The Cleverest Witch of Her Age; After Hogwarts

**Please Note: Harry Potter and all connected characters are the sole property of J.K.Rowling. The following story is considered fan fiction and to be used for personal consumption only and my not be used, sold, reprinted, copied, published or otherwise manipulated in any way. The author is soley responsible for this story\'s content and not recommended for those under 13 years of age. Thank You.**


The Cleverest Witch of her Age:
The after-years of Hermione Granger


Images flashed past in broken sequences, bits and pieces of color and light like running through a dark corridor with brightly lit windows. Nothing made sense. It was all confusing and pointless. A familiar feeling started to creep in. That sick feeling of disquiet when overcome by fear. Suddenly the colors and light started to spin and swirl faster and faster and then…

Darkness…

Hermione woke with a start. Her body was covered in sweat. It was the same dream… always the same. There was a meaning, she knew there was. She just couldn’t see it yet. Haunting words from a disembodied voice echoed around her. She knew the words by heart.

“Time is at hand”
“The Guardian will come”
\"For the one true love”
“Who possesses the key”
“To change the future past”

She sat up and wiped her face on the back of her hand. Her mouth was dry. She looked around her darkened room. Nothing was out of place. It never was.

Her thoughts turned to a similar thing that happened to Harry years ago. She remembered how he told her about his dreams when he was trying to get into the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. His dreams seemed to progress – change – go deeper. Hers seemed to be the same, confusing light and colors, whirling and spinning, a crying voice, a harbinger of riddles. What did it mean?

She rolled off the side of her four-poster and went to the bathroom. She stood in front of the basin in the darkness and ran cool water over a wash cloth. She rubbed the dripping cloth over her face and neck. It soothed her. She bent over and pursed her lips to drink deeply from the tap. As she straightened up, water dripped from her bottom lip onto her white sleeveless tee-shirt. She looked down and noticed it was soaked with sweat. It clung to her body like a second skin.

The beast trapped inside her growled…

She winced, as she crossed her arms and pulled the shirt over her head. The small gold chain he had given her swung carelessly across her breasts as she threw the shirt behind her. She leaned over, putting both hands on either side of the basin to steady herself. She stood there hunched over, breathing deeply. Cool air caressed her wet, overheated skin. Her long, curly mane fell around her arms and shoulders. She dipped her hand in the water and poured it over the back of her neck. It ran down between her legs. She could feel the droplets of water trace a path deep into her most private place, it made her whole body shudder. Goosebumps appeared all over as she closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. She did it again. She stood there for what seemed like an hour, trying to quench the fire that raged inside her body.

She finally straightened up and gazed with half opened eyes into the mirror. She focused on her face and noticed how drawn and tired it appeared. She reached up and pulled a towel from the rack next to the mirror and patted her face and neck and chest. She looked down and took the small golden locket at the end of the fine gold chain into her hand.

She wondered what he was doing at that moment. Where was he tonight? Was he sleeping peacefully? Was he too having restless dreams? Why did there have to be so much distance between them? Why did her feelings for him have to change…

Silent tears fell from her cheeks. They left growing circles in the pool of water.

[{@}]

The years after Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry were a whirlwind of earth shattering, life altering events for Hermione. The Death Eater attack on the Burrow three years earlier was the start of a downward spiral for her and her two closest friends. Watching the lives of those she loved get ripped apart by evil was, at times more than she could bear.

Being a Muggle in the wizard world should have been an advantage, the ability to stand on the edge of two different lives and cross between them. It would have been easy to step out of the magical realm to escape but Hermione never took the easy way out of anything. Besides, she had no desire for the company of Muggles.

She could barely bring herself to remember. The images still haunted her. The Ministry of Magic stated that the attack and destruction of the Weasley home was one of the most brutal the wizarding world had seen in over 250 years. It was an inhumane slaughter.

Hermione, Harry and Ron spent most of what would have been their 7th year at Hogwarts tracking down and destroying the remaining pieces of Voldemort’s soul. They retreaved the missing horcruxes from their hiding places. They managed, with Hermione’s incredible powers of deduction, to find them all. Somehow, Voldemort discovered what they were up to and retaliated most viciously.

The Death Eaters, marionettes of the late Lord Voldemort, were dispatched to the Burrow to capture the girl who won over Harry Potter’s heart. Draco Malfoy traded the Weasley family for the life of his father. Ginny was only 16. It should have been simple, easy to overpower a silly girl and her aging parents. They were so very wrong! Ginny fought like a tigress. Eight Death Eaters died in the fight but in the end, they killed her mother and father, Bill and Fleur. They eventually over-powered Ginny (after she killed four herself) and took her to the Riddle house where she was beaten and ravaged beyond endurance. They were too late to save her. They were too late to save any of them. It devastated them all but for Ron, it destroyed him.

