This is my first attempt to write fan fiction, so hopefully it will improve as we go along. I've got no plan as to how long this will actually be, but considering my story plan it could keep on going for quite a while. This first chapter is mainly a sort of introduction to the story, so you will eventually get to read what's going on from other character's perspective.
I welcome reviewers to comment on any changes I should make, as I'm not fully aware of how this thing works :)
I own nothing! Well, maybe one or two even more fictional characters that will appear in the near future...or not :)
Foreword
It is often the case that those who are deemed to succeed fail to do so. Nobody would have expected to see Hermione Granger having to leave her well-paid position at the Ministry's department of Magical Law Enforcement, after declaring that she had been the one to blame after the incorrect verdict regarding a ministry official and a rather rowdy group of house-elves. Hermione, probably due to her affiliation to S.P.E.W, the elf-protecting society she herself had created, felt the need to vouch for the group of house-elves in their claim against their master. However, when the case was reviewed by petition of the ministry's official family, it was discovered that the house elves had been really plotting against him and were stealing valuable ministry information from him in order to give it to a thief that wanted to steal a whole set of time turners from the ministry so that he could sell them in the black market. By the time they discharged the official from Azkaban he was permanently scarred by the presence of the dementors and had to be sent to St Mungo's, where he'll probably spend the rest of his life. Clearly this had terrible consequences for the young witch, who had so fervently defended the house elves, and therefore Hermione was forced to resign from her position and had to face the public's anger against her. This had been only 4 years after she had graduated with 7 NEWTs, all of which were graded as O.
Seeing as she would never be able to get a respectable job as the ministry, she decided that maybe she was destined to have a job, which had her out of the public's eye. The first thing that she could think of was of teacher training and pursuing a career in education. After all, her happiest years were at school and she knew for a fact that the only place where she had never made a mistake was in the classroom. So this is what she did, and in a record time of only 6 months Hermione Granger had obtained her Post Graduate Certificate of Magical Education, also known as PGCME, in Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms.
Sometimes, even for those who seem to have fallen from the grace in which the world held them for many a year, luck seems to smile at them. So was the case with Hermione. Three months after she successfully completed her PGCME she came across a rather interesting job offer in The Prophet. Who would have imagined that Horace Slughorn had decided to finally go back into retirement at such an appropriate moment in time? Of course, the young witch didn't even hesitate for a second and sent an owl addressed to Minerva McGonagall, her former head of house and current headmistress, including her CV and a letter expressing her wishes on getting the job as Potions Mistress. The scot's reply had not taken long to arrive, and of course, it involved an invitation to an interview. Hermione had been and probably still was the brightest witch of her age, albeit the Ministry's current opinion. Luckily enough, Minerva McGonagall was not a woman to overlook talent, as she had proven years before when she had first seen Harry Potter fly and discovered the brilliant Seeker in him.
The news regarding Hermione's job interview had turned The Burrow into an incredibly festive place. One only had to glance at Ron Weasley to realise how much it meant for him that Hermione's plans seemed to be flowing smoothly. After all, he knew that the faster it was all settled, the sooner he'd be able to propose to her and end up happily married. The truth is that he had planned everything before and was on the verge of proposing, but the house elf fiasco ruined everything. Hermione had not answered a single owl from anyone during nearly 6 months, and it took her nearly a whole year to decide to leave her hiding place in her parent's home and try to begin her life again. Ron knew as a matter of fact, that proposing then would only lead to one thing, rejection. Although they had nearly gone back to their loving relationship during Hermione's teacher training, he still felt that she needed to settle down first before being asked to take such an important step, so Ron had waited and would continue to do so until he thought the right moment had arrived. He had a feeling that if the interview went well, he'd be very close to the opportunity of finally asking her to marry him.
