The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing; anything you recognise belongs to the talented J K Rowling.

Quick note: I have a lot going on in my personal life right now. Between personal issues and the upcoming holidays, updates will probably be closer to every two weeks instead of once a week. Hopefully I can get back to once a week once we are in the new year. Thanks!

Chapter 5

Hermione shrank the last of her belongings and put them in the small beaded bag. She was still amazed that everything she owned, with the exception of the furniture, could fit in the bag. I just love being a witch, she thought as she took one last glance at her almost-empty flat. She was leaving all the furniture since the quarters at Hogwarts were furnished, the only exception being Ares' cot. Ares was at the Burrow, probably being spoiled not only by Mrs. Weasley, but Harry and Ginny as well. She was hoping to see Ron when she took him to the Burrow, but apparently, he still needed more time and still was avoiding her. It depressed her that she would not see him before she started at Hogwarts, but she tried to push the thought out of her mind since she didn't want to force the issue.

Term would start in a little over a week, and she wanted to get both herself and Ares settled, along with touring the library before staff meetings started in two days. Staff meetings would be optional, according to the Headmistress, since she was only part-time, and technically the librarian was not required to go to staff meetings.

It was almost dusk when Hermione arrived back at the Burrow to pick up Ares. She was greeted warmly by Harry and Ginny, and they proceeded to the sitting room where Mrs. Weasley was giving Ares a bottle.

"You look exhausted, Hermione. Are you all settled in?" Harry asked as he made room for Hermione beside him on the sofa.

"Yes, I think so. And I am exhausted. Even with magic, it took several hours to get the rooms the way I wanted them and all the books on the shelf. Then I went to the library for a tour with Madam Pince, since I will start working with her in just a couple of days."

"You could have left him overnight. We wouldn't have minded at all," Mrs. Weasley replied as she sat Ares up to burp him. "It would be nice having a baby in this house, even if it was just for a night."

"I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Weasley, but I still don't think I am ready to leave him for that long, yet." Hermione stopped for a second, and then shook her head slightly as she smiled, "I sound like a paranoid new mother, don't I?"

Ginny, who had been quiet thus far, finally spoke up, "So where are your rooms, Hermione? Do you know if I'll be allowed to visit you since you will be on staff and I'll still be a student?"

"Believe it or not, they are only two corridors away from the library. I didn't even know there were staff quarters on that floor, but it will be very convenient. As for the visiting- I'm not sure, I'll have to ask. Surely I can work out something with Professor McGonagall."

"Will you be eating at the staff table?" Harry asked, not able to hide the curiosity in his voice.

"I think so, but I didn't ask the Headmistress. I know that Madam Pince has always sat at the Head table, but I don't know if I will since I am just part-time and will be training this year."

"What about Hogsmeade weekends? Harry is going to try and meet me occassionally for lunch, and I'd love it if you could come as well."

"I do know that I can go to Hogsmeade when the students go. And since I am not a professor and only part-time, I won't have chaperoning duties. So I will definitely be able to meet up with you on some of those weekends."

Hermione glanced up as she heard the loud grandfather clock chime the hour. She still found it amusing that Mrs. Weasley had let her husband put something so muggle and so loud in their sitting room.

"Goodness," Hermione exclaimed as she looked at the time, "I better get back to the castle before they set the nighttime wards. I don't know if they have them set to recognise me after hours yet."

Hermione gently took Ares from Mrs. Weasley and after saying her goodbyes, Apparated the both of them to the entrance gate at Hogwarts. She tentatively pushed on the gates and was relieved to know that the wards recognised her and let her in.

She quickly climbed the steps and entered the castle, thankful that she didn't have to send a Patronus to be let in. Walking quietly towards her quarters, she tried not to wake the sleeping baby on her shoulder. The castle was eerily quiet at night and it scared her just the slightest bit. She turned sharply to look behind her when she heard a noise, and then felt foolish when she realised it was probably Mrs. Norris. As she quickly turned back around, she ran into a solid wall of black, or rather, a solid body dressed in black.

As she looked into the black eyes of Professor Snape, she felt like an errant first year all over again. "I- I'm so sorry, Professor Snape. I wasn't -," but she was cut off by the soft wails of Ares, who must have been startled awake when she ran into the Professor.

He started to speak, but paused as she rocked the baby to calm him. "Be more careful, Miss Granger. This stone floor would be quite painful if you had injured your child. I'm sure you wouldn't wish to visit the infirmary on only your first day." He started to walk off until he heard her speak once again.

