This is for Round 10 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Additional prompts were: specialty, range, onwards.

When Hermione Granger had taken the job as Goblin/Centaur Liaison in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, she had not thought it was going to be like this. She had only been there two days and already she was realising that dealing with the problems of goblins was not her specialty - especially since goblins' problems...weren't exactly problematic. And she'd thought the witches she'd shared a dorm with in school were whiney, but that had been nothing compared to goblins - they liked to complain about a whole range of different problems, and quite a few of them were imaginary.

Everything was an infringement of their rights. Or other goblins were spying on them. Or Aurors were on their trail, because "no matter what poppycock you try and sell, you witches and wizards have never trusted goblins, until you need some armour and weaponry and soldiers to die for you".

No centaurs had come in yet, but she was dreading the day that one of them came. According to her predecessor, they could be particularly rowdy if they felt they were being ignored.

With a sigh, she looked at the pile of paperwork, stacked somewhat haphazardly on her desk. Haphazard was not a word Hermione liked to used when describing things that were hers, but there really was no other way to say it. She reached out to carefully neaten the pile of parchment that she was going to have to steadily work through. She was probably going to have to fill some of it in during her lunch break, which had already started.

Tiredly rubbing at her temples, Hermione started to stand up so that she could go to the cafeteria, freezing as there was a light knock on the door. She held back a groan, hoping that her stomach could do the same for the next few minutes. Reluctantly, she sat back down, mentally preparing herself what was sure to be a colourful explanation of the goblin's problem. "Come in!" She called out.

The door opened and it was not a moaning goblin that greeted her, but her boyfriend. "Hey, 'Mione!" Ron Weasley grinned, holding a small paper bag in his hand.

She smiled weakly, "Hello Ronald."

He walked fully into the office, closing the door behind him with a gentle thud. "The cafeteria is packed," he commented, moving forward and placing the bag on her desk. "I thought you might prefer to just eat in here," he continued, flopping down onto the visitor's seat on the other side of the desk.

She stared at the bag for a few moments, as if there was a danger of it disappearing, before looking up at Ron. "Thank you," she reached out for the bag, pulling it closer to her and pulling out the lunch he had picked out for her.

"Don't mention it. The first few days are really hectic," he said with a light shrug, his voice taking on a slight hint of nostalgia as he remembered his first week in the Auror offices. Then again, it was easier for him - he had Harry starting with him, just as confused as he was. That had been almost a year ago, when Hermione returned to Hogwarts to continue her studies.

Hermione softly chuckled, taking a bite into her sandwich. Chicken mayonnaise - her favourite. "Good to know," she replied with a small smirk, starting to feel a little happier now that she had started eating. She took another bite and a comfortable silence took place between them as she ate lunch.

"So, what's it like working here then?" Ron asked finally, his voice full of curiosity.

"Goblins complain a lot more than I thought they would," she commented, thinking back to her experience with goblins before she started the job. She had always assumed they were very head strong creatures who wouldn't want to get the Ministry involved, that they would think that they could solve the problem better on their own. Apparently not.

"Really?" Ron blurted, tilting his head slightly like a confused puppy.

Hermione smiled faintly, nodding as she pulled a bottle of water out of the bag. "Yeah. I haven't spoken to any centaurs yet," she added before taking a long sip of water.

He nodded, an expression of contemplation upon his face before he shook himself out of it. "The work's alright though?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She could tell that he was being serious, that behind the casual question was worry and concern that she might not like her job.

She nodded, "The work is great," she reassured him. She would probably enjoy it better if goblins weren't walking into her office every ten minutes without even making an appointment, but it was still good. It was interesting at least.

He smiled, clearly put to ease by her words. "Good. As long as you like it," he said softly. "Do you still want to come round to mum's for dinner tonight?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

Hermione grinned - she'd been looking forward to it all day. "Of course I do!"

Ron softly chuckled, grinning back. "I was just making sure." He glanced at his watch and sighed wistfully, reluctance clear in his movements as he started to get up. "I better get back. I'll see you after work." He leaned over the desk and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too," she replied, wishing he didn't have to go as he left her office.

After a few short minutes of staring wistfully at the door she brought herself back to the present. "Onwards I go," she muttered, pulling the form on top of the pile towards her and started to fill it out.

She almost groaned when she heard a knock on her door - she knew there was no possibility of it being Ron again. With a sigh, she put the form away before straightening up, making her expression look pleasant and neutral. "Come in!"