Since the end of the last war, Hermione has tried hard to keep up the façade she carefully crafted during her years at Hogwarts; the competent, confident face she presented to the world, both Muggle and Wizarding, while inside she was dying a little more everyday. Hermione hated the war that took the lives of her parents and forced her to take the lives of others and wanted desperately to forget it had ever happened . . . That was why she enrolled in Oxford.

Her attending Oxford was a dream she and her parents had shared since she was a little girl sitting on her daddy's knee. He would come home from the office, smelling of Novocain and with tooth-mold plaster on his tie more often than not, and tell her about how she could be anything she wanted to be when she grew up. He'd tell her how, one day, she would be one of the people changing the world. Harold Granger would never know how right he was.

The Death Eaters remained active for months following the fateful Battle of Hogsmeade where Harry finally defeated Lord Voldemort once and for all. Hermione, being one of Harry Potter's best friends, was an obvious target for revenge, as was her family. It was a cool night towards the end of May when Harold and Sarah Granger were attacked in their home. According to the police report, there didn't appear to be any forced entry or foul play. There were no toxins in their bodies or any obvious reasons why two healthy people had dropped dead, still sitting on the living room sofa. But Hermione knew better. She'd seen the results of Avada Kedavra too often to not recognize the signs.

Heart-broken and alone, Hermione struggled with the deep depression that engulfed her following the double funeral. Because of the circumstances, she was allowed to take her NEWTs early, earning the highest amount in her graduating class. She was courted by every major University in Britain and offered full scholarships in any field of her choice. Out of respect for her parents and in deference to the dreams they held for her, she chose Oxford and Oxford's Muggle and Magical Law Program.

More than just her home life has changed since Hermione left school. While still putting the majority of her faith in the books she so adores, Hermione has learned that there are some things about life that you just can't learn by reading about them. She's decided to put her rather "forceful" personality to use and experience anything and everything she can. Even with a war looming on the horizon, Hermione hasn't curtailed her enthusiasm for learning and doing.

Hermione tries hard to keep a hold on that close camaraderie she, Harry and Ron held throughout their years in Hogwarts but feels it slowly slipping away. For Hermione, Harry and Ron are better than brothers or boy-friends. They are the two people in the world, other than her deceased parents, who she knows will always be there... Through failed romances, stupid quarrels, their little group of three had been tested by fire and come out stronger for it. But fate and circumstance seemed to be pulling the three of them in different directions. Ron was off in training for the Army. And Harry... well, she'd heard that depression and self-loathing was often a dish best served cold.

In order for the Wizarding world to survive, there would have to be changes. Hermione keeps that thought in the forefront of her mind as she studies. Her father had promised her that she would be one of the people who would change the world. And that's exactly what she means to do. And she means to start at the top.