AN: I am trying to make it sound as authentic as possible when in the British parts so if I am making it sound really off please let me know and maybe lend some guidance. Thank you and as always I appreciate any and all reviews.

Oxford University Library

It was snowing lightly in Oxford, but it was warm and quiet in the library. In the research area there were singles sitting, studying getting a jump on classes that were about to start, while at other tables, couples were whispering about their weekends, and looking at travel books, and at a table near the checkout counter, sat a pretty, twenty four year old woman with strawberry blonde hair. The name plate read Melanie Walters, but that, along with her hair color, was fake. Hermione Granger felt that if she had to go into hiding then along with her name, she should change her hair color from the recognizable brown to something lighter.

Hermione Granger was in her element working in the library. Sitting at the table reading up on muggle European history, she let her mind wander. She read over a passage about Camelot and where King Arthur's kingdom used to be, and started remembering her life before she knew about the magical world. History used to be one of her favorite subjects in primary school, and her love of the subject served her well in Hogwarts as she was one of the only students to get an O on her O.W.L.s. She blushed slightly as she thought about her slight advantage, her eidetic (photographic) memory. It wasn't like she was cheating in school but she still kept it to herself.

"Miss Walters, I have a paper on the Scottish Rebellion and was wondering if I could access the private collections." A tall muscular rugby player had approached her and pulled her out of her books.

She looked around for her assistants, and seeing none she stood up, and told him sweetly, "Follow me."
She felt a sudden chill of nerves as they walked toward the lift that would take them to the private collections stacks in the basement.

She was sensing danger when he spoke again, "I have been coming to the library for a couple of months now, trying to work up the courage to ask you, if you would fancy a bite to eat with me, Miss Walters."

Whatever she had been expecting it wasn't that. "Are you asking me on a date? I don't even know your name."

She was stalling for time searching for an answer and thinking about her, well to be honest with herself if anyone, most likely ex-boyfriend, Ron. She knew he was safe but also knew everyone was in danger. This would not stop him from maybe finding and falling for another woman, seeing as how they had not seen each other for six years. It was flattering to know this man fancied her.

He broke her thoughts again grinning, "To answer your first question, yes I am. As for my name, I'm Dursley, Dudley Dursley."

Hermione looked shocked. "I'm sorry, I thought you said Dudley Dursley." She tried to keep the anger out of her voice, she had heard stories from Harry about his cousin Dudley and the torment he had been put through living at his Aunt and Uncle's. Still she hadn't been out on the town in a while so maybe she could have some fun with this. "Sure I'd love to. I shut the library down at eight. You can pick me up then. Now then, do you really need the stacks or was that just a ruse to get me alone in a dark quieter section of the building?"

Looking sheepish he said, "I just wanted to get you alone. I did the paper in my first year." The lift doors opened and she let them close pushing the button for the first floor. She could not believe this could very well be the very same cousin that put Harry though hell all those years. She might be able to use him in her research and planning. She would have to think about it, but not right now. She still had some research and restocking books to do. Being the Assistant Librarian still involved some menial duties, much to her chagrin. As much as she missed her life as Hermione Granger, she did like the easy going life that being Melanie Walters provided.

8 o'clock rolled around and Hermione was putting away her research materials. She loved the work, but she was feeling frustrated as she had been doing the same research for almost two and a half years. She knew she would have to go into hiding when Harry disappeared and decided to do something that held her interest just like in school, and allowed her to spend time in the library. She decided to work on a muggle masters degree in History. She had thought Harry dead, like the rest of the wizarding world, until Ron showed her the owl he had received. Together they decided to keep it quiet Harry was alive but some sort of resistance needed to be mounted. They got together with the most loyal of the former DA and that was the start of the underground. Some members stayed in the shadows of the wizarding world and some, like herself and Ginny, made a new life in the muggle world. She had conjured up the proper resume to get her into the proper degree program, and the Oxford library, which had allowed her to keep her cover as the 'Brain.' She was working hard getting people, wizards and muggles alike, out of the line of fire. She had helped organize the protection for the Prime Minister and the Royals and then had to rush to get the Weasley clan out of the Burrow. Even with the most powerful protection spells they were targeted, and George almost joined his brother Fred by dueling with Cyrus Deadlock. She set them up in Majorca near the Dursley's, Petunia and Dudley, as that is the last place anyone would think to look for them and they were providing protection to the Dursley's covertly. Almost three years ago now, she too received an owl from Harry a few weeks after she had settled into her place in Oxford. The owl did not say where he was nor was it even signed, but she knew it was him by the way he wrote, having corrected so many of his papers. The letter was short and sweet, containing only one request. He had requested that she do research on Excalibur, the fabled lost sword of King Arthur Pendragon. The note closed out stating her owls would always find him.

