Chương 4: Temper
I'd spent the night at Melissa's, knowing Hermione would easily believe any lie from me. For the Brightest Witch of Her Age, she isn't as smart as people think. She's naive, and she'll believe I tell her. Honestly, I don't know if anyone wants her. She's a bit of a charity case, what with her frizzy hair and bossy attitude, but I'm there to give her what she needs in life.
I had been planning to go home first, but Melissa had distractedme so this morning that I didn't have time.
I headed straight to my office this morning, bracing myself for a good morning kiss from Hermione, but when I got to her office, she wasn't there. The lights were out as well, and it was a little strange. I chuckled. She was probably sick with worry that I hadn't turned up last night, so to placate her I owled our apartment that I was fine and that it had been a late- night mission around Hogsmeade and it wasn't anticipated how long it would take, so since everyone was too tired to Apparate we'd spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron.
I spent awhile texting Melissa on a phone I'd bought (I'd never admit it, but it was an amazing thing) without Hermione knowing, but pretty soon Harry came in with a grave look on his face and a large stack of files. I groaned mentally.
Definitely not in the mood for work.
Hadn't I already done my fair share in, oh, I don't know,
"So what's up?" I was still cheerful from my little chat with Melissa.
He dumped the files on my desk unceremoniously.
"Shacklebolt needs you to look through the files and prioritize them. And no, Ron,' he said, noting the look on my face,' you can't scan them, you need to them. They're important files."
I groaned, out loud this time. "Harry are you su-"
"Yes Ron, I'm sure." With that, he turned and left, nearly slamming the door behind him.
Jeez. Touchy.
After deliberating for about five seconds, I picked up the phone again.
Work could wait.
***
Hermione walked out of the twelfth apartment, absolutely exhausted. She hadn't found anything she remotely liked and only had a few more to look at. She didn't know what she would do if she didn't find something today.
Not to mention she had been brooding about Ron's cheating all day. While she had been reviewing the chat for no good reason, she realized she had skipped right over a file that turned out to be a very... inappropriate picture of Melissa.
She walked to a quiet flat that actually happened to be near Ginny's, and took a look around.
The realtor was on her phone, and Hermione felt like she had seen her before- long blonde hair and a familiar face, but once Hermione walked in, she smiled warmly.
"Hi! Are you just wanting to look around, or..." Her voice trailed off hopefully, but Hermione was still squinting.
"Are you... Astoria Greengrass?"
The realtor's eyes widened.
"Hermione Granger?"
The two women stared in astonishment, then embraced each other. While neither had been particularly fond of one another at Hogwarts, seeing anyone from their old school that had been in the war was a relief, especially considering Hermione hadn't known if Astoria had survived.
"How have you been? And when did you get into real estate?" Hermione was a bit shocked- Astoria had never pegged her as the type who'd go into real estate, but that just taught you to never judge a book by its cover.
"A while ago, actually. I'm close to the top of the business and I'm determined to be the CEO one day."
"Good for you!"
"So what about you?"
Hermione saddened as she thought of the circumstances that had led to today.
"Maybe another time. It's been... an emotional rollercoaster ride, to say the least." Hermione let out a sad chuckle, the wound from Ron's betrayal still very fresh.
"Hermione, I'm not going to lie. I used to be a bitch. A definite grade A bitch. But working in real estate has taught me something about people. It's to never judge people by their looks or personality. You don't know what they've been through. They could be struggling with anything, and the last thing they need is you bothering them.
I always respected you in school, you know. You weren't my favorite person, honestly, but you were smart and ambitious. Sometimes so much so I wondered why you weren't in Slytherin." She paused. "I really regret not being friends... Salazar, that was cheesy. But it's true. You were smart and knew what you wanted. Maybe we can start fresh? You don't have to tell me today, or ever. But I'm here if you need me."
Hermione smiled weakly.
"I'm glad to hear that. Let's start fresh. Hermione Granger." She extended her hand.
"Astoria Greengrass." Astoria shook.
And just like that, two girls who had barely known each other before, began a firm friendship, founded by their experiences and willingness to leave behind the past.
***
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