Chapter 1: An Offer She Can't Refuse.

Hermione was sat at her desk listening to her co-worker, Joe, drone on and on about some Quidditch game or other he had been to that weekend, not that she didn't like Quidditch or anything it was just a slightly sore subject that brought up one too many memories that she would rather not think about.

She was head of her department, transfiguration and charms. It had been her number one choice when she left Hogwarts and she had taken the first job she could and slowly made her way to the top but now, years later, she was bored with it all. She sighed and leaned back into the blue, under-padded office chair, massaging her temples wishing Joe would get the point and bugger off. He didn't. In fact she tried to remember last time he had even taken a breath while explaining what ever Quidditch move he was now on about, she could remember, it must have been quite a while ago. She looked across at him sat by her, he was in his late twenties like her and held similar interests, she could even go as far as saying he was quite good looking if she pushed and he had asked her out on countless occasions but she had always turned him down. He was just way too BORING, just like everything else in this bloody place, she thought to herself as she checked the clock again. Only an hour to go till the end of the day and then it's the weekend!

The hour dragged on but finally the clock hand pulled itself round to five and she smiled as she packed up her stuff and apperated back home to her apartment. With a loud crack she landed on the sofa aside her roommate Tom

"God I hate it when you do that!" Tom wailed clutching his chest "You always give me a heart attack just poping up."

"You're just sore 'cuz you never passed the test." She laughed giving him a hug before kicking off her shoes and sinking back into the leather of the sofa and closing her eyes. "Tom go get me a coffee I had a hard day."

"You always have a hard day Hermione." He countered, but got up and walked into the kitchen anyway. "I don't see way you don't just quit." He called over the sound of the kettle boiling.

"What and you expect what you get paid to pay the rent and buy all the shopping for us both? No chance." She yelled back.

"Well I lived off it with loads to spare and I usually pay the rent and buy the shopping anyway the only thing you spent your wages on is shoes and clothes." He said and he brought two cups of steaming coffee into the living room setting them down on the coffee table. "So what we having for tea?" he asked as he flips through the TV channels.

"Well I don't know what your gonna have but I've been invited to Harry and Ginny's for tea tonight. We're celebrating James stating Hogwarts next week."

"Ha!He should have gone to Durmstrang like me, then he would have been a real wizard."

"Up his own arse like you more like" she teased. The two of them always argued about which school was better.

"I suppose I'll phone Emma and see if she want to come round and we'll order in a pizza." He sighed.

"God you don't need to make it sound like such hard work she is your girlfriend and all." Hermione laughed as she drank her coffee and walked into her room to take a shower.

A few minutes later she stepped out if the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. She dried her hair before pulling on her jeans and a dark red ruffled top. She walked back into the living room to see Tom lay out on the sofa snoring lightly.

"Oi" She yelled down his ear making him jump up in shock. "I'm going now I'll probably be back late so don't wait up." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before apperating to outside Harry and Ginny's front door. She knocked and waited for a minute before the door was opened and a pair of nine year old arms wrapped themselves tightly round her waist.

"Ok Lily I do need to breath from time to time." She gasped but with a smile on her face.

"Oh sorry Aunt Hermione come in, Dad and James won't let me play on the playstation with them, they say girls can't play."

"Well I say we teach them a lesson or two about that." She says following Lily through into the living room where Harry and James were sat with their eyes glued to the screen.

"Hi Harry, I hear you're feeding this girl lies." Hermione says as she squeezes herself between the two of them

"Oh and what's that then?" Harry asks eyes still not leaving the screen.

"That us girls can't play playstation well I think it's about time we prove you wrong."

"Ok you're on."

They spend the next hour or so battling it out on a wrestling game and Harry and James loose horrendously. Hermione and Lily jump up and start a victory dance. They were still doing it when Ginny walks in. She stands at the doorway watching her best friend and daughter for a minute or two before speaking.

"If you people want to be fed then you will come now and you better, I've been slaving over this meal all day. James, Lily go clean up and come and sit at the table." James and Lily groan and walk out the door to the bathroom.

"So Hermione you heard from Dumbledore yet?" Ginny asks.

"No why should I have?" Hermione asks as she sits down at the table in the dinning room.

"Oh no reason, just something he said at the last governors meeting don't pay attention to me I shouldn't have said anything." Ginny says quickly trying to cover up the information she shouldn't have said. Luckily Hermione dropped the subject as James came back in and starts asking her about her time at Hogwarts.

Around 1:30 Hermione apperated back into her room and fell to sleep. The next morning she got up to find the flat empty. She walked out into the kitchen and spots a note pinned to the fridge

Hermione

Gone to Emma's for the night, an owl came for you quite late last night from some guy called Dumbledore mean anything to you? It was marked urgent so read it A.S.A.P. speak to you later

Tom.

She takes the letter from Dumbledore that's pinned underneath it and opens the seal.

Dear Miss Granger,

It has been a long time since I have heard from you and I'm glad that this time it is on better reasons. I'm not sure if you know or not but Professor McGonagall retired the end of last year and I have yet to find her replacement. I have heard from Mrs Potter that you are rather keen on the subject and I want to offer you the job. I am aware you already have a job and please feel free to decline but I ask you to please owl me you answer by Tuesday night at the latest.

Yours sincerely

Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione gasped at the letter. Her working at Hogwarts? Could she do that?

"So this was what Ginny was talking about." She muttered to herself before apperating over there. She knocks on the door and Ginny answers.

"Hey Hermione I wasn't expecting to see you so soon, what's up?"

"You could have told me what you meant you know" She says handing the letter over to Ginny.

"So you're gonna take it right?" she asks when she's read through it. "Dumbledore really wants you for the job he thinks you'd be best as you'd identify with the kidseven though it has been a whole thirteenyears since you left."

"I don't know-" Hermione starts but Harry interrupts her as he come out into the hall.

"Well it's not like you enjoy your job now, you'd find this so much more interesting."

"Yeh I suppose you're right. Yeh I'm gonna take it."

"Excellent now I have someone to check up on James for me, Fred and George keep on trying to give him the products to test out on the kids!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione laughed before saying goodbye and going back to her flat. When she got back she wrote a quick note to Dumbledore accepting the job and a letter to her work to quit.

Tom came home later that night looking rather sheepish.

"Erm Hermione? I have something to tell you"

"Oh me too! But you go first."

"Ok well me and Emma have decided to move in together. But the thing is, erm well this is technically my flat and as Emma lives in someone else's house I said she could move in here but that would mean she would have your room-"

"You're asking me to move out?" Hermione fills in for him

"Er yeh" he said not looking at her and feeling very guilty.

"Oh that's great!" Hermione exclaimed with a laugh.

"What? Oh so nice I mean I knew you hated me and all but do you need to make it that obvious!" Tom laughed feeling very relieved. "But why is that so great?"

"Well I didn't know how to tell you but I got a job at Hogwarts so I'm moving out. I'm going on Monday!"