A horn blared in the distance and yellow taxi cabs blurred by as she continued making her way down the bustling New York City street. At only 7:30 on a Sunday morning, it was still unreal how crowded the streets already were. Hermione cut down a side street off of W. 40th Street and ducked into her favorite coffee shop just moments later. The tinkling bell above the door signaled her arrival, and the young girl who was always behind the counter on Sundays gave her a warm knowing smile.

"Good morning. What can I get you today?"

Hermione gave her a warm smile in return. "Hi. Can I get a large iced coffee with a splash of milk?"

"No problem. It'll be up in just a moment. I'll bring it out to you on the patio if you're staying today?" The barista responded.

Hermione only hesitated a moment. "Yeah, that'll be great." She replied while handing the girl several bills without waiting for the change.

Making her way out of a side door, Hermione was pleased to see that the patio was largely empty with the exception of an older couple finishing breakfast at one of the tables near to the side. Plopping down at her favorite Sunday morning table, Hermione leaned back in the chair and breathed deeply. It was a glorious day; the sun was shining, and the winter chill seemed to have finally left for good. Hermione loved New York. She had ever since she had moved there 8 years ago. Sure, she sometimes missed England, but those moments became fewer and farther between with every year that passed.

She was 18 when the war against Voldemort and his followers had finally come to an end. She had left soon after the final battle at Hogwarts to locate her parents, whom she had obliviated prior to their going on the run to hunt for the horcruxes. Hermione felt as though her hands were tied. She was Harry Potter's, a.k.a Undesirable No. 1, best friend. It was an almost guarantee that it wouldn't be long before Voldemort would come for the families of those who resisted him. Her parents, being the upper middle class muggles they were, wouldn't have stood a chance against those zealots, so before tensions grew to a boiling point with Voldemort and the Deatheaters, she decided to obliviate and send them away. After a year of traipsing through, what felt like, every inch of Australia chasing every minuscule lead, she had finally found them. It was as if a weight had been removed from her chest the day that she stood in front of their modest dental practice in a rural Australian suburb. She had truly felt like this was the point that would turn her life back onto the path to normalcy.

That hope and love she felt at finding them all came crashing down only months later after even the most talented mind healers in the wizarding world couldn't restore their memories.

She had felt lost. Defeated.

Longing to find her place in what she had hoped was a new wizarding world, she had continued on as she always had in the past. She eventually quit mourning, got herself together, put on a brave face, and trudged on. That's just how Hermione was. If she could trudge on, she could forget the dozens of friends and almost-family who had died at Hogwarts. If she could press on, the blank faces of her parents as they looked straight into the eyes of their only child wouldn't find the footholds to destroy her. So she pushed through.

Securing a job at the Ministry of Magic, she began working in the Department of Magical Law, wanting to be on the front lines as she watched equality and freedom emerge from the war-torn world she spent so long fighting for…

But it never came.

The same pureblood zealots that had followed Voldemort around were still as they had always been. Sure, some of them were given a slap on the wrist and a short stint in Azakaban, but at the end of the day, nothing changed. The richer families, the ones that seemingly followed Voldemort most closely, such as the Malfoys and Lestranges, were able to use their enormous wealth to bribe their way into higher and higher levels of political power. Suddenly, muggleborns were, once again, being looked down on as inferior, weaker, and potentially magic thieves. Goblins, werewolves, centaurs, and other magical beings were given no chance to obtain additional rights or dignity and were deemed little more than familiars. Hermione could still vividly remember the moment after an exceptionally horrible day at work that an epiphany came to her in a flash of undeniable and heart breaking certainty that rocked her to the core.

She couldn't stay….She didn't WANT to stay...

She had sacrificed almost everything in her for the wizarding world. She had fought for 8 years in war for which she was laughingly too young. She had fought for her parents to come back to her. She had continued fighting at the Ministry of Magic for an additional 5 years, only to be coddled, condescended, and her proposals generally ignored. After 5 grueling years, she finally had realized that everyone around her seemed to have just decided to let bygones be bygones.

Her personal life hadn't fared much better - While she spent close to a year attempting to get her parents back, everyone else was getting on with their lives. Harry and Ron moved on. They found the people they wanted to spend their lives with, got engaged, and then married. They both began putting down roots. The longer it took for Hermione to find her way, the more distant their friendship became. She knew they still loved her, and she loved them….but they had different lives now. Without the constant threat of death and the fate of the world looming over them, they just grew apart. Any lingering doubts she had about the decision were snuffed the moment that she told Harry and Ron about her decision. The look of complete understanding on their faces told her everything that she had only just come to realize. She needed to go.

With hugs to them both, they all promised that they would write and visit. The empty promises that fell from their lips were obvious to even Ron, who was generally the most obtuse of the three. These promises to stay in touch bore the same tone of those that you give to an old grade school chum that you run into at the grocery store. You both agree that you should meet up for dinner and catch up, but deep down you know that neither of you will ever follow through with any of it.

The Golden Trio had grown too far apart. While there would always be love between the three of them, that was the moment that Hermione knew deep in her heart that their friendship would go no further.

She had immediately put in her resignation at the ministry and left less than a week later.

New York had been the only place that Hermione even considered going in the days leading up to her departure. She wanted anonymity. She wanted to be able to make her own way. Most importantly, she wanted to be away from the magical world.

New York had seemed like a no-brainer. It was a massive, constantly changing place that had a life of its own, and she had loved it from the moment she had taken a step onto one of its beautifully chaotic streets. Thanks, in large part, to her monetary award from her Order of Merlin, she was lucky enough to secure a very modest one bedroom flat in the center of the bustle that was New York.

Hermione had never looked back.

