A/N: Thanks to my reviewers, compliments always enspire me to write more! Hopefully this chapter will give some answers as to "why?" but I'm going to try and keep the story moving as suggested. I'm also going to try and feature the children and their adventuresin the next few chapters, thanks again.

Ginny Potter (nee Weasley) sucked on her quill and scribbled a few notes down as she gazed out of the window of her office in the Department for International Magical Cooperation. It was only a part time job, she still had two children to take care of and Harry could hardly be relied on to do that, he was always off saving the world as an Auror. She couldn't stop dwelling on their sighting of Hermione, long lost Hermione. It had always been at the back of her mind but now it was driving her crazy, where was she?

An owl swooped in through her open door and settled itself on her desk, a piece of thin parchment attached to it. Ginny pulled the letter off and gave the ink black owl a treat from her desk drawer. She looked at the dark blue seal inquisitively; an M and G were entwined perfectly. Ripping the letter open Ginny read it quickly and her eyes flew wide open:

Ginny,

You're probably thinking, why now? But ever since my husband saw you three days ago at the station I can't stop thinking about you, Harry and Ron. I know you must be angry with me for disappearing, I never intended not to come back, time just seemed to loose itself. I'm sorry that I never kept in contact, but I want to explain. I want to earn your friendship again.

Meet me in the Leaky Cauldron at 8pm tonight.

Love, Hermione.

Exactly, Ginny thought, why now Hermione? And who was this husband…the man with her on the platform had looked suspiciously like Malfoy but Hermione would never have married Malfoy, and anyway, he was dead. Apparently.

"Gillywater?" Draco questioned Hermione as they walked into the Leaky Cauldron, she nodded in reply and they separated, Draco (dressed in distressed jeans and a black shirt) to the bar and Hermione (brown cords and a white shirt) to a table for five in the corner. Sitting down on one of the plush sofa's Hermione ran her hands through her hair nervously; there was so much to explain, so much to catch up on.

"Nervous?" Draco questioned Hermione as he placed her drink down on the table and wrapped an arm around her delicate shoulders. She nodded and he smiled, pulling her closer to him. "It'll be fine, they'll understand."

"Will they?" Hermione replied quietly and looked up to see a memorable couple walk in, Ginny's deep red hair glowed and Harry held her hand gently as he smiled at something she'd said. Hermione watched the smile turn to a worried frown as he spotted Hermione and Draco.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Draco replied and Hermione shook her head.

"No, you are part of my life Draco. And at any rate, I need your support. If they care about me they'll understand."

"It might be difficult Hermione." She looked up to see Harry stood by the table, forgetting everything she jumped up from Draco's arms and hugged her best friend tight as if she was seventeen again. Harry felt the warmth flow through her as she sobbed into his shoulder, and knew that even if they hadn't spoken for over a dozen years, she still cared.

"Ginny…" Hermione released Harry who stood staring at Draco who fiddled with his pint of mead anxiously. "I missed you so much." Ginny hugged Hermione who was smiling through her tears.

"Then why didn't you get in contact?" Harry questioned bitterly as they all sat down again.

"When Ron arrives, I promise I will explain everything."

"Including him?" Harry jerked a thumb at Draco and Hermione winced, if anything was going to prevent their friendship from redeveloping it was old grudges and bitterness.

"MALFOY!" Hermione recoiled at the sound of Ron's shout which caused half of the people in the pub to look at them. Draco rolled his eyes and muttered something about "which one?" under his breath.

"Ron." Hermione hugged him and whispered in his ear softly, "Please, let me explain and then you can shout and scream as much as you want."

"There had better be a damn good reason 'Mione."

"I promise, there is." Hermione replied and gestured for Ron to sit down; Draco had disappeared to get drinks for the trio leaving Hermione alone with her friends to explain. "I don't really know where to begin…"

"How about why you left, why you really left…because you knew we wouldn't want you going off with a death eater maybe?" Ron spoke viciously.

"Ron, I didn't see Draco until a year after I'd left the wizarding world." She shook her head and sipped her drink. "But you are right, I need to explain first why I left, the complete truth." Taking a deep breath she began; "defeating the Dark Side took everything out of me, I had become a killer – a killer for the best, but a killer none the less and emotionally I had been destroyed."

