Anyway, Quarantine got me like:
Chapter One
Hermione's eyes shot open at the sound of her alarm. Books and notes surrounded her. She fell asleep while writing down her assignment. And she was late! Did she really snooze her alarm five times?
She almost fell out of the bed in her hurry to get dressed. She quickly got in the first jumper she could find - it didn't look pretty but she had other things to do. It would take at least half an hour to find out something that would look presentable. She was already half an hour late.
She ran to the bathroom. As she stared at herself in the mirror she realized how exhausted she looked. Her eyes had swollen. The bags under her eyes had gotten darker. Hermione's face was splotchy. She splashed some water on her face and hoped for the best.
"Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuck," Hermione rushed as soon as she was out of her bedroom. She stuffed a soggy toast in her mouth; it was lying on the table since yesterday. She never overslept! As soon as she tied her unruly hair into a manageable ponytail she was out the door.
It was good she was in her sneakers. It was much easier to run in those. On a normal day when she isn't late, it takes about fifteen minutes to go to her work place; but today it took her barely five minutes.
Around three people yelled at her as she ran past them - almost pushing them. She apologized to them in a shout but not that it mattered
She was breathing hard by the time she reached the cafe. The place was already milling with customers; Hermione looked sheepishly at Ron and Ginny. The morning was no time to be late; it was extremely busy and it was difficult to handle the crowd even with three staff and the boss.
She quickly entered the backroom. A yawn escaped her. Despite sleeping for half an hour extra she was still tired. "I should take a coffee," Hermione murmured to herself. She quickly tied her apron and washed her hands.
As she was about to leave the back room she faced Fleur. Despite wearing a simple pair of black pants and a white t-shirt, Fleur was gorgeous. No wonder everyone left extra tips when she is manning the front.
"Vy are you late?" Her heavy French accent didn't fade despite living in UK for five years. Fleur Delacour was the owner of this cafe. She came to UK after she got married but she always missed France. This cafe was Fleur's way of remembering France.
Hermione hung her head. "I'm so sorry Fleur. I overslept; I promise it won't happen again."
Fleur's face softened. "You should take a day off."
"I can handle it," Hermione replied with a shrug. She didn't like it when people took pity on her. If she couldn't handle everything thrown in front of her; she wouldn't be here.
Fleur sighed. "Vatever you say."
Hermione nodded at her before going to the front. Mornings are always extremely busy; everyone always wants their coffee fix before they go to work or their class. Ron already seemed overworked. His hands were a blur as he quickly wrote down orders and made coffee. The customer service smile never left his face.
Time flew by as they served customer after customer.
When she started the job she tried to notice the small details of each customer - the small worn out watch a student wore, maybe a gift from a loved one, and how some people didn't bother looking up at their phones. Over time she stopped caring for those details. All she cared about was how much they tipped her.
She forgot the headache and drowsiness as she served coffees to customers. The smell of coffee and pastries always made her feel at home; even though right now chaos ruled the place. The rush hour usually lasts from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. Then Hermione just has to work for an hour before her shift ends.
As soon as the crowd thinned, Ron turned to face her. "Why are you late Hermione?"
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. "School."
He munched on the cookie on his right hand. Crumbs flew all over as he talked. "Aren't you working a bit too hard?"
"Ronald, crumbs," Hermione scrunched her face in disgust. Ron closed his mouth and grinned sheepishly. "It's not like I have a choice or an option. What do you think happens if I fail?"
"You won't fail, Hermione." Ron clapped her on her shoulder, "Not with how hard you work."
"Yes, which is why I have to continue to work hard." Hermione turned her back towards Ron.
Despite how friendly Ron was she wouldn't expect him to understand her situation. Ron was satisfied with where he was. He worked at his family's cafe and his brothers' joke shop. He was saving up money to move away from home. "Live beside an ocean you know?" Ron would always have a dreamy look whenever he talked about it.
Hermione served two more customers before the cafe emptied out. Only some regulars sat in armchairs typing away on their laptops. Her shift would be over in just an hour; then she would have to rush to class.
