A/N: So, guess who got called into work at 9:30pm on a Friday? So, I took the liberty of posting another chapter. Please send me some happy thoughts and reviews. I may be here until the week hours of the morning.

Also, this chapter gave me fits for oh, about two years. I hope it doesn't suck.

Chapter Four

Hermione tossed the coin into the air and caught it once again. She had been literally tossing the idea around for a few days. The other wishes she had granted turned out perfectly. Even the ones she had thought would take longer worked out better for her. The Wolfsbane, for example, could have taken years or could have not worked ever in her lifetime but she had gotten it on the first try.

It almost made her wonder if the magic of the fountain was greasing the wheels, so to speak. Was it possible things just fell into place when Hermione decided they should do so? It was far too early to tell but something she would keep a close eye on.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if she had been a godmother long before she opened the door that led to the fountain. Was a godmother born, or did one have to be made? The entirety of her life she could have had a set of special powers she never knew of.

Had she drawn on these powers? It would explain why she was able to fit together the pieces of so many puzzles and able to tilt the scales in her favor when she clearly should have failed. The potion, the basilisk, brewing Polyjuice, the Time-Turner, posing as Bellatrix. The list went on. Hermione Granger had been very lucky. Was it just luck, though?

Hermione smiled at the thought of a little fairytale magic. Much of her life had unfolded as one, from her simple upbringing to finding out about magic, then adding in her stalwart friends, an evil villain and a triumphant victory. Now she would get to find out what happened after the curtain fell.

But this small wish she was fairly confident she could accomplish without any magical fairy godmother assistance. She wasn't exactly positive why it was so important to her to fulfill, but Hermione knew it needed to be done, and there was no time like the present. She could figure out the godmother magic later.

Molly Weasley wasn't the type of woman to ask for things. And she certainly wasn't the one to ask for anything for herself. Even the coin was merely a Knut. A small little bronze Knut in the sea of Sickles and Galleons.

Hermione held it tightly in her fist. Even when Molly dared to make a wish, she cast it so softly that it had barely made it into the well. That made Hermione sad.

The matriarch of the Weasley family was a mother to everyone. From Dumbledore, rest his soul, down to the baby Teddy Lupin, everyone was given their fair share of mothering by the witch. They were all welcome to sup at the table, and greeted with a hug or hello, and chastised when they forgot to leave their shoes at the door.

Hermione could even recall Professor Snape receiving a plate pressed in his hand or a cup of tea poured when he came in late after a meeting with the Dark Lord.

She felt that Molly was one of the driving forces of the Order. She was, of course, a bit overprotective of her children, including Hermione and Harry, but she had their best interests at heart. Wherever Molly was, that was the Headquarters. She was the one who kept an ear to the ground in the house and kept them all in fighting order. The job she kept wasn't one highly sought after. It was largely thankless and hard work keeping a house of that size running smoothly all day, every day, coordinating meals, rooms, and washing.

Molly never asked for praise or material things in compensation. A contented sigh from someone with a full belly was enough for her. That's why it was so important to Hermione to give her a gift that was only for her. She didn't have to share it around seven children or a group of refugees.

No, what Molly wanted most in a little corner of her heart was just for her, and Hermione was going to see that she got it.

~~HGSS~~

"Hello? Yes, this is Hermione Granger," Hermione said as the head of a neatly dressed woman popped into her Floo and inquired. "Yes, the Hermione Granger," she told her after the woman questioned if she was in fact, the famed heroine. "Move aside, I'll come through."

Hermione stepped through to the bustling office where everyone drew quiet upon seeing her. She pulled her head high and walked to the desk marked as the personal assistant to the director of the Wizarding Wireless Network. "As you see," she told the lady from the fire. "Hermione Granger. Was my request processed?"

"Yes, miss," said the slightly flustered woman. She had seen musical and sometimes political celebrities before but it was still an honor to meet such a lady as Miss Granger.

Hermione took the envelope provided. "Two tickets?" she asked.

"Yes. Right by the stage. He even included two backstage passes."

"Thank you," Hermione told the woman with a beaming smile. "This really means a lot to me. If you need an interview or anything, just let me know."

