CHAPTER TWO

Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
~Lewis Caroll, Alice in Wonderland~

Waking up the morning of her first job, Hermione expected to feel different. She didn't. It was a bit of a let down, but she was determined to not let this tiny hitch cast a dark shadow on her big day. This was the first day of "real life," although Hermione wasn't sure how her life could get anymore real. She rolled out of bed and tugged on her pyjama shorts that had ridden up overnight. Her hair was a right mess, as was expected. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and went into her bathroom to get ready.

"I never got to see you off on your first day of school," her mum said, as Hermione walked into the kitchen ready for work, "but I do get to see you off to your first job," The table was stacked with pancakes and waffles that looked scrumptious.

"Thanks, Mum, but you really didn't have to-"

"Nonsense! Now sit. Eat. You're far too skinny. I knew if we sent you to boarding school you wouldn't know how to take care of yourself," her mum bristled, waving the dish rag around in the air.

Hermione rolled her eyes and tugged on her blouse, self consciously. If her mum knew about all the feasts at Hogwarts she would have fainted it. She helped herself to breakfast and made idle chit chat with her mum. Apparently, book club was today. Hermione's stomach rumbled as she ate, alerting her to her own nerves. She pushed the plate away, feeling uneasy and reached for a mug of tea.

After that she was too antsy to sit around, so she said goodbye to her mum and walked to the Apparation point. Arriving in Diagon Alley this early in the morning was odd, since none of the shops were open for business yet. She nodded amiably as shopkeepers wandered by getting ready to start their day. Diagon Alley felt different, it was open and free, unlike it would be in an hour's time, overrun with witches and wizards.

"Hey, 'Mione!" A familiar voice called, and Hermione spun around, finding George opening Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She smiled, going over to greet him. He was struggling to get the latch undone, before he picked up his wand and said, "Blimey, sometimes I forget I have this thing," He said with a chuckle.

"Getting ready for work, I see," She smiled.

"You are too, I suppose," He said. "Don't be worried. Diagon Alley is a great place to work. Hey, come over for lunch if you want, okay, 'Mione?"

She nodded, "I'll see you later then. Better go, don't want to be late on my first day."

"You never want to be late," George called after her.

"You know me so well!" She said back, feeling a bit calmer than she had before. George would be a five minute walk away if she ever needed something. Everything would be fine. Flourish and Blotts was just up ahead and there was no way to delay it any longer.

She knocked on the still locked door, waiting for her new boss to let her in. Her name was Joy and her hair was starting turn grey and her glasses usually hung low on her nose. She was always smiling and smelled like coca butter. She came to the door now with a beam plastered on her face. "Good morning, Hermione,"

"Morning, Joy," She greeted, the bell over the door rattling as the door opened. It banged shut as Hermione followed the older woman through the aisles to the back.

"We got some new shipments to stock and a display to set up. We also need to start clearing some space for the new Hogwarts school books," Joy explained, waving her wand and opening another box. "We open in an hour and I want to have as many of these stocked as possible."

Hermione looked at the tower of boxes and whipped out her wand, ready for her first day of work as an adult, in the "real world," as an alumni of Hogwarts.

During her lunch break, she walked down to the Weasley's prank shop with her peanut butter and jelly sandwich from home. Her hands were sore from all the books she'd been carrying around all day. But the morning had been successful, she'd been able to find people the books they'd been looking for. She entered the shop and was hit with a blast of cool air.

They have an air conditioner! Hermione sighed in happiness. Apparently Joy didn't used her AC until it was over ninety degrees outside and eighty didn't qualify. The shop had plenty of business and Hermione made her way over to the cashier, where she found her boyfriend. She giggled, watching him ringing up customers. They last thing she had expected was to find Ron working.

He looked up, like he had sensed her and smiled widely, waving her over. She didn't deny him and went over to the counter. "Hey there," She smiled, puckering up as he leaned down to kiss her.

"How's work?" He asked her, leaning over the counter, completely forgetting he was also supposed to be working.

"I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?" She asked, trying to contain her laughter.

"I... uh..." Ron began turing red, all the way from his neckline to his forehead. He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided his girlfriend's questioning gaze, "I, kinda wanted to... see... you..." He coughed, "on your first day... and, you know, George needed some help. He's kinda shorthanded."

