Chapter Two
"Mrs. Potter, I know you are thoroughly qualified, but you haven't worked for years and times have changed."
This was the line that all the employers were saying. No one wanted to hire Hermione Granger. She was jobless and heartbroken.
She needed a job and soon. Harry hadn't left her much and she was already having to pinch pennies. But no one wanted a 27-year-old witch with very little work experience. Hermione hadn't needed to work since Harry had supplied their income.
Now she saw how foolish she had been. How young and naïve. She regretted just about everything about that now. The only thing she still didn't regret was marrying Harry. She still had hope, though miniscule and in the back of her mind, that he would come back.
"Please, please, I'll do anything for this job, please!" she always said, but everyone always turned her down.
"Hermione, I've known you since you we're a little girl and when I was just an assistant here and I know how intelligent you are, so I'm going to give you a chance." Said Mr. Larcom, the new owner of Flourish and Blotts, "Just don't make me regret this."
"Oh, you won't, Mr. Larcom!" said Hermione and smiled.
"Can you start Monday?" he asked and Hermione nodded her head, trying to keep from crying. Flourish and Blotts had been her last resort and now it was her only chance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hermione Granger?" said a voice in front of her. Hermione looked up into the eyes of someone she had thought she would never see again. There stood Ron Weasley, in line at Flousrish and Blotts with a small stack of books in his hands.
Hermione was standing behind the desk, attending to customers. The job hadn't been what she had expected. Instead of playing the role of a librarian, she was the desk clerk, the one who did the grunt work.
But when she saw the face of Ron Weasley her day instantly brightened.
"Ron. Ron Weasley?!" she said as she stared up in amazement.
"Yeah, its me. How are you? Where's Harry? What are you doing here?" He asked.
"One second." She said and whispered into the ear of the girl next to her.
"I'll grab my coat and we can talk somewhere." She said and went into the back room.
"Ready?" he asked. And they started towards the door.
Hermione spoke first, "What are you doing back here? I thought you were in Romania."
"Yeah, I stayed there with Charlie for 8 years, wrote an award-winning book and decided to come back home to visit my old friends." He said, "By the way, where is Harry? Last I heard you two were married."
Hermione's face fell and she stared down at her feet as she walked and didn't answer the question. She wasn't ready to tell Ron.
"Mrs. Potter, I know you are thoroughly qualified, but you haven't worked for years and times have changed."
This was the line that all the employers were saying. No one wanted to hire Hermione Granger. She was jobless and heartbroken.
She needed a job and soon. Harry hadn't left her much and she was already having to pinch pennies. But no one wanted a 27-year-old witch with very little work experience. Hermione hadn't needed to work since Harry had supplied their income.
Now she saw how foolish she had been. How young and naïve. She regretted just about everything about that now. The only thing she still didn't regret was marrying Harry. She still had hope, though miniscule and in the back of her mind, that he would come back.
"Please, please, I'll do anything for this job, please!" she always said, but everyone always turned her down.
"Hermione, I've known you since you we're a little girl and when I was just an assistant here and I know how intelligent you are, so I'm going to give you a chance." Said Mr. Larcom, the new owner of Flourish and Blotts, "Just don't make me regret this."
"Oh, you won't, Mr. Larcom!" said Hermione and smiled.
"Can you start Monday?" he asked and Hermione nodded her head, trying to keep from crying. Flourish and Blotts had been her last resort and now it was her only chance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hermione Granger?" said a voice in front of her. Hermione looked up into the eyes of someone she had thought she would never see again. There stood Ron Weasley, in line at Flousrish and Blotts with a small stack of books in his hands.
Hermione was standing behind the desk, attending to customers. The job hadn't been what she had expected. Instead of playing the role of a librarian, she was the desk clerk, the one who did the grunt work.
But when she saw the face of Ron Weasley her day instantly brightened.
"Ron. Ron Weasley?!" she said as she stared up in amazement.
"Yeah, its me. How are you? Where's Harry? What are you doing here?" He asked.
"One second." She said and whispered into the ear of the girl next to her.
"I'll grab my coat and we can talk somewhere." She said and went into the back room.
"Ready?" he asked. And they started towards the door.
Hermione spoke first, "What are you doing back here? I thought you were in Romania."
"Yeah, I stayed there with Charlie for 8 years, wrote an award-winning book and decided to come back home to visit my old friends." He said, "By the way, where is Harry? Last I heard you two were married."
Hermione's face fell and she stared down at her feet as she walked and didn't answer the question. She wasn't ready to tell Ron.