A/N: This is a longish chapter so be warned. I have finally figured out the ending and everything else that will happen over the next set of chapters. I will warn you that there is no Draco/Hermione interaction in this chapter but there is good reason for this. Also, I know there will be a few things from the last chapter that are not address in this one but they will be addressed in the coming chapters so be patient.

The last few weeks had been hell for Hermione. Draco, well, he had ambushed her and she was for lack of better words, pissed.

She wouldn't say that she was happy to be alive, she had her moments when she had honestly wished for death, but it would seem that the fates were against her and after three weeks of being passed around to one agency or another, she couldn't kill herself if she had tried.

She sighed as she looked at the monitor on her leg, oh how she had tried to remove it, but the damned thing would budge. She hated life now, more so than before.

She glanced at her watch and took another sip of the fire whiskey she had ordered some ten minutes earlier. She didn't really want to be here, but she didn't have a choice – it was ordered by the ministry and like a muggle prisoner, had she failed to show, her life would become even less of her own than it already was.

She heard the bell above the door and she automatically knew it was him, the one who started this whole mess years ago. He was ever late. She heard his order for a fire whisky before he slid into the booth across from her, a tense smile on his lips.

"Potter." She greeted with a not so thrilled voice. She wasn't ready to be on a first name basis with him, hell, she didn't even want to talk to him, but the ministry has stated that social interaction was the key to healing. She didn't want to heal; she just wanted to be left the hell alone.

Harry sighed, he hated the last name but he had grown accustomed to it. This was their 6th meeting and she never once called him by his first name.

"Hello, Hermione." He paused to accept the drink from the bar keep. Once the bar keep was more than a few feet away, he continued, "How are things going since we last talked."

She shrugged, "Same ole shit. Therapy twice a week, talking to you twice a week, dealing with simpletons that honestly think I care that they are sorry for how I was treated."

She took a long sip of her drink, downing it like it was water, something she and Harry both knew most men couldn't do.

"And then I got the damned letter two days ago. Does the minister honestly think I care about a public apology and an order of merlin for my part in the war?"

Harry shrugged, "I told him it wasn't the best idea, but he didn't listen. He's the youngest minister ever and trying to make a name for himself and you, in his opinion, are the best way to help his image."

She nodded, "I suspected as much."

Harry looked at her dress robes, "So, I take it from how you are dressed that you agreed?"

"Oh, yes, I most certainly did." She answered with a smirk that said she was up to no good.

"Please tell me you are going to do something that lands you in Azkaban?"

"Nothing like that." She answered, "But I'm telling you, the ministry is fucked."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Meaning?"

"Meaning that they ordered me to do all of this bull shit, the therapy, the meetings, the friggin vow, and out of nowhere, my old boss shows up and asks if I want to continue in the assassin program. They think I have issues?" She finished with a snort.

"Well, are you?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't agree to go back to that.

"Merlin, no." She said with a shake of her head, "As far as I'm concerned, this whole world could take a massive nose dive and I wouldn't give a shit! I'm done helping this world, Potter. It's done nothing but cause me grief."

Harry nodded in understanding, looking at his watch. He glanced up to see her looking at hers too.

"Well," She said standing, "I guess it's time to receive my award and get my apology."

Harry nodded and stood as Hermione walked to the bar keep to pay. The man looked at her with his yellowed crooked teeth, "Tis no charge for Ms. Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes and slapped the money down on the counter. She didn't want anything from these people, not their kindness or hospitality. She inclined her head and walked out, ignoring Harry as he tried to catch up with her.

He fell into step beside her, noticing how the people all smiled as she walked passed. Everyone had sure changed their tune as of late.

Break

Harry Glinder, the newest MOM, stood in front of the mirror making sure his robes were perfect. He was giddy because today was the day that his name would finally make some waves in the world that he had been struggling so hard in just to be accepted. It wasn't that he wasn't a good guy, not in his opinion anyway, but his age was a constant hindrance as he climbed his way to the top. He had been waiting for something, that little something extra that would help and now he had the opportunity. He was going to publically apologize to Hermione Granger and give her the Order of Merlin that she should have receive so many years ago. It was just the thing he needed to get his ratings up.

