Prologue

In the spring of 1999, Hogwarts had seen its greatest group of students graduate. This magnificent class consisted of Harry Potter; the boy-who-lived-to-defeat-You-Know-Who, Hermione Granger; the smartest student Hogwarts had seen since Rowena Ravenclaw herself and Draco Malfoy; the second smartest student since Rowena Ravenclaw.

The summer that soon followed proved to be one of the worst times that the Magical World had seen, playing host to the Great War. Those three horrendous months were full of slaughter, grievance and casualties. St. Mungo's and the Hogwarts Infirmary was packed with injured and the back of the Forbidden Forest, the furthest end from the school, was cut down and used as a burial site for all of the Light Fighters.

For the Weasley clan, it was not a pleasant time. Charlie and Bill had both perished at the hand of Lucius Malfoy, whose life was soon after taken by his very own son. Ronald had been institutionalised in the large Magical hospital for six months for a deadly acid-like poison had been thrown at him and begun to enter his body, slowly eating away at his muscle tissue. Luckily Healers were able to stop the spreading before much damage had been done.

Many from the class of 1999 were fighting in the war. Neville Longbottom had finally shown his true colours, fighting three Death Eaters at once and coming out triumphant. Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors together had fought a wonderful fight, the light side coming out finally triumphant. But what had surprised people most was the amount of Slytherins fighting for the Light Side. Blaise Zambini, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, Millicent Bullstrode, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe were only a few of the Slytherin graduates of 1999 to fight for Dumbledore. The most surprising of the lot was Draco Malfoy.

Many had seen him a Dark side fighter. He had always been favoured by Voldemort due to his father's keen and loyal involvement and the fact that, not only was he of one of the purest pureblood bloodlines, all of his descendants had been eager followers of the Dark Arts and hated the ideas of Muggleborns. But Draco wasn't foolish. He knew better than to 'dabble' in the Dark Arts and in his seventh year had gone to Dumbledore for help. He had proved a great use, killing many Death Eaters and rescuing his fellow fighters from their peril.

The battle had raged on, many in low spirits as it seemed a futile effort. Yet at the very last moment, the 'Golden Trio' had begun brandishing their full power. Harry had vanquished Voldemort towards the end. The Death Eaters continued to fight for their beliefs yet with less fervour. Hermione had unleashed a power inside of her that nobody had seen before. She had begun to glow, a golden haze around her. Unknown to many, the same thing occurred to Draco. They rose up into the air, muttering soft incantations. One by one, the Dark Side fell to the ground, their last breaths emitted from their throats.

All fighters, both Dark and Light, had been accounted for. That is, all of the fighters except for two, both from the Light side. It had taken thirteen days for all of the fighters to be found but two were never located, their bodies missing and their deaths unaccounted for, vanished the moment the last Death Eater had fallen to the ground. Who were these two fighters?

Hermione and Draco.

Spring, 2005

Ministry Of Magic 11-03-2005

Kingsley Shacklebolt stared up at the screen before him in disbelief. Their search for Hermione and Draco had never ended, due to the persistence of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore's strong belief that they were still alive somewhere. A large map of the world was propped on the wall in front of him. It was the 'AD' as everyone had nicknamed it; the Aura Detector. After the Great War, it had been set up to detect the auras of the missing, now only down to two. Kingsley himself believed the pair to be dead yet right in front of him, a pink dot was flashing beside a flashing blue one. Their auras had been found...again. They had been spotted closely around one spot, where they would disappear during the night time and sometimes the majority of daylight. That, he assumed, is where they are; at that vast area of land where their auras are unplottable.

"Finnegan! Finnegan, you fool! Get over here now!" Hannah Finnegan, previously known as Hannah Abbott, rushed into the room, her face red from running. "Get Albus Dumbledore here now! Immediately!" He bellowed at her. The poor woman squeaked with fear and rushed out of the small room to the closest fireplace. Throwing in a handful of Floo-Powder, she yelled on the top of her voice, "Albus Dumbledore's Office!"

She stuck her head through the flames to see Albus Dumbledore staring serenely at her. "Yes Mrs. Finnegan?"

She took in a large breath before hurriedly saying, "Shacklebolt wants you, Dumbledore sir." The old man nodded once before walking through the flames, appearing beside her. "He's just in there." She said pointed to the room before returning to his desk.

"Thank you, dear. Say hello to Seamus and the kids for me." He replied cheerily before making his way into the cramped room. "Good evening, Kingsley. What may I do for you?"

"Found them!" He yelled joyously. "They're alive!"

