DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters mentioned. They are all property of J.K. Rowling.

A big thank you to Carter Love for her amazing beta skills and encouragement. I would also like to thank everyone who complimented me on my first fan fic and encouraged me to write another. Love to you all!

Hermione sat in the middle of a stack of boxes in her London flat. One would think that having lived here since July, they would be completely unpacked come December.

For the most part, she had settled into her new abode quite nicely. But these particular boxes remained in the far corner of the room, completely untouched. They seemed to be a constant reminder of what had once been, and a future she thought was unshakable.

All things considered, life was good; some might even call it great.

Harry had defeated Voldemort once and for all, leaving the wizarding world in a state of peace that had been unknown for years. He and Ron had been offered a special acceptance into the Auror training program by the newly appointed Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. They accepted the offer with gratitude, choosing to get a head start in their careers instead of returning to Hogwarts to finish their education.

Hermione had been offered the chance to return to Hogwarts to finish her education, which she accepted immediately. Once the school had been rebuilt, she returned that September as a seventh year. Things seemed to be going well, Ron and Hermione had even finally addressed their feelings for one another, making them officially an item.

Massaging her temples, Hermione stared at the boxes stacked before her.

Why did all good things always have to come to an end?

Hermione had started her seventh year at Hogwarts as Head Girl under Headmistress McGonagall in the fall of 1998. The young witch was thrilled to have Ginny there as well, at least then she didn't feel quite as alone. Even though her two best friends had began training, they kept in touch on a constant basis.

Things overall seemed to be going fairly well, and even her relationship was rock solid, key word being was.

While it had been easy to correspond frequently and meet during Hogsmeade weekends at first, N.E.W.T.s preparation and Auror training quickly intensified, leaving less and less time for the couple. Even the closeness of her friendship with the Chosen One had dwindled. Days turned to weeks without much talking between the trio, causing the sturdy and fortified fortress to crumble between them.

"Ginny, have you heard from Ron or Harry lately?" Hermione asked on one February morning.

"Oh yeah, I just got an owl from Harry yesterday asking about plans for Valentine's Day," the redhead replied nonchalantly, shoving a piece of toast into her mouth.

Scowling behind the latest copy of the daily prophet, Hermione's thoughts ran a mile a minute.

Harry had time to write Ginny, did he?

She might have expected this type of behavior from Ron. After all, he was Ron for Merlin's sake. The goofy, lanky ginger had always been awful at keeping up with correspondence. Harry, however, she expected more from. Not only did they fight side by side for seven years, at one point they had even lived in a tent together for several months. She was always the one person who stuck with him through it all.

In addition to her bitterness towards Harry, she came to the heartbreaking conclusion that Ron most likely didn't even realize that Valentine's Day was approaching!

This was not what she had expected at all. It never dawned on her exactly just how fragile of a line their friendship was walking on until Easter Break. Ron had owled her, inviting her to the Burrow and she was excited to see both of her best friends as Harry was also expected be there as well with Ginny. She counted down the days, assuming it would be the perfect time to reconnect with the both of them.

Well, you know what they say to those who assume things.

When Hermione and Ginny apparated to the Burrow on the first day of break, anticipation filled the air from the impending reunion of the golden trio. However, the warm friendly feeling had been short lived.

Shortly after arriving, the two girls found that the boys had not shown up yet.

"I'm so sorry dearies, but they got called to the Ministry over an hour or so ago. High profile Auror business, don't you know! But I expect them back anytime now. Have a seat! Tell me all about school," Mrs. Weasley said them with a sympathetic smile, ushering them into the warmth of the kitchen.

At that point, there had still been hope. Taking a seat they made small talk with Molly over tea, they relaxed. There was still plenty of time to spend with the boys.

By the time Ron and Harry finally walked through the door, it was nearing midnight. A bright smile broke out on Hermione's face as she rushed to hug them both.

Merlin, she missed them.

Harry and Ginny disappeared shortly after exchanging a few niceties about their wellbeing. At that moment in time Hermione could not have cared less about the brief introduction, as it had finally given her some much needed time alone with Ron. She was planning on telling him all about her studies, and she wanted to hear all about what it was like to be an Auror so fresh of age. Unfortunately, all Ron seemed to want to do was snog.

