"What? Harry? But... What?" Hermione spluttered at the person on her doorstep.

"Is this a bad time?" Harry asked with a frown, "cause I can totally come back tomorrow or the day after if that works better for you."

"What? No! No, I'm just... Just shocked to see you." She stood there staring at him for a moment before she remembered her manners, "please, come in."

"Okay," he said smiling at her. He walked through the door and took off his shoes before going into her sitting room and sitting down with Hermione following his lead. She was still shocked but it was quickly starting to wear off and anger and confusing were taking its place. "So Hermione, what have you been up to lately?"

Hermione didn't answer just continued to stare at him, causing him to shift uncomfortably. "What? Is there something on my face?" He asked jokingly with a smile.

It was the smile that set her off. "What have I been up to? WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO? You disappear for more than 5 years, 5 YEARS, which, for your information is three years more than you said you would be gone, and now that you're back ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME IS 'WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?' I don't know Harry, over the last 5 years I've been missing my best friend. My best friend who never thought to contact me when he didn't bother to come back after her turned 17. My best friend who I thought had been involved in a deadly accident because why else would he have stayed away? I couldn't think of any reason but death, so harry the quest is not what I've been up to, it's WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

He opened his mouth to answer, then paused and sighed, "I guess I do owe you an explanation."

"You sure as hell do," she snapped.

"Look Hermione," he said sighing again, "I'm really sorry for all the trouble I put you through. I'm sorry I'm so late getting back, and I'm sorry I never sent you a letter to tell you I was alive... I just... I suppose I just lost track of time."

Hermione gaped at him, "you lost track of time? YOU LOST TRACK OF TIME? YOU WERE GONE FOR FIVE YEARS!"

"I know Hermione, okay? You don't have to keep yelling at me," he snapped.

"Well apparently I do," she snapped right back, "seeing as it seems to be the only way to get information in to you head. Do you have any idea what I have had to put up with these last five years? Any? Newsflash Harry, no one knows you ran away. As far as the wizarding world is concerned you were kidnapped, and everyone things that I was part of it. I was barely able to finish Hogwarts, sometimes I wish I hadn't even bothered to go back seeing as almost everyone hated me and the few that didn't couldn't be seen with me with out everyone thinking that they were in on the kidnapping as well."

"Look Hermione-" Harry started but she interrupted him.

"I'M NOT FINISHED!" She yelled. Harry took a step back raising his hands at the glare she sent at him. "So after I finished Hogwarts I went out looking for a job, but do you know what I found out Harry? No one was willing to hire me. And why wouldn't they hire me? Not because I'm muggle born, not because I didn't have the appropriate grades, no, it was because of you. Because you 'lost track of time' and didn't come back when you said you would. If you had, I wouldn't have been force to move to the muggle world to find a job and people willing to sell me a house. I wouldn't have been force to stop my mail so people couldn't send me cursed letters and so that they couldn't follow the owls to find out where I lived. I could have been working as a healer, or a curse breaker, or even have worked in the ministry, but because of YOU I lost those options. So you tell me Harry, What was oh so important that you lost track of time?"

Harry brought his hand up to rub his face, "I'm sorry Hermione. For everything. I know I shouldn't have asked you to cover for me when I left, and I know that I should have returned when I said I would. But things happened," He said, looking up at her with pleading eyes, "things that I didn't think would. And for once in my life, I got to be normal. Not the Dursley's delinquent nephew, not Harry Potter the-boy-who-lives, and not Harry Potter the heir to three Houses. I just got to be Harry. I'm sorry that my actions cause you trouble, I didn't think things would be that bad."

Hermione sighed feeling some of her anger fall away, "you couldn't have known that Voldemort would become minister. If he hadn't of it probably wouldn't have been so bad."

He raised an eyebrow, "he won then, did he?"

"Ya," she nodded, "they call it 'The Golden Years', or at least they were before I left. I couldn't tell you about now."

"That's just weird," he said, scrunching up his face.

"Ya," she agreed with a small smile and laugh before turning serious again, "but Harry, you never answered, what were you doing for the last five years? And how did you even find me? I know it wasn't through a tracing spell because I have wards up that stop all of those from working well I'm home, and when I go out I have a pendent that I wear that also stops them. Then I also have-"

"Wow, Hermione, slow down and let a guy speak will you." Harry smiled. "I didn't use any tracing spells to find you or any other means of magic. I haven't used magic since the last day I was at Hogwarts."

"Then how did you find me?" She demanded with a frown.

His smile turned sheepishly, "well, I sort of just looked you up in the phone book."

Hermione stared at him. "You looked me up in the phone book? After all the wards I put up and precautions I took, you just looked me up in the phone book?"

"Well, ya," he shrugged, "once I realized that you had left the magic world I figured you had to be in the muggle world, unless you had left the country, so I checked the phone book. You're the fourth Hermione Granger in it, by the way. Any ways, I just wrote down all the addressees then went and knocked on all the doors."