After months of exhaustive research she discovered the sword had gone from the Scottish Borders to Wales then was sighted in France. With all these discoveries she started to maneuver those who did not already have a running mission such as Ron and Neville, both of whom thought it was their own idea to relocate, to those locations the sword had once been to find clues and to help those in need. This evening she had hit pay dirt when she discovered King Arthur's descendants had changed their surname from Pendragon to Purcival. The name struck a familiar chord with her and she would have to do more research but for now it was time for dinner.

There was a rap on the door just as she was flipping the switch to turn off all the lights. She pulled her coat on and stepped into the cold January night. The lights of Oxford shined brightly as they walked to Dudley's car. "Did you park around here, Miss Walters?" Dudley asked as he opened her door.

"Oh, I took the underground, I never really had the time to learn to drive, and please call me Melanie" she replied unabashedly.

"There's nothing wrong with that. I hope you like Korean food, there's a joint just up a-ways that's supposed to be smashing." They drove along in silence until they reached the Hang Kang Eatery. Dudley jumped out and opened her door for her. This is nothing at all what she was expecting from the stories, and after being with Ron who, last they were together, still had a long way to go on the relationship maturity scale. Dudley escorted her in and they were shown to a table. He ordered a Soju kettle and the waitress walked off.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Hermione broke the tension, "So tell me a little about you. Where did you grow up? Friends, family?"

"Well I grew up in Surrey in a little village called Little Whinging. My parents were basically bastards, right. Well I didn't come to that realization until the day we moved when I was 17. I had this cousin see, and for the longest time I treated him like total shite. I took my cues from my mum and dad but that's no excuse. He left because he was being chased by some crazy gits, and basically sent us into hiding. Dad though was, I did say he was a right bastard, well a Manager of Grunings and just had to finish up a deal. The people looking for my cousin were waiting for him at the office. Nobody heard a thing and there wasn't a mark on his body but he was still dead. My mum and I left Surrey and moved around Europe and settled down in Majorca. I had to finish up my last year of school in public. Got a scholarship here and got my degree in Criminal Justice and now I'm going for my advanced degree in parapsychology. It drives my mum batty seeing as how she has no imagination. I used to agree with her until I saw a couple of things that people would say drove me nutters." He seemed to think he had said to much and shut up and glanced at the table.

Hermione was shocked that all that came from one question. She decided to take the plunge and ask another semi-personal question. "You say that your cousin was on the run. Did he ever get on the telly?" Dudley was taken aback. No one had ever been interested in his cousin before to his knowledge, well except for the nutters that were chasing him.

"Melanie, do you really want to know?" She nodded her head. While he had been talking the waitress had brought the Soju and now she was back to take the orders. Dudley ordered two orders of Spicy Pork then took a sip of his drink. "I guess I opened up this much and now I should finish it. His name is Harry. Harry Potter. His mum was my mum's sister. She and his dad were murdered by the same bloke that came after him six years ago. To the best of my knowledge he was never on our news." Dudley realized that he had definitely said the wrong thing this time as he looked into Melanie's odd expression.

"What do you mean our news," Hermione inquired. She was having fun watching him squirm and become more uncomfortable. She felt it served as some sort of revenge on her friends behalf, but she needed to stop because she also felt that Dudley may be able to help in the underground, even as hated by Harry's friends as he was. The question about the news was a needle and a prod to see if he will cross the line to admit there is a magical world. Dudley suddenly looked around as if he had a stalker.

"What I mean is he belongs to a counter culture if you will. They believe, er I mean to say well, they're magic, right. Well there you are. My cousin is a real life wizard." Dudley looked like he was trying to shrink below the table, and then he was shocked even more.

"I know he is. You see, we've met, you and I, but we were never properly introduced. My name is not actually Melanie Walters, but rather it's Hermione Granger. Don't bother trying to look for any information about me. I've erased all muggle references to me from the records. As to when we met, back at the end of my fifth year I was in the group of, what your father called freaks, that confronted your mum and dad about the abuse Harry was subjected to while living with you. But that's over. You seem to have grown up mentally as well as physically and I could use your help. The person who was after him succeeded to a point. Harry was unsuccessful in defeating He-who-must-not-be-named, and disappeared. I haven't heard from him in years and he may very well be dead. With your degrees we could insert you into the Royals protection team or even set you up running underground teams getting people out of dangerous areas."

Dudley started to protest at this. "But I'm not," he can't bring himself to say magic a second time, "you know, what you are. How can I protect people against likes of your kind," he asked.

