Hermione woke from her bed on a hot summer's day. Her neck hurt, and it had been a restless night yet again. She had forgotten to take her Dreamless Sleep potion last night. Her dreams were horrid memories of what happened just a few months before. Hermione felt a wave of nausea and she ran to the toilet, heaving up everything she had ate the night before. She splashed some cool water on her face then brushed her teeth. She really should have taken the potion.

The memories of the final battle were sickening. Some mornings, when she forgot to take her potion the night before, Hermione would wake up and puke everything in her stomach because the dreams were just too terrible. There were days were she would sit in her room and mourn for her lost friends. She was emotionally and physically drained. It would be a long time before she even learned to laugh without feeling guilty.

Needless to say, Hermione Granger was depressed. The glimmer of hope in her life was Harry. He was the brother she always wanted; when she cried, they cried together. Harry also suffered from horrid nightmares and they found comfort in each other. Most mornings they would wake up and the other was curled up right beside them. It was easy to find comfort with each other. During the months when they were hiding and when Ron was not with them, they would cuddle next to each other. They both longed for more human interaction but this was all they could offer.

Hermione walked to her bed and poked the sleeping figure next to her. "Harry," she whispered. "Get up. It's time to start the day!" Harry blinked a few times in confusion, and felt around for his glasses. Hermione sat down next to him. "How was your sleep?" she asked.

Harry finally sat up. "I didn't have any dreams. And why did you get me up at the ass crack of dawn? I'm going back to sleep." And his glasses were off and he was sprawled under the sheets again.

Hermione sighed and went down the stairs of the Burrow. It was seven in the morning. Usually it was only her and Mrs. Weasley up at this time. Hermione walked as quietly as possible because she didn't want to wake anyone up. Mrs. Weasley was sitting at the table by herself, twirling the spoon in her cup of tea. Hermione liked to get up early. When Mrs. Weasley wasn't busy, she would start to get sad. A lot of mornings Hermione went downstairs to find her crying holding something of Fred's. Hermione, although she was working past a lot of obstacles is her life, pushed aside her sadness and had breakfast with Mrs. Weasley every morning.

Of course, Hermione wasn't getting much sleep anyways. It was a rare thing for her. Most of the time, she would listen to Harry's breathing and that would sometimes lull her into a sort of half-sleep, but usually she was up. The dreams terrified her. They were so vivid and they felt so real that she couldn't even bear to sleep. She took potions some nights, but she didn't like them because she felt as though her judgment became clouded and she was knocked out of conciseness for eight hours. At Hogwarts, Hermione was a heavier sleeper. She had to be. Before she learned to charm her bed so she couldn't hear Lavender and Parvati, she had to learn to sleep though their incessant giggling. However, when she was on the run with Harry and Ron, she had to learn to keep her ears on duty all the time, even if she wasn't staying up to stay on guard.

Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she looked up when she heard Hermione. "Good morning dear!" She said. "I just made some tea if you would like some." She started pouring the tea right away.

Hermione smiled. "Thank you Mrs. Weasley. How was your sleep last night?" she asked. Hermione knew that Mrs. Weasley didn't get much sleep either. Nobody in the house really did. They all tried to hide it from each other, and brush off everything like they were doing well. Considering that they are all very stubborn, it makes a lot of sense.

"It wasn't bad, dear. Wasn't bad. I could have slept longer but you know me, always hustling!" she said, and flashed Hermione and sad smile. "Everybody is going to wake soon, if you want to help me make breakfast?"

Hermione drank her tea as she scrambled two dozen eggs. They had to get started on breakfast early; they had eight mouths to feed. George moved back into the Burrow after the final battle. In fact, after the final battle the whole family had been there, including Percy, Bill, Charlie, and Fleur. A month later Percy moved out. He had said that he needed some time to think things out, so he went to Paris. He blamed himself for Fred's death. He really did. And everybody had tried to explain to him that it wasn't his fault, but nonetheless he did. And Percy always blamed himself, even when it was thirty years later he would still cry.

But with all the men residing in the Burrow she had to make a lot of eggs. Harry and Ron were attempting to get muscular. It was rather amusing to watch, because they would spend all day outside playing Quidditch and then come back inside to eat meat and claim that they would have abs by that time next week. Honestly, Hermione thought that they would never get the muscles that they were hoping for. They had spent far too much time in the woods together with no food. Their bodies just couldn't handle certain foods. They were by no means skinny, Mrs. Weasley had made sure that they gained weight after the Final Battle, but they would never be stocky like Charlie. Charlie liked to tease them on their lankiness, and it usually led into a wrestling match that Harry and Ron would always win because they made a great pair.

George liked to watch and observe. He was a lot quieter now. He didn't laugh at jokes anymore, or smile, or sing or dance or laugh. His soul was dead but his body was living. It was heartbreaking to watch. In time, he could recover but the pain was just too raw, and it would be for a very long time.

Hermione finally finished scrambling all the eggs ten minutes later. By this time Ginny had emerged from her cave, looking sleepy with her hair in every direction. She knew that Hermione and Harry found solace in each other. She knew they were each other's security blankets and that didn't bother her. She was just happy they both made it out alive. Ginny started setting the table and pouring orange juice for everybody when George and Mr. Weasley came down the stairs.

