** Please make note I am not a writer, I do this purely for fun, after reading SO many stories on here I have decided to put some of my own ideas down on paper... so to speak. I am by no means a professional. This is my first ever published work, I always wanted to be a writer but never had the time nor know how to go about it. Any constructive criticism will be accepted, any outright nasty or rude comments will be deleted. Thank-you for taking the time to read a story that has been bouncing around in my head for several years, I truly appreciate the feedback! -JWall

Chapter 1.

There she was walking towards him, warm brown eyes locked on to his emerald green; he could tell she was nervous, he was too, everything felt so rushed. It was barely 6 months after the second wizarding war, take into account the number of funerals and trials they both have been to and it was understandable why Hermione's beautiful eyes held so many emotions. What he didn't expect to see within that sea of emotions however was fear, this was her wedding day, nerves he could understand but why would that fleck of fear be sitting just there, unknown to anyone else but the select few who really knew her? Before he could contemplate any further, she was in front of the groom, his best friend Ron, whose lips slowly lifted at the corner in that signature smirk as he took her delicate hand in his. In the blink of an eye the wedding was over, his best friends were married, he should feel happy, shouldn't he?

"Come along love, that's our cue" Ginny said as she took his arm and walked up the aisle that just moments before he watched Hermione walk down. "Just imagine in a few weeks' time this will be happening again only this time for us!" delight coursing thru every word spoken. Harry put on a smile and escorted his lovely girlfriend down the aisle towards the party, guilt suddenly hitting him hard in the stomach. They had gotten back together just after Fred's funeral, Gin was a wreck, barely eating and sleeping. Nightmares plagued everyone who fought in the war, but it seemed she only got better when Harry was near. Harry knew things were not the same as before, knew it deep down in his soul; Yes, he loved Ginny but in a different way than before.

The day that Ron proposed to Hermione was the day Harry realized who he truly loved, not a boyhood crush or a feeling of lust, Harry Potter knew that his soul would forever be in love with Hermione and only Hermione. But now she was gone, taken by his first ever friend, and he was lost in his feelings. Proposing to Ginny just a week later brought him little joy, knowing he was doing so for purely selfish reasons. He loved Ginny and knew they would be content together, and this way he wouldn't have to be alone.

The date was set for four weeks after the newest Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's big day with hopes they would return to the island rested and refreshed from their three week honeymoon in Barcelona, the perfect destination for the two of them. It held enough history and tours for Hermione and all the food for Ron. Harry just hoped that Ron would still fit in his tux come time, not that Molly couldn't do any last-minute alterations.

Harry was lost in his thoughts until a small hand grabbed his arm and dragged him out onto the dance floor. "Mione, you know I can't dance, and you're not wearing any shoes I could break your toes!" Harry stated rather childlike. Hermione just grinned and placed his arms at her waist as she swayed to the now gentle song that was playing off in the distance. "Relax I just wanted some time to talk about our plans this week before I head off to Spain" she said with a devilish grin, out of the corner of his eye he saw her retract her wand into a invisible holster on her forearm after she placed what appeared to be a protection charm on her feet. All he could do was shake his head and grin, merlin he wished she were his, the fear was gone from her soulful eyes and all he could see was love, love for him her brother in all but blood. His pulse racing from that gaze turned upon him from mere inches, how easy it would be for him to lean in and kiss her… NO! She was married! MARRIED! And not to him.

Years of abuse from his relatives placed an easy façade of happiness on his face as he answered. "We don't have to rush to get that all done before you leave, you just got married after all! There will be plenty of time to put my vault in order after you return. Gin and I won't be heading off right after the wedding as her schedule barely allowed for the reception, we can tackle that nasty pile of paperwork then."

And it was true, Ginny was set to be a chaser for the Holyhead Harpies and had a grueling training regime, she was just able to get enough time for the wedding and the reception afterwards before having to head off to the summer training program for the reserve team. Ginny showed great promise to become the next big quidditch star, being drafted onto the reserve team while still attending the accelerated program at Hogwarts. Technically she still had two years to go but some concessions were made to let her take the fast track offered to Harry's year group in order to stay with her family and friends. So, this summer she agreed to working with the reserve team in hopes of becoming a starting player in the following year or two. Harry was more than proud of everything she had accomplished and supported her decision to push off their honeymoon for a bit as she trained, they were set to take a short weeklong stay in Dublin right before the start of term.

Hermione's smile dropped into a frown as she sucked in her bottom lip, eyes glazing over with unshed tears. Harry's heart stopped beating as he entered an almost panicked state, what had he done or said to cause such an abrupt change in her? Eyes zeroing in on her pinched lip, he gently used his thumb to dislodge the now slightly swollen lip and then raised his attention to her eyes, "What's wrong Mione? What did I say to upset you?" Her eyes darted to her feet as she mumbled a reply "I don't want to wait, I need to take my mind off things, I can't sit around waiting for my holiday without keeping my brain engaged… I can't stop to think about things".

Hermione like Ginny had a hard time after the war. She was plagued with nightmares only few could understand, mentally she knew the war was over and that they had won, but subconsciously her brain kept replaying scenes from her time on the run. Harry not being fast enough against that great bloody snake, Ron buggering off leaving them fending for themselves after a nasty horcrux induced argument, the sight of Harry's lifeless body in Hagrid's arms as he carried him into view on the front lawn of Hogwarts. All her fears, replaying over and over, as the days went by Hermione was at war inside her head. The only thing that kept her sane was to keep her brain busy.