Hermione and Ron were visiting Harry at the cottage he had just purchased in Godric’s Hollow. Ron had finally professed his love for her that summer and she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. She had always known she loved him. She had known since their second year at Hogwarts. Why it took him five years to see it was a question that would forever remain unanswered. Witnessing the destruction of his family and his home was more than he, or anyone, could take. His quest for revenge drove him to madness. He fell easy pray to the Death Eaters when he went alone in the middle of the night to attempt to rescue Ginny.

She should have known. She should have seen it coming. Hermione knew Ron well enough to realize he would try it. Why did she leave? She wanted to stay with him that night. She wanted to take away his pain, if only for a while…

By the time she and Harry reached the Riddle house, it was too late. They were both gone. Harry became ruthless. She watched her best friend transform into a vicious killer. It was terrifying to watch. Hermione’s rage was tempered only by the knowledge that it was Harry who would destroy Voldemort and fulfill his destiny. She would see to it or die.

He was magnificent!

Harry’s strength and courage were matched only by his skill. His stead fast defiance would become legend. He executed the plan they spent a year developing perfectly. Voldemort fell in the face of his own terror and arrogance. They stood shoulder to shoulder and watched him die.

Hermione turned away and searched the Riddle house for her prey. She knew he was still there. She didn’t know how but she knew. It was almost as if she could feel it. The Death Eaters that survived fled when Voldemort fell. Even the cowardly Severus Snape had no stomach to face them.

She found who she was looking for standing in a corner of a small, dark, dusty back bedroom. Draco Malfoy didn\'t bother to turn around when he heard the bedroom door slowly open. He simply turned his head to see who had entered.

\"Come to finish me off you jumped up little mudblood?\" Draco spit. His eyes widened when he saw her.

Hermione didn\'t reply. She noticed he was shaking nervously trying desperately to manipulate something in his hands hidden from view. She leveled her wand on him.

\"Turn around and face me you disgusting piece of filth.\" Hermione growled in a husky voice that was very much not her own.

Draco was shaking with fear and frustration but refused to turn and face her. He laughed, madly, hystericaly.

\"What\'s wrong Granger,” he hissed in a defiant voice, “can\'t curse someone in the back. How noble.\"

Anger and hatred coursed through her veins like acid but when she spoke, her voice was eerily calm.

\"You want to die like a coward, so be it. I could care less. AVADA KEDAVRA!\"

Her curse hit him as he tried to round on her. Draco Malfoy\'s lifeless body crumpled in the corner raising a small cloud of dust as it landed on the floor in a heap.

Without another thought about him, she turned to find Harry standing in the bedroom doorway. He had witnessed the entire scene. He looked at Hermione with shocked surprise. Her eyes met his for a brief moment. They were filled with sadness and pain. She brushed past him without a word.

They never spoke about what happened that night, not to anyone. Not even to each-other.


The satisfaction of killing Draco Malfoy satiated her hunger for revenge knowing that Severus Snape was next to fall in the wake of his Unbreakable Vow.

After the battle was over, she hid herself away in Godric’s Hollow. She couldn\'t face anyone. She wanted to be alone. No one could possibly comprehend the darkness that surrounded her; no-one except Harry. Only he understood the pain and emptiness, the consuming grief. They relied on one-another’s desire to ease each others pain and anguish. It was like manna for her soul. He kept her from falling to pieces. He forced her to eat when she refused. He would rock her to sleep when she would shed endless tears. Slowly, she began to heal. They healed one-another.

It was a cool spring day when she decided she was strong enough to leave Godric’s Hollow. It was time, time for her to move on, time to bury the memories and nightmares that had haunted her for those many weeks, time to decide who Hermione Granger was going to be.

She recalled that day very clearly. She stood before him in the front yard of the cottage. He held her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes.

“You’ll be alright Hermione.” He said smiling, “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

“Not half as strong as you,” she replied.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a beautiful gold chain with a golden locket and gently placed it around her neck.

“Oh, Harry,” She said, “It’s beautiful. But I don’t…have anything for you.”

She wanted to give it back to him. It wasn’t right. It felt awkward. He had already done so much for her. But those feelings disappeared after his next words.

“You’ve given me more than you know.” He answered, “You mended this with your bare hands.”

He placed her hand over his heart. She could feel it beating strong under her fingers. She could no longer hold back the tears. She held him tightly for a long time, like so many sleepless nights spent crying in his arms. Maybe she did help mend his heart, but it was his hands that held her together. For that she kissed him. She kissed him deeply for a long time like a woman kisses a man she loves.

