Author's Note: I hurt my wrist last week and typing is painful. I quickly finished this chapter as it was already started but I am afraid that unless the pain in my wrist goes away soon I will not be updating for a few weeks. I will do my best but please be patient.

Redfrog

Chapter 5:

Hermione was getting quite homesick by Christmas of her third year in university. She still wrote to Harry, Albus and Minerva once a week and Severus at least twice a week but it wasn't the same. She has a lot of new friends at university but none of them were as close as she was to those at home. She had been able to send much nicer presents the last two years to her friends back home. She had stopped writing to Ron after his third letter demanding free potions for Lavender. She heard that the two were married over the summer. Ginny had ended up with Draco Malfoy of all people, just showing that she wanted Harry's money in the first place. Malfoy didn't seem to mind that fact since Ginny was a strong and beautiful pureblood witch and since Pansy was arrested for being a dark supporter he needed someone to carry on the purity of the Malfoy name. Hermione still sent/received occasional letters from the twins and Charlie and they said they do not understand what has happened to their family. Bill and Fleur are happily married and expecting their first child sometime soon and Charlie was looking forward to being an uncle. Fred and George occasionally ask her opinion on prank potions and have been dating Katie Bell and Alicia Spinet from the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

She was glad all her friends had moved on with their lives and were growing up; she just wished she could see them for a little bit. It had been over 2 years and she was heartsick for a hug from Harry. She missed him the most as he was like her brother. She wanted to see Severus a lot as well, but they had never been close before she went away like she and Harry had. She had tried dating a few guys but had realized quickly they either wanted a physical relationship or were interested only in her money, which was growing more each day. She was not ready for anything serious but her idea of a fling was not a one night stand so she decided to just keep to her research.

Her reprieve came in early February when she found out that Albus had been asked to guest lecture to Transfiguration students. She was so excited that she was going to see someone from home that she had a hard time sleeping the night before. She had pushed herself to the front of the welcoming committee so she could see him as soon as he arrived. She had argued with the Dean of Transfiguration the day before trying to be able to greet him in private, but the Dean was one of those who didn't believe she could be friends with the Mighty and Famous Albus Dumbledore.

She saw him step out of the Dean's office and grinned, he looked exactly the same! "Hermione! Where are you my dear?" Albus called out, knowing she would have greeted him in person if the stuffy Dean had let her. He spotted her running towards him from the crowd and smiled. He had missed her during the years she was gone. She was one of the few students who still kept in touch with him and he loved her like a granddaughter.

"Albus, it's so great to see you," she said with a grin before he pulled her into a hug.

"You look wonderful my dear!" He told her with twinkling eyes. "I brought you a surprise." He said and made a motion towards the door he had come out of before.

"HARRY!" She screamed and made a mad dash toward her best friend almost tackling him in her exuberance to hug him. She was crying she was so happy to see him.

"Hermione you are a sight for sore eyes," He told her as he led her back over to Albus, both oblivious to the flash bulbs going off that the two most powerful wizards in the world were visiting their school. "Since the ministry was so nice to set up the portkey for Albus to and from Hogwarts they were none the wiser that I tagged along," he told her with a grin. "There was no way I was passing up an opportunity to see you. Gods I miss you Moine. There are times a letter just doesn't cut it and I wish you were there to talk to."

"I wish you were here almost every day," Hermione told him with a small smile. "Don't get me wrong, I love it here and am learning so much but some days I would give everything for another one of our adventures or even just a hug."

"Well you two will have all afternoon to catch back up," Albus told them. "I have a bunch of official functions to attend to before the lecture this evening. I expect you both to join me for dinner." He gave Hermione another hug before following the Dean farther into the school.

"Come on Harry," she said with a grin. "How about a tour and I can introduce you to my friends?"

"Anything you want my dear, I am at your disposal all day!" He laughed and let her drag him around campus.

Hermione was so excited to be able to show Harry around. She had tried to explain what her new school looked like to him and everyone else in letters but seeing it in person was way better. They spent the whole day together until it was time to meet Albus for dinner.

She was shocked to find that she was going to be dining with the dean of the university as well as the dean of the transfiguration department. Who were both trying way too hard to impress Albus.

