Chapter 36

Hermione POV

"Thank you, Miss Granger."

"You're very welcome, Jonathan."

Hermione smiled at the fifth year transfiguration student before he bid her a nod farewell and departed from the classroom. O.W.L.s, as well as N.E.W.T.s, were fast approaching and as such, Hermione had no shortage of students coming to her for help and advice during their preparations for their exams. While Hermione enjoyed helping the students, and she was admittedly rather adept at it, one thing had certainly been cemented during this time - she did not want to become a professor. While the job was fulfilling to a degree, that part of Hermione that had tugged at her in all her years prior, the part that urged her to go to the Ministry and to go to France, was still present and was still nagging her despite her best efforts to ignore it.

By this point, several people had talked to her about taking up the Minister's offer and going to work in London, but she had refused all their bouts of encouragement. She had relented to some degree and at least gone to speak with the Minister about it. Though she did leave his office with the stirrings of anticipation and eagerness, she remained more-so unconvinced. She knew that the project was now underway - without her - and Mr. Weasley, and oddly enough, Percy, had kept her in the loop about how things had been developing. She had to admit that their updates did ease her mind and each day it seemed a bit harder to stay uninvolved. Yet, for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to go to the Ministry to speak with Mr. Scrimgeour once more. Whether it was a matter of pride, fear, loyalty to Dumbledore and Hogwarts, or some combination of factors, she still didn't know.

The brunette casually glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall and sighed - best to go get some dinner while it was still available. With any luck, she'd run into Ginny and Luna. Standing, Hermione gathered up her things and headed for the Great Hall.

Upon entering the Great Hall, she saw Ginny and Luna huddled together at a table with numerous other students, though most of the students had vacated the hall. Ginny quickly caught Hermione's gaze and offered a quick wave before gesturing next to her on the bench. There was no room next to Ginny, in fact the only free seat would be several people over and though Hermione knew the redhead would make room for her, for some reason Hermione suddenly felt more inclined to eat quietly at the staff table. Offering Ginny a wave of thanks before gesturing to the front of the hall, Hermione moved on and pushed the disappointed look on Ginny's face to the back of her mind.

"Good evenin', Hermione."

The brunette smiled at Hagrid as she took up a seat next to him, feeling small as ever as she settled in next to the half-giant.

"Good evening, Hagrid. How are you?"

"Oh, doin' well. The students were good today and Fang's feeling better," he answered cheerfully with a nod. "How are you? How are the students coming along?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she smiled politely. "And they're doing well for the most part. Some have made significant progress and I'm very proud. Overall, I think they'll be okay."

"Good to hear," he nearly exclaimed as he reached across with his goblet of pumpkin juice and clanged it against hers, causing nearly a third of the beverage to spill out onto the table. "Oh, sorry, there."

"It's fine," Hermione said quietly as she calmly dabbed the spill away with her napkin.

"Well," he continued, "those kids will be sure to do great in their exams with your help. No doubt you're an excellent teacher and you're not even a fully-fledged professor yet," he chuckled.

She forced herself to smile up at him and offer a laugh of her own. She knew she should be flattered, and she was on some level, but she just wasn't...happy. While being able to see Ginny every day had expedited Hermione's...recovery, she felt as though she had hit a plateau, and being stuck on this plane left her feeling unsatisfied.

As her conversation with Hagrid slowly came to an end, she shifted her gaze down the table to see if Dumbledore was still here - she had to drop off some documents with him and now was as good a time as any. Her lips pulled into an unimpressed line as she saw his chair was empty. An inaudible sigh escaped her mouth as she began to pick at her food once more.

"Hey."

Hermione looked up from her plate to be greeted with the pleasant sight of Ginny standing before her and offering a soft smile. The brunette returned her girlfriend's smile before turning her attention to Luna who was standing quietly behind Ginny and offered the blonde a small greeting as well.

"We're going to play some wizard's chess in Ravenclaw Tower, wanna come?" Ginny asked brightly.

"I have to stop by Dumbledore's quarters after dinner to drop off some paperwork, but maybe after," Hermione replied a little slowly - the idea of hanging out with the group and playing chess wasn't overly appealing right now. She knew she should at least attempt to be social, but she just didn't really feel up to it.

