In the silence of the night, Hermione was deep in her thoughts about her life up until now. One could say that she had been through many difficulties as she grew up. She had been thrown around by many people since she was a kid and no one wanted to befriend her. No teachers wanted to take her seriously and her parents were not her parents, for they had thrown their live away because of her.

She was lucky to have Nymphadora, Madam Rosmerta, and Severus in her life. They were the only people who could accept her, flaws and all. They were the only people who loved her and would stand by her and she will forever be grateful. Then her thoughts ran in circles between Minerva, Fleur, Narcissa, and Andromeda.

Hermione remembered the feeling of falling in love with Minerva as she watched the woman's sweet smile and heard her genuine laughs. She loved the soft touches coming from the woman. She remembered feeling the butterflies in her stomach and the throbbing of her heart as they looked into each other's eyes. She remembered the smell of ginger newts and firewhisky associated with her.

Hermione remembered the compassionate look in Fleur's eyes as they were talking with each other. She remembered the secret nights' conversations and the stealing gazes from across the room. She remembered the Veela's warmth and the feel of skin meeting skin. She remembered the feeling of her heart melting as she watched the French girl reached her peak. She remembered the smell of salty sea air and sweet French macarons on the Veela.

Hermione remembered the steely gaze from the opposite end of a shelf in Flourish & Blotts. She remembered the small distance on the benches next to the quidditch pitch. She remembered the silky voice whispered in her ears. She remembered Narcissa's icy blue eyes that were turning black with lust. She remembered the feeling of their bodies fit together. She remembered the smell of old books and sweet daffodil coming from the Ice Queen.

Hermione now thought of the feeling of heat and electricity as her skin touched with Andromeda. She remembered the effort of trying to maintain her breath when in reality, she could have died from being choked by nothing. She remembered the intense look that was sent to her from the woman. She remembered the smell of fresh laundry and home-cooked meals associated with the witch.

Hermione could not understand her heart. How could she have such intense feelings towards multiple women, yet they did not feel like simple infatuations or girl crushes to her. Was it even normal or was there something wrong with her? She needed to understand what was happening to her, maybe she should talk about it with Severus or Rosmerta. Perhaps they could give he some insights.

Hermione hated herself for having questions with no answer and she wondered if she could find the answers she sought in any book. She had read plenty of books and thought that she should have encountered one or two about the matter by now. Alas, she felt stressed out and decided to go get some fresh air.

Hermione got off the bed and went down the stairs while trying to make as little noise as possible. As she was making her way to the front door, she heard a small noise coming from the living room. She tiptoed to the room and saw Andromeda Tonks sitting on a sofa with one hand was holding a photo frame and the other hand was tracing on the photo.

Hermione's breath hitched as she saw the tracks of tears on the woman's cheeks and she noticed the whispered sobs coming from her. Even when crying the woman was still beautiful. Shaking her head from her thought, she realized she had been intruding on a private moment, but she could not bring herself to move away. Instead, her heart insisted on her to go and comfort the woman from her misery.

So, Hermione walked closer to the matriarch without making any sound. She slowly lowered herself close to the older witch an pulled her into her arms. Her heart started to pick up the pace but she ignored it as it was not the right time to indulge in her feelings.

Andromeda did not hear anyone coming and was honestly surprised when suddenly the seat next to her dipped and she was engulfed in someone's arms. The body spooning her was small and lithe, hence she recognized whose immediately.

She wanted to pull away, but she could not deny feeling comforted by the warmth and slow rubbing on her back. She hid her face in the girl's neck and her hands went to grip the girl's back. She took in the smell of new parchments and freshly mown grass, and something dark but equally heady.

Feeling bold, Hermione pulled the woman closer and raked her fingers through the light brown hair while sometimes scratching the scalp. She felt confused by her own actions but at the same time, she felt weirdly normal for doing this to the woman who she had just known for not even a day yet.

She tried to maintain her breath but it was quite difficult to do so as she felt the warm breaths and subtle brushes of lips on her neck. She was sure Andromeda could hear the loud thump of her heart from their current position.

