Hello! I just loved writing 'Pulley System' so much that another muggle AU that I couldn't shake popped into my head so this is what happened! I hope you enjoy it! (this might be sad at times, but I don't plan for it to be desperately angsty, so you're welcome ;)

Thanks to Cheesy (cheesyficwriter) who was kind enough to beta!

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Hermione Granger leaned her head forward a bit over her steering wheel as she squinted her eyes, trying to make out the words that were on the small wooden sign sticking out of the ground on the side of the road. As she drove closer, she let out a loud cry of triumph when she was able to make out the worn white letters that had obviously been painted onto the wood many years ago.

Camp Wizarding

World - 5 miles

'Finally!' she thought, relieved. The drive there had been long and boring, and she regretted the large bottle of water she sipped on the way, as her bladder was now extremely full.

Hermione was seventeen years old, and was heading to the camp for two full months to work as a camp counselor. It was June now, and starting in May, she would be heading back for her final year of high school. She had always been a straight A student, and she planned on applying to several top universities by the end of that year. At the encouragement of her academic advisor, she decided to use her summer to take on some volunteer work so she could add it to her college applications. Her advisor had given her a large handful of pamphlets to look through and choose where she could go, and it hadn't taken her long to decide on Camp Wizarding World.

The Camp had been established over fifty years ago by a man named Albus Dumbledore. Although she at first thought that he had a funny name, the more she read about him, the more she was intrigued and looked forward to working at the place he had founded. The camp was run entirely by volunteers and was a non-profit organization, funded only by generous donations and fundraisers held several times a year. The camp was specifically for terminally ill children and their families, with a large percentage of the children having cancer. Apparently, Albus Dumbledore's daughter, Ariana, had suffered from a blood clotting disorder and died at the young age of fourteen. After her death, he started the camp with his own money, and it had grown exponentially after that. His goal had been to just let the kids be kids and have as much fun as possible while they were able, despite the fact that they were sick. Although Dumbledore had been gone for many years now, his work was still going strong, and the camp was always full, with families coming from all around the world to attend it every summer.

During the day, the families could choose to do activities together, but there were also adult only activities, such as spas and bars, that the parents could go to while the counselors took the kids and did more camp-like activities. There were plenty of things to do there, and the schedule was very strict as far as classes and activities were concerned, with things starting and ending right at a particular time slot. There was a dance studio, canoes, mini golf, crafts, archery, disc golf, swimming, and also various sports for the kids who were able to do such things. Hermione didn't particularly find herself athletic in any sort of way, so she hoped that she wouldn't be put in charge of any sport-like roles, but she vowed to do her best at wherever she was placed regardless.

She watched in her rearview mirror as the dust blew up behind her tires while driving down the dusty dirt road. There were woods surrounding her, and if she hadn't known there was a camp at the end of it, she thought that she would actually find it pretty creepy, despite the sunny weather. Finally, the woods opened up and she gazed in awe at the amount of small wooden cabins that were sprinkled around what she knew to be over fifty acres total that belonged to the camp. To her left, there was a giant lake with an impressive boathouse by the edge and she figured that was where the canoes were stored. She saw volleyball nets, football goals, zipline posts; everything that looked like it would be a dream come true to any kid.

The path took her straight to a very tall and round building that was shaped like a giant rock. From the brochures, she knew that it was called the 'Sorcerer's Stone' and it was where she was supposed to be in almost exactly thirty minutes for orientation. Apparently, Dumbledore had been super into folklore and everything there was themed as if it were part of a magical world. He had wanted the kids to feel as if magic really existed when they were there and went over the top to make it happen. This particular building was where all of the 'business' things went on. It was where schedules were planned out, meetings were held, people called for camp information and flyers were printed, etc.

Since she was early, there were only a handful of cars already there as she pulled into a spot near the front. The camp wasn't going to officially be open until next week, so for now it was only the volunteers there along with those that ran the camp. She and the rest of the volunteers had the task of cleaning and getting everything ready before all of the families arrived. The very first thing that would happen though, was the orientation where they would get a rundown on how things were done around there before getting their personal schedules for before and after the families arrived. Since there were many volunteers, and various jobs that they would have to do, orientation had been split up between different groups of people. She knew that there were eleven people in her particular group, and was told that they were all around her own age and she hoped to make a friend or two while she was there.

