It was a week after Crookshanks had given birth and Hermione was packing up to leave for school.

Kiran and she continued the modified routine every day, her greeting and his head nod. Hermione was determined to repay him for all the kindness he had shown her. Since the first bottle of the strange lavender milk, Kiran had given her several more to feed to Crookshanks. It kept Crookshanks from feeling the effects of nursing or so it seemed. Hermione never did find out what the milk was, but she supposed it was an Indian secret. She also never did properly thank him for delivering the kittens, but it didn't seem as she would get much of a chance to do it in private and she didn't think a simple thank you would suffice.

This would be Hermione's last breakfast here for now. Hermione planned to return though. It was like being with family. Like being loved and Hermione enjoyed the feeling, finding it more comforting then any fawning from her friends at Hogwarts. Hermione sat down and smiled to herself as everyone was there at the table this morning. Kumuda and Abhaya sat next to each other, poking one another under the table and giggling as they thought no one new of their very obvious game. Jessie had come down with a cold and so she didn't leave the inn very often at the moment. She sat next to Hermione and had to reassure Shashi that she did indeed have enough food on her plate. When everyone had been served Shashi sat down on the right of her husband, Raj. Kiran took his usual place at the other end of the table from Hermione, between Abhaya and Raj. They ate with the same volume of noise as always- loud. Hermione really was going to miss all this. The spicy food, the under the table poking, the giggling and talk of things to be done that day with jokes and hearty laughs interjected throughout.

Hermione had made up her mind though. She was going to go back to school and start her 6th year. All her supplies had been taken care of by mail and all her books had been memorized late at night when she should have been sleeping. She knew everything that she was going to learn this year already. It left her time to help Harry and Ron defeat the dark lord.

Everyone was done eating and Shashi had taken the plates from the table to the kitchen to be washed. Jessie got up to help her as did Hermione, but Kumuda and Abhaya had grabbed her hands, bouncing up and down asking to play. Shashi sent a smile her way and gave an understanding nod before she went through the door way. Hermione allowed the two kids to pull her out of the dining room and into the den.

She sat down in the middle of the giant circle of blocks and took the doll Kumuda held out to her.

"You get to be Cindy, Princess Jasmine's little sister," Kumuda said as she held up another doll who's hair looked like it had seen better days.

Abhaya stood near a tall tower of blocks and held up a Ken doll in a cape and said, "And I'm the Prince who is here to fight the dragon before he can, before he can...before..."

The little boy looked like he was in a deep struggle somewhere internally, as he tried to remember what the fire breathing beast was going to do.

"Before he can eat us!"Kumuda snapped as if it was the most well known piece of information in existence.

"Yeah! Before he can eat you!"Abhaya said with a giant grin on his face.

They began the miniature play, directed by a picky and dramatic Kumuda. Cindy fainted at least five times before she did it right, and the Prince had to drop his sword and nearly fall off a cliff before the five minute fight scene was up to par. After a while, Raj called to his kids to help with some daily chore, saving Hermione from have to send Cindy to the tower to give the Prince a new weapon and the key to the room that Princess Jasmine was trapped in.

Hermione got up, her knees aching from being in the same position for over twenty minutes. She made her way through the castle ruins, almost destroying the ball room as she stumbled about, trying to make it to the door so that she could finish packing the last few things.

Once safely in her room, she waved her wand and the last few objects laying about landed into her school trunk which locked itself. Thankfully, the Ministry didn't know she was staying here so did not know it was her using magic under aged. Even if they did she didn't think that with the new developments and minister would care much about her. Scrimgeour was too busy looking busy to actually be busy.

Stepping toward the corner that mother Crookshanks was laying, Hermione knelt down to pet the purring feline.

"The last thing you need is a train ride. I wonder if..."

Hermione got up and walked down the stairs to the kitchen where she knew Shashi was still busy, cleaning and making snacks for the rest of the day. Shashi greeted Hermione with a bright smile. Jessie had already gone back to her room since the dishes had been finished.

"Getting ready to check out?" Shashi said as she mixed up dough for some sort of cookie.

Hermione nodded as she took the spoon of cookie dough Shashi offered. It tasted like sugar cookies. Delicious.

"I'm going to miss everyone here. You've all been so nice to me. I was thinking I might come back some time and stay a while," Hermione paused to see if the other woman was uncomfortable about what she said. After a moment Hermione began again, "I was wondering, since Crookshanks shouldn't travel in her condition and moving the kittens much now could cause problems, if you would mind taking care of her while I was away."

Shashi smiled, still stirring the dough as she said, "I would love to Hermione. You are like sister to me. It is nice to talk to someone near my age for change."

Hermione hugged Shashi, careful not to knock the bowl out of Shashi's hands.

"Leave her in your room," Shashi said, returning the hug.

"Thank you!" Hermione let her go and walked back out of the kitchen to grab her trunk, but found as she got towards the stairs that Raj already had her things there. She gave the man a hug and said her thanks. He smiled down at her.

"Come back some time, little one."

