Hermione's life had changed a bit since the war as well. She moved to a small village right outside Diagon Alley. It may have been small, but it felt like home to her. She opened up the front door of her house and smelled the fresh air of the morning. It always seemed to put a smile on her face. "Little town, it's a quiet village. Everyday like the one before. Little town full of little people, waking up to say", she sang to herself. Hermione enjoyed singing now-a-days to take her mind off things.
"Lumos", she heard five different people say. Hermione thought that these people should be careful with magic, since a muggle could see at any moment.
She tapped on the bricks to enter Diagon Alley and watched the same thing occur day after day. "There goes the baker with his tray like always, the same old bread and rolls to sell. Every morning just the same since the morning that we came to this poor provincial town", Hermione said as she grabbed two pumpkin pasties off the tray and placed six knuts on the counter.
"Morning, Hermione."
"Morning, Madam Violet."
"Where are you off to today?", asked Madam Violet as she collected money from the other wizards and witches.
"Flourish and Blotts", Hermione said with a smile as she looked down at the book in her hand. "I just finished the most wonderful story about a philosopher and a stone!", Hermione said with cheerfulness. Now that Hermione was done with schooling, she spent most of her time reading books and doing house chores.
"Sounds boring", said Madam Violet as she counted the money, not even looking up to see Hermione's face anymore. Hermione signed and decided to continue on with her journey. A lot of people these days stuck their noses in other people's business instead of books, she only wished to find a way to change that.
"Look there she goes that girl is strange, but special, dazed and distracted can't you tell?, Neville told Seamus as Hermione passed by.
"Never part of any crowd, cause her head's up on some cloud. No denying she's a funny girl, that Granger."
A huge smile appeared on her face as she entered Flourish and Blotts. The owner was the one of the few people who understood her these days, the other was her father. "Morning Miss Granger."
"Morning, sir. I'd like to thank you for recommending the Philsopher's Stone. It was an amazing story, very well written. Have you got anything new?", she asked as excitement ran through her.
"Not since yesterday." Hermione's smile suddenly faded. She was hoping to find a book about more magic, fantastic beast, maybe even an enchanted castle with talking objects, but that was all a dream which would never come true. The only things that talked in Hogwarts were the paintings, but that was old news. Been there done that, and some of them weren't very friendly.
"Well then, I'll borrow this one", Hermione said as she picked up a leather book on the shelf. 'Hogwarts: A History' was stitched on the cover.
"That one? But you've read it twice."
"Probably more than that. It's my favorite! Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, and a prince in disguise. Really takes me back to where I met my best friends." A sudden realization came to her, and she immediately stopped talking. "So, three knuts and have it back in three days?", Hermione was very close to the owner of Flourish and Blotts, so instead of buying them at full price, Hermione pays one knut for each day she borrows it.
"Actually, if you like it so much it's yours."
"But sir..."
"No returns", the owner said with a smile.
"Why, thank you. Thank you very much", Hermione said as she headed out. As she closed the door behind her, she spotted Luna Lovegood and Katie Bell. Hermione have them a slight wave and nodded her head as she passed by, but not even a second later she was lost in her new book.
"Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar. I wonder if she's feeling well. With a dreamy far off look, and her nose stuck in a book, what a puzzle to the rest of us is Granger." The two girls glared as she passed by. They were amazed that she could and walk at the same time without tripping or running into anything.
Hermione loved hearing the stories about Hogwarts, how the castle was made, and the many secrets that even Dumbledore might not know about. "Oh, isn't this amazing? It's my favorite part because, you'll see. Here's where they built the castle, but they don't begin teaching till 983."
Lavender Brown and the Patil twins glared at Hermione as she walked around Diagon Alley. Hermione stopped right in front of Madam Malkin's dress robe shop. The same closed sign seemed to be collecting dust on top of dust. The word itself was almost impossible to see, and the only way to tell that it was truly closed was the fact that the door hadn't opened in four years. Hermione was hoping to buy a new cloak for winter, but it seemed that Hermione would have to go to Twilfitt and Tatting's, the robe shop that her old school friends were currently modeling for.
