"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Hermione's mother, kindly. The question felt jarring.
It had been a brutal summer. After the Final Battle, there was no time to think about the future. Voldemort's defeat brought about a brief feeling of jubilation and relief, instantly followed by immense grief. The horror of the Final Battle made victory bittersweet. There was no celebration or victory party. Instead there were funerals. One after another, a seemingly endless stream of funerals. For Lavender Brown, for Professor Lupin, for Tonks, for Colin Creevy. Hermione, Harry and Ron went to each one together, supporting one another just as they had for the last seven years. The last funeral they attended together was Fred Weasley's. Hermione thought that one was the worst. She always respected Fred when they were in Hogwarts. Although she made a point to confiscate any Skiving Snackboxes she found when she was a prefect, she secretly admired Fred and George's magical ingenuity. She had cried every time she thought of George continuing on in life without his twin. It was not Fred and George anymore. It was just George.
After Fred Weasley's funeral, Hermione flew to Australia to locate her parents and restore their memories. It was simple enough to find them, and Hermione was mildly pleased at how effective her memory charm was when her own parents did not recognize her as she came up to them to say hello. When she reversed the memory spell, realization dawned in her parents' eyes. The Granger family cried as Hermione explained everything that happened in the past year. Her parents may not have fully grasped all of the magical details, (Hermione did not bother explaining horcruxes to them), but they understood that their daughter had been in grave danger.
After returning home from Australia, Hermione chose to spend the rest of the summer with her parents, quite relieved to be away from the wizarding world. She knew the Ministry of Magic was in the process of rebuilding itself, there were ongoing trials of former Death Eaters, Azkaban, the wizarding prison was being reconstructed, as was Hogwarts. But that world felt distant and foreign. The muggle world, Hermione thought, was easy and predictable. She had not used magic all summer.
"Hermione, honey? Have you given any thought about what you might want to do?" asked her mother gently again. Her father gave her a reassuring smile. Her parents sat across from her, sipping tea and eating scones Hermione had baked without the use of magic. Hermione enjoyed the feeling of doing things again, of putting in effort rather than waving a wand.
"Oh, I don't know. I haven't had any time to think about that." Hermione looked down at her teacup, and thought hard. For the first time since she could remember, she had a chance to plan beyond the next immediate steps. She had a future, she had choices, and she was scared. "Maybe, mum, oh I don't think I want to do anything relating to magic. There's too much death, I've already lost so much. Maybe…maybe I'll be a dentist, like you and dad." Hermione said quickly.
"Oh my sweet girl," Hermione's mother gave her a sad smile, "You've had such a difficult year".
"Hermione, darling," started her father, setting down his teacup, "I really don't think that will make you happy".
"But I think what you and mum do is fascinating! Its quite challenging really, there's a fair bit of math involved in dentistry, I would really enjoy it!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Hermione, you're a witch!" said her dad, "What me and mum do with modern dentistry for hours you can do in a second by waving your wand. Remember in your fourth year at school when the nurse fixed your teeth with magic?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well if mum or I could do that we wouldn't be dentists!" Her dad insisted. "You are the cleverest person I've ever met, and you've been given this gift. You can do magic, why would you want to waste it?"
"Dad I just can't go back there." She replied, with tears in her eyes, "There was so much violence and anger and hatred. The muggle world- I mean your world, this world, is much simpler, much safer."
"Hermione, this world is far from simple. It has atrocities and anger and hatred. You know that." Her dad said seriously.
"I know. Its also just… for the first time in my life I don't know what to do next. There has always been another class, another exam. School is over and I'm… lost?" said Hermione.
"Well what do other witches and wizards do for work?" asked her mother, "You said there is a Ministry, a government job is always a good plan! Doesn't Ron's father work there, perhaps he can help you?"
"I don't think I want to be a Ministry bureaucrat. I'm not certain what other wizards do. There's not too many options for work in the wizarding world. I know quite a few witches and wizards work for the Ministry, some have their own shops…" Hermione quickly thought of Fred and George's joke shop and wondered how George was going to run it on his own now. "There's a hospital, St. Mungo's, so there are healers. Let's see… there are journalists, writers, and well of course teachers at Hogwarts. I think that's it."
"What are Harry and Ron going to do?" asked her father.
"Har-. Umm, I'm not sure, I haven't, well, I actually haven't spoken to them in a while." Said Hermione in a small voice. She took a bite of her scone and thought about her best friends. Ron and Harry had sent her letters weekly. She had written back to them once to tell them she is alright, but ignored the rest of the letters. She did not know what to write to them. Harry had been through more than she could ever imagine. He had quite literally died and come back to face Voldermort and ultimately defeat him. She knew Harry had plans to travel with Ginny once she finished her final year at Hogwarts. And Ron...she missed Ron. She and Ron had shared a kiss... one perfect kiss, a kiss she had waited years for. But they had not talked about it after, of course there was no time, she told herself, but she did not know if that kiss meant anything more to Ron than a rush of adrenaline in a life threatening situation.
"Darling, your dad and I think you might be…hiding. From your friends, and everyone from Hogwarts. When was the last time you saw your friends?" asked her mother quietly.
"I'm not hiding!" said Hermione forcefully. "I just… I can't go back there yet."
"You know Hermione, you are not just a very clever girl. You are also very brave. The bravest girl I have ever met. You can go back. I think you should, so does mum. Go see your friends, and figure out what you're going to do." said her father, smiling.
Hermione looked at her parents. She had put them through so much worry and anguish, and felt a rush of overwhelming guilt and sadness, but most of all, appreciation. She stood up, walked over to her parents, grabbed her mother and father and hugged them tightly. "I love you. I'll go see my friends, I'll figure out what I'm going to do next."