Chapter 3
The August sun broke through the gap in Hermione's curtains as her and Harry slept on, blissfully unaware their sleep was about to be ended. Neither of them had moved since the night before.
The harsh ringing of Hermione's alarm clock jerked them both from their sleep. Hermione, used to the sound of the clock sleepily moved her arm out from under the covers and heavily brought her hand down on top of it to stop the ringing. She did so a little too heavily, for as her hand skidded off the bells at the top, the clock toppled over and landed heavily on the floor. She sighed, not quite awake enough to swear at the mishap.
'Hermione, if you keep breaking things I'll have to ban you from leaving this room.' She moved to peer over the edge of her bed.
'For your information, oh saviour of the world, it is perfectly in tact.' He chose to ignore her piss take of the new name the Prophet had taken to calling him; she had only used it because he had been rude to her.
'Really? That was lucky!'
'Well, apparently muggle alarm clocks are made of sterner stuff.' She sat up and turned so she was sat on the edge of the bed.
'Do you want the shower first or can I use it?' Hermione asked.
'You use it. I'm not due in work 'til eleven. Just don't steal all the hot water.'
'Oh, that's rich coming from you. For the last two mornings I've had to rinse my hair off in freezing water because you drained the system of the hot stuff.'
'That is such a lie!'
'We'll see Saviour Boy!' He laughed as she stood up and walked to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her, not that there was any need, Harry knew she was in the shower and was hardly going to walk in on her. She did it out of habit more than anything. She took two towels off the rack and dropped them in front of the shower ready for when she emerged from the water.
She quickly took off her pyjamas, set the water running and waited the thirty seconds it took for the water to heat up. She stepped into the stream of water and as she let it soak her hair through, sorted out the coming day in her mind.
After the war had ended Harry could have chosen to do anything he wanted, well, maybe not become Minister for Magic, although some people had called for the move. What would have been their seventh year at Hogwarts wasn't spent working towards their NEWTs. Ron and Hermione had told Harry they would help him on his journey to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes, and after Harry's journey to Godrick's Hollow – something he insisted he do on his own – the three of them returned to Hogwarts to continue their work trying to locate them.
The school of witchcraft and wizardry had opened, although in the time the trio were there the student numbers were greatly reduced. Families were – of course – allowed to remove students if they wanted to, and many of the students waged private battles with their parents to let them go back to their school, some of them not winning.
Although Professor McGonagal (now elected Headmistress of the school) didn't know what work Harry and Albus Dumbledore had started the previous year she had allowed Harry, Ron and Hermione to continue it. The seventh year at Hogwarts was by no means compulsory, by seventh year all students had come of age so could make their own choice about their education. Harry, Ron and Hermione had made their choice, and although their elders had – understandably – had their doubts they thought it best that the trio stay in the castle. Hermione was pleased, nowhere had a library like Hogwarts, and on a more basic level the three of them would find life easier with their meals prepared, their washing cleaned and several members of the Order of the Phoenix present at all times. It took over a year and a half to complete their task, and then finally the great battle had taken place.
Even though Harry and Hermione hadn't studied for, and therefore gained any NEWTs they were both now working for the Ministry of Magic, training to be Aurors. Harry could have asked for anything he wanted when the wizarding world had realised the amount of work he had done to destroy Voldemort. The only thing he had actually asked for was to be accepted onto the Auror training course, Hermione too, and finally Ron when he woke up from his coma. Harry felt he owed this to his two best friends; they had helped him more than they knew during those eighteen long, hard months.
The Ministry had welcomed them with open arms, but Harry made sure he had a sincere apology from Rufus Scrimgeour before he started working for the people who had slandered his name before he had even come of age. The Ministry had organised a house for the three of them to live in and gave it to Harry rent-free. Harry had flatly refused to take the place for free, but eventually had accepted paying less rent than was normal so the Ministry was happy, but he was still paying his way.
Hermione was finished washing her hair and was towelling herself dry. She had worked out the way her day was going to pan out. She was working from nine until three with her hour lunch break at twelve, which she would spend at the hospital at Ron's bedside, talking to him as if he were awake and replying to her conversation. She had managed to get over the guilt of leaving Ron for most of the day, Mrs Weasley amongst others had told her she had to get on with her life as best she could.
Harry would be working until five as he wasn't expected in until eleven. So she would spend time with Ron from three until half past five. Harry would come in to see him at five and the two of them would leave for some tea at half past, or six if other people had come to visit and they had got talking. After tea she would complete any work they had been set at work, and revise the work of the day in case of any surprise tests that may get sprung on them the next day. If, at the end of all that she was still awake, she would collapse in front of the TV and hopefully fall asleep.
