Chapter 1
In Desperate Need

This had been what everyone was waiting for. The sun was finally out with no signs of venomous clouds heading their way. It had been either rainy or cloudy for the past week and a half and there was finally some indication that the sun existed. School had finally been released three days earlier so children were all around playing with their friends. Even adults seemed to be taking that Monday afternoon off. Plenty of people could be seen exercising around the park by means of either walking, running, or playing tag.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, all except one person. A petite girl of about 1.6 meters in height with chocolate brown curls was sitting on one of the park benches with a worn-out look upon her face. Held up in between her hands was a newspaper with the words 'The Daily Prophet' strewn across the front page. Her eyes were darting from left to right and back to the left again while searching for something in particular. A loud groan was forced from her lips as she hesitantly gave up her search and placed the paper beside her on the bench.

She lifted her arm up and impatiently looked at her watch. "She's late," she mumbled really low, but not in an aggravated tone. At that very moment, a distinct 'pop' was heard from behind where she was sitting.

"Sorry I'm terribly late. Got caught up with business and the like," said a very bouncy red head with much enthusiasm. She took a seat right beside the brunette, with legs crossed under her bottom, and looked at her intently as if trying to pry information out of her tight grip.

"If only you mean 'business' by getting entangled with a certain Mr. Finnigan, then I'll believe you." A slight smile crept its way onto her face as the other's cheeks began blushing.

"Hermione, you know me too well. But what is this important thing that you so desperately need my wonderful help for?"

"You know I always want your cordial help, Ginny. Right know calls for desperate measures and we need to focus one-hundred percent. This is an emergency and I'm desperate!"

"Alright, the first step is to calm down. I'm sure it can't be that terrible, whatever it is that you need my help with. By the way, are you going to explain what it is that you are going through?"

"I need a job!" She yelled in frustration.

"But Hermione, you already have a job. Did someone cast a memory charm on you, or do I need to remind you once again that you are the youngest witch to ever teach at Hogwarts? This is your summer break, so use it as time to relax!"

"I know Ginny, but I need something to do with my time while everyone else is working during the day. I just can't stay cooped up in my flat with nothing to do. Plus, I could use some extra galleons to put away for a rainy day."

"Okay, but will you still be willing to hang out with all of your friends? We missed you during the school year, because you would always grade assignments and exams during the nights."

"Of course. This is what I want, so do you think you could join me in a little job hunt?" Her eyes were pleading and her lips were turning into her famous puppy dog pout that no one could resist.

"You have no need to stick out your bottom lip like that at me, Hermione Granger. You know I'll help you. So where have you looked so far?"

"I just went through the classifieds in The Daily Prophet, but had no such luck. I certainly don't want to be a referee for a kid's league of Quidditch. Nor do I want to want to check in wizards' wands at the Ministry. I need something that won't bore me to death or get me killed with a flying Bludger."

"Well… we just need to find something that sparks your interest and will keep you awake… Hmm. Have you tried Flourish and Blott's?"

"They're overstaffed," she replied with a huff.

"What about a muggle book store. You could always just exchange the money through Gringott's."

"Thought about that. I'd prefer to just be around my kind of people. No offense to my parents or my heritage or anything. I just think of myself as a witch and would like to be around other magical folk."

"Okay. Have you checked the posting board in Diagon Alley? I'm sure there are plenty of flyers there."

"Actually, I haven't checked there. Are you free right now Ginny?"

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be sitting on the park bench in beautiful Wizarding London, talking to you right now."

With the blink of an eye, both girls apparated into The Leaky Cauldron. Many management officials of different stores in Diagon Alley were complaining that people who apparated straight into the alley, ended up toppling over others. So now the Ministry had declared a new decree stating that all persons willing to travel to the shopping area either had to floo to the appropriate fireplace, or apparate into The Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the manager, didn't mind because he loved seeing new faces at his bar and inn.

When they passed right in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, they couldn't resist stopping in for a taste of some of their delicious treats. It was just that irresistible. After they finished eating their ice cream, they walked across the street to the bulletin right next to the wizarding bank. There were so many notes attached, that they had no idea where to begin. A bright pink flyer caught Ginny's eye and she began to read it to Hermione.