An old, familiar twinkle crept back into the old eyes of Dumbledore. He had been wary when the pair had risen into the air, winds blowing around them ferociously but their disappearance had shocked the nation. "Are you sure?"

Kingsley nodded enthusiastically. He indicated to the two flashing dots that were heading back towards the region where they would disappear. He explained to Albus his deduction as the dots were once again gone. "Excellent work Kingsley!"

Kingsley grinned back. "Thank you, sir. But my only question is why they are almost always together? They despised each other, did they not?"

Albus smiled with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. "That, my old friend, is for them to explain for it is a secret of their own. Naturally I know the reason as they thought me trustworthy enough to keep their secret, something I will respect, for they chose to tell me and what came as a surprise to me was that only I and the professors know. Not even Harry or Ron was told of the events. Yes I am sure that once their recovery had become public, the truth will be known by all. But for now, we must inform Harry that Hermione has been found. I am utterly sure that he will be delighted. Although, I think I shall conveniently forget to tell him about Draco, eh?" He added cheekily before heading down the corridors to a fireplace.

"Potter Residence!" He yelled before stepping through the blazing flames.

Potter Household

Harry Potter was seated at the dining table, sipping on his mug of strong coffee. His dishevelled raven hair fell into his face, sticking out at the top. His green eyes had lost their glee and happiness, as they seemed to age with the intense worry he had over the last few years. He was still quite strong, his muscles well-defined; it was something that made most women, of all ages mind you, swoon over him and it made his wife very irritated.

He had arrived home from work a few hours ago and was looking forward to the weekend, where he was able to rest. He stared out of the window as the sun was slowly setting, thinking. He wondered whatever happened to Hermione. He knew that she couldn't be dead. It was like a sixth sense that he had formed, through the closeness of the trio. Even when Ron had been hit with the poison he had felt it. He had felt a strong pang of pain in his heart. But he had only felt one. Hermione was safe somewhere and he knew it. He knew that nobody could kill such a strong, wise young woman.

"Harry…Harry!" Harry snapped out of his daze to listen to his beautiful wife, Ginevra Potter. Her auburn hair lay gently on her shoulders, her baby blue eyes looking out at him with concern. They too had lost their intensity as they had matured with 'grown-up' problems, especially the disappearance of her best friend and mentor. "Harry, something is bothering you. Please tell me. You know I hate seeing you like this."

"Hermione…" He whispered softly into his mug.

She sighed heavily, tears still prickling at her eyes and sat down beside him. "I know…I miss her everyday. You yourself know I cry myself to sleep sometimes. She was a part of me, like a sister, but I know that she is safe somewhere. And you know it too."

Harry smiled weakly before nodding. "I know…but I can't help it. She just…disappeared into thin air! How could that be possible?" Ginny nodded with understanding before standing up to finish cooking their dinner.

"Could you be a dear and get the kids to wash their hands and sit down for dinner?"

She had barely finished her sentence when footsteps could be heard thumping down the stairs. Two little kids raced into the kitchen, their fiery red hair flying behind them. "James! Stop chasing Lily around the room!"

The boy stopped and stared at his father with his brilliant green eyes. "But she hit me!" Harry sighed heavily before turning to his little three yr old daughter.

"Only because he called me stupid!" Harry sighed and rolled his eyes at the two.

"Alright. You're both at fault. Now wash your hands and behave or no dinner for you two." The little children gasped with horror before racing to wash their hands. Ginny chuckled lightly and placed the food on the table. "Smells wonderful, dear." Harry whispered in her ear before kissing her softly.

"EWWWWW!" A loud yell pulled them apart to see the five-yr old with his hands over his eyes. "DISGUSTING!" Harry laughed loudly before letting go of his wife. "Alright, alright. Sit down."

An hour later Ginny announced bedtime for the kids. "But-"

"No buts, James. Both of you to bed." She stated, sounding a lot like her mother. She picked up both of the little ones and led them upstairs.

Harry smiled softly at his family before retiring to the lounge room. He sat down and picked up the nearest book; Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. He sighed softly. It was Hermione's favourite book. Hermione…wherever you are…come back to us… He thought before opening up the book. He had begun reading when a voice distracted him.

"Harry…good to see you reading for once." Harry looked up to see the bright, warm smile of Albus Dumbledore, something that had been gone for almost six years now. "Yes…I thought I'd give it a try." Harry answered with a chuckle.

Albus looked eagerly at Harry. "I can see you've been worrying about Hermione." Harry looked up, tears prickling his eyes.

