Remember, anything you recognize of this is not mine, and I'm not making any money from it. Just playing in J.K. Rowling's back yard and hopefully not making too much of a mess. Please read and review; I am a new fanfic writer and would love to learn how to write better. Thanks!

RETREAT

Hermione worked all day, clearing away broken branches and other debris, and throwing a number of spells over the willow carefully, to heal broken branch tips and encourage new growth. She had only taken a short break to eat some lunch, and then had continued working. She hadn't had any time to think at all, as she had to work extremely hard. Neville had helped for a while, but seemed to sense Hermione's need for solitude, and had left to perform other tasks, giving her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and a sympathetic smile before he left.

Hermione had spent an hour or so sitting underneath the willow as it healed, thinking. She decided that McGonagall's plans for her were exactly suited to her. She loved Charms and thought she would make a good teacher, and had many ideas of new Charms she could work on developing, and she had so enjoyed working in the library. She knew that moving back in with her parents was not the answer, and in her practical way she knew that she couldn't simply drift by until their relationship recovered. She would need a job and somewhere to live, and Hogwarts could make her happy someday perhaps.

That decided, she turned to the problem with Ron, and found no immediate solution. She stood restlessly, feeling a sudden urge to run as fast as she could to the lake and throw herself in. She hated feeling so helpless, and the nervous energy filling her was more than she could bear. On a sudden impulse, she poked the knot in the tree and made her way towards the Shrieking Shack, with a half-formed idea that if she managed to clean and repair the Shack enough, that it would make an ideal place to retreat and think when she needed it.

She inspected the empty rooms, casting purging spells as she went, and found that other than the large bloodstain that she'd had to spell from the floor where she'd heard that Snape died, there was little actual repairing to be done. Satisfied, she began to plan what each room would be used for, and then she returned to the castle, knowing that she might be missed or even searched for if she were absent for too long.

As she sat with Neville at dinner in the Hall, along with everyone else who had remained to rebuild and restore Hogwarts, she allowed herself the opportunity to really get to know him. She and Neville had never truly been close, but she'd always felt that he was intelligent and kind. After the final battle and his leadership of the DA, she had realized that he was also very brave and motivated. They enjoyed their dinner and conversation, with no awkward silences or wary moments. They were very much alike, and had much in common.

Neville, as Professor Sprout's new apprentice, now possesed his own quarters in one of the towers, complete with a private greenhouse, but he offered to walk Hermione back to her quarters so that they could continue their conversation a bit more. When they reached the Gryffindor common room, where Hermione would be staying until she completed her exams, he gave her a gentle hug and went his own way. Hermione appreciated his respect for her continuing need for solitude, and went up the stairs to her dormitory, to begin packing for her move to her own apprenticing quarters tomorrow.

With the new direction she was heading and the new friendship that she felt could only grow as hers and Neville's apprenticeships went on, she began to feel the stirrings of hope for the first time in ages, and relished the slight return of the feelings she remembered from September each year, gathering her reading material and preparing to learn more at school. She would be allowed to continue learning now. There was no war to be fought except the one in her heart, and that could be dealt with in its own time, she hoped.

Deciding to put it aside for the time being, Hermione neatly packed her possesions, which she had returned to Hogwarts with after restoring her parents' lives and home. That had been a hard week, during which Hermione explained her reasons and apologized to her parents, who understood everything, including Hermione's need to return to the wizarding world. They had decided to keep Hermione's room for her whenever she needed it, and had helped her pack for the move to Hogwarts.

They had also discussed Ron, and though Hermione had been a little dissapointed that they had not been able to help her come to any decision about the matter, their promise to understand and support her no matter what she decided and their trust in her to make the right choice had given her enough confidence to quiet her mind until the time came to make the choices.

Harry had once again understood her need to reunite with her parents on her own, but Ron had felt dissapointed by it. He had hoped that she would introduce him as her boyfriend, but had found that she was not ready for any sort of committment, and rather needed time to consider. He had thought that everything had been decided, and wasn't taking it well at all. Harry never mentioned it in his letters, but Hermione knew that Ron's lack of correspondence had nothing to do with him being terrible at keeping in touch. He was hurting, and she felt terrible about it, but she knew in her heart that it would be every bit as unfair to Ron as it would be to herself if she didn't think things through and carefully decide.

When she finished packing and laying out her robes for tomorrow, she found herself exhausted, and sleep came quickly...