-THE REUNION - CLASS OF'98

CHAPTER 2: Sometimes we need a little push...

Hermione was still sleepy when she reached the Ministry that afternoon. Upon arriving at her desk in a neat little cubicle, she sighed at the growing pile of paperwork waiting for her.

It wasn't so bad, she was never afraid of work, even the most tedious tasks, she had always been able to do it without complaining. But when she had to work nights and didn't have a proper night's sleep, she couldn't focus as much as she wanted.

After Voldemort's defeat, her work had become easier. Being an Auror was still dangerous and exciting, but not as busy as it used to be in the Dark Lord's days. So most days, she was limited to paperwork and a few trips here and there to deal with some drunk wizard who's gone berserk.

Still the job had its appeal; people still considered it somewhat glamorous and it was good for her ego to see their amazed expressions, every time she mentioned her occupation. But to the people who knew her from Hogwarts' time, it was ironic that Hermione and not Harry or Ron had become an Auror.

The thought of Ron and Harry made her heart sink. After receiving that invitation, she couldn't stop thinking about them and with that came all the anxiety of meeting her old classmates again. The very idea of facing them, was enough to make her want to give up the whole thing and send some excuse as to why she couldn't attend.

At the same time she was curious to see what happened to everyone. To see her old teachers... That thought made her shiver, remembering Snape's expression in her dream.

Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she started her work, only stopping hours later when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hermione?" Arthur Weasley said timidly.

"Oh hello Arthur, what brings you here?" she asked, a little surprised. It had been years since she began working in the Ministry and not once Arthur had come down from his office to talk to her. Since he had become the Minister, the only contact she had with him was through his secretary.

"Oh you know, I was walking around and decided to pay you a visit... how's work?" he asked, although it was clear that was not the reason he had come to talk to her.

"Great! I am very happy with it," she replied too fast, as if to make sure he knew she was Ok and had a real life.

There was an awkward silence, so Hermione decided to ask the dreaded question. "How's the family?"

"Oh, great... Molly loves the new house..."

Hermione closed her mouth tight to hold a sarcastic comment that was forcing itself out. 'House' wasn't exactly the word to describe where the Weasleys were living nowadays. It was more like a castle. After Ron had become a famous Quidditch player, money started to come in buckets and not long after, Ron bought his family everything they could have possibly dreamed of. They were richer than the Malfoys. Well, especially now that the Malfoys had gone bankrupt.

Hermione was happy for them in some level. They deserved it, but at the same time, the resentment she had towards their family was so strong, it was difficult to feel nice about the whole thing.

It wasn't her fault that she could only see Ron as a brother. She loved him very much, but not romantically. The problem was that Ron didn't take it very well, and as fast as a blink of an eye, their friendship was over. Even more outrageous was the fact that Molly took on Ron's pain and shut her out of their lives, forbidding every member of the family from talking to her.

As if it wasn't enough, Harry had become distant and cold with Hermione. He never said it was because of Ron, but it was implied in his behavior. That was clear as day. So, slowly, he too ended up losing all contact with her.

Of course even though Harry was in good terms with Ron, she knew that he too resented the fact that nowadays, he lived in the shadow of Ron's fame. How ironic was that? The 'boy-who-lived' lived in the shadows now. A year after he killed Voldemort, he wasn't big news anymore and a Quidditch star seemed to be a lot more interesting for the media and the women.

"That's wonderful Arthur," she answered instead. "It was nice talking to you."

Hermione turned and went back to her scribbling. When she noticed Arthur wasn't moving, she sighed. "What is it? You want to ask something, ask."

"Are you going to the Reunion?" he blurted out.

"Why? Don't tell me Molly is going to forbid my presence in Hogwarts too?"

"No of course not! I was just wondering... that is, Ron is excited to go and I thought, well... that maybe you were going to decline the invitation to avoid..."

"Bad publicity?" Hermione was fuming.

Ron's popularity was so strong that he had reporters following his every step. And being the most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding world, his manager tried to keep all the bad publicity or anything that would stain his image, out of the way. Being rejected by his long time crush wasn't good for his image.

"No, there isn't what I mean, I..."

"Well, you can give Ron's manager as well as the whole family, the good news. I AM GOING!" Hermione yelled and deciding this was a good time for a break, she left a stunned Arthur standing behind.

Drowning herself in her third cup of coffee, she realized she had just accepted the invitation for the Reunion, and now there was no turning back. As much as the whole thing scared her, and she had no idea on how to improve her looks, as well as the fact that she had no company to take with her. She couldn't just let the Weasleys win that one.

Even if she had to go through a whole makeover and pay someone to go with her, she wouldn't let them think she was an ugly duckling with no life but her work.

Throwing the paper cup in the trash, she gathered her stuff and left early for the first time in her work career. She had a lot to do and couldn't waste a second more.

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