Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe from which this tale has been spawned does NOT belong to me. It all belongs to JK Rowling, Warner Bros. and whoever JK Rowling has deemed worthy of owning a piece of it. I only have copies of the novels and films. I am just having some fun with JK Rowling's masterpiece, and am making no money from this tale.

"Ah!"

Harry sat upright in a blur, the final images of his latest nightmare fading away. Harry wiped his eyes and face clear of the sweat and tears as his left hand searched for his glasses. Finding them on the side table, he placed them on his nose and his bedroom at Grimmauld Place came into view and focus. Harry threw his quilt away and swung his legs out of bed. He leaned over, his elbows on his knees as Harry rubbed his eyes.

"Damnit," Harry muttered as he slid out of bed and crossed the room to the door. He quietly made his way down to the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place, as to not to wake Hermione up.

He reached the kitchen and walked to the charmed icebox and pulled out a flagon of pumpkin juice. Filling a glass, Harry sat down at the table and closed his eyes.

A cold sweat broke out on Harry's forehead, even in the cold basement kitchen as flashes of people sped through his mind's eye. Most of the figures were nothing more than shadows in the dark but Harry knew who they were. The shades were the souls of all the nameless Muggles, witches, wizards and others who had been killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters during their reign of Britain. In the forefront of the crowd was another group of people but the difference was that Harry could identify each and every person in this group.

James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus and Nymphadora 'Tonks' Lupin, Fred and Ron Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid were all surrounding Harry, their arms outstretched and pointing accusingly at Harry. Their voices sounding as one, they chanted, "You killed us! You are the reason we are dead! Why didn't you save us?"

Harry bit his lip, trying not to cry out at the phantoms that surrounded him. He had battled this nightmare ever since the final causality tally from the Battle had been counted; it had been a very frequent visitor to Harry's dreams. And it was always the same, hordes upon hordes of people chanting that it was his fault that they were dead, or why hadn't he saved them or why hadn't he defeated Voldemort sooner than he had. These phantoms of Voldemort's victims had haunted him nearly every night since the Battle, the only times when they didn't visit Harry was when he either drank himself into a stupor, or he managed to sneak a Dreamless Sleep Potion from Madam Pomfrey, or when Hermione had climbed into bed with him in an effort to escape her own nightmares.

"Harry?" a soft voice came from the door. Harry looked up to see Hermione standing in the doorway, wearing a furry red robe with slippers over a pale green nightgown.

"What are you doing up Hermione?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing Harry," Hermione said, walking over to the table and sitting down next to Harry. "Nightmares again?"

Harry nodded, looking down at his cup of pumpkin juice. With a gesture, Harry Summoned a second glass and filled it with pumpkin juice.

"Harry, what did you just do?" Hermione exclaimed.

"What are you talking about Hermione?" Harry asked, a frown twisting his lips.

"You just performed wandless magic by Summoning that cup!" she gasped, pointing at the cup as if it offended her.

"Oh, that," Harry said with a shrug. "Well ever since the Battle, I've felt my magic better if you can understand, and I've found that I can perform some simple spells without a wand."

"Like what spells?" Hermione asked. Harry smiled as he saw a glimmer of the old Hermione break through, the Hermione who would devour whole books searching for answers.

"Just simple ones like Accio, Lumos and Nox," Harry said. Hermione shook her head as she grabbed her glass of pumpkin juice. Harry set his glass down and looked at his best friend. "Do you want to talk Hermione?" he asked.

"What's there to talk about Harry?" Hermione retorted. "That I can't go to sleep, or even close my eyes, without seeing all those bodies, dead. Or having Ron appear and accuse me of killing him."

Harry pushed himself away from the table and pulled Hermione into a firm hug. "Never think that happened Hermione," he said. "Ron would never blame you!"

"I know Harry but I just can't help it," Hermione sobbed, hurrying her face into Harry's chest. "It hurts so much."

"I know Hermione," Harry said. "But I am here for you. You were always there for me when I needed it, now it's my turn. Let me be the one who comforts you."