He glanced at his watch, grabbed the small papers that outline his speech, and with a final glance, strutted out of his dressing chambers and down to the podium where had been informed about the massive amount of people that showed up for the event. He was stoked.

He gave the signal and the men guarding the doors opened them and allowed the large group of people in. He noticed to his left as Hermione Granger approached and took the chair that was waiting for her.

Once the room was pack to its limits, he walked closer to the podium and cleared his throat, waiting for every to settle down before he started his speech… it only took a few seconds for the crowd to quiet down as their eyes shifted and glued to the man in front.

He mentally patted himself on the back. This was it! The crowd was watching with anticipation and they all knew that this was going to make some sort of history and HIS name would be the one in the books who brought her injustices to the public eye and made her the star she should have been all along.

He cleared his throat, "Welcome everyone, to a celebration of massive proportions. Today we are going to recognize a woman, who throughout the years has faced public animosity and scrutiny. Today we will reward her for her sacrifices and efforts to save our world when the outcome at one point looked rather bleak.

Hermione Granger, a muggle born witch, came into our world at the age of eleven when she started to attend Hogwarts School for witch craft and wizardry. In her first year, she befriended someone we all know, Harry Potter, and another well-known name, Ronald Weasley."

Glinder paused as the crowd applauded. To Harry's credit, he looked sheepish and looked as if he would rather the attention be elsewhere, but over to the right, Hermione almost choked as she noticed Ron, hands raised in the air while smiling broadly and accepting the attention. Figures he would show up to something that got his name back in circulation. When the crown finally calmed once again, the minister continued.

"Years ago, our peace was threatened by a horrible tyrant who committed many crimes through his followers and himself. Harry, Ronald, and Hermione risked their lives from the age of eleven to save our world from falling into the tyrant's hands. However, after the war, a miscommunication cause one of our heroes to be cast out as a war criminal of sorts and for this, I and the other members of the ministry would like to offer our greatest apologies."

He then turned to Hermione who while looking calm, was anything but. There were so many things going through her head at that very moment, Ron, and how she wanted to beat the holy hell out of him for showing up for this when he wouldn't give ten minutes of his life earlier to clear her name. A MISCOMMUNICATION? What happened to her was not a miscommunication! It was a lynching and a blacklisting. A complete alienation from society, miscommunication her ass. And the fact that the man thought an apology was what she really wanted? No, she didn't want anything from anyone. She wanted to be left the hell alone… that's what she wanted.

She stood and walked to the podium where Glinder was waiting with a huge grin.

"Ms. Granger. On behalf of the ministry and everyone who is now free to live life in a normal, peaceful way, we present you with this Order of Merlin, first class for your help and selflessness in protecting our way of life. And I wish to apologize for every harsh world and cold act that was bestowed upon you because of a grave misunderstanding. We, as a society, were wrong and hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us."

Hermione wanted to roll her eyes. She didn't have a heart, well, except for Abby and even that was only maybe a fraction of a chamber. The minister raised the medal hoping she would get the clue and bend down so he could place it around her neck, but she stopped him with a hand, something that made Harry very nervous about.

She took the medal in her hand and looked it over briefly. She wondered how different her life would have been if the miscommunication would never have happened, but that was neither here nor there because it did happen and it had caused a great deal of damage to any part of her that hadn't already been shattered into a million pieces. She cleared her throat and walked to the podium. The crowd was deathly silent.

"As wonderful as you all think this should be, I regret to announce that the lot of you can, well simply kiss my arse. None of you had the right to treat me as you did. None of you knew the truth. You all took the word of a mentally unstable boy and in turn, ruined a life."

She turned fully to the right where Ron was now looking rather pale

"And you, Ronald Weasley, were supposed to be my best mate. All of the years that I put up with your asinine comments and lack of tact, I still loved you like a brother. I would have freely and without question given my life for you and Harry, something which I tried to do to save you and you treated me like I was some stranger that betrayed you." She paused for a minute, "At least Potter had the balls to admit he screwed up… you wouldn't give me the time of day."