At first, the snogging was nice. She knew they hadn't shared much intimacy in the later months, but she had to breathe sometime. Breaking her lips from Ron's, Hermione gave him an exasperated look.

"What?" he asked with a puzzled look. "Haven't you missed me?"

"Of course I missed you! But I would like to do more than just snog for the entire break," she giggled. "Plus I have so much to tell you! And I want to hear all about your job," she urged, stroking his arm softly.

"There"s not much I want to talk about, 'Mione. What can I say? It's just a job, and kind of the last thing I want to talk about right now. I missed you, can't you just leave it and just get back to kissing me?"

The entire break Ron continued to avoid much conversation, choosing instead to attack her mouth every time Harry and Ginny mysteriously vanished. The entire reunion was a disaster. Try as she might, the flame between the couple seemed to flicker and quickly disappear. The spark between their kisses, the very same that- at one point- caused butterflies to swarm around her stomach and overtake her senses, had vanished completely.

It hadn't been very long when it dawned on Hermione that their prolonged absence from one another was possibly not the only issue responsible for putting a strain on their romance. Without the threat of war and constant impending doom lingering, it became blatantly obvious they really had nothing in common. The one thing that tied the trio together and bonded them, was now finished with.

It appeared Harry and Ginny were genuinely happy together; what was it they had that made them so different? The couple blossomed under similar circumstances. It just didn't seem fair. He was treating their friendship like an old toy he used to love and play with constantly, but now it laid in the back of the closet, long since forgotten. She was fairly sure this was due to him thinking with the head below his belt, and less about their friendship.

With a new resolve, she made a promise to herself to try to make it work. It just had to.

After all, without the boys, who was she really? The three of them were the golden trio. They had even gotten their portraits on chocolate frog cards! For seven years they had done everything together, and been each other's everything. Ron and her was something she wanted since fourth year, and everything had worked out in her favor. Despite her unhappiness, she wasn't about to let all the bonds she had forged slip through her fingers.

Hermione finished her last year at Hogwarts by the end of June, and a lengthy list of job offers began to pile up. They all jumped at the chance to snatch up Hermione Granger- the brightest witch of her age- for employment. She had been an integral part towards the fall of the Dark Lord, and everyone wanted her to work for them.

Hermione decided to take the offer for the position in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. After founding S.P.E.W, she knew she wanted to continue her work helping other creatures, which she was very passionate towards. With Ron and Harry working at the ministry as well, it was perfect. But come her first week on the job in July, she swiftly learned that some things are just too good to be true.

Harry had always been a natural leader and was destined to climb the ladder quickly in the Auror Department. During the scarce moments away from training and missions, he took up his time with Ginny. Other than a quick wave or a few short words, he didn't have much time for Hermione.

Ron on the other hand, was clearly not handling his new job well. It appeared to her that Auror work hadn't been such a good path for him, as he found it to be more mentally and psychologically taxing, and less satisfying. More times than not, he sought to find the answers to these problems at the bottom of a bottle.

Her strained relationship caused her to be utterly oblivious to Ron's problems up until she moved into her flat at the beginning of her work with the Ministry. But after a small deduction, it only took about two nanoseconds to realize that he was not the Ron she once knew. It was a realization she didn't like one bit.

They fought constantly for weeks, with each party undeniably avoiding the obvious rift between them.

The final straw came in September. Ron decided to leave the Auror Department and join George at the joke shop. The facade they had constructed could no longer be ignored at this point. In the end, they were two entirely different people who wanted two completely different things.

She was ambitious, already making strides at the Ministry. Hell, some said she was well on her way to be Minister for Magic. Ron was an Auror simply because Harry had chosen that path. It wasn't ever truly his passion. Not to mention the fact that he had trouble processing everything they went through during the war. He was turning into a person she didn't like, a drunk.

A mutual decision was made to call it quits. Ron didn't want to stand in her way and Hermione couldn't stand by and watch him drink himself to death. As hard as it was to let go of one of her safety nets, she needed to.

