The war was over and the world moved on but that wasn't always the easiest thing to do and Hermione was having a hard time. She had always excelled in school and now that it was over she was unsure what to do with herself. She had taken her NEWTS like the rest of her year in December then quickly joined the Department of Magical Creatures like she had originally planned but it still felt wrong. Her ministry mandated mind healer told her that not everything felt perfect and that she just needed time, but Hermione knew better. She was unhappy.
Her job was just a menial paper pushing job and it hurt to see the creatures she desperately wanted to help, be placed into worse situations or ignored entirely. Her love life was basically nonexistent, unless you counted the dates Ginny kept trying to set her up with. The war had changed the dating atmosphere, people were trying to make up for lost time. She was surprised at the first annual Remembrance Day Gala to see so many of her classmates married or engaged. Hermione was not in a hurry to get married and so most of her dates fizzled out quickly, she had dated Ron briefly after the war, but after several disagreements about what they expected from each other they had decided they were not right for one another. Hermione just wanted a simple life with a fulfilling job that left her feeling satisfied, no longer did she want to be Minster of Magic as that was just too high profile for her. The attention from being a war hero had left a bad taste in her mouth and often times left her feeling violated and more alone, Ron on the other hand was basking in the attention. No longer was he the Weasley younger brother or Harry Potter's tag along, now he was Ron Weasley war hero, he had destroyed a horcrux, had fought bravely in the final battle and had helped the ministry to round up the remaining death eaters. Ron was a star of his own merit and he was thriving.
Fortunately, Ron had yet to decide to settle down so he would often swing by Hermione's flat after work and more often than not, Harry would arrive with takeaway since none of them were skilled in cooking. The golden trio still often found themselves together sitting around Hermione's flat ranting about their lack of dating life and how quickly the wizarding world had moved on. Harry and Ron had both taken the Auror entry exam and passed, the six month training had ended right after the first Remembrance Day Gala and they were now full fledged aurors. Ron was thriving and would probably be in line for a promotion if he ever managed to complete his paperwork on time, something his supervisor had told him a few times. Harry on the other hand seemed less than enamored with the job, Hermione suspected he was like her and just wanted something a little more laid back than the constant chase of criminals.
Tonight was a regular night for the golden trio, they were sitting around Hermione's modest flat discussing work and eating Chinese food. It was a Friday night and somehow they had all managed to avoid Ginny's attempt to set them up on a date. Hermione looked over to Ron, his mouth stuffed with food, and laughed.
"It's good to know that some things never change," she said after wiping her mouth with a napkin.
He swallowed his food and raised an eyebrow, "What? Can't I enjoy this meal? I've got almost an entire year to make up for, you may be the brightest witch of the age but your cooking is pants Hermione".
Harry laughed, nearly choking on his own mouth full of food. Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
"I didn't see any of that famous Weasley cooking from you in the tent either Auror Weasley, don't assume that because I'm a female I'm going to be a personal chef like your mother. If either of us should have been the chef it should have been you, my mother didn't cook all of our meals. We ate out a lot."
She continued eating her Chinese, looking over to Harry who had finished his food already. "So, whose this week's date? I think she is trying to set me up with Zabini this time, please tell me she is trying to set you up with a Greengrass."
"No. I've finally convinced her to give me a break. Told her my mind healer thought I needed to focus on myself. Should buy me a few months, let me focus on finishing up Grimmauld Place." He paused a moment and took a sip of his gilly water, "Honestly I wouldn't even know what to do with a serious relationship, can you see me taking a girl back to number 12 and Walburga just screaming at her? I've got to figure out how to get that woman off the wall. Do you think you could come over this week and have a look Hermione?"
"Of course Harry, my date is Wednesday and we have Weasley brunch on Sunday but otherwise my evenings are free."
She noticed Ron was finished eating before looking at him, "how about you? Do you have a hot date planned for this week? I hear Susan Bones is back on the dating market after her and Malfoy called it quits. Didn't you like her?"
"Eh, maybe a bit but from what Malfoy let slip recently I think she may be more into you than me." He raised his eyebrows suggestively at Hermione. "I actually have a date with Cho Chang this week, on Friday, looking forward to being able to talk about quidditch to be honest, much better than the drone of fashion I sat through with Pansy a few weeks ago. Cho is on the Harpies like Ginny so I'm hopeful that we can at least have a pleasant conversation."
She listened to the boys talking about Ron's upcoming date and thought about how far they had come. It had been a year and a half since the Battle of Hogwarts and now they were on friendly terms with quite a few Slytherins. Draco Malfoy worked as a solicitor after his trial, the trio had testified that his refusal to identify them and the pressures he was under should free his name. He thanked them and had apologized for his previous behavior, so now he would join them often when they went out into Diagon Alley for food or drinks. He was slowly rebuilding the Malfoy name and the trio was happy to help him do it.
With Draco's friendship had come Pansy Parkinson, she was working with them at the ministry but after her apology had not approached until on night she showed up with Draco to an evening at the Leaky Cauldron. She and Hermione had made fast friends realizing that they had both had the job of keeping their two male friends alive through school. Theodore Nott was the next addition, the trio had never had much interaction with him in school but he apologized as well. Theo was a free agent and did a bit of consultant work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement since he had grown up with a death eater father.
It felt unbelievable to Hermione that the people who had once tormented her and her friends were now closer than some of their fellow Gryffindor classmates. She focused back on Ron and Harry, at least she had them. While unsure about the world she was living in and her job, she knew she could always count on Ron and Harry.
The rest of the night progressed like every other night. As he was leaving she made plans with Harry to look at Walburga's portrait on Thursday so she could rant about her Zabini date. She told Ron that she would catch him up on Sunday then she locked the floo behind the boys after they left. Alone. Hermione was once more alone in her flat. Crookshanks had been left at The Burrow during the war and when she had come to collect him, he had been nowhere to be found. Hermione assumed that he had found a new family or been killed in the chaos of the war, but sometimes she still called for him when she went to The Burrow.
As she sat in her bed glancing at the book in her hand Hermione tried to relax, but after reading the same sentence more than ten times she sat the book down on her nightstand. She took a deep breath and decided to work on her occlumency exercises, sometimes this would help her turn off her brain. After carefully checking her brainscape and her mental defenses she turned off the light and drifted off to sleep.