It was that moment something happened, something inside her awoke, something that had been sleeping for many years. It sprang to life and roared. It never happened before, not even with Ron. She didn’t realize what it was then.

[{@}]

Sleep was useless. She was restless, hungry. Hermione showered, then went to her dresser and pulled out some under-things, a pair of socks, a black tee-shirt, her favorite, most flattering jeans and the jumper that Mrs. Weasley made her one Christmas, the one with the “H” on the front. Her mother helped her plait her long, light brown main in a single French braid that hung to her back pockets. No business robes today. He was going to be there.

Hermione accepted a position at the Ministry of Magic’s Muggle Liaison Office. She had been offered an internship when she was 16. Professor McGonagall set it up for her after the end of their sixth year. While there, she proved herself so indispensable that she was offered a job on the spot. She declined in order to devote her time to finding and killing Voldemort with Harry and Ron, but she had been told it was an open-ended offer.

Once Voldemort met his fate, she reclaimed her position and quickly moved up through the ranks. At 20, she became the youngest person in history to reach Assistant Head in any department at the Ministry.

It was going to be the first time she had seen him in person in almost two and a half years. She had tried to visit the cottage a few times over the years but he was never there. He was elusive. When he began working with the Auror Department, they would give her no information about Harry at all for security reasons. She understood even if she didn\'t like it.

She had seen his picture in the Daily Prophet many times. His exploits as an Auror were always front page news. She would hear her colleges talking about him as if he were a legend. Hermione knew better. She knew he didn’t do it for the glory. He had a score to settle. Unfinished business with any Death Eater that dared face him, Harry would be there. There was no mercy, he simply killed them.

She apparated to her department at 7:45 and went directly to her office. She worked until about 10:45 when she decided to make her way to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She took the lift up to level two and made her way to the Auror’s office. As she walked in the door, she saw him. He was standing with his back to her, in deep discussion with Neville Longbottom (Who became an Auror as well) and the Head of the Department, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

As she approached them, she couldn’t help but notice that Harry was even taller. His shoulders were even wider. He was lean and powerful looking. He was no longer The Boy Who Lived. He was a man.

The beast inside her howled and rattled its cage. It was getting restless.

She couldn’t help but smile. Neville glanced at her, snapping his neck with a double-take.

“Hermione,” Neville said grinning.

Harry turned around to face her. The shock of what she saw made her stop. She covered her mouth to stifle a scream.

His face possessed the darkness she remembered from that night at the Riddle house. Those visions flashed across her eyes in a split second. He wore a black eye patch over his left eye. A wide jagged scar ran down his forehead, disappearing under the patch only to re-appear down his left cheek. He had a thin go-tee. His face was rugged and tired. It took Hermione a moment to regain control and continue. Harry’s face broke out in a wide smile when he saw her and to her amazement, the darkness lifted instantly. Hiswhole expression changed and he was once again the Harry she remembered, except he looked a bit like a pirate!

“Hermione,” He said in an older voice as he scooped her up in a warm hug. She stiffened at first but when she felt his warmth, his familiar scent, she couldn’t help but press herself into him. It had been so long.

“You certainly are a sight for sore eye,” he whispered in her ear.

“Oh Harry,” she said into his shoulder, trying not to cry, “What happened?”

“Gift from Fenrir Grayback,” he told her as they moved apart, “just before I burned him alive.”
Her blood froze. He had said it so matter-of-factly, with little emotion.

“Was he a…

Harry nodded.

“Oh my God, Harry did he…” She looked at him, tears welling up.

“No…no,” He said, “Just a claw.”

She began to breathe again. With a trembling finger, she gently traced the scar on his cheek. Harry looked in her eyes, smiled and whispered,

“It’s really great to see you.”

It was a wonderful day. To Hermione, he was still the same old Harry Potter on the inside. They spent the balance of the day together. They wandered the hallways of the Ministry talking about many things. It was the first time in many years she allowed herself to talk about the Weasley\'s. She never talked about the details of the fall of Voldemort with anyone else. After a while, it was as if they had seen each other just yesterday. She took him to the 9th floor to her office. When they walked in they were instantly surrounded by a mob. Everyone wanted his autograph, to shake his hand or just to touch him. Hermione noticed how awkward and uncomfortable he was so she ordered everyone back to their desks. Amid grumbling complaints, every eye was on him when they went into her office and closed the door. She pulled out her wand and placed an imperturbable charm on the room.

“I’m sorry Harry,” she said sadly, “I just wanted to show you where I worked.”

He held up his hand as if to say it’s ok. He looked around the office. It was large and comfortable. There was a large desk with a big leather chair. There was a small, but comfortable looking couch, chair and table in the corner, file cabinets and of course, shelves of books everywhere. Everything was neat and orderly.

