Chapter 1 - Damn those Ministry Laws

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

A/N: Okay, so this had been up for over a year, in case you're wondering why it sounds familiar… & then decided that it suddenly wasn't okay that I used a not so pleasant word in the summary. Come on, a little warning would've been nice guys. I would have changed it. Didn't even realize it was there & that that violated the rules… But oh well. Hopefully by the time I repost this entire story I'll have my additional 5 chapters to add to the end.

Oh, how lucky Ginny is. A thousand curses to her and Lavender, Hermione thought. It was now two months after the final battle and the physical and emotional scars from the war had not yet completely faded away. Harry was happily dating Ginny Weasley. Ron had broken up with Hermione only yesterday, to go back to Lavender Brown. And Hermione well, Hermione was Hermione.

As for the Golden Trio, the threesome hardly spoke anymore. Even before the breakup, they had begun to drift apart. Hermione hadn't spoken to Harry in weeks, even though in the past they had always kept in touch during summer break. According to Ron, Harry had barely spoken to anyone except Ginny all summer, even though Harry was staying at the Burrow. Now, Hermione wasn't speaking to Ronald either.

All three planned to finish their education that fall, attending Hogwarts for their seventh and final year. A tapping sound caused Hermione to jump, jerking her out of her thoughts.

"Who could possibly be sending me a bloody owl?" Hermione questioned out loud while crossing her bedroom to untie the letter. After realizing what she had said, she stopped. Then she slapped herself. No, Hermione, you do not talk like that. The Pureblood trash you were dating talks like that, but not you.

Deciding she had scolded herself well enough, she crossed the room and untied the letter from the brown owl's leg. It was her Hogwarts letter. She opened it, taking out the multiple sheets of parchment. There was the list of supplies, which Hermione surprisingly tossed aside, and there was the letter itself. The third piece of parchment was the only one Hermione bothered to read. She had been named Head Girl! Perhaps, she thought, this is what will finally pull my life back together.

Unfortunately for her, September 1st was still a month and a half away. It was mid-July now and nearly two months of traveling back and forth from the Burrow, where she was no longer welcome, to her parents' empty house had caused Hermione more stress than her O.W.L.S.

Because of the Ministry and their damned laws she wasn't even allowed to use magic outside of school anymore, and she would have to retake her apparition test. The new laws came out not long after the defeat of Lord Voldemort to make sure that all young witches and wizards still received their full education.

This coming year would be different. For starters, Minerva McGonagall was now the Headmistress, so that on its own would bring change. But because of the true horrors that had occurred at Hogwarts the year before, as well as the lack of final exams, attendance and decent teachers, the Ministry decided to add some new laws. The laws basically stated that the Trace would not be removed from students until they turned eighteen, unless they had already completed and passed their final year. All students who should have graduated the previous year were invited to retake the year, and had to retake their apparition tests. As for what was to be done about the lack of education the previous year, that remained undisclosed.

The point was, Hermione couldn't apparate to Australia and remove the memory charm she had placed on her parents until September, when she turned eighteen. Even if she was able to get permission to leave school grounds there was still the apparition issue. Apparition tests wouldn't be available until January at the earliest. Hermione thought briefly about owling one of her teachers to assist her in returning her parents' memories, but she didn't feel comfortable asking anyone except McGonagall, who was much too busy to travel across the world to return Hermione's parents' memories at present. Hermione sighed, and sat down at her desk to accept both her new position as Head Girl and the spot as a pupil at Hogwarts for the upcoming school year.

Hermione sent the owl away with her reply, and went back to the routine lacking dullness that was her life. For once, she had no interest what so ever in traveling to Diagon Alley immediately to purchase her spell books and other supplies for the upcoming year. For once, the know-it-all didn't know what to do. She walked down the stairs in her silent house and turned on some music because the silence was starting to get to her, even though it had only been a day.

A thousand curses to Ron, she thought. Why did he have to choose to break up with her now, now that he was the only one she had left? Harry had Ginny and she had had Ron. Now Ron had Lavender, and Hermione had no money, no parents and an empty house.

The next morning Hermione awoke, showered and dressed in nice Muggle clothes. She then slipped out the back door and walked down her street a few houses until she came to a house full of children. She had seen in the Muggle newspaper that this family needed a babysitter over the summer. Knowing that her bank account was running low, and that she needed a distraction, she applied.

Four hours later, Hermione was standing in the kitchen in this same house, cutting up vegetables for the children's lunch. There were four children, and despite their troublesome tendencies, they really were sweet children. There was Maddy, who was eight, Lucas, who was six, Casey, who was four, and Marcus, who was two. Hermione looked out the window and accidentally dropped her knife. She looked down and grabbed for it, realizing too late what she was grabbing for. The knife opened a sizable gash on her palm, and then clattered to the floor. Hermione immediately picked up the knife and returned it to the counter. She then turned on the water and rinsed the blood from her fingers. She held a paper towel to the gash as she went in search of first aid supplies.

The cut didn't really hurt; actually it felt good. But she knew she had to stop the bleeding and continue to watch the children. Moments later, Hermione returned to the kitchen, her hand bandaged. She rinsed her blood off the knife and cleaned the floor and counter. That afternoon the children's parents returned and Hermione went home.

The next days passed plainly, with Hermione babysitting during the day and watching TV at night. One evening, Harry's birthday, she noted but didn't bother to send a present; Hermione found herself seeking an end to her emotional pain even if it was only temporary. She took a small sharp kitchen knife and stepped out into the garden, where she settled herself on a bench. Hermione pulled up the sleeve of her cotton tee-shirt until it rested on her shoulder. After all, she wanted to keep her job. She slowly drew the knife across her upper arm and felt her emotional pain dripping away like the blood dripping down her arm. She swallowed and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she closed her eyes for a moment before returning to the house where Crookshanks was meowing. Hermione was too tired to care, and too tired to notice the peculiar tabby cat that had watched her the whole time she was outside jump off the fence that separated her garden from the neighbors and slink off.

A/N: I have not edited this since its original posting, so if you find any errors, let me know & I'll fix them. Only the authors notes were deleted.