"We are very humbled that you accepted our invitation to speak with our students." The dean of transfiguration told Albus as they ate and Hermione wondered why Harry snorted into his glass.

"I was happy to accept, I have missed Hermione so much over the last few years that this was a perfect way to be able to see her." Albus told the two brown nosers who didn't know how to reply to the fact that the only reason the two most powerful wizards in the world deemed visit their corner f the world was because of one of their students. Hermione knew there were many faculty and students alike at AIMAE were jealous of her accomplishments as well as her intelligence. She had been accused of cheating on three occasions by jealous students, which resulted in their dismissal from the institute not hers. The faculty was jealous because everything came so easy to her and she was a truly unique student in that she didn't accept failure. She was slowly becoming popular among many of the student due to her caring nature. She helped those who asked and was fun to be around. A few of the professors were looking forward to when she graduated so they would be seen as the intelligent ones again.

Hermione was able to keep her tears at bay while she said goodbye to her two friends that evening. She hurried back to her room and broke down in tears. Seeing Harry and Albus disappear back to where she considered hone was hard to bear knowing she had at least another few years at AIMAE. To keep herself from throwing a pity party she wrote to Severus and then decided to take Carley up on the offer to go to a Quidditch match.

"She looks amazing and her research lab is huge. I saw her dorm room and met her roommate Carley and all her friends. It was great to see her. She's doing so well for herself and she has more money than she knows what to do with now. Can you imagine that our little miss know-it-all has turned into the queen of hair care potions?" Harry said at dinner the day after he returned. He had invited Albus, Minerva and Severus over to regale them with his tour of Hermione's new world.

"Does she seem happy?" Minerva asked him, knowing he could read his friend better than anyone.

"Yes and no," Harry told them. "She seems content with what there is, but I can tell she would rather be here. She is content because she loves to learn and is doing very well in her studies. She does seem lonely though. She has friends but they are not close. She likes some of them but you can tell she yearns to finish and get back here. I hated how she tried to hide her tears when we left; it made me struggle not to demand she come back with us."

"She is becoming a renowned potions creator," Severus told them trying to remind himself as well as the others why she was there in the first place.

"She mentioned you quite a few times while we were there," Harry told Snape with a smirk. "Is there anything I should know?"

"Yes Severus, she mentions you a lot in her letters as well," Minerva teased, although she was curious what her colleague thought her young friend.

Albus was the only one who could detect the miniscule blush on the potion master's face. "There is nothing to tell Potter, she and I write to each other, the same as you." He wasn't about to admit to anyone that he had a soft spot for the former Gryffindor head girl. He had barely been able to admit to himself that he had started to care for the brilliant young woman. He just hoped that he was able to distance himself from his budding feelings by the time she returned as he refused to be heartbroken.

"Hermione! I'm so glad you came!" Carley gushed when she saw her friend. "Max is all upset as the opposing team's seeker was just named as 'Australia's Best Player.' I can't seem to make him see sense that even though Jason is the national team's seeker."

"What do you want me to do?" Hermione asked, scared of what her friend would come up with.

"Just keep them apart at the party," Carley told her. "I can't run interference since I have to play the role of perfect Quidditch girlfriend."

"Ok, I'll try my best," Hermione laughed as they headed up to the stands to watch the match.

Jason Rowland was an amazing seeker and won quickly. Hermione could see why he had been named to the Australian national team. She was also surprised to see how good looking he was as she had never really heard the girls around school talking about him.

"Are you Hermione Granger?" Jason asked her, coming up behind her and startling her as she was looking for him.

"Yes," she said, wondering why he was looking for her when they had never met.

"I'm Jason Rowland and I'm friends with Victor Krum who told me you might be willing to help me out of a bind." He told her and went on to tell her how the media was getting anxious to see him settled down with a girl or at least to be seen with one. "Its not that I don't like women, I just don't have the time to deal with a relationship."

"So where do I fit into all this?" She asked, having a sinking feeling of where it was heading.

"I need an escort to formal functions that won't expect a relationship and can handle the media…" he told her, letting her fill in the blanks herself.

"Ughhh, how do I get myself into these situations," she groaned but agreed to help him as she figured it would be a good way to break up the monotony of her schooling.