"Yeah, for sure, stop by after. I'll even go easy on you," Ginny said with a wink.

"Yeah, I'll see. I still have a lot of marking to do," Hermione said as her gaze dropped to her plate and she absently pushed the remaining food around with her fork.

"Aw, Mione-"

"I think perhaps Hermione has a lot on her mind right now. She might prefer to be alone with those thoughts," Luna chimed in, her airy manner present as ever. Hermione laughed inwardly - leave it to Luna to cut right to the chase.

Ginny looked back at Luna with a frown before shifting towards the brunette. "Oh," she said quietly. "Sorry...I should've noticed."

"No, Gin, it's fine, really," Hermione stressed, albeit a bit quietly as she didn't want to attract attention to them. "I'm just in a mood. Maybe you can stay with me tonight?"

"Of course," Ginny replied with an eager nod. "Do you want me to come with you to Dumbledore's?" She quickly offered, the action spurring a twinge of warmth to form in Hermione's chest much as it always did whenever Ginny did something that so blatantly showed her care and concern for the brunette. With a smile and a gentle shake of her head, Hermione turned down the offer.

"Come on, Ginny," Luna spoke up lightly as she pulled a reluctant Ginny away from the table and toward the double-doors. Both girls looked back, and Hermione had to laugh at their contrasting looks. Ginny looked rather offended by Luna's herding, while the blonde merely glanced back to Hermione with a friendly smile.

With a quiet sigh, one slightly more content this time, Hermione set down her fork and turned to Hagrid to wish him a good night before exiting the hall.

"Professor? Are you here?" Hermione called out as she tentatively entered his quarters. It didn't take much for her to see that his office was currently vacant. Quietly, Hermione padded over to his desk and set the paperwork down in a tidy pile. As she was turning to leave, something caught her eye. Not anything new and shiny, rather something old and tattered - the sorting hat. After an instinctual glance around the room, she laid her eyes on the sorting hat once more and studied it from afar before walking over. She stared at it a bit longer before deciding to reach out. Turning the hat over in her hand a couple of times, she eventually swallowed the feeling of foolishness that was swelling inside of her and set the hat on her head. A surprised gasp escaped her mouth as she felt the hat jolt to life upon contact and it laughed amusedly.

"Well, well! Miss Granger! Aren't you a bit old to be sorted? I gave you your house years ago," it proclaimed loudly with a bit of a drawl.

Hermione bit back the retort she wanted to shoot the snarky hat's way and instead responded, "Yes, but...things change."

"And you want answers, I assume?" The hat remarked with that same earlier amusement. "Ah yes, that's right, I strongly considered putting you in Ravenclaw for reasons such as that."

"Yes," she recalled with a knowing nod. "Perhaps I never deserved to be in Gryffindor," she suggested meekly. Though she knew how she felt deep down, she still feared the hat's response. Before it could answer her, she quickly added, "Nor did I deserve to be in Ravenclaw. If you knew what I've been through recently, than you'd know I'm not half as bright as everyone said." She frowned as she heard the hat grunt in disapproval.

"I stand by my original decision. You are a Gryffindor," he asserted.

Hermione pursed her lips together as she stood for a moment in stillness, contemplating the hat's affirmation. "I don't feel brave," she finally said.

"Perhaps," the hat conceded and Hermione felt her heart still. "But, I can't choose something else for you. Even if you say you don't feel brave and even though I can clearly detect a high level of intellect and cleverness, it cannot override the fact that to your core, you are a Gryffindor. Some part of you will not let me read you as anything else."

"Harry said he chose to be in Gryffindor over Slytherin," Hermione commented absently as she studied the far wall without actually focusing her eyes.

"Ah yes, Mr. Potter. He did not want to be in Slytherin, he chose to be brave rather than ambitious. And you choose to be valued as brave rather than clever, and yes, ambitious too."

Hermione's mind wandered until she was shook from her thoughts by the hat speaking once more.

"I can sense your reluctance to be in Gryffindor. But it is different than Mr. Potter's reluctance to be in Slytherin."

Hermione pondered this statement as well and realized that Harry's reluctance was out of fear and disdain, hers was merely a matter of value and worth - self-doubt to be exact.

