Disclaimer: I own nothing. I will never be as good as Rowling and will never try to be, but I do love to play with her characters, especially Severus.

Hermione sighed as she pushed aside the manuscript of yet another book. Some days she really disliked her choice of career. Editing numerous nonfiction books was not all it was cracked up to be, which was saying something as it sounded boring to most anyway. Pulling her reading glasses off, she pinched the bridge of her nose in hopes of alleviating the headache. It had come on with a vengeance when she read the phrase "Vampires aren't just roamers of night if they happen to be ones that are only half turned because they are still half mortal and thus can walk in sunlight as well as roam the night." Merlin, do any of these people understand the simple process of reading through a paragraph once they'd written it? Now I know how our Professors felt.

She left the Vampire book for later and pulled towards her, wincing when she realized it must have been at least eight hundred pages, one of the newer manuscripts. It was a book about potions, which she hoped would be better written than most of the other books cluttering her desk.

The moment she began reading, Hermione felt like she had been pulled into the world of simmering cauldrons and bubbling brews. It felt like Hogwarts' infamous potion's class taught by the even more infamous Professor Severus Snape. She was immersed in the text for hours, pouring over it with such a devoted fervor it was almost as though she was back in the Hogwart's library, studying for NEWTs. She was astonished to realize that there were absolutely no errors in the text. This was what she had thought her job would be like, reading books before anyone else could.

Hours later, she finally finished the book and rubbed her eyes tiredly. This was the most fulfilling book she'd read in a while. Deciding she had to meet the author, she padded to the fireplace to "call" the publishers. Explaining that there were minimal errors in the text, but the ones that were present were ones that needed she needed the author for. She felt no remorse about lying; it was simply for intellectual pursuit. The friendly old woman nodded her head vigorously and told her she'd be in touch with the author to tell him to meet her at the Leaky Caldron in London tomorrow evening. She smiled and gave her thanks.

So, I was right in thinking the author was male. It was far too direct for a woman to write it, any book I've ever received from a woman had much more flowery language than ones I've received from men. Guys are simply more to the point; they say exactly what they mean.

Hermione smiled happily. It was only a day until she would meet this mystery intellectual. Her "social life" was absolutely pathetic. Practically a recluse, the only event she had attended recently was Ginny's third baby shower. The woman was popping them out at an amazing rate. Three kids in four years, and Hermione thought she got too many headaches.

It was sweet to see Harry and Ginny so happy. Merlin only knew Harry deserved a bit of happiness after all he had been through. Ginny, sweet vivacious redhead she is, was the perfect one to give it to him. Ron was God only knew where. He had become a complete and utter prat since he was out of Hogwarts, which was truly saying something, as he'd been a bit of a prick before. He'd gotten married to Luna Lovegood and then cheated on her with Pavarti Patil not even a year after the wedding. They'd gotten divorced and he moved in with Pavarti briefly before practically disappearing off the face of the earth. Luna hadn't been able to mourn for long, as Draco Malfoy seemed to come out of nowhere and swept her off her feet. They'd gotten married after dating for only 6 months and were soon expecting their first child. Luna had never been happier and Draco seemed absolutely smitten. He constantly had his arm around his wife and grinned like an idiot. It was quite sweet.

Hermione never had the chance to "settle down." She probably never would, she never had the time, or the real desire. She got little spurts of jealousy when she saw her friends so happy, but she felt like she would never find someone who was right for her. She was too smart and too powerful, and for some reason it intimidated most guys when they found out that she had performed the killing curse successfully during the final battle several times. She was irritated by that fact; she was a bloody war hero, not some crazed killer. It didn't matter; she was quite contented surrounded by her books and firmly ensconced in her job.

No matter how often she repeated that little mantra she could never believe it.

HGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSSHGSS

Hermione took special care with her appearance the next day. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she had to impress the man that she was about to meet. Ironic, as she'd decided when she turned twenty-five that she didn't want to try to form another relationship, so why was she so concerned? I'm going crazy. Actually, I think that happened years ago. She sighed; maybe this meeting wasn't such a good idea after all. Come on girl, just take a risk once in a while why don't you? Oh no, not that bloody voice again. Yes the bloody voice again. Merlin only knows that I'm the only one that talks to you. You'd go crazy without me. Hello! I'm arguing with myself! I think that proves that I'm crazy already. Well now you're an interesting type of crazy. I do need to get out more.

A/N Next chappie is Hermione's meeting. I wonder who it is that wrote the story. Hmmm, well there's only one way to find out. REVIEW. It inspires me.

--American Punk--