(May 2003)

"I rather like these skirts, Hermione." Luna said, holding a pencil black and white skirt near Hermione's waist. "That black skirt with this emerald green and silver-sequins at the top is amazing. Green would do well for your eyes. Hmm, I think the white skirt would go really great with the red V-neck top. Red helps keep the Wrackspurts at bay, too. Both can be either casual or business attire. Now, we need to get you a couple of blazers." Luna finished excitedly, and with that said, she walked away from Ginny and Hermione in the muggle clothing department store.

Hermione stared at Luna's back, before shaking her head with a fond smile on her face. Ginny was looking at the outfit Luna had put together and was nodding with appreciation.

"You have to get them." Ginny said in a way that left no room for argument. "Besides, we put you in some heels and Ron won't be able to take his eyes off your lovely long legs."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm not a mannequin for you both to style."

"Being our girl friend makes you a mannequin, Hermione." Luna said, returning with a white and black blazer and a pair of black high-heels that Hermione herself found irresistible. "I swear this store has an infestation of Wrackspurts and pixies. The Wrackspurts have the poor muggle thinking that there hasn't been any inventory for high-heels in the last three weeks, when I can see the shoes boxes in the back. The pixies must have stolen her glasses, the poor thing."

All three of them laughed afterward. "Thanks, Luna. I love it all." Hermione said truthfully.

"Ok," Ginny said a bit louder, getting both Hermione and Luna's attention. "How do you like this?" Ginny said with a wide smile, gesturing with her hand the pile of clothes she'd chosen for Hermione.

Hermione raised a brow at Ginny. "What?" Ginny asked innocently.

"Are you trying to bankrupt me?" Hermione said, seeing Ginny nod vehemently with a devilish look on her face that reminded Hermione of Fred and George.

"I want you to try everything on that Luna and I have chosen." Ginny said, taking Hermione by the shoulders and leading her to the dressing room.

"But," Hermione began but was interrupted.

"Now!" Ginny said, pushing Hermione into the dressing room with the clothes. "And make sure you wear the heels."

"Bossy much." Hermione said sarcastically.

"Always." Both Luna and Ginny replied together, sharing a smile afterward.

It took Hermione half an hour before she was done trying on all of the dresses, skirts, denim jeans, blazers, and tops. Hermione would have complained if she hadn't missed Luna and Ginny so much. They were her friends, and yet, she'd been such a stranger to them over the past four to six months. As they were leaving the store to go have lunch, Hermione vowed to not go so long without seeing them again.

They went and had dinner at a London Italian restaurant that had a terrace with a lovely view of the city at night. As she looked at her friends, Hermione couldn't help but think about how far they all had come since the war. Luna was near marriage herself, and though she'd always been highly content with the life she'd been given, there was a glow that radiated from the inside-out that left no doubt in anyone's mind that she was at a place in her life where she wanted to be. Luna had a fiancé, she had her own writing career that was linked with adventure and exploration. Ginny was a quidditch star who was happily married to the man she'd loved ever since the moment she'd first heard his name. They were both happy, but Hermione at that moment realized that she really wasn't.

It had more to do with than just Ron. He was critical but he wasn't the crux of her discontent. As she listened to Luna tell Ginny about Rolf's new theory about where the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks were really hiding, Hermione couldn't help but ask herself how she was going to figure out how to be happy with herself.

After the waiter opened a bottle of red vintage wine, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna poured themselves drinks and began talking about the wedding. Hermione didn't really want to focus on it and not only because of Ron. Yes, she felt like every day that passed, she was losing him. Right now, it wasn't even about her losing him as a lover so much as it was about losing him as her friend for life. Not only was he leaving but they were growing a part. Hermione didn't know how to stop the widening gap.

"Luna, Susan said she knows you, Hannah, and Parvati won't be able to make it to the gathering this weekend so she's decided to just postpone it. Susan's mother is indisposed, too." Ginny added, taking a sip of wine before continuing. "She just wants everyone's opinion on the bridesmaids dresses."

