I should really be working on Third Time's the Charm, but this just wouldn't leave my mind, so…

Well, I hope this is enjoyable. It's certainly a bit different than what I'm used to seeing in regards to a Harry Potter/Naruto crossover. Hopefully it's enjoyable. Give it a chance?

Of course, anything you might recognize is not mine.

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After the Final Battle, life in England returned to normal. Hermione went back to Hogwarts to complete her studies, after which she spent three years getting her Runes Mastery. It was part interest and part survival instincts that remained from her year on the run. She never wanted to be put into a defenseless position if she ever lost her wand. Such a prospect terrified her. With runes, one could accomplish most anything. Runes were complex, true, but to her methodical mind, they had a kind of transcendent beauty that intrigued her and made her devour tomes upon tomes on the subject.

Nowadays, she could conjure them up without much thought, so used to them was she. She still used her wand, but using runes brought her a sense of peace that spells could not. They felt, for lack of a better word, more concrete. Was that because of her Muggle upbringing? Maybe.

Ron and Harry teased her about it every time they saw her, but it was all in good fun. When she traveled to China to learn from their top Runes Master, she learned kanji to read the texts her master assigned her, which then brought her to learn Japanese to read the texts of Kanagawa-sensei, one of the oldest masters left in Japan.

And so, when she returned to England after three years, Harry and Ron joked that she had become Asian-ised. She shook her head ruefully, but it was true that she had found a certain measure of peace in Asia. The people there knew much about meditation and she felt like she had finally found her center. Her life there was much more peaceful than previously, and she found that she liked the calm, even if she sometimes wished for an adventure or two. After a few months in England, she returned to Asia, this time spending much of her time in Japan.

The customs there were both similar and vastly different from those in China. She was fascinated. Despite visiting several other countries to expand her knowledge, she truly found herself most at ease in Japan. It did help that the people there didn't pry into her personal life. In England, she always felt on display, especially if she was with Harry and Ron. She didn't know how they could manage to live there.

It was why, on the eve of her twenty-eighth birthday, she found herself on the grounds of Hogwarts, waiting for her best friends to arrive. The place was as far from prying eyes as they could manage outside of their own homes, and this was a reunion solely for the three of them, no girlfriends included. Of course, they would join them later, but they had a few hours to reminisce as the Golden Trio.

There were students around, but she stayed close enough to the Forbidden Forest that she wasn't seen from afar.

A rustle in the bushes caught her attention. She whipped out her wand, senses on alert. Could it be a student? Or was it one of the creatures living in the forest?

It turned out to be a centaur, much to her surprise. She wondered why one would wander so close to the forest line.

"Can I help you?" she asked cautiously. One never knew, with centaurs.

"The stars were most insistent," began the dark-maned centaur. "You are needed elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?" she repeated, frowning.

"In a certain land in which magic does not exist, a war rages that will kill more people than necessary if you do not help. It is the only place where you shall feel at home. You life until now has only been a prelude to get you ready to survive in those warring states."

She shook her head. "I've never held much stock in divination, and I believe that one's fate is not set in stone."

"If you stay here, you will be content for a while. If you go, you will be happy for life."

Once more, she shook her head.

"I told you..."

Her favorite guys ran up to her at that moment.

"Mione! Sorry we took so long!"

"Things took longer than expected...Wait, who are you?"

With Harry and Ron on either side of her, Hemione felt much safer.

"This person wants me to go far away, to some place where war rages. Apparently, my presence there could help save many people," she explained with a frown.

"Mione, I know you don't believe much in Divination, but remember, Trelawney already made two prophecies about me that turned out to be true. Besides, I know you. You won't stop thinking of the people you could help and eventually go there anyway to see if you can really help. Why not go sooner rather than later?"

She looked at her black-haired friend with reproach.

"One would think you are eager to get rid of me," she said, lips tugging downwards.

"You know that's not it," said Ron, cajoling, with a big hug. "We care for you very much!"

"I know, I know. But Harry..." She turned to her friend. "Why are you so intent on me going?"

She stole a glance at the centaur who was observing her with troubling dark eyes. She averted her own.

"Mione...Since the war, you've been adrift. You were clearly looking for your place in life. We've found it, Ron and I, but you...I don't want to see you lose sight of yourself. Go. We'll be with you. The Golden Trio, right?" he asked, looking at Ron who nodded fervently.

"No!" she exclaimed, before continuing more calmly, "No. You two have lives here. I won't uproot you. Ron, Luna's pregnant. So is Ginny, Harry. You can't think of bringing them to such a place. Especially you, Ron. With a baby and another on the way? Impossible."

Harry frowned. He wanted to object. To let her go alone? Certainly not.

He turned to the centaur.

"Will she be in danger there? I mean, if we aren't going along."

The centaur looked at him with unreadable eyes.

"Yes. But if she goes, she will find a greater protector than either of you could procure for her."

"Alright. What can we do to help?"

"Harry!" hissed Hermione, slapping him on the arm. She hadn't decided to go yet, no matter that her traitorous mind was already making plans. And she didn't like that her friends were going along with that centaur and making plans for her future before she had even decided about it herself.

"What? If I'm not there, I want you to be as safe as you can be."

"She needs what you call the Deathly Hallows. All three of them. Not only because they can't stay here, but also because they will be her best protection where she will be going. And she will need them if she is to meet her protector."

"Harry..."

The black-haired male smiled a bit sadly.

"If it can help you...Hey, Mione, take care of my father's heirloom?"

She nodded, teary-eyed. This suddenly seemed much too real.

"Sure, Harry."

Her voice was choked and unsure, damn it.

"Guess we'll have to have a duel if you want the Elder Wand to work for you properly. And find the Ring...It's still somewhere in the forest."

It took some time, especially to find where she was supposed to go, but with her research, it took them less than a year to have everything ready. Her friends gave her a two-way mirror so she could stay in contact with them, then they all traveled to Japan where she stepped into a runic circle drawn on the floor of a deserted temple, Elder wand in hand as she drew the last few runes. She absentmindedly caressed the Ring on her finger and put the invisibility cloak around her.

"I love you guys."

"Love you too, Mione. Be safe out there."

"I will. I'll give you news as soon as I'm in the Hidden Countries. Wish me luck!"

She nodded, they powered up the runic circles, and then the males were alone in the small temple while she traveled to a world that was just as secluded from the magical world as the latter was separated from the Muggle one. Their every prayer went with her.

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Of course, this is just setting the cards. The next chapter will be much more interesting. Still, what do you think? Worth continuing?