Disclaimer: Not mine, all JKR's. Don't sue.
-NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR
PROLOGUE
The coffee shop was packed. The last thing she needed was a crowd of noisy people. It seemed appropriate though, considering her luck lately.
She squeezed herself through the wall of bodies, and it required a lot of effort to get to the counter where a busy witch restlessly produced several cups of coffee with only one wave of her wand. Hermione looked through her bag trying to find some change to get her a cup of coffee.
Finally managing to survive her way to a narrow table in the back, she sat, thankful that she was able to find a place to sit at all. Her feet were killing her. She never thought that finding a job would be so hard, but after a messy divorce from a disappointing marriage, that lasted longer than it should have, she found herself poor, jobless and completely clueless about her future. Who would know that wizards could be so prejudiced with divorced witches? They never actually said it, but she could read between the lines. All her studying had basically been ignored.
Krum was a rich man; she never needed to worry about working, instead, after she left the university, she spent her time reading and traveling with Krum, every time he had a Quidditch match in another country. Things weren't good back then but her fear of failure kept her from admitting her marriage was never going to work.
She sipped her coffee and rubbed her eyes tiredly. It had been a long day, walking around Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, with no luck. The money was running low and she'd rather die before taking any money from Viktor or anybody else for that matter. Her Gryffindor pride spoke too loud.
Even if she wanted to accept help, she had no one to ask. Her parents had died at the hands of Death Eaters, leaving her only enough money to complete her studies. Harry had successfully rid the world of Voldemort but with the cost of his own life. And Ron, who barely had money to support himself, was married and working in Romania with his brother Charlie.
She even tried to contact Dumbledore for a position as a Professor, but even Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't available.
She sighed and finished her coffee in one big gulp, wondering how she was going to be able to make through the week without literally starving. She was desperate, and after a day like this, she would take just about any job just pay for her food.
She leaned back and stared into space, not noticing much of anything around her. Her eyes lingered on a spot that slowly made sense, bringing her back to reality. She had been staring at a copy of The Daily Prophet that lay on a nearby table. Its owner had apparently left it there after reading it. But what really caught her attention was an ad on the top left corner that read in bold letters "Help Wanted."
She looked around to be sure no one was going to claim the newspaper and discreetly made her way to the table, grabbing it fast and returning to her seat. Looking closer, she read the rest of the ad.
HELP WANTED
Nanny single female
Full time sleep-in
Interviews are taking place
today at The Leaky Cauldron
Room 394 - 2 to 6PM
Hermione gazed at the clock on the wall, it was 5:50. She had ten minutes to make it. Tearing the ad off, she ran out of the coffee shop and Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.
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Hermione was glad she knew her way around the Inn, if she had to search for the room with the time running out like that, she would definitely miss this opportunity. Quickly walking up the stairs, she was passed by an older woman crying and shaking her head. "That poor wee baby. That father is a monster!" said the woman to no one in particular.
Hermione looked back at the woman, then frowned and continued on her way, trying not to think too much about it. That would only make her more nervous than she already was and she couldn't waste time thinking.
Stopping in front of the room 394 and knocking decidedly, Hermione was met with a terse "Enter!" from the other side of the door. For a moment there, she had a flashback to her school days, as if she was in trouble, and her first instinct was to turn away and run for her life. Instead, she tentatively opened the door to find herself in the scrutiny of dark equally surprised eyes, which quickly adjusted to the narrowed suspicious eyes she knew so well.
"Mrs Krum," he spoke in a softer tone, but still dry and cold.
"It's... um... Miss Granger again, Professor, I..."
He waved a hand for her to stop. "Spare me the details."
She stood looking at him in disbelief. "I'm sorry, sir... I suppose the number on the ad must have been incorrect."
He sighed impatiently. "If you are here for the Nanny position, take a seat. I believe you, at least, will not burst into womanish tears and run off."
"No, sir, I won't." She sat, still unable to conceal her surprise. "I was not aware you had children." 'Or a wife,' she added in her mind.
"I will explain this to you once, Miss Granger, then I do not wish to speak of it again." He leaned over to her, his eyes piercing holes through her skin. "Are we clear?"
Hermione nodded and paid close attention.
It took him a few seconds before he started to speak again, as if he was trying to find adequate words to explain something so personal. "I had... an indiscretion. The mother only informed me of my son's existence two weeks ago. She found she could not properly raise Seirian, so she has given him to me."
"Then... you are not married to the mother?"
"That is what 'an indiscretion' would mean, would it not, Miss Granger?" he said in a patronizing tone, raising an eyebrow.
"May I see him?"
"Why?"
"Well... to see if he likes me."
"At the moment, he likes no one."
'Like father, like son,' she thought.
"He is back at Hogwarts with Madam Pomfrey. The job is yours, Miss Granger, if you wish it. You will live in a room adjacent to my quarters, so you can be close to Seirian." He had a defeated edge to his voice, as if he was too tired and somewhat desperate.
"I accept it," she replied almost too fast, causing him to frown in curiosity.
After discussing the payment, which was a lot more than the other job offers she had seen that day, he said, "You can start in two days. I trust that's enough time for you to pack your things. I'll be expecting you at 7 AM , so I can have time to show you everything and you can get acquainted with Seirian."
"Seirian... it's an unusual name," she said trying the name in her lips.
"Apart from stating the obvious, Miss Granger, is there anything else you would like to ask?" He stood up and made his way to open the door.
She shook her head, understanding she was being dismissed. "Have a good Evening, sir." She walked to the door.
He nodded briefly and closed the door behind her.
On her way out, she wondered if he thought it was strange for her, of all people to be answering an ad for a Nanny position. She was certain he would make some sarcastic comment but it never came.
When she was back to her tiny flat, she threw herself in her old beat up couch.
"What have I got myself into?" she asked out loud.
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A/N: I want to thank Glinda for the plot bunny and Shauna for beta-reading.
The tittle was taken from a show from the 70's. It fits this story and I thought it would be a cute touch. ;-)