Hermione broke down as she clutched at Harry with impressive strength, he could feel her short nails scraping against his chest even through his T-shirt. Harry just gently ran his hand through Hermione's hair, trying to sooth her. Slowly Hermione's sobs subsided and her breathing evened out. Gently Harry picked Hermione up bridal-style and carried her back up to her room and laid her on the bed, before tucking her in.

"Master, I have cleared the kitchen," Kreacher said as Harry gently closed the door to Hermione's room. The House-Elf had snuck up on Harry so many times in the four months since the Battle that Harry had finally stopped jumping in fright only two weeks beforehand.

"Thank you Kreacher," Harry said. "Go and get some rest."

"Yes Master," Kreacher said before vanishing with a pop.

Harry made his way back to his room, which had been Sirius' room. He had remade the room, with the help of Hermione, into a room that he knew Sirius would be proud of. The walls were painted a deep blue, much like the colors of Ravenclaw, while the ceiling was painted a deep golden shade of yellow like the gold of Hufflepuff while on the floor, was an emerald rug for Slytherin. Harry had baulked at the idea of having anything representing Slytherin but Hermione wore him down, reminding him that not all Slytherins were evil, as well as that green rug brought out the green in his eyes. His bed was a copy of the four-poster that he had slept in at Hogwarts. Deep red hangings and quilt covered the bed with crisp white pillows and sheets completed the room. He climbed into bed and pulled his covers back up to his chin, and closed his eyes, praying to whatever deity that might be out there for several hours of dreamless rest.

A week later found Harry sitting in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place huddled over a very large book. The book was one of several tomes that Harry had taken out of the Potter family vault.

"What are you doing Harry?" Hermione asked as she entered the room, carrying a mug of tea in her hand.

"Reading of course," Harry said. Hermione shook her head, all Harry had been doing for the last week was read, and she told him so. "That's a bit rich coming from you Hermione, weren't you the one who slept with Hogwarts: A History?"

Hermione blushed as she sat down opposite Harry. "Very funny you prat," she said. "What are you reading then?" she asked.

"A book on rituals that was apparently written by an ancestor of mine," Harry said. "The name on the book says Arthur Matthew Potter, dated 1076."

"That's only a hundred or so years after Hogwarts was founded," Hermione said, forgetting about her tea and moving around the table to read alongside Harry. "What the? Why can't I read the pages, they are blank!"

"Oh right, the book said that only those of Potter blood or Potter magic could read it," Harry said. "A defense measure to make sure the spells didn't fall into the wrong hands."

"But that's not…" Hermione began.

"Hermione, if I am reading any of this correctly, then I can completely understood why they didn't want any enemies to get their hands on these spells," Harry said.

"What kind of spells are they? And rituals?" Hermione asked eagerly. Harry shook his head in fond remembrance. He began to tell her what the spells and rituals he had uncovered could do but he noticed that Hermione was frowning at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I couldn't hear what you said," she said. "Your mouth was moving but no sound or words were coming out."

Harry frowned. "That's weird," he said. "I wonder if it's another defense that the book has to keep its secrets safe."

Hermione huffed. "That's not fair," she said.

"Well you could always marry me if you want to read these so much," Harry joked but he instantly regretted it when he saw Hermione's face. It had crumpled inward, tears beginning to fall from her lashes into her now cold mug of tea. "Hermione, I'm sorry," Harry said. "I didn't mean anything by that."

"I know Harry," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. "I know you didn't mean anything by what you said. It just caught up with me; it still hurts Harry. It's like there is a hole in my heart, and its not going away."

Harry set the book down and slid over to Hermione's side and pulled her into a gently hug. Images of Ron's still body flashed past Harry's eyes as he held a crying Hermione. Soon his own tears joined Hermione's as the memories and visions of all the dead from the Battle joined that of Ron's. Harry dimly noticed that Kreacher appeared and refilled Hermione's mug and added one for Harry, and provided some sandwiches.