She declined the offer to test out new beauty supplies. Both of them laughed as they thought it would have been a better job for their friend Lavender, but Hermione was not someone to indulge in beauty things or appearances. Then their eyes flew to a bright yellow piece of parchment. It asked for those interested in house keeping, to report to a new inn at Hogsmeade. Neither of them thought of that as interesting. It would just bother Hermione's allergies to dust even more.

They went through rows and columns of people looking for others to fulfill their needs, but still nothing that would work for the desperate brunette. They were about to give up when Hermione noticed a full sized parchment pinned at the bottom right hand corner of the posting board. It was so plain, written with amazing penmanship in a dazzling green ink. Even as simple as it was, it seemed to be calling out to her.

"It's for a nanny for a five year old girl," Ginny said when she noticed the posting Hermione was looking intently at. "I never took you as the type of person to like kids." She gave her friend a questioning look.

"Oh no, I love children. I've always wanted a younger brother of sister, but my parents were never able to have any others. So sometimes during the summer I would baby-sit for a few of my neighbors for some extra spending money when we would get trips to Hogsmeade."

"You never told me that…"

"Well I didn't think it was a big deal. But I always loved playing with them. It would make me feel younger, and there's always something you can learn from a five year old who has a different perspective of the world."

"…You know… this is perfect for you. I mean, you already have the experience and from the way your face looked when you just told me that amazing story, you loved it. So why not give it a shot?"

Hermione had to admit that her red-haired friend had a point. She did love to be around younger children and it would be an excellent way to spend her extra time during the day. But she had never babysat a wizard or a witch before. In fact, she had never known a magical person under the age of eleven. All of her students were able to control their magic by the time they went into her classrooms. A five year old couldn't control their powers, even if they tried. She admitted to herself that she was scared. She had no idea how to take care of a wizarding child.

"I know what you're thinking Hermione. But it's not that bad. I grew up around a lot of kids from this world, and it's not difficult in the least. Sure, they may be able to throw a pretty mean tantrum, but what kind of kid can't? Plus, a five year old who knows she has magic flowing through her veins, probably already has some mechanism to control her outbursts."

"I don't know… I'm still a bit skeptical about this." She was biting her bottom lip like she always did when she was nervous about something. Hermione really wanted this job, but still wasn't sure.

"Gosh Hermione. How many job postings are we going to have to go through before you find one that you won't have doubts over? This is perfect for you, and if you don't take that flyer home with you, I'm going to scream right now!"

She knew how terrible her friend's shrieks were, so she instantly took the posting off the board and apparated to her flat. A few seconds later, Ginny popped in also.

"Good, I knew you couldn't resist!" Ginny said with a smile on her face saying that she was proud of her strategies.

"Resist? Ha. I only took it because your shouts are killer. They could make a dragon crawl back into its cave."

"Thanks, I guess… So are you going to owl the person?"

"That's the thing: there is no address or name of the person to contact. All there is on here is a telephone number. I thought wizards didn't use muggle devices."

"Well, some can. Dad now has one in his office because he constantly needs to keep in contact with muggles. Especially since he got promoted last year."

"Oh yeah, I forgot Dad had a 'fellytone' at the Ministry," she replied with a laugh. Hermione spent lots of time with the red-headed family, and soon enough got accustomed to calling the heads of the house 'Mum' and 'Dad'. They all treated her like part of the family, just as Harry was too, so she felt it was a nice title for them. Harry still felt the need to call them 'Mrs. Weasley' and 'Mr. Weasley' even after they protested for him not to.

"So are you going to call?"

"Well, the parents are probably at work right now, so I'll just call later on tonight."

"Hermione! You are going to call this instant, and I will not leave you alone until you do!"

"Fine," Hermione said with a shocked voice. She picked up her own phone that she used to keep in contact with her parents, and began dialing the numbers. "This better be worth it…"

I had a break today in between two of my classes, and I didn't feel like leaving campus, so with my extra time today this story popped out. I only have this chapter written so far, but I will get to work on more of it. Don't worry, I'm still continuing with Dear Diary and my other stories. I just liked this little thing that came out. So please R&R. Tell me what you think so far.