Prologue

Hermione Granger awoke to the sound of giggles. She opened one sleepy eye to the bright sunshine of her bedroom. Standing by her bed was Molly Potter, a vivacious five-year-old, with a head of bright red curls and startling green eyes.

“Get up, Auntie Hermie,” she pleaded. “I want to go to Disney World.”

Hermione rolled onto her back and groaned. “What have I got myself into?”

As the Wizarding world had expected, Harry Potter married Ginny Weasley after the war had ended. Harry had been quite surprised to actually find himself alive. For so long, he had been sure that Voldemort’s demise would spell his own. It took a little getting used to the fact that life would go on and that he could plan for a future. Indeed, it seemed that the whole Wizarding world could now move forward without fear.

Once Harry had realised he was going to live after all, he got very busy. In fact, it seemed that he was trying to make up for lost time. He took a job with the Ministry as an Auror and married Ginny post-haste. Within a year they were the parents of twin boys – James Sirius and Evan Remus – named for Harry’s parents and their best friends. Then two years later, they were blessed with Molly Rose, a fact that made Grandma Molly Weasley ever so proud. After Molly’s birth, Ginny said that that was enough children for the time being. She was in no hurry to compete with her mother over who could contribute more to the Wizarding world birth rate.

Harry felt that it was very important that his children were as comfortable in the Muggle world as in the magical one. He and Ginny bought an old farmhouse close to Godric’s Hollow. The Hollow was a small rural community where Wizarding families lived anonymously among Muggles. This allowed enough privacy to live a magical lifestyle, instructing the children in magic without the prying eyes of close neighbours. Yet it was close enough to the Hollow to let the children attend the local public school with the Muggle families. All in all, Harry thought it was perfect, and he and Ginny christened the farm Potter’s Place.

While Harry had ploughed full speed ahead with after-war life, Hermione’s life seemed perpetually on hold. Nothing, not even the war, had been able to prevent Hermione from sitting for her N.E.W.T.s on schedule. With record-breaking scores in hand, she had her pick of apprenticeships. Charms, Arithmancy, Potions, or Astronomy, the choices made her dizzy. Hermione chose not to choose and took a position with the Ministry reviewing experimental magical patents. She reasoned that this position kept her abreast of advancements in several fields until she could decide her own true calling. She just couldn’t believe that six years had passed since she had joined the Department for Experimental Patents. Where had the time gone? She was no closer to deciding which direction to take. The decision seemed so important to Hermione that fear gripped her every time she thought of making a decision she would later regret.

On the personal front, Hermione had fared no better. Her sixth- and seventh-year romance with Ron Weasley had gone nowhere. They were just too different. The finer points of Quidditch would always escape Hermione, and Ron’s desire for a family life similar to his own was not even in her forecast. In the end they had gone their separate ways amicably. Ron went on to secure a plum position as Keeper for a reserve Quidditch team, and the golden trio remained the best of friends.

Hermione had dated a bit, and she still kept up her correspondence with Victor Krum. Yet no one ever gave her that weak-in-the-knees feeling she was looking for. Sometimes, she wondered if it was purely a fantasy that she sought. Then she would catch Harry and Ginny looking at each other, when they thought no one was watching, and she knew that true love did indeed exist. She comforted herself by thinking that if she just stopped focusing on it, then love would find her when she least expected it. Yet she couldn’t stop the nagging fear that she was just not destined for true love.

Every summer, the Potters took a Muggle vacation. Auntie Hermie usually joined them for the fun. That way, if Harry was called away on urgent Auror business, Hermione could help Ginny navigate the Muggle environment and behave as a typical Muggle family. This year they were headed for the world capital of familydom, Walt Disney World. They were leaving that day and would travel as Muggles to Florida on a trans-Atlantic flight. With a tremendous sigh, Hermione rose to face the day.