She put her car in park and turned it off, grabbing her bag from her passenger seat before getting out, the warm sun bright in her eyes. She hurried towards the building, desperate to get inside and search for the bathroom as she now really had to go. She was so concentrated on her task, that at first she didn't notice that there was a boy her own age who was leaning against the side of the building right next to the large door in the front of the building. His hair was hidden underneath a baseball cap and he was wearing jeans, and a casual t-shirt that hugged his muscles in just the right way without being obnoxious. With a lurch in her stomach, she realized that he was grinning at her as she moved towards him. She couldn't tell from her distance exactly what color his eyes were, but she could tell that they were light as they watched her move closer.

He was very handsome and she immediately felt an attraction towards him, her palms growing sweaty with nerves as she hurriedly tried to figure out what she should do. Should she say anything to him, or maybe give him a smile? She felt herself start to blush as she got closer. He continued to stare, but did not say anything. As she passed him, she gave him a nervous smile of her own and a small squeak of a 'hi' that made her almost cringe when she heard it with her own ears. Immediately though, this made the boy's grin widen. Before she could say anything else or allow him to reply, she opened up the door and rushed inside the building as fast as she could.

Luckily, the bathrooms were just right inside of the large entryway, and she quickly made her way to the restroom, holding herself back from groaning loudly in embarrassment as she did so. She used the toilet, and afterwards, as she washed her hands, she was mumbling quietly to herself at what an oaf she must have looked like to the handsome boy that she had seen outside. Why couldn't her voice have just worked properly? Why had she practically run away from him as fast as she could have? (her full bladder had only been part of the reason-she knew that she could have spared a few moments more to say something or even act cooler in front of him) She was positive that the boy was probably laughing at the mere thought of her right now and the notion made her cringe. She inspected herself in the mirror, glaring at her still reddened cheeks.

"Great job Hermione! That cute boy outside now thinks that you are a complete imbecile!" she said to her reflection.

Then, to her horror, she heard the toilet flush from one of the cubicles. She hadn't even been aware that there was someone else in there with her, or even thought to check! But- obviously there had been- and they heard her talk out loud to herself! Before she could make a run for it though, an older woman walked out, a small smile on her face clearly indicating that she had heard all.

"Hello," the woman said kindly, walking up next to Hermione at the sink to wash her own hands. "Who might you be?"

Hermione gulped. "My name is Hermione Granger," she replied, her face impossibly hot.

The woman was kind enough not to comment on it though, as she scrubbed her hands. "Granger, eh? I'll be seeing you in orientation in just a bit then?"

Hermione nodded.

"I'm Minerva McGonagall," the woman told her, giving her a small smile.

Hermione wanted to melt through the floor. This lady was the top of the top! She ran everything around here and Hermione had originally wanted to put in a good effort to impress her, but obviously that wouldn't be happening now. "Hello," she managed back, pasting a fake smile onto her face.

The older woman finished washing before quickly drying her hands. She walked over to the door and grabbed the handle, but just before she walked out, she turned her body a bit to look at Hermione. "I hear that you are smart, Granger. I'm sure that the cute boy doesn't think that you are an imbecile," she said with a hint of a smile.

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could open her mouth to respond, the woman was gone. When the door was closed, Hermione bent down to look under the stalls to make sure that no one else was there before she stood up and let out a loud groan. Today was the day of the worst first impressions ever! She hoped that this wasn't a sign that the next two months would be this horrible and awkward for her. Allowing a moment to compose herself before straightening her ponytail and taking a deep breath, she too left the bathroom.

The orientation room was easy to find, as there were large lettered signs with clear cut directions on them. As soon as she opened the correct door and walked inside, her eyes locked with another pair of eyes- the same eyes that she had seen earlier outside. Her breath hitched, and it took her several seconds to start moving forwards again because she had been mesmerized by his handsome face once again gazing at her.

