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Chapter 3: Decisions.
Muggle London never changes, Hermione thought as she walked through the hustle and bustle of business men and women in suits and shoppers with armfuls of bags, on her way to the Leaky Cauldron.
It was odd to think that this would have been her life, had she not been born a witch. Watching preoccupied business men and woman pass by in their perfectly tailored suits, she wondered what profession she would have been in. Hermione would have liked to think that she would have had the same academic success that she had had at Hogwarts in a Muggle school, and so she might have had a prestigious job, such as a doctor or a lawyer.
Knowing what she knew now about the magic world, Hermione knew that such a life would never appeal to her now. Her parents had often quizzed her on her life's ambitions and had suggested that she take a course at a Muggle university. As much as Hermione loved to learn, she couldn't really see the appeal of studying at a university anymore. It had been her plan, once upon a time, but she was so immersed in the wizarding world that going back seemed redundant, somehow.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she carried on her way.
She was meeting Harry and Ron for lunch in the pub, and they were going to discuss the possibility of returning to Hogwarts. Surreptitiously, so as not to startle the Muggles, Hermione leaned against the door of the pub and, when nobody was looking, pushed open the door to the Leaky Cauldron. She was enveloped by the smell of stale alcohol and pipe smoke. It smelled quite homely to Hermione.
A brief glance around showed her the usual calibre of clientele that frequented the Leaky Cauldron. In one corner there sat a group of goblins, deep in conversation voiced in the harsh syllables of Gobbledegook. There were a few suspicious-looking characters hidden in alcoves and corners, the shadows giving them anonymity from the rest of the pub. Sat at the bar were a very attractive witch and a heavily inebriated wizard, who was making a fool of himself in his attempts to impress her. Hermione marvelled at how the wizard was so drunk at noon.
"Hermione! Over here! Already got you a drink!"
Turning to her right, Hermione spotted Harry waving at her from a table a short distance away. She weaved her way between tables and punters over to his table, where he was sat with Ron. Harry swept her into a crushing hug when she reached the table. Affection rose within her chest.
"Harry, it's so good to see you! It's been too long!" She really had missed her best friend and had barely seen him over the summer months. It was true that both of them hadn't had much time to meet up, since they were both training and studying for new jobs and the rest of their time was spent with their respective other halves.
"Yeah, I know, been really busy with training and what-not."
"And by what-not, you mean Ginny," Hermione said slyly, winking, as she took a sip of her Butterbeer. Although Harry's face was slightly flushed, his small, embarrassed grin confirmed her suspicions.
"Things must be good, if your expression is anything to go by," she teased.
Glancing at Ron, she saw that he was looking uncomfortable with their current topic of conversation. "Can we not talk about my best friend and my sister in that way, please?"
Hermione laughed. Harry had the good grace to look chastised, though a small smile remained on his face. The difference in her friend since he could finally be with Ginny without worrying about anything going wrong was astounding. His mood swings had completely vanished and he was nearly always in a good spirits. She was so happy that he could finally have a life where he didn't have to live in fear of the people he cared about getting hurt.
"Oh, honestly, Ron, grow up," Hermione smirked.
"Yeah, you tell me all about what you and Hermione get up to," Harry said with raised eyebrows.
"What?" Hermione demanded, blushing.
"Nah, he doesn't, I just wanted to get him in trouble with you. Though from the way you're blushing it sounds interesting." Harry said mischievously.
Hermione swatted Harry's arm and did not answer. Ron's cheeks and ears had turned pink, and Harry was still chuckling to himself.
"I think we should change the subject." Hermione stated.
"Me too," Ron agreed fervently.
"It's different when we're talking about you two, isn't it?" Harry teased. "By the way, speaking of Ginny, she said she might be able to join us soon."
"Brilliant! It's been ages since I last saw her!"
"Yeah, she's thinking about going back to Hogwarts as well." Harry told her. At his words there was a small pause between the three of them as they contemplated each other. None of them quite knew how to broach the subject of Hogwarts – Hermione knew that if the boys decided that they didn't want to go back, the experience wouldn't be nearly as fun as it usually was, and she wondered if Harry and Ron were thinking along the same lines. However, she was determined to finish her education and get the qualifications that she had been preparing for since first year.
When the silence continued, Hermione decided to bite the proverbial bullet.
"So... what do you two think?" she inquired.
"Well... our mentor pretty much told us that we wouldn't get very far with our careers as Aurors if we didn't have some NEWTs behind us. But they did tell us we wouldn't have to do Defence Against the Dark Arts, with everything that went on over the last few years. They said that we could take a few classes to check if there were any gaps in our knowledge and we'd be fine with that. So, really, we'd just have to carry on with Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration and Potions."
"So that'll mean more free periods," Ron said gleefully.