"Well, while we're on the subject of gatherings, then I guess I should confess that…I won't be able to make it to the Weasley Sunday dinner." Hermione said with regret, and upon receiving a scrutinizing gaze from Ginny, she took a deep gulp of the wine.

"And why not this time?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione over her wine glass that she was still holding near her lips. Luna sighed and poured herself another drink, choosing to gaze off into the city afterward.

"I have a very important case that goes to trial in fifteen days," Hermione answered, seeing Ginny pursed her lips. "It means a lot to me, Gin. Once I get my work done, then I'll have more time to actually—."

"Be a friend," Ginny finished for her, receiving a hurt look from Hermione. At that moment, Luna began humming Weasley is Our King. Hermione wished her humming would distract her from what Ginny had said, but of course, it didn't.

"I'm sorry you feel like that."

"I don't think you're sorry at all. Harry, Ron, and I all know your priorities. You've made them abundantly clear to us all."

Hermione's mouth hung open in an O-shape. "That's not fair." Hermione said, gathering her purse and some money for the bill. "You want to know the truth. Yes, I have been distant but you all are just as guilty of it as I am, if not more so. Ok, I have a career. Big deal! So do you, Harry, and Ron. Yours has taken you halfway across the world for months at a time. Ron's and Harry's just keeps them busy, because they're Aurors. But if you think I am going to apologize yet again for LIFE, then I won't. I'm not the only one guilty here, and I'm sick and tired of you, Harry, and Ron especially for punishing me for going to law academy, for being a friend to Malfoy, and for the distance that you all allowed me to put between us because it was convenient for ALL of us."

Ginny mouth was wide open, as she looked at Hermione like she didn't know her at all. "I—we. I—uh." She finished, simply at a loss for words.

Hermione threw down some pounds on the table and left for an alley where she could disapparate for home. She was tired and needed to put all Weasley and Potter related drama from her mind; she had work to do after all.

(Five days Later)

Hermione looked over her shoulder as the fireplace in her sitting room activated, revealing Draco Malfoy. He entered her flat and didn't even bother with a greeting or an invitation to sit down. Even when he sat down, he refused to say anything. Hermione certainly wasn't going to break the silence; she had an interrogation to prep herself for and almost every thought in her mind was bent on the questioning she'd be giving this afternoon. She heard Draco stand and walk over to her liquor stand, pouring himself a fairly new Scotch afterward.

"So…you haven't been into the office for three days," Draco drawled. Hermione's gaze met his in the mirror, giving him a look that told him to get to his point quickly.

"What have you been up to, Granger?" He asked finally, knowing that Hermione was not going to speak more than she had to with the kind of mood she'd been in lately. Besides, she was sure he was asking a question that he already knew the answer to.

After agreeing with Luna on how the emerald green top truly did wonders for her eyes, Hermione pivoted around away from the mirror in her new black heels and decided on wearing a satin black robe that had been a Christmas gift from her mother five months ago—for a moment, Hermione felt an overwhelming guilt build up from within her. She'd missed Christmas with her parents because Kingsley wanted her to help draft a bill on Muggle-Wizard relations. At the time, she'd told herself that it had been important. Looking back on it, Hermione found it more important to her career, not to her peace of mind.

Looking at herself in the floor length mirror behind a cupboard door in her sitting room, Hermione didn't smile at herself. She looked good, except for her eyes. As she stepped closer and really looked into her eyes, Hermione felt they reflected how tired she was, lonely, and very lost.

"GRANGER!"

Though Draco's voice had truly startled her, Hermione didn't react in surprise. She closed the cupboard door with the mirror behind it and turned around to fully face Draco.

"You probably know that I've been working on the case." Hermione sighed, choosing to take a seat across from the chair where Draco was standing. He remained standing, while Hermione continued. "I decided Friday evening that since Flint appeared to have no weaknesses for us to prosecute, then there must be some amongst his associates and closest relatives. After spending three whole days at the Auror Corp with Neville, Dawlish, and the newer recruits, we were able to zero in on Higgins, Bole, Warrington, Vaisey, and to finally capture the elusive Miles Bletchley. It's amazing what the MLE can do when it coordinates with the Muggle crime fighting agencies."

