After the Wizarding War, the students that weren't able to graduate from Hogwarts were allowed to return and complete their final year. Very few students chose to return. One of them was none other than Hermione Granger. Ron and Harry had declined the offer. Hermione had passed all of her N.E.W.T's with Os'. She was the top of her class, as always. She was part of the Golden Trio, and the "Brightest Witch of her Age." So why was she so worried about beginning her new job?

A few months after she graduated, Hermione was sitting in her parents living room when an owl swooped in the window and dropped a letter on her lap. The letter had said "Dear Ms. Granger, In regards to the interview that you appeared for, for a position in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, you have been selected for the particular position and we are pleased to offer the job to you. You will report to the office for Orientation, along with the others who were offered a position in our department tomorrow, October 23, 2000. One of my employees will be conducting the orientation, as I am out of the office often. You will receive the salary that was agreed upon during your interview. We are delighted to have you join our team! Sincerely yours, Edward Scot."

She dropped the letter onto the side table and stood up enthusiastically. "Mum! Come here, Mum!" she yelled to her mother.

"What is it, darling?" asked her mother.

"I did it! I got the job!" She exclaimed dancing around her parent's living room.

"That's wonderful! I am so proud of you Hermione!" Her mother said, dancing towards her and wrapping her in a hug.

When Hermione went to bed that night, she was overwhelmed with good news. She got the job she applied for, and the offer she put in on the house she was looking at was accepted. It was a quaint, two story, two bedroom home right on the outside of Hogsmeade. The house was white with blue shutters, with a large flower bed out front. Hermione's mother loved gardening, and had taught her how when she was very young. The Garden had made her mind up for her when she went to see the house for the first time.

She had everything she wanted. All except for one thing-Ronald Weasley. Hermione and Ron had decided to end their relationship. There were no hard feelings, they just decided that, while he was in Auror Training for the next year, they should take a break and pick things up when he returned. She hadn't wanted to end their relationship, but Ron insisted.

Hermione had always imagined herself buying her first home with Ron. He, unfortunately, had other plans. The day Ron told Hermione he was leaving for Auror Training, her heart broke. The love of her live was leaving her for who knew how long with minimal contact. That wasn't what made her upset the most. What upset her the most, was that Ron didn't even tell her he was planning on doing Auror Training, and he didn't tell her he was leaving until the night before he left.

"Hermione, I need to speak with you." Ron said calmly.

"Oh no, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned..

"Well I'm just going to come out and say it; I've decided to become an Auror. I actually applied months ago and was recently accepted into training."

"Oh," she said plainly. "When do you have to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning." He said cautiously while closing his eyes.

"TOMORROW?! When were you even planning on telling me Ronald?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

"I didn't know how to tell you, Hermione. I'm sorry and I love you. There's something else I want to talk about." He said. He started to tear up as well.

"Well you mine as well just say what you have to say, Ronald. I don't know if I can take more bad news tonight."

"Bad news? I thought you would be proud of me!" He yelled.

"I AM proud of you, Ron. I am just upset that you waited until the last minute to tell me. You didn't even tell me you applied to be an Auror! So, tell me whatever it is you need to tell me so we can at least spend our last night together." She was full on crying at this point.

"Hermione, don't take this the wrong way. I love you so much, but I think we should take a break from our relationship until I get back. I don't mean we have to break up completely, just maybe cool off and pick up where we left off." He seemed worried to hear her response.

That did it. The straw that broke the camel's back. She felt her heart crack in her chest. She apparated to her parent's house and decided she'd write to him later.

She didn't write to him, though. He had been gone for months and wrote her many letters, and she didn't respond. She wasn't ready. That is, until now. She got out of bed and grabbed her quill and a piece of parchment. She started writing a letter to Ron saying "Dear Ron, Even though you may not think so, I am very proud of you. I just didn't appreciate being blind sided by the news last minute. I obviously approve of your career choice, and wish you the best. I completely understand why you'd want to take a break from our relationship, however, I think since my life will be progressing while you are away, we should make the "Break" a permanent thing. For now, at least. We can possibly try again when you return. All my love, Hermione."

She looked down at the tear stained parchment and started folding it up. Her owl, Hera, was sitting at the window eagerly waiting. She gave her a treat before sticking the letter in her mouth. Shakily crying, she watched her owl disappear into the night sky, and returned to her bed to get some much needed sleep. After all, the next day was her orientation for her new job, and she didn't want to be foggy eyed.

October 23, 2000

Hermione awoke a bit happier that morning. She took a shower in her parents small, floral decorated bathroom, dried her hair with her wand, applied minimal make up and stalked to her bedroom to pick out the perfect outfit for her first day. After much deliberation, she went with a black pencil skirt, black tights, black heels, a purple blouse tucked into her skirt, and a black blazer. She looked herself in the mirror and said "alright, Hermione, this is it. This is the moment you've been waiting for. Keep your cool and enjoy your first day."

She hurried down the stairs to have her breakfast before she left. Her mother made her favorite, strawberry pancakes with whipped cream. She would miss eating breakfast at her parents every morning. The plan was to start moving into her new home tonight, after work. She shoveled the pancakes into her mouth, brought her dishes to the sink, washed her hands, and prepared to leave.

"Mum, Dad! Im leaving!" she yelled into the den to her parents.

"Okay honey! Have a great day!" Her mom enthusiastically yelled back.

"You'll do great, little one! I can't wait to hear all about your first day!" Her dad boomed.

And with that, she apparated outside of the Ministry. Hermione fluffed her clothes a final time before entering the building. She got into the elevator and made her way up to her floor, The Department of International Magical Cooperation. Upon entering, she walked nervously up to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist had beautiful, long blonde hair. The gold nametag on the receptionist's low cut pink blouse read "Astoria Greengrass." Hermione knew that name from Hogwarts, but she didn't really know the girl.

