It was a beautiful sunny day at 12 Grimmauld Place. There lived 3 best friends: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. The Wizarding war, that they have been fighting for years, has finally ended after a long-fought battle. The months that followed was hard for the Golden Trio. They weren't sure what they were going to do with their new sense of freedom.

They spent the first month helping rebuild Hogwarts. With their help, the school should hopefully be open in time in September for the new wizards and witches to arrive. They worked hard alongside Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sprout, and even Professor Snape. The days were long but the three Gryffindor's felt pride in their hard work.

After the first month of helping rebuild the school, the Golden Trio returned to 12 Grimmauld Place, the house that Sirius Black left Harry Potter and his friends to reside in. Ron Weasley spent a lot of his time reading about quidditch, playing quidditch, and he eventually was able to reach out to the Chuddley Cannons. His dream was to one day become a famous keeper on the best quidditch team.

Harry Potter talked a lot with Arthur Weasley who worked at the Ministry of Magic. Harry's dream was to be an auror. During the war, Harry found that he really loved being a part of Dumbledore's Army. After the war, Harry spent a lot of time reading up on aurors and visiting the Ministry of Magic. He believed he could potentially become the greatest auror alive.

Harry and Ron knew what they wanted to do and for over a month they pursued their dreams. While eating breakfast one day letters arrived for both Harry and Ron. Harry's letter was from the Minister of Magic himself. Harry has been accepted as an auror in training. He will begin his training within a few weeks. Ron's letter was from the Captain of the Chuddley Cannons. He was accepted as a member of the quidditch team. He will be expected to meet his new team in a couple of weeks.

Hermione Granger, as smart as she was, could not figure out what she wanted to do. She was truly happy that her friends both found jobs and were able to follow their dreams, but she was becoming a bit nervous that she still has not found anything that fit. Her first thought was becoming a healer, but after the war she couldn't stand the sight of blood. It brought back too many bad memories. She did not want anything to do with the Ministry, which did not leave that many jobs left for her to pursue. She knew she couldn't waste away in the house with nothing to contribute.

For weeks, she spent time reading newspaper after newspaper seeing if any job listings have caught her eye, but nothing sounded interesting until one morning she woke up and knew what she wanted to do. "I want to be a Potions Mistress," she declared to her friends over breakfast.

Harry and Ron stared at her in disbelief. Ron was the first to recover from the shock he just received. "Really Hermione? Potions? Why would you want to do that?" He asked quizzically. He truly did not understand why she would want to work with potions after the many years they suffered with Snape as their professor.

"Well Ronald, I believe Potions to be an art form. I find it honestly relaxing. I didn't judge what your dreams were so why are you judging mine?" Hermione said angrily. As much as Hermione wanted Ron to pursue something different than quidditch she was happy for him. Why couldn't he be happy for her?

Before the fight can begin Harry chimed in and said, "Hermione I am happy that you figured out what you wanted to do but where would you think you would get an apprenticeship from?"

Hermione looked down at her hands and whispered, "Where else Harry? It has to be Snape at Hogwarts. I was hoping I can start working on my apprenticeship in September."

Ron burst out laughing. "You got to be joking Hermione. Snape take on an apprentice?" He leaned his head back and continued laughing at her. He was very amused by her words.

"As much as I want to support you in this Hermione, Ron is right. Snape has never taken on an apprentice before. In fact, he has not had an apprentice in all the years he has taught," Harry remarked.

Ron wiped the tears from his eyes after laughing for so long. "I mean come on Hermione. You know the man's a git. It will not work out. You'll come crying back to the house over the way he treated you."

Hermione glared at her friends. She understood their disbelief and doubts but she wanted this. She wanted to one day maybe even teach it. She felt a bit embarrassed by their reactions. They honestly thought she couldn't or wouldn't be accepted. Hermione replied back meekly, "I want to one day teach. I want to work at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded at her words. "Hermione if you want to teach then teach but I think you would be better off with transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. She would love to take you on as an apprentice."

Hermione blanched at his words. "As much as I love Transfiguration Harry that is not what I want to teach. I really want potions. I want to learn by the best potion's master and that is in fact Professor Snape," Hermione insisted.

Ron shrugged. "Alright then Hermione. It is your funeral. Enjoy the bat of the dungeons."

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Must you act like a child Ronald? The war is over. I think this will go well."