"We all were 'Mione." Harry interrupted.

"I know, Harry, I know. But I couldn't cope with all the attention, we were being hailed as heroes and I've never been one to want to be in the spotlight. I know you didn't want it either…" She held up her hand to stop him speaking, "but I was on the verge of suicide. I knew I had to leave, and so I did. I went to my parents and got a job working in a bar in muggle London; I saved up enough money and went travelling. I was working in a bar in Sydney about fourteen months after I'd left you guys and Draco walked in, to be honest he looked awful."

"He was on the run wasn't he?" Ginny questioned, making sure that Draco was still at the bar.

"Yes. From both sides…becoming a death eater isn't something you can just turn away from and it wasn't like he was in favour with us. We started talking, I couldn't help it…he was relying on alcohol, bitter, scared, and for some strange reason I understood him. He was sleeping on the streets so I got him to move into my tiny apartment with me, it wasn't exactly all sweetness and light, it never has been. We hated each other on principal, and I threw him out about five times in one month. But then I'd see him again and bring him back, he needed help and you know what I'm like, I'm not happy unless I have a task to work on. Draco became my task. He proposed about eighteen months later, I was already pregnant with the twins and we married about a month later in Bali. It was perfect but there was something missing, you three and all my other friends. As I said before, it wasn't exactly a bed of roses but I love Draco and I know he loves me." Ron snorted at this statement and Hermione frowned in return.

"When did you move back to England?" Harry questioned.

"About three years ago. We wanted the twins to go to Hogwarts, of course. And that was when we started our own business…"

"No freeloading off the back of the Malfoy fortune then?" Ron smirked as Draco returned.

"Weasley, do you honestly think that I want my father's tainted money?"

Ron looked over Hermione and Draco in their smart clothing and then at the expensive looking rings on Hermione's left hand. "Yes Malfoy, I believe you would."

"Ron." Hermione scolded. "Of course we had to use Draco's family's money." Hermione said stressing the word family. "I couldn't work with the kids and Draco was still a marked man. It's only thanks to Harry's endeavours as an Auror that meant that we could finally return to London."

Harry smiled smugly and Ginny hit him lightly round the head. "Don't inflate his ego 'Mione."

Hermione laughed and continued. "After we returned to London we bought our own house and started our own pharmaceutical potions business, it's been a great success…"

"MG Potions…" Ginny hit herself on the forehead lightly and rolled her eyes. "Why didn't I realise before?"

"Because, the name aside, there never was much of a clue as to the owners."

"And now? Why get in contact now?" Ron asked, draining his glass of firewhisky.

"Because I saw you at King's Cross, and I felt so guilty. I've been living a life and you must have thought me dead…"

"It had crossed my mind…" Harry looked into Hermione's sad eyes and saw that she was truly sorry.

"I need you guys." She gestured to the three of them as they studied her; Draco slipped an arm around her waist in support. "But I need you to accept that Draco has changed."

"Not changed Hermione, just improved." He winked and Harry laughed quietly.

"'Mione love, we were always here, we never went anywhere. But as for him, I think I speak for those two as well when I saw I'll need time…"

"That went better than I thought it would…" Hermione spoke softly as she buried her head in the pillow.

"They'll never trust me will they?" Draco commented as he appeared from their en-suite bathroom.

"Not completely, no. I don't expect they will."

"But you do?"

"Yes. How many times do I have to tell you that? I trust you, I love you, I need you…" Draco smirked and walked over to the bed.

"What was that?"

"I need you…" Hermione spoke huskily as Draco straddled her shapely lower back and began rubbing her taught muscles. "I need you Draco Malfoy…" She spun over underneath him and looked up into his eyes with hunger.

Damn those eyes,
They keep me torn inside.
She runs like a river through me,
Always you.

Eyes don't lie, words may try.
She comes like a mystery, flows through me,
And I swear it's true,
Always you...

In case anyone was wondering, the song in Chapter One was Missing by Everything But The Girl, the lyrics at the end of this chapter are from Damn Those Eyes by the Dutch band "Kane". Review please!