Here is the next chapter! See I told you I'd update quickly for you.

AN: I own nothing

Severus Snape sighed as he finished his last piece of work for the day. He glanced at the sleeping portrait of Albus Dumbledore. He never understood why Dumbledore's office had always been so cluttered until now. The workload that he had to deal with everyday was a clear indicator as to why.

It had been almost a week since the ball and he hadn't heard a thing from Hermione Granger. He figured that the ending of her relationship with that dunderhead Weasley would mean she'd jump at the chance to take the job he offered her at Hogwarts.

He had underestimated her Gryffindor loyalty to her job at the ministry. He was quite impressed by her determination to continue despite the torrents of abuse she was sure to be getting following that pathetic proposal from Weasley. He couldn't say that he didn't admire the way she attempted to ignore it all.

Snape had planned to go and see her today to offer her the job again but he figured that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. She was already a pariah because Weasley's actions so, being seen with a former Death Eater (although he'd been fully exonerated and rewarded for his duty to the light) probably wasn't going to help things further. He'd therefore concluded that perhaps he should maintain his distance for the time being. He did have the entire summer after all to get her to take the job.

Two weeks later

Hermione stepped out the elevator ever conscious of the vicious stares she was on the receiving end of. As she made her way down the corridor she heard pieces of conversations.

Bitch. Prude. Whore.

The abuse had been relentless and showed no indication of dying down. Following his proposal, the press had a field day and her face was on the cover of nearly every newspaper and magazine in the country. The only newspaper, which was more sympathetic with The Quibbler, and despite the numerous mentions of Wrackspurts and Dingleberries, Hermione found solace in the lack of attention paid to her relationship with Ron. Hermione silently thanked Luna again for her compassion.

Eventually, Hermione made it to her office. She closed the door behind and sat at her desk to begin her work for the day. She glanced at her pile of work a saw a very official looking envelope on top. It must be a response to her application for Deputy Head of the MLE. She needed something good right now and she was sure this was going to be it.

Dear Miss Granger,

Thank you for your application for the position of Deputy Head of Magical Law Enforcement.

Unfortunately, you have not been accepted for this position. Although you are more than qualified for the position, however, due to recent circumstances, another candidate has been selected.

I wish you success in your future endeavours.

Regards,

Pius Thicknesse

Head of Magical Law Enforcement

Hermione read it over and over again, wishing it wasn't true. How could they turn her down? She was the best for the job by far. She had clearly been turned down as a result of her rejection of Ron and all the abuse she'd received as a consequence. She was now seen as a liability and she didn't know to get rid of this label, as it would always hold her back. All her plans had gone out of the window now.

What in Merlin's name was she going to do now?

A knock on her door drew her out of her thoughts.

"Come in!" The door opened and in came her bumbling boss who was still devastated by her rejection of Ron. He squeezed himself into the chair and clasped his hands on his lap.

"Good morning, Sir. What can I do for you, today?"

Her boss took a deep breath. Somehow she knew this was not going to be a nice conversation.

"I have just had a meeting with my superiors about the situation two weeks ago. As you are aware, the response has been unprecedented."

Hermione nodded in response.

"It has gotten to a point where the ministry is paying extra staff to manage the howlers and complaints that have been pouring in. It is not something we can continue doing particularly as the budget needs to be reduced."

Hermione felt her heart drop. All the colour had drained from her face. This couldn't be happening.

"With this in mind, I would like to ask you to accept redundancy from the ministry. You will be given a more than generous package, I assure you."

"Isn't there another way around this?!" Hermione pleaded.

"It's this or I will have to fire you. I thought this would be the preferred option."

"Okay. I'll accept the redundancy." Tears were welling up around her eyes. It was over, everything she had planned. It was all over.

Her boss placed some papers on her desk.

"If you could sign here, please." Hermione gingerly raised her quill and signed away her career at the ministry.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. Now I'm afraid this redundancy is effective immediately. So, please grab your personal items and you will be escorted out of the building. I wish you all the best, Miss Granger. Goodbye"

He stood up and two burly aurors entered, ready to escort her to the main atrium. Hermione was just numb. She had a feeling that it would hit her in a few hours, and was more than thankful for her ample stocks of chocolate she had in her flat. She was going to need it. She grabbed her bag and with a sweep of her wand, all her photos, quills and spare robes went shooting into it. Then, she stepped out and made her way to the elevator, once again trying in vain to ignore the spiteful stares and cruel comments.

As the elevator doors closed she felt a single tear fall down her cheek.

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