"Ginny's a true Gryffindor," she remarked.

The hat let out a riotous laugh. "Miss Weasley, I remember her. All the Weasleys were Gryffindor - even that brother of hers...Ronald, I believe. Ginny Weasley," he stated once more as he seemed to mull over her name. "She's a true Gryffindor, indeed. Exceedingly brave, in fact, recklessly brave."

A smirk formed on Hermione's face as her thoughts drifted to the redhead in question. "Yes, I believe that is quite accurate."

"Yes, well, I don't know what more I can offer, Miss Granger. I sorted you into Gryffindor when you first arrived, and I stand by my decision - you are still a Gryffindor. And, I will have you know that I am never wrong," he stated quite loftily.

The smirk that lingered from thoughts of Ginny transformed into a full smile as his words and the realization settled in.

"Thank you for lending me your talents once more," Hermione said.

"You're welcome," the hat replied in a bit of a bored tone. "Merlin knows I don't get enough use throughout the year, so I suppose this interruption was tolerable. Don't doubt my decision again. And if you do doubt it, that simply means that I was proven right because you most certainly wouldn't be a Ravenclaw because any smart student would know that I'm correct."

"Of course," Hermione chuckled good-naturedly. "Thank you."

With that, she gently removed the hat and held it in front of her for a moment to examine it, though it was now inactive. Eventually she set it back down in its original spot. As she left Dumbledore's quarters, the smile that had formed on her face did not waver and instead it grew.

Ginny POV

"Miss Weasley, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Ginny smiled warmly at the woman who stood before her with a hand extended in greeting. The seventh year reached out and offered the woman, Wynda Kail, a firm handshake and reciprocated the greeting.

"Pleasure's all mine - I assure you. I'm so glad you were able to make it out for the game."

"Well, I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who wants to speak with you today," Wynda said with a sly smile as she glance over Ginny's shoulder at a group of other scouts. Some were speaking with other players, but some were just standing around - Ginny didn't want to assume that they were waiting to speak with her, but according to Wynda, that could very well be the case. "And I can see why you're in high demand. In fact, the team's had their eye on you for a few years now."

Ginny could feel her eyes light up as the captain of the Holyhead Harpies relayed this absolutely fantastic information to her. She beamed at Wynda and the auburn-haired girl let out a small chuckle. "I'll take your enthusiasm as a good sign," she winked.

"Please do," Ginny laughed.

"Well, I won't take up too much of your time, but I truly hope you consider taking the spot on the Harpies. We'd be very pleased and proud to call you one of our own. I'll leave this with you," she announced as a set of papers appeared in her hands, which she consequently passed over into Ginny's waiting hands. Ginny gripped the papers tightly in her hands as if someone was about to come and steal them away. She had been dreaming of this opportunity for years and now it had finally come to fruition.

"Camp starts first thing in July, so you wouldn't get much time off between school and training, but don't worry, we work hard, but we play hard too," Wynda said with a wink. "We'd like to have our team roster finalized by the end of the month so that we can get everything organized and get the living arrangements put together, so if you do intend to accept, please make sure we receive your signed contract no later than May 31."

"Not a problem," Ginny said as she and Wynda shook hands once more. "Thank you again so much for this opportunity; it's a great honour - really."

"If you really want to thank us, sign your name on the dotted line and get flying," the older woman joked. "Anyway, I suppose I should give the others a chance to at least speak with you. I hope you keep this offer at the top of your list though."

"I probably shouldn't say anything - I think I heard somewhere that you should negotiate pretty ruthlessly when it comes to contracts - but I don't think you have much to worry about. It's always been my dream to play with the Harpies," Ginny gushed against her better judgment.

"Can't say I'm unhappy to hear that," Wynda laughed. "Alright, well, enjoy the rest of your day, Ginny. Good luck on your N.E.W.T.s come exam time."

"Thank you. Have a great day."

Ginny watched star-struck as Wynda walked away and down the hall, not even stopping to speak to any of the other players - much to Ginny's amazement. She was still in a bit of a daze when someone from the Tornadoes approached her. In fact, Ginny was astounded when six scouts approached her, and all with very tempting, convincing offers. Well, they would have been tempting and convincing had Ginny not decided years prior that she was going to be a Harpies girl.

