A month passed, and Hermione could be seen perusing the Daily Prophet frequently. When she tired of answering the ads within and being turned down, she took to wandering Diagon Alley and the nearby alleyways, though she always avoided Knockturn Alley. While she received some offers by actually going out and asking in person, the positions always seemed to be filled. And those who knew her told her regretfully that they had no positions available, and Hermione knew they respected her too much to create a pity position.
Finally, she just had to face it. Sitting at her kitchen table, Hermione gritted her teeth, and held her head in her hands. Either she would have to find work as a Muggle, or enter Knockturn Alley.
"I hate this," she ground out.
"Hate what?" asked a warm male voice behind her, the breath of its owner tickling her ear. She jumped.
"Harry, don't do that to me!"
"Not my fault," he protested as he slid into a chair at the table. "You're not supposed to be able to sneak up on vampires, remember? Heightened senses and all that?"
"Not to mention she always seemed to know what we were up to in school." Once more, Hermione jumped at the sound of a male voice behind her. Glancing around, her jaw dropped.
"Ron!" She got out of her seat to give her longtime friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She hadn't seen him in at least two weeks, something she fully intended to lecture him for.
"Where on earth have you been?" Hermione asked, as she sat back down. Ron moved to seat himself across from Harry, and Hermione smiled. This arrangement was one they'd adapted over their years together at Hogwarts, years Hermione now viewed with perhaps a more bittersweet attitude than the usual Hogwarts graduate.
"Well…er…" Ron glanced over at Harry.
"It's alright, mate. You can tell her." Harry reassured. Hermione looked back and forth between the two, a suspicious look on her face.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"Well…." Ron looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I, uh…I've been off doing all the research on vampirism I can find," he blurted. "And, Mione…I think there may be a way to reverse the process."
Hermione was stunned. She'd been expecting Ron to reveal he'd gotten eloped and been on a honeymoon, or maybe off doing some ridiculous mission for the Ministry again. They'd hired him as an "observer" – in reality, an unofficial Ministry spy, then sent him into ridiculous areas to search for Dark Wizards. Hermione strongly suspected they were actually hoping Ron would discuss her in the office, thereby letting the Ministry know what she was up to, but Ron had kept his mouth shut so far, doing only what they wanted and nothing else.
"Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry and Ron both moved toward her, and, momentarily, each gave the other a sidelong glance. Hermione didn't notice. "Hermione?"
"I, uh…I think I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day." She offered up a wan smile. "It's really great that you're back, Ron. Feel free to stay over. You too, Harry."
Both young men mumbled 'thank-you's as she made her way upstairs, her thoughts swirling. A change to reverse the process? To become a full human once more?
Hermione entered the bathroom, and gazed at herself in the mirror. Contrary to Muggle belief, vampires were quite capable of using mirrors, and just like humans, some did so frequently. Midnight-black eyes gazed back at her, from a face ringed by sleek, equally dark hair. What would it be like, she wondered, to see bushy brown hair and brown eyes in this mirror? It had been so long – at least nine months now, since she'd seen herself as she used to be. And now…she'd gotten used to her new looks, her boyfriend didn't mind, her best friend had finally accepted it…
Or had he? A stab of doubt hit her sharply. Maybe Ron had researched vampires so much, not so much for her sake, but his. Hermione had to admit to herself that it was certainly very possible.
Biting her lip, she took another glance at her reflection, before turning away and exiting the bathroom. She entered her bedroom, and picked up a picture from the dresser. It had been taken the day before she'd been turned, and showed her, Ron, and Harry, arms around each other, laughing at some absurd joke. With a smile, she remembered how professional Colin Creevey had been about taking the photograph and later presenting them with it. He'd grown up quite a bit in his time at Hogwarts, and was far less easily excited and star-struck than he'd been as a first year.
She gazed at the girl in the picture. It was one she saw daily, since it sat in a prominent place on her dresser, but she rarely really looked at it anymore. The girl within seemed unfamiliar, somehow. Innocent, carefree…and young. So very, very young. The Hermione of now was much different than that girl in the picture, in more than looks.
Do I want to go back to that? she asked herself. She considered telephoning her mother about this, but already knew her mother's only advice for this sort of situation was to do what was best for Hermione's own life.
But this time…I don't know what I want, she mused miserably. She missed her old looks, that was the truth, but in a way, she'd come to appreciate this new Hermione more. Not just for the admiring looks she now received quite frequently, but because of the confidence those looks gave her. The old Hermione had relied heavily on Harry and Ron for strength, though she did her best never to show that.
"Hermione?" Harry said softly, from behind her. She turned, tears in her eyes, which he ignored, for her sake, knowing she wouldn't want him to remark on them. "Ron and I are going to go ahead and bed down…we just came to say goodnight."
Nodding, she hugged each of them, and kissed Harry lightly, before taking a step back and closing her bedroom door. She wasn't tired yet – far from it, actually. She'd tried to defeat the urges to sleep during the day, knowing that being a day person would increase her odds of being hired, but it was a difficult fight.
Growling to herself, she made her way to the bed. Forcing herself to lie down and keep her eyes closed, she waited, hoping sleep would come. When a half hour had passed, she gave up, and sat upright. With a sigh, she considered her options. She had a strong urge to fly, and she gave into it, allowing herself to shrink and grow wings. Maneuvering herself out of the window kept open for such reasons, Hermione sailed out into the night.
Unknown to Hermione, three sets of eyes were watching her departure. Two pairs belonged to Harry and Ron, who were watching from the window of Harry's room. The other belonged to a dark figure barely visible against the shadows that cloaked it. It lingered for a moment, before melting away entirely into the darkness, and only a faint rustling of dead leaves, that sounded more like a light breeze, gave a sign of its presence.