A/N: I hope you enjoy my first fanfiction. I welcome any and all reviews that are constructive and help me with my writing, but I will not pay any attention to those who are nasty about my stories faults.

Disclaimer: I, RiddikulousRay, do not own the wonderful story that is Harry Potter. I only claim my story line or any original characters.

Warning: This story is rated M for a reason. If you have anything against blood, gore, sexual situations and/or adult language then do not read.

Chapter 1

The owl post arrives as the sun rises over the pond. The glass creaks under the barn owl's attempt to scratch its way through the window. The Weasley's have yet to wake from their slumber, but Harry is alert and ready to start the day. Ten years after the war and he still has trouble kicking the habit of being an early riser. It helps matters with his career, but his wife likes to complain that she never gets to have a lie in with her husband.

The remodeling at number twelve, Grimmauld Place is due to be finished in a weeks' time, and his wife suggested they stay at her childhood home until it's finished. He should have known that he'd have to deal with snoring Weasleys. It may have been years since he's taken refuge at The Burrow, but he never should have forgotten how hard it is to fall - and stay - asleep at their home.

Harry steps up from his seat at the kitchen table and stretches his arms high above his head. He walks to the window and opens it, ignoring the sound it makes in protest. He shushes the bird as quietly as he can and leaves the water bowl near the window. Feeding the bird a treat, he unties the paper from around its leg and tries to acknowledge it with a stroke across it's head.

The ruddy bird has its own objections considering the beak that flies past and pecks him harshly on the finger. Harry hisses in pain and puts his finger up to his mouth to suck at the offending digit.

"Should've waited to give you that treat," he whispers sharply, glaring at the imposing owl. "I'm not so sure you deserved it."

The owl gives him a rather impressive glare before it turns tail and flies off into the morning light. Harry shakes his head incredulously and closes the window. Looking back down at the papers, Harry must roll his eyes in order to hold in his own impatience at Mrs. Weasley's obsession with Witch Weekly.

Setting it off to the side on the table, he sifts through the letters and newspaper articles and sorts through them with boredom. It's not until he reaches the Daily Prophet that he decides to pay much more attention. The front page proudly presents the final scores to the quidditch match between the Holyhead Harpies and the Montrose Magpies.

Harry rubs his hands together in excitement at the all-female teams win. It's been a couple years since Ginny has left the team in order to take care of James, and he knows she still misses it. It doesn't help that Harry quit his position as an amateur auror in favor of playing for Puddlemere United as a seeker. Maybe their win will raise her spirits. He loves his wife dearly, but the bitterness is going to swallow them up whole.

He decides to ignore the familiar sensation of dread and flips through the pages to see if there has been anymore news that he should be aware of. When he reaches the third page, he almost drops the paper in shock. His eyes grow wide and his hands shake with suppressed emotion.

It's been over a decade since he's seen that face. Curly hair and bright amber eyes cut through the camera with lethal calculation. Her face is set in an impressive scowl that could give Draco Malfoy a run for his money. The moving photograph catches her walking down a pebble walkway, never once skipping a beat with her tall black high heels struggling through the rocks.

At the beginning of the picture, it looks like she's enjoying a peaceful walk with a paper coffee cup in her hand. Her eyes are peaceful, and a small smile plays at the edge of her lips. As soon as she turns, wild curls whipping with her movement, she spots the reporter and her eyebrows settle into a scowl.

His breath catches in his throat, because he can recognize that face anywhere. Merlin, he's spent years of hell with the witch. His childhood best friend and closest confident is photographed in the Daily Prophet, and that can only mean one thing. Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her age, and former best friend is back in England.

Warring emotions rage in his chest with brutal efficiency. Happiness and excitement bubbles first, but it's soon replaced with sorrow. Of course, he's happy to see his friends face after so long but being the brooding wizard his wife claims him to be, he can't help but worry that it's been too long for him to get into contact. He brushes the emotions off and reads the article that follows right below the picture.