"Thank you Kreacher," Harry said, drying his eyes. The elderly House Elf bowed to Harry before vanishing. "Come on Hermione, have something to eat and drink, you'll feel a bit better."

Hermione just silently picked up a ham and cheese sandwich and took a small bite. Harry sighed as he picked up the book and turned the page. The heading at the top of the page suddenly became legible. It read 'The Sands of Time.' The title intrigued Harry. Setting aside his plate and mug, Harry pulled the book closer to him and began reading intently.

"Harry, what are you reading?" Hermione asked. Harry jumped slightly at her touch and looked up.

"Sorry, what was that Hermione?" he asked.

"What are you reading that has got you so interested?"

Harry paused. He knew that the magic of the book would prevent him from speaking of the ritual he had discovered. "I found just a wild fantasy," Harry said. "A fool's hope for the wildly desperate."

"Harry, you can tell me," Hermione said. "Honestly, wild and desperate hope is what got us through the War. Relying on an untrained wizard to defeat the Darkest Wizard of all time was certainly a desperate hope, even with the prophecy in play."

Harry's eyes widened at Hermione's not-so-veiled criticism of their former Headmaster, Dumbledore, and Harry had to agree with what Hermione pointed out. Dumbledore had done very little to actually prepare Harry for his fight against Voldemort. Sure, Harry admitted, there wasn't a lot to go on for Dumbledore to teach Harry but the Headmaster still could have taught Harry more spells, talked to him about Voldemort and his possible weaknesses, and even showed Harry how to destroy the Horcruxes. Things had worked out in the end for the most part but Harry did feel that things could have been easier, or at least gone smoother, especially if Dumbledore had shown Harry what went into finding and destroying the Horcruxes.

Harry sighed. "We've had this conversation before Hermione," he said. "And he is dead and the War is over, can't you just let this go."

"No Harry, Dumbledore led us all by the nose, he 'raised' you as a pig for slaughter," Hermione snapped. Harry was suddenly flung back to the night of the Battle, inside Dumbledore's Pensieve, seeing Dumbledore and Snape discuss his fate and remembering Snape using the very same words that Hermione had just used. A spring of anger welled up within Harry as he shook his head, casting away his memories.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked, noticing that Harry had fallen silent.

"Just remembering something Hermione," Harry said. "It's nothing."

Hermione didn't look convinced but she didn't press Harry. "Harry, I know something is bothering you. You won't have to tell me, but I am here if you do want to talk. You've done so much for me since the Battle, and I want you to know that you can lean on me too."

"No Hermione, there's no need," Harry argued. "I owed you for always being there for me Hermione, you have never abandoned me or betrayed me. I owe you a debt that I will never be able to repay. I would have never been able to defeat Voldemort, let alone survive this war if it hadn't been for your help."

Harry's vision was suddenly clouded by a mass of bushy brown hair as Hermione threw herself into his arms and hugged him. Harry held Hermione as she tightened her arms around him, almost squeezing the breath out of him.

"Harry," Hermione said quietly when she finally released Harry. "I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I need to find my parents," Hermione said, looking down at her hands. "It's been months since the end of the War, all the trials and…funerals are done with, so now is the perfect time to go."

Harry nodded, seeing Hermione's point. "When do we leave then?" he asked.

Hermione blinked in surprise, though she did realize that of course Harry would want to come along. "Harry, I appreciate you want to come along but I need to do this alone. I was the one who sent them away, I need to be the one who finds and brings them home."

Harry paused, holding off from telling Hermione that going off alone was a terrible idea. She seemed quite serious about her decision, and Harry knew from experience that once Hermione made up her mind, there was very little chance of changing it. But he had to try. "Hermione, are you sure this is the right course? Going off by yourself?" he asked. "There are still some Death Eaters who managed to escape the Battle, and the Ministry doesn't have the manpower to search for them. What if they somehow manage to track you down? You'll be on your own."