She then turned to the crowd of slack jawed people who were in disbelief of what was going on before them.

"And you." She motioned to the entire group of people, "You all knew nothing of me or what I had been through, yet you taught your children to run away from me and to hate me. You closed your businesses when I came around, wouldn't give me a job or a place to call my own. You all treated me as if I was not even a human being." She shook her head, "And now, because the great Harry Potter says that it was a mistake, you all offer me lunch or free drinks, deals on a place to stay or in your store." She laughed, "You all disgust me and I want absolutely nothing to do with your hospitality so bugger off!"

And with one last look at the medal she had been given, she tossed it to the floor and walked away leaving the Minister almost in tears, Ron looking embarrassed, Harry shaking his head in disbelief, the crowd in shock, and in the back, Draco with a huge smile plastered across his face.

Break

The next day found Hermione in a cheery looking office sitting across from Divinity Clousin, her ministry appointed therapist. Divinity was in all respect, a beautiful witch with her milk chocolate colored skin, her striking golden eyes, and her hair that reminded Hermione of a fairy, dark, long, with vibrant pink highlights. Hermione knew the men followed her around like dogs in heat. But the most enchanting thing about Divinity is that while she was beautiful, she didn't carry herself like a stuck up snob. She was actually very down to earth and a little untraditional which made the whole process easier.

Hermione sighed again, thinking of the question she was asked. Why did she turn the ceremony upside down? Should she have just accepted and walked away? Well, that was easy enough for her, nope, she was glad she did it that way.

"You wouldn't understand." Hermione finally said as she twisted her hands together. She hated talking about her feeling and why she did things, but she had no choice in the matter. Damn Draco Malfoy.

"Imagine, as a child growing up believing that magic was something that only happened in fairy tales. Then you hit your eleventh birthday and you are told that you are a witch and that magic isn't a fairy tale but a reality." Hermione frowned, "And on top of all of that, there is absolutely no reason that you should have magic because your parents are muggles. It's like being told that you are a new generation, the first in your line, and that your children, and their children, and so on, will forever be part of this world that you have only just discovered existed. But you accept it, take pride in it and decide that no matter what, you are going to make a name for yourself, learn everything that you never dared to believe you would learn, and you accept it, embrace it even. And then you find out that you, even though you have magic, are hardly considered a witch at all. You're a muggle born and therefore, a freak of nature. Sure, some people are fine with it, but others aren't and make it known."

And one day you are put in a situation where you risk your life for these people, even the ones that hate you, but you're okay with it because in the end, it will make life easier for you and others like you."

She then looked to Divinity

"But nothing that you do or have done matters because in the end, you are still a muggleborn. Still a freak of nature and someone that doesn't even deserve magic. Someone that can be thrown away easily and not a single person dares to think that maybe, just maybe the person has in fact earned their rights to be accepted in this world."

Divinity frowned, "Come now, Hermione, you can't honestly think that the majority believe that?"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know what else to believe. I was a child that had never done anything to anyone, well, not on purpose of without reason. The point is, I was a child. I never had a normal childhood because I spent the majority of my youth trying to save a world that hated my kind.

I was a child who had been raped over and over by a deatheater. A child, who was beaten and abused, forced to live through things that a child or anyone for that matter ever should. A child that did not deserve what was being done to her, but I took it and I dealt with it because when it came down to it, my best mates needed me to keep my mouth shut so they could do what they needed to do. I took it all and begged for death to spare them and everyone else, and it got me nothing but pain and persecution. So, no, I honestly don't know what else to believe in. This world chewed me up and spit me out."

Divinity sighed, Hermione Granger was going to be a tough case and possibly even an impossible case at that. The girl had been put through the ringer from the time she had learned that she had magic in her and it would take a miracle to pull her out of it.

"So tell me then, what is it that you want from life now? What could we try to work on for you to let go of some of this hatred?" Divinity asked. Hermione had never mentioned goals or anything like that. She didn't even know if Hermione had goals.

