The work week went by quickly. Hermione had parent teacher interviews to attend at the children's school two afternoons that week, as they prepared to finish primary school. The interviews went well, with both children receiving praise from most of the teachers. Even Hugo, who was so much like Ron was doing very well.

The following weekend went by much the same, with Hermione thinking about how truly alone she now was and would soon be. Perhaps there had always been the idea that she might get back with Ron. Perhaps she thought that after he had truly been punished, after he realised what he had lost, that he would come back to her. What a fool she was. He had been with her this whole time.

It was hard getting back to work on the Monday, as she felt that she hadn't had enough time over the weekend to enjoy spending it with her children. More and more she felt that way and more and more the guilt crept up on her about not seeing them as much as she used to.

Hermione contemplated taking Ron to family court and fighting for full custody. She wanted nothing more than to punish him for being the twat that he was, but she knew that it would only punish the children. Both times they had gone to his house, they had come back and said how much fun they had had. And Hermione was not selfish enough to take his kids away from him. She had read newspaper articles about men who had divorced from their wives and committed suicide because they hadn't bene able to see their children. That's the last thing she wanted to do not only to her children but to his family and his friends. Afterall, he was still best friends with Harry and there would always be that part of Hermione that loved Ron.

Hermione dragged herself through Tuesday and when Wednesday approached, she was finally feeling on her game, professionally. She had a presentation to make and was confident in what she knew. She sat in her office and gathered her resources for the presentation. She knew her stuff and she knew her audience. They were the ones who were going to provide the funding to continue the research into muggle protection laws and finally get the law passed to make it a jail-able offence to discriminate against muggles. It had always been frowned upon, Hermione had seen to it that there was a fine imposed, but now came the time to fight to ensure that anyone who withheld something, treated someone less than, or even spoke to someone with disdain because they were muggle born, would spend a minimum of a year in Azkaban. Hermione's work was iron clad. All it needed was someone worthy to present it to the right people and it would become a law. She knew that anyone could be chosen to present it, but she was confident that they wouldn't pass it on to someone else. The contract for the job had been long, but Hermione had followed so many other leads that there would be so many opportunities for growth in this area of study. Hermione was excited beyond belief about what was to come.

As eleven o'clock approached, the time came for her to head to the meeting room to deliver her presentation. She knew most of the board members but there were a few new ones she had yet to meet, or even come to know by name.

She walked into the meeting room and was stunned when she came face to face with the 4 board members who would determine her fate. She had expected more. Three she knew about, and one she felt instantly sick at the sight of.

"Miss Granger, how lovely to see you again" said Mr Thompson, the senior wizard in charge of the program.

"Mr Thompson, it's a pleasure" she said shaking his hand. "Mr Darius, Miss Fruly…" she said, making her way around the room, "And Mr Malfoy. Such a surprise" she said, shaking the hand of Draco Malfoy.

She immediately felt that this would be a complete waste of time. If Malfoy was part of the committee deciding whether to support muggle rights, this presentation did not stand a chance. Surely he was here to tear it down. Someone to stand for the opposing team.

"Oh, you two know each other, fabulous" said Mr Thompson.

"Miss Granger and I attended Hogwarts together, the same year in fact" Malfoy said.

"Oh, right, that's right. How silly of me to forget. Terrible times, terrible" he muttered.

"Mr Thompson, if you'd rather, we can do this another time? Perhaps when there is someone, ahem, more suitable to make such decisions?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, but Miss Granger, don't you know? Mr Malfoy has been overseeing the campaign in the US to aid the plight of the muggle-borns. It's been a phenomenon, truly" he said.

At this, Hermione was shocked. She imagined that her face resembled a fish out of water, gasping for breath. She was completely thrown. Draco Malfoy, campaigning for muggle rights? Never in a million centuries.

Nevertheless, within minutes, she had launched into her presentation, not faltering on a single thing despite Draco Malfoy staring at her intently, the whole time.

