Hello Again! My muse decided that this story should only be a one-shot after almost a year of thinking about making it a multi-chapter. It seems to fit as a one-shot. I would like to dedicate this story to one of high-school English teachers who passed away unexpectedly last week. She encouraged my creativity and taught me to think beyond what was normal. You were a wonderful influence Mrs. Freeman!

Of course, I must say much thanks to my wonderful Beta Stephanopolis09 & Bookhound89 for giving me another set of eyes. Enjoy!

COMING HOME

Hermione gently laid her guitar in its case beside the chair she was sitting in and looked around dark room around her, lit only by the candles floating around the ceiling.

Had it really been ten years since she was last back here? Ten years since she received her diploma? Ten years since she decided to take a chance with Ron, only to be left hurting yet again when he left her for a witch from Beauxbatons a couple months later?

Since then, she had done what Hermione Granger did best, she threw herself into her work and her causes. And of course she couldn't just focus on the rights of Magical Beings, no, she decided to go a step further and help those who were ridiculed for their family members who were Death Eaters, even though they themselves had stayed out of the grasps of Voldemort and their relatives. She had made many enemies for her stance in support of former classmates like Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott. It was quite ridiculous that the wizarding world was prejudiced against them because of their blood, the same way their family members had been prejudiced against her. No matter which way she looked at it, it wasn't right.

Sighing, she lifted the guitar back up again, placing her fingers on the strings, and began playing again. The notes that flowed from the instrument were strong, but had a sense of pain to them. Then her voice rang out as the words to Daughtry's 'Home' flowed forth.

"I'm staring out into the night,

trying to hide the pain.

I'm going to the place where love,

and feeling good don't ever cost a thing.

And the pain you feel is a different kind of pain.

I'm going home.

To the place where I belong.

Where your love has always been enough for me…"

Her voice was rich and sultry, and echoed through the Great Hall of Hogwarts. She felt it was a fitting song for her situation and life. She definitely did not regret the life she had chosen, even if it meant losing some friends. When she took up her cause, Ron had blown up and ended their friendship, taking Ginny with him. She always blamed Hermione for Ron ending up with the blonde bimbo from Beauxbatons whom she hated more than even Fleur, Bill's wife. Then when Hermione started helping the Slytherins, it caused a bigger rift between them. With Ginny abandoning her, that meant Harry stayed away as well to keep the peace with his wife. The rest of the Weasley's couldn't be bothered, they were more concerned with their actual family and keeping them together after the loss of Fred. Hermione just wasn't family.

The tears were streaming down her face as the last words of the song were sung, "Well I'm goin' home."

Hermione had just wiped at her face when the sound of a person clapping was heard from the main doors at the back of the room. She gasped as her eyes searched the shadows for who had heard her private serenade.

"Who's there?" she called out.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Mya," a deep, rough voice replied. "I was walking down to the dungeons and heard a sound so came to investigate and was greeted by your beautiful song."

A smile spread over her face as a familiar, large, dark man stepped forward into the light. "Marcus," she breathed out. "It's late. You should be asleep."

"Couldn't sleep," he responded.

"I know the feeling. Come here and tell me what's keeping you up tonight," she said summoning another chair to her side after putting her guitar back in its case and shrinking it and placing it in her pocket.

Marcus walked up the center aisle and stood in front of her. "Where did you learn that song?" he asked.

"Oh, it's a Muggle song that was popular last year. It's called Home by an American group called Daughtry. It usually fits my mood," she told him.

"And what mood would that be?" he asked, his eyes focused on her.

Taking a breath, Hermione told him "I often times feel lost. I have all these places I consider to be 'Home', yet at the same time none of them are. I'm not even sure I know where home is anymore. It's not with my parents. They never forgave me for altering their memories. I ended up selling the house I grew up in because they stayed in Australia. Then this was home for seven years. But it was never home either because I was never really accepted for being Muggleborn. As much as it was home, it still was missing that feeling of truly belonging.

"Then after the war, everyone had somewhere to go and I just…didn't. Harry and Ron moved in together to Grimmauld Place to focus on being Aurors. Harry had Ginny, Ron had his flavor of the week. I had nowhere to go, so I just purchased my flat and I've been there ever since. I used to consider my friends to be home, but when I started my work, they didn't agree with me, so I spent less and less time with them. Even the one constant in my life, my half-kneazle Crookshanks, he disappeared during the war. Now, 10 years later I have my flat, and now the building, and well, that's it."

