She bolted out of the house like the damn thing was on fire. She stepped into the cold night with only a sweater on and her school uniform. She ran like hell, passing street after street, road after road, feet carrying her as fast as they could…

… And, Hermione Granger did not care in the least where she ended up.

She needed to get out of that cramped kitchen. She needed air, needed to breathe. This wasn't at all how she expected to tell everyone the news. Well really, she had no idea how it would have all worked out, but this…this was definitely not what she expected.

Hermione ran until she could not run anymore. She eventually ended up at a local park which was quite a few blocks away from 12 Grimmauld Place. It was a beautiful, quaint little place. A jungle gym was on her far right, and there was a giant fountain in the middle of the park. It was quiet. Very quiet. So quiet, that the only sound one could here was that of a young distraught woman crying her eyes out on a shabby wooden park bench.

'How can I possibly face them again?' She thought to herself. Her thoughts continued to swarm in her head: 'They're going to kick me out of the Order for sure. I mean, how could they not? Oh, I've really made a mess of things now…'

And as Hermione wept in the cold dark night, she wept for not only what had happened at the meeting moments ago, but she wept for another part of her life that had gone very, very wrong. And perhaps the meeting triggered Hermione to remember something that she longed for, and wanted right here…right now…For Hermione Granger was suffering from a broken heart.

…She missed her parents. Terribly.

Hermione, being an only child, had only her parents for guidance. They were hard working people and strived to provide the best for their little girl. They were the nicest, most genuine people that you could ever meet, and Hermione was in fact their pride and joy. They were so proud of her, so proud when she received her letter from Hogwarts. The Grangers knew in their heart that something great, something very great would come of their daughter. And it was Hermione's only wish that they would live to see the day when that would happen. But as fate had its way, they were now resting peacefully, in a cemetery close to where Hermione grew up. They would never see their little girl grow into a remarkable young woman. They would never see her get married, or have a family, or see the accomplishments that she had yet to fulfill. And for this, Hermione was devastated. Losing parents, the only set of parents you've ever known, is one of the hardest and most difficult experiences to go through. And Hermione was not dealing well with it at this very moment. Not well at all.

In the midst of her tears, she heard the 'clop clop clop' of tennis shoes somewhere in the distance, but it didn't matter. Nothing really mattered right now. Hermione had sunk into a sort of mild depression, and yearned to be alone to sort out her thoughts. It was understandable, after all. Dangerous, mind you. But understandable, never the less.

The sound of the tennis shoes grew closer and closer, until they stopped right in front of Hermione.

She picked her head up and looked at the figure in the shadows.

Harry Potter looked down at the young woman on the park bench. Harry was very much out of breath and his forehead showed beads of sweat in the moonlight. At the sight of him, she began to cry again, and without a single word, he positioned himself next to Hermione on the park bench and held her in his arms. He held her as if she were the last person on Earth. He sat there with her until she had cried and sobbed, and once she started to calm down he broke the embrace.

Still, without a word, he cupped the side of her face and looked at her. She looked miserable. Absolutely miserable.

After moments of silence, Harry spoke quietly to Hermione. 'I was so worried about you…I really was 'Mione…what they did…how they treated you back there, it was really awful. I said some stuff to them before I left to look for you…I think they got the message,' Harry said, and Hermione closed her eyes and smiled a very small smile.

'Mione,' Harry continued, 'whatever it is…whatever you need, I can help you. Please. Let me help you. I…I know I'm not that clever, and I know I don't have all the answers…but…but please, please let me help you. Please Hermione…just let me in…' and with that, she reached out to him for a hug and held on to him for dear life.

'Harry…,' she whispered, still clinging onto Harry. 'Yea 'Mione' Harry replied.

'I do want to let you in…it's just that…so…so many things have happened in the past few months that…that I'm having a really tough time dealing with it all…' she said, voice trailing off.

Harry broke the hug and grasped the soft and smooth petite hands of Hermione Granger. Sensing that something else was up, he probed further, 'Mione…talk to me…tell me what's in that head of yours …' he asked her.

Hermione looked down briefly, inhaled and exhaled deeply, and then looked up at Harry with the saddest eyes that Harry had ever seen.

'I miss them, Harry. I miss them terribly. I am so lost without my parents. They meant everything, everything to me. And now all these new changes, and…and I can't even talk to them about it all, it's just…hard, you know?' she said to Harry, sniffling. Harry reached up to wipe away a stray tear from her eyes. He looked at her beautiful brown eyes and spoke to her.

'Well…since we both don't have parents…well…maybe we can use this to our advantage in a way, you know?…I mean, since we both don't really have families of our own, we can be…we are going to be a family…we have each other, Mione. And that's what really matters now…' he spoke softly to her.

Hermione thought for a moment. She didn't think of it that way, the way in which he spoke just then. Harry was right. They were going to be a family after all…

But before she could get in another word, Hermione heard a 'pop' in the distance. To be entirely accurate, she had heard two distinct 'pops,' one right after the other. Knowing the unmistakable sound of apparition, Harry and Hermione as if by instinct, stood up like lightning and reached for their wands. They stood there in silence for a minute or two, looking around at the empty park in front of them. And then they heard someone speak:

'Potter and Mudblood sitting in a tree…K-I-S-S-I-NG' they heard from in back of the bench. The rhyme was then followed by a screech of laughter, the distinct, unmistakable laughter that could only come from one person, and one person alone:

Bellatrix Lestrange.

Harry and Hermione turned around and faced that of a disheveled, wild-looking Bellatrix. Her hallowed out appearance, wild eyes, and sadistic smile were unmistakable.

'Potter, my my my…how you've all of a sudden grown up! What's this about choosing a wifey for yourself? Hmm? And a Mudblood no less! Thought you had more class than that!' she said with a shriek of laughter, and she crept closer to the pair.

'Tisk Tisk, Potter, you are in trouble with the Dark Lord…he had hoped that he would get you all to himself…but now…now that you're planning on getting married, well the Mudblood comes as a bonus now, doesn't she!?!' Bellatrix said with glee. Hermione stared at her, her wand hand shaking slightly.

And before Bellatrix Lestrage could say anything else, before she could utter another word, before Harry Potter had the chance to shout a single spell, Bellatrix Lestrange was suddenly stunned from behind, and was now laying out cold, face down in the dirt. Harry and Hermione stood in a state of shock at the disheveled woman lying still on the cold ground. And then like a bolt of lightning, Hermione's brain clicked.

Hermione had, until that moment, forgotten that there were not one, but two apparition pops that evening. The other individual who apparated after Bellatrix, glided over to the pair, wand still raised. He looked at them, lowered his wand, and without saying a single word, held out a miniature statue of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which Hermione immediately recognized as a portkey. She grabbed Harry's hand, placed it on the tower and at the same time, placed her hand on the statue and apparated with the figure that saved their life. The one that saved their lives that night was indeed the other figure who arrived in the deserted park just after Bellatrix Lestrange that evening.

…For you see, the other 'pop', had belonged to none other than Severus Snape.