"I'm beginning to lose hope, Albus. No matter how much I know that she must be out there, I'm starting to wonder if she will. I just…I don't know…" Albus stepped forward, excitement threaded in his voice. "Go and get Ginny."

"No need for that, Headmaster." The pretty woman stepped through the doorway. "I just put the kids to bed." She added, taking a seat beside her husband.

"I have brilliant news for you both…I'm sure that Ron would be ecstatic if he were here to hear the news though I'm sure that Africa is treating him right." Ginny smiled warmly at the thought of her brother.

After his recovery in hospital he was quick to continue his life. He had asked his long-term girlfriend, Lavender Brown, to marry him a year after the war. The tall, burly red-head was currently in the midst of Africa for a match against the African Quidditch team, proudly playing for the Chudley Cannons. His wife had stayed behind with their three yr old triplets, Matthew, Christopher and Nicholas. He too was constantly worrying about his school friend and visited them every Friday for updates on the 'Hermione Case' when he Apparated back to London every weekend to see his family. "Please continue."

"We've found her." He stated simply, waiting for a reaction from the couple.

Silence filled the room as the news sank in. "WHAT!" Harry yelled leaping to his feet.

"Yes…in the middle of the country, in America. Safe and sound." Ginny ran forward, tears streaming down her face and embraced Albus tightly.

"Thank you so much." She whispered. "Thank you so very much." She pulled back from Albus and smiled widely. "You don't know how much this means." She gasped with delight and ran to their fireplace, grabbing a handful off Floo-Powder. "I have to tell Ron! Ronald Weasley Residence!"

Ministry of Magic 12-03-2005

Harry strolled into his office, a smile on his face. For most certainly, nothing could spoil his day. Albus was patiently waiting on a chair. "Albus! To what do I owe this delightful visit?" He exclaimed, blissfully.

"Ah Harry! We've pinpointed her location. She placed an Unplottable Charm on the property she is at. But from her surroundings we have deducted the only possible place. She has a large farm in Van Wert, in America. You will Apparate to the edge of her property and then drive to her house. We have prepared for a car to appear when you arrive in Van Wert. It will also disappear when you leave. Good luck Harry and say hello to her for me."

Harry nodded fervently, excitement clear in his sparkling emerald eyes, before disappearing with a loud pop.

Van Wert, America

Harry appeared beside a familiar, old, blue car. "The Weasley's car." He whispered to himself before taking in his surroundings. He was on a desolate, dirt road that led on into the distance where he could see a small structure, most probably Hermione's house. On his right were pastures as were on his left, all fenced with clean, white paint. The succulent green grass went on for as far as his eyes could see. There were a few horses in one paddock, healthy cows in another, sheep in another and so on. He smiled. Hermione definitely lived here. She was always talking about moving to a large farm with Muggle animals of all sorts.

He climbed into the old, rackety car before driving down the path. The house was beautiful, the gardens set out well. The paddocks came to an end yet the white fencing continued behind the house, where the barns and paddocks began again. The road, which was now made of bricks, was a neat, thick line of small trees, in the shape of boxes. Right in front of them was a thin row of tulips, Hermione's favourite flower.

The house was quite tall, probably consisting of three stories. It was made out of brick, painted a beautiful off-white colour. The front door was a deep mahogany colour, contrasting well with the off-white. The windows were well spread out and through one of the open windows; he could see two little children, a girl and a boy, running around. Harry smiled softly; at least she hadn't been alone for six years. His Hermione, as he had affectionately called her in their sixth year, had settled down well.

He climbed out off the old car, inwardly thanking the heavens that it hadn't broken down on the way. As he made his way up the path, two sheep-dogs came bounding up to him and leapt onto him. He patted their heads softly before going up onto the veranda. He rang the doorbell twice, a small picture of a lioness sleeping, a snake curled up in its arms. Odd, he thought, I never thought her a fan of snakes.

A familiar, sweet voice rang out from somewhere on the second level, greatly muffled yet familiar. "Honey, can you get that? I'm going to take a quick shower." Harry smiled. Hermione and her husband, whoever it was, were still in love, a thought that made him smile broadly.

There was a slight pause. "Alright, beautiful! You may need to get a new bottle of shower-gel!" A strong, British voice replied, slightly muffled by the distance. The door opened revealing a tall, blonde man. He had deep crystal blue eyes, gleaming with happiness and contentment, his hair lying messily over his eyes. He had a pointed chin and a very firmly set jaw. His wide shoulders but slim waist gave him the slight appearance of a swimmer, yet suited the man well. He would definitely be considered very good-looking.