Hermione leaned over the counter to plant a kiss on Ron's burning cheek. "Well, I've been stocking books all day. And getting ready for the massive shipments of Hogwarts school books. I can't believe we won't be buying any books this summer,"

Ron grinned, "Seven years worth of summer school book shopping over and done with."

Hermione smacked his shoulder and smiled dopily at him. George hurried past them with a foaming glass beaker and goggles pushed up over his forehead. "Oi!" He shouted at his brother, "Back to work or I'm docking your pay, little brother."

"There's no line!" Ron shouted uselessly after his brother's retreating form.

Hermione laughed and looked at Ron, "What is he doing?"

"Brainstorming, new items and such. Looks like this one didn't go so well. He's got a whole lab in the back. You should see it, it's wicked." He looked visibly excited at the mention of his brother's lab. "If I can swipe Harry's cloak from him, I'll take you,"

"Why do you need Harry's cloak?" Hermione asked, confused, "Can't you just take me to the back and-"

Ron shook his head violently, effectively stoping her from continuing. "George says it is top secret. The only person that got to go in was-" He stopped, taking a deep breath before saying, "Fred." He paused, clearly overwhelmed thinking about his late brother. "George only let me and Gin in opening day. We were all fighting with Percy at the time and Charlie was off working and Bill was wooing Fleur in France, so Gin and I were the only siblings around."

Hermione nodded along, unsure of what exactly she should say. "Don't get Harry's cloak," She smiled at him, rubbing his hand.

Ron nodded and murmured softly, "I probably wouldn't have the stomach to do that to George anyway,"

Hermione looked down at her watch. "I should probably start heading back,"

"Already?"

"Yeah, hey, we still have dinner plans tonight, right?"

"When have I ever said no to dinner?" Ron grinned and then added hastily, "With you. When have I ever said no to food and your wonderful company?"

She rolled her eyes and muttered sardonically, "Yeah, yeah." On her way out, she passed George hopping up and down on one foot and fanning the overflowing potion. She thought about going to help him, but he waved her off, muttering about fixing it on his own. She walked back up to Flourish and Blotts passing little kids running around with ice cream cones and chasing runaway chocolate frogs. There were young witches shopping for new clothes and wizards buying new brooms for Quidditch games in their back gardens.

The store was stuffy when she got back and there were a few customers milling around. She spotted Joy standing on a ladder, helping a customer get a book from the top shelf. She pulled her hair up into a pony tail and wiped the sweat forming on her brow and got back to work.

When her shift finally ended at five, she could have sprinted from the store. But Joy held her back to congratulate her on a good first day... and ask her to help her set up the new release stand with Molly Tankers new cook book. Apparently, they were anticipating a mad rush tomorrow since Molly would be at the store signing copies.

Hermione sighed. How was she supposed to say no? You don't say no to your boss ever, let alone your first day, at your first job, straight out of school. She joined Joy over the box and took out for her wand. She ended up leaving an hour and a half later than she should have, which gave her half an hour to get ready for her date with Ron. She ran to the Apparation point, weaving in and out of shoppers and nearly tripping multiple times.

Her mum was waiting for a full report. "Hi, sweetie! You're late, did you have to stay late?"

"Yeah, can't talk now, sorry, date," She stammered, hurrying up the stairs.

"You got mail!" her mum called up, but it didn't matter to Hermione right now.

She had wanted to shower before their night out, but it didn't look like she'd have the time. She dumped her bag on the floor and pulled out the dress she'd bought last week for the evening. It was a purple number that was tight on top and encrusted, but fanned out at the waist and stopped just before her knee. Hermione had fallen in love with it at first sight. She held the work of art up, looking at it. She wanted to look and feel her best in it. She was going to shower and Ron was just going to have to suck it. Crookshanks jumped off her bed, annoyed at having been woken up from his nap by all her scrambling around.

She showered quickly and dried herself with a spell in hopes she wouldn't be too late. She heard the doorbell ring as she applied her eyeliner. She was still wrapped in her towel and her stuff hadn't been transferred from her bag to her clutch. Her stomach tingled and she couldn't stop smiling as she heard her boyfriend's deep voice as he talked with her mum downstairs.