"Harry, I seriously doubt that any Death Eater would possibly be able to track me in the muggle world," Hermione said. "But I will take precautions. I still have the false passport that I used to go down with my parents to get them settled in and all, so I will use that instead of my real name."

Harry shook his head. Of course Hermione had plans, and probably backup plans on top of those first plans. "Ok Hermione, you obviously have thought this through," he said. "But I would feel better if you let me come with you."

Hermione smiled at Harry but shook her head. "I know you would Harry, and frankly so would I but this is something I need to do alone," she said. "There are just some things that need to be done alone, you know all about that, don't you?"

Harry nodded, he knew that Hermione was referring to Harry going off to the Forbidden Forest by himself during the Battle, and handing himself over to Voldemort. Harry bowed his head in shame, he had never told Hermione why he had gone to Voldemort, she didn't know that his scar had been a Horcrux.

"Ok Hermione, I won't argue with you anymore about this but I still don't like it," Harry said. "When do you leave?"

"I'll need to speak with an agent and set up tickets and such," Hermione said. "I estimate I will leave in about a week, maybe ten days."

"And come back when?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "Whenever I find my parents I suppose."

"How long will that take do you think?"

"I have no clue," Hermione admitted. "I hope to find them rather quickly, they should still be in Perth where I left them. Probably a couple of weeks at the least I suspect."

"Ok Hermione but please, just be careful," Harry said.

"Of course I'll be careful Harry," Hermione said. "I'm not you, I don't go searching for trouble."

"Hey, I didn't search for trouble, it found me," Harry argued with a big smile. Hermione laughed and nodded.

"I guess you have a point about that Harry," Hermione said. "Are you going to be ok with me gone? I know you still have nightmares."

"Don't worry about me Hermione, just worry about you and your parents," Harry said. "I'll be fine."

"I can't help but worry about you Harry," Hermione said. "You are my best friend, and someone I consider a member of my family."

"What?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Well of course Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "You know that I am an only child, and I don't have many cousins, all of them live in France. The Weasleys have welcomed us both into their home and hearts but coming from such a small family, it can be a bit overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I adore the Weasleys but it just gets too much sometimes. I rarely had anytime to think while I was there."

Harry nodded again, agreeing with Hermione about the Weasleys. He loved the red-haired family dearly but it did get too much sometimes at the Burrow. Thinking of the Weasleys brought back the fact that the family was two members down and Ginny was still recovering from the curse placed on her by Bellatrix Lestrange. "Hermione, before you go to find your parents, you should go see the Weasleys," Harry said. "Maybe Mr. Weasley can help you."

"Harry, you know as much as I do that while Mr. Weasley means well, he doesn't know very much about the muggle world, regardless of his job title being Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in the Ministry," Hermione said. "And he certainly won't know anything about planning a trans-continental trip."

"I guess you are right," Harry said, seeing Hermione's point. "But still you should see them."

"I will Harry," Hermione said. "Haven't you gone and seen Ginny yet?"

"No, not since we moved away," Harry admitted. "Mrs. Weasley said she would owl me when Ginny recovered, she apparently still barely recognizes her own family."

Hermione sighed and sat down next to Harry. "I understand but I think seeing more familiar faces will help Ginny. Who knows maybe your face is the one that will bring her out of it?" Hermione suggested.

"Ok Hermione, when you go to visit the Weasleys, I will come along," Harry said.

"Good," Hermione said with a smile.

Later that night, Harry once again was looking over the book of his ancestor, Arthur Matthew Potter, and the intriguing ritual called The Sands of Time. As Harry read deeper and deeper into the ritual, he realized that the ritual formed the basis of a Time Turner, but only much more powerful. From what Hermione had told him, Time Turners only could turn back time 24 hours at most, though most users only went back a few hours at most, like he and Hermione had in third year. But this ritual claimed that it could send two people back up to ten years in time, and it could send a single person back even farther, up to twenty years in time. Of course, the more people sent back meant the less time that they could be sent back. Harry was astounded; here was a way that he could fix everything. He could go back and stop the war from ever happening, save everyone. The problem was that Harry had never performed a ritual in his life, at least not as a willing participant. Harry had been part of Voldemort's rebirth ritual but as an ingredient and witness. Now the question was how far to go back? And how to convince Hermione to come along, Harry knew that he had no choice of succeeding without Hermione.

