Synopsis: Post-Howarts, started pre-OotP. After finishing school, Hermione Granger decides to take a year off before deciding what to do with her life. While working as a waitress in Telluride Colorado, she comes face to face with Draco Malfoy.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? I only own them in my dreams.
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Chapter I: Getting Started
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Hermione made her way down Colorado Avenue, scanning the signs on the buildings as she passed. Her uncle had given her the address of the place she would be staying. New Sheridan Bar sounded like a decent place to work. In addition to the job, the owner was kind enough to let Hermione stay in one of the rooms over the bar nearly rent free. She finally spotted Obannon's and pulled the car over. She parked, picked up her purse, and walked in the front door.
The lights were turned down, and there were no customers at this hour of the morning. Hermione walked up to the counter and 'dinged' the bell. After a moment, and tall thin woman in an apron came out of a back room. "Can I help you?" wiping her brown back out of her eyes.
"Yes, ma'am, I'm Hermione Granger. I'm here to see…." she glanced down at the paper her uncle had given her, "Joyce Bielen about a job—"
"I'm Joyce." The woman broke in, giving Hermione a smile and extending her hand. "I was expecting you last night. I was beginning to wonder if something had happened to you. Thank God you're finally here. We open for dinner at five, and the Friday crowds are always terrible. One of my girls called in sick, so I'll put you right to work. Come with me. I'll show you to your room and let you get settled in. Then you'll have a few hours before you have to report in for duty. Follow me." She motioned toward the stairs.
Hermione nodded, and followed Joyce up the stairs. "These rooms on the second floor are the ones that we rent out to guests." She said, waving her hand as she came to the second floor landing. "We have one or two long term renters, but we mostly get ones who are just passing through for a night or two while they go skiing." She started up the next flight, puffing a bit. "You'll lose a lot of weight m'dear, going up and down these stairs every day. I lost fifteen pounds the first month I worked here. Well, here we are.
Joyce came to a stop at the top of the stairs and pointed to one of five doors on the third floor. "That right there will be your room. It's not much, but it's got a bed, a dresser and a desk inside. There are no ceiling lights, but you have a lamp that's plugged into the outlet. Don't plug in anything else, or you'll blow the power. Your bathroom is the last door at the end of the hall. If you use the shower, just make sure you don't leave any water on the floor." She scowled. "The last girl that worked here left a huge mess on the floor, and it soaked right through the floor and was dripping in one of the rooms downstairs. I couldn't rent that room for a week while we had men up in here doing repairs. Bad for business." She shook her head. "Oh, before I forget…rent is fifty dollars a month, and you don't have to pay utilities. You get paid minimum wage, and you and the other waitresses get to keep your tips to split. On the nights you work, you get a free meal that you can eat on your break or take back to your room at the end of the night. Breakfast, lunch and dinner food on the nights you have of are your responsibility. Any questions?"
Hermione shook her head. It was a lot to absorb all at once, but she was comfortable with the terms.
"Good then. I'll leave you to get settled. Just make sure you're downstairs by quarter to five. You'll need to set out the glasses and help take the chairs down." Joyce gave Hermione a farewell nod, and started back down the steps.
Hermione walked over to her room and opened the door. It squeaked as she opened it. "Needs oil." She murmured. Joyce had been right. The room wasn't much to look at. A narrow bed was shoved in one corner with the dresser right beside it. A tiny desk and chair were also crammed into the room, leaving enough room for Hermione to squeeze by to get to the bed. Morning light shined through the narrow window over the bed. She sighed. "I hope my clothes all fit in that dresser." She said aloud.
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An hour and a half later Hermione was back downstairs. She had crammed her clothes into the four dresser drawers, showered, carefully wiped up the floor when she was done, and changed into a pair of jeans and a blue sweater with a low scooped neckline. She checked that clock over the desk. It was barely noon! She had over four hours before she needed to be back for work.
"Done already?" Joyce asked, clearly surprised at how quickly Hermione had managed to get everything put away. "Well, that's good…Quick and efficient is just what we need at the New Sheridan. I only wish all of our staff was as quick as you seem to be. Planning on taking a tour of our little town?"
Hermione shrugged. "I haven't decided yet, Mrs. Bielen—"
Joyce made a face. "Mrs. Bielen is my mother in-law. Please, call me Joyce."
"I'm sorry, yes, Joyce. I very much want to have a look around, but first I think I'll get something to eat. Where would you suggest that I buy lunch?"
"Sofio's." Joyce said, matter-of-factly. "Without a doubt they're the best in town. It's easy walking distance, right down the street about a mile on the left-hand side. You can't miss it. Oh, and Hermione? Could you please move your car out back. The boss hates it when the employees park out front. He says it's bad for business." She rolled her eyes and winked at Hermione.