Ten minutes later and everybody was eating breakfast, and for the first time in a while everybody seemed in a pretty good mood. It was slightly chaotic (how could it not be?) and Hermione wouldn't have it any other way. These people were her family now.

She was an orphan. She had lost her parents far too soon. After the Final Battle, she and Ron had ventured out into Australia to find her parents. They found the house ransacked, and her parents lying on the floor, mutilated to almost the point of being unrecognizable. Hermione never liked to talk about it. There were days when she just cried in Ron's arms. Sometimes, when Ron wasn't around she would cry in Harry's. She hadn't even told Ginny about what happened on that horrid night.

But Hermione didn't want to get herself down. Everybody seemed in a pretty good mood, which made her mood brighten up. She was washing the dishes with Ginny when an owl came to the window. She wiped her hands on the towel, and grabbed a piece of food for the owl. She grabbed the letters, and stroked her hands over the owl's soft feathers. "You're from Hogwarts, aren't you?" she asked. The owl gave her a soft coo in answer and then flew off. "Harry and Ron!" she yelled, "We have gotten letters from Hogwarts!"

And a few seconds later they were running into the Burrow. "We didn't even have a chance to get our brooms, Hermione!" exclaimed Harry. He grabbed his letter from Hermione's hands and gave Ron his letter.

Harry's face went from bright to terrified. He sat down at the kitchen table, hands shaking. He rested head on the table breathing heavily. "Oh my god. I feel like I'm going to be sick." And then he was. He ran to bathroom.

Hermione hadn't opened the letters yet. She didn't know what they were for, because her Hogwarts letters usually came during the first week of August, not the third week of July. She wondered what could be in that letter that was so awful. She carefully opened the enveloped that was sealed with the Hogwarts stamp.

To Miss Hermione Granger –

You have been invited to an eighth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The renovations to the school have been completed, and school will start on September 1st as usual. Attached to this letter is your list of supplies for the next school year. There have been major changes to the curriculum due to the war last year.

The Ministry has imposed a new law which we have been able to withhold from the Hogwarts students until they graduate. Due to the casualties from the war, all witches and wizards will be assigned a partner to whom they must marry and have children with. The students of Hogwarts will not take part in this law until they have graduated from Hogwarts, and then they have one year to reproduce.

However, the sixth, seventh, and eighth year students will be required to take a parenting class in which they will be partnered up with a person compatible to them (they may or may not be your future spouse, as some people have been matched with witches or wizards who have already graduated from Hogwarts) and together they will learn how to raise a child while being a young, working parent.

Your future spouses will be assigned to you the first week of August. You will be told whether this person will be your actual spouse, or if the person is your spouse for the project.

I look forward to seeing you in September.

Headmistress McGonagall

Hermione understood Harry now. Everybody's face looked solemn. Nobody could say anything. They just sat there, in silence, together. Harry was the first to get up. He left the Burrow and was walking through the fields when Hermione caught up to him. "We'll be okay, Harry. We've handled a lot worse things." She said. She put her hand on his shoulder and he jerked away.

He turned to her. "Hermione do you think I want this? I don't want to be a young parent! I was planning on getting married to Ginny! I figured we would graduate from Hogwarts and start out life together, and when we felt like it we would have children! This time next year I might have a kid on the way and it might not even be with Ginny! I don't know what to do!" And he broke down crying. He sat on the ground, and him and Hermione cried together.

There was a time when it was only Harry and she on the run and she thought that she might be in love with Harry. They found comfort in each other. They tried to make the best of what they had. They felt comfortable around each other. Hermione figured this love out to be something of sibling love. They loved each other like siblings. Harry was an only child, and so was Hermione, but together they were siblings. They fought and they bickered, but at the end of the day they loved each other. She fell asleep most nights thinking of how lucky she was to have a brother, but also terrified, because what would happen if she lost him?

About an hour later they made their way back to the Burrow. Hermione sat down to read a book. Harry went outside to play some Quidditch with Ron. They never stopped playing that game. From dawn till dusk they played. Hermione liked to watch them sometimes. It was the only time she actually saw them laugh together, and she was glad that they found their way of dealing with everything. They were handling things a little better than her. They laughed more. They smiled more. And Harry and Ron tried to get her to, but she couldn't help but feel that she could have helped those people that died. She blamed herself a lot.

Ginny came over to talk to Hermione a little while before dinner. She sat down on the couch next to Hermione. She looked a little guilty. "I hope you don't hate me, Hermione. I know you always wanted this position but I got Head Girl. I feel really bad! I know you really want it – "

"Stop rambling Ginny! I'm happy for you!" and Hermione smiled. "You totally deserve it! I don't think I could handle the position anyways. You're in much better shape than I am!" She hugged Ginny. She was truly happy for the girl. The responsibility would take the sadder things off Ginny's mind. And she would also have a kid to take care of, but Hermione wasn't going to mention that now.

