Hermione was home alone again. Her parents trusted her to be good, even if she was only nine years old. She was far too sensible to be scared by most things, seeing as they could be explained easily. Owls and other night animals made noises, homes creaked because of a change of temperature, and really, very little happened that didn't have a logical cause. However, this very bright light and the loud sonic whirring were not easily explainable. She charged outside, her father's rugby helmet on her head and holding a cricket bat.

The oddly handsome man in the brown suit was obviously amused, as was the very attractive soldier in the army uniform and the curvaceous blonde woman in jeans.

"Are you all right, little one? We didn't scare you, did we?" The army man came a wee bit too close and Hermione took a swing at him.

"Ooh, she's a pip. Good on you, Curly. Captain Jack isn't to be messed with." The blonde giggled.

The man in the brown suit came closer and studied Hermione as closely as she studied him. "You'll be there when I need you, won't you?"

Something in his eyes touched something deep in Hermione. She didn't even have to think about it. "Yes. Yes, I will."

Hermione looked particularly beautiful the day of the ball. But her companion in the rose garden was not at all the one everyone expected. "Why is he wearing your face, Doctor? My heart almost stopped!"

The Doctor reached his hand out. His face betrayed even more sadness. "It is one of those quirks of fate, love. Don't hold it against him. He has enough madness in his life."

Hermione turned her back and tucked her arms around herself, as though she were shielding herself from the world.

"It's hard, Doctor. I miss you, you know. These boys, they try, but they don't really see me. You are the only one who ever has." A tear rolled down her cheek as she said that. She knew he held her heart, whether he liked it or not.

Against his better judgement, the Tenth Doctor pulled Hermione close. There was just something about the girl that called to him. He hadn't felt this type of yearning in years. He heard a muffled giggle. "What? Why am I funny?"

"You have two hearts, don't you? I can hear them both beating." Hermione gazed up at him in challenge, but with a smile on her face.

"You, my darling, are far too smart for your own good." Suddenly, he cocked his head, as though he heard something. "Time to go."

"You'll come back for me, won't you?" Hermione reached out, suddenly plaintive.

"I'm going to need you more than you know, my darling. I will be back; I promise." He winked at her, snapped his braces and hopped into the police box.

Hermione waved. Something undefinable tickled her memory. She went with her instinct, just as she had every time she saw him. "Bye, sweetie!"

That was all it took for the Doctor to look extraordinarily surprised. He started to jump out of the TARDIS, when a feminine hand pulled him back. With a swirl of light and sound the whole thing disappeared.

"Miss Granger, I hope you understand just how dangerous that particular acquaintance can be," said Professor Snape.

"Is he any more dangerous than any of my other acquaintances, Professor?" Hermione looked up at him with the same humor and challenge she had offered the Time Lord.

Severus Snape stared at her for a moment, then quirked his lips upward in what might – with some imagination – be called a smile. "I imagine not, Miss Granger. Now, you better get back inside before you are missed."

River Song was in the home furnished for her on the simulated earth world created for those whose consciousness was preserved by CAL. She sat at the kitchen table, sipping on tea. She had been telling the children of her adventures when she heard footsteps. "When you run with the Doctor," she said, "it feels like it will never end. Everybody knows that everybody dies, but not every day. Not today. Don't you find that comforting, Dr. Moon?" She looked up from her cup of tea.

"Charlotte is asleep, then, River?" Dr. Moon's soothing voice grated across River's nerves.

"Yes, and the other children as well."

He sat across the table from her and gazed at her through the round frames of his glasses. Steepling his hands, he took a deep breath. "I can send you back. Charlotte wanted the comfort of a mother, so she let you put her to bed; but we ican/i send you back. There will be some differences, though." His smirk made her want to both slap and kiss him.

"Tell me more," she said, leaning in.

"When you regenerated in New York, a huge amount of energy was released. Based on what we can tell, the Doctor has changed something fundamental in the fabric of the universe. Somehow you didn't use up all the energy. There is, for lack of a better word, some extra at that first site. We can siphon enough to regenerate you again, but it will be in a very similar form," he said. Now he had her complete attention.

"And where will I go?" she asked, eyes alight, cocking her head thoughtfully.

"In that time period, Hermann Lux has a friend – a dentist. He and his wife cannot have children. I believe we can place you there." He gazed at her from behind his glasses.

"Do it," she ordered. She stood and started to pace, her white dress flowing after her. "Do it!"

She had chosen the name Hermione. "A Winter's Tale" was one of her all time favorite Shakespeare plays. The Grangers were happy to take her in, accepting help from Dr. Moon to "remember" that they had a daughter. A daughter too smart for her own good, who had a hard time fitting in. Hermione knew she couldn't harm those around her, so she allowed herself to be bullied. Something in the back of her mind always told her that she was special.

Shortly after her miraculous third regeneration, she saw the Doctor for what to this incarnation was the first time. And for the second time, the man in the police box stole her heart and touched her soul.