Chapter 2

The next morning, Hermione woke up to her own cry of "Oh no! The goats are after me!" Groggy, she looked around the room blankly, wondering why she was on the floor. Remembering snatches of what had happened the night before through her hangover, she blushed and groaned.

Still blushing, she looked up at Harry, who had laughed at her exclamation and the fact that she had fallen off of the couch as she had yelled. He was sitting in a chair on the other side of the coffee table, holding something in his right hand. Before talking, he tossed a hangover potion to her and waited until she had downed it.

"What is this? he asked, holding up the paper.

Reading the title, she groaned, "Rekam Hctam service."

"Yes, glad you can still read. Well, are you going to fill it out?"

"Of course not!" she practically screamed, causing him to raise an eyebrow and smirk. "You know, you remind me of Draco Malfoy when you do that," she spat in distaste.

"Off topic, dear," he said quickly. "Why not fill it out?"

"Because…because…well, it's just not right!" she replied, crossing her arms.

"Look, Hermione, I know you and Ron planned out your whole lives together. I know that you cared for him. But, 'Mione…he wouldn't want us to live like this, mourning his loss forever. He would want us to mourn, yes, but he would also want us to continue living. Hermione, it's time to start Plan B," Harry said calmly.

"Plan B?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Plan B," he repeated, irritated. "When Ginny left before the War started, my Plan A was destroyed. So, I started working on Plan B."

"Well, what is it?" Hermione asked curiously. Looking a little bit jumpy, Harry checked his watch before answering.

"Oh, look at the time. Sorry, I have to go," he replied, jumping up and running out the mysteriously open door.

"Hermione," a voice called from the study. She stood up and closed the door before heading into the study to take the fire-call.

"Hello, Draco," she commented, seeing his platinum-blond hair.

"Hey, Hermione, have you seen Blaise lately?" he asked, looking around the study.

"No, Draco, I haven't."

"Oh, okay. By the way, did you know that there's a goat looking in the window?" he asked, causing her to look at the window.

"But, Draco, there is no goat…" she said, trailing off when she turned back to the fireplace. There was no blond head sticking out of the fireplace.

Confused, she just shrugged and returned to the living room. Picking up the application that Harry had hastily dripped on the table before running out, she contemplated filling it out.

"But I can't," she spoke out loud to no one in particular. "How could I forget Ron?" She thought about Ron- all the good times they'd shared and all the bad. "I won't forget you, Ron," she promised, "but it's time for me to move on."

Resolutely, she sat down to fill out the application. After 56 questions (including a strange one about goats), Hermione sealed it in an envelope and sent it off with Hedwig. She stared after the owl as it disappeared into the horizon before suddenly realizing what time it was.

"I'll be late for work!" she exclaimed, rushing to change her clothes and get ready.

When she finally reached the Potions wing of the Ministry, she was an hour and a half late. Fortunately, the Potions Report Filing Department was near the entrance to the wing.

As she entered the office, Kerry, often her partner, was entertaining a few girls.

"So the goat walks into the bar and says-"

"Lutzan, we've got work to do." He gave her a hateful look as the girls left.

"Boss wants to talk to you," he said, his voice full of spite. "Something about Harry Potter. Been screwing around with him now that Weasley's gone?"

"Shut up. You're just mad that I'm not screwing around with you." She laughed at his surprised look before heading to the office of Preston Thomas, who was the head of the Potions wing.

"Yes, boss?" she asked upon entering. He looked up at her and smiled before motioning towards a chair.

"Your little friend, Harry Potter, dropped in today." At the angry expression on his face, she became wary.

"Sir, I can explain-"

"Just because your best friend is a war hero, Ms. Granger, does not mean you are important! You will be stuck in a dead-end job for the rest of your life, mudblood!" She stood, outraged.

"My ass, Thomas!" she exclaimed. "I'm smarter than you could ever dream of being! And I will get my Potions Mistress with or without you, jerk!" she kicked her chair over before exiting the Potions wing and slamming the door, oblivious to the strange looks she was getting.

When Harry stumbled into the flat with a gleeful look on his face many hours later, Hermione was waiting for him.

"Why, hello, 'Mione," he began, but stopped at the look on his face.

"I lost my job."

"Oh, Hermione, I'm sorr-"

"What gives you the right to burst into my life like that? I was doing fine!" she shouted.

"You were not! You were horrible! You hated your job, and you know it!"

"True," she replied. "But at any rate, I've decided to become a Potions mistress."

"That's gre-" Harry was interrupted by a knock at the door. There was no one there when he opened it, however, so he turned to look down the hall. "That's odd. There's a goat walking down the hall. She went to look down the hall beside him, but she couldn't see a goat anywhere. She turned back inside and noticed an owl at the window.

"The results!" she exclaimed, leaving Harry rubbing his chin and muttering about goats. She threw open the window before taking the letter.

"Dear Ms. Granger," she read out loud.

"Thank you for using the Rekam Hctam service! Your perfect match has been chosen. Your blind date is on Thursday, September 23rd at 6:00 in "El Lugar De Amor" in Diagon Alley, with a man who matches you by 92. Have fun!

"Love,

"The Rekam Hctam service."

Looking up at Harry, she gasped. "That's tomorrow!"

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The Yuminosé Team
Fynmara
Garjzla

Preview for next chapter: "Severus Snape, my name is Hermione Granger and I am your blind date."