“This is really nice,” he said looking around.

He saw something over her shoulder and fixed his gaze on it. He walked past her and picked up a photograph of the three of them.

The memory of that day came rushing back to them.

“It was after Gryffindor won the quidditch cup our 5th year, remember?”

Harry nodded with a wide smile.

“I was banned by that wretched Umbridge and couldn’t play.” He told her.

\"That\'s right. You pretended to give Ronald the Felix Felicis potion.\" She chuckled. She put her hands on her hips in mock exasperation like she used to when Harry would irritate her at Hogwarts. \"He thought he was the Qudditch king that day...\"

\"Oh yah, I remember,\" Harry laughed, his mind going back. \"You confunded old McLaggen into missing a few goals if I remember correctly,\" jokingly waving an accusitory finger at her.

They both laughed at the memory. Harry looked at Hermione\'s smiling face and suddenly realized how very much he had missed her. How the anger and darkness that lived inside of him kept them so far apart.

Hermione watched him as she saw sadness suddenly shroud him like his invisibility cloak. He stared at it as Ron hoisted the cup high over his head and pumped his fist in the air, “I was so damned proud of him that day...\"
Tears fell on the glass like rain. He was gripping the picture so tightly that it was cutting into his palms. Hermione wrenched it from his grip and pulled him to her. He gripped her tightly and buried his face in her shoulder.

\"Oh Harry,\" she caressed the back of his head, \"It\'s ok. I\'m here for you now. It\'s time to let it go...\"

He let it all go. For the first time in his life, the years of frustration, pain and loneliness poured out of him. She stood there and held him, supported him and let him empty his soul of the pain and sorrow he kept corked up inside for years. It felt like they were back at Godric’s Hollow again. He was the one who stayed so strong for her. She never saw him grieve or cry and it gave her strength. He kept his pain hidden to help her heal. It was time for her to return the favor.

The beast was raging inside her, shaking its cage with fury…

It took Harry a while to calm down and collect himself. She didn’t know how long she had held him. She didn’t care. She had to coax him over to the couch to lie down and rest. They sat in silence on the small couch. He laid his head in her lap and closed his eye, resting as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. She smiled at the way it always seemed to stick up and grow in so many different directions even though it was soft to the touch. His grief drained him. She looked at his worn, battle scarred features and wondered what horrors he had been through since they left the Hollow. She could only imagine.

That evening she invited him to have dinner at her parents house. He reluctantly gave in. They were very glad to see Harry again. They sat in the parlor and talked until mid-night. She tried to suppress a yawn without success. Hermione never wanted the night to end. Harry stood up, thanked them graciously and told them it was time for him to go.

For the first time since she had met Harry Potter on the train to Hogwarts when she was 11 years old, she didn’t want him to leave. She didn’t want to watch him walk out her door. For the first time since she had fallen for Ron Weasley, her heart was softening. Was she ready. She was pretty sure Harry never would be without a little push. He never was much for subtle hints.

She walked him to the front door and they stepped out on the porch into the chilly night air.

“Harry?” She said quietly.

“Mmm?” He replied looking out over the lawn.

She wanted to tell him so many things. She wanted to tell him she missed him. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want him to leave…She wanted to tell him that she thought she was falling in love with him...

“Please don’t make me wait two years to see you again,” She pleaded.

He nodded.

“I mean, who knows what parts you’ll have torn off you by then,” she said as she flung her hand in the air.

Harry laughed. It was a deep, booming laughter that came from someone who\'s had little to laugh about in his life. It was wonderful to see. Just for a brief moment, Hermione could see the little messy-haired bespectacled boy who seemed to have a talent for getting them all into trouble. Harry turned to her grinning.

Hermione grabbed his arms, pulled him to her and kissed him. She couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t stop it. She didn’t want to any more.

The beast inside her howled in rage and rammed the bars of its cage again and again.

“Don’t you still need glasses?” She asked

Harry smiled a mischievous smile.

“Not any more.” He winked at her.

Harry stepped off the porch, turned and looked at her, as she smiled down at him; he snapped his fingers and was gone.

The next several months were a blur for Hermione. She was chosen to undertake an enormous project for the Department of Muggle Relations Office. The Ministry had requested a debriefing session with the Muggle Prime Minister’s Office. It was to be a week long affair. The high level meetings were to try and improve communication and response to future problems and disasters stemming from the Voldemort incidents.
It was left up to Hermione to co-ordinate meeting times, locations, transportation, lodging and security. It was a massive undertaking that required total focus. She had time or energy for little else. The long hours left her physically and mentally drained.