The young quidditch player checked her watch as the crowd thinned out and the scouts left. Hermione was currently meeting with Mr. Scrimgeour in Dumbledore's office. Apparently, Hermione had some sort of epiphany while speaking with the sorting hat, of all things, and had decided that she needed to go back to the Ministry. Though the house-elf project she was approached about a couple of months back was now underway, apparently Mr. Scrimgeour was willing to still speak with her about it. Somehow, Dumbledore had convinced Mr. Scrimgeour to come to Hogwarts for this meeting, supposedly under the promise of an 'exhilarating' quidditch match.

Ginny had known for a while now that Hermione wasn't entirely happy here at Hogwarts. But, at times, she did just kind of get used to the girl's demeanour, such as when Luna had to so bluntly remind her in the Great Hall a couple of weeks back. Regardless, she was very happy to hear that Hermione was willing to go back to the work that she was truly passionate about. Ginny had been quietly coaxing the brunette in that direction, but knew Hermione was the one who had to take the last steps. Sure, Ginny was nervous about it too. This was Hermione, after all, and Ginny was, well, Ginny. She was more than protective of Hermione and the last thing she wanted was for Hermione to be put in danger, but Ginny had done her own research and trusting her father, Harry's, Ron's and her own judgment on the matter, she deemed it a safe and good opportunity. So now, here they were, Hermione had finally resolved what she needed to do and could carry on.

The redhead entered Hermione's quarters and as she had expected, it was empty - she was unconcerned about this, though. She settled herself at the desk in the corner of the room and began to read through the Harpies contract. Her jaw nearly fell when she saw the figures that made up her annual salary. Excitement bubbled up in Ginny at not only the thought of playing with the team she'd desperately wanted to play for, but also at the money. She thanked Merlin that she had passion for something that could be so lucrative.

Sure enough, training would start in July and Ginny would have to move to Holyhead. It looked as though she'd be living in a dorm-setup again with her fellow teammates, but that seemed fine to her. Actually, the thought of rooming with these athletes she'd admired for so long was just mind boggling. She'd have time off every now and then to come home, and during the off-season she could live in London, but for the most part she anticipated she'd be rather busy. If Hermione was able to secure a position with the Ministry again, Ginny imagined the brunette would go back to being nearly as busy as she was in Paris - so perhaps it'd work out best if they were both busy at the same times. There was no doubt in Ginny's mind though that they'd make time to see each other, especially after this whole nightmare with Ms. Blake.

Ginny was jerked out of contemplation as she heard the door swing open - she spun in her chair and saw Hermione standing in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob, but the girl was smiling broadly.

"I got it, Gin! I'm back in!" Hermione exclaimed in excitement as she held up a set of papers of her own for Ginny to see. With a grin, Ginny got out of her chair and started to walk towards Hermione, arms open, only to have Hermione rush into them and nearly bowl both of them over. Ginny laughed warmly as Hermione tucked her head into the crook of Ginny's neck.

"Congratulations, Mione! That's excellent news! Are they letting you join the house-elf initiative?"

"Yes," Hermione breathed in an exhilarated sigh. "Just as I was originally offered. Mr. Scrimgeour said the project is still so new that they can still re-arrange and fit me in. I'll be starting next week though, and I apologized to Dumbledore for that. I told him I could come in the evenings or weekends to help still, but he refused. I don't think he was upset though."

"No way," Ginny insisted. "Dumbledore wanted you to take the job from the start. He kept you on here because you said you wanted to keep busy - on top of the fact that you are a very capable teacher." Hermione merely rolled her eyes in dismissal, before continuing on.

"And since I'll have increased authority with this position, and violations of wizarding law - international violations included - will be within my realm, I think I'd like to put in a few words about some of the charming guards at Laurophey," the older girl relayed as her body settled into a prideful stance.

Reaching forward with her hand to affectionately cup the brunette's chin, Ginny smiled. "That's my girl."

Hermione rolled her eyes but gave a quiet smile that Ginny found simply endearing.

"Anyway, enough about me," Hermione said. "How'd it go for you? You played excellently today."