After a while, they slowly pulled away from each other and Hermione wiped the tears on wet cheeks. They were both lost in each other's' eyes — neither minded the small distance between them — until the sound of thunder broke their trance. They jumped apart and Hermione created a larger distance between them. Previously, she felt wrong for intruding but now she felt like she should retreat from the room.

"Forgive me… for intruding your privacy. I'll get going now." Hermione stood up and turned away, but she stopped when long fingers caught her wrist. She looked at the captor.

"Please, don't go."

Andromeda's soft pleading voice tugged on her heart, so Hermione nodded and sat close to the woman again. She played with her own fingers as silence engulfed them until she saw a movement from her side.

Andromeda was tracing her fingers on the moving photo of three girls, where the eldest in the centre looked about 11 years old while the youngest was about 7 years old. The eldest with black wild curly hair was wearing the Hogwarts robe. Hermione recognized the middle and youngest sisters immediately.

The middle sister was the exact copy of the eldest except for her light brown hair and soft brown eyes shining through. The youngest had a straight blonde with black streaks hair and piercing blue eyes. Hermione knew they were all the famous Black sisters.

"Do you miss them?" She asked softly, but then she knew Andromeda's fresh tears were enough as an answer. She squeezed Andromeda's hand as a mean to deliver the understanding and compassion and strange enough, love, towards the woman.

"They will never forgive me…" Andromeda's voice was full of regrets and pain that sliced through the girl's heart.

"One day they will see the love. They will understand." Hermione silently promised to make her words come true. One day, she will make sure it happens.

"Who are you, really, Hermione Granger?"

Hermione let the woman go and laid back against the sofa as she frowned and sighed deeply. "I don't even know myself anymore." She wanted answers for herself but she was clueless and did not know where to search. She felt frustrated with herself and she hated it.

"Tell me more about this, please?" Hermione looked at Andromeda and gestured towards the photo.

Andromeda nodded as she recalled the stories of her childhood. They both spent hours talking with each other.

Hermione woke up to the sound of clattering in the kitchen and she noticed that she had fallen asleep next to Andromeda on the sofa. Her head laid on the woman's shoulder and she seemed to have snuggled into the older witch's side.

She pulled away slowly, and the woman stirred in her sleep before she laid still again. Hermione laid her down gently on the sofa and conjured a blanket with her free hand to cover the light brown-haired witch. She then went into the kitchen and saw clumsy Tonks was trying to make breakfast but failed terribly, so she took over and asked the pink haired girl to sit in a chair.

"Wotcha, 'Mione. You sleep okay?" Tonks asked with a grin on her face.

Hermione blushed and nodded. "Were you watching?"

Tonks seemed to catch the meaning of her words and nodded. "I woke up and realized you weren't in the room. So, I rushed down and saw you and Mom together. You both looked peaceful in your sleep so I didn't want to disturb."

Hermione went to boil water to make tea and cracked some eggs to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then she proceeded to fry some bacon strips and a few slices of bread were left in the toasters.

"You guys weren't shagging or snogging, right?" Tonks asked and made a gagging noise.

Hermione playfully smacked the girl's head. "No, Tonks, we didn't."

"Good, good. I don't want to imagine," Tonks said as she bobbed her head.

"Your mother is married, Tonks. I am not a heartbreaker," Hermione said in a straight tone, but then she bit her bottom lip as she realized the insinuation of her words.

"Ah, I see. It's because she's married, eh?" Tonks raised her eyebrow at the brunette while her lips showed an amused smile.

Hermione glared at her friend, "Tonks… Don't you dare-"

"Good morning, girls! Such a lovely smell, what do we have here?" Ted came in followed by his wife, who was trying to tame the mess of her hair. Andromeda looked up and her eyes met with Hermione's. They both shared soft smiles and light blushes painted their cheeks.

Unbeknownst to them, Tonks was watching their every move.

Andromeda went behind Hermione to grab some plates from the cupboard above them and she gave a dish plate to Hermione to fill it with the breakfast assortments. The sight of them moving in sync with each other looked very domesticated. Not a moment later, four plates were filled with toasts, eggs, and bacon strips, and cups were filled with tea.