… She also forgot her homework at home. Professor Snape would kill her. Hermione's fingers squeezed her forehead. Maybe she should ask Fleur if she could leave early… no that would be unprofessional - since she came in late.
Ginny leaned on the countertop to break Hermione out of her reverie. "Hey Herms," she reached out to flick a strand of Hermione's hair.
"Hello Ginny," Hermione replied. She swatted Ginny's hand away.
"So you know Dean?" Ginny questioned. "Anyway, Dean finally decided to ask me out."
Hermione smiled. "When?" Of course Hermione never met Dean but she has heard enough for Ginny to know what sort of person Dean is.
"Yesterday he called to say if we could hang out," Ginny shrugged. "So we went to Three Broomsticks. From there things just happened. Our first date is tonight. Can you help me?"
"Yes, sure," Hermione paused. "Help you with what exactly?" Ginny had an amazing fashion sense and she always looked beautiful.
Ginny waved her hands around. "Mum won't be that help with a date. And…. Fleur would look gorgeous in a potato sack."
Hermione giggled. "Ginny you're lovely too."
"Just come, Hermione." Ginny sighed. "You'll help me pick out an outfit. You can tell me if I look like a tramp. Plus Mum'll love to have you around after all this time!"
"Yes I'll come." Hermione did miss Ginny's mother's cooking. When she first came to the town the Weasley family had adopted Hermione. Ginny's mum had the notion that Hermione would end up dating her youngest son, Ron. That was before Molly figured out that Ron was dating Lavender. Ginny had apologized for her mother. Later, Molly had called to apologize to Hermione as well.
"Yay!" Ginny exclaimed. "Anyway, what happened with you? You look like you swallowed a bug."
"Oh," Hermione trailed off. "I have class after my shift and I left my homework at home."
"Is that Snape's class?"
Hermione nodded. Ginny crumpled up her face. "If you want to go home to pick up your homework you can."
"No I was already late. It's not fair that I get to leave early too." Hermione sighed.
"It's not a big deal Herms. But if you really do feel that bad; just stay half an hour extra in your next shift." Ginny looked across at Fleur. "Fleur would understand."
Hermione crossed her arms. "I don't think…"
"Just go." Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'll tell Fleur."
Hermione nodded reluctantly. "Thanks Ginny."
"I'll see you tonight." Ginny waved at her.
She took off her apron and left the cafe. After the morning rush the cafe mostly stayed empty up until the afternoon. On Fridays, Ginny and Ron worked until the afternoon. Hermione had this Friday afternoon off - because she had class but usually she worked till the cafe closed.
She swiftly strolled towards her apartment. As soon as she was out of the cafe her headache had returned. So had her hunger. She probably should have grabbed a pastry from the cafe. It's not like there was anything at home for her to eat.
With a sigh she opened the door to her apartment. She grimaced when she saw the sight of the place.
Dirty clothes were strewn all around the small apartment. Unwashed dishes and empty cup noodles were piling up on the dining table. The apartment she rented was extremely small. It had a small kitchen and living 'room'. The bedroom was so small that the bed took up most of the empty space.
When she first came here, around a year ago, she tried to make this small place feel like home. She planted trees on the window sills and bought paintings to decorate the walls. Now the plants lay dead and the paintings collected dust on the walls.
"Damn." Hermione muttered under her breath. It was a good thing tomorrow was a Saturday she could spend the entire day cleaning. When did things go this bad?
Of course Hermione knew the answer but there was no point in reiterating it right now. Instead she carefully stepped on the floor; trying not to step on the clothes and a strange brown puddle. She went inside her bedroom. Her room wasn't as messy but it was still a sight to behold.
The covers on the bed was crumpled. Some odd looking food stains made Hermione frown. The bed was scattered with loose sheets and stationery. Her laptop sat on the middle of the bed. Hermione quickly reached out to grab it. She had spent half the night researching for the assignment Snape had given just two days ago and the other half writing everything down.