Marcus looked at her, then said, "You have Adrian, Theo, Blaise, and Tracey. You have all the kids that came after us here that were too young to even understand what was going on but are still scorned because of choices their parents made." Taking a deep breath, he knelt down and looked Hermione in the eyes. "I know I'm no prize, but for what it's worth, you have me."

Hermione felt a quiver race through her body as she looked into the dark grey eyes of Marcus Flint. Six years older than her, she hadn't really known him while in school. He had been able to escape though and avoided taking the Dark Mark because he didn't agree with the whole pureblood mentality.

A single tear escaped her eye and slowly slid down her cheek. Marcus reached up with his large, calloused hand and gently wipe it away. "Hey now, Princess. There's no need to cry. It's okay."

"Oh Marcus. I don't know what I would do without you," she told him. "Can I hug you? I know you don't like physical affection, but it's just us here…Please?"

Marcus sighed. He never touched anyone outside of a handshake. However, ever since his second meeting with Hermione, all he had ever wanted to do was hold her. Growing up, his parents had never shown any affection, least of all to each other or their only son. He had been taught that to show affection was to show weakness and Flints were not weak. His father only considered his mother a vessel for his base urges, so there was no affection there. His mother had shut down completely and was just a shell of the woman she might have been if it weren't for his father. Marcus, himself, had been raised by house elves who only took care of his basic needs. After graduating from Hogwarts, instead of apparating back to his family manor, he made a split second decision and he disapparated to a remote location in America. Eventually he ended up in Seattle, WA where he took a career placement test that directed him to law enforcement. He became a muggle police officer and eventually joined a Tactical Specialists team. He gained discipline, finesse, and muscle. He learned structure, strategy, and patience. It was during his 12th year of service that he received a career ending injury. With the Wizarding War over now for going on eight years, he figured he would be safe going back.

He was wrong.

*FLASHBACK*

He was apprehended by the Aurors almost as soon as he apparated onto English soil. It was only because of his training that he was able to remain calm and answer all questions demanded of him. He had been in the tiny Ministry Interrogation room for going on 20 hours when the door burst open and a tiny witch with a riot of curls stormed in.

"What charges are you holding him on?" she demanded.

"Suspicion of being a Death Eater," the arrogant Auror retorted.

"Does he have a Mark?" she asked haughtily.

The Auror stammered "Um, well…uh…well no."

"So you are holding him solely because his father was a Death Eater. Is that correct?" she stated.

"It's a known fact that Death Eaters raised their children to follow in their footsteps," the Auror replied arrogantly.

"So he's been arrested because of who his father was."

"What more proof do we need to show he's a Death Eater?"

"Ron! Of all the bullheaded, idiotic, arrogant, ill-informed, preconceived notions…How in the world did you become an Auror?!" she spat.

"Why are you defending him!" the angry Auror yelled back at the tiny witch.

Marcus watched the two silently as he listened to what the two were saying.

"I'm done. I'm taking Mr. Flint with me. If you had done your research you would have realized he wasn't even in England when the war was going on. In fact, he was living as a muggle in America, serving as a Police Officer. Let me put that in words you can understand – a Muggle Auror! He was even placed on a special task force team to hunt down extreme criminals. Now, if I have access to this information, surely the Ministry of Magic's Department of Law Enforcement has the same information. So again, I ask you, why are you holding Mr. Flint like a hardened criminal?" the spitfire of a witch concluded with a glare. Marcus schooled his features so as not to show his surprise at how much of his past she knew.

The Auror just stood across from them and turned as red as his hair.

The witch huffed in frustration before saying, "Get your things Mr. Flint. We're leaving."

With that she turned towards the door and left the room, Marcus following close behind, not willing to spend another second in the room.

When they got to the atrium, the witch stopped and looked up at the behemoth of a wizard in front of her. "Do you have a place to stay Mr. Flint?"

Shocked at her words, Marcus had to shake his thoughts free. "No, I was going to look up a couple of old friends that I kept in touch with."

"What friends would those be?" she asked seriously.

"My buddies Adrian Pucey, or Theo Nott," he replied.

"Good choices. Now, give me your arm and we'll get out of this insane asylum."

"Before I allow you to cart me off anywhere, might I inquire as to who you are?" Marcus asked her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm Hermione Granger. I am an advocate for Children of Death Eaters who didn't follow in their parents' footsteps but are being discriminated against because of their blood. It's rather a reverse discrimination from what the war was about," she said holding out her hand to me to shake.

