It starts the exact opposite way she expected; very unlike all the romance books she's begun reading.
She goes looking for him.
Ron hates her for it, and she tries to explain. She needs to know, needs to ask, just once, what could have been.
He doesn't understand.
She had thougt that it would be easy finding him. That something lucky, coincidental, would somehow bring them together.
Of course, she's wrong.
It takes a year of seaching for her to finally give up, and when she does, she's forced to come home to a smug husband. What did you expect? is all she ever hears, and it drives her insane.
Then, something lucky and coincidental happens.
She takes to reading on the bench across the street from her house. She sits there, the fading light dancing across her curls, as she transports herself to another world.
A world where there are always happy endings.
As the sun slips down behind the horizon, she shuts her book, sliding her hand over the worn leather cover. The stars above her twinkle like diamonds, and for a moment, she squeezes her eyes shut and wishes.
From behind her a smooth voice seems to whisper in her ear.
"Hello Hermione."
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