I do not own Harry Potter and I only write for fun. This is my first attempt of writing fan fiction. Plus I am no English native speaker. So please be kind ;) I'm sorry for every spelling and grammar mistake I am going to make. I hope you'll enjoy the story. I am grateful for every advice. Especially since I'm quite new to all of this. But if you just happen to dislike the story or my way of writing it or whatever, you don't have to read it, right?! ;)

But with all of this said the story shall begin. Let me know if you like it. If you think it's worth continuing I will hopefully do so on a regular basis.

Love & Peace, xoxo

– Turn the lights off me –

The night is falling, falling down. The world is shrouded in darkness. The blood red sun has already set and cleared the way for the big round and white moon and the countless stars that now cover the sky. They shine. But the darkness remains.

A slight breeze has sprung up. One can feel that autumn is waiting right around the corner. The nights when you could walk sleeveless probably are over by now – at least for this year.

Hermione rolls the sleeves of her jacket down and quickens her pace. It's way past dinner time already. Mrs. Weasley won't be happy about Hermione missing their family dinner again. But once again she got stuck for quite some time at some public library in Muggle London. She has been there pretty much every day over the last weeks. She loves the smell there. The smell of the old walls. The smell of all books, those that are old, and those that are not. And the smell of the knowledge they hold. For Hermione reading through those Muggle books has been a pleasant distraction after all the horrible things this war brought to them. Reading has always been the best way for her to clear her head, to get rid of all the worries. It has always been a way to hide from the world. But while skimming books she often loses track of the time.

The sky is now almost black and it makes the stars look even brighter. They twinkle like billions of little fire flies that dance through the night. The world seems so peaceful. The air is somewhat damp. Some old orange street lamps light the way a little. But none the less it's rather difficult to really see. It takes time for Hermione's eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Hermione increases her speed once more. With every step her shoes click on the cobble stones. She makes her way to a dark alley close to the library to find a safe apparition spot. She always goes to the same dark and rotten alley to apparate back home to theBurrow without some Muggles accidently noticing.

Home. It still feels strange to call the Burrow home. Even though the Weasley family has been like a second family for Hermione over the last years. And now after the end of the war she moved in with them. It seemed obvious, the best solution for everyone. After the end of the war it was helpful for everybody not to be alone. Company helps to cope with the hurt and the loss.

Yes. The war is over. At the beginning it was hard to find a way back to normality. The war had changed many things, and it changed the people. But it gets easier as time goes by. And the final battle happened already quite some time ago. But it still takes time to rebuild Hogwarts completely. The damage the battle had caused to the old building was huge. Many wizards and witches – most of them are employees of the Ministry of Magic or members of the Hogwarts staff – are doing a great job working full time 24/7. But it still takes time. That much can be said. And until then, until Hogwarts is rebuilt and school can start again Hermione is living with the Weasley family.

They made it pretty easy for her to move in with them. They always are most welcoming especially when times get difficult. But for Hermione it can only be an interim solution. She wants to go back to Hogwarts as soon as possible. She wants to finish school, get her degree. And after that she wants to get a proper job and a home of her own. Because no matter how much she loves the whole Weasley family and how grateful she is for their support she always knows the Burrow can never be a permanent home to her. She could never live with them forever. She needs space. To be able to live her life free from anyone's expectations. She needs room for her things and time to her own. A door she could close behind her and be all by herself.

But for now Hermione lives at the Burrow.

When she reaches the alley Hermione suddenly pauses. She stands still. The sound of muffled voices makes her stop. Most of the customers and passers-by have already left the streets. There is nobody for Hermione to see. But there must be someone since there are voices. Out of the dark. From around the corner. Hermione isn't able to understand a word. But clearly there are at least two voices talking, whispering. Muffled voices whispering to one another. Those voices are not more than a whisper in the night. But still even though they are not more than a silent whisper they are angry, maybe even furious. They're arguing. Those whispers are probably more precisely described as a furious hissing.

Hermione holds her breath. She's shuddering, her back pressed against a building's brick wall. Not able to understand what they are talking. And not able to decide what to do. Apparating back home right from the spot would be a reasonable decision. Leaving or running away would maybe be reasonable, too. But the girl isn't able to get a hold of one clear thought and obviously is not able to move either. So she remains in her position, completely silent and breath held.

You think the war teaches you. And so it is. The war is a great teacher. The war taught Hermione a lot. The war taught Hermione so many things. She became much more confident in so many things. And the war somehow made her grow up into the woman she is today. But the war apparently didn't teach her how to decide in situations like this one. Or maybe the war did teach her – but she forgot about it as soon as the war was over… Could that be possible? Hermione wasn't able to think about it. At least not at this very moment.

The voices are still whispering, hissing. They get more and more difficult to separate from the wind that has sprung up. Hermione completely concentrates on them but therefore forgets about the rest of the world around her. And then all of a sudden the tip of a wand presses against her neck.