Quinn flew down the stairs and jumped on the train that had just appeared in the subway tunnel. It was late, and there was only one other person in the train car. Quinn sat down and rubbed her aching knee as the subway doors slammed shut and the train moved along to the next station. Quinn knew she shouldn't have run down the stairs, but she hated waiting for the next train.

Quinn's right knee had never been the same since the library incident a year ago - she could never remember the reason why, but there was an irresistible urge to check out a book in the school's library, and she had fallen down the stairs. It had been a horrendous fall, as the librarian had found Quinn unconscious and her whole body had ached when she woke up. Quinn couldn't even remember what book she had wanted to get or why she was in the library during Spanish class. Nevertheless, since then Quinn's knee ached when going down stairs quickly and many memories of her senior year at McKinley High School were foggy and seemed incomplete.

But that was a year ago - her life was quite different now. After graduation, Quinn had been accepted into Ohio State University and began taking communication classes. She found popularity didn't matter as much in college, but she quickly made new friends and found her place in the vast campus.

And now she was studying abroad in London, England, riding the Tube at two o' clock in the morning. This time Quinn had wanted to see the famous landmarks lit up at night without the tourist masses, but she often found herself catching the subway late at night by routine. She enjoyed the calm and solitude, though there was almost always one other person in the train.

The train whirred to a stop, and Quinn stood up, preparing to exit. As the doors opened, Quinn smiled. That night the sights had been delightfully eerily, and she was in an exceptionally good mood.

"Have a good night," Quinn said to the stranger on the train. "Watch out for danger, stranger."

"Wh-what did you say?"

"Just a saying," Quinn laughed and waved as she left the train. "Good night!"

"R-right," the stranger muttered, sweeping a dark blonde hair behind her ear nervously as she watched Quinn leave. Hermione wasn't sure, but the phrase sounded very familiar, and it echoed in her mind, as if trying to find a home.

Hermione looked back down at the pro and con list she had been scribbling in her notebook. For the past two years Hermione had been scrambling to get promoted from her entry level position in the Ministry's Office of Muggle Relations. She couldn't understand it, but Ginny Weasley (who had been hired a full year after Hermione) seemed to be the go-to person for projects rather than Hermione. Hermione was convinced she was much more qualified and reliable than Ginny, but Hermione remained stuck with office paperwork or transcribing Muggle interviews, while Ginny received assignments all over Europe to study Muggles in their home environments.

Me: 10 OWLs. 10 honorary NEWTs. Defeated Lord Voldemort.

Ginny: 7 OWLs. 6 NEWTs. Can play Quidditch. Girlfriend to Harry Potter.

Hermione squinted at her list - she was fairly certain "defeated Lord Voldemort" was more impressive than Quidditch or dating the famous Harry Potter, but Hermione was never good at office politics, so here she was riding the London Underground after a long day at the office.

But Hermione had seen the girl again.

The first time Hermione had seen her was just after midnight in the beginning of summer. Hermione found she preferred riding the subway home rather than using the Floo Network. The steady movement of the train calmed her nerves after a stressful day, and it was the ideal time to make notes or read a book. Since Hermione often found herself leaving the office late at night, there was usually very few people on the train.

Hermione had been making corrections in one of the research papers Ginny had hurriedly written after she had returned from a research trip to Hungary, when a young blonde girl entered the train with a large back-pack. The girl appeared out of breath and took off her pack with relief when she sat down. For some reason Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away - the way the girl breathed, her fingers fumbling with the Underground map, her face grimacing as she stretched her right knee - every mundane movement was simply captivating.

And then she had smiled.

The girl had caught Hermione watching her and smiled warmly. Hermione could only flash an embarrassed smile back and bury her face back in Ginny's atrocious research paper. As Hermione felt her face flush, she desperately hoped the girl went back to consulting her subway map.

That had been nearly a month ago, and Hermione often saw the girl riding the same subway train. At first it was merely coincidence, but soon Hermione began making excuses for herself to ride the subway for hours at a time, waiting for the girl to appear. It almost felt as though in some lifetime before, they had known each other and were just now meeting again.

The subway doors had closed and the train began creaking to its next stop as Hermione watched the girl slowly walk up the stairs. Maybe…

Hermione closed her eyes and disapparated from the train, appearing at the top of the subway station stairs.

Quinn jumped back, holding onto the stair railing. "Wh-where did you come from?"

Hermione stared at Quinn. "…How do I know you?"

Quinn's mind raced. She vaguely knew the girl standing in front of her - Quinn recognized her as the girl that was often in the empty subway car with her. She remembered the girl was the first person who had smiled at her when Quinn arrived in London, and she seemed to always be scribbling notes or reading books.

But now she was the girl who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and Quinn's thoughts switched to practicalities: Quinn's bad knee made running away difficult, there was no one around to hear cries for help, she didn't have a phone, the best way to fend off an attacker is to go for the eyes…

Her eyes.

Quinn's eyes flicked to Hermione's and froze. Hermione's eyes were suddenly a very distinct shade of brown and messy dark blonde strands of hair were framing Hermione's face. Slowly, Quinn walked the final steps to the top of stairs and stood in front of Hermione. She reached out a hand, and Hermione closed her eyes as Quinn's fingers lightly brushed a strand of hair back in its place. Everything felt so familiar, such a natural thing to do.

"You are so distracting," Quinn found herself whispering.

"You are equally distracting," Hermione replied without thought, stepping closer to Quinn. Hermione wasn't thinking anymore, she couldn't think - not when the girl was so close. She even smelled familiar…

So it was without thinking that Hermione gently touched Quinn's cheek with her hand and kissed her.

The world felt as though it began spinning faster and faster while the girls kissed in the empty subway station. As they became lost in each other, their worlds became clearer, and the fog that had infiltrated their minds drifted away.

"You remember...?" Hermione asked when they finally parted, looking into Quinn's dark green eyes.

Quinn only quirked an eyebrow mischievously and grabbed Hermione's wand, which was sticking carelessly out of Hermione's shoulder bag. She waved the wand. "Wingardium leviosa."

The bag floated off of Hermione's shoulder and landed softly on Quinn's. Quinn placed the wand carefully back in the bag as she took Hermione's hand.

"Love is the most powerful kind of magic," Hermione murmured in astonishment. She was quoting Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard she had ever known. Dumbledore had always preached the power of love, but truthfully Hermione had never quite believed it.

"What did you say?" Quinn asked breathlessly.

"I said," Hermione said slowly. "That I love you, Fabray."

Quinn smiled. "I love you too, Granger."

The sentiment echoed in Hermione's mind and tucked itself away in a place that could never forget.

Thanks for reading as always, and thank you for all the great comments. Hope you enjoyed the story :)