"Witches and wizards are not invulnerable. They can be harmed by muggle means you just have to be fast on your feet. Let's finish our dinner and you can sleep on that proposal." They finished their dinners making small talk and he told her how Harry had saved his life after all the rotten things he had done while they were growing up. She was amazed at how she heard genuine remorse in his voice while telling his tales and what was more out of character for her when he asked her back to his flat for coffee, and to talk more about her proposal she agreed.

Twenty minutes later check paid and they were back in the car with her wondering why she was there, and couldn't help thinking about Ron and what he was up to. The Soju did make her feel a little narked. It wasn't long before they pulled up to his flat and they rode the lift to the fifth floor. They took off their coats, and he directed her to the couch as he turned on some music. "Would you like something to drink?" he offered.

"Two fingers of brandy please. This is a nice place. Pardon my asking but how does a college student on scholarship afford the rent here?"

Dudley brought the drinks to the couch and sat down close to Hermione, "Well my dad left me money in his will, didn't he. I box on scholarship but it doesn't mean I'm broke. Tell me about my cousin, the stuff I never cared to know seeing as how I was a major prat."

They sat there drinking and her telling stories of Harry at school, when Dudley leaned in and gently kissed Hermione. She tensed up in surprise and he backed off.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep." Hermione thought of Ron and then the fact they were no longer together, she put her drink on an end table and leaned into Dudley, feeling only slightly weirded out that it was her best friend's hated cousin that she was snogging.

Athens Greece

The nightmares had not gone away but they had diminished over time. She thought they might be going away because of her new husband, Christos Vail. She felt safe here. The last time she felt this safe was in her fifth year in the arms of Harry. Tonight's dream was combination of the classics, her in the Chamber of Secrets, watching Harry fall from his broom multiple times, her entire time in the Department of Mysteries, and her all time favorite, her duel with Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy's death trying to avenge her families treatment at the hands of the Dark Lord. Ginny Weasley screamed in terror as the nightmares grew to a crescendo and her eyes flew open. After her family was put into hiding she joined with the rest of the DA and changed her name to Leanna Zane, but unlike Hermione she could not bring herself to change her hair colour, and moved to muggle Greece, a country she would otherwise not have been able to visit, if not for the money that Harry had sent her a few months after his disappearance. A note had accompanied the money, it read 'Live, fight, be happy and free ~ H.' She cried, reread it, cried a bit more and then came to the realization that Harry would want her to be strong. So she moved, set up a transportation company that will assist in getting people out of the country quietly, and that is where she met Christos. He was looking for a new distribution company for his clothing line. They started dating and got engaged. She still had trouble remembering she was married.

She sat up in the bed, in a black silk nightie, hugging her knees trying to relax. Christos woke up and hugged her to him. "Another bad dream honey? Are there problems at work?" Ginny remained silent. "Ok Lea, I'm going to start breakfast." He got out of bed and walked across the large bedroom and opened the drapes allowing the morning sun to shine in. Ginny put on a dressing gown and followed Christos to the dining nook where the butler was putting breakfast out along with the morning papers.

"Lea, have you given any thought about accompanying me to New York for my upcoming show. We might be able to catch a show on Broadway and you always are the prettiest woman at the after show parties."

She reached across the table smiling lasciviously, "Of course I'll come with you. It'll give me a chance to model the Yachting dress you designed." She glanced at the front page and was shocked to see a picture of Harry on the International Tribune. The picture was a far shot from after a trial and his hair was longer but she could pick Harry out of a lineup no matter the disguise. She ripped the front page out of Christos' hands and read the blurb.

"Detective John Rolf (pictured) will be leading the security detail supplementing the State Department next week's visit of the British Royal Family and Prime Minister. They are expected to address the UN on the current turmoil facing the British Empire and the whole of Europe."

Ginny felt her anger and relief battle for prime placement for her feelings toward the knowledge Harry was still alive and letting his friends fight what was once his war too. She looked at the clock and was shocked at the time. "Oh my god, I have a meeting and a delivery this morning. I'm going to be late tonight." She kissed Christos and left the dining nook quickly and got dressed for her day.

She couldn't believe how late she was today. She had forgotten about her meeting with Willow. He would not be able to wait long. Professor Flitwick was not as wanted as the rest of the underground but he was getting there with all of the people he was moving right under the Ministries nose. Then there was the picture of Harry. He had spent six years keeping a very low profile and now his pictures in the paper. Ginny made a mental note to track him down while in New York and demand answers to many different subjects but right now she had more pressing matters to attend. She ran out to the waiting car telling the driver to take her to the office and they were off.