Hi everybody,
First things first: thank you for reading!
Hagrid has his first appearance in this chapter and I tried to capture his distinct accent. I am not sure how successful I was! I hope it's not too much.

Enjoy chapter 3!

xxx

Song recommendation

TILTED - CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS

Hermione entered the Three Brooksticks. She could see Penny and Ron sitting at a table in the far corner and she walked over to them.

"Hello Hermione!" Penny got up and hugged her and then gave her a quick once-over. "Look at your rosy cheeks." She smiled at her. "How was your trip to Geneva?"

"It was lovely, thanks! Hi Ron."

She gave him a huge smile and he got up to greet her too. They hadn't seen one another in a while.

"Good to see you Mione." He grinned and then wildly gestured towards the bar. " Shall I get you a butterbeer?"

"I think some lemonade would do. I have an interview after all."

She thanked him as he went off to get her a drink.

"I am so happy you're taking the job, it will be great to have you around!" Penny clapped her hands together in delight and they sat down.

"I am going for an interview, I haven't been offered the job yet", she reminded her friend whilst taking off her coat.

"Poppycock! I told you, Minerva has been talking to Filius about offering you the job for months. She has even offered it to you once before, if I remember correctly?"

"Well, yes…"

Hermione felt a little bit uncomfortable. She had been offered the position after she finished her mastery under Professor Flitwick, but she had declined, as she had just started her doctoral thesis then. At least that was the official reason. In reality it had all been too much for her, and she just wanted a break from the wizarding world.

"But they might not give it to me this time. There are plenty of qualified witches and wizards, and I have already declined the offer once. I am surprised they invited me. Do you know who else applied?"

"Yes, but I am not allowed to tell." Penny looked apologetically.

"Oh, yes of course. I'm sorry."

"But technically I am allowed to tell you who got invited for an interview", she whispered with a mischievous smile on her face.

"No don't. It's not correct. That's basically the same", Hermione said immediately.

"Not if nobody else got invited."

Hermione looked surprised. "Penny, you shouldn't have..."

"Well…" She took a sip of her butterbeer and smiled. "I didn't tell you who else applied."

Ron joined them again and handed Hermione her drink. He quickly noticed the disapproving look on her face and began laughing.

Turning to Penny he said: "You told her, didn't you?"

The two of them laughed and Hermione soon joined in. They started talking about Hermione's trip to France and how she discovered Arraxy. She deliberately didn't mention her encounter with Snape.

"Oh, Mione, before I forget", Ron started. "Harry asked me to let you know that he had a look at Snape's files. He was going to call into your place today, but he forgot you had an interview. You can just tell him tonight."

Hermione completely forgot about that and a faint feeling of discomfort rose in her.

"Oh, that…", she said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, what's the story with that?" Ron seemed a little bit sceptical.

"Nothing, really." She tried to sound casual. "I need to tell Harry it's fine. I was just being a little bit paranoid, that's all."

Ron nodded.

"Right. It was a bloody scary sight…", he said gloomily, shaking his head. Trying immediately to lift the spirits, he continued: "Wouldn't surprise me at all if he'd be ghosting around scaring the bejesus out of his former students."

They all laughed, Hermione not so much at the comment itself than at the way he said it. She was so happy that everything had worked out nicely between her and Ron, she wouldn't want to miss him in her life. He just knew how to cheer everyone up.

"I should get going." She got up and put her coat on. "Wish me luck!"

"You'll be fine!", Ron and Penny said simultaneously.

"Come to our place once you're done, right? Harry and Ginny are coming too", Penny reminded her.

Hermione nodded and waved them goodbye as she left the Three Broomsticks.

Walking up the path to Hogwarts she started feeling a little bit nostalgic. For every bad thing that had happened here there were a hundred or more good memories that immediately popped into her mind.

She hadn't always thought like this. She had barely managed to finish her mastery, before she had a break down an decided to leave the magical world behind for a while. She had finished her studies within three years, but she could have been much quicker had she not suffered so much from the traumas the war had given her.

She hadn't been able to look at the castle walls anymore without seeing pictures flash in front of her inner eye, she hadn't even wanted to pick up her wand anymore. So she had left.

Hermione stopped at the crossroads, looking downhill at the Shrieking Shack. He had died there, or rather nearly died there. She couldn't believe he was alive, the sound of his voice had frozen the blood in her veins.