Hermione took the tickets and stepped back through her fireplace, only to immediately turn around and state, "The Burrow!" She was gone in a flash of green.

"Molly?" she tentatively called as she stepped through.

The woman in question stepped around the corner, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. "Hermione dear!" The boys are just out enjoying a spot of Quidditch. They're just out back if you'd like to join them. Dinner will be on soon."

"Actually," said Hermione, "I have something for you. It occurred to me that you'd never been properly thanked for your hospitality during the war and I wanted to say thank you. I thought you might enjoy these."

"Oh, you owe me nothing," Molly told her in a soft and serious tone. "It was my part to play, just like the first time. There are fighters, and there are those who support them. I can be called upon when necessary-"

"Just ask Bellatrix!" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes, well. She threatened my Ginny, didn't she?" asked Molly. "But you know I never minded a minute having you all to look after and making sure as many got home in one piece as possible."

"I know," Hermione told her honestly. "But you didn't get your proper due when it was over, so I wanted to tell you that I really appreciated having someone while my parents were gone."

"You're welcome," Molly told her with a hug as she took the envelope in hand. Sitting down in her favorite recliner, she slowly opened the paper so as not to tear the contents.

Hermione held her breath as she waited for Molly's reaction. She did still like her, right?

Molly didn't immediately respond and just clutched the tickets to her chest. "I've wanted to see Celestina Warbeck since I was a little girl!" she suddenly exclaimed. "We never had the money, and then the kids came along, and the war, and it just never happened. I used to sit with my mother and listen to the wireless. We knew all of her songs. Thank you, Hermione. Thank you. This means so much to me."

Hermione gave her another hug. "Think of it as a thank you from all of us."

"But wasn't the show sold out? I heard it was going to be huge with the Weird Sisters opening!"

"It turns out people like to give me things," Hermione said and both women laughed.

"Perks of being a heroine!" Molly told her.

Hermione disagreed. "I'm not a heroine. As I once told Harry, it's just books and cleverness."

"Well, it isn't just brawn that's needed to overcome someone like Voldemort," Molly told her. "Now come into the kitchen and round up the boys. I'm going to tell Arthur we're going on a date!"

Poor Arthur, thought Hermione, remembering his cringe at the Christmas caroling as she went to go find Harry and Ron. And of course, being Molly, she wouldn't let Hermione leave without taking a little something with her. The boys were quite jealous of the two-tiered cake that left with Hermione, wondering what they needed to do to get one as well. Ron even volunteered to do the washing up.

~~HGSS~~

Later that evening, Hermione mingled in the teacher's lounge. She wasn't a teacher but that didn't stop Minerva from showing her to their rooms and giving her their privileges. No one would be as respectful and discreet as Hermione and there were no students present anyhow.

In fact less than a dozen people were in the entire castle, but all were in attendance that evening.

Neville and Hermione were the only new members to the staff. Professors McGonagall and Sprout were talking amongst themselves while Snape and Flitwick enjoyed a game of chess. Hagrid was on the sofa in front of the fire, trying to inch away from a tipsy Professor Trelawney, a difficult task for someone his size. Hooch and Filch were discussing the upkeep of the Quidditch pitch.

"Neville?" Hermione asked her friend. "If you could have one wish, what would it be?"

Neville cast a sidelong glance to his most feared professor, who was ignoring the conversation and focusing on where to place his knight. "I don't know, Hermione. There are a lot of things one might wish for."

"But what if you only had one? And how do you decide what the right wish is? How do you know for sure it's the one thing you want most in the world?"

A few of the other professors were eavesdropping on the conversation. "I think that the right wish is going to be for the one thing your heart keeps going back to," answered Flitwick, leaving an exasperated Snape hanging midgame. "The first thing that comes to mind, or the one that you can't help but keep thinking of."

"So what is yours, Professor?" Neville asked the little man.

Flitwick pondered for a moment. "I have no idea!" he answered, causing the crowd to laugh.

Hermione brought out the beautiful cake Molly had sent along as a thank you and shared it with the group. There was no way she was going to eat the whole thing on her own. Well, she probably could, but she certainly shouldn't.

