Hermione sat down, even more frustrated than ever before. She ran her hand through her half-dried hair, untangling some parts of her brown mane. Tears ran freely down her pale cheeks as she tried to clear her mind.

He's back. Draco is back.

She repeated this inside her head countless times in silence. So many emotions ran through her body; anger, happiness, sadness intermingled inside of her. How can she react with this properly? Anger is one possible option, but right now, she's just too tired to do anything about it.

Letting out a deep sigh, she took in her surroundings. When she left her flat, she apparated the first place she could think of: the Weasley's home. Although she has been avoiding magical places for years, even the Burrow, she never felt out of place being right there at that moment. The sun shone through the windows, illuminating the old furniture that crowded the home. Pictures of the redheaded family covered the space on the walls and counters. She smiled slightly, wrapping her arms around her as she sat near the fireplace. No matter how long she's been away from here, the Weasley's home always felt welcoming to her.

Hermione looked up, focusing her eyes on the slender, tall figure entering the room. Ginny Weasley came in, giving her a small smile while carrying two cups of hot tea. The redhead settled one of the cups in front of Hermione before sitting across from her on the love seat. Hermione gave her a curt nod before taking in a sip of tea, prolonging the silence.

Hermione appreciated Ginny's silence. When she first arrived at their home soaking wet, Ginny immediately walked into the kitchen to prepare their tea, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts. She knew that the redhead girl had a lot of questions for her, but she never muttered a single word.

Setting the tea cup down, she looked at the young Weasley. "He's back."

Ginny raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Who's back?"

"Draco."

Ginny choked on her tea. Clearing her throat, she picked up the napkin that was lying down of the coffee table and wiped her lips. "Draco - Draco Malfoy?" she asked stupidly.

Hermione nodded her head. "Yes. He showed up in my flat when I came back from work. I don't know how he knows where I live, but he did. He was just sitting there, waiting for me. You should have seen him, Gin. He doesn't look like the person who's been missing for years! There was no scratch on him, or any type of disfigurement. You can even say he's perfect."

The brunnete pressed her fingers on her temples. "God, you would think that disappearing would change someone. But he's still the same; pale, blond, and arrogant as ever. That prick thought I should be happy and welcome him with open arms!"

"But aren't you?" Ginny questioned.

Hermione thought for a moment. She pressed her clips together, trying to form the right answer for her friend. Truthfully, she was glad that he's back safe and sound. She wasn't inhumane to wish any harm to him, even though she secretly wanted to strangle him earlier. But despite her inner happiness, she felt anger escaping from every single pore of her body.

"I'm glad he's safe," Hermione responded carefully. "I really am, but how does he expect me to react the way he wanted me to? I can't just jump into his arms, kissing his face and thanking God for his return. Even though he's back, it doesn't change the way I feel."

"How do you exactly feel? His appearance can't just go unotice to you," said Ginny. "Don't try lying to me either. I'm your best friend Hermione, even though you've been avoiding me for some time. You disappeared on me for a long time. Not physically, but emotionally as well. And now, I'm not going to let you do that again."

Guilt rose in the pit of her stomach. "Ginny.."

The read head raised her small hand, stopping Hermione in mid sentence. "I know you're sorry, and as much as I appreciate your apology, this is not my moment right now. I forgive you for everything because I know you're a smart girl. You didn't intend to hurt me or anybody else. But right now, there's something more important than this."

Hermione hesitated for a moment and then stood up, walking towards the window. She looked out into the green, open field. The sun is beginning to disappear from the horizon, the moon beginning to make its appearance.

"He ran away," Hermione whispered softly. "He ran away from me. He disappeared on us without a single note or excuse. He made everyone think he was dead. Dead!"

Her eyes begin to water again. "You don't know the pain I felt. I suffered terribly, Gin. Every single lead I had ended up in disappointment. Every day for years, my heart was stabbed over and over. Every night, I fell asleep crying into my pillow."

Ginny nodded her head in slight understanding. She too, went through something similar with Harry. When they were at Hogwarts together during the peak of the War, he suddenly disappeared one night after dinner. No one knew where he was, not Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and even Dumbledore. She tried looking for him, but her family and Hermione discouraged her from doing so. He knew what he was doing, they told her. There's no need to look for him when he doesn't want to be found.

But with Draco, it was different. Although both of them disappeared, everyone knew what Harry was doing. He was a hero to others, but Draco's unknown reason pales to Harry's. Draco is a former death eater and the son of a notorious death eater. When he left, everyone thought that he ran away with the other death eaters when Voldermort fell from power.

Hermione turned away from the window and faced Ginny. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I can't help but want to do all those things he wanted me to do. Run into his arms and kiss him, all of that."