"Fantastic! That means you have more time for studying, Ronald," Hermione said sweetly
"Not bloody likely," Ron scoffed.
"So I think I'm going to go back." Harry continued.
"Me too," Ron agreed.
"What do you think, Hermione?"
Hermione had thought hard about this. Although she had decided her course regardless of what Harry and Ron decided, it was good to know that they would still be with her, continuing their education as they should have done. "I'm definitely going back. My mentor told me that people working in Magical Law don't get far without NEWTs either, so I'm going to complete seventh year. But I'm going to drop Ancient Runes I think. It's not really relevant to my career aims. And I don't think I'll take Defence Against the Dark Arts either. So that just leaves Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology and Arithmancy."
"Why are you carrying on with Arithmancy?" Ron asked
"Because it's a really interesting subject. And it's also useful in Potions because it helps determine which ingredients should be added and is used to work out the quantities required-"
"Sorry I asked," Ron said hastily, his hands raised to cut her off before she got into her stride. Harry laughed at Ron, and she knew that he too didn't really want a long winded explanation, so she stopped.
"All right then, long story short, Ancient Runes just doesn't fit in that well anymore, so I won't carry on with it."
"What's that? Hermione, dropping a subject? Say it isn't so!" a voice said behind them, filled with mock horror.
Turning around to see who the speaker was, Hermione had a short glimpse of long, shiny red hair before she was engulfed in a tight embrace. "Ginny!" Hermione squealed, as she hugged her best girl friend.
"Hi! You look great!"
"So do you!" Hermione replied. It was true – after the strain of the previous year and the death of her brother, Ginny had had a hard time coming to terms with events. However, she was looking better again now, her long hair glossy, her cheeks less pale and her eyes bright. Hermione knew that Harry had a lot to do with helping her through the hard times, and she thought that he had done a fantastic job of looking after Ginny during this time. She was very proud of her friend for how he had handled his girlfriend's distress.
"Hi Ron, Harry."
"Hey Gin."
"Hi, Ginny."
Ginny leaned down and kissed Harry - Ron looked away pointedly - and then took a seat between Harry and Hermione.
"So, we're talking about Hogwarts I take it." Ginny said, as she pulled up a chair and sat down, smoothing the wrinkles in her blue summer dress.
"Yeah, we think we're all going back," her brother replied.
"Great! I think I'm going back too. There's not much a sixteen year old witch can do without education these days. I'm glad you lot are going back too. It wouldn't be the same without you three."
"So now we've all decided... what do we do now?" Ron queried.
"Well, McGonagall was appointed Headmistress a few days ago, so we have to write a letter informing her that we want to complete our education."
"That's fairly simple. I'll get started on that when I get home." Harry said.
"Me too," Ron agreed
"And me," Ginny chimed in.
"Me too. So what's everyone up to this afternoon?" Hermione questioned. She was hoping that her friends could spend some time with her this afternoon, as they hadn't all been able to spend time together at once for a while. Plus, it would be good to enjoy their freedom before they were back in school.
"Well Harry and me have got the rest of the day off so we were going to hang around Diagon Alley. You two coming?"
"Sounds great!"
"I'd love to."
The four finished their drinks and headed out into the courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron.
Severus was beyond bored of the Hospital Wing. It was extremely monotonous staring at the same four white walls all day every day. Quite maddening, also, were the portraits that hung there of famous deceased Wizarding Healers. They either chattered constantly about ancient remedies, scrutinising him and offering diagnoses, or were asleep snoring deeply. Getting five minutes peace truly was a challenge.
It had been three days since Minerva had put her offer to him, and he had spent a great deal of time pondering his answer. Indeed, he really had had little else to do. Trying to come up with a decision had been difficult, ut he believed he had one ready for Minerva, and she was going to come and see him later today so that he could inform her of his choice.
Severus hated big decisions, making huge choices that would significantly affect his life. The unpredictability was something he found discomfiting and – if he was honest – scary. Not being sure of the road ahead made Severus anxious. As a spy, he had had to think on his feet constantly, not planning but reacting. He never made concrete plans for the future, as there had been a high possibility that he would have been discovered and therefore wouldn't have a future at all.
It was strange, thinking that his life was now his own again and he could make such plans. He had never hoped to survive and so had not even considered what he would do if he did. When he imagined his life during his contemplation of Minerva's offer, he had only seen a wide, vast expanse of nothingness.
Now having made his decision, Severus felt a lot more comfortable with what lay ahead.
Minerva's footsteps growing louder as she progressed down the hospital wing shook Severus out of his reverie.
"Good afternoon, Severus," she said politely, when she finally reached his bed.
Severus inclined his head, and said nothing.
