A/N: Double treat for you today!

18th July 2006

Hermione Granger

I gave a heavy sigh as I snapped shut my suitcase. Finally! Finally, I was leaving the country! As I checked my boarding pass, I grabbed my cell phone and punched in some numbers.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hermione, you don't have to call me you know. You can always floo in."

"Four months of living a Muggle life, you definitely pick up some bad habits," I replied.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I just want you to know that I'm leaving for Paris today. So, I sent over my resignation letter this morning, and I was hoping that you'd pass it to Lynette for me."

"Your owl isn't here yet, but nevermind. When it comes in today, I'll send it straight to Lynette. Why can't you pass it to her yourself?"

"Certain reasons…" I mumbled. There was an awkward silence.

"I'm –"

"Anyway! I got to go now! Or else my plane will leave without me. Thanks a lot," I said hurriedly and snapped the phone shut.

I glanced over to my bedside stand where my wand had been lying idly for months. I thought about bringing my wand with me, just in case… Before I could make my mind up, the doorbell rang and snapped my mind back to reality. It was the taxi I called for earlier. I heaved my bag all the way downstairs, cursing and wishing I could just apparate to Paris to save me all the trouble.

"You called for taxi, miss?" a man around his mid-forties asked. He wore a beanie that covered half his face and he had a cigarette in his hands.

"Yes I did. Where do I put this bag?" I asked.

"Unless you want to sit with it, it goes in the back," the driver gave me a strange look as he helped me load my suitcase in the back of the car.

I entered the passenger seat and stared out the window at the foggy London streets.

"D'you mind if I smoked?" the driver asked.

I shook my head and lied. The driver turned up the radio and started humming. It annoyed me a little bit, but I focus my thoughts of beautiful Paris.

"My name's Travis, by the way," he introduced himself.

"I'm Haley, nice to meet you," I replied.

"You ever heard this song before?" he asked again.

"No, what's it about?" I tried to be polite.

"It's about this girl who's torn between two lives."

"Really? Tell me more."

"Well, she had a life of luxury and comfort. But she traded all that for a life of hard work."

"Why?"

"Because she felt magic wasn't enough to give her happiness," the driver winked at her.

"Magic?" I asked, surprised by his choice of word.

"That's what she said in the song. Magic," he replied. "Do you believe in magic, eh… Haley?"

"I don't know…"

"Well, I think magic gives everyone their little fantasies. I look at my kids everyday and envy them so much because they live in their own world. It's such a shame when they grow up and see the real world. When they stop believing in Santa… or Easter Bunny…"

"If you could choose between magic and non-magic, what would it be?"

"Magic, my girl, magic!"

I wasn't sure it was the twinkle in his eye or the excitement in his voice that made me very sad suddenly. He was talking about magic as an escape from all the suffering in the world, and here I was, abandoning magic and refusing to accept its existence in my life.

"If magic really exists, the world would be a better place."

"But what if there's problem? What if magic backfires?"

"Why then, magic will save you!" he replied simply.

As I strolled inside the airport, all the butterflies in my stomach disappeared. I loved airports. The strange feeling it gave me; like I am headed somewhere, but I'm not there yet. It gave me the feeling of belonging somewhere. And it felt good.

After I checked in, I grabbed my boarding pass and headed straight to the gates. This is it… I thought. Somehow, a part of me wanted someone to stop me from leaving the country. I turned around, just to make sure no one was looking for me – or at least trying to stop me. My stomach twisted as a sudden flash of blond appeared. But my heart sank as I realised it wasn't Draco.

"Get over him, he's just a man," I mumbled under my breath.

"Excuse me?" the flight attendant called. I snapped out of my trance and noticed that it was my turn.

I gripped tighter to my boarding pass, my heart started racing.

"Excuse me?" the flight attendant called again. I could feel the eyes of the people behind me burning.

I grabbed my bag tighter and turned around, making my way towards the exit. My heart was beating so loud I was surprised no one heard. Turning at the corner, I noticed a bar and sat down. I was pissed at myself for being so weak. I was mad that I couldn't even bring myself to move on.

"You're a feisty one," the bartender chuckled.

"What are you laughing about?" I snapped.

"Miss, what's not to laugh about?" he replied with a smile on his face. "So, what can I get you?"

"Do you have this drink called "Mend My Broken Heart"? I suppose I can really use that one now."

"I don't have that drink, but I do have a more effective drink. It's called "Happiness"."

I snorted at the idea of happiness. Happiness wasn't exactly a frequent visitor.

"Where are you heading to?"

"Paris. But I just missed my flight."

"Deliberately or accidentally?" he asked knowingly.

"I can't bring myself to board that plane. I was waiting for him."

"Honey, if he didn't come, isn't that saying something?" he poured her a strong drink.

"Are you bartenders always this nosy?"

"I work here everyday right in front of the Arrivals Hall. When they arrive, everyone expects to see that special someone. Not everyone is that lucky. But they manage to keep a strong face and walk right into this very bar. After a few drinks, they start pouring out their lives on me. I've seen people from all walks of life with all kind of problems. Believe me, you're not alone."

"His family didn't approve of me. Didn't think I was good enough. And now, he's married to a bitch that's in love with someone else. But I was waiting for him. I spent almost everyday for the past four months waiting for him."

"Waiting for him for what? To start a love affair? If the both of you really loved each other, then I'm sure there was a way to work things out. And honestly, why wait for someone who will never show?"

"Guess I had to fall in the end," I smiled sadly and sighed. Gulping down the drink and leaving a twenty dollar bill on the table, I left the airport.

I was always lost. Clueless of where to go. Always waiting and looking for something that could be right in front of my eyes, but I would be looking for something else I would never find. And in the end, all that was left were ashes. I was stuck with the ghost of what we were. And I would trade in anything, anything just to have someone to go home to.

A/N: I hope you all liked it. Now I really need to get cracking on my next chapter.

PS, I'm without a beta-reader now, so please bear with me and my grammatical errors.

xoxo, Ashley.