Harry shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts about Hermione not coming with him, and turned back to the book and list of ingredients needed for the ritual. His shoulders slumped as he failed to recognize a good half of the ingredients he needed. Another reason to bring Hermione in on the project, he mused. 'I suppose I should at the very least find the ingredients that I know of and perhaps work out when we would actually go back to,' he thought.

Summoning a piece of parchment and grabbing a pen off the desk, Harry began writing down the ingredients he knew of, grinning at the ease in which his pen glided across the parchment. Using a pen to write with was much easier than writing with a quill, and he also didn't have to refill a pen every few words like he would a quill.

Setting aside his list of ingredients and the book, Harry began working up the plan of when he and Hermione would return too. He knew he couldn't go back far enough to save his parents, unless he went alone, and Harry wasn't going to do that. He needed Hermione, and so he had to limit his timeline to 1988 or later. The first spot that popped into Harry's head was the day before the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, which would let him save Sirius by not being fooled by Voldemort's vision. The second spot was the beginning of fourth year in order to save Cedric, and perhaps use his inclusion in the Triwizard Tournament to train himself up, to prepare for the war without many questions. The third spot was to go back to the night of Pettigrew's escape at the end of third year, though Harry wasn't sure if that was even possible due to Trelawney's second Prophecy.

"Harry, what are you still doing up?" Hermione asked.

"Oh Hermione, I didn't know you were still up," Harry said. "Just doing some more reading from Arthur's book."

"Ok then, what has got you so interested then?" Hermione asked.

"Well, promise me that you won't laugh," Harry said. She nodded her promise. "I was planning on talking to you about it when you got back with your parents. But I found a ritual in the book that could make everything different, and better."

"Better? Better how?"

"Well it would give us a second chance and a way to save nearly everyone, Sirius, Cedric, Ron, Fred, everyone," Harry said.

Hermione's eyes widened when her mind caught up with what Harry had described. "You are talking about time travel, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"But Harry, a Time Turner can only go back a day at most," Hermione said. "You wouldn't be able to save them."

"True, Time Turners can only go back a day but I think I've found a ritual that could send two people back up to ten years," he said. "Think about it Hermione, we could save everyone and stop the War from even starting."

"Harry, don't you remember what Dumbledore told us," Hermione said. "Terrible things have happened to wizards that meddle with time. Even if we did go back, we could make things worse Harry. No, put this crazy idea out of your head."

Harry fell back into his chair in disbelief as Hermione spun and walked out of the room. In the resulting silence, Harry thought he could hear Hermione sobbing before she reached her own room. He winced as he realized he had probably been pretty tactless just then with Hermione. Harry knew that beneath the strong façade that Hermione was putting on, she was still hurting a lot from the Battle. Setting aside his parchment and book, Harry extinguished the lights of the room and made his way up to his bedroom, trying to quiet his racing mind as he went. But it was going to be quite difficult as the faces of his loved ones and friends kept appearing before him.

Meanwhile in a room down the hall from Harry's, Hermione lay in her bed trying to do the same as Harry was banishing the faces of her loved ones and friends from her consciousness. She had been battling these demons ever since the Battle, trying to keep them from her head and thoughts, not to forget them but to allow herself some peace. And now just as she was beginning to move past her losses and nightmares, Harry had to provide that foolhardy idea of time travel. It was something that had crossed Hermione's own mid in her days of grief and madness, one brought on by desperation and grief. But she knew that playing with time was dangerous, there could be unforeseen consequences, even if things went right. Hermione wasn't sure she could handle seeing all those who had died alive again, Fred's laughing face, Remus' warm smile, Tonks' constantly changing face but most of all Ron's bright blue eyes and booming laughter.