Ginny stood up, walked towards her broken friend and wrapped her arms around her. Hermione dug her head into Ginny's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

"You can't run away from him," Ginny said bluntly. "I'm sorry, I know this is not what you want to hear, but you can't. There's so much between you two, and you have to face him sooner or later."

Hermione's sobs gradually died down. She knew that Ginny was right. Sooner or later, she would have to face Draco again. But right now, she can't help but wish it would be later. Much later.

Draco stood on the empty sidewalk, staring at the house in front of him. The rain ceseded, leaving the air wet and humid. The sky was getting darker by the minute and the streetlight above him flickered suddenly. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

Draco was surprised that Hermione apparated from him. He knew that Hermione hated apparating, but he also knew that she hated running away from anything. The Hermione Granger he knew faced any problem that stood in front of her, even death.

I guess you don't know everything about her.

His eyes flashed open. Blocking any voices inside of him, he crossed the sidewalk without looking both ways. The street was empty from any passing cars, and he could hear a dog barking from the distance. He reached toward the door and gave it a soft knock.

"Coming!" a voice in the inside said.

The door opened with a smiling man behind it. His smile however, disappeared when he saw Draco on the frontsteps.

"Hey-"

Draco was cut off as the man's fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back a few steps, his mouth opened in shock. "Bloody hell!"

Blaise Zabini crossed his muscular arms across his chest. He leaned against the side of the door, glaring at Malfoy. "Were you expecting a welcome kiss?"

Draco regained his composure. "That's gross."

The dark man's eyes narrowed. "So you're finally back, huh? Are you going to tell me why you were gone you stupid son of a bitch?"

"Are you going to welcome me inside your lovely home?" Draco retorted.

"I see nothing has changed when it comes to your personality," Blaise commented, stepping aside to let his old friend back in.

Draco stepped inside the home. "Of course not. How can I derived the world from this charming personality?"

Blaise shook his head, closing the door behind him. "Follow me."

The two Slytherins walked deeper inside the home. Draco noticed how extravagant his friend has been. The home itself is twice, maybe three times, as big as Hermione's flat. The decoration suited Blaise; his home was slightly dimmed, with one or two lights lit, which required Draco a moment or two to let his eyes focus. The walls were covered with dark colors, and he noticed there was the Slytherin patch that was framed on the table. Extravagant and rich paintings hung on the wall; tall and implosive statues stood on the nearby stairs.

Blaise opened the French doors of his study. "Get in," he ordered, and closed the doors again behind both of them.

The study was brighter than the rest of the house, but not much. A big, dark oak desk stood in the middle of the room. There was black, leather chair that belonged to Blaise and two more chairs stood on the other side of the desk. A picture of Blaise and his mother took up a big section of the wall on the right side of the room. As Blaise settled himself to his seat, Draco studied the picture intentally.

Blaise's mother was known to be a beauty. By looking at the picture, the rumors weren't false. She had a slender woman with high cheak bones. Her skin tone and hair color was similar, if not the same, as Blaise. Her smile was radiant, but Draco noted it was slightly forced. Her beauty allowed her to maintain her innocence she had when she was young. However, her eyes were dark, experienced.

Blaise cleared his throat. "I'm sure you're not here just to stare at a painting."

Draco's thoughts snapped back to reality. He turned around, looking at his friend who took a seat on his chair. "Right."

He walked towards one of the two chairs, and took a seat across Blaise. "Let's get one thing clear: I'm not here to tell you why I was gone, but to tell you that I'm back permantly. Now, before you say anything, allow me to tell you that I will never let you know why I was gone. At least not know. Trust me, if I can tell you, you would be the first person to know. I trust you with my life, mate, but I have my reasons."

Blaise looked at Draco suspiciously. "Who else knows you're here?"

"You.. and Hermione."

Draco was surprised to hear Blaise laugh. "Hermione Granger? As in, THE Hermione Granger?" he said between laughter. "I assume that it didn't go very well?"

"You assume correct. She.. apparated away before I can say anything."

With that, Blaise stopped laughing. "She used magic?"

Draco stared at his friend quizzically. "Of course she did. She's a witch."

Blaise sighed and rose from his seat. He walked towards the corner of the room, where he stored his drinks. He took out two cups and poured out some whiskey. "I know that, you dimwit. But Hermione hasn't used magic in years."

This got Draco's attention. "What do you mean she hasn't used magic in years? Hermione loves magic! She cannot possibly live without it."

The dark man closed the whiskey bottle and stored it back to one of the shelves. He took a small sip from his glass and handed the other to Draco. "She changed, mate. When you disappeared, she cuts of contact with most of her old classmates from Hogwarts. As far as I know, she only kept contact with Potter and the Weasleys. She was offered a job at Hogwarts as a teacher, and even one as an auror, but she turned down for a muggle job here in London."

