I do not own the rights to the characters or the HP universe.
Chapter One
Hermione awoke abruptly in a cold sweat in her apartment. She was shaking with the panicked remnants of her dream. It had been two years since the Battle of Hogwarts, and every night she continued to dream of all the death. She'd given up using dreamless sleep potions because of their addictive nature. She didn't want to become an addict like some of her remaining friends. George was addicted to self-harm. Harry was addicted to sex. Ron was addicted to, well, she didn't want to think of that. She had suggested everyone get help from a therapist, but they didn't think a muggle solution would help magical problems.
She had decided if she was awake, she should get up and ready for work. She was working in the Ministry of Magic. She was an intern in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She hated the job. Normally, she would enjoy research, but all work was aimed at accounting for dark objects and filing reports for the Battle. It was a slow process. She'd been there nearly six months and they had a backlog all the way to the beginning of the Second War.
She headed to the bathroom to take a hot shower. She stepped into the steamy water and felt the pulse of the water against her skin. She sank to the bottom of the shower and cried. She had hoped eventually there would come a day when she awoke, and the tears didn't come. She cried for Remus and Tonks, Fred, Sirius, Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, Dobby, and all the others that the war had taken from them.
When the water turned cold, she stood and turned it off. She climbed out and toweled dry. She ran a comb through her curly brown hair. She walked back into her room. She pulled on some light blue dress robes. She tucked her wand into her sleeve and put on her socks and heels.
She walked into her living room and pulled out her wand. She started a small fire in the fireplace. She was cold. She was always cold after her nightmares. She gave a ragged sigh and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed her tea kettle. "Agumenti," she murmured, filling the tea kettle with water. She grabbed a tea bag from the cupboard and placed it in the cup. She returned to the fireplace and hung the tea kettle on the hook.
She sat on the couch and tucked her knees under her. She stared into the fireplace, watching the flames dance in front of her. It was nearly six o'clock in the morning. The sun was beginning to shine through her window in golden streaks. She walked to the window and peered down at the street below. It was still quiet this early in the morning, but Diagon Alley would soon fill with the hustle and bustle of the magical world.
The tea kettle began to whistle, and Hermione jumped startled. She walked to the fireplace and grabbed the oven mitten on the mantle piece. She took the tea kettle and poured the steaming water into the cup. She held her cup of tea, feeling the warmth of the cup seep into her hands. She closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath. She saw the flames in the fireplace turn bright green and Harry exited the fireplace covered in soot and smelling of sex.
"Good morning, Hermione." He said with a bright smile. He walked to the kitchen.
She followed after him. "You should have been back hours ago," she said with a grimace. "You smell awful. You should get cleaned up before we leave for the Ministry."
Harry rolled his eyes at her, "If you don't mind, I'd like a sandwich first and some coffee." She watched him carefully. He had dark circles under his sunken eyes. His hands shook slightly as he fixed his food. She knew the sleep deprivation was causing his moodiness as well as his irritability, but his words still stung a bit.
She mentally steeled herself and spoke, "Harry, you need to seek help. You can't keep going like this. Ginny-"
"Don't!" He said in a harsh voice. "Hermione, I'm not going to a psychiatrist or a mind healer. I'm fine." He growled the last sentence before stalking his way down to his room.
Hermione gave a sigh and decided to leave early. She was tired of having the same argument with him, with all of them. She made her way over to the fireplace and took the floo powder from the mantle. She threw a pinch of the powder into the flames and watched them turn emerald green. She stepped into the flames and said in a firm enunciation, "Diagon Alley." She tucked her elbows closely to her sides and shut her eyes tightly. She felt herself falling through space and heard the roaring in her ears. Just as suddenly as the falling started, it stopped. She felt her feet slam into the fireplace in the Ministry and bowed her knees slightly to absorb the impact.
She stepped out of the fireplace and waved her wand to clean the soot from her clothes. She walked quickly toward the elevators and stepped inside with a group of witches and wizards she thought might work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She recognized two of them as being the one's who had scoffed at her idea for giving house elves proper clothing and paying them wages. She rolled her eyes and waited. The elevator twisted and turned and stopped at various levels allowing passengers on and off along the way. The voice in the elevator eventually announced in female voice, "Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including Improper Use of Magic, the Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamont Administration Services."
Hermione stepped out into the corridor. This was the largest department in the Ministry. Hermione was grateful to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, for getting her the internship. She wished she could love the job as much as she had hoped she would. She thought she may come to love it when the backlog of Wizarding War reports were finished. She couldn't understand how with all the magic at their disposal they had allowed the paperwork to accumulate so drastically. She supposed most of it was due to the Ministry takeover, but even then, they had still not even started working their way through it when she began her internship.
She headed down the hall and turned at the sign directing her toward the Improper Use of Magic office. She was almost to her office when she heard her name being called. "Hermione!" She turned and smiled when she saw Arthur Weasley walking quickly toward her.
"Good morning, Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, warmly. He was wearing scarlet robes with golden rubber ducks swimming along the hems of the fabric. Hermione smiled internally. Arthur's fascination with muggles was well known and she absolutely adored that about him.