Ron was at her house, picking her up for a date. It had been a year of amazing dating, and the excitement hadn't gone away at all. She put the bracelet Ron had made her that she took off to shower on and grabbed a pair of earrings. Slipping into her dress and grabbing her heels, she was nearly done. She packed her clutch and used a spell to put her hair up in a smooth, slick, ponytail.

"Yeah, yeah... auror training will still be going on. Harry and I are absolutely gutted we're going to miss it," Ron was saying as she walked into the living room.

"Miss what?" She asked, smiling at her boyfriend as he spun around at her entrance.

"Hey," Ron smiled, looking her up and down.

She blushed and looked at her mum with her eyebrows raised. "Ron can't make our annual camping trip," her mum explained.

"O-our annual what?" Hermione asked, looking at her mother like she had grown three heads.

Her mum blanched, but went on, "Our annual camping trip... that we're starting this year."

"Who is going camping?" Hermione laughed, "Because I'm not going camping and you can't make me,"

"Well that's why I thought to invite your boyfriend, but we'll talk about this later. You two go have a fun night out," her mum insisted, waving them both off.

"You bet we're talking about this later," Hermione told her mum, before taking Ron's hand and dragging him out.

"Bye, Maria!" Ron called, letting his girlfriend lead him out of the house. "Your dad is still at work?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders once they were out and walking to the Apparation point.

"Yeah, he's a keynote speaker at this crazy, big time dentist conference, so he's been staying late at work to write his speech. Anyway, I'm sorry about being late- Joy had me stay late and I couldn't say-"

"Sh," Ron cut her off, "I don't mind. You look amazing," He complimented her, planting a kiss on the side of her head.

She grinned and nudged his side, "You clean up pretty nice too. So where are we going?"

"This is our first date as adults," He grinned mischievously, "I wanted to make it special,"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She shivered slightly at the look on his face as her thoughts drifted somewhere above R18. "So we're eating really fancy food?" She guessed, trying to pull her mind out of the gutter.

Ron chuckled, "Hold on tight,"

She wrapped her arms around his middle as he Apparated them to their super secret dinner spot. She was always nervous when she Apparated with Ron- or anyone for that matter. She didn't trust anyone to get her wherever they were going with all her limbs intact. Growing up with Ron and seeing him messing up spells quite frequently, though, kind of put him at a disadvantage. She opened one of her eyes, gratefully that she still had two arms, ten fingers, two legs, and ten toes.

He rolled his eyes at her reaction, but didn't say anything. She blushed at being caught and and intertwined her hand in his to try and make up for it. It was then she noticed where they were. "We're not in London anymore..." She trailed off, spotting the glittering Eiffel Tower in the distance.

"No, we are not," Ron agreed, carefully leading her through the crowded streets.

"You took me to Paris?" She asked, flabbergasted. She looked around, wanting to see everything. She had always wanted to travel to France and visit Notre-Dame and Le Louvre and then take a bus to see Versailles. She turned back to Ron, since he hadn't said anything. "How long are we staying?"

He glanced at her in confusion. "Uh... dinner?"

"Dinner?" She gasped. "Ronald, we're in Paris and you're telling me all we're doing is eating?"

"Well, we're eating by the Seine!" He protested, "and I was going to take you up the Eiffel Tower after!"

"But-but... there's so much more to do! We could have planned a real trip- and taken the train!" Hermione lamented, looking around the vibrant city. The architecture was beautiful, nothing felt real. She couldn't imagine people actually lived here and went to work everyday. She hoped they saw a mime.

Glancing over at Ron, she saw his ears were red. She knew her reaction hadn't been what he was expecting, but how could he have taken her to Paris out of the blues and expected her to be fine with just food? Didn't he know her at all? Paris was more than just a place you went to eat. It was a place you went to experience! She wanted to take long strolls by the Seine hand and hand and visit the Mona Lisa and take goofy tourist pictures. Going inside Notre-Dame and seeing the city from the top, pretending she was a bell ringer. Paris was not a one night stand, it was who you took home to meet your parents.

"Well I'm sorry. I thought it would make you happy," He shot back, not looking at her.

She sighed, their big romantic night out as adults had been ruined.