The icing on the cake had been her other best friend, who always appeared too busy to be bothered with the fact that Hermione felt like she was falling apart at the seams. Harry was always far too occupied for her to even talk to him about anything.

This had all transpired roughly three months ago and yet, here still sat these boxes in her flat.

She had told herself originally she was much too busy with work and trying to repair her relationships to bother, and had carefully stacked them to the side.

Lies.

Hermione knew exactly why the boxes were still here, covered in dust and untouched. With nothing else to do and no time like the present, she decided to unpack them.

One by one, she carefully opened the boxes. It was around halfway through the second box that the tears began to build behind her eyes, and gently fall down and stain her cheeks. She picked up a photo of all three of them in third year, after a quidditch game. Gryffindor had pulled off a spectacular win against Ravenclaw and Harry had scared Malfoy half to death with his patronus. This was her past, their past. She sniffled at the thought that this once was what she considered proof that nothing would ever change between her and her friends.

The next item she pulled from the box of past memories was the sign up for sheet for Dumbledore's Army. Scanning the names, tear drops fell onto the page; seeping into the parchment.

What had happened? How did it come to this? They seemed so rock solid. It wasn't until she pulled out a photo of them from The Daily Prophet from the 3rd of May in 1998, that she completely broke down.

Uncontrollable sobs racked her body.

For seven years, they had been unstoppable. When Ron left during their search for horcruxes, she had been devastated. The absolute feeling of despair and heartbreak in his absence was how she knew she had loved him. His return was a faint light in the sea of darkness that she desperately needed.

Despite her anger towards his departure, she had been relieved and overjoyed he had came back, back to her. And she had always loved Harry, the only way you could love a brother. Hermione was an only child, but knew that the bond between her and Harry was much deeper; he was her family. Never once had he not been by her side and protected her tooth and nail. Even when that meant taking on fully grown mountain trolls at the age of eleven.

Snapping herself out of her musings, she found herself holding her knees and rocking on the floor.

That was it, she couldn't take it.

She couldn't sit in this flat alone anymore. She needed to get out.

She needed air.

And dear Gods, she needed away from those boxes.

But where could she go?

She could probably go see Ginny, and she would-if it weren't for the fact that her and Harry now lived together. She would hate to intrude on their very little time with one another.

It being December, Diagon Alley would already be decorated for Christmas and she had always loved how it looked during the holiday season. With a quick grab of her coat, she dabbed at her eyes and apparated into the calming escape of the darkness.

Shaking the snow from her coat, she shook out her hair as well as she walked into the toasty Three Broomsticks.

Morgana, it had been so long since she had been here.

Of course, it hadn't changed in the slightest since she was here last. Taking a seat quietly at a table towards the back, a kind looking, middle-aged, brunette witch came up to take her order.

Without missing a beat, Hermione ordered the strongest firewhiskey available. She needed to clear her head and butterbeer just wasn't going to cut it tonight.

"Interesting choice, Granger," a smooth voice said from the table next to her. "I never took you to be much of a heavy drinker," the man continued.

From the moment he opened his mouth to speak, to the way he used her family name, there had been absolutely no doubt in her mind as to who it was occupying the seat next to hers. To the right of her sat Draco Malfoy, molten silver eyes staring directly towards her.

He was dressed in an all black suit, and she couldn't help the exasperated huff that escaped her mouth.

She knew she was looking for human interaction, but did it have to be him?

She thanked the Gods when her firewhiskey arrived at exactly that moment, knocking the glass back and finishing it in a single gulp.

"Is the Weasel around too?" Draco asked, scanning the crowded bar. "Let me guess, perfect Potter is on his way as well," he said in a snarky tone.

"No," Hermione said with annoyance, making sure to avoid eye contact.

She didn't want to converse with her childhood bully about the status of her relationships. Out of all the people she could run into in Diagon Alley, it had to be him.

It's a Tuesday for Merlin's sake! What was he doing drinking alone during the week in Diagon Alley?

