Sookie had directed Hermione into the bathroom, placing a fresh towel and her uniform on the chair. The witch cleaned herself of the day; she would need to find a better antiperspirant for this new climate. After she was washed, Hermione got out and went for the towel, only to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
The months hunting for Horcruxes had been good for the teen's baby fat that just wouldn't leave, turning her slightly soft body well-toned and thin. At 5 foot 9 Hermione had always been the tallest witch but it helped that most of it was leg, added on with the C cup breasts that she was incredibly pleased with. The mane that had once been her hair was now settled; the curls tame and brushing against the top of her rear. What caught the teen's attention though were her eyes. After Harry's death, Hermione had seen nothing but black holes whenever looking into them, but now they were alive once more, laughter actually showing.
Quickly putting on her underwear, Hermione looked at the uniform and groaned, "You've got to be kidding me."
The uniform, if it could be called that, was a pair of Daisy Duke shorts and a shirt that would never cover her stomach. Shaking her head, the girl just put on the clothes, magically shrinking the pants when they were too loose. Pulling on her sneakers, Hermione then exited the bathroom, a brush in her hand and wand between her teeth.
In the kitchen the teen found the person she needed, "Moony, do my hair for me please."
"Of course," Remus took the brush and expertly got out any tangles, he had become a pro after doing it every day for a fortnight, "You want to hide your wand in there?"
"Yep, can't hide it elsewhere can I?" The witch motioned to the uniform she was wearing.
"Don't suppose you could"
When asked, Hermione passed over her brand new wand. She had gone to one of Garrick Ollivander's friends in Knockturn Alley, and had gotten the wand custom made. The shaft was of jade, looking exactly like a chopstick, but inside it had the core of a Golden Griffin feather, werewolf hair, and Thestral hair tied together and soaked in the tears of a Phoenix for 7 hours. It sung much better than her old one, and the wandmaker she had seen was astonished that the core had even been chosen.
Once her hair was in a bun, her wand holding it in place, Hermione turned and tightly embraced her friend, "You can always come and have a bite to eat."
"No, I'll be fine here with Adele and Teddy. Your Gran is definitely something else Mia," placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, Remus held up his mobile, "I love you and if anything happens get in touch."
"Love you too and promise," Hermione ran out of the house, knowing that her family were already waiting for her.
Climbing into the Dodge, the witch grinned over at her cousin, "So, how fast can this truck get?"
Jason began revving the engine before putting it in gear and speeding off, "Fucking fast."
Hermione whooped as they careened down the road, spitting up dirt and rocks behind them. It didn't take them long to come to a complete stop out from of a busy looking place, "Nice little place they have here. You coming in?"
"I ain't missing this for anything," the young man was at Hermione's side instantly, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders.
When they entered, many eyes turned instantly onto them, and nearly all of them ignored the fact that Jason was even there. Paying no attention to the customers for now, Hermione walked towards the bar, smiling at the redhead tending to a pitcher of beer, "Hi, do you know where, umm, Sam is?"
The waitress looked up, taking a few seconds to put everything together, "You're Sookie's cousin? Sam's back in his office."
"Yes I am and thank you," the witch turned and planted her cousin in a seat, "Stay."
"Yes ma'am," Jason gave a mock salute and quickly ordered a beer.
Shaking her head, Hermione easily found where the office was, knocking once and walking in at the call to enter. Sitting behind a desk, his nose looking over a ledger; was the owner Sam Merlotte, "Hi, I'm Hermione Potter, Sookie's cousin."
"Pleasure," Sam rose and was about to shake her hand when he smelt something unmistakeable, causing him to growl, "You're a fucking dog?"
"What are you on about?"
"Get out of here werewolf"
That's when she put it together, and grew pissed off, "I'm not a fucking werewolf, a man I consider my father and dear friend is. And how dare you call him that?"
Sam growled louder, "I won't have no fucking werewolf lovers in this bar."
Hermione saw red, and flung her arm out, driving the heel of her hand into the man's jaw. The crack was deafening but the witch didn't care, "Yes I love a werewolf but only as he is pretty much my father and he kept me alive for this past month. I am also one of the last remaining members of his pack, until his son is old enough to do the ritual. There were originally 3, then 4 more were added, only two of the last 4 added remain, the others were all viciously killed and you dare say those things?"