Andromeda went to sit beside Ted, while Hermione sat next to Tonks, opposite to the older witch. They made light conversation while they ate until suddenly Hermione felt a soft brush along her calf that had her choked on her food and coughed. The movement on her leg stopped momentarily but did not seem to pull away.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Andromeda's voice showed faux concern.

'Oh, you bet, you sly witch!' Hermione glared at the beautiful but cunning woman. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry Tonks, what did you say?" She turned back towards her friend and ignored the sly smirk she saw from the corner of her eyes.

The soft brushes continued and sent tingles up her core but she did not want to let the woman know. She tried hard to act normal, to ignore and to contain the shivers that ran through her body. After quite a while, the movements stopped altogether and Hermione let out a breath of relief, but she also felt a bit sad at the loss of heat when the foot pulled away.

"Oh, I just remembered! Tonks, may I ask you for a favour?" Hermione asked as she suddenly recalled something in her mind.

Tonks smiled warmly at her as she said, "of course, 'Mione. I would do anything for you, my dear friend. What is it?"

Hermione smiled sheepishly in return. Ted had excused himself from the room and Andromeda had stood up to wash the dishes but was somehow reluctant to leave the girls.

"Do you think you can access the age register in the ministry? I have been using a time turner for a while now and would like to know if it has any effect on my real age. Could you please check it for me?" Hermione batted her eyelashes as she made the request.

Tonks chuckled and nodded her head. She patted the brunette's head and said, "sure! I'll let you know as soon as possible."

"Thank you so much, Tonks! I owe you one." Hermione squealed excitedly as she hugged her friend.

"You owe me nothing but I'll cash in if I have anything, I want from you." Tonks winked and they both chuckled. They finished their meal and washed the dishes afterwards.

After she was done with the shower later, Hermione readied herself to leave and to continue with her day. She pulled out three gifts and made her way downstairs to the living room. She gave one gift to the Tonks patriarch — it was a black leather belt.

"I wanted to buy you a vintage wine but due to me being underage, I was still not allowed to. Sorry," She said and smiled sheepishly at Ted.

"This is fine, dear, thank you very much! Sorry that I don't have any gift for you but please, do come again anytime! You are such a darling to all of us," Ted winked and pulled her in for a hug.

Hermione stood frozen at first but then realized that Ted was not the same as the other men. In fact, he had shown nothing but kindness and was like a fatherly figure to her, so she hugged him back.

Then she went to give a handmade woven friendship bracelet to Tonks. "It's a friendship bracelet," she said as she showed another one on her own wrist. Tonks' was black and yellow and hers was black and green. Both had the shapes of hearts on them.

"Why is mine black and yellow?" Tonks asked in confusion.

"Because you were a Hufflepuff?" Hermione replied equally confused. She had thought that Tonks would like those colours since she was a Hufflepuff.

"If it is a friendship bracelet, I should wear yours and you should wear mine, 'Mione. Then people can know that I'm your friend and you're my friend, silly." Tonks said with a logic that she had not thought of before.

"You're right. Sorry." Hermione giggled and took off her own bracelet before she tied it on Tonks' wrist. Tonks did the same to her and they embraced tightly. "I'll go meet your Mom before I leave," Hermione said. Tonks nodded in return so she left to search for the older witch.

Hermione found Andromeda sitting in the small library they had in the house with a book in her hands. She cleared her throat to get the woman's attention.

Andromeda looked up from her book and saw the young witch smiling and blushing at her. She smiled back warmly and beckoned the girl to sit with her.

"Are you leaving now?" She asked and Hermione nodded. "Why so soon?" Her eyebrows furrowed. Did she make Hermione fee uncomfortable? Hermione played with her fingers as she said, "I have somewhere else I need to go to. Sorry, Mrs. Tonks."

"Andy."

"Pardon?" Hermione tilted her head in confusion.

Andromeda tucked the stray hair behind the girl's ear, cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes. "Call me Andy, please," she said softly.

