She hit the ground, the Time-Turner gripped in her muddied fingers, and trembled, the fading light of the Forbidden Forest around her. Once again, she had failed, and the embittered tears blinded her vision. She didn't even bother pushing herself upwards and, instead, remained rooted to the ground, her failure continually washing over her.

In the wake of the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Voldemort had been vanquished once and for all, and all had been at peace with the Wizarding World. That summer, Hermione had sat for her NEWTs, realized she was better off with Ron as a friend, and had encouraged Lavender Brown to keep calm and less possessive when it came to Ron, which worked like a charm. The pair were back together and very happy with one another, and both Arthur and Molly accepted Lavender into the Weasley fold.

Meanwhile, Harry had told Hermione that Professor Snape had been a spy for the Light all along, and that he and the man had been in a relationship for nearly a year. Hermione, although shocked at the amount of school rules Harry was breaking, wanted more than anything for him to be happy, after losing so much in his lifetime, and had stood up with Harry when Professor Snape, who had insisted that Hermione call him Severus, had proposed to Harry, and ultimately married him in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Burrow.

After completing her NEWTs, Hermione had secured a position in the Time Room at the Department of Mysteries, and had worked day and night in extending the lifetime of a Time-Turner, meaning that she was experimenting with them quite often. So much so that she barely had time for Friday night takeaway with Harry and Severus, Saturday luncheon with her parents in Hampstead, Sunday dinners at the Burrow with the Weasleys, mid-week tea with Minerva at Hogwarts, and keeping up-to-date on Crookshanks' feeding schedule. Nevertheless, with her small London flat, Hermione did her best to keep it tidy, and keep Crooks well-fed, for her dear feline familiar had stuck by her for over four years, and she would hardly abandon him now that they were on their own.

"Hermione?"

Hermione gritted her teeth at the voice of her best friend behind her. She just couldn't face him, not now...

"Hermione, what happened?"

"I'm alone, Harry," she spat back, unable to keep the venom in her voice at bay. "What in Merlin's name does that tell you?"

Harry reached downwards and painstakingly took Hermione by the hand and drew her upwards, leading her out of the Forbidden Forest. "Come on. It won't do to dwell on it."

Hermione huffed, but nevertheless permitted Harry to lead her to the closest Apparition Point. "I know," she replied, and held on tightly to Harry as he moved to Side-Along them. "I know it doesn't, but I hate being a failure, you know that."

Harry nodded his head and vanished them with a crack, reappearing in the sitting room at his shared country estate with Severus, located in Essex. Harry steading Hermione for a moment as Severus came into the room at their arrival, not appearing at all surprised to see Hermione there in their sitting room.

"Hello, love," Severus said lovingly to Harry, pressing a kiss to his forehead, and handing Hermione a vial filled with orange potion. "Invigoration Draught," he said, and Hermione promptly took it from him and downed it.

"Thank you, Severus," Hermione said, handing the vial back to the man.

"I'll tell Dobby to stop by your flat and collect you a change of clothes," Harry said, and made his way over to the kitchen.

"And you, meanwhile, Hermione Jean Granger," Severus said firmly, looking down his nose at her, which, at one time, would have been intimidating, but was now wholeheartedly amusing to witness, "will go upstairs this instant and take a shower."

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "I can't imagine what you'll be like when Harry starts to show," she murmured, and Severus chuckled, squeezing Hermione's shoulder as she walked by and made her way upstairs and towards the guest en suite, where she had spent many a night when she hadn't had the energy to return to her flat. Mumbling to herself as she pushed open the door, she smiled at the sight of Crookshanks, lying on the window seat, but promptly getting to his feet once he caught sight of her. "Hey, Crooks," she said, crossing the room towards him and taking her into her arms. "Sorry."

Crookshanks shut his eyes slowly at her. It's all right.

"I just don't know what I'm doing wrong," Hermione confided in her familiar. "I know I'm young, but I took my NEWTs a year before everyone else, for Merlin's sake! That should account for something, shouldn't it?"

Crookshanks continued to peer up at her. It should, yes.

Hermione let out a little huff and moved to sit upon the bench seat at the foot of the impressive, king-sized four-poster bed the room had on offer, still stroking the orange half-Kneazle. "Thank Merlin for you, Crooks. You, Harry, and Severus keep me sane..."

