A/N – No Beta, all mistakes are my own. I own nothing in this beautiful world that JK created. I wish I did, but I would not have been able to do it the justice it deserved and received from our loverly goddess.

The vacation in Cairo went perfectly. Minerva came over every night to stay with them and even accompanied them on several excursions. Hermione was in awe seeing the pyramids in the daylight and the tours left her speechless. Seeing the museums was fun for the older 2 women, watching the younger of the 3 flit from artifact to artifact memorizing every detail of its past and writing some down that she deemed would be worth further study. It was at this moment that the 2 instructors realized that a lot of the light had returned to Hermione's eyes. They worried that she would sink back into her original state upon their return.

The two weeks spent in Egypt were the best she could have imagined. She had Minerva with her when she needed her and Ro was always at her side. She had both ladies with her at night and since Minerva had started joining them, the nightmares had left her alone. She had slept through the night every night.

Ro watched Minerva stare at her girlfriend with longing. Part of her wanted to be jealous that her friend had fallen for Hermione. Another part knew that Hermione loved the ebony haired witch as well and couldn't bring herself to be angry about it. She saw the appeal in both cases. She knew how Minerva could easily fall in love with Hermione. The two of them had so much in common; their love of learning and books and knowledge for one thing. Ro could also see how Hermione could fall for Min. Having been in the same situation she knew all too well how easy that was.

She thought about those days and how easy it had been at times to love the green eyed witch, thought about how hard it had been at others. They loved each other, she knew, but they just wanted such different things. She watched Hermione move quickly through the museum thinking and comparing the two most important witches in her life, knowing that she loved them both.

-O-O-

Hermione found herself standing in her new room at the Hogs Head. She hadn't had much to move and most of her belongings fit in her trunk, what didn't went into her beaded bag, the same one she had carried while on the run with the boys. Her school trunk now sat at the end of the bed on the far left wall. The room wasn't large, but it wasn't a closet either. There was plenty of space for the few items the young woman had.

She sat on the edge of her bed. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a large blanket that Ro had purchased for her while they had been in Egypt. The soft wool was cool against her fingers. Pulling her bag over her head and setting it on the floor next to the bed, she unfurled the blanket completely and curled up beneath it. They had returned from their vacation earlier that day. Both Minerva and Rolanda had told her that they needed to get back to the castle and get some work done. She was all alone, and that was what worried her. Being alone meant that there was no one to hold her at night when the nightmares came back. No one to comfort her when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night. No one there to wake her before the nightmares really took hold and kept her in their horrid grasp.

Hermione decided it would be best not to dwell on that particular terror at the moment and stood. She laid the blanket over the bed and smoothed it out, then headed down stairs to find Aberforth in the kitchen. She leaned her hip against the counter and watched him putter around in circles making the foulest smelling concoction Hermione had ever seen. She coughed lightly and he spun around to look at her.

"Well hello there. Have you gotten all settled in then?" the older man asked her.

"Yes I have. Thank you again for letting me stay." Hermione said, watching the man move rather quickly around his kitchen gathering all sorts of ingredients that didn't go well together. "So Aberforth, when did you want to start those cooking lessons?" the brunette asked, not wanting his customers or his business to suffer any longer than needed. Watching him add muggle peanut butter to what looked like boiling over spaghetti sauce and then add a handful of pickled asparagus stalks turned her stomach.

"Oh, no need to worry about that now. You just got here. Let's say we start those in a couple days. I'll let you know. The old man was furiously working at this concoction of his and was clearly not interested in the conversation Hermione offered. "I thought I saw young Mr. Malfoy headed down to the Three Broomsticks with Professor Snape. Why don't you go ahead and say hello, hmm?"

Hermione smiled. "Thank you Aberforth." She said, before turning and wandering out of the pub. The air was warm out, though nothing compared to the heat of Egypt. Looking up and down the street of bustling people she wrapped her arms around herself as she meandered through the crowds. Her general destination was the Three Broomsticks, but she was in no hurry to get there. Her mind was consumed by the thoughts from this morning. Who would wake her from her nightmares? She already knew the answer to that. No one. She was completely alone now. And that thought terrified her more than any other.