There was something very similar about this man. He reminded Harry a lot about his 'arch-nemesis', Draco Malfoy. Can't possibly be him. Malfoy never had blue eyes, they were always a greyish colour. But Harry couldn't shake that feeling.

The blue eyes widened with shock. He opened his mouth to say something when two "Potter?" A familiar voice escaped with shock, a slight hint of disgust laced within the accent.

Harry's own two eyes widened with realisation. It can't be. His eyes are different…they're…blue…and happy…he's happy… "Malfoy?"

Draco opened his mouth to retort, probably something harsh thought Harry, but he was cut off by the two children Harry had seen before racing down the stairs.

They both had dirty blonde hair and striking bright blue eyes, speckles of brown throughout them. They were definitely off-spring off Hermione and Malfoy, Harry thought with disgust. They both had the face shape of their father yet Hermione's features, including her full-lips and button-like nose. They were most certainly stunning children.

The little girl, her long curly hair streaming behind her, ran to her father, wrapping her arms around one leg. "Daddy!" She yelled repeatedly, sobbing into his trousers.

Draco's face formed, much to Harry's surprise, a look of concern and sympathy. He knelt down and lifted the young girl into his arms. "Sorry, Potter, but give me a second. What is it, Ali?" He asked as she pulled away to look at him.

"Jay ripped the head off my doll!" She yelled in between her tears. Draco sighed before turning to the boy. Harry noticed that the boy had an identical haircut as his father. "Jayden…why, now, did you do that?"

The little boy glared up at his sister before stating loudly, "She threw my truck at me!" He indicated to a fresh, small cut on his cheek. "Aaliyah Malfoy?" Draco questioned his daughter.

"Because he was putting one of my dollies in his truck!"

Jayden looked up at his father, an innocent expression on his face. "I only wanted a driver for my truck, Daddy." He stated, a sweet tone lacing his voice.

Harry smiled softly, a small thought coming to his head. This household was so similar to his own; he, the father, was the one that sorted out the fights between the children and the children were always fighting over something stupid. Draco sighed before kneeling down once more. "And what did I tell you yesterday when you did it?"

"That you'd buy me one when we went shopping for food. But Daddy," He quickly added. "We hardly ever go shopping. You always buy so much!"

Draco smiled softly. "We're going to run low soon so I'll take you and we can buy three drivers. How's that? And you, Ali? We'll buy you three new dolls. Ask Mummy to fix that one for you and Jay, get her to heal that scar of yours. I don't have my wand on me."

They both nodded happily before dashing back up the stairs. Draco smiled after them before turning back to Harry, his smile vanishing. "Potter. Why the heck are you here and how on earth did you find us?"

Harry smiled smugly at Draco. "How did we find you? Simple. We programmed all of the Aura Detectors to track those of you and Hermione. You were both found in areas around here and Kingsley Shacklebolt made an educated guess that the large area where your auras disappeared was where you were."

Draco's eyes darkened as he nodded in understanding. "Go on. I believe I asked you another question."

"Yes. Why am I here? That should be obvious or are you really that daft? I'm here for Hermione. I had no idea that you were here too. We've been worrying about Hermione for the past six years."

Draco nodded glumly. "Yes…we both wanted to tell our friends the truth, or Dumbledore at least. But we were worried. We just couldn't and Hermione was afraid of the reactions of you and Weasley. So we just…disappeared."

Harry opened his mouth to tell Draco how foolish and idiotic that decision was when a voice rang out. "Draco, who is at the door and why haven't you invited them inside?"

Draco cleared his throat nervously. "Erm…Mya love…you may want to come down."

"Oh don't be ridiculous! I just got out of the shower and Liam needs to be fed!" Hermione's sweet voice rang out in reply.

Draco sighed. "Alright but hurry. I need you down as quickly as possible."

Harry could almost picture Hermione smiling at her small victory. "Sure. That would be…what...thousand to me, nil to you? You really do need to work on your perseverance." Her familiar, carefree laugh travelled down the corridors, mixed in with Draco's laughter.

As he ceased, Draco turned to his 'foe'. "Right Potter. Erm…I'll take you to our lounge and fix up a few drinks."

Half an hour, Harry found himself in an awkward silence situated in the lounge room as he had since getting his drink. The silence was broken by Hermione's voice. "Sweetheart! Could you be a dear and bring Ali and Jay down? They need to have lunch!"

Harry turned to Draco to see his reaction. The Malfoy he knew would not be subjected to orders yet to his surprise Draco answered immediately. "Sure, but I need you to come down Mya."