Brightest-Witch-Of-Her-Age Returns to England?

By: Tracey Davis

Hermione Granger, former princess of Gryffindor and respected war veteran was spotted walking down the path leading to Hogsmeade in the afternoon prior to this article. Nobody has seen Ms. Granger since the end of the second wizarding world, where she disappeared with a hasty goodbye. Based off the many articles featuring The-Boy-Who-Lived - also known as Harry Potter - and her ex-boyfriend Ronald Weasley, their female best friend and comrade left a note to those close to her to say goodbye, but they haven't heard from her since.

We here at the Daily Prophet are enthused to report that the female third of the decorated Golden Trio has confirmed her brief return to England. Although we didn't have the chance to speak with the lovely Ms. Granger personally, it has been divulged by a close friend that she has returned to England to conclude some cases with the ministry. Hermione Granger opened her own consulting business shortly after the war and has traveled to many different countries helping others with anything from solving murder mysteries to curse breaking in the tombs of Egypt.

It is not known how many witches and wizards are under her employ or the level of success of her company, but it is clear that she is doing well for herself. Does this mean that the readers can look forward to a reunion between The Golden Trio? What about Harry Potter? Can he forgive her hasty goodbye and welcome her with open arms? Should we expect a romantic reunion between bachelor Ronald Weasley and seemingly single Hermione Granger?

We don't have the answers for you now, but we here at the Daily Prophet promise to do our utmost best to find out. For more on Hermione Granger, see page twenty, where you can read about her achievements during and after the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…

Harry breathes deeply and rubs at his face tiredly. He can hardly believe it. There's a huge weight settling on his shoulders from the stress leaking into his entire being. An urge to floo over to Ron's flat to tell him the news (if he hasn't already heard of it), settles deep in his bones. What would he tell his mate, though? His ex-girlfriend and former best friend has arrives back into their lives without so much as informing them with a letter.

He knows that they didn't leave things on a good note when she decided to pack up her belongings and leave the wizarding world, but he expected that she would tell them if she was planning on returning. He's twenty-nine years old for Merlin's sake. He's grown and matured since their last meeting, and he was hoping she'd do the same.

Hermione is not known to be an irrational woman, and that's exactly why their world felt like it was falling when she told them in a firm tone that she was leaving England and wasn't planning on coming back. Ron was predictably angry, but it was nothing on the soul crushing despair that had fallen upon Harry. He already lost so much in the war, and here his friend was telling him that she'd be leaving too? It didn't matter how many times he decided to act like a right bastard, the curly headed witch was a constant for him. She never once turned away from him in the face of peril or his own temper, unlike Ron.

It was that exact temper that solidified everything for their parting. Ron was expecting a happy-ever-after that included everything from marriage to kids. Hermione decided that it wasn't something she could give him, and Harry chose Ron's side over hers (once again, his guilty conscious whispered at him). Nasty words were exchanged, and unforgivable actions followed shortly after. Harry was baffled at the time and didn't see that his actions would have consequences.

By the time the arguments ended, the three of them were tired and worn down from tearing each other into emotional shreds. Harry and Ron went to bed thinking they could talk some sense into the witch the next morning, but they only found an empty bedroom and a goodbye note.

I'm sorry, the note had read. This isn't working for me. I've asked for your support, like I've given the both of you throughout years of friendship, and you cannot find it within yourself to give it in return. Goodbye and may we meet again.

The note was short and filled with her angry scrawl, which showed just how much they disappointed her. Unfortunately for both wizards, the witch had gone completely off the map, and after years of searching they decided it was time to give up. She clearly didn't want to be found, and that was something that hit them harder than any rogue bludger could.

No amount of praying to the gods had brought her back to them, and Harry couldn't forgive himself for it. If he knew that night would be their last moment together, he would have never treated her the way he did.

It's funny how everyone thought that if anyone was going to pack up and split, it was going to be Harry. Hermione's leaving finally opened their eyes to what the witch had gone through. It was about time that they all realized that Harry wasn't the only one to lose his precious people.