Hermione bit her bottom lip and felt a blush rising up her neck. "Andy," she whispered softly. She swore she could see and feel the shivers on Andromeda's body.

"Here, this is something for you. I didn't know what you like but I hope you can accept this." She ignored the warmth on her face and handed a box of gift to the woman.

Andromeda opened the gift and saw a beautiful and shiny white gold bangle that was filled with shapes of 'S' and diamonds scattered all around. Her eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth at the sight.

"Hermione, this is too much for me!" She looked at the brunette, whose smile dissipated and was replaced by a sad look on her face.

"I see. I was being presumptuous, please forgive me. Just…keep it." Hermione stood up and turned to leave with a heavy heart. Her steps faltered when she was suddenly engulfed in an embrace from behind.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I haven't received such a precious gift for a while. It must have been expensive for you, isn't it?"

Andromeda's voice was shaking in her ear so she slowly turned around to face the woman. Her hand cupped the woman's cheek as she expressed the sincerity in her voice, "nothing is expensive to match the beauty of the wearer. I bought it because I can and because I thought you might like it. Forgive me for assuming."

Andromeda leaned into the touch; her hands fell to the girl's waist. "You assume right, my dear. I love it, thank you. Mind putting it on me?"

Hermione beamed happily and took out the bangle before she put it around the woman's right wrist. As she put the clasped on, she instinctively pulled the wrist to her lips and kissed it, just a shy near her gift.

She heard a gasp coming from the taller woman and her head raised to see the darkened look in Andromeda's eyes. Her own eyes darkened as she switched between looking at the eyes and the nude lips that seemed to be getting closer and closer to her own lips.

Hermione's heart was beating fast and she could feel the blush covered her neck and face now. Feeling bold, she closed their distance and kissed on the corner of Andromeda's lips. Her lips lingered for a few seconds before she moved further in toward Andromeda's ear and whispered in a breathy voice, "payback for this morning." She finally let the stunned woman go and threw a wink at her before she hastily left the room and met with Tonks, who was waiting for her at the front door.

'Payback really is a bitch.' She grinned and they left the house.

Hermione stood in Diagon Alley, just around the corner where Diagon Alley met with Knockturn Alley. Tonks had left her a minute ago and she decided to go to Borgin & Burkes to search for something that might provide help to her research.

As she was walking, she looked up at the huge white distorted building with tall and big pillars — the Gringotts Bank. She did not know what caused her to look at it this time since she usually just ignored it.

However, as she looked at the entrance of the building, she saw a familiar figure from the distance. A certain silvery-blonde girl with a pair of dark blue eyes was standing on the stairs in front of the bank.

'Fleur! Fleur is here! My Fleur!'

Hermione could not believe her eyes but her heart was jumping with happiness and longing at seeing the Veela she had come to love. As she was about to go and call the girl's name, she was halted in her movement. Her feet seemed to be rooted in the ground and her voice failed to come out of her mouth.

The sight before her eyes left her speechless. Fleur was approached by a man with ginger hair — William aka Bill Weasley. The man intertwined his fingers with Fleur's and Fleur just let him. They were talking, smiling and laughing at each other as they walked down the stairs and along the Diagon Alley.

They walked past Hermione but neither noticed her. Hermione's eyes fixed on the pair as they seemed to be in their bubble of happiness. She felt a crack in her heart — it was awfully painful — but what she saw next broke her heart in two.

The pair stopped in their track and Hermione watched as they got closer to each other. Bill's hands went to circle Fleur's waist as Fleur's hands went to his neck. Hermione did not want to see what was coming but she could not look away, as her sight was glued to the pair like her feet were glued to the floor.

Lips met as they kissed each other. Fleur was kissing Bill, or maybe Bill was kissing Fleur but she reciprocated.

The world around her seemed to freeze as her vision only consisted of the kissing pair. Her mind was screaming in denial and her heart was now shattered to pieces. It was so painful that even breathing was hard for her, and she could not even stand.

She fell to her knees.

