DISCLAIMER:

I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor the Criminal Minds series. Those works belong to JK Rowling and Jeff Davis as well as the Mark Gordon Company and CBS, respectively.

AN:

I am really sorry about the delay, at first there were exams and Christmas, and then the semester started again and i lost track of time. My personal life is really filled at the moment, but i will try to be more regular.

Your reactions are really encouraging, thank you for those who commented, favoured or followed, as a first story i am a little surprised by such a positive response.

Anyway, enough about my personal ramblings, here's a long chapter that i know you will enjoy. The next one is coming on really soon.

CHAPTER 5 : ABOUT HERMIONE

It was five AM and the due was still setting on the petals and leaves around the apartment complex. A lingering sent of rain was present in the air, a sent that Hermione had many names for… : petrichor, the technical term for the sent of the earth after rain, the perfect smell to describe the way the earth feels rejuvenated after the passage of a cloud.

But others came to mind, such as England or Home. A home she had left behind in a hasted decision to stop the status quo that had been her life outside of her studies, and to get away from the media frenzy that didn't seem to die down after the years. A home she seldom allowed herself to think about, not wishing to be lost in a memory.

Home was also a complicated word in itself for Hermione. Reminding her of people she was now alien to, either of her own making, or because of really unfortunate circumstances. A long time ago, or what felt like it al least, home had been a lovely two stories house where roses always overflowed from vases and candies where a rare and indulgent treat. Then home became a castle on the coasts of Scotland as Hermione distanced herself from her biological family to learn about her world, or at least a world she had tried to insert herself into. Not being a native had meant being confronted with bigotry, judgment, hate and most of all… doubt.

But Hogwarts had also been a place of growth and knowledge, where friendships had been forged from fear and courage, from the determined way two eleven year old boys decided that saving a little girl from a troll was more important then protecting themselves from death, injury… or worse expulsion!

The idyllic castle was unfortunately the stage for many deaths and traumatic sights at the end of her teen years, forcing a new image of chaos in such a beautiful and sacred place. A home that had been violated by carnage, lust for power and the tearing of souls for a "Greater good" that seemed so important at the time. Yet sometimes Hermione wondered if Dumbledore had been wrong in his machiavellian view of the "Greater Good". Didn't he plan for Harry to be a lamb to slaughter? Weren't the chess game, the broom, the potion test and the Mirror of Erised tests? Was he so manipulative that he lacked empathy? Hermione often pondered about the reasons and motivation of one Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore, and her new degrees often left her with shivers.

All those thoughts and experiences were the reason why Hermione wrote.

She had wanted an outlet after the war, something that her friends seemed reluctant to give her. Harry because he was too stunted to realise her deeper pain and wanted to only feel the joy of not having the weight of the world on his shoulders - literaly-, Ron because his emotions always ruled his world and came first. He had been incapable and unwilling to help, not even seeing past his own grief and pain. Ginny hadn't really been there for her because the girl was grieving her brother. Plus, the year on the run changed things. There previous friendship had been frayed. Ginny, even though she didn't mean to, resented the proximity between Harry and Hermione that only seemed to flourish after the Final Battle and after rumours of Ron's departure in the middle of the hunt started to flow.

Rumours which source was still unknown nowadays, but that had destroyed the picture perfect image of the Golden Trio in the eyes of the Wizarding World. Ron had been separated from them in the public opinion and asked to justify his actions. Which he did by blaming Hermione's and Harry's proximity. A move that had made Hermione vulnerable because Harry was too revered to be touched. He had also been too tired to try and defend her, and Hermione had been left on her own devices as Mrs Weasley took her son's side and Ginny benefitted from the beginning her estrangement from Harry.

The breaks in those relationships had pushed Hermione towards other friendly figures such as Remus, Tonks and Minerva. Remus had been her rock, a figure between a father and a brother to help her brave the storm; Tonks had made her laugh with her clumsiness and her crazy motherly ideas of what Teddy should wear. Finally Minerva had been her mentor, her lighthouse in the tempest. In truth Hermione had been separated from the Weasley's and Harry before the break up with Ron, it was just a question of time.

She had started writing when so few people seemed to take the time to appreciate her pain. Finding a sense of cleansing in the simple act of laying it all on paper. She hadn't thought about publishing or even making someone else read what she thought were trivialities. Her book had been born from loneliness… A loneliness that she had exiled herself in for month before deciding to simply leave. If her sudden departure had surprised all it was because they had simply been too lazy to reach for her in the first place, and the few that had were too busy with their own lives to really give her the attention she needed to heal.

So Hermione, the Princess of Griffindor, the Brightest Witch of her Age, had done the only thing she could do to save herself : she had left…

And here she was, at five AM, in her little apartment, contemplating her life of carefully chosen relationships.

