Chapter One
**Hermione's POV**
It had been two years since the attack at Hogwarts, and Hermione was a bit stressed about what to do with her life.
She'd of course passed every N.E.W.T. she'd applied for with absolutely top marks in every category, it was almost to easy to tell the truth.
The problem was she had no home, and no where she truly belonged.
The spell to obliviate her parents' memory of her to protect them, had been too well performed. The memories were unrecoverable, to them she was just a stranger that looked familiar, It hurt to much to think about.
Headmistress McGonagall had been letting her stay in one of the unused professors' rooms for the past year and a half, which Hermione was grateful for, she was being taught regularly by each and every professor as she helped with there activities to pay back her stay, even if it felt temporary. Borrowed.
She'd almost had a heart attack when she visited Hagrid's hut the first week and saw it covered everywhere in unicorn hair.
She'd asked him about it, and his response had nearly made her pass out, how could everyone have overlooked Hagrid had potential millions of Galleons worth of magical Unicorn hair.
"Well, every year when you kids are off on summer holiday, the unicorns shed something awful. And since all the unicorns trust me, seeing as I raised most of 'em, they let me take it all. Oh, it has so many uses! I usually give some away to people who need it and give some to the teachers. Most of it, Dumbledore used to ask for a whole bunch for the school, of course he offered to pay many times even insisted but I wouldn't hear of it ,Dumbledore could use it more I says."
That day, Hermione had helped Hagrid set up a trade with the goblins. Every year, Hagrid would sell most of what he collected to the goblins at fair market price.
She'd been made to wait outside the bank when Hagrid opened his first vault, seeing as she was banned from Gringotts for she believed they'd said, at least ten generations of her bloodline.
She'd just rolled her eyes at that.
She was finding out that she'd made a lot of enemies of very powerful people, the problem was she didn't have a family name or wealth to shield her like Harry and Ron.
So she tried to keep her head down most of the time, she recieved greetings and hellos and well-done's, but it was different with Harry and Ron.
The wizarding world considered Ron and Harry the heroes (no matter how much Harry tried including me), and her? The clever sidekick.
Hermione tried not to let it get to her, She smiled and greeted everyone as warmly as she could.
But when she'd told Ron of her dream to be Minister of Magic someday, he'd given her a cold, hard truth in the most Ron way possible with a dismissive wave, as if my dreams mattered not at all.
"Even with my family someday being your family, most of the deciding votes are from pureblood families. Now I know my family and a few other families might not care about you being Muggleborn, but the majority of the votes will. Muggleborn witches and wizards only ever get lucky with a somewhat decent job if they marry into the right family. Which, at least you have that, right?"
Hermione had thought about what he'd said and asked the professors around the school their thoughts on the matter.
Most agreed that even Dumbledore had been unable to get most of the stubborn old fools to see Muggleborns as anything but lesser.
But if she ever wanted to be a professor, she would be very welcome and very well respected. Which she did appreciate, especially coming from the Headmistress herself.
She'd later found out the true reason why house-elves needed master's, because without one, their magic started to fade away. Her conversation with Dumbledore's portrait helped especially his last comment. "My dear, Harry and Ron had no chance of completing the destiny given to them alone. That is where *Fate* I think stepped in, so my dear if anything you should be honored to be Fates hand," he said with a twinkle in his eye with that knowing smile on his face.
Then later that same month she'd been somehow tricked by the house-elves into taking Winky, the drunk house-elf, into her service.
She was pretty sure they'd done it to get back at her for trying to free them. Which, now that she thought about it, would have eventually killed them, she had appologized profusly to the elves and promiced to just be a good little witch and be thankful for them.
Every time she'd freed Dobby from the castle, Dumbledore had to remake the contract.
Apparently, he'd found it amusing and even had wagers with the portraits in his office on how she would hide the clothes each time, Dobby would inform him and the portraits at the end of the night each night.
The Headmistress had warned her beforehand: "I refuse to be redoing magical contracts because, I DO NOT, find it amusing and will not stand for it, Do I make myself clear, Miss Granger?"
Hermione had shrunk in her seat at the look the Professor was throwing her way and just nodded.
Looking back over everything she'd accomplished, over the years and her time alone in hogwarts, she felt hollow inside.
She'd eventually broken up with Ron. Which, strangely enough, even Molly had agreed with. Ron had taken the hero image to his head, and was caught on front page cheating.