Harry pushes his glasses up to rest on the bridge of his nose and contemplates whether he should wake his wife and her parents to give them the news. He's sure that it's only going to be a matter of time before the rest of the Weasley's find out. The twins have probably already read the news at their flat above their shop in Diagon Alley. Merlin knows they stay up all hours to experiment on products. This brings his mind back to his best mate, who is probably still snoring away in his single bedroom flat. There is no doubt that he'd be storming The Burrow if he'd seen her picture in the paper.

It didn't occur to Harry once that he should be worried about this so-called friend that the article mentioned. He was always bad at noticing details. Maybe that's why he failed so spectacularly at being an auror.

If there is one fact in the world that nobody can deny, it's that Hermione Granger is a smart witch, but now she felt like an imbecile. It's been one day since she's arrived back in England, and she's already been found out. After ten years of dodging wizarding paparazzi, she should be a professional by now.

Now that she's on her home turf, she's obviously grown sloppy. As she continues her war path, there is only one thing on her mind, and that is questioning how to kill the wizard who ruined her anonymity.

She enters the private office with her heels clicking away on the hard floor. "Do you prefer muggle or wizard methods for death? For example, knife or castration by cutting hex?"

"Is there a reason your barging into my home and threatening me?" The overly polite voice asks with forced innocence.

"I don't know, you tell me," she replies with a sweet undertone that has sent lesser men to their knees begging for forgiveness. "I got a nasty surprise when the paper was delivered this morning. I had an anonymous friend divulge personal details to the press."

The platinum blonde wizard tries to keep his face straight, but being friends for as long as they have, she can detect the small wince. "What makes you think it was me?"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," she purrs his name dangerously. "The only person in England who knows anything about my personal life is you."

"I'm sorry, okay?" he pleads with her while holding his hands up in surrender. "Someone was going to see you eventually. I assumed you would want to control the outbreak of gossip. Who knows what they would have wrote if they knew nothing of your personal life? Instead of writing about your achievements, they could have prattled on about your past with Weasley for all we know."

Hermione sees right through his bullshit, but she huffs with reluctant amusement anyways. "You just wanted to hit them where it hurts, didn't you?"

The wizard may be a reformed Death Eater, but even he isn't opposed to getting revenge on her behalf. He's a snake through and through, and that will never change, no matter what he tries to show the public. Rebuilding the Malfoy name was something he strived to do after the war and he has succeeded, so he can't be caught doing anything that could damage the view of the public eye.

"Anything for my favorite witch," he smirks and crosses his arms over his expensive suit. Merlin knows how much he paid for it. "You have to admit it was subtle though. Pure genius I tell you."

Oh, she knows alright. She can picture Ronald foaming at the mouth with the thought of her keeping in contact with a friend here in England. The article hints that she's kept in contact with someone close enough to her that they know personal details about her life. Hermione can only imagine how much that bruised his massive ego. One part of her giggles with malicious glee, but the other part wants to scold her friend.

"I would say smugness doesn't suit you, but I'd be lying." Hermione sighs and taps her heeled foot on the floor.

Draco visibly preens while trying to remain nonchalant. "This is why you're one of my best friends. You give compliments when they're due."

"Don't be such a git," she says with fondness as she rolls her eyes. "I didn't come here just to threaten you with murder."

"Really? What else is hiding behind your beautiful brain and clever wit?" Draco asks jokingly, but she can still see the worry in his eyes.

"I know you have plans to take your husband out tonight, but I have a favor to ask of you."

"You know you can ask me anything. What is it?"

"The ministry has sent me a missive explaining what case I'll be working on," Hermione says tiredly and smooths out her wrap around dress. "It's not looking good, Draco. I may need access to your hidden library."

Draco's eyes light up in understanding as he shuffles in his seat nervously. "So, it's that kind of case? I haven't heard anything from my contacts."

