It began when the Powers That Be at the Ministry of Magic had finally concluded what Hermione had tried to tell them all along. In order to continue to maintain the Statute of Secrecy in an increasingly technologically savvy and public society, the Magical world would…ironically…have to bring some strategically placed Muggles on board to help. It was a valid practice that had already been widely embraced by other Magical Contingencies around the world…plus it was sanctioned by the International Confederacy of Wizards…but the British Ministry had always been reluctant to change. In fact, it had taken even the mostly forward-thinking Kingsley Shacklebolt…and his successor, Percy Weasley…many years after the war to get to that point.

One of the results of that decision was that current Minister Weasley (whom Hermione had always gotten along with quite well, despite the fact that he had been a bit of a prat when they were younger…and that he was now her ex brother-in-law) had asked Senior Auror Hermione Granger to become the official Magical Law Enforcement Liaison for Scotland Yard. Hermione, always eager to connect both the muggle and magical sides of her life, agreed and was assigned to work exclusively with the newly briefed Detective Inspector Lestrade on cases where possible magical involvement was suspected on muggle turf.

Later, when she learned more about all of the key players involved in the situation, Hermione realized that Mycroft himself must have made that particular suggestion to Percy. After all, the elder Holmes brother had known about her and her skills for years - ever since she had first met Sherlock upon his discovery of the magical world. Plus, the man was also well aware that DI Lestrade was used to dealing with all sorts of unusual and stressful situations…mainly because of his working relationship and friendship with the exact same exasperating younger Holmes brother, as well. Therefore, she was not surprised when Mycroft later admitted that he had been quite confident that the DI could handle the shock of learning about the other side of the world. Additionally, he knew that with the help of their most famous muggleborn witch...who just also happened to be his brother's flatmate…and one of the few people who could keep up with the man and resist the urge to kill him in the process…the joint law enforcement venture was guaranteed to succeed.

As usual, Mycroft had been correct. When he had broken the news of the existence of the magical world to the Inspector himself over tea in his office, he was only slightly surprised at Lestrade's response. In fact, upon being briefed on such sensitive information, the man had vehemently declared, "I knew it!"

He was even less surprised when the DI's first eager question about the whole situation was, "Does Sherlock know?"

That answer, of course, was "Yes."

…

An entire society that did its best to remain invisible to the majority of the population was definitely the sort of situation which was going to come to the attention of the stubborn consulting detective sooner or later. In this case, it just happened to be sooner. In fact, it was that very discovery that led to the beginning of his acquaintance, working relationship, and eventual friendship with Hermione.

Over a period of time, Sherlock, with his keen observational skills, had noticed several locations throughout the city that most of his fellow Londoners seemed to avoid for no particular reason at all. Those places ranged from everything between abandoned department stores to middle lots in respectable residential neighborhoods. However, upon closer examination, Sherlock would occasionally see oddly dressed men or women enter or exit from those supposedly empty places. Consequently, the detective became even more intrigued and he started to study those "invisible" areas with intent despite…or maybe even because of…the intense reactions that occurred whenever he got too close to those particular locations.

At those times, he noticed that unfamiliar feelings of doubt overwhelmed him and did their best to remind him that he urgently needed to be somewhere else. When he finally realized that those feelings were false implants in his mind, he decided to use his superior intellect to push past the mental barriers and investigate the fascinating phenomena head on. It was then that he stumbled straight into the Leaky Cauldron. There he was discovered… in the process of dismantling a magical painting to see how it worked…by a group of young, off-duty Aurors who were in the unfortunate habit of stunning first and asking questions later...especially after a few drinks!

Fortunately for Sherlock and the complete preservation of his brilliant mind, Hermione was still at the office, checking over Harry's paperwork in order to correct his atrocious spelling before he filed it (apparently her old habits died hard when it came to her best friend). Consequently, she was the most senior officer present when the Junior Aurors brought in the stunned Muggle who had somehow infiltrated the pub's wards. Since Hermione made a habit of reading the muggle newspapers, as well as the magical ones, in order to stay as well-informed as possible, she recognized the man at once. Accordingly, she pulled rank and took responsibility for the detainee, but not until she had thoroughly raked the young aurors over the coals for their carelessness. After she dismissed the remorseful group and sent them on their way, she quickly contacted then-Minister Shacklebolt with the important information. The man then took it upon himself to gleefully inform Mycroft Holmes, his stuffy contact in the muggle government, that his sibling had just broken the Statute of Secrecy from the non-magical side of things.

However, when the two powerful men finally entered Hermione's office together, via the Floo, they found the witch and the detective perfectly relaxed in each other's presence as they drank tea and engaged in a lively debate about the effectiveness of scientific deduction in a world where magic trumped logic. Kingsley was not really surprised – especially since Hermione was involved and she had been impressing him since she was just a young teenager. However, Mycroft could hardly believe that his brother could be so well-behaved with a stranger instead of completely alienating her the moment that he had regained consciousness. In fact, he and the woman seemed to get on "like a house on fire," as Mrs. Hudson would often describe their friendship after she met Hermione for herself. Therefore, from the very beginning, Mycroft was intrigued with the possibilities and consequently resolved to keep an eye on the situation…and on the woman, as well.