"So you see, with all of the things I mentioned and with the assistance of your suggestions of course, we can implement a strict minimum sentence of one full year in Azkaban for any crime against muggle borns or half-blood witches and wizards" she concluded.

"Fabulous"

"Fantastic"

"So insightful"

Came the voices of the members. Malfoy just sat in silence, his fingertips pressed together, elbows resting on the table.

Hermione sat at the table, ready to receive feedback. She was interested to know what Malfoy thought, given his history. She felt that it was odd that he was heading up the campaign in the United States, given that he always hated muggle borns.

"If you could give us a few moments, Miss Granger" Mr Thompson said.

Hermione nodded and left the room, standing in the corridor listening to their hushed conversation through the door. Their first impressions seemed to be positive. There was no way they could refuse to continue to support Hermione's work.

"Miss Granger, if you please" called Mr Thompson from the doorway after several minutes.

Hermione re-entered the room and stood at the head of the table.

"Now, I must congratulate you on a well thought out, excellently put together presentation. Your information was succinct and insightful. It is an overwhelming positive response to your proposal" he said. Hermione was elated to hear that her hard work had paid off.

"To have accomplished all you have in 12 months in this role leaves us quite pleased. We had initially aimed to finance this position for three years, as you know…" he continued.

Hermione was excited to learn where the job might take her next. She had worked extremely hard to make sure everything she wanted for muggle borns would come to fruition, but wanted to do so quickly, not in the three years they had indicated.

…and for that reason, Miss Granger, we have no reason to continue the position you are currently employed in" Mr Thompson said.

Hermione was silent for a moment before she realised what he said.

"Wait, are you saying that I don't have a job?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, Miss Granger, the position has run its course. If you had taken three years to complete the task as originally planned, then you would be in the position until it was completed. We didn't foresee this situation" he said.

"I worked hard for this. I spent time away from my children to get this done. I thought there would be other ideas to pursue. I had a contract" she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"That is true Miss Granger, however, the contract does not stipulate a timeframe, just a workload. The work is complete Miss Granger" Mr Thompson said.

"As a token of our gratitude…" Malfoy began, "We will pay you the equivalent to one year's pay at the same rate you have been paid already" he said.

Hermione was seething. She didn't want a payout, nor was she looking for some kind of mercy gift from Malfoy of all people.

There were so many thoughts going around in Hermione's head, but she knew better than to let her emotions get the better of her.

"That is quite reasonable of you, thank you all" she said after a moment.

"Shall we call this meeting to a close then?" asked Miss Fruly, the witch who hadn't spoken till now.

"We'll be in touch to finalise your payment and of course let you know when the mandatory sentencing law has been passed. With your extraordinary work, there is nothing to hold it back" said Mr Thompson as he exited the room behind the two women.

This left Hermione alone with Malfoy. Something she wasn't too keen on.

"Sorry if I'm not in the conversational mood, Malfoy" she said. "as it turns out, I now need to go and look for another job" she spat.

"I didn't want this for you. You have truly revolutionised the way in which the law will be practiced. I hope you know that" he said.

"Oh like you care Malfoy. You're a death eater in case you've forgotten" she said, regretting it immediately.

"Was. And haven't been in a very long time" he said, lifting the sleeve of his jacket and revealing a deep scar on the white of his arm.

"What… what happened? I thought it couldn't be removed?" she asked, forgetting how much she hated him right now. The dark mark could not be removed by any methods of magic whatsoever. It was just another thing Voldemort had done to ensure lifelong servitude for his followers.

"I saw a muggle doctor. They took some skin from my thigh and… well, I'll save you the gory details" he said, rolling his sleeve back down.

"I… well… I still think you're despicable Malfoy. You made life hell for me on so many occasions. You're probably heading back to the manor to laugh about this with your pure blood friends" Hermione spat. She was getting silly now. Her mouth was running well before her mind had a chance to think up something more appropriate.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I thought I saw something in you, but clearly I was wrong" he said.

"What? Saw what?" she asked.

"That night at the club. I thought that maybe… Maybe the past was in the past, but it doesn't matter. I don't expect you to understand... I am sorry… about the job" he said, as he left the room.