"I believe you have an answer for me," she prompted. Minerva had never been one to beat about the bush.
"I do," Severus confirmed.
She looked at him expectantly for few seconds. Knowing that she was one who liked to get directly to the point, Severus stayed silent, gazing at her with a neutral expression on his face. As the pregnant silence stretched on he could see that the witch was growing more and more impatient with each passing second. Making Minerva wait was somehow entertaining. Internally, Severus smirked, though he kept his face expressionless.
"Well?" Minerva demanded, when she could stand the silence no longer.
Drawing the silence out for a few more seconds, Severus finally graced her with an answer. "After due consideration, I have decided to accept your offer."
"You will teach Potions again?" Minerva asked hopefully.
"That was your offer, was it not?" Severus replied testily. His annoyance was ignored, however, as a rare smile of delight appeared on her face.
"This is excellent news Severus! I must be honest; I was expecting you to decline. I must go and consult with the Governors. Term starts in less than two weeks and there is so much to do! At least I don't have to find any more teachers-''
"You have found a replacement for Defence Against the Dark Arts?" he asked.
"Yes. We didn't have many applicants, obviously. But we had an intriguing find in one person, and we decided to offer him the post. His name is Aubrey Appleby. We believe he will be quite competent."
Severus shrugged, uninterested. He honestly couldn't care less. Appleby was welcome to the job in his opinion. One thing he did wonder, though, was where Appleby had been during the war – if he was competent in Defence, but hadn't been fighting, that didn't give a good impression of his bravery.
"Well, I'll leave you to rest. Thank you Severus." Minerva nodded briskly and took her leave.
Now the decision was made and finalised, Severus felt better. Knowing that he was now committed to the castle for the foreseeable future was almost a relief. He would be within his comfort zone, he would have a home, three meals a day...
And, he would have students upon which to vent his bad tempers.
He smiled evilly.
Perfect.
In the evening, after a fun-filled day with her friends, Hermione was sat at her desk in her room, scratching her chin with her quill, re-reading the letter she had penned to Professor McGonagall.
Dear Professor McGonagall,
I am writing to request that you allow me to return to complete my seventh year at Hogwarts. It is my wish to complete my NEWTs in Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration. Please respond and let me know if this is possible.
Yours Sincerely,
Hermione Granger.
Satisfied with her letter, Hermione replaced her quill back into its inkpot and stretched in her chair, her back aching from leaning over her desk for too long. For such a short letter, it had taken a remarkably long time to write.
Rising from her seat, she crossed the room to the perch where her owl, a beautiful and proud tawny named Athena, stood. The name suited her well, as she looked very much like the stereotypical wise owl, and she had a lovely temperament. She had bought Athena to keep in touch with her friends whilst they were all carrying out their own pursuits. It seemed a particularly good investment now, since it meant that it would be easier for her to keep in touch with her parents while she was at school. Now she would not be without her.
"Please take this to Professor McGonagall Athena." Hermione whispered, tying the scroll to the bird's leg. "I'm not sure where she'll be right now, but you'll be able to find her, won't you?"
Athena gave a low, reassuring hoot.
"Clever bird. Safe flight," Hermione said, stroking the bird's beautiful plumage affectionately.
With a rush of wings, the bird took off. Hermione watched as the bird became a black speck on the horizon in the sunset, until she could see her owl no longer.
She had informed her parents of her decision to return to Hogwarts. They were completely supportive, and only asked that she wrote regularly and saw them during the Christmas and Easter holidays. Hermione had reassured them that the school would be much safer after the war, and despite knowing the dangers that their daughter had faced during her previous years at Hogwarts – for Hermione had had to inform them of everything that had gone on when she found them in Australia – they were convinced that with Voldemort eliminated that their daughter would be safe. They had, however, requested that she inform them of anything important that happened, especially if she was in some sort of trouble or danger. Hermione had readily agreed – after all, the danger had passed now.
Telling her parents everything had been a task in itself. They had been outraged that their daughter was in the thick of the fight against Voldemort and had been putting herself in dangerous situations since her first year. However, Hermione had managed to explain that she would have been involved anyway, purely because of her birth. After much arguing, tears and exasperation, she had finally brought her parents up to date on everything. Though they were adamant that they would have preferred that Hermione tell them everything, they understood that she had not wanted to worry her parents, to concern them about dangers which they could do nothing about.
Sitting on her bed, Hermione enjoyed the sunset, filled with joy from the stunning orange rays caressing her face. She sat there for a long time, absorbing the hope that was coursing through her body.
The sun had almost set when it finally hit her. She was going back to the place she had experienced so many happy times in her childhood, to the place where she had met her two best friends in the whole world, and found happiness with one of them. To the place where she had finally felt as if she belonged.
It had sunk in.
I'm going back.
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