"Hello, I'm-"

"I know who you are. You're Hermione Granger, one third of the golden trio. And you're here for your orientation, right?" She said politely. Almost too politely.

"Um, yes, that's right." Hermione replied.

"Alright, the others aren't here yet, but you can just have a seat in one of the chairs until everyone is present and ready." The blonde haired beauty said back.

Hermione slowly walked over to the large, comfy chairs and took a seat. She patiently waited for the other employees to arrive for orientation. The receptionist crossed her mind again, she knew her from somewhere other than just school. She couldn't place her finger on where she had heard her name before. As she mulled it over in her mind, Lavender Brown walked into the room.

"Oh, hello Hermione." Lavender said indifferently.

"Hello, Lavender. How are you?" Hermione asked her, not actually caring how the girl was doing.

"I've been brilliant. Starting my new job here today."

"Oh really?" Hermione asked her. "As am I, which means you must be here for orientation as well."

The pair of girls talked a bit while waiting for the two other employees to arrive. Hermione learned that Lavender was engaged to be married to Seamus Finnigan and that, they too, had recently bought a house by Hogsmeade. Finally, after some very uncomfortable small talk between the girls, in walked two boys Hermione recognized from school, Zacharias Smith and Michael Corner.

"Ah, you're all here. Brilliant! I'll let him know you're all ready to begin." Astoria piped up.

Hermione wondered who the Head of the Department's assistant was, if she knew him or not. She wondered if she could impress him on the first day. However, to her horror, out walked Draco Malfoy.

"This cannot be happening." She whispered to herself.

"Hello, love." He said to Astoria and kissed her cheek.

Of course! Now Hermione remembered more about Astoria. She was engaged to Draco Malfoy! How could she let that slip her mind? This was going to be a nightmare. She could not be taught anything by Draco sodding Malfoy! She had half the mind to walk right back out of the building and find another job.

"Hello, welcome to the Department Of International Magical Cooperation. I am the head of the department's assistant and I will be conducting the mandatory 2 day orientation, while Mr. Scot is away. Does anyone have any questions before we get started?" Draco said, surprisingly in a polite tone. No one said anything.

"No? No questions. Well, don't be afraid to speak up, this department can be very complicated. We'll start the day off with a tour. Follow me" He said, also politely.

Hermione and the others followed Draco through the department silently. No one knew what to say. THE Draco Malfoy was here, in their department, with a higher up job than them. Hermione didn't know what to think about Malfoy being her superior. The last time she had seen him was when her, Harry and Ron testified at Draco's trial. They kept him out of Azkaban with their testimonies. She thought she'd never see him again, and here he was, in the flesh.

"Okay, obviously you all remember me from school." He laughed. "It's okay, I won't bite. As long as you follow the rules and do your job, we wont have any issues. We've finished the tour so, I'd like to do an exercise I usually do with all of the new employees."

Again, no one said anything. Draco stood up from where he was sitting, clapped his hands together saying "Time to introduce ourselves to eachother. I'm Draco Malfoy, I've been the assistant to the head of the department for two years now. I was offered the position right after I finished my N.E. . I'm sure all of you know that I took my last year of school at home, as I was on house arrest. No matter, I'm not a bad person, I've paid the price for everything I've done and every choice I've made, and now I'm a better person. I can only hope that none of you will judge me based on my past and my family. Okay, now Miss Brown, would you like to go next?" he asked.

"Um, sure." Said Lavender as she stood up from her chair. "I know all of you know me, but my name is Lavender Brown. I graduated from Hogwarts in 1998 and passed all of my N.E. . I'm honored to be here and to be offered a position in this department." She continued. "Oh I'm also engaged to Seamus Finnigan!" She threw in, practically bragging.

Zacharias, or Zach as he likes to be called, and Michael introduced themselves as well. Hermione didn't pay much attention because she already knew all of them. She was more worried about being around Draco Malfoy, notorious muggle-born hater.

"Miss Granger?" Malfoy asked impatiently.

"Oh, uh, yes?"She asked him

"I've said your name three times. Lost in thought are we? Same old Granger. It's your turn to introduce yourself." stated Draco.

"No, thank you." She replied.

"Excuse me? I don't like to get strict with the employees, but you were asked to do something, and as your superior, I fully intend to have you listen to my orders"

"I said no, thank you. Everyone here already knows who I am, what's the point?" She asked, annoyed.

"The point is that this is something all the new employee's do. It is how every orietation is conducted. If you wish to not comply with the rules, you should go work for a different department, perhaps Misuse of Muggle Artifacts? I'll ask you one more time, please introduce yourself." he snapped.

"No." Was all she said.

"Very well then. Brown, Smith, Corner, there are nametags on each of your desks. Please find them and read over and sign the necessary paperwork." the three others left the room, leaving Hermione and Draco alone.

"What are you playing at Granger? Insubordination on the first day? I am your superior." Draco looked her straight in the eyes.

"I cannot follow your orders, Malfoy. How did you even get this job? Did you buy your way in?" It was a low blow, and she knew it.

"Oh that's what you want to do, Granger? If you're going to bring up past differences, I will be happy to let Mr. Scott know that you didn't make it through orientation and I had to let you go."

"Fine! I'm Hermione fucking Granger. I passed all of my N.E. with O's, not that that;s a surprise to you! I'm still and insufferable know it all and a mudblood!" she yelled and marched to her desk. As soon as she sat down she regretted blowing up on Malfoy. After all, whether she like him or not, he was her superior.