"He's not my son, he's my brother. But I will try to be more careful. Good evening, Professor Snape." She spoke as she continued on towards her rooms.

Hermione walked towards her rooms feeling rattled by her literal run-in with the Potions Professor. He hadn't been rude to her when she ran into him, and although he wasn't friendly, he had been polite. Her few run-ins with him as a student had not been pleasant, and on at least one occasion, had caused her quite a few tears. As she entered her quarters lost deep in thought, she wondered how her relationship would be with him now that she was on staff.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione entered the Headmistress's office and sat down quietly in front of the large, but now familiar, desk. Minerva had asked her to come by to talk about how her training was going with Madam Pince. She really didn't have much to tell her, since she had only been in the library twice since she had arrived. Minerva greeted her warmly, and then reached into her desk to pull out a quill and some parchment. Hermione didn't want to be nosy, but she couldn't help but stare at a large, and rather ancient looking book lying open upon the desk. Beside it was a stack of letters that the Headmistress had begun to move into a drawer. Noticing Hermione's gaze, Minerva was the first to speak.

"I know you have always been curious; that is just the nature of most Gryffindors. What is it that has grabbed your attention, Miss Granger?"

"I'm sorry, Minerva. I really should mind my own business, but I couldn't help but notice the book on your desk. It looks quite old." Hermione was nervous and slightly embarrassed that the Headmistress had caught her staring.

"Oh, it is the register of all the magical students that have entered Hogwarts. It is very old and dates back to the Founders. It is enchanted with ancient magic. Have you ever wondered how we know to send letters to Muggleborn students?"

"I had wondered about that. Does it have something to do with underage magic?"

"You have always been very bright." Minerva smiled at her warmly, "It records the names of children the first time they perform accidental magic. This book has the name of every child that has ever entered Hogwarts in it. I have it pulled out right now to compare the incoming first years class size to that of the previous years. I wanted to see how much enrolment was down after the war."

Hermione looked at the book, and then bit at her lip slightly while she was deep in thought. "I-Is Ares in the book? I know it is very unlikely, but I just was curious. I haven't seen him do any magic, but...," she trailed off as she realised it was highly unlikely for him to be in it, even if he was a wizard since he wasn't even a year old yet.

"No he is not, Miss Granger. I was rather curious myself and have already looked. But very few witches or wizards perform magic before their second or third birthday. Some names don't even appear until closer to their eleventh birthday. Do you know what age you first performed magic?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I believe my mother told me that she noticed strange things happening to my toys when I was about four years old. She tried to ignore it, and she told herself she was imagining things. She was quite relieved when I received my Hogwarts letter because it explained so much."

"Well, then," Minerva commented as she closed the book and put away the rest of the letters, "I wouldn't worry. He still has plenty of time to show magical ability if he is a wizard. Now, I wanted to know how your training with Madam Pince is working out so far."

Hermione fidgeted slightly before answering, "I've only been to the library twice so far, but it doesn't seem to be complicated thus far. She has taught me the charms that automatically file the returned books in their correct places on the shelves, and she has also shown me the layout of the library and told me the Restricted Section's passwords."

"Good. It sounds like everything is going well. If she hasn't already told you, the staff can check out an unlimited number of books, but they are still required to return them in a timely manner just like the students. I really don't think that should be much of a problem. In fact, there are probably a few members on staff that have not checked out books since their days as students at Hogwarts." She paused for a second, and then chuckled lightly as a thought crossed her mind. "Well, Professor Snape might be the only one who would give you any trouble. Despite having his own extensive library, he checks out books quite often. Madam Pince can help you if he gives you any trouble about returning the books. Apparently, he has a knack for doing that, if her complaints in the staffroom are to be taken seriously."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at that mental image. Madam Pince could be quite strict, and it amused her to think of the strict librarian fussing at the Potions Professor as well.

"I hate to cut this short, Miss Granger, but I have a meeting with the Governors in less than an hour about some budget issues, and I need to prepare for it. Just let me know if you have any problems or need anything before the start of term."

Hermione walked towards her quarters in a very good mood. Everything thus far was working out even better than she had expected. It looked like she was going to enjoy working in the library, and Ares was doing very well with the Hogwarts house elves. If she could just work out the problems with Ron, her life would be pretty close to perfect.

A/N (2)... Thanks again to Meladara for the beta on this chapter!

I'm not sure exactly how long this will be since it is a WIP, but I am up to chapter 8 and nowhere near the conclussion. I'm guesing somewhere between 20 and 30 chapters, but we will see.

As always, reviews are much appreciated!