Harry could hear the soft patter of the light footsteps of Hermione as she made her way down the landing. He turned to face the doorway, awaiting her entrance. He heard her footsteps grow louder and louder and before long, her silhouette was visible through the hazy glass pane of the doors.

Hermione stopped abruptly and stared at her old friend. Harry took this opportunity to look at his friend. He was awed at her appearance as he had always been. Though he knew she was gorgeous throughout their schooling years, he had never thought of her as more than a friend. She had grown even more beautiful. Her long, curly brunette hair lay carelessly on her shoulders ending at the small of her back. There were small traces of a golden honey colour running through her locks. Her deep chocolate eyes were as bright as ever, a fusion of shock and glee glistening in them causing them to sparkle, the colour seeming to swirl in their deep pools. Her face was still a beautiful and flawless as ever, the past six years and worries of the war not effecting it. Her skin had a light orange touch to it, from the heavy sun of Van Wert, yet it complemented her hair and eyes wonderfully.

In one arm was a young child, no older than one. He had honey coloured hair and blue eyes but, Harry guessed, his hair would soon lighten and his eyes would gain chocolate speckles, giving him a similar appearance to his older siblings. She had maintained her figure despite having three children yet, Harry noticed, she was sporting a rather large stomach on which one of her hands lay. She was pregnant with yet another child, Harry realised with shock.

Her petite mouth opened. "Harry?" Her soft whisper snapped Harry out of his thoughts.

He smiled brightly at her. "Hermione! You're alright!" Her face broke out into a large grin, the one that Harry had missed daily, before she ran towards him and embraced him tightly, the child still in her arms.

She pulled back and turned to Draco. "How come you didn't tell me? You did give him a drink, didn't you?"

Draco smiled widely at his wife and nodded softly. "Oh you are wonderful!" She exclaimed brightly before turning back to her 'long-lost' friend. "How did you find me here, Harry?"

Harry once again repeated what he told Draco, yet in a simpler version. Hermione's face quickly became worried. "We didn't worry you that much, did we? Oh I knew it was a terrible idea but we felt we had no choice! We didn't know if you would accept us so we decided to leave together once all of the Death Eaters were taken." Harry shook his head, lying greatly yet much to her relief.

"Oh good." She smiled widely. Her smiled grew even larger as Draco came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her petite frame, resting his chin amongst her locks. She quickly noticed the discomfort in Harry's eyes. "Oh! You must meet the kids! JAYDEN! AALIYAH!" She yelled loudly, making the small child screw his face up until she stroked his hair affectionately and pecked him on the forehead.

The thudding of the two children could be heard until they raced into the room, stopping in front of their parents making the scene in front of Harry seem like a perfect family portrait. Hermione stood with her husband beside her. His arms were wrapped around her as he gazed down lovingly at her, one of his hands resting on her protruding stomach. Their two eldest kids were in front of them, Hermione's free arm on the shoulder of the boy and the other child hoisted in the arms of their mother.

"Harry, this is my family. Jayden and Aaliyah are our first children, born in 2001. They're twins and a downright shock when we found out. But they are a blessing. And this,-" She said, bouncing the child up and down. "-Is Liam-James. He's a year and a half old. Children, this is one of Mummy's closest friends. His name is Harry Potter." She concluded with a large grin as the children muttered a shy 'Hello'.

Harry was about to reply when Draco cut him off. "Beautiful, you forgot the last of the Malfoy family." He turned to Harry. "She's expecting a girl, seven months along now. We're going to name her Destiny."

Grinning widely, Harry softly said, "You're not the same Hermione Granger I knew, are you?" Hermione's eyes began to glisten with hurt and unshed tears and Draco's own hardened with anger as the children stared ahead at Harry with confusion of the meaning of the statement. Harry realised his mistake. He had meant it as a passing comment, a good thing; after all she wasn't the same woman. She now had three children and another one on the way. She was a different woman. But his comment had sounded like an insult; almost as if he were angry with her though he definitely wasn't. How could he be? He was just so glad that he had gotten her back.

He opened his mouth to say something. But what could he say? It had been said though just taken in the wrong way. Harry began to apologise for his lack of thought and for not thinking before speaking but Hermione began before him.

"You're right, Harry." She said softly. Two single tears were trickling down her slightly tanned cheeks.

"No Hermione. I-"

Her soft, sad voice interrupted him again as she looked cautiously at Draco. She got a small smile and nod in response. "No Harry. You are right. That's because I am not Hermione Granger. She doesn't exist anymore…I am…" Hermione paused, taking in a deep breath.

"Hermione Malfoy."