Looking at the old building she had to calm her mind. If she gave in to the mental pressure, she would smell the blood, the fire and the agony of that night. The memory of him bleeding out on the wooden floor was still vivid, when she allowed herself to think of it.

A sudden anger rushed over her. Why did they not simply tear the whole building down?

Calm down.

He was alive now and happy. There was no need to be upset on his behalf, it wasn't like she had been upset about it anytime during the last ten years. Turning her back towards the Shrieking Shack she looked up at Hogwarts.

It was beautiful. The sun was standing low and made the roofs look like they were on fire. She was nervous about entering the castle. Could she stand it? She remembered how she would come here three times a week to do her training under Professor Flitwick. That was over five years ago now. Minerva had known about her post-war struggles. The headmistress had wanted to employ her straight after her mastery, but realised that Hermione couldn't stand it any longer.

She had never left her friends behind, of course, and she hadn't given up magic completely, but she had needed the time off. She needed to reconnect with her parents, with her heritage, and with herself. There had been a time, when she had seriously considered that a muggle lifestyle with the odd use of magic might be good for her.

However, when she received Minerva's letter inviting her for an interview, she felt a calling, strong and passionate throbbing in her chest. She was an extraordinary witch, she needed to live it, and she knew if she wasn't ready to fully return now, she'd never be.

When Hermione arrived at the gate, she was surprised to see Hagrid waiting there.

"Mione!" His familiar and friendly voice nearly made her heart burst. "Good ter see ya!"

He pulled her in for a hug and naturally there was no way to escape it.

"Professur McGonagall sent me ter fetch ya."

"Well, if there was a person I could have asked for to pick me up, it would have been you anyway!" She smiled up at the half giant. "Good to see you too, Hagrid. How are you?"

"Me? I'm fine!" He laughed his full and warm Hagrid-laugh. "Don't be goin' on about me. Ye'r soon to be a professur, 'ermione! And I have ter tell ya, I'm not surprised! I knew it from the day you walked in 'ere!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Hagrid", she laughed.

"I'm to'ally serious!"

They made their way up into the castle and to Professor McGonagall's office. Hermione knew that the headmistress had kept Professor Dumbledore's tradition of sweet related passwords, but they didn't need one as they saw Professors McGonagall and Flitwick coming towards them from the other end of the corridor.

"Hermione, how wonderful to see you!", Professor McGonagall greeted her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I am happy to see you too, professors."

She nodded at the both of them.

"Oh, for Merlin's thrice long beard. Will you ever stop calling me that?"

She sounded stern, but Hermione knew her former professor well enough to hear the kindness in her words.

"I will do my best, it's hard to break old habits", she answered smiling.

"Thank you so much for your time, Hagrid", Professor McGonagall said.

"Nothin' ter thank me for, professur! Talk ter ya la'er, Mione!"

They had a lovely chat in the headmistress's office. Apparently there were a few changes made to the staff at Hogwarts. Professor Flitwick had been Deputy Head since after the war, but they only recently decided to restructure the school's governing board. The Deputy would no longer be head of any house and Professor Flitwick had wanted to reduce his hours for a few years now, Hermione recalled.

"You might remember Miss Penelope Clearwater. She will be starting with you in September as the new Head of Ravenclaw and History of Magic teacher", Flitwick explained.

"With me?", Hermione asked surprised.

"Yes, of course. That is if you want to accept the position offered to you", Professor McGonagall looked at her over the rim of her glasses.

Hermione couldn't believe her luck and nodded happily. "Yes, of course. Thank you so much, professor."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "Now, if you won't stop calling me that, I will have to reconsider."

"I am sorry. I will be doing my best. Thank you, Minerva, Filius."

She nodded at the other professor too. It felt weird, saying their names. It was a bit too casual, but she guessed that was how it would be from now on. She would be on casually professional terms with the professors she had admired and looked up to for most of her life.

She was bouncing as she walked through the castle corridors to make her way back to Hogsmeade. She felt safe and at home, just like she had felt when she first arrived. She felt that she belonged here.

"I knew you would get the job."

Hermione turned around at the familiar voice.

"Hi Luna!"

She walked back and gave her friend a tight hug.

"I thought the libspats were buzzing rather loudly", Luna explained but Hermione couldn't really follow her. "I can't wait to tell Neville."

Luna's master training in Transfiguration under Professor McGonagall had overlapped with Hermione's training by one year. She had accepted the post of transfiguration teacher after working for the ministry for a few years, replacing Professor Woodworth, a lovely but aged lady sent by the ministry to cover for Professor McGonagall. Luna has held the post for three years now and Neville, who was teaching herbology for five years already, had become Head of Gryffindor after Professor Woodworth left.

