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Three years on and she had finally stopped having nightmares.
Three years on and she had finally stopped reliving the horror of their months on the run. Those nights where she just could not get warm…gone.
Three years on and she had finally finished her research apprenticeship in the Ministry archives. Somehow, people had been surprised that it was this apprenticeship she chose but she had plans. For the first time in her life, she had plans that stretched beyond The Golden Trio.
She and Ron had lasted all of about five minutes before going their own separate ways. He had actually turned to her and told her that he needed to focus on his family for now, the family that was reeling from the loss of Fred, the family that could finally grieve for their uncles Gideon and Fabian, young men whose bodies had been kept in stasis in the Ministry since they were killed for reasons unknown (though Hermione suspected they were supposed to be reinvigorated to be talked to by the Unspeakables using a combination of Dark Magics). Still, three years on from the war and Ron was currently dating Alicia Spinnet while working in the Law Enforcement division of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, known to all and sundry as Weasley’s Wizarding Wiles.
Harry had finished his accelerated Auror training the year previously and was now a fully fledged Auror working on any case he was given, no matter how much he hated some of them. The petty thefts he could handle but, on days and nights where he was called out to domestic violence cases, Hermione knew he would visit her little flat and hug her and cry for hours before he went home to his fiancée.
Three years on from the end of the War and so much was still the same. And yet so much was different too. The world was ever changing and she was glad of it. But now, finally, three years on she wad finished her research apprenticeship and had been offered an interview for the very department she had wanted to work within; The Department of Mysteries.
Hermione pulled her shoulders back, straightened her skirt and prepared to step out of the lift into the bowels of the Ministry. The faceless, nameless Unspeakables buzzed around her, the privacy charms around their department stronger than the rest of the ministry combined. She had already looked at where she needed to be and headed towards the only door she could see clearly. A second deep breath before she raised her fist to knock politely but firmly on the door. The door opened and she entered what seemed to be a completely empty room. She blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the low light, and whipped around as the door slammed shut behind her, removing the source of light completely.
“Miss Granger…” She couldn’t tell where the whispered words were coming from as they echoed ominously around the room. She refused to whip her head round and round in a circle. If this was a test she was going to pass. Three years on she was not going to allow herself to be scared by whispers in the darkness. Not now. Not again. Not ever.
“Foolish girl…why would you ever be good enough?” The voice held the same sibilance as the Horcruxes had and, for a moment, she wondered if they had missed one. A shiver ran down her spine before she glared into the air.
“Three years on I am stronger, smarter, happier and better than I was back then. You didn’t break me then, no one will break me now…” There was no shake to her voice, though her hands were rapidly clenching and unclenching beside her.
“Foolish, Insufferable girl…” The voice morphed, changing into the voice of one of her respected teachers and she felt a shiver run down her spine. So, this room would show her regrets would it? The regret she felt for leaving him behind…No, no she had no time for regrets.
“Three years on and my friends and I have no time to regret the greatest loss to Wizardkind. I cannot save anyone so I saved those I could. I saved myself. Three years on and I have saved myself. I am stronger than I have ever been, not just physically but mentally…”
“Sectumsempra!” A bright white light headed directly towards her from one corner of the room and she cast a wordless Protego around herself before firing a curse of her own invention silently.
“Oomph!” The sound of her assailant dropping to the floor made her quirk a smile but she refused to relax, even as the lights came up slowly, allowing her time to adjust. She flicked her eyes around, noticing two assailants on the floor. She frowned, having only heard one assailant drop and realising that one was a façade, and wondered which was real. A second challenge? She breathed in quietly and cast the counter-curse on one of the two people in front of her. The second person evaporated in silence and the one she had cursed in the first place stood, a strange sense of familiarity washing over her.
“Welcome to the Department of Mysteries, Miss Granger.” An appendage she assumed was the person’s hand, reached out for her and she clasped it tightly, shaking it firmly before looking up into the face of Severus Snape. He smirked, raising an eyebrow before speaking softly.
“Three years on and you are finally ready to join us. We’ve been waiting for you.” The acceptance in his voice made it clear.
This was what she had been waiting for. Three years on, she was better, stronger and ready for whatever the future might hold.