A Crack in the Glass, Shatters the Past

DISCLAIMER: All characters are from the imagination of JK Rowling...I own nothing except the plot

~ Prologue ~

It had been ten years since the war, and in those ten years she had built an entire new life – a new home, a new name, even a new past: she was a new person now. But no matter how submerged in this new life she was, her wizarding past would always come back to haunt her: in her solitary hours when books could no longer distract her; in those brief moments at work when business was a little slow and her mind had time to wander, it would always wander to the past. As the years went by, she got a better handle on the memories, her mind wandered back to them less and less; she could now go a full day without thinking of those times once, but she could always count on her dreams to remind her.

Ten years ago, although the war with Voldemort was reaching it's climax, and everywhere she turned she was met with hysteria, panic and chaos, she had never in fact been happier. In the middle of the terror she had found something amazingly beautiful, she found love, with one of her best friends. It had taken her and Ron a little over six years to finally out their feelings for one another, but the emotional impact of the war, the fear of not knowing if, when you said goodbye, you would ever see someone again, spurned on the lovers to finally acknowledge their feelings.

The bond between Harry, Ron and Hermione had never been stronger, they lived together, they fought together, and the always beleived they would continue to do so. Together.

At the final battle their beliefs were shattered, their lives turned upside down and the Weasley family was torn apart by the death of two of their sons. Fred and Ron lost their lives moments before Harry dealt Voldemort that fatal blow, and in those seconds, Hermione's future that she once dreamed of was now unalterably and brutally taken away.

Hermione spent days trying to come to terms with the loss, alone except for Harry, whose constant company kept her sane through her grief. Her other comfort came from knowing that now the war was over her parents could return. A surviving member of the order had already taken up the task of searching for, bringing back and restoring the memories of Mr and Mrs Granger, as Hermione's physical, as well as emotional, state was too fragile to take up the task immediately after the war was over.

Fred and Ron's funeral was to take place in the week following their premature deaths. It was also coming to the time that Hermione was expecting to hear of the return, or even see her parents. Each morning brought anxious butterflies to her stomach as she descended the stairs at The Burrow, into the kitchen, anticipating an owl with news of her parents' welfare, secretly hoping to see them both standing right there in front of her.

The day of the funeral arrived, a private ceremony comprised of family and close friends only, took place. Both boys were buried in the orchard, where the boys spent most of their time playing Quidditch during the summer. After the ceremony, the afternoon was spent by everyone slowly becoming intoxicated with the plentiful supply of firewhiskey and Madame Rosmerta's finest mead, and reminiscing of the past adventures and numerous misdemeanours of the two Weasley boys gone forever.

It was during this very evening, that Hermione's world was once again turned upside down. The order member returned, alone, and seeking out Hermione, told her of her parents' fate. Constant apologies flowed from his mouth as he tried to say what needed to be said. Hermione's parents, despite the strenuous designs to which Hermione went to conceal them form danger, were two of the last unsuspecting victims of the Death Eater's wrath. To add insult to such an injury, it was clear that their deaths had nothing to do with interrogation purposes; it seemed apparent that the Death Eaters responsible had no idea who the couple actually was: their murders were just for amusement.

It was that day that Hermione said goodbye to the wizarding world, she turned her back on her past, and created a new one, a new life, became a new person. No longer did she want to be part of a world that had taken away so much, and caused so much pain.