Again, he smiled easily at her and she couldn't help but smile back, her heart doing flip flops inside of her chest. His eyes were piercing hers and he wore the same small smile that he had worn outside. The room was filled with rows of chairs that all had a small desk attached to them and he was sitting in the front row chair that was nearest to the wall on the opposite side of the room as the door. She finally forced herself to look away from him, and she could feel the blush creeping up from her neck and into her face as she walked over and took a seat in the same front row as him, but several chairs down, not wanting to come on too strong and look desperate for attention.

There were only four people there so far, all about her age, but everyone was currently sitting separately and minding their own business, the room quiet. She grabbed her notebook and pen out of her bag and set them on her desk, willing herself not to look at the boy and make herself obvious, even if he was doing so. When she chanced a look back at him though, she saw that he still was staring, the grin still on his handsome it was even possible, her face heated up even more than it had been before.

'I did not come here for a summer romance!' she internally chastised herself, even as she felt the excited butterflies fluttering in her stomach. He was definitely acting interested and she couldn't help but feel pleased, especially considering how things had gone earlier when she had first walked in.

Hermione had gone to an all girl's school starting when she was fourteen, so she never had much experience at all with the opposite sex. She had a crush once on a male teacher of hers when she was twelve, but besides that, any attraction to males had been either movie stars or famous musicians. Her cousin, Kate, had tried to 'hook her up' with a friend of hers before, and it hadn't gone well at all. The boy's name had been Oliver and they went on a few dates, but he had clearly been into Kate. Hermione suspected at the time (and still did) that her cousin just tried to get him with someone else so he would leave her alone, but it hadn't worked.

Her heart started pounding as she saw, from the corner of her eye, as the boy got up and made his way over to her. 'What on earth will I say to him?' she thought, now panicked. She surely did not know how to talk to boys, especially handsome ones, and she hoped that things would go much better than they had during their first brief encounter. Before she could think of anything interesting to say however, he was standing right there in front of her.

"Hi," he said casually as he leaned into the side of her desk, like he had all the confidence in the world.

"Hello," she squeaked out, instantly feeling terribly embarrassed by the high pitched sound of her voice-again.

"You're new here," he said. It was a statement, not a question, and she knew that he had been there before. She stored that information in her head for later.

"I am," she replied, looking up to meet his gaze.

Oh, he was even cuter up close!

"Well, I can show you the ropes around here-if you're interested that is?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"That would be very helpful, yes," Hermione replied, now aware that she was shamelessly flirting with him as she returned his smile.

"We could get to know each other better. You seem like somebody that I really want to get to know." He then winked at her and she felt her stomach flip as her eyes widened at his boldness.

"Sounds good," she agreed, nodding with enthusiasm.

He stuck his hand out for her to shake and as she took his hand, she was surprised at just how soft his skin was. She was so distracted by him, that she barely noticed as more people kept on entering the room and taking their own seats.

"What's your name?" he asked sweetly, still holding onto her hand.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she answered, very aware that her hand was still in his.

"We tend to call each other by our last names around here, so I'm just going to have to start calling you Granger," he smiled again, showing an impressive mouth full of pearly white teeth. Her parents were dentists, so such a thing tended to impress her.

Just then, to her dismay, their delightful interaction was interrupted by the door being practically slammed open. A young couple stumbled in, holding hands and laughing uproariously. Hermione was immediately annoyed. Their behavior definitely wasn't what she would call good manners, and she wasn't too happy at being interrupted during her first real interaction with a cute boy either.

She stared at the girl, who was blonde and very pretty, her clothes flimsy and expensive looking; Hermione wondered why on earth she would even dress like that to work at a camp. She felt a flicker of irritation as the girl glanced Hermione's way, eyes trained on the boy standing next to her, smiling as if she recognized him. The boy who, with his hand still in Hermione's, smiled back at the blonde in almost a flirtatious manner."

