Chapter Text
Hermione raised her hand, shielding her eyes from the scorching California sun. Scanning the packed stands in search of the ever-conspicuous Weasley red hair, she was losing hope that she’d ever find them in the massive stadium positively swimming with her fellow graduates and their families. Twisting in the cheap folding chair where she sat in the middle of the athletic field, she fidgeted with her tassel and continued her search of the stands. The boring commencement ceremony droned on in the background as she scanned the crowd until, like an orange beacon, she finally spotted them.
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Susan were huddled together, ignoring the ceremony, whispering, and laughing amongst themselves while Molly read the programme. Arthur looked around with curiosity and delight at the Muggles and their odd cameras, some with moving picture screens - something he’d never seen from a Muggle camera before. Only Minerva McGonagall looked down at her and the other graduates, offering Hermione a tight smile and waggling her fingers in salutation when she noticed she’d been spotted. Hermione smiled and waved back up at her favorite teacher, former Head of House, mentor, and — since the loss of her parents — a sort of surrogate mother figure.
Hermione had always imagined her parents would be smiling down at her from the stands at her college graduation. While she was grateful to have her closest friends there to support her, Hermione felt the ever-present pang of regret and guilt at the absence of her mother and father, today even more so than usual.
When her aisle was finally given the nod to stand and walk toward the stage to receive their diplomas, Hermione collected herself and her thoughts. Slowly marching along the line of graduates snaking its way up to the stage, she felt a swell of pride in all she’d accomplished at Uni. She was glad she had chosen to attend a Muggle school. She couldn’t believe she’d almost let Ron talk her out of it.
“Why on earth would you waste your time and money on Muggle Uni when you have your choice of an apprenticeship in literally ANY Magical field of study you want?!” Ron whinged, picking yet another fight with her. “You do know you’re Hermione Granger? Brains of the Golden Trio? A Muggle education at Berkeley, of all places, sounds like a waste of time and money, if you ask me.”
Over the previous month, Ron had proven himself completely unsupportive of her desire to diversify her education unless it fit his schedule and his plans.
“B’sides, that school is all the way in America, and international portkeys are bloody expensive! Why don’t you pick something a little closer to home?”
But that was just it… she didn’t want to be closer to home. She desperately wanted to get away from the Wizarding spotlight. Hermione was tired of sneaking around to avoid reporters. She was fed up with constantly having her private business aired to the entire world. But besides that, she also thought that learning the Muggle sciences behind the magical subjects she so loved would give her a more robust understanding of how the magic worked. Potions and Transfiguration especially had similar applications to several branches of Muggle sciences, and she just knew there would be connections there that she could apply to her future magical studies and career. She simply couldn’t resist a mystery or a challenge, and studying magically-related topics at a non-magical school would provide her with both - with the added bonus of making her feel closer to her lost parents and Muggle upbringing.
Hermione was livid that Ron had tried to dictate to her how she should educate herself simply because it might be an inconvenience to him. She hadn’t tried to dissuade him from pursuing his career as an auror, despite how dangerous it would be or how long they would be apart during his training. Why couldn’t he just support her choices as well? Or at the very least be a little bit less of a prat about it.
The line of graduates slowly shuffled closer to the stage. Hermione glanced up at the stands to see her friends had stopped chatting and were now looking down at her. Ginny waved enthusiastically when she caught Hermione's eye. Ron absently brought his hand up, holding it tight to Susan’s, and pecked the back of her hand. Arthur was snapping photos. Hermione smiled wistfully back up at them, glad she had made the choice she had to come to California despite how much she had missed them all.
The reality was that when Hermione and Ron had first gotten together, they had both still been grieving and working through the trauma they had experienced during the war. When the dust settled, Hermione found Ron to be horribly insensitive regarding her grief about losing her parents, often reminding her that they were still alive, they just didn’t know who she was. As if she wasn’t painfully aware of that fact . His attempted exploitation of her grief did not go unnoticed, either, starting with comforting hugs and escalating to caresses she wasn’t quite ready for. Hermione was grateful that he at least respected her enough to grudgingly stop pawing at her when she asserted herself with a strongly-worded, “No, Ronald.”