A wave of fresh tears spilled from Hermione's eyes as Ron's face appeared in her mind, every freckle in its proper place, his blue eyes sparkling with laughter and the touch of his warm, slightly chapped lips on hers.

"Ron," she whispered to the silent room, praying to God or whatever was out there to let her feel that touch just once more. But her plea went unanswered and soon Hermione fell into a fitful sleep with images of Ron, her parents and all those lost in the war dancing around her.

"Are you sure about this Hermione dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "You don't have to go alone, or by Muggle methods, I am sure Arthur can help you."

"Thank you but no Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. "I need to do this alone, it will be safer if I travel by muggle transportation and less conspicuous, no Death Eater will know how to track me, they hate anything Muggle. And also, the less people who know about me leaving the better."

"I can understand why you feel that you must go alone," Mrs. Weasley said. "But my dear, you are just a gi…young woman, it is dangerous to travel alone, and to go so far."

"No less dangerous than before," Hermione answered. "And certainly less so now that I don't have a death warrant out on my head. My mind is made up Mrs. Weasley, and I will not change it."

Mrs. Weasley stayed quiet, realizing that the conversation was over with. Harry was quite surprised that Mrs. Weasley had backed down, though the Weasley matriarch had changed drastically since the Battle. She had lost quite a bit of weight, almost to the point that her robes were just hanging off her frame, and her kind face was lined and shadowed along with her eyes.

"Harry dear, you aren't planning on leaving anytime soon?" Mrs. Weasley asked turning back to Harry. "I am sure Ginny will be up and about soon, and I know that she would love to see you again."

Harry gave Mrs. Weasley a weak smile and nodded. He glanced at Hermione who gave him a sad smile. Harry knew that Hermione was still hurting from Ron's death and he did not want to get back with Ginny so quickly, as it would remind Hermione of what she had lost.

"So do you have everything you will need?" Harry asked as Mrs. Weasley went upstairs to give Ginny her lunch. "Do you need anymore money? I can go to Gringotts and exchange some more Galleons."

"No Harry," Hermione said, shaking her head. "You've done enough for me."

"I just wish that you would let me come with you Hermione," Harry said. "I know you can look after yourself but you are my best friend, and I am going to worry about you."

"I know Harry but I've told you this I don't know how many times already, I have to do this by myself," Hermione said. "And no, I have enough money."

"When does your flight leave?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow morning from Heathrow," Hermione said. "It will have a stop over in Singapore before arriving in Perth around midday the day after."

Harry nodded. "Ok Hermione, I just wish you'd let me come with you," he said. "Yes, we've had this discussion many times already and I have accepted your decision but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Hermione smiled as she patted Harry's hand. "Thank you Harry," she said. "Are you going to go up and see Ginny?"

"Not today," Harry said. "Ginny has just started recognizing her family, and I don't want to overwhelm her. And besides we have to go see Andi and Teddy. You need to explain to Teddy why you will be gone for who knows how long," he added with a smirk, which grew seeing Hermione's face pale slightly. She and Teddy had immediately bonded, Hermione becoming a mix of an older sister and a mother to Teddy with an ease that astounded Harry. He was making progress with Teddy but it was tough for Harry to see the son of Remus and Tonks, knowing that they could have been raising their son if he had been quicker, stronger and braver.

"Be careful Hermione," Harry said as he embraced his best and oldest friend in the international terminal of London's Heathrow airport.

"I will Harry, and you do the same," Hermione said. "Look after yourself and Teddy, tell him that I will be back as soon as I can. And go visit Ginny, she wants to see you Harry, and I know you want too as well."

Harry nodded. "Good luck Hermione, I hope you find your parents," he said. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to owl me. And I'll be on the next flight."

"I will be fine Harry but I will send you a letter if something happens," Hermione promise. "I need to go now Harry."