"Even with the war over Hermione, Snape will not be an easy man to work with. You really want to pursue this?" Harry asked cautiously.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I really want this. It will be fun but challenging. Perfect for someone like me."

"Only you Hermione will find Potion's fun," Ron commented. "Fine if this is what you want then I'll accept it just don't be surprised if it doesn't work out like you wanted," Ron warned. He felt like Hermione was forgetting who Snape was. The foul git was mean and cruel, and he doubted that Snape would change his attitude with her.

Hermione continued eating her breakfast. Once she was finished, she asked Harry if she can borrow his new owl Oswald. After Hedwig died, Harry bought a new barn owl from Diagon Alley. Harry said, "So you're going to write a letter to Snape?"

"I have to try, don't I? I cannot just show up at his doorstep begging for a job. I think he'll like the letter I will send to him," Hermione said thoughtfully. She put her finger to her mouth in thought. She knew she had to be very careful with the way she wrote her letter. As desperate as she was, she could not let Snape know that. She has grown up from the war and she was not the annoying insolent little girl anymore. She was a mature woman who was very capable of working with potions.

"Alright Hermione you can borrow Oswald. Don't forget to give him a treat. Oswald sometimes needs reinforcement to leave," Harry responded.

Hermione stood up from the table and walked up the steps that led to their rooms. She stopped at Harry's room and retrieved Oswald from his cage. While inside his room Hermione remembered what Harry said about Oswald needing a treat. She grabbed a treat from Harry's desk and then left the room. She then entered her room. Inside her room was white walls, a small closet, a full-size bed with red and gold covers, and a small desk. Along the walls were the many books that Hermione owned. Even after the war, Hermione's love for books has not diminished one bit. She still spent most of her evening reading a good book with a nice cup of tea. She took a seat at her desk and set Oswald down next to her. On top of her desk was parchment, quills, ink bottles, and a few books that she left there from the night before. She took a piece of parchment paper and laid it down in front of her. She grabbed one of the many quills she owned and opened the first ink bottle closest to her. She took a deep breath trying to get her mind organized. She kept going over and over in her mind what she was going to say to Professor Snape. She hoped that he would listen to her. Once she found her courage, she dipped her quill into the ink and began writing on the parchment with her nice and neat script that she has written since primary school.

Dear Professor Snape,

I hope this letter finds you well. How are you? How is Hogwarts coming along? I hope everything is ready by September. I know Headmaster Dumbledore is chomping at the bit for school to begin. Anyway, I was wondering if you had any interest in having someone work alongside of you? I have a deep passion for Potion's, and I thought that maybe now that the war is over you and I can work together. I would love to take on an apprenticeship with you. I want to learn from the greatest Potion's Master alive. Please consider my offer.

Respectfully,

Hermione Granger

Hermione bit her lip. She hoped he would accept her offer. She folded the letter and put it inside an envelope. She addressed the envelope to Professor Snape again with her nice, neat script. She picked up the owl treat and fed it to Oswald. After Oswald was finished eating his treat, Hermione gave the letter to Oswald. "Alright Oswald. I need you to bring this letter to Professor Snape." She opened the window and watched with trepidation as Oswald flew out the window. She stood up from the desk and left her room in search of her friends. She found Harry and Ron sitting in the living room.

Ron was the first to notice her enter. He smiled at her warmly. After the war they both decided that a romantic relationship just was not what they wanted. They both had different dreams and wants that just did not fit each other. Ron still loved her as a friend and always will. "Hey 'MIone. Did you end up writing your letter?" Ron asked from across the room.

Hermione closed the space between them and sat down in the available chair. "Yes, I sent the letter to him. Now I wait." She turned to Harry and said, "Thanks for letting me borrow Oswald. I know you both have doubts and are worried about me, but I can take care of myself. I have no illusions. I know it will be difficult. I know Snape. He is not a nice man and will be difficult to deal with. He will be rude and callous, but I know he will show me some neat things when it comes to potions. I look forward to learning from him and getting better with the practice he will provide. Anyone else will just not do. I will just have to grin and bare the abuse."

Harry shook his head. "You're brave, Hermione. I wouldn't be surprised if he still tried to dish out detentions to you even now that you aren't a student."

Ron laughed at his words. "Right, Harry. Imagine Hermione scrubbing cauldrons or sorting out his potion's closet."

Hermione rolled her eyes at their words. "Give it a rest you two." As much as their words bothered her, she also felt it amusing. She too started to giggle. The three broke out into laughter grinning from ear to ear.