Ron just didn’t get her, and she didn’t think he ever would. She eventually came to recognise that she loved Ron as a person and a friend, but no longer had a desire to be linked with him romantically. So, after only three months of dating and attempting to make it work, Hermione apologetically told Ron that she wanted to break up.
After the split, Hermione found that reverting back to “just friends” was more difficult than she thought. She tried to put a little distance between them, which was nearly impossible considering they had always traveled in the same circles. He wanted to try again, and had cornered her at social events insisting they could make it work if she’d just give him another chance. She felt bad for leaving him when he clearly still carried a torch for her, but her heart just wasn’t in it. She didn’t want to force something that didn’t come naturally. She hoped that leaving for America and putting some distance between them would be a good thing.
He’d eventually gotten over Hermione when Susan Bones swept him off his feet after they’d bumped into each other at a Chudley Cannons Quidditch match. The two of them had a lot in common, and they’d been absolutely smitten with each other for almost two years now. Thank Merlin for small miracles .
She was happy that he had found a good partner who reciprocated his affections. Susan was lovely. And Ron and Hermione’s friendship had eventually mended with distance and time.
“HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER - BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CHEMISTRY AND BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. SUMMA CUM LAUDE,” the loudspeaker blared. Hermione took a deep breath and smiled, walking across the stage to receive her diplomas. She beamed and waved to her friends as they hooted and stomped their feet from the stands. Taking hold of her blue and yellow tassel with a little gold “2002” emblem attached, she moved it from the right to the left side of her graduation cap before walking back down the steps to take her seat, diplomas in-hand.
Now she just had the tedious task of sitting through the rest of the alphabet of graduates before she could join her friends.
Looking around the stadium, she couldn’t help but wonder what her life would be like now that she was returning to England and leaving the Muggle world behind again. She still couldn’t believe she had managed to land an apprenticeship after graduation with her churlish (but admittedly brilliant) Potions professor at Hogwarts.
When she had initially written to Professor Snape nearly four months earlier expressing her interest in an apprenticeship, he had ignored her letter altogether. He didn’t even bother to send her a caustic reply. On her second attempt at persuading him, she tried appealing to his ego, citing his many accomplishments and her desire to work and learn from only the best. It was easy to write because it was true. Still, she never heard back and had given it up for a lost cause.
It came as a complete shock when, just two weeks before graduation, a bedraggled looking owl tapped on the window of her tiny studio apartment carrying a crumpled letter from her old teacher.
Miss Granger,
Your application for Potions Apprentice has been accepted. Please arrive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September 1, 2002 to commence your apprenticeship. I trust you are already familiar with the address.
Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hermione was confused by the complete lack of detail included in the letter. She didn’t know what spurred the change of heart, and quite frankly she didn’t care. She was absolutely thrilled to be returning to what felt like a second home to her and an apprenticeship with one of the world’s top Potioneers. She was surprised to see that the apprenticeship would take place at Hogwarts, though. She didn’t think he was teaching there anymore.
She hadn’t seen Severus Snape since the Ministry Ball when they’d both received an Order of Merlin, First Class, but had heard he was now independently brewing. She guessed the rumor mill was wrong since it seemed her apprenticeship would be taking place at Hogwarts.
Now on the precipice of her apprenticeship, Hermione hoped that the last few years outside the classroom had pacified Professor Snape’s vitriolic nature. To be honest, she was properly freaked out now that her apprenticeship was looming. Professor Snape was obviously her top choice for her apprenticeship. He was brilliant in his field, of course. But if their past relationship was anything to go by, she knew he would be incredibly tough on her and not accept anything less than perfection in her work. That was part of the draw, but also made her uneasy. Could they work together amicably for three whole years? She hoped so. Perhaps if he was amenable she could expedite her Potions Mastery the way she had done with her degrees at UC Berkeley by taking on a heavier workload. If nothing else, it would enable him to be rid of her more quickly.
Hermione’s attention was snapped back when she noticed people around her fidgeting in their seats and removing the pins that held their graduation caps in place.
“AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT TO YOU THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY GRADUATING CLASS OF 2002!” the loudspeaker boomed.
She stood up with the crowd and happily tossed her graduation cap into the air as family and friends applauded and whistled. This chapter of her life, the one immersed in Muggle culture and blissful anonymity, had finally come to an end.