With Harry practically living with the Weasleys because of Ginny and Hermione not feeling comfortable at Black Manor, as she'd started calling it now that it was cleaned up nicely. She felt adrift.
Tonight, though, was different.
The red comet that arrived a few days ago was streaking by, and the staff of the castle had been in a tizzy for three days trying to study the rare sight.
Tonight, she found herself out near the forest near the castle, which had been cleared of any and all dangers to the school after the battle, she remembered the battles there as well clearing the forests so that a situation like this never happened again. It had broken Hagrid heart but seeing the dead children caused by the spiders kept him quiet.
Winky was helping her collect rare plants for a few potions that Hermione was thinking of trying her hand at.
The staff had been very eager to teach her one on one for the last year, most hoping she would wish to someday take up a post at Hogwarts. They were sure to need good teachers in the near future.
But Hermione didn't know what to do with her life.
She'd just found a fresh herb that she was positive looked like the one in the description "very strange mushroom", when Winky came running up to her, holding a strange little stone in her hands.
Hermione picked it up and turned it over in her hand, recognizing it immediately.
The Resurrection Stone.
Harry had claimed he'd destroyed it.
She remembered asking about it on the walk back to the castle, right after Harry had just snapped the Elder Wand and chucked the pieces down the revine below the broken bridge.
*Maybe somebody with some connection to me in the past, since I have no family left could give me advice,* she thought, turning the stone over in her hand absentmindedly.
"Who are you?"
A male voice spoke right behind her.
By instinct born from battles, Hermione had her wand out and a stunner fired in the blink of an eye.
She looked on, shocked, as the spell simply passed through the man, who also looked shocked at what he'd seen. A boulder twenty feet behind him exploded upon impact.
*Oops.* She'd put too much power into the spell out of reaction.
"What in the Seven was that, my lady?" the ghostly man asked, shock evident on his face.
"I'm so deeply sorry, I'm a witch and that was a simple stunner, you startled me. Having ghosts sneak up on you will do that," Hermione explained, smiling, hoping the ghost wouldn't be angry and decide to haunt her for the next ten years.
"Mistress, who is you talking to? You shouldn't talk to strange voices, miss. They will lead you astray." Winky was saying next to Hermione, tugging on her jumper.
"Hush now, Winky, it's just a ghost, just give me a few minutes, and we can go back to the castle and have dinner," Hermione said, gently patting her head as Winky grabbed onto her leg, looking around wildly.
*That's odd, * Hermione thought *She should see the ghost, why is she so afraid? *
The man was looking at her calculatingly.
Hermione had spent a lot of time around ghosts. She knew they always overdramatized things and acted like whatever thing they needed to do was of the most vital importance when they were in character, her favorite of course being Sir. Nicolas.
She liked to play along with the ghosts of the castle, which she'd been told they appreciated, even more than her coming to that dreadful Death day Party.
So she decided she would play along with this one as well, seeing as he was in a strange armor, she figured he might be a knight of somkind. Maybe he'd just wished to move into the castle and was nervous.
"How can I help you, sir knight? Ask for whatever you need, and I shall do my best to render aid."
She tried to sound cheerful but failed slightly, her heart not fully in it but it seemed to work.
Winky was still pulling at the sleeve of her jumper.
"I seek aid to help one of the last of my family," the ghost stated.
"Well, I promise to do whatever is in my power to help, may I know your name, good sir?"
"I am Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and may I have the pleasure of your name, beautiful lady?" he asked, causing Hermione to blush.
"My name is Hermione Jean Granger," she said, giving him a big smile. "And it is a pleasure to meet you."
Winky was cringing against her leg, looking around wildly.
"So, Miss All Powerful Witch, what would the price of this request cost me?" He sounded so serious *ohh he was good staying in character to the end*.
Hermione almost broke and laughed first, but she was getting good at this and didn't have the heart to ruin his big entrance. So she just thought of the first thing that popped into her head.
"I don't suppose you could give me a purpose in life?" she said offhandedly, not really expecting much back from it.
"NOOO! Mistress, no!" Winky was now shouting, startling her.
"Deal."
The word echoed in Hermione's head as she looked up and saw the man disappear.
The feeling of Apparating times a thousand was felt all over her body.
In the clearing, all that was left was a smoking crater and the Resurrection Stone, finally broken in two.
Winky and Hermione vanished into the void.