"Hermione!" Harry laughed as he found himself encased in a tight hug, returning it with equal enthusiasm.

"Let me take a look at the new defence of dark arts professor!" He held her at an arm's length, a niggling feeling developing as he noticed the dark smudges beneath her eyes and the hollow cheeks. Still, he knew that there was no point in pushing her, she would always talk when she felt ready. "Come on, let me get you a butterbeer and you can tell me how the teaching career is going!" They entered the warmth of the Three Broomsticks and there was a momentary silence as the other patrons saw it was Harry Potter; he was grateful when they all resumed their conversations even if they did try to surreptitiously glance at him.

"My my, it's been a while since I saw the two of you here! The same old?" Madame Rosmerta smiled widely at them both, holding up two bottles of butterbeer. The best friends found a quiet corner in the pub and settled down, enjoying the first mouthful of foamy sweetness from their tankards.

"You look tired, have the kids been keeping you up with practical jokes?" he teased. "You do realise you now wield the power, you could drown them in homework!"

"Believe me, I've been tempted a few times! But I'm actually enjoying the teaching, it's rewarding when you see them actually learning things! Anyway, how've you been? What've you been up to? How's Ginny?" Harry decided to let her blatant attempt at changing the subject pass.

"Ginny's great, her quidditch team are in the semi finals of the league next week! I've been in Bulgaria the past couple of months, doing hush hush work. You know what the Ministry are like. But I was working with Krum, he's a good guy, I'd never really known that before."

"Viktor?"

"Yup. He told me to ask after you. I think he still has a thing for you, so you know, if you were still interested..."he raised his eyebrow at her, grinning. He laughed as Hermione pulled a face.

"So come on, tell me what it's like being back at Hogwarts. Are all the old teachers there? Does it still look the same? I haven't been back since, well...you know...the final battle." He took a swig of his butterbeer, willing the sweetness to stop him remembering.

"It's pretty much the same, although it doesn't seem as big as when we were there as students. But I think that's just because we were so much younger. They've created a plaque in the great hall, it remembers all those that fell at the final battle." Their eyes met briefly, both remembering. "Oh, and the staff are all still there, teaching the same subjects. Strange really, you always think that things will change when you leave and your own life changes, but some things seem to stay the same."

"Who's taken over Snape's old job?" Harry was shocked to see his best friend pale slightly at the question.

"Oh, yes, I forgot to mention. She's new to teaching this year too, like me. It's Fleur. Fleur Weasley née Delacour."

"Fleur's at Hogwarts? We all wondered where she went after the war ended! I personally thought she went back to France. Who knew she was so close by after all that time!"

"What do you mean where she went after the war ended? You're her brother in law, surely you'd know! I mean, I know Ginny isn't her biggest fan..."

"Ohhh...you didn't hear did you Hermione? You haven't kept in touch with the Weasleys since you broke up with Ron that night."

Hermione put her face in her hands, a painful red blush rising to her face.

"How could I face any of them, I mean, I finished with him the night he lost his brother! I still feel absolutely terrible about that, and I've not had the gall to face any of the Weasleys since. How is he anyway? Ron that is."

"He's doing well. Engaged to Lavender Brown actually. They bumped into each other again a couple of years ago, and apparently rediscovered their feelings for each other." Harry shrugged, smiling. "She's not quite as errr...emotional as she used to be, and they're happy. You should get in contact with him. He misses you, you know?" Seeing the horrified look in her eyes, he quickly added, "Not in that way. He misses one of his best friends." Hermione raised her eyebrow at him skeptically.

"Hermione, it's been over four years, he left the anger and hurt behind him a long time ago." Hermione sighed, she did miss her friendship with the lanky redhead. She just wasn't sure how she could get in touch with him again after what she had done.

"I'll give it some thought. I do miss him." She peered into her empty tankard and waved her arm at Madame Rosmerta who brought them over another round.

"I'm sorry, you were saying before?"

"Oh yeah. About a week after you and Ron ended, Bill and Fleur got divorced." He had to pound her on the back as she gasped and spluttered on her drink at the news.

"Divorced?" she managed croakily.

"Yeah. I don't think anyone saw that coming. Ginny told me that Fleur went back to France after we resumed our search for the Horcruxes, after what happened to you." He nodded apologetically for mentioning her torture, feeling guilty for the sick looking colour she had turned.

"Are you ok, Hermione? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"It's ok, it was a long time ago. Carry on." Seeing the look of distress on her face, he doubted that she had fully recovered from what Bellatrix Lestrange had done to her.

"Umm...yes, they said she left rather suddenly, probably a family thing. She came back a couple of days before the final battle and Ginny said that she was acting kinda off, but no one had any time to find out why. And then a week later, Bill turns up newly divorced. Even now he apparently doesn't have a clue what happened between them, he was just heartbroken. To this day no one is allowed to mention Fleur's name to Mrs. Weasley. So at least you know that you're not on top of Mrs. Weasley's hate list! Hermione, are you sure you're ok? I was just joking about the hate list."

Hermione's skin had taken on a green tinge. She smiled weakly,

"It's just a tad warm here. I'm just going to use the ladies."

She rushed into the toilets, and splashed some icy water on her face. She learnt against the sink, looking at herself in the mirror, the water dripping down her face. She could feel the butterbeer churning in her stomach, and willed herself not to be sick. There was no way that it was a coincidence, Fleur leaving so soon after, was it? She still couldn't process the fact that Fleur was divorced, she hadn't said anything. Not that I really gave her a chance to say much.

Hermione went back out and found Harry laughing with Madame Rosmerta. She couldn't tell him what had happened that week, not yet. She wasn't even sure that she fully understood.

"Harry, do you mind if we call it a day. I'm not feeling great, but nothing Madame Pomfrey can't fix. But do you mind if we do this again another time?"

"No, no, of course not. Come on, I'll walk you back to the castle"

"No, it's ok, stay here Harry. I think the fresh air will do me some good anyway. Besides, I think there's someone here you'll want to speak to," she said, looking towards the door. A huge smile crossed Harry's face as he saw Hagrid enter the building. She bent down and kissed Harry on the cheek, giving him a quick hug. As she went to pull away, he held her for a moment.

"Hermione, I don't know what's going on, but when you're ready, I'm here to listen." Hermione paused, gave him a quick squeeze and turned away quickly, not wanting him to see the grateful tears in her eyes.