Pursing her lips, Hermione looked at her empty glass with a frown. Sighing, she held it up and signaled to the bartender that she was ready for another. She was here to forget about Ron and Harry; not discuss them with her school nemesis.

Throwing a side glance at Malfoy, she noticed that the years had definitely been good to him. The black suit added a stark contrast against his almost white hair and piercing grey eyes.

'Hermione, what the fuck are you thinking? This is Malfoy, for Merlin's sake.'

She thought when she caught herself staring a bit longer then she had intended.

Her firewhiskey arrived and she slowly sipped it, trying desperately to empty her mind and ignore the presence next to her.

"So how is the Weasel? I heard he left the Auror Department. Probably for the best, he was a dumb prick to begin with," Draco said win a flat tone, smirking at her. "On the other hand, I hear Potter is quite the he's always been the favorite, hasn't he? So that's probably a stretch, no one would dare speak ill of the Chosen One and Savior of the Wizarding World."

His words were laced with sarcasm and malcontent. Having enough, Hermione's head snapped up to make direct eye contact with him.

"No Ron is no longer an Auror, but I don't have a sodding idea how he or Harry are," she snapped. "Besides, it's none of your business in the slightest," she spat before turning her eyes back to the glass in her hand once more.

The blond contemplated her for a moment before responding.

"Don't tell me, it couldn't be!" he said sarcastically, causing her to shoot daggers into the side of his face before turning away again. "Are you telling me the precious golden trio is no more?" Draco asked with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

She had no idea why the bloody hell she was even having this conversation to begin with.

That's when she noticed the chair next to her sliding out away from the table. Draco plopped down, turning to face her.

Just what in the fuck did he think he was doing? She had made it pretty clear she didn't need, nor want to speak to him in first place, let alone share the same table.

"Malfoy, I came here to relax, not sit and discuss my life with you like we're friends. Just piss off already, I don't need your gloating on top of everything else," Hermione replied, raising her eyes to look at the former Slytherin once more.

He was looking back her with an expression that could almost pass for genuine concern, if she didn't know him better. She was surprised when she didn't pick up on any malicious intent, or ulterior motives coming from the man next to her. It could have been either the firewhiskey talking or the sting of loneliness, but she decided maybe it wasn't so bad he was sitting there.

"To answer your very private question, no Ronald and I are no longer together," she sighed. "And Harry and I aren't as close as we once were, so I wouldn't know how he's doing," Hermione said sadly.

"Oh, I see," he said with a furrowed brow. "Well, that was a idiot move on the Weasel's part, he probably isn't even capable of picking out his own clothes. And Morgana knows that perfect Potter is too stupid to come up with ideas on his own."

Hermione snorted, shaking her head and almost spitting out her firewhiskey.

If only everyone could see her now, drowning her sorrows in booze and talking about life with the boy who had made Hogwarts hell for her. All things considered, it could be much worse. She could be sitting here discussing her love life with Lavender. The thought alone made her scrunch her nose up in annoyance.

Breaking from her reverie, Malfoy placed a few galleons on the table. "For what it's worth Granger, I always thought you could do better than those two," he stated simply, grabbing his coat and turning to leave. When she saw he had laid enough money down for her drinks as well, she stopped him.

"Malfoy! Wait, you don't need to buy my drinks, I can handle it."

"Consider it a peace offering after everything, Granger," he replied.

Hermione stared at the shiny galleons placed on the table with a dumbfounded expression.

Peace offering? How much had she had to drink?

Eyeing her expression, a smirk once more spread across Draco's face, "Let's just say, maybe, I was wrong in the past."

Maybe he was wrong?

Looking down at her empty glass she entertained the idea that someone might have slipped something in it.

Was she hallucinating? Wrong about what,exactly? His views on muggles and muggleborns alike, or his relentless taunting of other students throughout the entirety of school?

She looked up in order to ask him to elaborate, only to catch the back of his coat sweeping out the door.

"You and I walk a fragile line
I have known it all this time
But I never thought I'd live to see it break
It's getting dark and it's all too quiet
And I can't trust anything now
And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake"
- Haunted, Taylor Swift