Summary: Response to WIKTT Marriage Law challenge. Hermione struggles to obtain some normalcy in her life only to find that her future, among other things, is standing in her way.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to anything you recognize here. That being said, please refrain from being offended by what I am doing with the franchise that J.K. Rowling has created. If you do not like it, you probably should not be reading stories with the HGSS pairing.

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at writing HGSS fan fiction. I have not posted anything on in a long time so long in fact, I can barely remember that my old screen name was Big Bad Bitch. I now have a beta, Ru, thank you so much, I am so very grateful. Lastly, I apologize in advance for the lack of updates. No, I am not planning on being sporadic when it comes to working on or updating this story; I just simply know how I operate.

2nd A/N: This chapter has been beta-ed and re-posted on August 6, 2004.

Chapter 1: Summer Days

Hermione Granger was sitting on a swing in a park near her home. It was the summer before her last year at Hogwarts and, after thinking long and hard about it, she decided not to go to the Burrow or 12 Grimmauld Place like everyone else wanted her to. Instead, Hermione had decided to spend the summer at home with her parents and some of her muggle friends. As it turned out, Hermione's parents had taken a last minute trip to a Dentistry conference in the United States. Hermione had the house to herself and all the time in the world to catch up with her old friends. One such friend was on the swing beside Hermione.

"God, Hermione. It feels like it has been ages since I last saw you" she paused, then added sarcastically "Oh, wait, it has been ages."

"I'm sorry Morgan, but I've been so..."

"Busy," the girls said at exactly the same time.

"You always are. I mean, I can understand that you've got things going on and everything. But are you really too busy to write? The last letter you sent me was over a year ago." Morgan quickly brought her swing to a halt. "It's almost like you live in another world."

Hermione stopped her swing; She had just opened her mouth to speak when Hedwig landed right on her lap with a letter from Harry attached to her leg.

"Oh, not now Hedwig," Hermione mumbled. The snowy owl didn't seem to notice that Hermione was upset with her, she was obviously pleased with herself for finding Hermione in the park.

"Hermione what's going on? Why did you call that owl 'Hedwig'? Do you know it? Is it yours? What is that on its leg? Why is that owl flying around during the day? What is an owl like that doing in this part of the country anyway?" All of Morgan's questions seemed to flow into one long sentence.

"You're never going to believe me," Hermione sighed.

"You should know me well enough to know that I have a very open mind. Try me." Morgan flashed Hermione a sarcastic smile, a smile that had always been able to make her best friend laugh.

"Alright, I give in. I will tell you. But we better go back to my house, I don't want the whole neighborhood to hear this."

Morgan sat waiting on Hermione's bed. Hermione was pacing the length of her room trying to find an easy way to explain everything to Morgan. Truthfully, Hermione was afraid to tell Morgan. She had known Morgan her entire life and they had been best friends when they were younger. Hermione was scared that once Morgan found out she would hate her and tell everyone her secret. Hermione paced some more, and then decided that the plain old truth was the best way to go.

"I'm a witch, " She blurted out.

"Is that all? Why were you so afraid to tell me? Wicca is nothing to be ashamed of." Morgan pulled Hermione into a hug.

"No. You've got it all wrong. Wicca is a religion that people practice. I am a real witch with real powers. I go to a school for witchcraft and wizardry. I can fly on a broomstick. My friends Harry and Ron are wizards. Together we've fought a giant snake, a three headed dog named Fluffy, and a Mountain troll."

"Herm..."

"No, let me finish! Many people have told me that I am the brightest witch of my time. For the past six years Harry, Ron, and I have taken on one of the most powerful wizards in history because he has been trying to kill Harry since he killed Harry's parents when Harry was a baby and it nearly killed him."

"Her..."

"I'm not done! My school is in the wizarding world. We use owls to deliver mail. Ghosts roam all over the school. One of my teachers is a ghost. Another one of my teachers is half-Giant. We call non-magical people like you and my parents 'Muggles.' While you sit in school and take Math, Science, Art, a Foreign Language, English studies, gym class, and Social sciences. I take Arithmancy, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures."

"HERMIONE THAT'S ENOUGH!" Morgan yelled, snapping Hermione out of her frenzy. "I believe you."

"The owl is Harry's and... Wait, you believe me?" Hermione took a moment to register what her friend had just said.

"Yes, I do. You'd never lie to me and you can't be crazy because you are the sanest person I have ever met. Besides, it explains a whole lot," Morgan said with a smile on her face.

Hermione pulled her friend into a hug. It felt great getting all of that off her chest. She had always wanted to tell Morgan, but she honestly thought she wouldn't understand. Now she just felt stupid for thinking so low of her oldest friend. She took a moment to collect herself. Hermione decided to show Morgan a wizard world picture of Harry and Ron. Up until that point, she had forgotten about Hedwig and the letter from Harry. She suddenly remembered when Hedwig squawked to announce the arrival of Fawkes, who also had a letter attached to his leg.

"Oh my god Hermione, what is that thing?" Morgan asked when she caught sight of the beautiful bird.

"This is Fawkes. Fawkes is a Phoenix that belongs to the headmaster of my school. Before you say anything, the Phoenix may be a mythical bird in the muggle world, but they are real in the magical world."

"Oh."

"Wait here a minute, I'm just going to run downstairs to get some water and crackers for Hedwig and Fawkes. I'll be right back." Hermione dashed out of her room and down the stairs. She was a little apprehensive about leaving Morgan alone with Hedwig, but she figured that after her flight Hedwig was less likely to be in a mood.

Hermione went to work filling to small bowls with water. When they were full she placed the bowls on a silver tray along with a box of crackers and proceeded to carry the tray up to her room. Upon entering her living room, she saw a man looming near her fireplace. Without even thinking she dropped the tray and screamed.