"Hermione once again shrugged, "I just want to be left alone. There really is nothing else."

"What about love? Marriage? Children?"

This time Hermione smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile, more sadistic than anything.

"All of those things are never going to be possible for me." She said with a hollow laugh, "Love? What is that? I thought I loved and those people tossed me aside like rubbish in a bin. Marriage? You have to have love to have marriage, a happy one at least. And children?" Hermione actually stopped smiling and frowned, "My line dies with me. He took my ability to have children claiming I was too filthy to ever reproduce. Even if I was able to have them, what could I possibly give them. I'm not emotionally normal, much less sane. You know what I did for a living. I am a monster and incapable of loving anyone, much less a child who depends on me for anything."

"You are not a monster, Hermione. Emotionally unstable, yes, but no monster. Besides, you know that doctor in Germany has offered to repair your body in that respect. He can give you back the ability to have children if you ever decide."

"But at what cost?" Hermione asked, "The man is revolutionary, top of his field. Witches wait for years to see him and he doesn't come cheap. It's a lot of time and money that I don't have, much less to do something that will never be used."

"But I think in some ways, even if you never have children, that it will be valuable for the healing process. It is one more thing that you would have control over. You will have the ability back to use if you so wish!"

Divinity sighed and shuffled a few papers around on her desk before finding what she was looking for. She handed Hermione a business card with the doctor's name on it.

"Besides, the doctor has already offered to give you treatment, without the long wait and without cost." She pulled a picture out of another file and passed it to Hermione. The picture was of a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, who looked as if she had no hope in the world. But the girls eyes are what she noticed most. They held the same dead look that she had been holding for years.

"Dr. Hall came to me a few years back. He gave me permission to speak to you about his case." Divinity sat back in her chair, "I had just started my practice, just a year out of University and still quite wet behind the ears, but he had heard about me and decided to seek me out. Dr. Hall had come across a case of a young woman who had a very similar situation to you. He tried for years to help the woman so that she could have a child, but nothing worked and the woman, being at her wits end had decided to end her life. Dr. Hall had finally finished the treatment that would help her and decided to pay her a visit personally to give her the news only to find her body and a letter saying that she couldn't handle it anymore. Needless to say, Dr. Hall blamed himself for not being to help her sooner and he needed to talk to someone about it, someone who might understand what was going on in the woman's head and that is why he came to me." She shook her head, "Dr. Hall and I are still close and when he learned about you, sent me a letter immediately, before you and I even had our first session. He wants to help you and at the same time, help himself."

Hermione looked at the picture again and as much as she wanted to fight everything, she couldn't suppress the feeling, the very strange feeling, that there was in fact hope.

Children, out of everything, was the one thing she had the hardest time trying to forget. She had always wanted children and had worked very, very hard on convincing herself that she didn't because from what she understood, she didn't even have the ability. It was just easier to pretend that you didn't want what you couldn't have. But now, she could have it. She would be able to have the choice if she wanted to further her line, something that both scared and enticed her. She was now officially confused.

She sat the picture down and looked to Divinity, "This is very hard for me." She said, trying to maintain her composure.

Hermione stood from her chair, "When Lucius Malfoy took my ability to have children, he took more than just that. He took my dreams and my hopes." She wiped the tears that were falling and she hated that they were falling because it wasn't fair. She had worked hard to hate everyone and everything. She had worked hard to be emotionless and cold. She had worked hard on all of those things and now a single sliver of hope and she was crying like an emotional twit.

"And for years, YEARS, I have worked hard, suppressed feelings, and generally avoided anything to do with children and the idea of even wanting them… and now you tell me that it's possible? That I could have that again, but my body is in conflict. My brain is telling me to run from you, this crazy idea of fixing my body. The insane idea of even considering what it would be like to have a child all the while my heart, one I considered dead is actually screaming in happiness that there is a chance, something I was lead to believe would never happen." Hermione actually sobbed, "I hate this." And before Divinity could say another word, Hermione ran from the office as if Hades himself was chasing her. She needed to be away from everyone, including herself.