Hermione payed for the weeks she had stayed there, grabbed her trunk and headed towards the door. If she waited any longer she was sure she'd miss her flight back. The care takers children came running up to her and wrapped their arms around each of her legs. She patted them on the head, reassuring them both that she'd be back soon enough when the tears in their eyes began to well up. Jessie who had come down to take pictures of the inn gave her a hug, before snapping about six of her. Kiran was no where in sight. Sadly, Hermione didn't have time to find him to say goodbye.

She loaded everything into the trunk of the cab outside and gave one last fleeting look towards the building that she had come to think of as home. The cab sped on after she told the driver to take her to the airport. On the way, they passed the market place and she could see Rahu, at a stall looking over some beans. She gave a small smile and a wave and he nodded his head and smiled back. Hermione was really going to miss this place. But it was time for her to go back. It'd take her two days to get to King's Cross Station, just in time to board Platform 9 3/4. Time to go back to the watching.

After a few hours, she was flying over fields below in India, heading towards a train that would take her to London. Hermione looked over to see a balding mad gripping his seat with a white bag in his hands. She smiled to herself. After being on a broom, an airplane ride was nothing.

She turned to a book. Her DADA book. Although she had memorized it word for word, Hermione read it again and again to make sure that every bit of information if might contain was absorbed. Between the airplane and the train to London, she was able to read it another three times before the train slowed to a stop and she grabbed her trunk. Had she not slept most of the train ride she would have been able to read it a good five times, but she needed to

She was in King's Cross Station so she didn't have to walk far to get to the barrier. She wheeled her trunk through the barrier and kept going straight. Too bad for the person who happen to have been standing on the other side. Hermione plowed into them. Which in turn was too bad for her. It was Draco Malfoy, the bouncing ferret. He pulled himself up to his feet, his blonde hair falling into his face as he brushed himself off.

"Watch where you're going, you dirty little mudblood or you'll regret it next time ," He glared daggers at her but his face softened and he turned as a silver snake head landed softly on his shoulder and pulled him gently back.

"Now Draco, watch your manners," Malfoy senior said in a silky drawl, "You can't expect everyone to be graced with the foresight to look where they are going, especially those that have no one to teach them."

Hermione didn't say anything, she just wheeled her trunk towards the train, teeth clenched and knuckles white. She did manage to step onto both Malfoys' feet, pretending not to notice.

She did notice a group of red heads and one head of messy black hair. She also noticed the Aurors surrounding them.

"Mione!" Ginny yelled, running towards her and wrapping her in a hug that could have come from Hagrid himself.

The boys ran to her, wrapping her in bear hugs as well, questioning her about everything they had read in the papers and heard from different people. They didn't even give her a chance to answer before they asked another. It felt nice to be here, in the middle of her best friends and she was glad they hadn't changed much since she last saw them. They helped with her trunk and after giving Harry an apologetic look, she and Ron went to their perfects meeting and then to attend to their duty of patrolling the train and checking the compartments.

It was really just a blur for Hermione, but she did notice that the ferret was missing from the perfects' compartment. Seemed unusual for him not to be there. The meeting ended, after a long speech that they should be careful and report anything suspicious immediately and take this year's perfect duties very seriously.

They stood up after being dismissed, Ron walking down the opposite way of Hermione as they began to patrol the corridors. She passed by a compartment, sticking her head in to make sure everything was okay only to see that it was nothing but a bunch of Sylterins sitting around doing nothing but looking evil and in Perkins and Malfoy's case, being disgusting.

"Five points from Sylterin for inappropriate conduct," Hermione said tartly, shutting the door as she did and walking on down the corridor. She was aware that a door had slid open behind her, but she was busy telling to Hufflepuffs to get back into their seats, taking points off for the two trying to hex each other. With a rough shove she was pushed into the empty compartment as soon as she had shut the door to the other. She pulled herself up from the floor to see Malfoy pulling the shade down over the window and locking the door.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. I had other things to do. But as you can see this is going to be AU now that the Half Blood Prince is out, but I will be taking things from it and mixing it in here. In fact I'm going to take one scene and really use it to make you people happy. Well some of you might want to kill me afterwards, but the rest of you are going to be leaping for joy. I'm thinking too, that I want a love triangle now...or a square. This could get interesting.

Thanks to Artemis Virgin Goddess-Yeah, I wanted to keep you on the edge or your seat and make you think that, but I couldn't ever kill poor Crookshanks.

Thanks to Varcolaci-Thank you for the support.

Thanks to Nadia-I love reviews and I'll be sure that the grammar and spelling is better this time. I guess you don't notice it while you're typing until you go back and it's up on Fanfiction and someone else has noticed it.

Thanks to Severus-Fan-Sorry I didn't update sooner. No snape in this one, but I promise you'll get him very soon.

Thanks to CarebearErin- Yeah it does play a big role in the story. That and I always thought Crookshanks had more of a female attitude about him.

Thanks to everyone again. I'll have the next update up as soon as possible.