Harry let his arms fall from around Hermione as she stepped back. She looked over her shoulder briefly before surprising Harry by quickly leaning forward and kissing Harry's cheek. "Goodbye Harry, I'll be back before you know it."

Harry watched as Hermione spun around and walked away down the terminal toward her gate, leaving behind only the phantom warm touch of her lips and the flowery fragrance of her shampoo.

It had been three weeks since Hermione had left to find and retrieve her parents but there had been no word since that brief kiss at the terminal in Heathrow. And Harry was growing more and more frantic with each passing day. The only reason that he had not gone after Hermione is the fact that he had very little clue on how to navigate the muggle world let alone an entire new country, like Australia. So Harry decided to spend at least one hour per day traveling throughout London as a Muggle in order to reacclimatize himself to the Muggle world.

He also spent time with Andi and Teddy as often as he could, slowly opening up to the older woman and his godson. Andromeda was a goldmine of information about the politics of the magical world, and even had some stories about Remus, Sirius and James Potter from the first war. Harry had been surprised that Andromeda knew so much about Sirius and James, but Andromeda reminded Harry that she had been Sirius' favorite cousin, and how he had been the one Black family member who was willing to speak to her after she had eloped with Ted Tonks.

"Harry, please calm down," Andi said as she watched Harry pace back and forth in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place while she rocked Teddy. "I am sure that Miss Granger is fine."

"I just can't help it Andi," Harry said. "She is my best friend, my oldest friend, we've always been there for each other, and now she's all alone and half a world away."

Andi smiled at Harry's automatic and passionate response. 'He loves her, that's for sure,' she thought. 'But what kind of love, that's the question. And he probably doesn't even know himself.'

"Come now Harry, just sit down," Andi said. "Hold Teddy while I go and get us some tea."

Harry stopped pacing and sat down, while Andi set Teddy down in his lap. The baby, nearly six months old, looked up at Harry with wide brown eyes, his hair and features a near exact match to Remus'. The baby gurgled and reached up with pudgy hands, aiming for Harry's glasses. Harry had learned early on that Teddy liked taking his glasses from Harry's face, and also Harry learned that Teddy liked to throw those same glasses to the floor.

Andromeda returned from the kitchen carrying a tray complete with two cups, a teapot and a bottle for Teddy. Andi set the tray down and handed Harry the bottle. Harry settled a squirming Teddy in his arms and fed him the bottle. Soon the baby was sucking greedily on the bottle as Andromeda smiled at Harry over the rim of her cup.

"Harry, have you given any thought of what you are going to do now?" Andromeda asked as Harry set the bottle down and began burping Teddy by gently patting the baby's back. Harry looked up at the older woman.

"I haven't given it much thought to be honest," Harry admitted after a few moments of silence. "I honestly didn't think I was going to survive the War, I mean even though I was supposedly destined to defeat Voldemort but he had nearly fifty years experience over me and was considered as strong as Dumbledore at his height. During my fifth year, that career advice meeting, I tossed out becoming an Auror because it sounded cool and it would annoy Umbridge. I've had enough hunting Dark wizards and witches, or them hunting me for a lifetime."

Andi nodded. "A noble thought," she said. "I seem to recall Nymphadora talking about a group of students you taught Defense Against the Dark Arts a few years ago, quite well according to her. Perhaps you could think about teaching?"

Harry looked up at Andi in surprise. He had actually never thought about teaching, he had enjoyed the DA and the prideful feeling he had gotten whenever a member would master a new spell. "I did like teaching the DA," he said. "But I don't know if I could go back to Hogwarts, all the memories that I have of the castle, good and bad, might be too much."

"Well only you know Harry," Andi said. "But think about it."

Harry nodded and then winced as he heard Teddy belch and spit up on the towel that covered his shoulder, just for this case.

"I think its now time for his nap," Andi said, waving her wand and cleaning up the sick and then picking a drowsy Teddy up. "Get something to eat and when I return, we shall continue discussing your future."

Harry just nodded again as Andi left the sitting room, carrying a sleeping Teddy up to the room that they had made up for when Teddy and Andi spent the night.

