Prologue

Part 1 – Ron

At the end of the second wizarding war, Hermione Jean Granger had started what would become the most news-worthy on-again/off-again relationship with her childhood sweetheart, best friend and fellow war-hero Ronald Weasley.

She had returned to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to complete her education, whilst he had been almost-nepotistically thrown straight into the Auror training program with their other best friend and saviour of the wizarding world – Harry Potter.

The distance had been hard on the young lovebirds and they had many arguments about not being able to see each other, about not making time for each other – Ron believing that Hermione put her education ahead of their relationship, when she cancelled time together for research and revision; Hermione believing that Ronald simply didn't understand how important academic achievement was to her, never willing to understand her or put her needs ahead of his own.

When graduation came, Ron finally thought - somewhat under the delusion that she had studied so hard for nothing - Hermione would have free time for him and so, in front of everyone at the 'leaver's ball', had taken himself to one knee and proposed to the love of his young life.

In complete shock and believing herself in love, assuming Ron had finally accepted who she was and what she wanted to achieve, Hermione accepted.

It took a year-long engagement of not planning a wedding, many petty fallings out and the mother of all rows which resulted in an epic public duel, much to the delight of roving reporter Rita Skeeter, for Ron and Hermione to part company under a very dark cloud of hostility and hurt feelings.

Part 2 - Draco

Unable to return to her obliviated parents, Harry seeming to take Ron's side in the break up, along with all the Weasley's, Hermione felt completely alone. She needed a sanctuary, a haven. Two weeks after the break up, she gave up her room at the Leaky Cauldron, quit her part-time job at Flourish and Blotts book shop and returned to Hogwarts.

The Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall was only too happy to accommodate her former-Gryffindor student and after noticing the young witch still spent ninety-percent of her waking life in the library, offered her the very coveted Charms internship under Professor Flitwick.

That autumn, as students filled the castle, so did another intern – one apparently reformed and rehabilitated – Draco Malfoy. It took the first term for them to talk to each other, the second term for them to form a tentative friendship and chaperone almost all of the Hogsmeade trips; by the third and final term of the same year they were sneaking to each other's quarters to rip the others clothes off and spend several blissful hours enraptured by their pleasures.

During that summer, Hermione didn't see Draco at all. He returned to his Manor home, following the news that his mother had committed suicide; having lost her husband to Askaban, the status of the Malfoy name and seizure of all Malfoy assets by the Ministry, she had slowly spiralled into depression before having a complete nervous breakdown.

Two weeks after Draco left Hogwarts, Hermione received a letter from him, saying he wasn't returning to his Potions internship with Professor Snape but planned to marry Astoria Greengrass and reclaim the family fortune and status.

Hermione understood; she and Draco had never been romantic. It was a purely physical connection – Hermione had an itch for a Slytherin and he scratched it. He had the urge to prove he could get the Gryffindor Princess on side and achieved it via seduction.

For the remainder of the summer, Hermione reconnected with Harry via letters, she wasn't nearly ready to completely forgive him yet but she did miss her best friend. They never mentioned Ron. Hermione had no inclination and Harry, apparently, knew better.

Part 3 - Luna

Towards the end of her lonely summer at Hogwarts, Hermione caught two interesting stories in the Daily Prophet: firstly, the announcement of Draco Malfoy's engagement to Astoria Greengrass – she was happy for him. The second was regarding Ronald's love life and his recent break up with Luna Lovegood.

She invited the newly single Ravenclaw to the castle for drinks and a shoulder to cry on and that night, after too much elven wine and few fumbled tentative kisses, Hermione shared her bed with a witch. It didn't matter that she was Luna's rebound; the two of witches became inseparable.

Hermione wrote freelance articles for the magazine Luna and her father owned together: The Quibbler, and even tried to be accommodating of Luna's insistence that nonsensical creatures that had never been discovered were a part of their everyday lives. For Luna's part, she was awed and challenged by the Gryffindor brainbox who had topped the class above the wisdom of every Ravenclaw during her years at school.

Their sweet relationship lasted all through Christmas and into the spring; Hermione had spent the Christmas break with Luna and her father, and Luna spent weekends at the Hogwarts. All too soon though, a hiccup arrived to upset Hermione's equilibrium. Luna was jetting off with her friend and colleague Rolf Scamander in search of a new creature in the outer reaches of Mongolia; she was going to be gone for six month.

Both unwilling to do 'the long-distance-thing', Hermione and Luna parted amicably in April and stayed in touch via owl while Hermione finished up the second year of her internship.

By the time the students left Hogwarts that summer, Luna and Rolf were engaged; Draco and Astoria were married and Harry had married Ron's sister and was expecting a son. Hermione felt a little left behind.

That is until she received a very official looking letter from the Ministry of Magic, inviting her to become a part of the 'Unspeakable' Training Program. With very little else in her life, Hermione accepted immediately.

Part 4 – Kingsley

Ever the over-achiever, Hermione chose to join the optional pre-training workshop the Department of Mysteries offered throughout July and August for new recruits – it acclimated her to how the Department and the Ministry as whole was run.

She rented a flat in a wizarding high rise near the Ministry and threw a small flat-warming party to which she invited the other apprentices starting that year, the Department Head and the Minister for Magic himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

During that party, an innocent flirtation with the Minister took on a much more interesting and extremely seductive tone. It was a fling that was kept very private. Hermione could not be seen as trying to sleep her way to the top and Kingsley had to remain as the unimpeachable Minister; and affair with Hermione Granger, especially if Rita Skeeter got her hands the story, would not bode well for either of them.

And so, during the summer of 2002, Hermione signed a magical non-disclosure agreement and torrid and very satisfying affair took place, to the knowledge of no-one else. They both knew it wouldn't last, couldn't be anything more and as Hermione's official apprenticeship with the Department of Mysteries began, the relationship settled back into a friendship with amazingly satisfying memories that kept both of them smiling when they reminisced.