Remembering his breeding, he did the one things she didn't expect. He raised her dainty hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Marcus Flint, former Police Sargent for Seattle."

She blushed a pretty shade of pink and gave him a shy smile. Marcus just quirked an eyebrow and smirked at her.

Collecting herself, Hermione straightened her shoulders and said "Well, we're off to the building I own where your friends are staying. Unfortunately, because of closed minded Ministry Officials, those only guilty of being children of Death Eaters are unable to purchase property, find employment, or really do anything in the Wizarding World. Most lost their family homes to the Ministry, along with all of their family money. Well, the money is quote – being held until such time as it is proved that they will not restart the Death Eater practices they were raised with. My solution was to purchase a building of flats and in exchange for room and board, everyone assists me with my work and the upkeep of the building and anything else that might be needed. A few have been able to even get muggle jobs to help support the Center."

"So, you are telling me that the funds I have in my muggle bank account, from 12 years of service on the force, and my pension, and the money for my medical care is going to be confiscated by the Ministry?" he asked her.

Smiling slyly, Hermione replied "As long as you keep it in your muggle account and don't transfer anything to Gringotts, they can't touch it. They still refuse to believe you have been living as a Muggle and therefore don't believe you even have a Muggle bank account. The others weren't lucky enough to know how to do that. I think you might be quite an asset to the group. You can help me teach the others about the Muggle way of life and how to fit in. I could also use your expertise in security measures for the Center. The Ministry has started spying on us and harassing the CODEs, or the Children Of Death Eaters. Cheesy, I know, but it works. It pisses me off and I want it stopped. If you don't mind that is…"

"I think we can work out some sort of agreement Miss Granger," he told her with a smirk.

"Please, call me Hermione. Well, come along. I know some people who are going to be very happy to see you again."

Marcus laid his hand atop her arm and the pair disapparated from the Ministry building.

*END FLASHBACK*

That had been in 2006. Now it was 2008 and the group had been welcomed to Hogwarts by Headmistress McGonagall. She admired the work Hermione had done and understood why. As much as the Headmistress had always been hard on the Slytherins, she had actually admired the ones who were able to stay out of the war and not follow their parents. She had worked with Hermione to provide work for the CODEs.

Since the Ministry refused to allow them to work at Hogwarts during the school year, she instead had them come to the school during the summers and help with the upkeep of the castle. They stayed in the castle during the summer months, typically in the Dungeons, in exchange for their work. This gave them glowing recommendations from the Headmistress and gave them a change of scenery.

Occasionally, some of the CODEs would decide they wanted to be free of everything and would give up their wands to Hermione and make a go of life as a Muggle. It didn't happen very much, but it did happen. Hermione would label their wands and place them securely in a safe in case they decided to come back.

Together, Marcus and Hermione had helped acclimate all of the CODEs to Muggle life well enough so that they could all get jobs and open their own bank accounts. After the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of the End of the War the next day, the group would be finishing up their final group assignment at Hogwarts. Most of the group would be heading out on their own into the Muggle world over the next year, so they could once again be self-sufficient. He knew that everything was hitting Hermione and he also figured that she thought she would once again be left alone in this world, unsure of where she belonged.

Marcus sat in the chair Hermione had summoned and before she could do anything, he lifted her up and sat her in his lap. Shock radiated from Hermione's face. Marcus did not touch people, so this was completely unexpected.

With one hand wrapped around her body, holding her close, his other drifted up to her head where his fingers carded through her crazy curls. "Mya, do you realize how amazing you are?" he asked in a whisper.

"I'm not amazing," she argued quietly.

"Oh but you are. I couldn't believe how much you knew about my life in America. I hadn't spoken to anyone about where I ended up. Not even my best mates did because I didn't want to take a chance of them letting it out where I was. You're not going to tell me how you knew about me, are you?" he asked.

Hermione just shook her head, no.

"You the most discriminated against Muggleborn. Yet you were the person who stood up for the CODEs. You didn't even cave under the pressure of your closest friends. You are the one person in the Wizarding World who has probably lost the most and yet you continue to fight for everyone else. I know Theo would be completely lost if it weren't for you. He probably would have Avada'd himself shortly after the war on CODEs began. He's such a good and mild mannered guy, how anyone could think him a Death Eater I will never know. Then there's Adrian, he just gets along well with everyone and loves any beautiful female regardless of magical blood or not. He's a playwizard, but he's not a Death Eater. Tracey, she lost her family because she refused to marry a Death Eater and was blasted off her family tree, yet she's still discriminated against because she's a CODE. Then of course there's Blaise. Blaise was so angry. He lost his best friend Draco because he wouldn't follow him. No one tells Draco no without repercussions. He went through Hell and back, but he stayed away. All of them would be nothing if you hadn't taken them in and given them something worth living for. I don't think they would have listened to anyone but you. You have saved them. To me, you are amazing," he told her sincerely.