………………
Hermione had agreed to meet her friends and surrogate family at a local coffee shop not far from campus immediately after the graduation ceremony.
After hastily stopping by her little apartment to change out of her graduation robes and give Crookshanks a quick pet, Hermione headed over to the coffee shop. It was clean, covered in fairy lights, plants, and art and had an attached bookshop and comfortable seating. It smelled of fresh coffee and new books. Hermione loved this place.
“HERMIONE!” Ginny hollered, tackling her with a hug as she came through the door. “Well, you finally did it, thank Merlin,” she announced loudly. “I know Berkeley is teeming with fit, tan blokes with perfect teeth and big… brains,” at this Ginny winked impishly, “...but I for one am glad that we’ll be getting the Queen of Swots back to Greenwich Mean Time where she belongs!”
“Here, here!” Harry piped up as Hermione and Ginny walked over the squishy couches and low tables where they were all seated. “To Hermione’s triumphant return home, degrees in-hand!”
Hermione giggled at how ludicrous the scene before her was as her friends sat crammed together on oversized sofas in the corner of a cafe, toasting her success with coffee mugs. Even Professor McGonagall lifted a teacup to her as they all started clinking their mugs together. It warmed Hermione’s heart that they had made the trip out for her, and having them all together again brought back fond feelings. She’d missed them terribly.
Hermione’s attention was quickly pulled away from the boisterous and heartwarming vignette when she felt a tap on her shoulder. A handsome man with wavy, dark brown hair in his late twenties smiled down at her.
“Justin?! What are you doing here?” she asked, stunned and delighted to see him.
“I just stopped in on my way to the lab. I drew the short straw, so to speak, so I get to pick up coffee for the research team,” he replied, his blue eyes twinkling and shifting down to indicate the paper trays of coffees he held balanced his hands.
“Oh! Are you still working with Dr Grant? I thought that project wrapped up?” she replied.
Dr Rebecca Grant was Hermione’s favourite teacher at Uni and their Molecular Biology professor. Hermione and Justin had been involved in some of the new research Dr Grant was doing on gene-splicing therapies, despite the fact that Hermione was only an underclassman. Dr Grant was also Hermione’s only connection to the Magical world, as Hermione had come to find out that she was a Squib. Hermione had never divulged her status as a witch to anyone, but Dr Grant had approached her, recognising her from a small article in the International section of a Wizarding newspaper she’d seen months before.
“We’ve finished with the Cas9 project for now," Justin replied with a smug grin. "But a few of us who are staying on for the summer have been offered the chance to help with the HGP. We’re working on the scale-up of two-hybrid systems for protein-protein interaction."
“The Human Genome Project?! No way! You’re so lucky you have another semester left. You finish your doctorate this winter, right?” Hermione asked, envious and slightly disappointed.
“Well, if you’d stuck around like we all hoped you would, Herms, you could have joined us,” he replied with a charming smile and a shake of his head.
It was then that Justin looked over her shoulder and registered the group of people silently watching them.
“Oh. I-I’d better get going while these are still hot, Hermione,” he stuttered, motioning to the coffees again. “Sorry to interrupt you and your friends; I’ll let you get back to it. Don’t be a stranger,” He said with a smirk before setting down the coffee trays and enveloping her in a warm hug.
“Thanks, Justin,” she replied, acutely aware of everyone’s eyes on her. “Same to you. You have my email address, right?”
He released her, nodded in the affirmative, picked up his coffees, and then left the café with a dazzling smile.
Hermione found her way back to her friends, choosing a seat on the sofa between Ginny and Susan. She helped herself to a sip of Ginny’s coffee that was sitting on the table in front of her, avoiding eye contact with the group.
“What?” she said when she looked up and saw that everyone was staring at her expectantly.
“So… who was that?” Ginny asked with a smug grin on her face, elbows on her knees and both hands balled into fists under her chin. Hermione shook her head and looked down into her lap as she fought an amused smile with pursed lips.
“Okay, since you are all obviously gagging to know, I’ll tell you. Yes, I dated him for a couple of months, but that was over a year ago, it was never serious, and we’re just friends now.”
“I KNEW IT!” Ginny hooted, turning to Harry who was seated on the opposite sofa. “You owe me five galleons. Pay up!”