Chapter Text
Hermione Granger looked up at the front doors of Hogwarts and smiled. Memories of the many years she spent here flooded her mind and brought a smile to her face. She could feel her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, on either side of her, even though she knew they were at work in London. When she received the Hogwart's owl, she was a bit hesitant to move back on a more permanent basis at first, but it felt right. Prof-Headmistress McGonagall, or Minerva as she was reminded to call her, invited her to teach Transfiguration. She was honored to be thought of for this opportunity and if it ended up not being to her liking, she could re-evaluate her position at the end of the year. Squaring her shoulders, she put her hand on the door and closed her eyes. Not all her memories at the school were happy ones, but she tried not to dwell on the negative for too long, it made her life a lot easier that way. The past was the past and the war changed everyone.
She opened the door and headed towards the Headmistress’s office. Hermione had been traveling around the world since the end of the war, learning and absorbing all the magical cultures she could find. She had been offered many positions at the Ministry but as much as she wanted to be a part of the changes that took place, her mental state was more important to her.
The first place she went after finishing her NEWTs was Australia, to restore her parents’ memories. Unfortunately, her obliviation had been too strong and their memories could not be restored. Hermione visited them once a year, as a distant cousin of her mother’s. It allowed her to be close to them without too many questions. Once she took some time to grieve over the loss of the parents in her memories, she thought about what she really wanted to do. There were so many things she still wanted to learn and visit, and she needed this separation to heal and become the best person she felt she could be outside of her relationships with Harry and Ron. They were her best friends, but she also needed to find who she was without them.
Not that she didn’t stay in contact with the pair, at the beginning she owled them whenever she traveled somewhere new. On one of her first return trips to England, for the anniversary of the end of the war, she bought everyone she was close to a cell phone and adapted them to be used in the magical world. Owls took too long to travel and she wanted their connections to be as if she was across town instead of across the globe. It kept them close and she always made sure to contact them at least once a week.
When she received Minerva’s offer, it came at an opportune time. She was in the magical city of Tebit, which was much smaller than the muggle country of Tibet it resided in. It was extraordinarily peaceful, and she was studying with a master in mind magic that made occluding much easier and allowed a person to reach a peaceful and meditative state without overexertion of the mind and/or magic. She had just finished her last course and was contemplating her next location but was also feeling a bit homesick.
If she took the position, she would still have the opportunity to travel in the summers if she chose to say on and she would be able to continue with the consultation work she was often hired for as long as it didn’t interfere with her classes and duties. She wasn't sure if her love of learning would benefit or hinder her progress as a teacher, but she hoped she wouldn’t be awful. Merlin knew she had helped Harry and Ron so much; she should have been a teacher's aide. She discussed her fears with the Headmistress, and they began discussing changes to the Transfiguration curriculum that incorporated what Hermione had learned. She liked the idea of reworking what was already a staple in magical learning and give it an upgrade or expansion. She accepted and began the move back to the UK and her magical family.
Upon reaching the gargoyle, Hermione said the password Minerva mentioned in her last letter and ascended the stairs. She heard voices as she approached the door and assumed Minerva was having a conversation with the portraits. Having been given permission to enter after her knock, Hermione entered the room and suddenly stopped when she noticed with whom the Headmistress was speaking to.