"Now it's no wonder that her name means Beauty. Her looks have got no parallel", Madam Asker, the owner of the dress shop, said as Hermione passed by, and accidentally ended up stabbing Lavender with a sowing pin.
"Ow!" Lavender glared at Madam Asker before returning her attention to Hermione. Pavarti, and Hannah, also modeling different dress robes, were already glaring at Hermione when Lavender joined in. It was perfectly clear that Madam Asker would much rather have Hermione model the clothes, but had once made it very clear that her answer is no.
"Why does is matter if I wear the robes? That just shows people how they look on me. Just place the robes on plastic forms like Madam Malkin and make life a whole lot easier. The main focus is the attire, not the model", Hermione said to Madam Asker one day when she was on her way to get a new quill. Madam Asker was quite bitter and irritated after that.
"...but behind that fair facade, I'm afraid she's rather odd."
"Very different from the rest of us", Pavarti said.
"She's nothing like the rest of us!", Lavender shouted at Pavarti.
"Yes, different from the rest of us is Granger", all three girls said at once.
"Auror at the Ministry, handsome face, now all I'm missing is the one person who makes me happy in life", Cormac McLaggen said as he entered Diagon Alley.
"Why thank...", Marcus Belby started, but was quickly cut off.
"Hermione Granger." Marcus frowned. "Ever since the wizarding war my life has felt so empty. She's just what I need to make my life complete. Right from the moment when I met her, saw her, I said 'she's gorgeous', and I fell. Here in town there's only she, who's as beautiful as me. So I'm making plans to woo and marry Hermione." Cormac smiled as he saw her reading a book by Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
Lavender giggled with excitement and pointed at Cormac. "Look there he goes, isn't he dreamy? Mr. McLaggen, oh he's so cute. Be still, my heart. I'm hardly breathing. He's such a tall, dark, strong and handsome brute!" Cormac signed as he watched Lavender, Pavarti, and Hannah all drool over him and make fools out of themselves. He took his wand and casted a spell to the awning of the robe shop. All the rain water and leaves that had been collecting for months had now soaked and stuck to their robes.
Hermione put her book away and decided to head back to her home. "Hello", someone nearby said to her.
"Good day", said Hermione, but suddenly all she heard was bickering amongst everyone, and it wouldn't stop. After a few moments, she finally had enough. "There must be more than this provincial life!"
"Just watch, I'm going to make Granger my wife!"
"Look there she goes that girl is strange but special. A most peculiar Mademoiselle. It's a pitty and a sin, she doesn't quite fit in, but she really is a funny girl. A beauty but a funny girl. She really is a funny girl, that Granger."
Hermione sighed as she realized the whole village was talking about her again. Suddenly Hermione felt herself collide with someone else. Cormac McLaggen smirked at Hermione as her book fell to the floor. "I've been waiting for the day that you'd fall for me, Hermione." Once Cormac caught the name of the book, he scoffed. "Hogwarts is over with, Granger. Time to move on in life." At this point she had finally gotten up and patted the dust off her robe. "Maybe you should start with joining me for dinner tonight?"
"Cormac, for the millionth time, I'm not interested. Accio", she said as she snatched the book back. "But I can assure you there are plenty of other girls who'd love to join you. I bet Lavender Brown will be a real treat", Hermione said as she turned slightly to see Madam Asker horrified that her newly sewn robes were ruined.
"Other girls aren't like you."
"Trust me, I've been told", Hermione whispered to herself. "Goodbye, Cormac", she said, closing the door to the Leaky Cauldron. She tried to push all thoughts aside as she stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron, but the moment her home came into view, someone grabbed her arm and spun her around.
"Hermione, I don't think you gave my invite a second thought. I've been looking for a woman to make me happy in life. I could return the favor. Hiding out here in the Muggle world while you fantasize about the Hogwarts magic that is clearly dead. Is that really what you want?"