Hermione turned to the other half of the couple. Still holding the blonde's hand, the boy was now chatting with a girl who had come in sometime before them and had already sat down. She noticed that he was very tall and freckled, his hair a bright ginger color that she had to admit she found captivating but instantly pushed that thought down. She watched as he stopped to take notice of whoever else was in the room, and when he noticed the boy who was standing beside her desk, his face immediately darkened, his features turning into a scowl at the sight of him.

When Hermione looked up again at the cute boy, however, he only seemed amused by the other boy's surly look.

"Weasley," he said cheerily with a smile, but 'Weasley' merely glared at him before turning his eyes away and leading the pretty blonde girl to the other side of the room where they pushed two desks together and sat down, leaning their heads towards each other affectionately, still laughing off and on between their shared loud whispers.

Hermione immediately didn't like Weasley. The cute boy had greeted him nicely, but he had been so rude to just glare and then completely ignore him after he had! What was so wrong with saying a hello back? The nerve of some people! She briefly wondered what his problem was, but her thoughts were interrupted by a clearing of a throat. Embarrassed that she had almost forgotten about the cute boy in front of her, she lifted her eyes up and looked at him.

"I'm Cormac Mclaggen," he said, continuing their conversation as if they had never stopped talking. "After this meeting is over, will you accompany me on a walk?" he asked, throwing her another dazzling smile.

"I'd love to," she answered, giddy and glad that the interruption hadn't ruined things or stopped him from asking her.

"Great!" he replied happily before walking back over to his desk.

Almost as soon as Cormac sat down, McGonagall walked in, and orientation started. Hermione paid close attention and took notes, trying not to smile too much as she saw Cormac from the corner of her eye continue to eye her off and on as McGonagall spoke.

About halfway through the hour-long meeting, Hermione gritted her teeth as she heard 'Weasley' loudly whisper something to the blonde, who started to laugh, not even being polite enough to try and keep quiet.

'So,' Hermione thought. 'They were both rude.' She guessed that's why they were together though, birds of a feather type of situation. She hoped that she wouldn't be working closely with either of them this summer.

Hermione smirked to herself when McGonagall stopped talking, her eyes now on the still whispering couple.

"Weasley. Brown," she snapped. "Do you care to share just what is so funny that it cannot wait until after my orientation?"

Hermione couldn't help but turn her body a bit so she could see the couple. She was pleased to see the red head start blushing profusely, even as the blonde seemed nonplussed.

"No ma'am, McGonagall. I'm terribly sorry to have interrupted," he said as McGonagall gave him a stern look.

"Very well then, I will continue," McGonagall said, but Hermione didn't miss the fondness in the lady's eyes as she spoke.

There were no more interruptions for the rest of the meeting, and Hermione was a bit nervous to find out that their duties would be shifted and everyone would be doing a little bit of everything. She knew that this meant that she would eventually be doing some sport activities and she hoped that she could manage it well, even though McGonagall had stressed that nothing was strenuous.

They were then handed their schedules and dismissed, told that they could wander the grounds until dinnertime. Hermione put her things back into her bag as Cormac stood up and made his way over to her, helping her up with his hand when she was finished. As she stood up, for some reason her eyes were drawn to Weasley, who was standing there, staring at her and Cormac.

She could see the venom in his eyes when he stared at the boy next to her, but when his gaze turned to her, she watched as his eyes softened. As he stared at her, she felt as if he were studying her, almost as if he were worried about her. For some reason, his gaze made her feel a way she never had before, but she couldn't put a name to the feeling.

She had already decided that she did not like him, so she chose not to care a bit more about it, pretty sure it was just agitation anyway. She could take care of herself just fine and he needed to mind his own business. Besides that, Cormac Mclaggen seemed to be a total gentleman, and she was very excited at the prospect of their upcoming walk. Trying to not let her annoyance for Weasley get the best of her, she focused on her walk with Cormac as they strolled out of the room together.

Yes, she couldn't wait to get to know Cormac Mcglaggen.

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Nooooopeee! NOT Ron ;)

This is going to be a slow burn fic if you can't tell already. Thank you for reading!