"Thank you so much, Hermione! Maybe tonight we could have a girl's night? We could paint our nails, and gossip about boys? We haven't had one since a while ago." And a while ago meant the night before Bill and Fleur's wedding. That was over a year ago. Hermione could really do for a girl's night.

"Of course, Ginny! It sounds like a blast. I was meaning to go to Diagon Alley to get some books, but maybe we could go there tomorrow and get our hair done and treat ourselves to something nice." Hermione said. The more she thought about it, the better she was feeling. She hadn't treated herself to anything in over a year.

Diagon Alley was pretty much all fixed. Stores were beginning to open and people were starting to go there again. It was full of life and laughter and Hermione hadn't seen anything like this since first year. The shops were stilled crooked and the streets were still cobblestone, but they shone with cleanliness and Hermione thought everything was perfect. Because it was perfect. She would not have anything any other way.

Little kids were running down the street, and parents were yelling out their names, trying to find them in the crowd of people. She had never seen so many wizards here before! How could there be a population problem if all these wizards were here?

"Let's go to Madame Primernelle's!" Hermione pointed out the store. There was a salon behind all the beautifying potions and makeup. Hermione really needed a haircut. She had let her hair grow out while on the run, and she usually put it up. Even now she did. Her hair reached her waist, which was far too long. It grew out like a triangle because of its bushy nature.

As soon as she walked in a man dressed in flamboyant robes walked over to her. "Oh honey, the things I would do to get my hands on your hair. Why goodness gracious, are you Hermione Granger? Dear can I please do your hair? Quite frankly, a goddess like you cannot be walking around with hair like that." He was already pushing her to the salon chair.

"Um, thank you!" Hermione said. "I was actually looking to get a haircut. It hasn't been cut in a while. My friend Ginny wanted to get her haircut too. I know it's very short notice and everything but –"

"Sweetcheeks you are always welcome here! My name is Fabian. Whatever you want, you're going to get! It's not every day we have such a famous witch like you come into our salon. And with Ginny Weasley, who is dating Mr. Harry Potter himself! Witch Weekly is going to love this!" He said. He left and came back a few minutes later with some sort of potion in his hands. "When it comes to coloring hair, I like to do it the muggle way. You know exactly what you're putting in your hair. I like to coat it with a long lasting charm, so it stays longer. You get your money's worth."

"I didn't want to get my hair colored!" Hermione explained, but it was too late. The color was already going into her hair. She hoped he did a nice job. Ginny looked excited. She was in the seat next to her, and her hair was being colored too.

"I'm so excited Hermione! I've never done this before!" She was literally bouncing in her seat. "Mum never lets me get my hair colored, but I'm sure after she sees my new look she will love it! This orange color is so boring sometimes! It's aggravating because everybody knows when they see my orange hair that I am a Weasley! I always wanted it to be a darker red. I just hate orange!"

Hermione laughed a little. She could understand why Ginny wanted to be different. Ginny was more a free spirit. Hermione thought that Ginny wanted to make a name for herself other than being a Weasley. She could understand how Ginny felt. Being the "Brightest Witch of Her Age" wasn't exactly fun either. She had a name to live up to. For once, Hermione just wanted to be just plain old Hermione Granger, Hogwarts Student. Not Hermione Granger of the Golden Trio. Not smart Hermione. Just Hermione.

She could feel Fabian cutting her hair. He was taking so much of it off! Hermione was excited though. Her hair didn't feel like it was weighing down her head. It felt soft and wavy, just how she had always wanted it to be as a child. He had turned the chair around so Hermione couldn't see what he was doing, but she could feel it.

"Honey, if you don't like this new 'do' we can always change it. Thankfully we have magic that can change it up. I think it looks gorgeous on you though." Fabian said, and her spun the chair around.

Oh my god. Hermione looked beautiful. Her hair was smooth. It was curly, but not bushy. It was blonde. She never thought she could do a color other than plain old brown. This was beautiful. She had always thought she looked plain with her brown eyes and brown hair, but now she was exquisite. Her skin looked flawless and tan and it brought out the golden flecks in her brown eyes. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Oh my goodness, Fabian, you did such an amazing job. I never thought I could look like this."

"You were always beautiful, Miss Granger! I just wanted to show the world what I saw in you. Not every girl is smart and beautiful, and on top of that you're a nice person. You're truly one of a kind." Fabian said. She gave him a huge hug and squeezed him so tight that he could barely breathe.

Ginny came over at that moment. "Bloody hell, Hermione! You look bloody gorgeous!" she squealed.

Ginny looked gorgeous herself. Her hair was dark auburn, and made her fair skin look like a porcelain dolls. Her eyes looked even brighter, and for the first time both Hermione and Ginny looked genuinely happy.

Hermione felt different. She felt as though she was being born again. Maybe all she needed was a little makeover to make her feel even a little happy again. She was going to be a new Hermione. And most importantly, she made a promise to herself that she was going to make a good mum.

Authors Note: I'm back everybody! I tried to end the chapter on a good note. Next chapter we have the letters, and the train back to Hogwarts! I look forward to seeing your responses to this! Thanks for the support from some very dedicated people who still read my work!

MissDMalfoy