sirius Black.