He walked her to her doorstep. He was mad at her and she was mad at him for being mad at her. He could have just said, "I'm sorry, love. You're right. I know how much you love learning and realise now that we should come back and see the city. So lets plan a trip and it'll be full of sexy times and silly picture taking." But no, he was mad and so she was mad at him.

It was stiff and there was tension between them. They weren't touching and when Ron leaned down to kiss her goodnight, she closed her eyes for a different reason than usual.

"Night, Ron," She muttered, slipping into the house as quickly as she could.

"Bye," He deadpanned back, the door slamming in his face.

Hermione made herself a cup of tea to relax herself. Both her parents were already in bed, so she was alone- until Crookshanks decided to prance into the kitchen and meow for food. She poured some dry food into his bowl and gave his ear a quick scratch. The orange fur ball purred and dipped his head to eat. Once her tea was ready, she went up to her room, Crookshanks following behind loyally.

She changed out of her dress and instantly felt better in her pyjamas. There was no point in being mad all night. She could be mad again tomorrow. But for tonight she was going to lay back, drink some tea, watch bad reality tv and wonder why she was killing her brain cells instead of checking what was on BBC, all on her comfy bed and in comfy pjs because she was an adult, with a real job, and a nutter boyfriend, living in her parents' house, having just graduated top of her class from Hogwarts.

Crookshanks curled up at the foot of her bed and Hermione sipped her tea. Her mum saying something about mail came back to her and she glanced over at her nightstand finding an envelope and a magazine. Confused, since she didn't subscribe to any magazines, Hermione reached for it. It was a copy of Witch Weekly- apparently they were hoping if they sent you a free copy you'd subscribe. Hermione put it back and reached for the letter.

The envelope said it was from the Ministry. She sat up, slightly confused as to why she was getting a letter from the Ministry. It was addressed to her, not 'Current Resident' or something else like that, so it must have been important. Was someone offering her a job? No- that was ridiculous. Why would anyone offer her a job? She hadn't done anything spectacular. She ripped the envelope carefully and pulled out the letter.

Her eyes danced over the words printed on the page. It was written in black ink and loopy writing, but it was clear enough to read. It started with: Dear Hermione Granger, which was always a good way to begin a letter. She hoped Wilson Betemit wasn't already campaigning for voters for the next election. But she didn't need to worry, because the letter wasn't about that. It was an invite to be part of a wizard version of the bad reality tv show she was currently watching.

Her eyes practically bugged out of her head and she reached for her tea to take a sip and calm herself. She reread the line: The Ministry is in preproduction on a new show to bring Muggle born withes and wizards and pure-bloods together in hopes of building a bridge.

Building a bridge? What cracker had written this letter? And who in their right mind would have thought she would want to be part of this? She looked up at the tv on her wall. She didn't even know what the name of the show was, but there was a fake plastic blonde dancing on a table with a shot glass in her hand. This was what 'reality' tv was. She didn't want to be a part of it in the slightest.

And why would she want to spend anymore time with pure-bloods than she had to? They were prejudiced and cruel, hating her just because her parents were nonmagical. They believed themselves superior and looked down on everyone else, thinking them scum. They were all the same.

She put the letter down on her bed and took another large gulp of her steaming tea. Putting it down on her nightstand, she spotted a picture of her and Ron. Her face softened as she realised, the Weasleys were pure-bloods. They weren't prejudiced or hateful- they were "bloodtraitors." They had put their lives on the line to fight for what was right and had been so good to her- and to anyone that needed them.

Something else hit her. Was she prejudiced? Against pure-bloods? If she was, it was because they had earned it. She looked at the letter again, a little less sure of her quick write off of the letter's message.

We have been working around the clock to try and remedy the destruction done by the war... Muggle borns and pure-bloods coming together to prevent a war... ending prejudice and showing both sides... a filmed tv show to air starting during the holiday season... very excited and hope to hear you are to... we will wait for your owl... have a good day...

There was cheering from the telly and Hermione looked up. The girl had taken her top off.

A/N Hi guys! There's only a few of you, so thanks so much if you're reading this! I hope you're liking it :) and I hope you're excited to read more. Cheers guys, and reviews are very much appreciated.