"The day you walked into that interrogation room," he continued, "I was ready to just say 'Fuck It'. There's nothing worth dealing with this narrow minded crap. But then you walked in, your curls crackling away in agitation, and just laid into that Auror. Now I know that he had been your best friend, and was your ex-boyfriend. But watching you defend me the way you did, without even knowing me. Seeing you get all riled up, and then just telling me to get up and leave. I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my entire life. The passion that flowed through you in that room, I wanted to kiss you so badly. In fact, I still do."

Hermione's breath hitched as she looked into the severe Wizard's face, her eyes searching his for…something. Finally, she whispered "You want to kiss me?"

"More than anything," he replied, his hand cupping her head still with his thumb grazing across her cheek.

They sat there for a few moments staring at each other before Marcus closed the distance between their mouths and gently brushed his lips against hers a few times. Hermione just sat there without reacting, until he started to pull away. Unsure of what to do, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his with more force. At first Marcus was shocked because he thought he had offended her by kissing her. However, now she was holding him close and kissing him. He tightened his grip on her and tilted her head before brushing his tongue across her lips. When she opened her mouth, his tongue dove into her mouth to dance with hers and deepen the kiss.

The kiss continued for several minutes before they finally broke apart, resting their foreheads together and breathing deeply.

Hermione was the first to speak. "So that's what everyone's always talked about."

Marcus looked at her quizzically. "Surely you've been kissed before. A beautiful and talented witch like you had to have been highly sought after in school and these last 10 years since the war ended."

"Well, I wouldn't call what Ron did to me as kissing, per se. It was more of a slobber fest that left me looking for a tissue to wipe my face off. And Viktor, he was sweet and just gave me a chaste kiss because he understood that I was just 15 when we went to the Yule Ball together," she told him.

"Viktor who?" he asked, not recognizing the name as someone from Hogwarts.

"Viktor Krum. He asked me to the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament. We've remained friends over the years, but his home is in Bulgaria and mine is here," she told him nonchalantly.

"You dated Viktor Krum, the International Quidditch star?" he asked in disbelief.

"Um, yeah?" she replied uncertainly. "Is that a problem?"

"No! Not at all! I met him once at an exhibition game that was held outside of Seattle. It was the one Wizarding function I ever attended while living in the states. I was on his security detail and we got to talking. Really nice guy," he told her.

"Yeah, he is. His wife is really cute, and they just had their second child a couple months ago," she said half dreamily before the expression on her face turned to one of resignation.

"Hey, what's wrong Princess?" Marcus pushed seeing the change in her mood.

"Nothing. I'm just being silly is all. Don't mind me," she told him, waving off his concern.

"Not happening Princess. Tell me what just went through your pretty little head," he encouraged.

"Honest Marcus, it's nothing," she said as she tried to escape her place on his lap.

Marcus held tight and looked at her face as he replayed their conversation, focusing on what she had said before her mood changed. Could it really be so simple? He thought.

"You want a family, don't you? A family of your own, with a husband and children," he asked gently.

Hermione gave up trying to escape his lap and buried her face in his shoulder instead. "I told you it was silly," she mumbled against him.

Gently he brushed his fingers through her hair and held her close. "It's not silly Mya. You deserve those things, probably more than anyone I've ever met."

"But who's going to want to date a bossy, bushy-haired, know-it-all, who most of the Wizarding world despises, let alone marry her?" she asked as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Marcus just chuckled then said "That's easy."

Hermione pulled back from his shoulder that was now sporting a couple wet patches where her eyes had been. "It is not easy! I haven't been on a date in 10 years! In fact, other than the Yule Ball with Viktor, I've never been on a date! I did have my own little makeshift family with the CODEs, but they're all going to be leaving over the next year and I'm going to be alone again," she told him indignantly.

"You mean to tell me that Weasel, who was supposedly your boyfriend, never took you on a date?" Marcus asked in disgust.

"No, he never took me anywhere," she replied embarrassed.

"Idiots. The whole Wizarding World is full of idiots," he said rolling his eyes.