Hermione stood and fixed herself some green tea from the liquor cabinet. It was cold but it would do for now.

"We shared the information, identified them, located them, and pursued and arrested them together. Though some had petty misdemeanors or outstanding warrants, I was able to get Kingsley to pressure the court into giving us arrest warrants for their capture and to allow for questioning with Veritaserum—that was only because most of them had been documented Voldemort sympathizers, and since we have a law that allows us to detain them upon suspicion for up to seventy-two hours, then I have two days left to both connect them with Flint and to turn them against Flint. If I get Bletchley and Warrington, then I get Flint's head on a platter." Hermione finished, though her mind was no where near done thinking and calculating about where to go from here.

"You could've told me." Draco said without malice and envy.

"I wanted to. Draco, I just knew you needed time to see that it wouldn't have worked."

Draco took a seat beside Hermione and placed an arm around her shoulder, looking at her with concern.

"You've got Flint right where you want him, Granger. Be careful."

Hermione turned and nodded at Draco. "It was worth it—and I will."

"Something happened with Weasley, didn't it?" Draco asked without really asking. She felt his hand run through her hair and place a thick strand behind her ear. "He said no, didn't he?"

Hermione chuckled and used her elbow to nudge Draco in his rib afterward. "I didn't say a thing to him. In fact, I haven't seen him since after you and I rowed. We went to lunch and he said he's leaving for Paris, where he's been offered a job in their Auror Corp." Hermione said softly, sighing afterward. "Then, Ginny, Luna, and I went on the shopping trip—."

"I knew those clothes were new." He exclaimed, receiving another elbow from Hermione who continued.

"After shopping, we had dinner and we…I yelled at Ginny." Hermione said, feeling her voice growing weaker by the second. "I said we were all to blame for my distantness. I said they'd let me go because it was convenient for them, as well as for me. I don't understand where it came from, Draco." Hermione said, lifting her head off of his shoulder and meeting his gray gaze with her own questioning look. "Why would I say something so hurtful to her like that?"

After Draco's hand gently went back to stroking her hair, Hermione heard him sigh. "I'm not a mind healer, Granger, but—well, I think it's been something that you've wanted to say for a while now. Even in law school, you were always there for them at Christmas, Easter, or on days when they had parties celebrating their promotions that lasted well into the next morning. You were there for them, but they weren't there for you during mock trials or during ceremonial awards that recognized you as top of our class for each year."

"They came to a few, Draco." Hermione said, feeling his chin touch the top of her head as he nodded.

"At the very beginning, yes—but not later." Draco said quietly, knowing that his words would sting because they were true. "Your parents, who live over three-thousand miles away, were able to come once or twice a year. Why didn't they? You asked yourself that over and over—I saw that much in your eyes. Astoria and I have always been there for you, Granger. You don't need them."

"They're a part of me, Draco. I love them. They're my family and you've never understood that."

"I love my father very much." Draco said very thoughtfully. "My mother loved him for years and years, too; she still loves him. And yet we've both outgrown him. We see him still, but we all know when we're together that it's not the same. We've changed and that's fundamental."

"So love sometimes isn't enough." Hermione whispered.

Draco nodded. "Sometimes."

The quiet seemed everlasting, until Draco broke it once more. "You haven't slept since the fight, have you?"

"Not well, no."

"Go to sleep. I'll take over the questioning." He ordered, receiving a smile from Hermione afterward. "I'll bring the office to you tomorrow. Rest and don't think too much, Granger."

"I never experience quiet and yet I'm always alone." Hermione said tiredly, feeling sleep coming on strongly.

Draco helped Hermione to her bed, where he placed a quilt over her torso before telling her to have one last sip of tea before sleeping. She did, and less than ten seconds later, she was in a dreamless sleep. Draco knew Granger kept a vial in her bedside table for when she had nightmares about the war. They were infrequent now, but there was a time when they were happening every night. Yet he'd always been there, and later, Astoria had, too.

As Draco was left her room, he couldn't help but think about Hermione's somewhat unfortunate luck in choosing friends who weren't entirely worthy of her time and love.