Draco took a big sip from his drink, consuming this information. Hermione gave up magic.. for him? No, she can't do that. She possibly can't. She's stronger.

This is your fault. You destroyed her.

He finished the whiskey in mere seconds while Blaise continued to eye him questionally. "Take it easy, Draco," his friend warned.

Draco swallowed the last sip of his whiskey, his throat burning. His body demanded more of the drink, while his mind tried to control him from bursting out in anger. He held out his cup, suggesting Blaise to refill it. Instead, Blaise took the cup away from him and settled it on the desk.

"You are not going to tell drunk here in my home," he said. "You listen to me Draco. We looked everywhere for you. Pansy and I, we asked everyone- and I mean everyone- where you were, but no one knew. We even went to Malfoy Manor, but your house was gone too. I don't know how you can possibly destroy or hide something with that magnitude, and I don't even want to know. When the Ministry knows you're here.."

Blaise trailed on, knowing Draco can finish the rest for him. He knew that the Ministry would not take his welcome lightly. The last time they knew Draco, he was a death eater. Nobody knew, except for his parents, friends, and Hermione, that he renounced the Dark Lord's name in favor for Potter's cause. His disappearance would appear to be him running away to avoid a sentence in Azkaban's, or worst, the Dementor's kiss.

"I trust you," Blaise continued. "I know now that you have a good reason why you're did what you did. I'm not going to push you to anymore questions. But I hope you know that you have a lot of redemption to do. The Ministry should be notified of your return any day now, and there's a lot of things you also need to take care of."

Before Draco could reply, Blaise glanced at his watch, his eyes widening. He let out a curse under his breath and picked up the jacket that hanging on the coat rack.

"Where are you going?" asked Draco.

Blaise hesitated for a moment as he put on his jacket. After a second or two of debating, he looked at his friend in the eye. "Hermione's engagement party."

Hermione stood in the tent that magically sprung in the Weasley's backyard. The tent was, of course, magically charmed for this special event. A hundred guests packed inside the tent, alongside with tables of food and drinks. The Weasleys, poor as they are, went all out for the party. Guests mingled with cocktails in their hands and elves circled the room carrying finger food. Hermione argued against the elves' employment, but Mrs. Weasley, and even the elves themselves, said that it was not a problem for them to work at this event.

Hermione stood in the edge of the circle, dressed in a dress picked out by Ginny. The dress was strapless and short, barely reaching her knees. It was white, with floral design that circled the bottom of the dress. It wasn't fancy, Ginny said, but it was her.

Her hair, again, should be credited to Ginny. Her talk with Ginny made Hermione forget about the hair appointment she set up in London. Ginny insisted that she could dress Hermione's hair for her. After pushing her into the shower and unknotting the infamous Granger's hair, Ginny was able to tame her hair with a curler. The curls were different from Hermione's natural ones, as it was bigger and less frizzy. To complete the look, Ginny placed a blue flower on her hair, giving it a fresh, Summer look.

Hermione was startled when a muscular, pale arm wrapped her around her. "Hello, beautiful," he whispered.

George Weasley kissed Hermione's cheek lightly. His red hair was the same as Ginny's, but it was short and messy like Ron's. Although he claimed that he did combed his hair before tonight's events, Hermione noticed that some parts of it were sticking out at odd ends.

Hermione turned around and gave her fiancée a small peck on his lips. However, George had another thing in his mind, and deepened the kiss, pressing his body against her's.

Many thought that Hermione would end up with Ron, seeing that the two were friends and even shared a kiss while at Hogwarts. However, both of them mutually agreed that there was nothing between them. No fireworks, no spark, no anything. They amicably agreed that they would continue on as best friends.

Their romantic relationship started a year ago. Although they were friends through Ron, they never thought about being together romantically until one fateful night.

With Fred's death, George was a lot calmer. Even though he is already the calmer of the two twins, George's personality took a drastic turn. He was more serious, more attentive to his family than ever before. George Weasley was slightly damaged, not mentally, but emotionally. While they coped with the deaths that shook Hogwarts and the rest of the magical world, they became a lot closer, despite Ron's disgust.

Fred helped Hermione look for Draco while Ron and Harry gave up on her. She thought that he was doing this for her because he did not want her to feel the same thing he did. George didn't want Hermione to face death, or even worse, handle death. One night, while they were trailing a lead that led to a dead end, Hermione suddenly began crying. George took her into his arms, allowing her to cry for almost one hour. He stood there, pressing his hand against Hermione's hair, and didn't even whisper a single word. He didn't suggest she should stop crying, but instead, encouraged her. When Hermione stopped, he looked up at the tall Weasley and kissed him.

