For the next two weeks, Hermione tried to fit into her "new normal" routine. She got up early, had breakfast, went to classes and excelled at them, had dinner with Ginny, Luna, or Neville, and then back to the dorm to meditate and bathe and try and calm her mind. Unfortunately, this plan was not working well… every book that fell off a table, a shadow in the corner of a room, or cold chill that happened to cross her path made her jump. Her nights were filled with nightmares of being tortured and hiding from the dark lord and she wondered a lot if her mind would ever allow her to move on.
At the start of the 3rd week, she received a letter from Harry telling her all about the Auror training that had been doing. She felt a pang of longing for the boys that were her constant companions for so long. Harry invited her to meet them in Hogsmeade the coming Saturday for lunch and catch-up and the idea of that really made her feel better. Something to look forward to.
Saturday rolled around faster than she had expected and soon enough she was on her way down the cobbled pathway to Hogsmeade. Ginny was practically bouncing with excitement at the idea of seeing Harry. When they entered the pub Ginny jumped into Harry's arms. " gosh I have missed you!" She said as she hugged him tight and planted kisses all over him Hermione greeted Ron. It was as awkward as every hug had been since that kiss during the war.
The kiss during the war messed with the trio's friendship. Ron had claimed it was just a moment of passion and nothing more and that he still only saw her as a friend whereas Hermione had always felt a will they/won't they type pull when it came to them. The part that made it hard to move on was that when Hermione tried to talk to Ron about it he closed himself off. Made a joke about it and made her feel dumb for even thinking it could be more than just an adrenaline-filled moment.
"So how are things going Mione?" Harry asked as they sat down. She thought for a moment about how to answer. She could tell them the truth and see if maybe they had some of the same struggles after the war or she could do what she does with everyone else and pretend to be okay. She took a deep breath and readied herself to answer the hard answer. "Do you guys struggle with anxiety after the war? Like a lurking feeling that at any moment we could be back in the war?" The three sets of eyes watched her shocked. "That's just silly. We won. You saw Voldemort die yourself" Ron spoke first and immediately Hermione felt her put her mental walls up. Harry and Ginny didn't really answer, they redirected the conversation to other topics. Hermione was thankful for that as she didn't have the heart to go on with that conversation.
After eating lunch the four of them walked around Hogsmeade getting their shopping done. They got new quidditch gloves for Ginny before heading over to Hermione favorite place in this town. The bookstore. The store was quite busy in the front where all the best sellers and new releases were stacked. Ron was browsing the comics and Ginny and Harry were looking at biographies of ex-World Cup quidditch players but Hermione explored deeper. In the dark back section of the bookstore, she could always find something exciting. A book on the history of Salazar Slytherin was lying on top of one of the tables, a quick spell book for organizing your house next to it. Children's book about flying a broom for the first time. This section of the store was always her little hideaway.
For the first time in a long time, she was not alone back here. On the floor in the darkest corner sat Malfoy reading a book that she couldn't quite make out. Before she had a moment to question what he was doing here a bang sounded out through the store and Hermione ducked behind a table. As she slowed her breathing she realized Malfoy had done the exact same thing. He had jumped behind the table closest to him and currently sat there with a hand on his chest, eyes closed, and taking deep breaths.
The shop keepers voice could be heard. He was yelling at some kids about not letting fireworks off in the store. Fireworks. She got up and moved to where she could see the rest of the store. Her companions were all standing in the front laughing as these little first-year students got thrown out of the store. She turned around to ask Malfoy if he had gotten a fright too but he was gone.