The bar owner didn't say anything, his jaw was still badly broken, so the only sounds he was making were whimpering noises while Hermione cooled off. After her anger had left her body, the witch looked and saw that the man in pain and sighed, "Remus will kill me for ruining his good work so quickly. Sit in your seat."
Sam did as ordered, and was surprised when Hermione removed her wand, aiming it at his jaw. After casting a Healing Charm and a mild Numbing Charm she asked, "How's that feel?"
"Better, thanks," Sam looked at his newest waitress in interest, "What are you?"
"A witch and still very pissed off at you."
"Wow," he wasn't all that shocked, "About the werewolf comments…"
Hermione brushed him off for the second; she was watching her new boss' memories, having delved inside his mind just after fixing his jaw, a talent she had perfected out of necessity during the war. She watched as a 15 year old Sam ran through the forest as a dachshund and was jumped by 4 full grown werewolves during the full moon. He put up a great fight before getting enough distance to change into a bird and fly away.
Pulling out the witch sighed and relaxed in her seat, "I'm sorry for what those werewolves did to you but they hadn't taken their Wolfsbane and you were an easy target, they weren't in the right mind. So you're a Shapeshifter?"
Shaking his head in wonderment, Sam responded, "Yeah. How did you know all that?"
"I'm a master at getting into a person's head without them knowing, it was a necessity up until a month ago and now I do it all the time, war has left me a little twitchy. Just so you don't worry, Remus always takes his potion, and I should know because I make it for him," looking at the light bruising that was appearing on the man's jaw, Hermione winced slightly, "Sorry about the jaw."
"It's fine, not the first broken jaw I've had but it was the first made by a woman's hand. Anyone ever tell you that you have one hell of a punch?"
Hermione laughed softly, "Yeah, an ally. I broke his nose when I was only 14 and he never really forgot, was nervous when I told him that I'd only gotten better over the years. I guess I should start this over," holding out her hand, "I'm Hermione Potter, Sookie's cousin."
"Pleasure to meet you Hermione, I'm Sam Merlotte and this is my place," Sam shook the witch's hand with a smile, "You ever waitressed before?"
"No but I'm willing to learn"
"Alright then, let's get to work," getting up, the man passed over Hermione's apron and order pad before leading her into the packed bar.
After being introduced to Arlene and Terry, Hermione watched her cousin do a few orders before starting in her section, her wand perched behind her ear for safety. It took 4 hours before the lunch rush had finished and there was only going to be an estimated 2 hours before the dinner rush began. In the bar there was just Sookie, Jason, Sam, Hermione and Lafayette, Terry and Arlene heading off as soon as the last orders were filled.
"That was fun," Hermione stated with a large smile on her face, seated at the bar having an iced tea.
"You did brilliant girl," Lafayette called out from his spot at the end of the bar, lying on top of the wood counter.
The others all nodded, causing the brunette to blush, "It's not that hard."
"My first day I was cursing Sam because of the blisters on my feet," Sookie admitted with her large smile, "Didn't get any better until I'd been here 3 weeks and I had callouses instead."
Hermione lift her sneakers onto the bar, tapping them, "Cushioning and Cooling Charms, plus I soaked them in Murtlap Essence for 2 weeks. I've had these sneakers for 3 years now."
"Magic is fucking awesome," Jason said in awe before going confused, "What's Murtlap Essence?"
"The pickled and strained tentacles of a Murtlap, which is a magical sea anemone found only in Britain. Helps with cuts and abrasions, and does bloody wonders for blister prevention," the teen explained.
Sam broke everyone from their awe, "Right, we have clean-up to do."
As soon as he was back in his office, Hermione motioned for her friends to stay put. Getting a list of what was needed to be done, she had the ketchup bottles refill themselves, the rags to clean off the tables, mops to do their job, and all items needed to be washed to get started.
Sookie laughed, "It's like Fantasia."
"Yeah and it saves us having to do it," the witch looked around and spied the pool table, "Who's up for a game?"
They all laughed and went to the table, dodging the stray mop or rag.