Hermione breathed into her hands, rubbing them together. With October came brutal winds and chilly weather. She hugged her sweater closer to her chest as she squinted, proofreading the article in front of her for the fourth time. "This is silly, and this is inaccurate" she mumbled crossing out another paragraph. She sat back to admire her work. What was once a page article was now tidbits of sentences here and there; she might as well have drawn a large "X" across the parchment.

"Granger, you have a visitor." The starkness of her boss's voice surprised her, she jumped in chair, looking over her small cubicle.

"Who?" She asked, cocking her head questioningly.

"Some tall bloke. Doesn't speak great English."

Hermione's eyes grew as she spotted her male visitor. "Viktor…" she breathed, standing up. Her hands automatically flew to her hair, patting down her messy mane. She pinched her cheeks slightly and made her way over to the lobby of the bustling building.

"Hermyninny!" Viktor grabbed her by the shoulder, kissing both of her cheeks.

Hermione stood back, blushing by this public display of affection. "You said my name correctly!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

"I've been practicing." He said, reaching out to touch her hair. "I have missed you."

Hermione felt her neck get red. "Here, let's…let's go over here." She said, dragging Viktor by the arm to a seating area with plush armchairs. "So, what are you doing here? In London? Shouldn't you be flying?"

"Well we're in London for a scrimmage tournament. We're practicing still, the season starts in a few weeks. So when we were here I knew I had to see you. I asked the Professor at Hogwarts and she told me you work here now. Why?"

"Why do I work here?" She questioned, taken aback by his bluntness. "I, well I enjoy writing." She admitted, "It's quite different to school. I've taken to it. I'm not half bad."

Viktor smiled, "You are good at all you do."

Hermione looked at her feet. She was unsure what to say.

"So, Hermione, I came to check on you."

"To check on me?"

"Yes. Because it has been seven months since the Voldemort was killed and I wanted to make sure you were okay. To make sure that you were…healing."

"I am."

"You know our school was affected as well. Not like Hogwarts, but, my friends were killed. When they joined in the battle against the Dark Lord."

Hermione reached out to pat his arm, "I know. The world was affected Viktor. Everyone was hurt."

"Did you…did your friends live?"

Hermione stared at her feet. "We lost a lot of people…a lot of really good people. I lost my parents." She looked up at Viktor, tears filling her eyes. Hermione hadn't talked to anyone about the memory charm she performed on her parents. The only people who knew were Ron and Harry.

"You did what?!" Harry hissed, raising his side of the tent as they prepared for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

"Harry, I couldn't leave them there after telling them where I'd gone! They would risk anything to save me…I'm their daughter. I had a chance to save their lives, and I did it. Wouldn't you have done the same thing if you had a chance to save your parents' lives?"

They finished with the tent and Harry dropped his wand, stepping to grab Hermione's hand. "You're one of the bravest people I've ever met." He pulled her into an embrace, kissing her head as her tears soaked his shirt.

Viktor moved to sit next to Hermione, "I am sorry." They sat in silence for a moment before Viktor stood up. "I will let you continue to work. I wanted to see your face." He smiled, squeezing her hand. "Let me know if you ever need a friend, someone to lean on."

Hermione walked Viktor to the exit. "It was good to see you Viktor. How long are you in London?"

"Just the next few days." He shrugged, "I don't like London much. It's busy."

Hermione giggled, "That's why I like it. Hey if you are free you are welcome to stop by my flat. It's not very far from here, only three underground stops."

Viktor nodded, "I would enjoy to see your place, but I am very busy with practice. I am in trouble seeing you now. Good luck," He kissed her forehead, "I know you will do well with this job."

With that he was gone. Hermione made her way back to her cubicle, ducking a flying piece of parchment shaped like a paper airplane. She sat down at her desk and stared at the article in front of her. She re-read the last sentence she was working on at least five times before she realized she wasn't comprehending any of it. With a glance at the clock Hermione grabbed her coat and headed for the door, "I'm taking my lunch!" she waved at her boss.

She took the lift to the 18th floor – the research library.

"Can I help you?" Asked an elderly witch with a rather ornate flower sticking out of her gray hair, the lady tipped her glasses quizzically.

"Yes. Can you point me to the section on memory charms?" Hermione asked breathlessly. The woman led her through an array of books, subjects from Unforgiveable Curses to medical ailments. Finally the stopped at a shelf towards the back, "This entire shelf." The woman left as Hermione dropped her bag, took off her coat and grabbed the first reference book in front of her.