"What did Molly give this to you for?" Minerva asked her after taking a second slice.

Hermione shrugged, not really wanted to share the secret of the coins. "I was able to get her some tickets to a concert she wanted to see," she answered vaguely.

"Warbeck?" asked Flitwick, excitedly. "I've always wanted to see her and Molly is a huge fan!"

"Oh. Yes, actually." Hermione had no idea that Molly's love of the singer was so well known. She couldn't even figure out why the singer was so popular in the first place. It certainly wasn't her genre of music.

"But it was sold out!" Flitwick exclaimed. "I've been on the waiting list for weeks!"

"I just asked the staff at the Wizarding Wireless Network. I'm sure I just got really lucky and someone canceled."

"Lucky, my foot," said Flitwick, silently wondering if she had used Felix Felicis.

"I know what mine would be," Minerva told the group.

Snape scoffed, finally abandoning his game and grabbing the last slice of cake. "Is it covered in tartan?"

"Hardly. No, I know it sounds silly and maudlin but when I was a wee lass, I used to spend a great deal of my summers with my gran. We spent a quite a bit of time in the kitchen, but there was one cake she made that she never let anyone see the recipe for. It was, by far, my favorite, and I could always expect an owl with her package of a new book and a fresh cake for my birthday. It had nuts and spices and the best frosting. I wish I knew how to make it, to remind me of those summers spent by her apron strings."

"That's beautiful, Minerva," Sprout told her, patting her arm gently. "I think everyone's family has a few secret recipes. Maybe someday it'll turn up. My scones recipe is hidden in one of my textbooks!"

"Is it now?" asked Hooch, plotting a reason to enter the greenhouse and liberate the recipe. Sprout's scones were legendary among the staff.

Sprout nudged Minerva. "No use asking what Trelawney would wish for."

Hagrid had not yet joined in on the conversation, and now the group saw why. Trelawney had him pressed up against the arm of the sofa, seated as close to him as possible. Her empty wine glass sat on the opposite end table and Hagrid was looking rather nervous. Hermione wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to ward off the woman's advances or if it was because he wasn't sure what he would do with her if he accepted them.

"I bet Severus would like to share his wish," Hooch said with a sly smile.

"I bet he wouldn't," Severus shot back. The woman knew damn well that he wasn't one to share anything remotely personal without a certain gain.

Severus' relationship with the staff had always been a tenuous one. Brought on at the tender age of 21, he hadn't a clue what he was doing with the much older and seasoned staff. He was petulant and defiant, harnessed only by the promise he had made to Dumbledore. In time, they were all able to come to an understanding, even if it was mostly just to live and let live. He had what he considered to be a friendship with a few—Minerva and Flitwick amongst them—but Hooch got her rise in badgering the man like the Hufflepuff she was (not that she would admit it). She saw it as her personal duty to include him in all the conversations, often by putting him in the uncomfortable spotlight.

During his time as headmaster, his relationships with most of the staff had understandably cooled, with the exception of Flitwick and Hagrid. He found the two things he missed most were tea with Minerva, and being harassed by Hooch. It took Rolanda only until the meal following the fall of Voldemort before she was once again giving him a hard time. "What's the matter, Severus?" she had asked. "Snake got your tongue?"

"I bet," said Hermione with a smile, "that he can hardly wish for anything. He can finally do whatever it is he wants. The only thing he could wish for is more hours in the day."

Oh, and how right she was. This was thus far the best summer he had ever had, as a teacher or otherwise. Time to read, time to brew, time to sleep. All things he had never had copious amounts of. He had always had to allocate his time. But there was no reason to tell her that. Bloody Gryffindor. Who was she to think she saw into his life and personal affairs?

"Oh, there is something I very much wish for, Miss Granger," he told her slowly in his smoothest voice. The one he knew always made Sprout and Sinistra look twice. "Something I long for more than anything else."

Hermione answered, her voice strained as she hung on his every word. "And that is?"

"A day with peace and quiet away from insufferable know-it-alls!" He Vanished his empty plate before leaving the room, the effect somewhat diminished by his lack of billowing cape.

"Well, then," Hermione said. "Guess not everyone will be receiving their wish, will they?"