CRACK!

Harry leapt to his feet, his wand appearing in his hand in a flash and raced into the entrance hall to find a disheveled and dirty Hermione standing there.

"Hermione, you're back!" Harry cried, quickly holstering his wand. He took two steps toward Hermione but when she turned to face him, Harry felt like the floor had fallen out from beneath him. Hermione's face was pale and sunken nearly as much as Sirius' had been when he escaped from Azkaban. There were great dark bags under her red and bloodshot eyes. Her hair was hanging lank and lifeless about her face.

"Hermione?" Harry whispered as he took a slow step toward his returned friend. It looked like she was a rabid animal, ready to leap and attack, or run off and flee at the slightest movement.

Hermione looked at Harry for a brief second before her legs buckled and she began to fall to the floor.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted as he lurched forward and caught Hermione just before she hit the floor. Harry's heart dropped as he saw Hermione's vacant looking eyes screw up with tears.

"Harry!" Hermione wailed as she buried her face in his shirt while dissolving into sobs and tears.

"What's going on?" Andi cried as she appeared at the top of the stairs. "Oh dear Merlin! Harry, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "She just Apparated in, looking like this and suddenly collapsed."

Andi came running down the stairs to Harry, who was cradling a sobbing Hermione. "Let's take her into the sitting room," she suggested. Harry picked Hermione up and quickly carried the distraught Hermione into the sitting room and laid her gently on the couch. He tried to stand back up but Hermione's hands wouldn't let him go. Harry looked up at Andi, his eyes asking for help. Andi smiled down at the helpless Harry and waved her wand over the crying Hermione. As the results came back, Andi's smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong with Hermione, Andi?" Harry asked.

"She is exhausted, both physically and magically," Andi answered. "Aside from that and some various cuts and scraps, she is fine."

Harry turned back to Hermione who had slightly released her grip on Harry but was still crying. "Hermione, what happened? Please tell me," Harry pleaded.

Hermione mumbled something into Harry's shirt that neither Harry nor Andi could make out. "Hermione dear, what was that? We didn't hear that," Andi asked.

"They're dead!" Hermione wailed.

Both Harry and Andromeda instantly knew who Hermione was talking about, her parents. Harry felt as if the world had just gone dark. 'Dear Merlin, how much more must be taken from us!' Harry mentally screamed. 'Haven't you taken enough from us? Mum, Dad, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and now Hermione's parents!'

"Oh Hermione, I am so sorry," Andi said, kneeling next to Harry, and gently pried the crying teenager from Harry, freeing him, and allowing Hermione to latch onto her. "There, there dear, let it all out," she said, stroking Hermione's hair in an attempt to calm the sobbing teen down.

"How?" Harry asked softly.

Hermione looked up from Andromeda's embrace, staring off into the distance. "They were killed in a car accident two months ago," Hermione whispered. "A drunk driver swerved into their lane apparently, the officers told me that both Mum and Dad were killed on impact, so they didn't suffer," Hermione barely managed to finish before she dissolved back into tears.

Harry fell back onto the floor. He honestly didn't know what to feel about what had happened to Hermione's parents. While he had lost his parents, the difference between Harry and Hermione was that Harry had no memories of his parents, other than that of their deaths, while Hermione had lived with her parents for years, grown up under their care and love but now that had been ripped away. And in a way that left Hermione unable to say goodbye to them.

Harry slowly crawled forward on his knees to Andi and Hermione and wrapped his arms around his best friend, offering what support he could.

A/N: Well there you have it, the newest chapter to A Chance? A Hope? It is a bit of a heavy chapter but I've always felt that JK Rowling glossed over the effects that the War would have had on the Trio and the other characters in the series. I believe that Cursed Child was as much about the next generation as it was about Harry and comp. still showing the effects of the War. And since we won't be venturing into Cursed Child territory, I needed to show how our heroes were doing with the aftermath of the War. Til next time,

SlyNinjaKnight