She didn't even know why she married Ronald; heaven knows they still argue all the time. The biggest argument to date was the timing of their wedding, she wanted to wait a year or two to let the events of the very recent past calm down. To this day she didn't understand how he won that argument, she felt like she was in a fog for the past few weeks, at the beginning she knew her main argument against having the nuptials so soon was that she wanted to finish school, followed closely by her internal argument on whether she was making the right decision or not. Sure, she loved Ron, but was she in love with him? Before she could even breathe, she found herself saying "I do" in front of Kingsley Shacklebolt while she watched her best friend in the whole world fall to pieces just behind her new husband with what he thought was a brilliant façade plastered all over his face. Did he know that she could see through any pretense Harry James Potter could produce? Why did she get married? What caused her to back down against her morals? Could it be the lack of sleep that she was getting planning for this damned wedding and also trying to get her, and her families lives back in order? The questions kept piling up, but she had no time to make a mental list as she just missed what Harry had said.

"Sorry? I was lost in my head there for a minute." She mumbled out while shaking her head clear of her questions.

"I was saying if helping me file through hundreds if not thousands of sheets of parchment to get my vault back in order keeps you sane, then it would be my pleasure to be your distraction." Blinking rapidly Hermione thought about his use of distraction as a very adept term in this case and gave him a slow sad smile. "Perfect! Thank-you so much Harry! I think I would go stir crazy if all I had to do was sit around the burrow waiting for our timed portkey to whisk us away to Spain." Parting as the song came to a close, Hermione was being led away from him by Ron to talk with some more red-headed member of his rather large family.

Harry took a seat between Ginny and Neville who were both lost in conversation with a rather risqué dressed Lavender Brown. Across the room Harry watched as some unknown questions danced across Hermione's features as she talked with the overbearing Aunt Muriel, no doubt being scolded for not wearing the tiara that was offered to her. It seems Aunt Muriel did not like being "snubbed" as she put it, when Hermione made mention that every time she tried the blasted thing on all she could see was the Diadem, no one cared. Harry's eyes locked onto hers just in time for him to see hers roll in exasperation. Harry sided with Hermione in that fight, not that his input was worth a knut.

The following day found Harry waiting in a little alcove just outside of Gringotts for Hermione, never one to run late, he made sure he got there five minutes early in order to escort her into the bank. Together the trio had gone to Gringotts directly after the war to apologize for the chaos that they had caused during their rather abrupt exit from the bank. Although angry, the goblins, ever so cunning, offered a peace offering in exchange for publicity and a small sum of galleons.

A few weeks back Harry was in Gringotts exchanging out a few galleons into pounds in order to purchase a proper suit for several occasions happening in the muggle world, when his accounts manager Bogrod informed him of some business that needed to be handled in accordance to the will his grandparents had left him. Harry who up until that point knew nothing of any will, blasted Dumbledore; or of any vaults other than his own, set up a time to come in and go over the fine details. Hermione had offered to come in with him, as she was better at legal documents and banking regularities. Harry was forever thankful that this beautiful girl... now woman came into his life so many years ago.

Hermione noticed Harry first as he was lost to his own thoughts, leaning up against a pillar at the entrance to the bank, his green eyes showing no signs of being in the here and now. She took the rare opportunity to catch him unawares and sent a tickling jinx his way only for it to bounce off his shield and ricochet right back at her. Falling to the ground she instantly regretted attempting a prank on the son of a Marauder as she started to snort while rolling about on the cobblestones.

Harry was barely able to block the flash of light heading his direction from further up the alley, placing him on high alert, that was until he heard the distinct snorting laughter coming from the ground. Eyes crinkling as he noticed her holding her sides and snorting up a storm, pleading for him to lift the curse that she herself tried to place on him. Shaking his head, he whispered the counter curse as he held out a hand to help her up from the ground. Both smiling Harry cocked out an elbow for her to grab hold of as he guided them into the bank.

Bogrod wasted no time as soon as he spotted Harry and Hermione enter the bank he led them off down a narrow granite corridor. "Banking procedures have changed recently" he stated as he walked through a misty area of the tunnel. "Customers and Goblins alike wishing to enter the high security vault area will have to pass thru this corridor in order to prove they are free from all forms of identity theft, compulsions, and other mentally altering curses. Guess we can thank you lot for this added security feature." Blushing slightly Hermione followed Harry walking through the mist, instantly her mind began to come into a clarity she hadn't experienced in several weeks, it was like her brain was reset back to factory settings on a computer. And she was outraged.

Harry noticed the change instantly as he was transfixed at the rosy blush spreading across her cheeks from Bogrods comment about security features. Noticed as her eyes went from a glazed look to a heated angry stare. "Mione is everything okay?" he questioned cautiously. Being on Hermione's bad side was a one-way ticket to a very long lecture, one of which he didn't think they had time for today. Her eyes snapped up and a very terse "Shite" slipped from her lips.

Harry froze, mouth agape, Hermione rarely cusses, something had to have happened in that mist, something bad, and looking into her steeled eyes that sinking feeling was back with a vengeance.