She barely had the energy to think about Harry much less try to keep up with his exploits. She would catch bits and pieces or hear his name in a conversation. Otherwise, she had not heard from him at all. It didn’t worry her. Hermione knew he was out there, somewhere. He was, after all, one of the most powerful wizards of all time.

The meetings went off without a hitch. The result was a vast improvement in Muggle-Wizard relations. It was considered by all to be a complete success. It was a testimony to Hermione’s strength of character, her power of spirit. Her determination earned her the respect of her staff and the gratitude of the Wizengamot. They decided to award her the Order of Merlin, 3rd Class. She was thrilled when she found out.

After the fall of Voldemort, Harry had been awarded the 1st Class honor but after explaining his reasons to the Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, he declined it with humble grace. Hermione thought he had gone mad but she knew that was just the way Harry was. He needed no glory or praise. Revenge knows no comfort.

Hermione dropped by the Auror’s office a few days before her awards ceremony. She wasn’t really expecting to see him; it was more a quest to find out where he might be. She ran into Neville Longbottom. They chatted for a while but could find out nothing of his whereabouts. She dropped a hint that she really wanted Harry to attend. She even went so far as to send an owl with an official invitation and made out as if it were from the Ministry. Still, she heard nothing.

The ceremony was nice. The staff of her department, the complete Wizengamot as well as her mother and father attended. She began to wonder if he was going to show up.
As the ceremony progressed, it became difficult for her to suppress a slight feeling of disappointment. She knew he was busy. Perhaps he had never received word. She was sitting quietly listening to her colleges and peers showering her with praise and recognition when she felt something. She turned and looked over her shoulder but didn’t see him. He was there, though. She knew it…somehow…she could feel him…his scent…his energy.

She couldn’t suppress a giggle. Her mother gave her an odd look.

Just before the Minister was to call her name, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly. It was Harry. He was under his invisibility cloak. He leaned forward and whispered congratulations in her ear. Nothing on earth could have wiped the smile from her face that day. She accepted her award with grace and dignity and she requested that the award be given to her whole department, not just her. She made it clear to all that she could not have accomplished anything without them. Her coleges cheared her loudly.

He left before the ceremony was over. She didn’t get a chance to say thank you for coming or to say goodbye. Later that day she was sitting in her office when she looked up and saw Neville Longbottom standing outside her door. She smiled at him.

“Come in Neville, it’s good to see you, please.” She motioned him to a chair in front of her desk.

“Can’t stay,” he said as he entered, “I was…um…asked to give you this.”

He handed Hermione a note with her name on it. She recognized the hand. It was from Harry. She thanked Neville as he left the office. She was barely aware he had gone. She didn’t know how but something inside told her there was nothing good in that note. A feeling of dread washed over her and her stomach clenched uncomfortably. She didn’t want to open it. She sat holding it for most of an hour, unable to break the seal. The way he left the ceremony told her more than she wanted to know.

Finally, she summoned the courage, picked it up, opened it, sat down on the small couch and began to read…

My Dearest Hermione,

I’m not accustomed to writing notes because I’m not so good with words. Not as good as you anyway. Congratulations on your Order of Merlin. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.
The day we spent together a few months back, was wonderful, however, I can’t lie to you Hermione. Seeing you again was difficult. It’s hard not to think of the past when I look into your face. I have struggled for years to put all of it behind me. I thought that killing every Death Eater I could find would somehow erase the hatred inside me but it hasn’t.
Seeing the picture in your office brought to the surface feeling and memories I have tried very hard to keep locked away. It was the same when you kissed me on you parent’s front porch. (Hermione blushed hot) I felt something. It was different from when you left Godric’s Hollow.
It can’t happen, Hermione. I can’t allow it. We have been friends too long. The history we share is just too painful. You deserve someone that has happy memories and a settled life. I have devoted mine to ridding the wizard world of the dark arts and those who choose to practice them. I have had to become that which I hate. It’s the remains of the dark curse that touched me when I was one. I never want you to see that side of me. Please try to understand. I wish it could be different. Oh God, how I wish. But it simply can’t be.

Yours Always, Harry.

Hermione sat there staring at the note. Tears were streaming as she closed her eyes trying to shut the words out if her head. She didn’t care if he was an Auror. She never thought he would be anything else. She didn’t care if he had darkness inside of him. It’s been a part of him all his life. She didn’t want him to shut out his memories. She wanted to help him put them in their right place. She didn’t want him to shut her out. She wasn’t going to accept it. She wouldn’t let him… “NO!” She screamed as she jumped to her feet and threw his note across the office.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and stormed from her office.

She was angrier than she had ever been in her life.

By the time she had made her way to the Auror’s Office her anger had turned to pure rage.

How could he be so stupid and selfish! She cursed under her breath.