"You shouldn't have heard anything," she gives him a stern look. "The Minister has been trying to keep it under wraps. The press won't be hearing anything unless things escalate out of their control. Kingsley let it slip that I'd be working with the unspeakable's and auror's, and you know how silent that lot is with their secrets."

"Can you tell me what it's about?" he asks hesitantly, already knowing the answer. "It makes me nervous that I haven't heard anything. It must be serious if they've called you in as well."

Hermione wishes she could tell him - she really does - but there's too much at risk. The best she can do is leave him with some advice. "All I can say is that you and your husband should stay inside during dark and set up some very strong wards. This is something I've never came across before or even thought possible."

Even though she knows that he won't hold her lack of information against her, she can't help but feel a pang of regret. His face pales with understanding. If it's something she of all people never thought possible, it must be something big.

With years of experience dealing with the unknown, she was sure that nothing could surprise her anymore. That all changed when she returned to England at the request of Kingsley. Every day has been a new adventure for her ever since she left this poisonous place behind, and it seems like this time is no different. Hermione's just not sure that it's going to be a good adventure this time. The outcome relies heavily on her ability as a witch.

Draco clears his throat and puts his mask back into place. "I'll let Theo know. What kind of wards do you suggest?"

"As many protective wards as you have the ability to cast," she says bluntly. No one can ever say that she was one to beat around the bush. "Anti-apparition, Anti-trace. Merlin, I'd even suggest the Fidelius Charm if you can manage it."

If it was even possible, his face turns several shades paler. "You've got to be kidding me, Granger."

"I wouldn't say anything if I wasn't one hundred percent sure that the threat is real."

"I don't think Theo or I can cast the Fidelius Charm, let alone figure out who to have as a secret keeper."

"Hire someone to do it. I'm sure that with your extensive network you'll be able to figure it out," she walks up to him and brushes her lips against his cheek in a fond farewell kiss. "Give my love to Theo and let me know if you cast the charm."

Draco wraps his arms around her and brings her in for a tight hug. "It was good to see you, Granger. I'll send you an owl when we get the wards up. Be aware that Theo and I are planning on hosting dinner for an old friend in a couple of days. Theo will insist on inviting you no matter how much I try to convince him that you're hardly polite company."

"Why must Theo be gay?" Hermione bemoans and shoves him playfully. "I would have stolen him from you ages ago."

"If he ever decides to leave me, I will tell him that you're the highest on my list for potential replacements." Draco smirks in amusement before walking her to the door. She would complain about it, but she already knows how the wizard feels about chivalry. Pureblood manners cannot be replaced no matter how much the aftermath of the war affected those old customs. "Seriously, though. Keep an eye out for our owl. And dress pretty."

"I always dress pretty, you prat."

"If only that were true," he says incredulously. "Don't make me come over and help you pick something out."

Hermione's face freezes in horror, which makes him laugh mockingly at her. His husband thought they got along so well because both friends were highly dramatic. He's not wrong in that regard. Just the thought of her friend coming over to help her pick out an outfit is enough to send ice through her veins.

Draco with anything relating to fashion is worse than any girl she shared a dormitory with at Hogwarts. It doesn't help matters that she wore clothes from all the different cultures she has visited in the past ten years, and the insufferable git standing in front of her always gives her grief about it. It's not her fault that he doesn't like her bohemian dresses. She thinks that they look great with her caramel skin tone. It's her guess that he's just jealous that he's stuck with pasty white skin that refuses to tan.

"I'm going to dress in anything I like, and I don't particularly care what you have to say about it." Hermione retorts as she rushes to the door. Ignoring his laughing behind her, she walks down the path leading to the apparition point. She hollers at him one last time before she spins and disappears with a crack. "Just you wait, Malfoy! I'm going to knock your husband's socks off with my appearance. He'll leave you for me soon enough!"

She twists and disappears during his laughter and thanks whatever gods that are listening that she's found a good friend in Draco Malfoy.