A/N: Alright y'all. This is a special story for Valentine's Day. I will be posting one 1k word chapter a day through the 14th. I did a similar story last year with Marcus, called Lovefool, so go check that out if you want. Now, because updates are daily, I dunno if I will be able to answer all of my reviews, but please know that I read and cherish each and every one!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter one and be on the lookout for chapter two tomorrow!

Harry had thought that he'd gotten rid of the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest during the war, but Hermione knew better. He'd thought that it would just be a forgotten rock hidden beneath fallen leaves and no one would ever be the wiser about it's existence. After all, the Hallows were just a fairy tale weren't they?

He didn't count on his very best friend and her resourcefulness. He didn't count on how much it would hurt Hermione to lose her parents.

It had taken Hermione all summer to find her parents in Australia, wondering why it was so difficult to find them. She'd sent them to Australia to be kept safe, but it hadn't changed anything. It had been less than a year in the sunny country before Monica and Wendell Wilkins had been killed by a drunk driver. Hermione did have a little bit of comfort to know that it was at least quick. If the Death Eaters had gotten their hands on her parents, she knew they would have tortured them mercilessly for hours.

But, talking with Harry about the Deathly Hallows made her realize that she might have a chance at getting them back. She knew the story, and she knew the risks, but she had to at least try to get give her parents a second chance at life.

It hadn't taken her much research to figure out how to summon the Resurrection Stone. The artifact wouldn't respond to traditional summoning charms, but once she found something that specifically targeted it's magical energy, it was easy to find something that would bring the stone to her.

By the time she went of to Hogwarts in the fall to complete her NEWTs, she was immediately itching to get out into the Forest and search for it, so that she could complete the ritual. However, she'd talked Harry and Ron into joining her at school for the so called eighth year, and they had been dominating every minute of her free time. She just couldn't seem to shake them.

Hermione didn't think she'd ever been so excited for Quidditch to resume. Telling the boys that they didn't need her there at tryouts, she made as if she was going to go to the library before slipping out, using a disillusionment charm to make her way to the forest's edge undetected.

It was easy for her to find the clearing that Harry had left the stone in with a directional charm on her wand. Following the way that her wand pointed, Hermione walked about twenty minutes through the crunching leaves until she came to the opening in the trees. The wind was silent here, and it almost felt as if there was a damper on the area. She wondered if in the past this place had been used for ritual magic.

Deciding it was a good omen, a sign that the Forest was cooperating with her, Hermione took a deep breath before summoning the stone. Some rustling leaves were the only indication of any movement, before the geometric black stone flew into her waiting hand.

Hermione frowned, looking at the stone in her hand. She was a bit disappointed in Harry that he thought anyone could find this and not be intrigued by it. Such a perfectly carved and polished stone was sure to catch the eye of anyone who stumbled upon it. Excited that she could finally put her months of research into action Hermione lovingly stroked the stone with her thumb.

She gasped, feeling a little zing in her finger, and wondered if that was perhaps a warning that she should drop to stone and return to school. But then, she thought of her poor parents and how their lives had been cut so short, and that it was all her fault. She'd sacrificed so much during the war, she was going to get this one little bit back. It was worth the risk.

Closing her eyes tightly, Hermione thought of both her parents in her mind's eye. Her mother, who was so similar to Hermione in physical stature and looks, except for her long, straight hair. Her father, a tall man, with Hermione's curly brown hair and a mustache. She felt her eyes fill with tears and reminded herself that they would be back soon enough.

Turning the stone three times in her hand, there was an immediate reaction from the Forest. The wind seemed to pick up, sending leaves flying all around her in a circle, making her heart beat faster. The rattling had begun to sound like bones, and it sent a chill down Hermione's spine.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes and looked around. "Mum? Dad?" She called out, her voice shaking, while she spun in a circle. The clearing was, disappointingly empty.

Determined, and unwilling to give up, Hermione repeated the process. Full of intent and longing, Hermione turned the stone in her hand three more times, the promise of her parents filling her heart with promise. Again, the wind picked up in a visceral reaction to the magic that was in the clearing.

She spun around quickly again, feeling immense sadness welling up in her heart. There was still no sign of her poor parents, and it seemed for one of the only times in her life, magic had failed her. She wondered why it hadn't worked for her, when the answer was so obvious to her. She wanted to jump up and down and stop her feet like a child.

Clearly the Resurrection Stone didn't work on muggles, she thought, hating how unfair that was. Tears poured down her pale cheeks, and Hermione quickly wiped them away, hating how hopeless she felt. She'd been so focused on this little secret project all summer, she never once considered the possibility that she might fail at it. She'd been so confident that she hadn't thought to prepare for any other outcome. Hermione felt as if this was the biggest failure of her young life.