Hermine sat at the table which had pieces of parchment spread out all across it and put her head in her hands. She had never been in a position where she was without a paid job. She had no idea what she would do. She slowly gathered up all the pieces of parchment and carried them back to her office. When she got to her desk, it had several large boxes on it with labels reading 'research'.

Hermione laughed to herself, somewhat manically, about the fact that the hardest work she had ever completed in her life would be neatly and probably alphabetically stacked into these three boxes and she would then be without a job.

It was an odd arrangement that she would be paid out for a year's work but if she was honest, she needed the money.

By the end of the day, she had packed her entire office and said goodbye to her colleagues. They were equally as shocked when Hermione told them she was leaving. They all promised to have lunch and see each other when they could but Hermione knew all too well that they wouldn't. She had previously worked with people for ten years who had promised to keep in touch and as soon as she left, that was the end of their friendship.

The rest of the week went quite slow as Hermione spent the two days at home. She ventured out to the store once to buy some groceries but apart from that, she had nothing else to do.

Friday afternoon saw Ron pick up the children while Hermione stayed inside. She could not bring herself to face him. She was horrified at what she had done two weeks before.

Instead of taking up Ginny's invitation to go out, Hermione stayed in, watching sappy movies and eating far too much bad food. She knew that she had worked hard for the body that she had, having spent hours upon hours of her time at the guy throughout her life. Her thirties were not a time to ignore the lessons she had learnt, but she felt that she was well within her rights to have a weekend of junk food.

She went to bed after midnight and slept till lunch time on Saturday. It was something she had ever done before.

On Sunday, she decided to make a list of all the things she would like to do with her time off and a strict timetable with dates, times and goals for herself. There was no way she was going to let herself get into a funk that she couldn't get out of. She was Hermione bloody Granger.

By Sunday afternoon, Hermione had developed a plan that she felt was completely doable. It included volunteering at her children's school and gym time as well as attending meetings at the Ministry of Magic and job hunting. She had no idea what she wanted to do, but she really felt like she could do with a change. Something different to make things interesting.

When the children returned home late that day, she decided to take them somewhere nice for dinner. In some ways, it was an apology for how she had been acting over the last week. She fully explained her work situation to her children who were very sympathetic to her feelings. Together, the family threw around some ideas about what Hermione might do next, where her career might take her and who she might meet. Rose suggested she apply to become minster of magic, however Hugo laughed hysterically, causing his fizzy drink to spill out of his nose.

The rest of the night was the best Hermione had had with her kids. They were truly amazing little people who she was s proud to have raised so far. They ha faced challenges that even she had not at that age. She only hoped that the challenges she faced once she grew older would not be matched for them.

Over the following two weeks, Hermione worked in the school canteen, while thinking hard about what she might want to do with her life now. Once the children were at Hogwarts, the opportunities were endless. She could do anything, go anywhere. She could even sell up and move away. As long as she could get the children to and from Kings Cross Station every few months everything would be fine.

The last Thursday of the week before the children would return to Ron's, Hermione attended a career meeting at the ministry of magic. There were loads of jobs on offer, but nothing that really stood out for Hermione. Most people were shocked to see the Hermione Granger attending job expo. No one really knew much about her private life, but she was always seen to be a successful career woman.

During the expo, Hermione had been approached by several employers, looking to hire her for their departments. One of whom was her old boss, looking to get her back into her previous role. As much as she would love to work again, she felt as though she had done as much as she could in that role and needed something new.

As she was leaving, Hermione almost bumped into someone she hadn't seen in years.

"Mrs Weasley" came the elderly voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Oh professor, how lovely to see you again. Although I must admit, it is now Granger again" Hermione said.

"Oh Hermione, how sorry I am to hear that. I couldn't possibly have imagined you and Mr Weasley being a perfect fit in the beginning but they do say opposites attract" she said

"They certainly do" Hermione said, not knowing what to say.

"Now, Ms Granger, I have an important question for you, if you will humour me for just a moment" she asked.

