The last seven years had been a whirlwind, from finding out that she was a witch to fighting Voldemort. Hermione had not experienced a dull moment since arriving at Hogwarts, until now. Everything was different and now that it was she felt hopelessly lost. What was she supposed to do now?

Having skipped her seventh year to help Harry hunt down Horcruxes she had failed to acquire any NEWTs which made getting a good job near impossible. Harry, Ron, and Neville had all been given jobs as Aurors and were hunting down the rest of the death eaters that had fled after the final battle. They even bought a flat in London together. But what about her?

Hermione sighed and rolled over to block out the light of the slowly rising sun trickling in through the open window. Another sleepless night filled with her new found anxiety fueled by her uncertainty of her future. She had been back in the country for almost a whole month and she still was not any closer to figuring out what was next. All she wanted was to go back to Hogwarts, back to where everything made sense.

It was not long before the smell of bacon began to waft up from the kitchen. Hermione had been staying with the Weasley's since she returned from Australia. Her parents had decided to stay down there for the rest of the summer before moving back. Ginny was the last of the kids still living at home, even George had moved back into his and Fred's place. He insisted that it was what Fred would have wanted, which was refreshing to hear but painful to witness.

Her long curly brown hair was pulled up into a frizzy bun that complemented her pj's and fuzzy slippers. Her feet carried her swiftly down the uneven stairs into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were already seated around the old kitchen table. Their smiles always cheered Hermione up and she could not hide the smile that had spread across her face.

"Good Morning!" Mrs. Weasley and Ginny exclaimed almost in perfect unison.

"Good Morning," cooed Hermione as she took her usual place at the table.

As soon as she sat down Mrs. Weasley had started filling her plate with the usual assortment of breakfast foods. At least, this felt normal.

Then out of nowhere swooped a large horned owl, an envelope clutched in its beak. Everyone stared at the poor bird, no one was expecting any post. Ginny's Hogwarts letter had come several weeks prior and the Daily Profit had been delivered earlier that morning.

It took a moment for Hermione to realize that it was her name penned neatly on the front of the envelope. She reached out carefully taking the envelope and turning it over, shocked to see the Hogwarts crest stamped into the seal. The owl did not stick around, turning and leaving after making its delivery.

All eyes were on Hermione as she tore into the envelope, pulling out the letter from Hogwarts's new headmistress, McGonagall. Her brown eyes moved quickly over the handwritten letter, in shock as she read every last word before finally looking up.

"Well?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

She took a deep breath, her smile unyielding from her lips, "I've been invited back to complete my seventh year!" She exclaimed as she stood up from the table, "Excuse me, I have so much to do!" she squeaked as she left the kitchen and hurried upstairs to change.

Diagon Alley was finally beginning to look and feel like it did before the war. Shops were open, repairs had been made and the streets were full. For the first time since the end of the war, everything felt like it was really going to be okay again.

There was a skip in her step as she made her way from shop to shop picking up all of the things she would need for another year at Hogwarts. She had a rather long book list with a few extras she had added herself to help prepare her for NEWTs. Then there were the essentials: quills, ink, parchment, and a variety of potion supplies.

By the time she had all of her essentials picked out she was feeling pretty good about herself. Life felt normal, even if it was far from the truth. She had no idea what would be waiting for her when she arrived back at school, but just the fact that she would be back was enough for her.

She was sitting in the window of Rosa Lee Teabag sipping a hot cup of tea wondering what to do next. She had everything she needed but she still felt like she was missing something. That's when her eyes fell upon the little sign for Daisy Dos, a little salon that she had never actually been in. That's when she thought of something crazy.

Hermione hurried out of the tea shop, not even bothering to finish her cup. Daisy Dos was just feet away from Rosa Lee's and it took her only moments to walk into the brightly painted salon.

"How can I help you?" A cheery little blonde witch asked from behind a sleek black counter.

For once she was almost at a loss for words, "Um, I was just wondering if you had any appointments for today?"

The blond witch smiled brightly, "Of course we do! In fact, Daisy's last appointment never came in so if you want I could get you in now."

That was certainly faster than what she had thought, it also reminded her that she had not actually thought any of this through. "Oh wow, okay, sounds good," she said suddenly a little nervous.

The blonde witch stood and lead Hermione back to a white chair and sat her down. "Daisy should be with you in a moment," she said cheerfully before heading back to the front of the shop.

Her dark brown eyes stared at her reflection in the mirror opposite her. What was she thinking? Clearly she had gone crazy.

"Welcome, darling!" Came a cheery little voice from a small witch with bright yellow hair. "So what are we thinking about doing?"

Full panic flashed through her, what did she want done? Daisy's hands were already running through her frizzy hair, sizing up what she had to work with. "Um, well, I'm not really sure. I just want something different," she paused still trying to figure it all out, "something fun."

"Now that we can do!" Daisy squeaked as she spun Hermione's chair around to face her. "Come with me," she said extending her hand and taking her over to a pedestal sink. First she washed her hair, of course even witches cut hair wet. Then she was back in the white chair, still facing away from the mirror, a cape flew across the room and attached itself around her neck.

"Now for the fun part," Daisy exclaimed as she swiftly flicked her wand. Strands of hair began falling all around her as Daisy literally began working her magic on her messy hair. The cut itself did not take too terribly long. Then Daisy dried it and started to apply Sleekeasy's generously throughout. The older Hermione got the more she had come to rely on the hair potion.

"Are you ready?" Daisy squealed as she spun Hermione's chair around.

Hermione's jaw dropped. Holy shit she looked amazing! "Amazing!" was all she managed to get out. Her hair was cut to just above her shoulders and tamed into perfect spiral curls that were layered to give her just enough volume. Everything else had changed so why shouldn't she? Too late now.

Daisy sent her on her way with a large tub of Sleekeasy's to get her through the first part of the semester. There was no telling how often she would be able to get to Hogsmeade while she was at school so at least this would last for a while. She was also given the name of Daisy's sister, May, who worked at the salon on Hogsmead. Now she was all ready to finish up her seventh year, finally.

Back at the Burrow, her hair cut was a huge success, both Mrs. Weasley and Ginny absolutely loving it. She was curious how her boys would react. Harry, she did not worry about as much as Ron, he had a hard time with change. For once she really did not care, she had hardly seen him all summer. The war and his new job had certainly changed him, maybe not in a bad way but enough that they had decided to put their relationship on hold for a while.

It was all for the best, now to just hang around and wait for school to start in just a little less than a month. So close yet so far.