She stood at the door looking around for Neville. She spotted the top of his head in one of the cubicles near the back of the room. Hermione made straight for him. An Auror nearer noticed and stepped in front of her.

“Now see here miss, you can’t just…” He didn’t have a chance to finish.Hermione jinxed him without saying a word or using her wand.

Kingsley Shacklebolt saw the commotion and reacted on instinct, years of training and dealing with dark wizards. He jumped in front of her, looking at her oddly.

“Hermione?” He asked, thinking she might be Imperiused.

“Where is he?” She growled. Her face was murderous.

“I can’t have you coming in her jinxing my Aurors, Hermione…”

“Then maybe you should train them better! WHERE IS HE?”

Her chest heaved heavily, face set in defiance. The Head of the Auror Department was 3 times her size and twice as wide but she wasn’t the least intimidated. She learned to fight the hard way and she was taught by the best. Shacklebolt weighed his options for a moment. He had known Hermione Granger since her second year at Hogwarts. Her intelligence and cunning were well known. He also knew that she wouldn’t be acting like this without reason. But still, he had a duty…

“You know I can’t tell you that…” He said, keeping his temper even.

“Wrong answer,” she said through gritted teeth. She slowly withdrew her wand still looking him in the eyes.

“Now Hermione, you don’t want this,” Kingsley eyed her wand but didn’t flinch.

He saw her eyes begin to swim in tears. His demeanor changed but still kept an eye on her wand. He didn’t understand at first but he suddenly remembered something that Harry had said to Neville.

She’ll understand it’s for the best.

It made sense. It would explain her actions. Kingsley lowered his wand.

“He’s escorting the Minister and the Foreign Wizard Ambassador to Romania. He said he would be back in Godric’s Hollow tonight.”

Hermione lowered her wand as well. The tension in her body vanished. She stepped forward, stood on her toes and kissed Kingsley on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. She turned and bolted from the office.

Kingsley Shacklebolt stood there for a moment shaking his head, knowing he stood a better chance of surviving a fight with 10 Death Eaters then he did against Hermione.

Glad she’s on our side. He thought.

Time is at hand, the Guardian will come for the one true love who possesses the key to unlock the future past…

It was getting very late. Harry was tired. He had been traveling all day. He disliked being so far from home but the Minister requested him specifically. He still wasn’t sure if he cared for Rufus Scrimgeour. He could never bring himself to trust anyone from the Ministry with the exception of Arthur Weasley and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

It was good to be home. He stood in front of his cottage in the darkness looking out over the valley. A half-moon illuminated a blanket of mist that hung thick just above the tops of the trees. It covered the entire valley.

Changes were coming, Harry thought. It meant that winter was close.
He turned to go inside. As he reached for the door knob, he stopped. He stood there for a moment, waiting, listening. He slowly opened the door and stepped into the dark foyer. He removed his traveling cloak and hung it on a peg beside the door.

“Hello Hermione.” He said still facing his cloak.

“How did you…” she replied sitting in the dark parlor.

“Scent,” he turned around and watched her, not sure if he should move.

“You know why I’m here then?” Hermione’s anger was obvious.

“Yes,” Harry said softly.

Hermione had stewed on his note all day. She paced her room at home and waited until dark to apparate to Godric’s Hollow. She waited another three hours there. Harry couldn’t possibly have known any of that but he knew Hermione. From her tone he knew she was in no mood to be trifled with.

“YOU STUPID GREAT PRAT,” she was on her feet now, moving across the room toward him, “DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT I WAS JUST GOING TO ACCEPT THIS…THIS…IDIOTIC EXPLAINATION – NO – EXCUSE FOR YOU TO RUN AWAY AND HIDE!” She threw his note at him.

Harry couldn’t look at her. He knew he only half-heartedly wrote the note. He wasn’t sure he believed it all himself.

“DO YOU THINK YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO HURTS…,” She cursed herself as the tears came, “THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH THE PAIN. We both spent three weeks in this cottage drowning in sadness. If we hadn’t been here together, for each other, Harry it would have killed us both. There has been a hole inside me for…s…so long,” She paused. Her voice threatened to leave her. “I thought I would never be able to fill it. It\'s still there. I had to force myself to go on, to live. OH GOD, Harry I was so selfish. I was so wrapped up in my own grief that I didn\'t even see that you were hurting too! I\'m so sorry.”

Hermione was standing right in front of him trembling, tears flowing down her face.

“I know darkness lives inside you. I know why. You needed it to survive. You needed it to fulfill the prophecy. I don’t care about that Harry. I don’t give a DAMN about your scar. All I see when I look at you…is you!\"

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Harry was looking down at his shoes.