"Absolutely. Anything for my favourite professor" she said.

"We have had a staffing issue this year, getting ready for the new semester and I was hoping, well, actually, I was counting on you joining us as the muggle studies professor" she said, a look of desperation in her eyes.

"What? I mean, why… I'm surely not cut out for that role Professor. I have never taught before" Hermione said, shocked at the request.

"No no, never mind that. The curriculum is set, the classes practically run themselves, you just need to facilitate them" she offered. "And if you decide you like it, theres an opportunity to continue and even promotional opportunities" she said.

"Promotional?"

"I'm not sprightly anymore Ms Granger, I need a successor" she said.

"Headmaster?"

"Indeed. You'd be perfect. All you need is a year or two at the school and you'll qualify" she said.

"I couldn't possibly…"

"You could. Please, think about it. I would love someone like you running that school" she said.

"I will. I will think about it, professor and get back to you as soon as I have an answer" she said, hugging the frail old lady and leaving.

Could she be a professor? She certainly knew the subject matter, but did she had the ability to impart her wisdom onto students? Could she take on that responsibility? And the thought of Professor McGonagall wanting her to be headmaster in a year or two. That was surely not something Hermione had ever thought of. It was never an aspiration. Or could it be?

She took a long time to fall asleep that night, thinking about all the things in her life that would have to change if she were to take on the job as Hogwarts Professor. The dreams of being tortured did not come that night. Instead, she dreamt of the stone gargoyle and the circular office that Dumbledore had occupied so many years ago and then Professor McGonagall since then.

Before she knew it, it was Friday afternoon and she prepared her children for the weekend ahead. They were excited to go, as usual and were ready and waiting when Ron arrived.

She kissed her children goodbye and waved as they got into the car. She hadn't planned to go out this weekend, but while she sat at home on her own, she felt as though she owed it to herself to give herself a fun night out. She had made a decision about her future and contacted McGonagall to confirm her position as the new muggle studies teacher. She hadn't thought about how it would impact upon everything else in her lift yet. She still had the whole summer to think. The next week would be the final week of primary education for her children and then they would have 6 weeks to get ready for Hogwarts. That would be plenty of time to come up with some ideas.

She contacted Ginny, but Ginny and Harry were having a night out together while Molly looked after the children. They were still so very much in love, sometimes it made Hermione jealous. None of her other friends were keen to go out, but Hermione didn't let that deter her. She was a strong, independent single woman and she could go out all on her own.

By 8pm she was ready to go. She had one of her new dresses on that really accentuated her curves in the right places, and a pair of heels that were higher than she thought she could possibly walk in. But with some practice she was right to go.

She found herself standing outside the club alone, wondering if it would be appropriate to walk to the front of the line like before. She hesitated for a moment before she heard her name being called. The head security guard had called her forward and ushered her inside before she could contemplate lining up. She felt like royalty. It unnerved her. The 'Golden Trio' thing had gradually started to wear off years ago and Hermione wanted to be just like everybody else. Although, in this situation, she wouldn't say no.

She entered the club, which had already been pumping for a while. She didn't go to the usual VIP area, as she had come alone and felt that it would be odd to sit there by herself. She glanced around the room, looking for someone she knew, but saw no one. She squeezed her way through the crowd to the bar and ordered a drink. She sat at a small table and drank her first two drinks while watching the crowd. There were a few people she knew who had come and said a quick 'hello', and a few people she purposely tried to avoid.

It was definitely a different experience, coming to the club alone and she thought that maybe she had made a mistake by coming. She ordered another drink when she finished the first and continued watching the crowd. The alcohol was not making her feel as it usually would and that irritated Hermione. She had come to like the way her brain switched off when she had been drinking. The way she didn't think about why or how Ron had done her wrong. She definitely wanted to stop thinking about what happened with Ron last time she went out, so had yet another drink.

After her third drink, she made a trip to the bathroom, but when she returned to her table it was occupied. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that it was Malfoy at the table and with hands on her hips and a slightly drunk attitude about her, she strutted up to the table.