Hermione knew that she was a mess, and she did not give a shit. She trudged down to the gloomy bar at the bottom of the hostel in her scruffy jeans and t-shirt, bushy hair clouding around her head. As she sat down and ordered a butterbeer, a familiar voice pierced through the fog of her brain.

"Is that you Hermione?"

"Neville! What are you doing here?" She smiled for what felt like the first time in weeks. Neville was kind, and one could not help but smile and be friendly to him, no matter how terrible she was feeling about life.

"I have been working at one of those refugee camps down the road, but needed to escape to somewhere quiet," Neville told her, sighing with exhaustion. He looked tired, but not horribly down.

Hermione became interested. "Oh okay. What do you do there?"

"Well, they have all sorts of jobs. It's all volunteer work, but very rewarding. I live in a house full of displaced children, and help to tutor them, look after them, and distract them from these terrible times." Neville smiled. "It's incredibly tiring, but I want to help."

Hermione looked at him interestedly. "I could so with something that would give me some sense of purpose while I figure out what to do."

Neville nodded. "Oh, well they are in desperate need of volunteers. You would be perfect, Hermione. I can take you back there after lunch if you wish?"

Hermione smiled. Things were looking up. "That would be fantastic. Tell me about what the job involves."

"Well there is a village with temporary housing, and they are overcrowded with refugees – especially children." Neville looked sad. "Many of them will be reunited with their parents who are currently in hospital, but many more have no parents left. They need to be cared for while their extended family are tracked down, and futures sorted out. They have two volunteers in each house to make sure the children are cared for, tutored, supported, and loved. They like to have two adults to a house, but many only have one. There are families there too with adults, and they also help out with things like cleaning and maintenance."

Hermione looked into Neville's gentle blue eyes with a new appreciation for his kind soul. But, of course he would want to help orphans; he could empathise, having practically lost his parents to Voldemort too. She patted his hand and stood up. "I want to help too."

Neville grinned. "Do you want to maybe get cleaned up first?"
Hermione looked down at her attire and laughed. "Yes, I should probably make myself look a tad more respectable. Come up to my room while I sort myself out.

Neville sat on Hermione's bed while she got changed in the ensuite. She opened the door so they could chat while she attempted to tame her hair. It was good to have contact with a soul such as Neville; he was kind, he was empathetic, he was not judgemental, and he did not expect anything from her. It was a breath of fresh air after having spent weeks in the stifling presence of Ron, who was always on her case and who wanted her to be sitting around and moving on like everyone else. Until, Neville started asking the obvious questions.

"What are Ron and Harry up to?"

Hermione grimaced in the mirror, but if Neville saw, he could just take that as exasperation with her hair, which she was trying to wrestle into a bun. She tried to be vague.

"Oh, you know, waiting to see what happens next."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "I thought you guys would stick together, like you always have."
Hermione burst into tears. Neville rushed over and awkwardly patted her back.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to say something wrong. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's a perfectly good question Neville, I'm sorry," Hermione sniffled, wiping her face with a tissue handed to her by her friend. "I left. I have been feeling so confused and like I should have some purpose and now I feel guilty because the Weasleys were always so good to me but I just couldn't be around there anymore and for some reason I just couldn't find any romantic love for Ron anymore…" A new wave of tears started. "I feel so shit. Voldemort is gone and I am so happy and would not change it for the world, and yet, now I don't know what to do with myself. I have never thought much past defeating him and now I don't know what else I want from life."

Neville, bless him, seemed to get it, like no one else did. "I get it, Hermione. You are not a bad person. My Gran doesn't get why I'm volunteering at the camp – she thinks I should be at home with her so she doesn't have to worry about me. But I just feel like I should be doing something, you know?" He smiled at her and gave her a hug. "It will work out. You just need time to process everything. I have found this work to be very good for the soul. Come on, I'll show you." He swung Hermione's bag onto his back, took her hand, and led her out into this new beginning.

Neville and Hermione's friendship is strictly platonic hahah