My apartment was small and mostly impersonal. The amount of effort I put into my work and studies left me little time or energy to care beyond a few pictures on the mantel. The walls were still stark white and the furniture was mostly things I had found over the years in muggle thrift stores. Nothing held significant attachment.

The first thing I needed to get sorted was my flat. Thankfully my lease went month to month ages ago. I wrote a letter to my landlord and included two months' rent for the late notice. Next, I read through the parchment I was given with the details of my new position.

Everything was laid out very thoroughly. Mr. Erickson was right; the pay would be significantly higher. Couple that with no living expenses and my salary would be doubled. I suppose working with dragons was considered significantly more dangerous than working behind a desk and required hazard pay. Currently, the reserve consisted of one large, single house. Some of the plans were undecided, but there was a rough outline of where all the enclosures, training facilities, medical facilities, hatchery, dining hall, garden and housing would be placed.

The name of my partner was still a mystery, but the ministry is giving the two of us complete control of the reserve to make changes and hire staff as needed. As far as the ministry is concerned, they are there for funding and to conduct a check bi annually to ensure we are following protocols.

I was surprised at the amount of control they were giving us. My mysterious partner must be quite well known and respected for the pair of us to be given complete free rein over such dangerous and important creatures.

I had given some thought to who this mystery person could be, but I really wasn't involved in the dragon circuit. The only person I know involved with dragons is Charlie Weasley and he doesn't talk much about what goes on at the reserve. Hopefully, whoever it is, I can work well with them.

The rest of the agreement was pretty standard. The house would be furnished and I would be sharing the 4-bedroom home with my partner. That brought another issue. It wasn't that I was nervous about sharing about sharing a space with a stranger. I did survive the Hogwarts dorms after all. It was that I now had two and a half days to figure out what to do with a flat full of items.

I thought about that for a minute. Harry and Ginny were finally getting around to some renovations at Grimmuald place. I made a note to ask them if they wanted the anything and what they didn't, I'd simply donate.

As I was making a checklist of things to do, a letter arrived. I recognized the old Weasley family owl, Errol. How he was still fluttering about, I'd never know. The fluffy thing stumbled through the window and I took the offered letter. He waited and I assumed he needed a reply so I opened it immediately.

"Dear Hermione,

I hope all is well. While you have an open invitation to Sunday brunch, it's been so long since we've seen you, I must now send you a formal request. Everyone will be there, even Charlie who is just in town for the weekend. Please make an old woman happy and grace us with your lovely face.

Brunch will be served at nine and I'll have all your favorites. Can't wait to see you then.

Love,

Molly"

Well, that was good timing. It would be a great opportunity to say goodbye to everyone for a while. Really, it wasn't going to be that different with how little I saw them these days.

Maybe the move to the reserve would be good for me. I'd have a single task to be focused on instead of being pulled in multiple directions. And the reserve looked to be a nice community within itself. Maybe I would make some solid new friendships with people who shared similar passions for protecting animals.

I wrote a quick reply telling Molly that I would love to attend and went back to my list. Not taking the furniture really made things less complicated.

Going room by room I began to shrink and pack away the things I wouldn't need between now and Monday. Magic really did make moving quite simple. What would have taken days took about an hour with a few well-placed flicks of the wrist.

I still had a full day tomorrow and this evening to occupy myself. It had been ages since I had had a night in with nothing to do. For the first time in forever, I decided to just take care of myself.

Sinking into the hot bubble bath I realized I made the right choice. An even better choice was thinking to grab my favorite book and a nice glass of wine.

I soaked until my fingers and toes were wrinkled. When I finally got out, I was starving and slightly light headed from the wine.

I put on my bathrobe and headed towards the kitchen. As usual the fridge didn't hold much. My job didn't allow me much time to cook and as a result I often skipped meals or ate out.

Sighing at the lack of options I had, I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted. It was highly unlikely that I would be able to get muggle Chinese takeout when I was on the reserve and tonight would be one of my last opportunities to taste the cuisine.

Getting dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt I prepared myself to separate to my favorite restaurant. They weren't busy yet and I was able to get all of my favorites. I got home and unloaded my goods, veggie spring rolls, tofu lo mien and fried rice all to myself.

The meal was amazing and I had plenty left over for the following day which I spent pouring over every detail of the agreement and plans for the reserve once again. Come Monday, I wanted to make sure I was as prepared as possible and this was the only way I could do that.

When I was confident that I had learned everything I could, I made a trip into Diagon Alley. There were plenty of things I would need living on a dragon reserve that weren't necessary for my current lifestyle. The day was spent gathering things like fire resistant clothing, and some books on dragon keeping and potion ingredients. I often preferred to make my own potions, burn salve included, and wanted to make sure I was well stocked up.

It was nice to laze about through the small wizarding town and it gave me something to focus on. When I arrived home from the shops, I packed away my new purchases with the exception of one of the books and heated up my leftovers. By the time I was headed for bed I was actually starting to get excited about this new adventure.