"Ron invited us to go down to them for dinner too, but we're on duty tonight. I hope your libspats won't be hanging around much longer. They're so noisy, we won't be able to hear if anyone is out of bed."

Hermione smiled.

"I am sorry about that." She wasn't sure what Luna was talking about, but when had that ever been the case.

She made her way down to the castle gates, talking to Hagrid for a couple of minutes and promising him to come by for tea sometime soon.

Dinner at Ron and Penny's was great. Hermione gave Penny the book, explaining she had put a translation charm on it and putting heavy emphasis on that she would be coming back for it in a week. She handed her the magically miniaturised packet of rare ingredients from France and was glad to see that Penny liked the gift.

"If you don't mind, I will make copies of the pages that include descriptions to some of the ingredients you got me. I won't be able to memorise all of it like you do!" Penny laughed.

The only thing that made Hermione a little bit jittery was when Harry reminded her about Snape's ministry file.

"They never actually found his body", he said, looking at her carefully.

"Oh." Hermione tried to appear apprehensive, but casual.

"They think some Death Eaters found it at the end or after the battle and … you know… payed their tributes."

From the sound of Harry's voice, Hermione could tell that he didn't imply anything nice by using the word 'tribute'.

"That sounds horrible but is probably not far-fetched."

She felt truly bad, thinking for some reason she was discrediting Snape by making it sound like that it was what must have happened to him. However, it helped making Harry believe she wasn't really thinking about the topic anymore. In reality, it was a constant thought in her head.

After dinner, Harry, Ginny and Hermione apparated back to London. Hermione went inside Grimmauld Place with them to pick up some pie that Mrs Weasley had left there for her earlier today.

"Dinner for tomorrow sorted." Harry grinned at her and she left shortly afterwards, deciding to take the Tube and train to clear her mind.

Why was she so upset about everything that concerned Snape? She wanted them to tear down that horrible building, she hated how they decided that a bunch of lunatics had defiled his dead body and she still felt guilty about herself for not giving this any thought earlier.

But he is happy now. Just let it go.

Hermione got off the train and made her way home. The area was predominantly muggle, but she had noticed some magic on occasion. She shared the house with another young woman, the flats were two separate entities and Hermione lived upstairs.

It had the perfect size; a living room, small kitchen, bathroom and office that also worked as a guest room on the first floor, and a bedroom and en-suite bathroom upstairs under the roof.

It was easy to keep it cool during the summer, using a simple spell, and buying the upstairs flat had saved her a big chunk of money compared to the one on the ground-floor.

She went straight to bed that evening, but she didn't sleep well. Crookshanks was still with her parents and she missed his warm body lying across her legs.

Her dreams were vivid, partly ridiculous and partly vile. She met Snape in a fancy French bakery buying some baguette; Harry visited her at Hogwarts storming into her very first class and shouting that they had found Snape's body, but he had been chopped into bits and they couldn't find one of his arms; and worst off all, Penny had spilled a potion over her book and had tried to repair it by handwriting some of the damaged passages with an auto-answer quill.

The next few weeks were rather unspectacular.

Hermione sent some research articles to muggle and magic papers that frequently published her, and she did a couple of guest lectures in Manchester and Bristol. She picked up her book from Penny and they had coffee with Luna and Neville the same day, as well as on a couple of more occasions. There had been a big gathering at the Burrow for Ron's birthday and on the second of May they all went to a massive event at the ministry for the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Nobody had really looked forward to it, but it turned out to be a rather enjoyable event.

She also visited Harry and Ginny usually once a week, giving them a hand with the children for a couple of hours, as Ginny had just had their third baby in October.

She spent a lot of time with her parents, who lived a little bit further outside of London. Once Hermione had restored their memories, they had decided to come back to England, but they had bought a new home. It was a lovely detached house in a nice residential area and it also facilitated their new dentistry.

Hermione and her mother had started going to the local gym together for yoga classes. To her own surprise, Hermione really enjoyed it. They usually went in the morning, heading to a café close by afterwards.

"Don't be sad, Mum. I'll have a lot more opportunities to leave the castle as a teacher. I'll come and see you and Daddy."

"I know, I know." Jane Granger tried not to look too upset. "It's just…. It won't be like this." She waved her hand between them, where two cups of coffee stood on the table, to express what she meant. She smiled at Hermione.

