It had been a long time since she had felt like she belonged. Even longer since she had felt loved. By another human being at least. The animals on her little slice of heaven didn't count. This slice of heaven included a small cabin on a few acres, a small patch of woods and a little pond. Chickens woke her in the morning, her dog tucked in with her at night. Her days were filled with the bucolic fantasy she had built for herself. Miles from everyone, she had made herself self sufficient. She had been alone so long she had almost forgotten her own name. Except in dreams, she always remembered it then, screamed across a battlefield blazing with spells and fire. Death coming for all of them. She could always hear the screaming of her friends, her professors, those who swore to protect.

Afterwards, she had shaken so bad for days that she thought she would fall apart at the seams. So after a short stay in St. Mungo's, she had disappeared. She had run away from the flashing lights and the fame. Away from the only people who had ever meant anything to her. She couldn't handle being one of the "Golden Trio" anymore. Her nerves couldn't take stepping out of her front door to popping flashes and shouts. She would always be transported back to that battlefield. She kept her wand, and her beaded bag. Everything else she had fashioned by hand and by magic, a fact that she was ever so proud of. A severe case of PTSD, the medi-witches said, something that could only be cured by time. So she gave herself time, and space, and quiet.

Sitting on her front porch, Hermione Granger sipped at her cup of hot tea, watching the chickens scratch at the dirt in front of the cabin, taking in the peace she found for herself. With a smile, she nudged the bum of her white haired dog who in turn groaned lazily in the summer heat. He looked back at her with reproach at her actions. She smiled back at him and leaned her head back on the porch railing, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. "Well, Mojo, come on, time to think about dinner I believe." she chuckled to herself and raised herself from the porch steps to head back inside. Mojo didn't move, however, and looked pointedly off into the woods at the edge of her property. "Come on then, lazy bones. I know you're thinking rabbit, but I'm not chasing it this time."

She turned and opened the door, heading inside, Mojo following behind closely, still eyeing the woods. "Silly pup, come on, find your bone and get settled." she grinned as the dog went to lay on her sofa. She flicked her hand at the stove and turned on the flame wandlessly, something she had been practicing for a while. Turns out, she did have a knack for wandless, wordless magic. She began to chop carrots and onions from the garden for soup, while humming a tune to herself. The manual labor soothed her, giving her some semblance of normality that wand-work couldn't. Into the pot with the ingredients, much like making potions, she mused, turning up the flame to boil.

She moved into the living room, settling onto the sofa with Mojo, readying for a nap while the soup took care of itself. As she dozed in and out of consciousness, she could have sworn she had heard the tell tale 'pop' of apparition. She started to sit up for a moment. She had been alone here for going on five years, there was no way anyone could have tracked her, she made sure that her property was unplottable. And as far as she knew, there would have been no one looking for her. She had left notes for Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. She laid her head back down on the pillows, sighing. No, she was just imagining things. She had just closed her eyes again when a knock sounded on the front door. She sat bolt upright as Mojo jumped down off the sofa and raced to the door, barking ferociously. Her wand at her side, she cautiously approached the door, ready to hex the trespasser into next month. "Who is it?" she called, her voice steady.

No one answered, but she could see a shadow being cast onto the porch by her visitor. The door handle jiggled and she pulled it open, releasing the dog onto the visitor. She heard a man yell on the other side of the door she was hiding behind. "Damn it, Granger! Don't make me hex this dog!" a voice called back.

Recognizing the voice, she rounded the door, wand raised at the intruders face. "Draco Malfoy, don't you TOUCH my dog or I will murder you where you stand!" she yelled, eyeing the blonde who had his wand leveled at her dog.

"Call him off, Granger!" he howled, backing off the porch.

"Mojo, come back here, get inside." she told the dog, who promptly returned to his station near her legs. "What are you doing here? How did you find me? Are you alone?" rapid fire questions fell from her lips, her wand still raised.

"Granger, will you please relax? I have a reason to be here, but I need you to listen to me. Please," he raised his hands in peace. "Pax, Granger?"

Hermione eyed him once more and lowered her wand. "This had better be good." she mumbled "Pax," she agreed, retreating into her cabin, motioning for him to follow.

He moved into the interior, seemingly evaluating her decor. "Nice place..." he said as she motioned him to sit in an arm chair across from the sofa. He smoothed his hair back from his forehead, it was longer than it had been, and a slight shadow of blonde scruff showed on his jaw. It was fairly obvious that he had been roughing it while searching her out.

"What do you want, Malfoy? You didn't track me down to discuss throw pillows." she sighed, irritated with being bothered. She had distinctly told Harry that she would come back when she was good and damn ready. Not a moment before. She looked down at her hands, shaking slightly with the good scare she had received. Much better than what she had been when she left the wizarding world.

"You haven't even offered me tea? You've been out here too long. Does anyone come visit?" he evaded her question, smirking a little and reminding her of the old Malfoy she had known.

"Malfoy..." she warned, Mojo standing beside her and beginning to pick up on her irritation. "You came here for a reason, and when you leave, I'm going to need a reason not to obliviate you."

"Oh, because you're such a professional at that.."he bit out, immediately regretting it as Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Granger...Hermione...I didn't mean that. I didn't." he protested as she grabbed him by the upper arm and bodily hauled him to his feet.

"Out Malfoy, get out. And don't come back." she said forcefully, shoving him through the door and closing it on him. She leaned against the door after locking it.

"Hermione, what I came here to tell you, you're going to want to know." Draco said from the other side of the door. He had leaned his forearms on the wood, regretting the past three minutes with his whole soul. Why had he taken the shot at her parents? This woman had suffered their loss already from what Potter and Weasley had told him, part of the reason she had retreated from the world in general. "Hermione, I am sorry. But I came here to tell you one thing. He wanted me to tell you first."

She remained silent but cracked the door open about an inch. Draco looked through the crack and watched her raise an eyebrow in invitation to continue. He cleared his throat and straightened his black t-shirt. "Umm...Don't know how else to do this, but here we go." he smoothed his hand through his hair again. "Severus Snape is alive and is requesting to see you. You specifically. He's been with me at the Manor for the last year. It was touch and go for a while. He was still very weak. But he's getting much better. He's been hiding, just like you. So he sent me to track you down. And...bring you back...if you were agreeable."

Hermione paled at the mention of Snape, and opened the door wider. She searched Draco's face for any sign of duplicity and upon finding none, fainted dead away.