That was the night when Hermione closed the door to her past behind her. She and George became a couple, and enjoyed many romantic dates in between. George too, limited his use of magic ever since the Battle of Hogwarts. He moved out of his family's home, but still lived in the magical world, where he could still keep a close eye on his family. He never pushed Hermione to moving in with him nor her, even though she knew that he wanted to live with her.

Last month, he proposed to her. They were both in France for a small vacation, and he proposed to her on the Eifel tower. Hermione wasn't much of a romantic person, but she has to admit, the proposal took her breath away. She hesitated when George proposed, although she hid it well from him. George is a good man. He is her best friends' brother; he belonged to a loving and welcoming family who nurtured her ever since her first year in Hogwarts. He knew everything about her, her pain, her expectations, everything.

At least, almost everything, Hermione thought.

She and Ginny agreed to not tell George yet. She would tell him eventually, but she didn't want to ruin their night. She knew however, that Ginny told her husband, Harry, who's been staring at her accusingly from a distance.

"How was your day?" Hermione asked, slipping her hand into George's.

"The usual. Crazy kids, you know?" George said, taking a sip of his champagne.

George continued with his business that he opened with Fred, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He couldn't bear to close the shop down, fearing that it would ruin Fred's memory. He continued making new inventions without much interest, and even hired another man who shared the same passion as his late twin, to help him invent new inventions.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley tried to encourage their son to sell the shop to the other young inventor, but George wouldn't budge. Hermione herself even tried to encourage him, seeing how being there reminded him of Fred. Again, George wouldn't listen to her and closed down emotionally. He even ignored her for two weeks; that was the last time Hermione ever mentioned it.

"Aunty Hermione!" a small voice spoke up to her.

Hermione looked down to see Teddy Lupin, the son of the late Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. smiling up at her. Hermione released George's hand and picked up the little child. "Hello, Teddy. Are you enjoying the party?"

Teddy nodded his little head "Yes! But Uncle Harry and Aunty Ginny won't let me drink out of that pretty cup," he complained while pointing at George's flute.

Both Hermione and George laughed. "Well, since Harry and Ginny aren't looking.." George said, luring the flute towards Teddy, who held his hands out greadily.

"George!" Hermione laughed. Teddy frowned when George winked at him, and finished the flute himself. "Sorry, Teddy. Try again next time."

Teddy stuck out his tongue at George before refocusing his attention back at Hermione. "You look pretty tonight, Aunty."

This made George laugh. "When does she not look pretty?"

Teddy pondered on this question while Hermione joined George in laughter. "Thank you, Teddy. You look quite dashing yourself tonight."

Teddy grinned at her proudly before jumping down from her arms. He ran back towards Ginny and Harry, wrapping his small hands around both of their legs. Hermione smiled slightly, taking in the blissful, small family in front of her. Although Andromeda has custody of Teddy, it did not stop Harry and Ginny from spending quality time with him. Andromeda didn't mind either; she is too busy promoting her international business and took advantage of the free babysitting.

Hermione found herself envious of the young couple. If I only had it that easy..

"Hermione!"

Blaise Zabini made his way through the crowd, with a concern look on his face. He noticed George beside her, who was talking to one of the guests. Seeing him, his face completely transformed; he began to smile and his eyes shone, covering the concern look she saw earlier.

"George! Good to see you!" he said, giving the tall read head a quick hug.

"Good to see you too, mate." George said, pausing his conversation he was having. "There's a lot of food and drinks out there. Mum really went all out. Now, if you excuse me, I'll be with you in just a moment."

George took the man he was talking to and lead him to a different direction, leaving Hermione and Blaise alone. When he saw George was out of earshot, the concerned look returned.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said.

"I'm sorry? What are you sorry about?" Hermione asked.

Before Blaise could answer, a sudden scream erupted from the room.

A/N: Well, what do you think guys/ This chapter is almost twice as long as the previous one. I even re-wrote this chapter, and I'm pretty proud of it, haha. I know I kind of repeated the same things over, but I just wanted to introduce Ginny and Blaise (who is one of my favorite characters in fan fiction) into the story. I wanted to form the friendship base for both Hermione and Draco. Also, as you might have noticed, Hermione is with George! I know, I know, she should be with Ron, but I have good reasons to not pair the two together. One, I was never really a fan of the couple in books, movies, or fan fiction. Two, there are too many stories concerning Ron and Hermione. Third, I love the Weasley twins and I have a good storyline concerning George! So yeah J Now, please review and give me your thoughts about this chapter. Again, try to be nice, but honest :D