"Of course. I'll move it right now." Hermione moved the car and then started down the street her stomach growling all the while, telling her it was time she ate.
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After a delicious lunch of chicken-noodle soup and a turkey sandwich, Hermione decided to explore. She hadn't gone far however, before it started to snow. She couldn't help wishing at that moment that Harry and Ron were with her. At school they had always enjoyed the snow, having snowball fights and building forts. Even during their seventh year that had enjoyed what Lavender and Parvati called "a childish pastime," and they rolled in the snow and bombarded each other with snowballs as eagerly as the first years.
But not this year. "You'll have to do without me." She said softly, looking up at the snowflakes as they flew through the air. They landed on her face and in her hair, and after awhile she looked as if she were wearing a veil.
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When she arrived back at the Sheridan a few hours later, she found Joyce waiting for her. "Back so soon? Well, its almost time for you to start anyway." She glanced up at the clock. The face read ten minutes after four. "Why don't you go upstairs and change out of your wet clothes, and then I'll introduce you to your fellow laborers."
Hermione nodded, and hurried up to her room. She threw her coat on the bed and then peeled off her wet jeans and sweater. She took a fresh pair out of one of the dresser drawers, and then put on a lilac colored long sleeved shirt with black piping along the neck and sleeves. Her hair was still quite wet, but there wasn't time left to dry it. After first checking to make sure the door to her room was closed, Hermione retrieved her wand from the bottom of the top dresser drawer. She muttered a quick drying charm, and then stowed the wand safely back under a pile of shirts.
She hurried back downstairs and found Joyce had already gone into the bar. She went over to the door marked 'BAR" and pushed it open. Joyce was waiting for her and was . One was short with wild, red, curly hair. She wore it in a bun at the nape of her neck, but several tendrils had escaped and were curled prettily around her neck and face.
The other girl was a tall skinny blond who had the longest legs Hermione had ever seen. The legs were set off nicely by the incredibly short jean-skirt the girl was wearing. Hermione looked quickly away, afraid the girl might think she was staring.
"Girls, this is Hermione Granger. She's come to us from England, and she'll be working with us for awhile. I'll leave the three of you to get acquainted. Bree, I entrust you with Hermione's bar education." Jocye bustled past Hermione and back out to the desk. "Try not to scare her too badly on the first day!" she yelled over her shoulder.
The second she was gone, the two other girls collapsed in laughter. Hermione still stood by the door, unsure of what to do.
"Don't mind Joyce." The blond girl said, giving Hermione a warm smile. "She's just been working here too long." She held out one impeccably manicured hand. "I'm Breanna, by the way. Breanna Moore. What was your name again?"
"H-Hermione." Hermione replied, a bit unsteadily. She had never felt more out of place in her life. "Hermione Granger."
"Jesus!" the redhead said, shaking back her curls. "Who the hell saddled you with a name like that?"
"My parents." Hermione said, wrinkling her nose. "I'm named after my mother's great-aunt."
"Ohh, I love your accent." The redhead nearly moaned. "I wish I had one…Sam loves women with British accents."
Breanna laughed at Hermione's look of confusion. "Don't mind Laura either." He said, slinging an arm around Hermione. "She's in-love with her newest conquest and can't seem to stop talking about him. She's got Sam on the brain."
Laura stuck her tongue out at Breanna, revealing a rainbow-colored tongue ring. "I don't talk about him all the time." She said. "Just…most of the time." She grinned at Breanna and Hermione and held out her hand. "By the way, I'm Laura Clark. It's nice to meet you Herm."
"Herm?" Hermione asked, visibly recoiling from the nickname Laura had just bestowed on her.
"What's the matter? Don't your friends call you Herm?" Laura aked.
"Never." Hermione said. "Although I once had a giant call me Hermie." She smiled at the two Americans. They stared back at her blankly, and Hermione realized her mistake. There weren't real giants in the Muggle world. At least not any like Grawp. "Stupid!" She chided herself. "Both of your parents as well as your entire family in non-magical, and you still manage to give yourself away…"
Hermione recovered well. "I erm, have a friend, er, a friend's brother actually, who we nicknamed "Giant." He's really er, tall. I keep forgetting I'm around people who don't understand my inside jokes."
"No problem." Laura said. "Bree does it all the time. She thinks she's back in Boulder with her spiffy university friends." She tugged lightly on Breanna's ponytail. Breanna slapped her hand away.
"Well, if you don't like 'Herm' then I guess we'll have to find something else to call you. How about…Mione? Is that all right."