"Fine, then name someone who you think would date me," she challenged him.

"Easy. Me," he said simply.

He watched as Hermione did an imitation of an owl and just stared at him wide eyed, blinking occasionally.

"Mya?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. "Princess? Earth to Mya."

Finally, she seemed to come to, shaking her head as if to clear it. "Y-y-you want to date me?"

"Actually, no," he said, and watched her shrink away. "I want to court you with the intention of marrying you. I've spent almost two years watching everything you've done for everyone else, always putting yourself last. You've given up everything to take care of all of the CODEs. I have admired you so much and I just never knew how to let you know. I'm crazy about you Mya. You're everything I could ever want in a wife. I want to marry you. I want to have children with you. I want to make a family with you."

Hermione blinked at him again before slowly, a smile started to spread across her face. "You mean that Marcus?"

"Since when do I say things I don't mean?" he asked in exasperation.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked him, biting her lip as she awaited his reply. Marcus leaned forward so she could whisper her secret in his ear. "I've had a crush on you since you kissed my hand the day I took you from that Interrogation room. I just never thought you could feel anything towards me."

Marcus pulled back and looked deeply into Hermione's eyes before his mouth attacked hers. Abruptly, he stood up, holding her bridal style.

"What are you doing Marcus?" she asked as she held on tightly to his shoulders and neck.

"I decided I don't want to wait. I want to start on that family right now. We've waited long enough," he told her.

He smirked as Hermione's face flushed in embarrassment and she bit her bottom lip. Quickly he carried out of the Great Hall, headed for the dungeons.

From the shadows, a stern looking witch with a tall black hat watched the couple leave the room. Minerva McGonagall smiled to herself before she waved her hand, extinguishing all off the floating candles. Walking back to her rooms she smirked at the thought of what the Wizarding World would do once it got out that Hermione Granger, one third of the Golden Trio was marrying one of her CODEs. And not just any CODE, the one who had lived as a Muggle for 13 years and who was quite capable of protecting her from any force that tried to do her harm.

Minerva couldn't be happier for two of her favorite students. The one who was his biggest supporter, and the other who could take care of her mind, body, and soul.

During his seventh year at Hogwarts, Minerva had nonchalantly encouraged Marcus to run away after graduation in order to avoid being forced into becoming a Death Eater. It was she who had his real NEWT scores that showed him scoring in the top 2% of the all-time scores, instead of the scores saying he had failed.

Minerva also completely supported Hermione's goal of all of her CODEs living freely again. She had been concerned initially that someone would attack Hermione and harm her because of her stance on supporting the CODEs. But now with Marcus in the pictures, she knew she would never have to worry about Hermione's safety again. Yes, this was definitely a relationship she would gladly support. The Wizarding World would be in for a shock the next day at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of the end of the War.

Over the course of the next year, many things happened. First, Marcus and Hermione got married with Minerva officiating, and the CODEs as witnesses, overlooking the Black Lake during the summer. The following months were kept busy with a steady stream of CODEs finding work in the Muggle World that they enjoyed and venturing out on their own after setting up Muggle Bank Accounts and their own flats. Some even moved to other countries to get a clean start. Most refused to keep their wands but instead of letting them snap them, Hermione told them she would keep them with her so if they ever decided they wanted to reenter the Wizarding World, they could. She made sure everyone had her email address so that no matter where anyone was, they could always contact her. By the time Valentine's Day came along, the only ones remaining in CODE Central, otherwise known as Hermione's building, were Hermione and Marcus.

Wandering through the empty halls one last time, Hermione listened to the echo of her footsteps on the tiles and rubbed her stomach. Looking up, she saw her Husband waiting for her at the end of the hall. He just smiled at her and let her take her time.

Sighing, Hermione said "I'm going to miss this place, but at the same time I'm so glad to be done with it. Everyone's moved on and they're happy. The Wizarding World is finally letting them live their lives because they're not using magic. Now, we're about to start our own new adventure."

Finally, he walked towards. "You did amazing things Hermione. You have everyone's addresses and we'll keep in touch with them. Now, if you're ready to go, we have a Portkey to catch. Seattle awaits and we want to be settled before these two decide to make an entrance," he told her with a smirk as he rubbed her stomach.

"I love you Marcus," she said standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"I love you too, Princess. Let's go home," he replied wrapping an arm around her and holding out a baby rattle that was their Portkey to their new life.

The Portkey activated and CODE Central was left empty, with just the echoes of the past flowing through the halls.