"I am extremely happy for you, honey. I am just worried…" She looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "You were so… well, you know what it was like when you returned to us. I don't want you to ever feel like that again."

Hermione squeezed her mother's hand.

"It'll be alright, mum."

"Just promise me to come down from time to time."

Hermione laughed.

"From time to time? I had rather hoped to turn up every weekend and have you do my laundry."

"Well, if that is so… you better stay up there and don't come outside of Christmas and summer holidays!"

Picking up their yoga mats they left the café and Hermione headed to the Tube to get home. She entered the house and picked up the muggle post that was left for her on the floor in the tiny, narrow hallway. Walking up the stairs to her flat she examined the letters; two bills and one unfamiliar looking envelope with her name and address handwritten on it.

She greeted Crookshanks who made it very obvious that he was not pleased at all with being left alone in the flat all morning.

She picked him up and ruffled his fur. Walking into the kitchen she placed the letters on the table and with the cat still on her arm, she poured some milk into his bowl.

"I am sorry, Crooks. You know I don't like you being out and about in London. What would I do if you got run over by a car or locked up in someone else's house?"

Crookshanks still looked displeased. If Hermione would have had to guess, she'd have said he was trying to tell her how stupid he thought this was. He was a half-Kneazle and he would be ruling London if he'd be let loose.

"How about I drop you off at mum and dad's again soon. It's much safer there for you."

She let him back down and turned her attention to the post again, opening the unfamiliar letter.

Miss Granger,

As I am lacking essential ingredients for my potions, I've been informed that you bought some of the last batches.

I thought you might find these useful, or at least interesting. You can keep them.

I hope your interview went well.

S.S. Prince

Hermione couldn't believe her own eyes. She hadn't been thinking about him in quite a while now and she had to sit down and read the letter several times, before realisation dawned upon her.

Severus Snape had sent her a letter. A normal, stamped muggle letter.

She quickly checked the envelope and found two miniature books, each one no bigger than half the size of a bank card. Turning them around in her hand, she couldn't feel any magic coming from them. He'd used a non-traceable shrinking charm.

Tapping them once with her wand they expanded to full size. They were the two other volumes on rare Alpine herbs. She opened one of them and read a hand-written note scribbled on a piece of parchment.

Congratulations, you spotted a non-spottable shrinking charm. Four years of mastery were not wasted on you.

She rolled her eyes but had to smile. She was mature enough by now to realise that this wasn't a jibe at her. Mocking her on her master subject was a very Slytherin way of complimenting her.

She took the two books and walked down the very short corridor into her little office. Sitting down at the desk she began to read the volume on general potions. A couple of hours later she had created copies of some pages that she was going to give to Penny next week.

What should she do about this letter now?

She sighed and got up to make herself a cup of tea and cut a melon. She should write a letter back to Snape, thanking him for the books. She couldn't send him a muggle letter though, as they obviously didn't deliver to wizarding settlements.

Walking into her living room she threw some Floo powder into her fireplace and called for the kitchen at Grimmauld Place.

"Harry?"

For some reason she was always asking for him, it was a habit she couldn't stop even though Ginny was her best friend, too.

"Hermione?" Ginny answered. "How are you? Harry is at work."

"Hi, Ginny. I'm fine thanks. How are you?"

"All good. Is anything the matter?"

"I was wondering if Pig is able to do long distance flights. I meant to send a letter to France for ages."

That wasn't untrue, she was going to write to the Nancys as well.

"His name is Pigwidgeon", Ginny huffed. "I don't think he's strong enough to make it all the way to the French Alps", she added apologetically.

"No problem, Gin. I'll go to Diagon Alley and see if I can send it from there."

She hadn't expected that the little owl would be able to do the trip.

"Why don't you come into our shop and use one of our owls, Hermione?"

"George?"

Hermione was surprised to hear him speak.

"The One and Only. Just come in and we'll get you sorted." He popped into view and smiled at her. "They're used to international deliveries."

"That would be amazing. Thanks, George. Can I come later today? Will you be around?"

"Sure, just heading back there now anyway."

He gave her a quick wave and disappeared.

"Do you want to come over for drinks and chats tonight?" Ginny asked.

"Alright, say eight?"

"Perfect."

Hermione sat at her kitchen table ruffling Crookshanks on her lap whilst staring at a blank piece of paper. She had already written the letter to Armita but she didn't know what to say to Snape. She didn't even know how to address him. Sighing in annoyance she put her pen down and got up to make herself a cup of tea, Crookshanks meowing in protest and wandering off into the living room.