A life that seemed to shorten by the second, and where physical and emotional pain kept reappearing despite isolation and chosen loneliness…

Aaron Hotchner was conflicted.

The team he presently directed was operational, fully functional and very efficient. So adding another member could disturb the balance. But at the same time this women's credentials were really amazing, and could present themselves as real assets. And the fact that David Rossi was the one currently asking him to look into it, made this young women even more intriguing. Plus the BRASS had been asking him to revamp the team with fresh blood.

She had a very impressive academic background which was always a plus in the high level positions of the FBI, but as Spencer Reid was already on the team, her presence may seem redundant. Her IQ even surpassed that of Reid's by a few points, with an impressive 190. The fact that this women had never been spotted before and was a College TA was baffling ! Yes she was young but she obviously was a genius, in the literal sense of the word.

How had she managed to fly below the radar?

That question was the real problem for Hotch, she seemed perfect, but perfect did not exist. So where had she been? What secrets of her past could be big enough to prevent her from seeking a more fulfilling and demanding position?

Moreover the issue of her book still remained: how did such a young female write about a subject such as the teenage mind and war? She could not be from a country in war and as far as he could tell she had never been in the Middle East. Hermione Granger was a puzzle…

A puzzle that only one thing could unravel : the mad computer skills of one Penelope Garcia.

Penelope Garcia had arrived in her office even earlier then the 7.30 am not mandated, but usually appointed office time. But when she set to open the door she found not one, but three team members waiting for her with surprisingly blank face expressions: her boss Sir Hotch - as she alone called him in the privacy of her mind - JJ, and David Rossi.

- "Sir, err… Good morning. Good morning to you all… Is there an issue? Am I in trouble? … I know i shouldn't have sent those emails from this computer to the man selling baby penguins in the internet, but Sir… Baby penguins… those poor defenceless creatures?"

- "We will address this issue at a latter time Garcia", said Hotch with a shake of the head. "At present we need you to look into anything you can find about this young women."

And has he said that a paper file with Hermione's photo and the few relevant informations they possessed were passed to the technical analyst.

- "JJ will need to be informed if anything… shady comes to the surface, as she will contact Miss Granger for an interview if you do not find such information.

- Of course Sir, JJ will have that information as soon as possible."

As the group left the office Garcia opened what she presumed was the file of a seasoned FBI, or government official of some sort. But she was surprised by a photo of a smiling brunette with beautiful wavy hair, if a bit puffy, and wide dark hazel eyes smiling at her from the cover of a book. A young female who seemed to have a big scar that peaked out from both sides of her collar…

- "Right Baby Girl, let's find out about this lovely creature.. Oh I hate going about the lives of innocent looking females, i feel like a pervert!"

Garcia shivered one time and then the uneasiness disappeared out of her system as she got her mojo.

The first things she found were her employment records at the university of Seattle, as well as an old offer from the FBI that Miss Granger had declined, followed by her ID card, which indicated that the young women was actually British, and school records from age 4 to 11, then her various postgraduate degrees in Criminal Science - A PHD no less -, Anthropology, and Sociology.

How on earth did she manage to obtain that many degrees? Garcia went back to the ID provided and found, that indeed, this young women was still in her twenties.

- " Well the Good Doctor might just have some competition…" She thought with a smile.

Continuing her searching she unearthed a new qualification that baffled her: that young Miss Granger had a degree in something called "The Chemistry of Brews". Which was a baffling subject ! She might have to ask Doctor Reid about it…

On a personal level there wasn't much to find about young Miss Granger, her parents had died in a tragic car accident when she was just nineteen, leaving her with some small debts and the family home. But Hermione had sold it as soon as possible and had moved on with her studies to finally set foot in America. Where she had wrote a book, a book that seemed to do very well in the academic sphere as far as she could tell…

Who was this young women that tragedy seemed to have struck? And what did she do with her life from ages 11 to 19? There wasn't any school records as far as Garcia was concerned, just a vague mention of Scotland.

- " Well, i'll just have to put a question mark on that and dig in." Said the blond computer genius as she opened more advanced softwares.

But twenty minutes later the schooling of one Hermione Granger was still a mystery…

A mystery, Garcia decided, that Sir Hotch could uncover while interviewing this young brilliant author. Because she was definitly an interesting candidate, and the fact that the FBI was interested in her for the second time meant that this Hermione was definitely worth meeting.

- "I will have to sent the Young Doctor Reid on an errand that would make the two geniuses meet…" Said Garcia while she laughed. Matchmaking was definitely interesting. And if her delicious statue of chocolate thunder wasn't up to the task, she knew of a certain Emily Prentiss that was dying to help young Reid. With that thought in mind she sent a text to the aforementioned accomplice :

" Found Reid's soulmate ! Come see me ASAP :) ".