Using an extension charm on one of her tiny coat closets, she had set up her own lab, and she now owned a lucrative mail-order potions business that allowed her as much or as little free time as she desired. After leaving England, she knew that she could never go back to working a 9-5 in an office again. Contrary to what she was sure was Snape's dying belief, she was actually quite adept at brewing potions. Brewing bulk batches of common day-to-day potions to mail out to the masses had been simple and took up very little of her time. But most importantly, it had also given her the majority of her days to do what she loved most - research

Her beloved vinewood wand had been broken during the Final Battle, and even the replacement that she had purchased from Ollivander's had never felt quite right in her hand. She didn't understand it, and when Hermione doesn't understand something, she has a tendency to plunge headfirst into her research. Understanding the resistance her new wand had to her led Hermione down a 7 year rabbit hole that she would have scoffed at in her previous life. Her findings led her to theorize that with enough discipline and practice, a wand was not necessarily needed as a conduit for a witch or wizard's power.

She poured over ancient tomes and practiced relentlessly for years before she felt any sense of progress towards wandless magic. She wouldn't have even considered herself adept at it until she hit her fourth year working tirelessly in her time away from making potions.

But now at 31, after seven long years working towards her goal, she had no use for a wand. She could manifest her spells straight from her palms just as easily, if not more easily, than she could with her trusty old vinewood wand. She had worked hard, and she was proud of what she had accomplished. It was interesting, thinking that the vast majority of the wizarding world believed wholeheartedly that without a wand a witch or wizard was defenseless.

Hermione audibly chuckled at the stray thought as she took another sip of her coffee. Their thinking couldn't have been farther from the truth.

"Would you like a refill, Miss?"

Hermione was startled from her thoughts as she looked up to the face of the barista, who was trying not to intrude on her quiet morning.

"Actually, yeah, that would be lovely." Hermione responded after a moment. After all, she had the whole day free. "I think I'll take it to go, though." She called out to the younger girl as an afterthought. The girl gave a thumbs up while continuing to walk back into the shop.

A few moments later, with fresh coffee in hand, Hermione was walking through the trails of Bryant Park. She loved this park. It wasn't as big and obvious as Central Park, but definitely charming in its own way. Finding an unoccupied bench, Hermione sat down and began to watch the multitude of people that had found their way out to the grassy areas of the increasingly busy park.

It was such a beautiful day, and the masses were definitely taking advantage. Hermione watched as a couple of bikers zipped past dozens of people lying in the grass on blankets with toddling children and excited dogs of every color. She smiled to herself as she saw a group of tourists pose for a picture in front of a large sign that read "New York City". She loved people watching in New York.

The other great thing about Bryant Park was the fact that it was located immediately behind the New York Public Library, which was where Hermione was hoping to mosey over to next. After close to an hour of letting her mind wander, Hermione sighed contentedly and rose from her perch on the bench to begin gathering her things. Tossing her cup into the nearest bin, she began the short trek across the green space towards the white marble steps of the library.

Just moments before her trainers touched the first step, a sonic boom pierced the lazy Sunday morning air of New York and shook Hermione's teeth with its power.

Spinning around to locate the source, Hermione's eyes were drawn to the sky as a beam of light rose into some type of glowing hole in the sky. The source of the beam was only two or three blocks from where Hermione stood and was a building that everyone in New York City knew well - Stark Tower.

"Tony Stark and his usual antics." Hermione murmured to herself as she shook her head. Assuming the billionaire was most likely testing out a new bit of tech to add to his collection, Hermione almost turned to continue her journey up the stairs of the library.

That is, until she saw what appeared to be flying debris falling from the hole in the sky. Squinting her eyes against the bright midday sun, she tried harder to make out what was happening. She found herself, along with hundreds of others, walking into the streets closer to the source of the glowing blue light in an attempt to puzzle out what was happening. Moments later, Hermione's eyes widened in fear and surprise.

"GET DOWN!" She screamed at those nearest to her.

She barely had time to duck behind a parked taxi cab before what felt like the entire block exploded in fire and debris. Gathering herself up off the ground, her ears still ringing loudly, Hermione looked around her at the devastation already caused. Unmoving bodies were scattered around on the pavement, having been lined up like sitting ducks for the flying aircraft to slaughter. Looking up to the sky, she felt a gasp leave her as hundreds upon hundreds of additional aircrafts poured from the glowing blue hole in the sky.

"It's coming back!" A man yelled from further up the street, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. Grabbing his young child, the man ducked under the only flimsy cover he could find, using his own body to shield that of his sobbing daughter.

Not thinking twice, Hermione gritted her teeth and ran towards the fastly approaching aircraft. Hopping on top of an abandoned car, she threw her hands up into the air and bellowed,

"Protego Maxima!"

A shimmering gold shield of light erupted from her palms, covering the entire block. The aircraft's barrage of energy "bullets" were left bouncing harmlessly off of it. The moment that the aircraft passed, Hermione turned quickly, blasting the aircraft and rider into oblivion with a quick "Reducto".

She brought her shield down quickly and looked around at the chaos. She knew it would be easy to apparate back to her apartment right now. There was no shame in that choice. This wasn't her fight. But as she looked down at the piles of bodies already littering the sidewalks and road, she knew her choice had already been made the moment the first shot was fired.

Looking skyward, Hermione quickly saw what could only be Tony Stark's "Iron Man" suit flying around the blue beam engaging the flying aircrafts. Seeing no other reasonable solution, Hermione began sprinting the 2 blocks towards Stark Tower, hoping she could help with holding off the threat until they were able to get the civilians out of there.

"I just hope I know what I'm getting into." Hermione thought grimly as she blasted another rider off a flying aircraft with a bright blue beam of light and continued running towards the center point of the fray.