Crookshanks let out a small moan at that.

"Oh, naturally, I adore Ron and Lavender; she's been very good for him," Hermione assured her familiar, pressing her face against his. "Plus, Ginny got Draco's head out of his arse right quick and got him to declare for the side of the Light and everything... Naturally, there's the notion of Luna getting Neville to come out of his shell, and Seamus encouraging Dean to come out, and they make a lovely couple, don't they?"

Crookshanks shut his eyes at Hermione again, as if to say, Yes.

"But this Time-Turner business is really wearing on me," Hermione continued, shaking her head as she continued to consider it. "I'm eighteen-years-old, Crooks. I'm of age in the Wizarding World, if not the Muggle one... I should be going pub crawling or making a move in my romantic future, but there's something holding me back, and I just don't know why that is or what that is..."

Crookshanks meowed softly.

"Yes, yes, I know. You know as well as I do that I absolutely despise leaving any form of stone unturned, or a mystery unsolved," she said, holding him for another moment before letting him go, to which Crookshanks lazily stretched himself before going downstairs, presumably to demand Dobby feed him his dinner. Hermione gripped tightly upon the bench below her, before she turned to stare outside at the darkness around the Potter-Snape estate in Essex.

It was October now, and Christmas was just around the corner; she had celebrated her birthday just a handful of weeks ago, although she hadn't felt like there was much to celebrate, given her repeated failures at work. She bit down hard on her lower lip... Clearly, she was missing something, but she had no idea what that was...

A pop sounded within the confines of the en suite, and Dobby poked his head out from around the doorframe. "Dobby has gotten Mistress Hermione's belongings," the little house-elf declared with a smile. "Will Mistress Hermione be staying here tonight?"

Hermione considered it for a moment; she could just as easily Floo to Hampstead from Essex the following afternoon to meet her parents for luncheon... "Yes, thank you, Dobby," she said at last, and forced a smile onto her lips.

Dobby grinned. "Dobby has brought two changes of clothes for Mistress Hermione, plus Mistress Hermione's nightclothes," he informed her. "Can Dobby do anything else for Mistress Hermione?" he wanted to know.

Hermione shook her head. "No, thank you, Dobby. I think I'll be all right."

Dobby nodded his head at her. "Dobby knows Mistress Hermione will be all right," he told her in his typical, hasty manner. "Master Severus wished to know what Mistress Hermione wanted for takeaway?"

Hermione permitted herself to think on it for a moment before she replied, "Thai food, tonight, please, Dobby. Please tell Severus that I would like garlic noodles with chicken, plus some of that sticky rice for pudding."

Dobby flapped his ears with excitement. "Dobby will tell Master Severus right away! Master Severus was just telling Dobby how much Master Harry wanted peanut noodles..." The little elf waved to Hermione before he popped away.

Hermione smiled; although she knew by now that, perhaps, SPEW had been more than a little misguided, she did enjoy Dobby's company, and had been relieved when Harry and Severus had taken him into their home. Getting to her feet, Hermione walked directly into the bathroom and got a good look at herself in the mirror. She stank of Dark magic, her clothes were burned, the ends of her hair were singed, and she was covered from head to toe in mud.

Grimacing, Hermione took careful note of the various healing potions and hair tonics that Severus had more than likely told Dobby to put in the guest en suite, and smiled to herself that the man was so considerate. What with Harry carrying their first child, and taking his NEWTs not too long after Hermione had done because of that, he was truly a changed man. It was very nice to see that her closest friend had landed on his feet in the best manner possible, with the greatest man for him.

Hermione stripped off her ruined clothes, knowing Dobby would dispose of them properly, and banished the healing potions and hair tonics into the provided shower caddy. Stepping into the shower and getting under the jet of water, Hermione hissed at it hitting upon the curse scars she had sustained that night. Shaking her head, she knew she would have to present a full report by Monday for the Department of Mysteries, and that, given that this most recent plan had failed, they were truly back to square one.

"I'm missing something here," Hermione muttered to herself as she wet her hair and began to rub the shampoo into her scalp. "I know I'm missing something here. What is it? What in Merlin's name could it possibly be?"