"You just knocked on the doors? But... But what did you say?"

"Well, I just asked them for directions to the nearest McDonalds was."

"Where the nearest McDonalds was," Hermione asked incredulously.

"Yes," Harry answered, sounding confused.

"But... But..."

"I think you're making this into a bigger thing then it is Hermione." Harry said after a few moments of her just staring at him. "I mean, it's not like anyone in the magical is going to even think of looking in a phone book. What was it you said in first years? Wizards now days have very little common sense?"

"Well yes, but... After all the hard work that I put into staying hidden, I was defeated by a phone book?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Hermione." He shifted over on the couch and put an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "You've probably just haven't finished readjusting to a place where nearly every question can be answered with 'It's magic.' You just need a few more years."

"But you thought of it," she said panicking, "what if someone else does too? And now I actually know something! This is bad. This is really, really, really-"

"Hermione! Deep breathes. No one else is going to think of it. The only reason I did was because I have officially regained the common sense that I lost after first stepping in to the wizarding world. And really it should have taken me longer then it did, but I had some help so-"

"Really? Who helped you?" She asked.

Eyes as blue as the ocean flashed through Harry's mind accompanied by the memory of laughter and the smell of pomegranates before he ruthlessly pushed them as far into the back of his mind as he could.. "Well, I was all on my own Hermione, I had to adapt as quickly as possible and to try and fit in better I did talked to my neighbours. So don't be too hard on yourself, you have, after all, only had three years to counter act the seven you spent at Hogwarts. I'm sure that in a few years you will have fully regained all your common sense as well." He paused for a moment before continuing, "that is, if you don't decide to return to the wizarding world."

"Return to the wizarding world? Harry, where you not listening to what I was saying before? I can't go back everyone thinks I kidnapped you and they all hate me."

"While, yes, they do now. But after I give the interview that I have planned for this afternoon everyone will know that you had nothing to do with my disappearance," he said confidently.

"Interview?" She asked, her shock clear in her voice, "but Harry, to give an interview you would have to go into Diagon Alley."

"Yes," he nodded.

Her voice started getting higher as she continued talking. "But Harry! If you go into Diagon Alley, Voldemort will find out about it! He will, he has people everywhere! And as soon as you enter the Daily Prophet building someone there is sure to send him a letter, or even floo him!"

"Yes," he nodded again

"But how are you going to get away before he gets there?"

"Well, I thought that was obvious Hermione," he said, giving her a small smile. "I won't be."

Hermione could only stare at him as she was once again left speechless. She blinked, once, twice, then a third time before finally saying, "but, what about... what about getting to being normal? Getting to be just Harry?"

"Well, I got to be just Harry already," He said, once again shrugging, "it was fun, and amazing, and the bast five years of my life. But it's time for me to move on and to accept my responsibilities. Not just as the heir of Slytherin, but also as the heir to the Blacks and Potters. It's time for me to grow up."

"Are you sure?" She asked, unable to stop herself from thinking that he might be rushing into something like he had always done in the past.

"Wow Hermione, from the way you were yelling earlier I would have thought that you would be thrilled," he joked.

"Harry," she said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes at him. "Just because I'm mad at you for being gone so long and worrying me doesn't me that you want you to jump right back into the wizarding world. Are you sure you don't want to think about this decision more?"

"Yes Hermione," he said smiling, "I'm sure."

"Are you though? Are you really? Harry, this is a big decision. There's not going to be another chance for you to disappear. If you go back Voldemort is never going to let you go, not until you die. He's going to control everything you do and he's going to have people watching you and following you everywhere you go. Are you really ready for that?"

Harry shock his head smiling, "what did I possibly do to deserve such an amazing friend as you Hermione? In answer to you question, yes I'm ready for that. I wouldn't have come back if I wasn't."

She looked into his face, seeing the sincerity in it and sighed, knowing nothing she said would change his mind. "Okay then, if you're sure."

"I am."

"Good, good. Well, do you have an appointment booked with the Daily Prophet or-"

"Yep," he said before she could finish her question. "It's at 1:30pm, which is," he said looking down at the watch he was wearing, "oh! Is it really 1:07pm now? Sorry Hermione, I have to get going if I don't want to be late."

"It's okay. Go, give your interview. And make sure you say I didn't kidnap you."

"Yes Sir!" He said with a mock salute.

"Oh, get out of her you," she said, but she was laughing. It was good to have Harry back.

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

She smiled at him as he left, and it wasn't until much, much later that she would realized that Harry had never told her just what it was that had distracted him for so long.

AN: So a few hours after posting the prologue I open my email to see if I have any messages about this story only to find my inbox swamped with more than 60 emails. I'm glad you all liked it. Hope you like the rest just as much. Please send me a review if you spot any errors.

Ps. Two of my favourite fanfic authors faviourited this story. Life. Complete.