At any rate, the end result of that meeting was that both sides saw the silver lining of Sherlock's newfound knowledge. After much negotiation, it was decided that he would get to keep his memory of the magical world and gain a tour guide of sorts to alleviate his rampant curiosity about it. In exchange, he would have to agree to volunteer his particular brand of crime solving abilities to the Auror Department whenever they should need it. By the time a final agreement had been made, Sherlock had further negotiated his right...with Hermione's support that such a stipulation was only fair...to choose his own cases on which he was willing to consult.

That was how Hermione Granger-Weasley, the savior of his memory and the newest member of "the almost nonexistent number of people whom he could actually tolerate," became Sherlock's personal liaison to the magical world. She lent him books, toured Diagon Alley with him, and introduced him to her husband and friends. She even invited him along to some of her crime scenes. However, Sherlock soon deemed most magical crimes as too "boring" and "unimaginative" for a man of his expertise.

"It takes no imagination or finesse at all to simply point a wand and say the two words of a killing curse. Apparently, any ignorant brute can do it." Sherlock complained to Hermione when she asked why he accepted only the barest minimum of magical cases presented to him. "There is no mystery…no challenge. At best, those cases usually only rank a Three. I need at least a Six to be properly motivated…and an Eight or greater to be truly interested. Apparently muggles, as you call them, have to work harder…and in more interesting ways…in order to achieve the same results. Therefore, they also make better clients. I'll stick with them."

Hermione found that she completely understood where he was coming from with his explanation – especially since she often felt that way about her mundane cases, as well. She had never felt that she had been allowed to use the full extent of her abilities with the Aurors simply because most of them were still not really interested in anything to do with the muggle world…including their crime-solving techniques. In fact, because of that, there were many times when she wished that she had never agreed to follow Ron and Harry into the profession when they asked her to do so. However, despite it all, she was very good at what she did. Therefore, she welcomed every opportunity offered to join Sherlock out on his cases so that she could keep all of her skills sharp.

The upside to this arrangement was that Hermione was much happier and satisfied with her chosen profession than she had been for a long time. The downside, however, was that spending time with Sherlock made things difficult with Ron. Her husband had disliked the detective ever since they were introduced.

"He's a swarmy bloke, Hermione." Ron told her after that first meeting. "You can't trust him. He's too good-looking. He's only after one thing."

Hermione knew that Ron was being ridiculous. Sherlock was the exact opposite of "swarmy." In fact, he was the most forthright person she had ever met…even to the point of usually being tactless and rude about it. In actuality, she was sure the real reason for Ron's pointed dislike was that Sherlock had made several unflattering...but still quite true...observations about his inferiority complex and constant need for validation right at the beginning of their acquaintance. However, the detective had nothing uncomplimentary at all to say to Harry whom he had met at the same time. Ron had not been pleased - especially afterwards when Harry had not agreed with his censure of the man, but had instead called him "a good bloke."

Plus, regardless of Ron's allegations, Sherlock had not expressed any sexual interest in Hermione whatsoever since they had met…and in nobody else about whom she knew, either. He always seemed to be more concerned with cerebral matters than physical ones. Therefore, she was certain that Ron was just jealous of the man. That was certainly not a new problem in their relationship, though. He had been like that ever since they were kids. His behavior at the Yule Ball that she had attended with Viktor was a prime example...and it certainly was not the only one, either. At any rate, Hermione knew that it was just one of the many reasons why their adult relationship had been floundering for years, as well. The main one, of course, was that they knew that they should have remained friends rather than try to become a couple...much less get married...but both of them were much too stubborn to listen to their own doubts and admit the truth. It was really the only thing that they had in common.

Things had been especially tense between them ever since Ron had left the Auror department to go to work with George at WWW. Hermione had no problem with his career change - especially since she knew that her brother-in-law had struggled in the years since Fred's death and really needed his younger brother's help. The problem was that Ron could not seem to figure out why she refused to do the same - even though he had just assumed she would quit the Auror Department when he did without even bothering to ask her how she felt about it. Instead, he took it as a personal rejection.

Therefore, the increase in the amount of time that she chose to spend in the muggle world with another man (regardless of the strictly platonic and work-related nature of the relationship) was the final nail in the coffin of her already rocky marriage. She and Ron soon permanently separated and eventually divorced due to "Irreconcilable Differences." Despite her initial sadness and guilt …failure was something she had always had difficulty with, after all…Hermione soon realized that she felt more relief than anything else when it came to the end of that unsuccessful part of their relationship. Fortunately, despite the end of her marriage, she remained on good terms with Harry and the rest of the Weasleys. Consequently, Hermione hoped that Ron would eventually come around, as well, and want to be friends again. However, she had already decided that she was not going to wait around for him to make that decision. She had done that entirely too often while they were growing up. She needed to be able to finally move on with her own life.

In the meantime, since Ron had decided to keep the flat that they had formerly shared, Sherlock made a completely unexpected offer for Hermione to occupy the empty bedroom at Baker Street for as long as she liked. Mrs. Hudson was thrilled with the idea of having another woman in the building, and she immediately seconded the offer herself. Hermione found that she just could not resist either of them and accepted the chance graciously.

She soon found that Sherlock was not a bad flatmate, per se. One just had to be willing to put up with quite a bit of mess, violin music at unpredictable times throughout the day and night, random body parts in the fridge, the occasional violent visitor, and never having any milk for her tea unless she bought it herself. However, Hermione could say, with all honesty, that living with the detective was never boring!