“ALRIGHT,” Harry yelled, “Alright.

It surprised her into silence.

“I’m scared, Hermione…ok,” he was looking at her now, breathing hard. “I’m not sure I know how to love or what it really is. I\'m sure what I felt for Ginny was real but I just don’t know if I can take that kind of pain again. I hurt so much…I would rather face the Cruciatus Curse a thousand times then loose another person that I care about! I would die if I lost you...”

Hermione understood at last. She believed him. It was the truth. His fear was real to him. She forced herself to become calm and steady. She cupped his face in her hands.

“I love you Harry. I’ve been in love with you since the day you put this locket around my neck. I don’t want to replace Ginny. I would never want to. I loved her as well. There’s a place for her in your heart, in your memories just as there’s a place in ours for Ron. My place is in your hands, right here, right now.”

With that she kissed him gently on the lips, took his hands and wrapped them around her waist and pulled him close. He was shaking. For the first time in his life she saw a look of fear in his eyes.

As Hermione kissed him the beast inside her finally broke free of its cage. It ignited a fire inside her that began to smolder. She felt the heat rising inside her body. She pressed herself harder into him. She could feel his fear fading. His hands grasped her tightly, the heat of her passion warmed him, gave him strength and courage.

Her hands began roaming his body as their kissing fanned the flames of her desire. She pulled away from him and stepped back. He watched her. She was breathing heavy. He had never seen a look like that before. It was like he was staring into the eyes of an animal.

Raw, unbridled lust filled her. She lunged at him and kissed him hard. She grabbed two hands full of his shirt and ripped it from his body. With the tatters she pinned both his arms behind his back and kissed his neck and chest.

The beast was clawing and scratching at her insides.
The fire was raging out of control.

“I want you Harry!” She panted.

She pulled him away from the wall with a jerk and was pushing him backward toward his bedroom. She freed him from the torn pieces of his shirt. She crossed her arms and wrenched her sweater off over her head and flung it. He put his hands under her tee-shirt and guided it over her head then she reached down and ripped her bra in half.

As they kept moving, Hermione grabbed Harry’s hands and placed them on her breasts. The sensation of his palms rubbing on her hardening nipples sent shockwaves between her thighs. She moaned loudly. She was throbbing now.

She tugged at his belt buckle and wrenched his belt like a whip from the loops of his trousers. It made a cracking sound that made her smile a devious smile. Harry was smiling now too. She undid his trousers with a deftness that surprised even her.

A minute more, they were both naked. She pushed him to the floor just outside his room. She couldn’t wait any longer. Her lust and passion possessed her. She was no longer in control. She grabbed him and squeezed. She felt him swell in her hand as she fell on him and kissed him all over his face and chest. He was very hard. She rubbed her body along its length. She could feel him between her breasts. Harry’s rose up on his elbows and watched her. Hermione crawled up his body until they were face to face and she kissed him.

“You are the most amazing woman I have ever known Hermione,” he whispered.

His words set off tiny explosions between her legs as she straddled him. She smiled a sexy, dreamy smile. Harry sat up. She grabbed his shoulder to steady herself as he wrapped his hands around her slender waist. She raised her hips and hovered over him, guiding him into her with her other hand. She could feel him pressing against her. As she lowered herself she threw her head back as he entered her body.

It was more powerful than any magic she could ever imagine. No spell or jinx or love potion could ever recreate the sensation. Harry was totally lost in her. He rolled her over on her back and thrust himself deeper and harder and faster. As he made love to her, the beast that was clawing and tearing at her flesh exploded from inside her. She closed her eyes tightly, arched her back and growled a deep animal like sound. Her body shuddered and quaked as lights and colors danced behind her tight eye lids. She opened her eyes and saw a flash, then seconds later a crack of thunder so loud it shook the whole cottage. She could feel him stiffen. Harry closed his eyes, threw his head back and pushed as deep as he could. He grunted and shuddered as he gave himself to her. She could feel his warmth fill her body. It was a most wonderful sensation.

It began to rain. Lightning and thunder accentuated their love making. It raged outside the cabin in time with the fire that raged inside of Hermione. Harry took her time and time again. They made love all over the cottage. Her passion was unquenchable, her desire unstoppable, as long as the beast howled and clawed and scratched. It finally reached a mind-blowing climax when they reached it together on the kitchen table. They both collapsed in exahstion. Harry carried her to his bed and gently laid her down. The feeling in his heart for her was indescribable. Dumbledore was right after all. Love really was the most powerful magic on earth.

Hermione prided herself on knowing many things, learning, gathering information. That night, Harry finally showed her what it was to feel like a woman for the first time in her life. It was the first time for both of them, their first experience. It should have been awkward and clumsy but it wasn\'t. It was perfect. It was if they knew what each other wanted...needed. Their desire for each other was stronger than their fear of the unknown. It was as if it was meant to be...

