Preface:
I like to save things. Important things like house elves or people or the entire Wizarding world. But also silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at the souvenir shops. Cookie cutters you'll never use, because who needs a cookie in the shape of a Wizard's hat? Love letters. Of all the things I save, I guess you could say my love letters are my most prized possession. I keep my letters in a teal hatbox my mum bought me from a vintage shop. They aren't love letters that someone else wrote for me; I don't have any of those. These are ones I've written. There's one for every boy I've ever loved – five in all. When I write, I hold nothing back. I write like he'll never read it. Because he never will. Every secret thought, every careful observation, everything I've saved up inside me, I put it all in the letter. When I'm done, I seal it, I address it, and then I put it in my teal hatbox. They're not love letters in the strictest sense of the word. My letters are for when I don't want to be in love anymore. They're for good-bye. Because after I write my letter, I'm no longer consumed by my all-consuming love. I can drink my tea and not wonder if he likes cream and sugar in his tea too. I can be reading a beautiful poem and not be thinking of him. My letters set me free. Or at least they're supposed to.
Chapter 1:
As Hermione entered her bedroom, something felt off. She couldn't quite place it though. Her eyes roamed around the entirety of the room and eventually landed on the teal hat box her mum had given her. It usually resided in her closet but instead it was currently at the foot of her bed next to some plain brown boxes full of clothes and books. After a moment, she shrugged her shoulders and decided to move on by grabbing one of the boxes and turned to leave the room. That same moment, Ginny came bouncing in the room with a suspicious happiness about her.
"Hey Gin, these should be the last boxes and then we should be good!" Hermione told her in passing as she walked out of the room. She was finally doing it; she was moving everything out of her childhood home and moving on. It had been 5 years since the end of the war, which meant it had been 5 years since she had tracked down her parents and returned their memories. Turns out, they very much enjoyed Australia and had decided to stay. Hermione, not ready to fully let go of her childhood, had stayed in the home she had grown up in. But now it was time to sell it and move on.
"I can't wait to see your new flat! You said it was right in the center of London didn't you?" Ginny all but squealed as the last box was packed into her parents' old car. Without taking a breath, Ginny continued, "We should get everyone together tonight to celebrate you moving into your new place!"
"Oh I don't know Ginny, all this moving has been a lot, and I have work in the morning." Hermione quickly replied, while internally cringing at the thought of getting together with all of her friends. Ginny quickly responded, "Oh come on Hermione, it's been forever since we got the group together and I don't know if Ron has said anything but he is recently single again..so I'm sure he's due for some cheering up."
Hermione felt a spasm in her stomach, not in elation, but in fear. She knew whenever Ron became single again he started to get ideas in his head that maybe this time they could make things work between them. And Hermione was sick of squashing that idea over and over again. Sure they had had a good go of a relationship right after the war had ended, but it quickly became apparent that they just were not a good match. Especially with Hermione deciding to go back to continue her education at Hogwarts and Ron, well, Ron deciding not to.
"How about we just do a girls night? There's a pizza place right around the corner from my flat that I need to see is any good, and I know you really enjoyed the last romance movie I made you watch" Hermione could see Ginny slowly coming around to the idea, and was filled with relief when she agreed.
"Alright Hermione, but don't think I'm thru with trying to get you to be more social these days. Everybody misses you AND I know it's been months since you went on your last date." She said with a tinge of mischief in her eyes. Hermione visibly bristled at the comment, and quickly defended herself. "Well, I've decided to focus more on my career right now, haven't I? Ah but you're probably right, I did get a harassing owl from Harry last week saying he would start resorting to drastic measures if I didn't make the time to see him." A beat later she continued, "Ok, ok, I promise to try a little more after this week, once I've settle down and everything. Alright?"
"Alright, I will get off your back for now, but only because I have a feeling your life will start to become a little more...interesting." Ginny all but whispered as she bounded up the stairs to Hermione's new flat. Hermione, ready to drop the entire subject, brushed off her comment and was ready for a relaxing night with pizza and a movie.