Of course Snape would give three days to complete a homework like this. And of course Snape would expect all of it to be written in paper. Three students had quit Snape's class due to how hard it is. Hermione remembered Neville. Professor Snape had berated him so much for a single comma Neville had broken down right in the middle of class.
Hermione gathered all the loose sheets of papers and stapled them. She should proofread her assignment since she fell asleep before she could. Otherwise she would be on the other end of a nasty glare. Not that it mattered; she's always on the receiving end of a glare even though everything Hermione does is near perfect - if not absolutely perfect.
She took the assignment and stuffed in the nearest bag she could find. Soon she stuffed her laptop, a notebook and her extra scrunchie. Somehow her hair always ended up causing a scene in Snape's class.
Soon she was out the door. Despite how small and cramped her apartment was - it was positioned at the perfect place. She could walk to both her job and her university. She pulled out the assignment out of her bag and started going through it.
Hermione reached the class a minute before it started. Professor Snape was already standing in front of the class. "Why are you late Granger?" Snape inquired, his hooked nose facing her.
"I'm sorry Professor," Hermione had realized a long time ago that the best way to placate Snape is to just put her head down. Even if she wasn't late Snape would find a reason to insult her. "I was working."
"What do you work as Granger?"
"...A server, sir."
"Perhaps you should consider that as your full time career? Since you are neither punctual nor adept at class."
Hermione's face flushed. A blonde boy openly chortled at Snape's attempt at humor. Besides that everyone seemed to have either smile awkwardly or completely ignore Snape. With a bowed head Hermione quickly found her seat.
The next hour and a half passed by quickly as Professor Snape droned on about Benzene rings and Hermione scribbled down notes. Usually Professor Snape would pause so that students may catch up but today he seemed to be extremely pissed off. He had thrown a marker at the blonde boy for whispering.
His name was peculiar. It was stranger than Hermione's own name - which was a surprise. Draco. It meant dragon in Latin, didn't it? If Hermione was bullied for her own name she wondered how much he was bullied. Not that it looked like Draco got bullied. It seemed to Hermione that Draco was the one who did the bullying. He did have a handsome face with chiseled features. Draco was lean yet muscular, at least that's what Hermione deduced from looking at his back.
With a shake of her head Hermione pushed out the distracting thoughts. She could wonder how Draco looked underneath his shirt all day long but he was still a twat. And a teacher's pet. Hermione could respect someone being a teacher's pet - in fact that was what she thrived to be. But anyone who was Severus Snape's pet was not a good person.
At the end of the class Professor Snape took everyone's assignment. Snape frowned when he looked at Hermione's paper. "You really should improve your handwriting Miss Granger. I can barely read it."
"Sure Professor," Hermione murmured.
She quickly left the classroom to be faced with Draco. A gaggle of Draco's friends - Hermione assumed - flocked him. Hermione never paid close attention to anyone around Draco; Hermione was always busy with some coursework or the other.
But this time Hermione's eyes were drawn to the girl clasping Draco's arm. Hermione took a moment to observe her. She held herself with grace that Hermione could never seemed to have. Everything she was wearing was designer. This girls' pair of boots could pay Hermione's rent for a couple of months.
She shook her head - this really wasn't the time to focus on how unfair her university life had been. She really had to go to Professor McGonagall's class but it seemed like Draco had other ideas. "Where do you work Granger?" Draco smirked.
"None of your business," Hermione snapped. She had spent plenty of years dealing with bullies. She always knrw how to stand up for herself.
Draco smirk didn't fade. "You're really not cut out to study here, Granger."
Hermione's head spun. You are not worth it. It seemed like the memories she spent years trying to suppress were flooding in. No. She can't let one weasley boy have that effect here. She blinked back her tears. "It seemed with your grades, you're the one who's not cut out to study here."
Hermione pushed past him. Draco was left there sputtering and glaring at the girl.
AN: hope you all enjoyed it! Stay home and stay safe guys!