Just before they fell asleep, Harry told her that he loved her for the first time. What she didn\'t know is he had kept something from her for a very long time...

“I have to tell you something,” he said softly, “something that could change everything.”

Hermione searched his face wondering what it could be. What was he not telling her? She made up her mind instantly…

“It doesn’t matter Harry,” she said in a defiant voice, “there’s nothing you can tell me that will change how I feel about you.” It was the truth. She knew it.

“Don’t be so sure,” he replied. She saw sadness in his eyes, “Accio wand.”

His wand flew into his hand from the living room. He held the golden locket on the end of the fine gold chain that hung around Hermione’s neck that he had given her three years ago. He gently tapped it with his wand. The locket opened. She looked inside. There was no mistaking what it was. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe that she had possessed it all that time.

“But I thought…” She couldn’t continue. Her throat seized up. She thought they were all gone, destroyed that night in the Department of Mysteries when they battled the Death Eaters for the Prophecy. Harry began to explain, there was one that escaped damage that night because it wasn\'t there…

“This one survived. I checked the ministry records. This time turner was issued to Albus Dumbledore. It was never returned. I’m not certain why but I think he knew this day may come. After Dumbledore was killed, someone must have taken it from his office. It must have been Snape. He’s the only one who could have gained access to Dumbledore’s office unless he used the Imperius curse on someone. It’s just a theory, but I think this was Voldemort\'s back up plan,\" he paused, \"and you stopped it.”

Hermione looked at him shocked.

“Me? I don’t remember…”

“No, you wouldn’t, how could you? No-one knew. It was Draco. Draco Malfoy was the key. He was the one who had the time turner. I found it clutched in his hand. It\'s my guess that Voldemort instructed Draco to use the time turner if we succeeded. But you killed him. You stopped him from using it to bring Voldemort back.”

Hermione’s head was spinning. She couldn’t believe it. She rose up on her knees on the bed next to him. She took the time turner in her hand and looked at Harry. She knew what he was thinking. He smiled a sad smile and touched her face.

“It could change everything. You could change the past. Don’t you see Hermione, you are the Guardian. It’s in your hands. Time is at hand Hermione. The guardian will come for the one true love who possesses the key to unlock the future past.”

His words hit her like a slap in the face.

“How do you know that?” She demanded. “I’ve never told you. I heard those words in my dreams.”

“So did I…” He whispered.

Everything was clear to her now. She held what could be, what might be, in the palm of her hand. They could go back. They could go back and change everything. They could stop the attack on the Burrow. They could save Ron and Ginny. They could save them all.

She got up and moved over to the window as the storm lashed at the outside of the cottage. Lightning imprinted Hermione\'s slender silhouette on his eye as the thunder shook timbers and rattled shutters. She looked down at the time turner. She didn’t know what to think. How could she possibly make a decision like that. She remembered what it felt like when she found out Ron was dead. She remembered those long weeks spent grieving. The pain, OH GOD the pain.

She remembered the last time she and Harry used a timer turner. It was to save his God Father Sirius Black. But it didn’t make any difference, after all. Sirius died anyway. If they went back, it would start all over again. Voldemort would be alive, along with all his Death Eaters. They would have to fight all over again.

Hermione believed in fate. She believed there was a reason for everything.

She spent three years saying goodbye. She could never do that again.

Harry appeared behind her. He put a hand on her shoulder.

She made her decision, her choice. She turned to face him.

“I…I can’t go back Harry. I can\'t go through it again, re-live it all. Ron is gone. Ginny is gone. All I know is that…I love you here and now. That\'s all that matters to me. Is it wrong to feel that way?”

He shook his head no and kissed her as she handed him the time turner. He went over to his dresser and laid the time turner on top. He turned back to face her.

“Are you sure?” Harry asked.

Her mind was set. Hermione crossed the room, picking up one of Harry’s shoes as she did. She stood next to Harry, raised the shoe and brought the heel down hard on the time turner, breaking it into a thousand pieces. She gave him a blazing look that shockingly reminded him of Ginny for a moment.

As the storm past, the first rays of dawn began to lighten the sky over Godric’s Hollow. Hermione Granger and Harry Potter lay in his bed fast asleep. He was cradling her in his arms, her head on his chest. Their passion the night before had burned them both to ashes. But rising like a Phoenix was a new love, real, strong and true.

…And in the silence of the dawn...in the little cottage on the hill...in Harry’s room...inside Hermione’s body...inside a tiny corner of her heart...the beast curled up and went back to sleep…purring.