Hermione smiled as Breanna pronounced the nickname. Harry, Ron and the rest of her friends had called her that for years, and she still had a fondness for the name. "Mione is fine, Breanna." She said.
"Please, it's Bree." Breanna said. "I never liked the name Breanna."
"Well, Bree, Breanna, whatever you wan to be called," Laura interrupted, "why don't you fill Hermione in on her duties as a Sheridan slave."
Bree cleared her throat loudly. "Your jobs here at the Sheridan may include serving drinks, making drinks if Leo, the bartender is too busy to make them for you, and serving food. Occasionally you'll have to bus the tables if the guys have a night off, but usually the busboys Ryan and Jason will do that. The only other job you have is impressing the customers so they leave a big tip. I'm not sure whether or not Joyce told you, but the waitresses split the tips. We do it just in-case someone gets an asshole for a customer or we have a light evening. We also give ten percent of the tips to the busboys." She shrugged. "They've got a dirty job and they only get paid minimum. Besides, if we share with them, they'll bus the tables quicker, and on a busy night, it comes in handy."
Hermione nodded. Laura sighed dramatically and grabbed a cloth from behind the bar. To work ladies! Let's get these tables wiped off and the chairs taken down. We have twenty minutes." She threw Hermione and cloth and gestured to the tables.
Twenty minutes later Hermione stood with Laura and Bree as they inspected their handiwork. "Not bad, if I do say so myself." Laura said. "Well, Bree, shall we unlock the doors and let the wild animals in?"
"I suppose if we must." Bree said. "She took a key ring out of her pocket and walked over to the bar's double-doors. With a turn of the key and a soft click, the door opened revealing a line of customers.
"Jesus…" Laura groaned. "It's gonna be a long night."
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When the last customer was out the door, Laura flopped down dramatically at any empty table beside Hermione, who was already rubbing her feet. "My feet are killing me." She told Laura.
"Get used to it dear." said Laura, setting down her tray of empty glasses. "You're going to get to do it all again tomorrow. Then you get a day off. Then you start all over again and work until next Sunday, unless you have a day off. Do you?"
Hermione shook her head, as she bent down and put her shoe back on. "I didn't ask for one." She said. "I need all the money I can get."
"You'll want one eventually." Laura said knowingly. "I should know. I started working here when I was sixteen. I took orders and cleared table. It was hard work, and after a week I was ready for a day off. I've had Tuesdays off now for four years and I've spent every day being grateful." She patted Hermione on the back and stood up. "Don't let the little accident you had earlier get to you. My first night here, I tried to open a bottle of beer and shot it all down the front of a customer's shirt."
"Well, I didn't just spill a beer," Hermione pointed out, "I spilled three beers and a whole plate of hot wings in that older man's lap!"
Laura laughed. She laughed so hard that she sat down hard on the floor. Hermione threw her dishrag at her and then Bree joined in the fray by spraying both girls with club soda. The three of them ran around the bar, spraying seltzer and throwing clothes at each other until Joyce came in and screamed about the mess and threatened to fire all three of them if they didn't clean up the mess they had made. As a result, Hermione didn't head to her room until three o'clock.
"Goodnight ladies," sang Laura as she put on her coat and headed for the door, "I'm gonna go home and snuggle Sam for awhile, then hit the sack."
"Snuggling?" Bree smirked. "Is that what they're calling it now? I had no idea."
"Shut up, Bree." Laura said airily. "Sam is a gentleman. Besides, we've only been dating a month."
"Riiight," Bree laughed, "and that would explain why Lover Boy is living with you."
Laura stuck her tongue out, "Oh, please. You're just jealous 'cause you aren't getting any. 'Night Mione! See ya tomorrow."
"I guess I better get going too," said Bree. "Mione, do you want to come shopping with me tomorrow?"
Hermione smiled, " Alright. I'm not sure I'll buy anything, but I'd love to come with you."
"Good! But a to not buying anything, I wouldn't be so sure. We have some great stores here, and it would be good for you to buy some new clothes. They'll help you look more American. I'll pick you up tomorrow at one o'clock!"
"Bye!" Hermione called, waving as she walked up the stairs. She couldn't ever remember being this tired. Not even when she had been studying for her N.E.W.T.S. and had been putting in ten hours of studying a night. She yawned hugely as she opened the door to her room and collapsed on the bed. She would get up in a moment. She just needed to rest for a moment. Within minutes she was asleep.
AN : ok, that's the first REAL revamped chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. It took me over an hour to revise it. Love&Spice until the next time. P.S. I love reviews, so leave me some :)