Preface:
I like to save things. Important things. Like house elves or people or the entire Wizarding world. But also silly things. Porcelain bells, the kind you get at the souvenir shops. Cookie cutters you'll never use, because who needs a cookie in the shape of a Wizard's hat? Love letters. Of all the things I save, I guess you could say my love letters are my most prized possession. I keep my letters in a teal hatbox my mum bought me from a vintage shop. They aren't love letters that someone else wrote for me; I don't have any of those. These are ones I've written. There's one for every boy I've ever loved – five in all. When I write, I hold nothing back. I write like he'll never read it. Because he never will. Every secret thought, every careful observation, everything I've saved up inside me, I put it all in the letter. When I'm done, I seal it, I address it, and then I put it in my teal hatbox. They're not love letters in the strictest sense of the word. My letters are for when I don't want to be in love anymore. They're for good-bye. Because after I write my letter, I'm no longer consumed by my all-consuming love. I can drink my tea and not wonder if he likes cream and sugar in his tea too. I can be reading a beautiful poem and not be thinking of him. My letters set me free. Or at least they're supposed to.
As Hermione enters her bedroom, something feels off. She can't quite place it though. Her eyes roam around the entirety of the room and eventually land on the teal hat box her mum gave her. It usually resides in her closet but instead it was currently at the foot of her bed next to some plain brown boxes full of clothes and books. After a moment, she shrugs her shoulders and decides to move on from the feeling by grabbing one of the boxes and turns to leave the room. At the same moment, Ginny comes bouncing in the room with a suspicious amount of happiness.
"Hey Gin, these should be the last boxes and then we should be good!" Hermione tells her in passing as she walks out of the room.
She was finally doing it; she was moving everything out of her childhood home and moving on. It had been 5 years since the end of the war, which meant it had been 5 years since she had tracked down her parents and returned their memories. Turns out, they very much enjoyed Australia and had decided to stay. Hermione, not ready to fully let go of her childhood, had stayed in the home she had grown up in. But now it was time to sell it and move on.
"I can't wait to see your new flat! You said it was right in the center of London didn't you?" Ginny all but squeals as the last box is packed into her parents' old car. Without taking a breath, Ginny continues, "We should get everyone together tonight to celebrate you moving into your new place!"
"Oh I don't know Ginny, all this moving has been a lot, and I have work in the morning." Hermione quickly replies, while internally cringing at the thought of getting together with all of her friends.
Ginny quickly responds, "Oh come on Hermione, it's been forever since we got the group together and I don't know if Ron has said anything but he is recently single again..so I'm sure he's due for some cheering up..."
Hermione feels a spasm in her stomach, not in elation, but in fear. She knows that whenever Ron becomes newly single he starts to get ideas in his head that maybe this time they could make things work between them. And Hermione was sick of having to squash that idea over and over again. Sure they had had a good go of a relationship right after the war had ended, but it quickly became apparent that they were not a good match. Especially with Hermione deciding to go back to continue her education at Hogwarts and Ron, well, Ron deciding not to.
"How about we just do a girls night? There's a pizza place right around the corner from my flat that I need to see is any good, and I know you really enjoyed the last romance movie I made you watch!" Hermione can see Ginny slowly coming around to the idea, and is filled with relief when she agrees.
"Alright Hermione, but don't think I'm through with trying to get you to be more social these days. Everybody misses you AND I know it's been months since you went on your last date." She says with a tinge of mischief in her eyes.
Hermione visibly bristles at the comment, and quickly defends herself. "Well, I've decided to focus more on my career right now, haven't I? But you're probably right, I did get a harassing owl from Harry last week saying he would start resorting to drastic measures if I didn't make the time to see him." A beat later she continues, "Ok, ok, I promise to try a little more after this week, once I've settled down and everything. Alright?"
"Alright, I will get off your back for now...but only because I have a feeling your life will start to become a little more...interesting." Ginny all but whispers the last part as she bounds up the stairs to Hermione's new flat.