DISCLAIMER: The lawyers served me up some papers yesterday informing me that I was not, in fact, J.K. Rowling and did not own Harry Potter. There was also something on there saying that Sirius was not mine. Bummer.

Chapter 4: Unwanted Attention

Hermione walked into the door of Brannon & Co. five minutes late for work.

"GRANGER!"

Hermione cringed and slowly turned around. Michael Brannon, big shot lawyer and the "main man" of the company, stood glowering at her.

"You're late," he said, agitated.

"I know sir and I'm very sorry," Hermione apologized. "Unexpected company showed up this morning and I had to deal with him and…"

Michael instantly cut her off. "I don't pay you for excuses. If you weren't the best damn secretary and researcher I had here, I'd fire you. But at the moment, I have a job I need you to get started on."

Hermione nodded dutifully. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her job, she did, it was just she felt as if she could be doing so much more.

"Granger," Michael snapped, "pay attention."

"Yes sir," Hermione replied instantly.

"Now this is a very important case that will earn us a lot of media attention if we win. Gorben v.s. McRow. I need you to dig up as much information as you can on Therow Gorben. Talk to people, look for any hidden skeletons in his closet that we can use against him in court."

"Yes sir," Hermione nodded.

"If you do well, this could mean a promotion."

"Yes sir."

"Good. I'll leave you to it. I need it by Friday."

"Yes sir."

As he left, Hermione willed herself to concentrate on the task at hand and not the hot (and very much alive) Sirius Black who was awaiting for her back at her home. She could not afford to lose this job. It was amazing that she even got it considering she was just out of school and only seventeen at that.

She made her way to the lift to travel to the third floor where her desk was located. She waved to Ann, a timid receptionist, as she walked past and briefly smiled at Susan, a thirty-year old lawyer who handled civil cases. They were two of the few people she willingly associated with.

On the third floor, she was greeted with an entirely different scene. No one waved to her; no one smiled; in fact, it seemed as if no one even noticed her. But Hermione preferred it this way. She was able to get more work done this way.

Hermione sat down at her desk and brought her computer to life. She had just opened the file labeled 'Gorben, T.' when a shadow fell across her desk.

Hermione looked up to find Erik Brannon smiling down at her. Erik was twenty-three and fast becoming a top lawyer in the company. He, however, did not share his father's…ruggedness. He was six foot two with a lanky body and no muscles in sight. He had sandy blond hair and big horned rimmed glasses. He almost looked like Percy, Hermione mused.

"Hello Erik, may I help you with something?" Hermione asked politely. She knew Erik had a crush on her and in no way did she want to encourage him.

Erik blushed a scarlet red. "Er…I, uh, just wanted to say hello."

Hermione smiled strain fully. "Hello."

He blushed again. "Hello."

Hermione looked back down at the file and began to absentmindedly flip through it, hoping against all hope that he'd get the hint and leave. He didn't.

After about five minutes of his intense staring, Hermione couldn't take it any longer and looked back up at him, trying to smile pleasantly.

"Anything else?" she forced herself to ask.

"Actually, I…uh…have something for you," Erik stuttered, fumbling around in his pockets. He withdrew a horribly wrapped box with a putrid green bow and handed it to her. "It's not much…"

"You really should have," Hermione stressed, looking skeptically at the box in her hand. Reluctantly, she pulled off the wrapping and opened the box to find….

"A key chain," Hermione forced out, trying very hard to keep the smile plastered on her face.

"From King's Cross," Erik added eagerly. "Mummy and I went there yesterday and I wanted to get it for you."

"How….nice." Hermione placed the key chain back into the box and shut the lid.

"Um…Erik, I have to dig up a lot of information for your father by Friday so I really need to get to work," Hermione hinted.

"Of course, I'll just…uh, see you later," Erik called as he walked away.

Later that day, Hermione forced herself to take a break after her stomach gave a loud rumble of protest at not being fed. She had inexorably skipped lunch and after missing breakfast, she was hungry.

She made her way to the snack/break room where a small group of gossipy women were huddled. No doubt talking about who was cheating on who and so forth, Hermione thought.

"That's what I heard," on voice said that Hermione recognized to be Ellen Bosworth.

"I always thought she was a whore," a second voice, Maxine Richards, added.

"I had my suspicions about her when they first hired her," Joan Pickens declared. "Why else would they hire someone like her?"

"All I can say is poor Erik," Ellen said.

"She's sleeping her way to the top!" Joan declared again.

"Do you think that's why Michael hired her?" Sara Manare asked eagerly. "Maybe she slept with him and he wanted to keep her around."

"He does keep her busy with a lot of 'assignments' after all," Maxine suggested with a smile.

"She's not even old enough to work here!" Joan huffed. "She's only seventeen! We don't even know anything about her."

"The only ones she associates with is Ann, Susan, Michael, Erik, and the coffee girl," Sara added helpfully.

"If you ask me, that Hermione Granger is nothing more than a sleazy whore who'd do anything to get to where she wanted," Joan bit out.

As the chatter of agreement ran in the small room, Hermione backed out slowly from the doorway. No one noticed the tears in her eyes as she walked back to her desk. She was no longer invisible, she was alone.

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A/N: Another short chapter…sorry about that.

!WANTED!WANTED!WANTED!WANTED!WANTED!WANTED!

I need a beta for a new story of mine. It's kind of, well, really different from any other story I've written. This idea came to me in a dream so I went with it. Anyways, I need a beta. I have a few requirements though.

1.) you must be able to force me to write and update, I have a problem forcing myself.

2.) I would prefer if you have aim/aol or msn so we could talk

3.) And I need you to be able to help me along the way and ect. In other words, you must be creative.

If you are interested, email me or contact me at one of my sn's (AIM- SuicidalSqrr or MSN- I will send you the first couple of chapters so you can read and help me decide what to rate it and ect. Thank you!

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Iloveblu2812- thanks shelley for reviewing even though I forced you into it. Glad ya like it and I will bring the notebook…eventually

SeverusSnapePotion- Send Snape my way! I'll welcome him with open arms… even though I'm terribly mad at him, I still love him….and my precious Sirius. Thanks for the review and I'll try to update quicker.

WhenAngelsCry- I love your penname. I'm glad you like my story and are taking time to read it. Thanks for the review!

The Hat- Thank you! I'm glad you like it and I hope I don't disappoint in the chapters to come.

acdenced- Thanks for reviewing!

moonyNZ- lol…yeah, though that won't come till ….oh, about chapter 8 I think. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it. Your guess was right for Promises… I know exactly how I'm gonna put 'you-know-what' in there to hurt her. Remus and Tonks will make an appearance though you'll have to wait a while.

SiriusSpikeLover- I'm assuming Spike is from Buffy? I love him too although Sirius is my first and true love. Thanks for the review!

Xabelle- Wow… that was one of the best compliments that I've ever received. I'm glad you registered. Sirius/Hermione fics are one of my favorites and I'm glad you like it too now. If you get a chance, I highly recommend MoonyNZ's stories. Bed of Roses is one of my all time favorite Sirius/Hermione fics. Hope you keep reading!