Chapter One

"Let go of me! He's still alive!"

"Hermione, quit it! You know he's not alive!"

"No! I-I--he's in there Ron! Damn it, let me go!"

She pulled out of his grip and barely walked two steps before she fell to her knees, a sob escaping from the back of her throat. Sometimes life just wasn't fair; more so to others, but she couldn't think of anyone who deserved to die.

Especially Harry.

She watched as the building that she and Ron had barely made out alive, burn to the ground. From the usual regular color of flames, these flames were green. Ron knelt down besides her and gently rested his hand on her shoulder. But she ignored it; all she could think about was her best friend, dead. She lowered her head and let the tears fall; she wanted him back. She wanted things to be the same again. She wanted both of her best friends sitting next to her, wanted all the pain and suffering of the people around her to be gone, wanted to be back at Hogwarts, where all her friends felt safe, free, and comfort again.

She looked up towards the sky and suddenly fell like lashing out. She felt angry, sad, at loss, frustrated. She wanted to scream, throw a punch, and throw herself to the ground and cry like a baby. Ron's hand tightened on her shoulder and she remembered that she wasn't the only one going through the same thing. Harry wasn't just her best friend, he was Ron's best friend. More so then her. Ron, his family, had been Harry's family as well.

Then it happened; a scream, so loud and so high pitched ripped through the air. Both the red head and the brunette looked towards the building still up in flames. Something shot through the air; the people around them, the Auror's and other people from the Ministry of Magic and Death Eaters that tried to escape but now captured, looked as well. Everyone clasped their hands over their ears and watched, in amazement.

Popping noises could be heard, they started as faint and became loud. The scream still carried on; no one knew what was going one. She watched, scared, wondering. The green color of the flames grew darker and then suddenly disappeared.

Hermione had a sickening feeling that this war that everyone thought was over, wasn't over just yet.

Ten Years Later

Hermione Granger woke up, feeling like she was being watched.

Slowly, she sat up and looked around her room; she knew it was just nerves that was making her feel this way. She knew that there was no possible way that someone could be in her room without her knowing of it. The room was heavily guarded by spells that only someone who either knew of the spells that were in here or was very smart to get passed them all without having to know of them.

But of course, the school itself was guarded just as heavily.

She looked around her room and found it the way she left it before she fell asleep. The fire had died down during the night, she was still buried under three heavy blankets to block out the cold; her desk still had a stack of books from the Library and papers stacked neatly beside them. Dressers were neat, no door sticking out or anything. She looked up at the walls, where the paintings were still sleeping.

But Hermione couldn't shake out the feeling of being watched. She fully sat up, placed her pillows against the headboard and leaned back. She checked her wristwatch and saw that she had only been asleep for only a couple of hours. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and yawned. It was still dark, except for what little light the burned logs brought.

Hermione got up, her bare feet hitting the cold floor. Walking to her desk, she lit the lamp and let the light fill up her room. She heard a muffled complaint from one of the paintings, but she ignored it. She learned over the past few years that the paints more or less enjoyed complaining about different things. She learned very quickly to ignore them.

Things at Hogwarts schoolnever did change. The only thing that did change was the students and the teachers. Mostly all the teachers that she had as a student had retired. There were a few new ones that came after she left. The atmosphere was still the same. Students, as usual, still had their dramas and conflicts. Besides the usual pranks or two, things were once again peaceful among Hogwarts.

Once again, it was the safest place to be.

After all, she should know. She was the Headmistress.

Hermione sat down at her desk and stared at the books she had piled up. She smiled, remembering the days she spent with her nose deep in the book, trying to learn things by the minute. She still found great pleasure in learning new things, whether it was about the schools history or past famous witches or wizards or even about the Wizarding world itself.