Whilst she waited for the kettle to boil, she looked out her kitchen window into the tiny back garden that belonged to the ground floor flat. There was also a nice little conservatory attached to the house and Hermione was always a tiny bit jealous that she didn't have one.

After pouring the tea, she sat back down and picked up her pen again.

Mr Prince,

No, definitely not. She wasn't going to address him like that. To her, he was still Snape, professor or not.

Professor Snape,

Mr Snape,

No, that didn't work either. What if the letter got into the wrong hands, or was even just seen by Guillaume or Armita?

"Screw this, who needs to be addressed anyway", she murmured to herself.

Thank you very much for the books, I really appreciate it. It wouldn't be the first time that you are missing potion ingredients because of me, I had to keep up the tradition. I did however acquire them legally this time.

Could she really write that? She wondered if he knew about the rule breaking during her second year. He must do, and if he didn't… well, this would give him something to think about at least. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided she might as well. He was in a whole different country and she wouldn't have to face him.

Penny Haywood is teaching potions at Hogwarts now and she was very interested in a number of preparation techniques outlined in Volume Three, she plans on using some of the material in class.

The interview went very well, thank you for asking. I will be starting in the position from September.

Guillaume mentioned the new legislations regarding the wolfsbane potion. Congratulations on this achievement. I hope everything is going according to plan.

Hermione Granger

Deciding that this would have to do, or she would drive herself nuts over it, she folded the paper and sealed the envelope. She left the house and walked down the street towards the park. It was the best place for apparition, because she could simply turn between the trees and vanish without looking too suspicious. She had thought about lifting the apparition ban from her house but deemed it safer to just leave them in place and simply accept the short walk. Most of the time, she took the tube anyway, it gave her some time to read or she would stop on the way to pick up food. Quickly checking her surroundings, she turned on the spot and disappeared with a quiet pop.

She appeared in front of Ollivander's. For some reason that was always the place she thought of first when apparating to Diagon Alley. It was a sunny day and she made her way to the Weasley's shop.

"Hello Hermione! George just went to Gringotts, he should be back at any moment."

A young, dark haired man stood behind the counter and smiled at her. It was Roger Davies, a Ravenclaw who was two years above her. They had dated for two years before they broke up.

"It's ok, I'll just wait here until he's back."

"How are you?", Roger asked her. "I heard you're going to teach Charms at Hogwarts from September?"

Hermione felt extremely uncomfortable. She had broken up with Roger when she had decided that she wouldn't pursue a magical career. Roger had had little understanding for her decision, constantly telling her that she shouldn't waist her magical talent on muggle studies. She didn't think she had waisted anything, and because she had been struggling with her life overall, she had called it quits with him. He hadn't deserved it, she thought now. He had just tried to support her.

"Yes, I am", she replied to his earlier question.

He gave her a smile but didn't say anything else.

Roger had a mastery in Charms as well. He had worked in America for a few years after they had broken up but had decided to come back to England. He had recently joined Ron and George's business, where he developed the charms behind some of their products and looked after their international business connections.

Just when he took a breath to address her again, George came back into the shop. He carried a cage with a rather big dark grey owl. He held it out to her and smiled.

"I named him George the Mighty. He will only listen to that name and I've been told he likes nectarines. Go on, take him."

Hermione took the cage and noticed it was incredibly heavy. She looked at George, her face a mixture of questions and disbelief.

"A gift from me to you. Congratulations on your new position, professor!"

Nothing she said could stop George from insisting that she keep the bird and so she left a few minutes later, only carrying an empty case because George had simply let the owl out and sent it to Hermione's flat.

She decided to send the letter to the Nancys from the post office. She thought it wiser to send both letters separately.

When she arrived back home, George sat outside her kitchen window. He was an incredibly big owl and she'd have to think about magically creating a nook for him to sit in. She sat down and added a line to the letter.

P.S. His name is George and he likes nectarines.

"I hope you don't mind me sending you all the way to France for your first trip."

The bird looked at her but didn't move at all. If she would have to attach an adjective to it, she'd even call him arrogant.

"Once you're back, I will have been to the shop and you can have a whole pack of nectarines."

The owl still didn't seem to care. Well, of course he doesn't. He's a bird.

She watched him fly away and couldn't quite help the pleasant feeling of anticipation that creeped up on her.