A/N: Not that anyone has read this, according to my zero reviews, but I thought I'd post a teaser of the next part of my story. (Actually, this is now no longer a teaser, and I do have a review-although I would like more-hint hint)
Chapter 2: The Here and Now
The gray blanket of night slowly crept over the sky, almost reluctantly, in the warm air during the final days of summer. She had just apparated to the outskirts of town, her boots crunching crisp leaves as she traveled an old but familiar path. The minutes sailed by as the wind swept through her hair. As she brought up her hand to knock on the oak door, she hesitated, afraid once again. In that moment of indecision, the door opened to reveal two people who had caused her so much pain. They smiled tentatively and drew her into a sort of group hug, then ushered her inside. It had been ten long years. Hermione bit back the flood of emotions that would surely manifest themselves as tears, and stepped inside the home of Harry and Ginny Potter.
"It's been far too long Hermione, we're so glad you've come back," Harry gazed intently at her, looking for signs that she might make an excuse to leave. He found no signs however, and they sat down on his comfy couch to catch up.
The spell inventor faked a smile, "Yeah, it's great to see you again." She was sure he noticed the smile that didn't reach her tired eyes. Ginny drifted off to the kitchen, preparing tea.
A knock on the door snapped Ginny from her daydream. She had been standing in front of the cabinet, staring blankly at its polished surface; the boiling water on the stove sat forgotten. Walking back to the front door, where only a few minutes ago she had been hugging her childhood friend, Ginny's reminiscent thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind. She briefly wondered why her husband and Hermione weren't in the living room when she opened the door. Standing in a huddle on her porch were nearly all the residents of Big Hollow, arms full of what would surely become a small feast.
Tonks, Lupin, Molly, Arthur, all the Weasley brothers except Percy, and even Mad-Eye were looking expectantly at Ginny. Moody's magical eye was fixed to the back of his skull, pointed directly at the residence of a beautiful French woman. Moody smirked; not surprisingly, Fleur was nowhere to be seen. She was often anti-social when everyone got overly talkative and excited. Plus, unbeknownst to everyone but Ginny, Fleur had issues when it came to Hermione. There was no way she would show up as part of the welcome wagon for her return to Big Hollow. The platinum-haired woman dealt with things in her own time and fashion, and wouldn't come around until Hermione was settled back in to the community.
Lupin was first to speak, "Did you think you could hide Hermione's return from us for long?" he grinned widely, "Now, aren't you going to invite us in?" Ginny blushed at her unintended rudeness and stepped out of the doorway to let everyone in.
"Let me go find the lady of the hour while you guys make dinner," she internally chastised herself for being so out of it. Thinking to herself, 'Ginny, just because everything got blown to hell in the past doesn't mean it will happen again—it wasn't even your fault—not really anyway.'
The tall red-haired witch made her way upstairs, stopping in front of the storage room. She noticed the door stood slightly ajar, and paused just as she was about to grab the handle. Muffled voices, one obviously full of sadness, met her ears. Ginny knew it wasn't polite to overhear conversations, but being the younger sister of the two most famous joke shop owners in all of the wizarding community had slightly clouded her judgment on the matter. Leaning closer, she caught what must have been the tail end of the conversation.
"Anyway Harry, you know I can't stay here long. It hurts far more than I ever thought it would," she choked back a sob.
"Look," a sound was made, possibly he had pulled her into his arms, "you don't have to stay here with Ginny and me, but please don't run away again," it seemed as though Harry had tears of his own to hold back. "I need you as a friend, I'll help you through this any way I can."
A reluctant 'alright' was whispered and Ginny knew she'd better knock on the door or risk being caught. Shuffling and hasty nose blowing came just before Harry and Hermione stepped out of the room.
Ginny noticed a photo album lying open on the floor; three younger versions of Ron, Hermione, and Harry were smiling and waving from the picture. They were dressed in graduation robes, each looking happy beyond words. Ginny remembered the ceremony quite well. She remembered Hermione giving a speech just before Dumbledore spoke. She remembered the golden trio being congratulated by the entire Weasley family, hoards of owls swooping around them (especially Harry) as wizarding folk they didn't even know voiced their happiness for their success. Voldemort had been valiantly defeated, and if Harry hadn't received the help from his two greatest friends, their world would have been a very different place indeed.
A/N: This is a bit shorter than planned, but I would like to give a few character POV's a shot when I reveal what exactly happened to hurt Hermione so much. I want to give different perspectives on the events.