"Thanks," Ginny smirked. "Well, the Harpies want me," she announced happily and was abruptly pulled into another enthusiastic hug.

"Oh, Ginny, that's incredible! I'm so proud of you!" Hermione beamed proudly as her hands upon Ginny's arms as she pulled out of the hug.

"Seems like it's been a pretty good day," Ginny laughed.

"I know," Hermione said in a bit of a flat voice while giving Ginny a wary look. "I'm a bit nervous - seems like it's all too good to be true."

"I get what you mean," the redhead relented somewhat before continuing, "but we shouldn't think like that. We've been through Hell this past year - we deserve some good luck."

Ginny stared fondly at Hermione as the brunette smiled gently up at her. There was a moment of silence before Hermione suddenly leaned forward and kissed Ginny deeply for a prolonged second.

"What was that for?" Ginny surprised herself with how she had to actually struggle to find the breath to say those words. Hermione just smiled back innocently.

"No reason."

"Right," Ginny replied doubtfully. She continued to eye Hermione sceptically, but the brunette didn't crack. Eventually, Ginny shifted topics. "So, you know this means I'll be moving to Holyhead."

"I know," Hermione replied with a nod, her voice had a hint of sadness though she smiled through it. "At least you'll be nearby. We can floo to one another. Maybe apparate in certain cases. And if you're in desperate need, you can fly to see me," Hermione finished her explanation a bit stiffly at the mention of flying and Ginny bit back a chuckle.

"You mean you won't fly to see me?" The younger girl asked in as innocent a voice as she could muster.

"You know I won't," Hermione retorted sternly, perhaps even a bit contemptuously. "However, if I ever get my hands on an enchanted car, perhaps I could in some sense," she added on with a bit more calm.

"I'm just kidding, you know," Ginny smirked as she gave Hermione a playful nudge.

"I'm not sure how much time we'll have to visit one another anyway," Hermione carried on seriously. She went on to echo Ginny's sentiments on how their schedules would be restricting. At the end of it, the brunette offered Ginny a teasing grin. "I find it interesting that you're joining the all-female team and will be housing with them for a better part of the year."

"Hey, it's not much different than here," Ginny said in defense.

"Mm," Hermione voiced as she crossed her arms, her smirk remaining. "You'll be of legal age - lots of parties, lots of girls..."

"And I'll be sitting quietly in my room reading the Daily Prophet," Ginny replied in an easy tone. Hermione burst into laughter.

"I'm positive," she remarked dryly, prompting Ginny to shoot her a withering look with underlying tenderness.

"Come on. You know you're the only one for me," Ginny stated as she ignored the blush that was creeping up onto her cheeks. "Besides," she carried on with a pointed look as she, too, folded her arms, "I don't mix business with pleasure."

Hermione smiled affectionately at her and said, "I know, Love. I'm just teasing you." The redhead cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Well don't you go off and fall in love with some brilliant Ministry employee who shares your soft spot for house-elves."

"Gin, don't be absurd," Hermione retorted. The look on the older girl's face really did express that she thought the notion was ridiculous. "I'm going to miss you so much – all over again. We just got back together," she continued in quiet regret as her gaze dipped just as her tone did.

"I know...," Ginny concurred and mostly at a loss for words; she was too distracted by the sinking feeling in her stomach about being separated from the older girl once more.

"But," Hermione piped up, her tone much brighter as her eyes lifted to meet Ginny's once more, "it's more than worth it. No matter where I imagine myself going over the years, I know that in the end it's you and me."

"I won't play quidditch forever," Ginny stated tenderly and with absolutely no remorse – a feeling she never could've imagined years before about the thought of her quidditch years coming to an end. "We'll be together," she affirmed before leaning in to kiss the brunette's cheek. When Ginny pulled back, she couldn't help but smile at the warmth in her girlfriend's eyes.

"So," Hermione started with a bit of a sigh, "when off-season hits, are you just going to stay at the Burrow?"

"Yes," Ginny replied nonchalantly. "Unless if other arrangements present themselves..."

A quiet grin formed across Hermione's lips. "I'm sure something can be arranged."

AN: Not a huge amount of fluff - sorry to disappoint ;) One more chapter to go!