"Molly asked me to find you today. She wants to invite you and Harry for dinner." He looked at her brightly. Every time he mentioned his wife's name, his face would radiate the love he held for her.
"Arthur, I'm not sure-" Hermione began and felt a pang of guilt as his smile faltered.
"Come on, Hermione," his eyes pleaded. "You haven't come to a family dinner since you and Ron didn't work out. We miss you." He patted her shoulder gently.
"Don't you think it would be awkward for Ron having his ex-girlfriend at his family's home?" Hermione asked, gazing at him quizzically.
"You were his friend long before the two of you ever dated, and you are like a second daughter to us. Plus, Ginny will be home. She's taking some time away from Quidditch and she's looking forward to seeing everyone." Mr. Weasley's eyes glittered with joy at the mention of the youngest Weasley.
"All right, I'll come, but if it gets awkward, I'm going home." She said with a tone of finality.
"Wonderful, we'll see you at 6:30, then. Did Harry come in with you?" Mr. Weasley asked looking up and down the hall.
"No, he was going to shower before coming in." She spoke. "Well, I must get to my office, Mr. Weasley. I'll see you this evening." She gave him a one-armed hug and made her way down to her office.
When she entered her office there was a memo on her desk. 'All known and suspected Death Eaters will hence forth no longer be allowed to buy or have access to Dark Artifacts or books related to Dark Magic. Inventories of all Death Eater homes will begin on 25 September.' Hermione glanced at the calendar on her wall. That was a month from now.
"Great." She muttered to herself and sat down to finish her report on the damages that occurred to Hogwarts during the last battle. She walked over to her filing cabinets and began pulling out files, pictures, and newspaper articles from the weeks following the battle. She was nearly finished compiling the numbers of gargoyle statues who had fought to protect the castle when her door opened.
"Hello, Hermione," Ron stuck his head in the door, smiling. "Dad said you agreed to come to dinner tonight." He eyed her lustfully.
"If it'll be weird for you, I don't have to. I'm sure your parents will understand." Hermione replied. She cringed internally at his gaze.
"No, it'll be great to have all three of us together again. I mean I hang out with Harry and have drinks at the Leaky Cauldron sometimes, but it's not the same without you. I mean, the three of us travelled all around Britain together for nearly a year. I miss it." He leaned against the door frame.
She could smell sour sweat and alcohol radiating off him. The smell was nauseating. "Right, well I'll be there. I really should get back to work." She glanced back down at her work, hoping he would leave.
"Okay, then," He pulled her door nearly closed, and then opened it again. "I miss you, Hermione. Can we talk later?"
"Ron, we've been over this. We're no good together." She sighed in exasperation and looked back up at him. "We gave it a go, remember? For nearly a year and a half, we tried to make it work. We're better off as friends." She was tired of this conversation.
"Fine." He snarled in a clipped tone, slamming the door behind him.
She breathed a sigh of relief and nearly gagged on the putrid odor he had brought into her office. She raised her wand and aimed it at her door, "Colloportus," she mumbled and gave a shudder as she heard the lock turn on her door. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about unexpected guests.
She worked straight through lunch. She wanted to get the last few pages of the report regarding Hogwarts. She didn't understand how some of the school's governors assumed the school trying to protect itself and the students housed within had qualified as improper use of magic. That's why Hogwarts was the safest wizarding school in Europe.
When she finished her report, she sealed it in a file folder and put it on the tray outside her door to be collected. She locked her office door for the evening and made her way down the hall headed for the elevator. It had been a long day. She arrived back at the apartment at close to 5:30. She decided to take a relaxing bath before heading to the Weasley's.
As she passed Harry's door, it stood ajar. She could hear moans coming from inside and rushed to pass it. She didn't want to know who Harry was shagging this time.
She shut her bedroom door and sat on her bed. She looked around at her room. It was painted in shades of blue with sand colored carpet. It was meant to look like a beach, the one place that calmed Hermione's nerves. The paint on the wall rippled and moved like waves. She had a queen size canopy bed with dark blue silk sheets. Her dressers were the same sand color as the carpet. She loved her room. It was her private sanctuary in the chaos of her life. She had her own bathroom with a large claw-footed bronze bathtub. She walked into the bathroom and sat on the side of the tub. She began to draw a bath. She added some bubbles and lit some aromatic candles Fleur had sent her for her birthday. She turned the lights off and sank into the hot water. She rested her head on the back of the tub and her eyes grew heavy.
There was a sharp knock on her bathroom door a short time later. "Hermione? Are you okay in there? It's 6:15. If you're coming to the Weasley's, we need to leave soon." She heard Harry's voice from the other side.
"Yeah, I'm coming. Go on ahead. I'll apparate. I won't be long." She called back to him. She heard him close her bedroom door behind him as he left.
She stood and stepped out of the now cold water. She wrapped a towel tightly around herself and made her way to her dresser. She pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans, clean underwear, a blue long-sleeved blouse, and a bra. She dressed quickly and dried her hair. She braided her hair loosely and headed for the front door.
When she and Harry had decided to become roommates, they had both decided it was best to apply anti-apparition wards to their apartment along with a few other defensive charms. You could only apparate from outside the apartment door. Once she had shut and locked the apartment door, she apparated away to the Burrow.