Minerva and Ro were busy. Severus was busy. Ginny was busy with him. Draco was living with his parents. Hermione sighed. Knowing that without support she would fall back to her old routines. The only thing she was looking forward to was her workout in the morning. She would be able to use the actual rink in the morning. The new season was getting ready to start which meant the team would be getting back together for practice. Her thoughts wandered to Rolanda and how well she had been doing in their private sessions. She hadn't yet spoken to the older woman about it but, since Red, their Pivot, had moved out of the country, the team had been looking for a replacement. They wanted Hermione to take that part, but that left them with an open Blocker position. Maybe Ro would be willing to play as part of the team.

Warm air engulfed her along with the smell of fire, alcohol, and food, as she stepped into the Three Broomsticks. Looking around the room, she saw in the back corner sat Draco and Severus. Making her way across the floor was rather hindered. Too many people milling about fighting their way to the bar or towards their tables or just standing about in the middle of the floor made it difficult to move. When she finally did make it, both men stood and hugged her before offering to buy her a drink if she would join them.

"You were supposed to meet me here last weekend for a drink Hermione. What happened?" Draco wanted to know. And so she launched into the tale of her vacation in Egypt with Ro and Minerva. She told them all about the dinner on top of the sphinx and the museums. She admitted that her nightmares had plagued her horribly that first night but then when Minerva started staying with them at night she explained that her night mares hadn't resurfaced at all during the rest of her vacation.

Draco and Severus shared a knowing look at this piece of information but neither said anything, preferring to watch this interesting relationship unfold. Hours passed as the 3 of them talked easily. Eventually they were joined by Ginny, whom Severus stood and kissed before leading her to a chair and gallantly holding it out and pushing it in for her as she sat. Ginny looked rather surprised at this and Hermione vowed to find out why. When Luna joined them, Draco mimicked his Godfather's motions. More hours passed and the group ordered round after round of drinks, some alcoholic, others not. They ate and talked and drank, until finally they had to part ways. Severus and Ginny made their way to the castle, while Luna kissed Draco's cheek and left to check on her father. Draco on the other hand held his arm out to the brunette witch and, when she threaded her arm through his, they began to make their way through the now deserted street.

"Hermione?"

"Hmmm?" the young woman had been enjoying the warm night and the quiet after the noise of the bar for the last several hours.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner. Mother and Father wished to speak with you. I think they want the chance to truly apologize to you for everything that happened." The blonde man whispered quietly.

"Draco I…"

"I know that it will be hard to sit through dinner with the two of them, especially my father. But please Hermione. These are my parents and eventually, if we want to remain friends you are going to have to interact with them. I promise I will not leave your side at all throughout the entirety of the meal and if you ever feel too out of sorts or uncomfortable I will walk you out myself. But please give them a chance to make amends, like you gave me a chance."

He pleads their case far too well. Hermione thought, perhaps he should be a lawyer. She considered his words very carefully. She had given many of the people that had hurt her over the space her schooling years another chance. And it hadn't really been Draco's father that hurt her to begin with. Her head knew that there was no reason for her fear and anger. Convincing her heart of that on the other hand, that was a totally different story. But she supposed that Draco was right. Eventually she would have to interact with them, better to get her emotions and fears dealt with now, rather than later.

"Alright, Draco. I'll go, but only if you promise to sit me either next to you or your mother. I don't think I could handle sitting next to your father right now." Hermione refused to look at him, slightly embarrassed by her own request.

"As you wish Hermione. Thank you. I promise you won't regret it." By this time the two of them had reached the Hog's Head and standing there in the doorway, waiting for her to come back from where ever it was she had gone, were Ro and Minerva. Tears filled Hermione's eyes as she launched herself at her girlfriend and felt both women wrap their arms around her.

After saying farewell to her friend, the 3 made their way to Hermione's room. The journey upstairs was rather awkward as the youngest of the 3 women didn't want to let go of either of the others. Once the door was closed and locked behind them, Hermione fell into Ro's embrace and began to sob, huge tears of relief falling from her lashes to pool in the soft cotton beneath her face. She felt gentle hands on her shoulders, caressing down her arms. Minerva had come up behind her. The ebony haired witch wordlessly enlarged the bed and transfigured their clothes into comfortable pajamas. Taking the hand of each the other witches in the room, she pulled them towards the bed.

Once they were laying down, Hermione whispered, "Thank you, for coming down here."

"Hermione we promised you that we weren't going to just abandon you." Ro whispered against her hair.

"We meant every word that we told you, dear. We aren't going anywhere." Minerva kissed the top of Hermione's head. "Sleep now. Both of you. We all have rather long days ahead of us."

A/N – Holy cow it's been a while since I updated this one. My apologies. As Always read and review and I of course own nothing.