Finally, she was able to look away from the couple as she tried to grab herself, to whatever sanity she still had. The sound of her falling on the street evoked chaos among the crowd around her.

"Hermione?"

She tried to stand as she heard a soft voice calling her name, but her vision was so blurry and she could not see clearly. She tried to push herself up from the ground but her body was shaking terribly. She had never felt so weak.

"Hermione!"

Hermione heard the same voice calling her again and again, and she felt a grip on her arm helping her to stand. She cleared the blurriness from her eyes and saw her perfect angel was looking at her with so much worry, concern and love in her eyes. There was also guilt in the beautiful dark blue eyes.

Fleur was calling her name. Fleur was holding her up. Fleur who had just shattered her heart was looking at her with so much worry, concern and love in her eyes. And she knew that Fleur knew what she had seen; the French girl realized her mistake and she felt guilty about it.

Oh, Fleur.

Hermione started sobbing on the street and fresh tears leaked out from her eyes again. She pulled away from Fleur's grip and ran away somewhere, anywhere. Her vision was blurry again and she tried hard not to bump into someone.

Fleur caught up with her and pulled her into a secluded street. Hermione let Fleur tried to wipe her tears but they just can't stop. She let Fleur embraced her but she could not stop herself from crying. Her own shaking hands were clenching on her side.

"Hermione… I'm sorry…" Fleur's voice broke and her eyes were watery as they were filled with pain and guilt. It was enough to stop Hermione's tears and to let her put aside her own pain. She focused on the French girl, who once was her lover.

"How long have you come back, Fleur?" She asked for clarifications.

"Since I graduated," Fleur answered. That meant half a year ago.

"How long have you been with him?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows.

"One month after I started working at the Gringotts." Fleur tilted her head down; guilt was written all over her face. "Hermione, my love, I'm sorry you found out this way. But I needed time, I needed to find answers."

"Is that why you never answered any of my letters?" Hermione said, her voice raised a level. "Was I just a fling to you, Fleur? Was I some sort of a joke?" She whispered dejectedly as she did not know what to make of all that had happened.

Not another heartbreak…

"No! Hermione, please understand. I love you, that much was true. But I don't understand myself — about my feelings — and I needed to find some answers." Fleur pleaded as she grasped Hermione's hands tight. They were both a mess of tears now.

Hermione let Fleur go and cleared her tears away. Whatever should she do, she did not know. She did not even understand herself, her heart and her own feelings.

She sighed defeatedly. She wiped Fleur's tears before she looked into the dark blue eyes, searching for her soul. "I understand, Fleur. I will not stop you from searching for your own happiness." She cupped Fleur's cheek. "I can see that Bill loves you and if he can give you what you seek, I will never stop you from him. Don't let the chance go to waste and especially don't let him go for someone like me."

"But Hermione, I love you. You are special to me," Fleur was pleading again.

"Thank you, Fleur, but you've made your choice clear. I hope you'll remember that I love you and always will. You'll never stop being someone special in my heart. Goodbye, Fleur." Hermione kissed Fleur's forehead one last time before she walked away.

She did not look back — no, she could not. Her heart had been broken to pieces once again and she wanted to get away from there, to go anywhere. This kind of situation made her really wished that she would be able to disapparate. It will be the easiest and fastest way to go to other places. Her vision foggy now as she tried her best not to bump into anyone.

Only that this time, she managed to bump into someone. The figure was taller than her, and soft arms held her tight so both of them would not fall to the ground. Hermione's eyes raked over the blonde and black hair that was pulled up in a bun before they met the icy blue eyes that were piercing into her shattered soul.

"Narcissa…" She whispered.

She watched as different emotions were flashing through the woman's eyes — from shock to confusion, to worry to something akin to love, then it went to confuse again before the look hardened and the eyes turned to its usual iciness.

Hermione pulled away from Narcissa and ran away. There were too many emotions running through her right now and she could not handle all of them at once. Finally, she made it to the Muggles side outside of the Diagon Alley and she immediately called for the Knight Bus which came a few seconds later. She boarded it and headed towards Hogsmeade.