"Cormac, you and I will never make each other happy. It just won't work. I'm perfectly happy living with my father." Hermione was really starting to get irritated. All she wanted to do was shove Cormac to the floor while she headed home to her father.
"Hermione, what do you plan to do when your father dies? You'll need a man to look after you. Protect you from harm."
Hermione suddenly started to walk toward her home. She stomped up the stairs, but once her hand was on the handle, she responded to Cormac's words. "I protected a wizard for seven years because he had no idea what he was doing. I can guarantee that I can protect myself." She said as she stepped inside, but she turned around to face Cormac for a quick second. "For example..", she said before slamming the door shut.
Hermione was so happy to do that. "Dad?", she asked as she looked around the house. Hermione now lived with her father, David Granger. After the war had ended, Hermione went to Australia to return to her parents, and now they're safe in England. However, Hermione's mother died before she returned. "Any troubling kids today?", she asked as she passed him a pumpkin pasty
"Nope, but there was a seven year old with a cavity, poor thing." Hermione sat down on the couch beside her father and took a bite out of her own pumpkin pasty. Suddenly Hermione has something that she wanted to ask.
"Dad, do you think I'm different?" Her father saw the insecurity in her eyes. If he didn't answer carefully then she would most likely be upset for the rest of the week.
"Of course your different. You're a witch, and quite a brilliant one at that." Hermione immediately put her head in her hands and groaned.
"No! That's not what I meant." She watched as her father got up and headed over to the kitchen.
"Since when is being different a bad thing? Why would you like to be like everyone else?"
"When people from the Muggle world and wizard world both judge you for it. I'm not sure if it's the fact I'm a muggleborn or that I'm just weird in general. Come on, Dad. You know that everyday has been the same since we came to this poor provincial town." Hermione smiled as her father returned to the couch with two cups of hot peppermint tea. "Not even my friends want to be around me anymore. I guess I was useful when the world was in danger, but the minute that everything was safe they tossed me aside. I miss my school years." Her father glanced at the book in her lap and frowned.
"It's important that we focus on the present and not dwell on the past to let it haunt us." Hermione has a theory that the spirit of Albus Dumbledore jumped into her father, because they both had wise words of wisdom. Maybe it was time to let all that go. Harry and Ron were now Aurors at the Ministry along with Cormac McLaggen. However, unlike Cormac, they haven't spoke to her in years. "I'm off to Wiltshire. I'll be back tomorrow. Is there anything you need?"
"A rose", she said as she watched her father grab their horse, Philippe. Since they lived right outside Diagon Alley and lived in London, there was no need for a car to drive far places, but every once in awhile David would have to go to Wiltshire to get new dentist tools. Even thought he had been there many times, David would still get lost since most of Wiltshire was deserted.
David didn't need an explanation. He should've know that Hermione would say a rose. Every year at King's Cross Station, Hermione's mother would give her a rose as a good luck charm to stay safe. If only Hermione had given her mother one before heading off to Australia.
Hermione waved goodbye to her father and was about to close the door when suddenly she heard that annoying voice again. "Speak of the devil", she thought as she opened the door a few more inches.
There he was with his best friend, Marcus Bebly. Cormac was fishing his boot out of a mud puddle, along with his pride, but it seems that he hasn't found that yet. "Ugh, can you imagine me, the wife of that boorish and brainless?", she walked out of her house and grabbed a white cloth sitting on the railing. "Madam McLaggen, can't you just see it? Madam McLaggen, his little wife?", she said wrapping the cloth around the top of her head and holding the ends loosely below her chin then yanked it off. "UGH! No sir, not me. I guarantee it. I want much more than this provincial life."
Without a second thought, she ran out of the village as fast as she could. She kept running and running. The whole time she wanted to escape this village, now was her chance to get a few minutes of freedom.
Hermione froze at the top of a hill. She was able to see all of London, and the sunset made it even more beautiful especially how it lit up the clouds. She couldn't help but let her frustration out. "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell, and for once it might be grand to have someone understand. I want so much more then they've got planned."