Hermione woke up to a pounding at the door. When had she fallen asleep? Groggily, she got up off the couch and stumbled to the door. Where was she? This looked like her old apartment, but…

The door flung open just as she was reaching for the doorknob. It was Josh Miller. Wait, how did she know that? Who is this guy? What the hell is going on?

"Aren't you ready yet? It's almost ten!"

"Ready for what?"

"Um, that thing we call work. You know, where they pay us to perform menial tasks for practically no money. What is wrong with you?"

Good question, Hermione thought to herself. What is wrong with me? Last thing I can remember is being in the coach with Draco and… Draco! Wait, Draco? Draco Malfoy? Why was I was with him?

"Hey, are you okay?" Josh asked, concerned. "Are you drunk? Are you high? Are you going to just stand there?"

"I, um, I think I need to sit down." Hermione went back to the couch and pulled her knees up, wrapping a quilt around herself. So many things were running through her head. She knew who she was, she knew who Josh was. She knew Draco was but couldn't put her finger on it. It was like she was stuck in that moment between dreaming and waking up and couldn't get to either location. She closed her eyes and thought hard.

First off, where was she? In her apartment. That seemed to be true. Sorta. Who was this guy? Josh Miller. Her friend, her coworker, her ride to work while her car was in the shop. Wait, why did she have a car? Why did she have a job? What was her job? She rolled burritos at a fast food place. Why did she roll burritos? Isn't she smart? Yes, she's smart, smarter than anyone else she went to school with. So why was she working in a restaurant? Oh yeah, because she quit college when she… When she what? When she got into an accident after the Quidditch match and … Quidditch? Oh yeah, she's a witch. Then why does she need college? Shouldn't she be working for the Ministry or something? Oh… no. She was shunned from the magical world after the accident that took Ginny's life. Ginny? Oh yeah, that bitch who stole Harry from her… That's why everyone thought the accident wasn't really an accident. And despite her proving otherwise, they still all hated her. So she had to pretend to be a Muggle. Her parents wouldn't even talk to her anymore after this second accident that put her car in the shop and broke the leg of her neighbor Stacie, who didn't like Hermione to begin with. They all thought she exhibited patterns of hurting those whom she didn't like. So she had no one but Josh. Josh who was looking at her like she was insane. Wait, did she just say all that aloud?

"Hermione, I think it's time for you to take your meds," he said as he picked up her prescription bottles from her mantle. "It looks like you haven't had them for a while…"

She took the bottles he handed her. Yeah, they were mostly full, but the filling date said she'd had them for over three weeks. She uncapped the bottles and swallowed a pill from each as Josh handed her the cup of cold coffee she must have left on the table last night. She started feeling better, but knew the pills couldn't be kicking in that fast. Maybe she really was a little psycho.

Josh was rummaging through all the clutter on the apartment floor and found Hermione's work shirt. He picked it up and sniffed it. "It's not that dirty, you can wear it today and I'll take you to the Laundromat after work, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Hermione said as she stood up and let the quilt fall to the floor. She stumbled over to wear Josh was standing and took the uniform, putting it on over what she was wearing, which was her frog pajamas.

Josh sighed and pulled the work shirt over Hermione's head and steered her toward the bathroom. She didn't object while he washed her face and brushed her hair back into a ponytail. He handed her a toothbrush and as she cleaned her teeth, which she could do properly even in her sleep thanks to her parents, she tried to piece everything together. Magic was dead for her because of Ginny, her parents hated her for trying to kill Stacie, which truly was an accident, she wasn't in Muggle school anymore and she had to go make burritos for almost minimum wage. How had her life gotten so horrible?

Without realizing it, Hermione had finished brushing her teeth and Josh had dressed her in jeans and her work shirt. She had snapped out of her reverie when he pulled her ponytail through the back of her work hat. "Where are your shoes? We need to get going." Hermione nodded and slowly walked out of the bathroom. She tried putting on her sandals but Josh pulled them away from her without a word and handed her some sneakers.

Hermione was trying not to think but couldn't help it. All through her shift at the burrito shop, she kept "remembering" her time spent with Draco and Lav and Narcissa. It had seemed so real. She could remember every detail, not like in a dream where you can remember main points but not the little things, like how Draco smelled or the taste of the disgusting rare steak at every meal.

After work, instead of taking her to the Laundromat like he promised, Josh took Hermione to the hospital. This is where my doctor's office is, she thought. I've been here many times before. But why? Josh was talking to the receptionist while Hermione was pretending to read a magazine. Josh seemed really patient with her. He looked out for her. He must be her new best friend. Pieces of her new life were coming back to her. And unfortunately, it was real. But so was – wait! She lifted up the long sleeve of the thermal she wore under her uniform t-shirt but it wasn't there. She didn't have a Dark Mark, but she did have some scarring and scratch marks. Josh looked over at her and she hurriedly pushed her sleeve back down. He was in front of her in a moment with that concerned look he always seemed to have for her. He rubbed his hands over her forearms and smiled sadly. "The doctor can see you now, even though this isn't your normal appointment. Let's go in, okay?" She didn't think it was weird that he went with her.

Hermione recognized Dr. Ross and started remembering some conversations they'd had. Josh and Dr. Ross were whispering but Hermione just sat down and concentrated on her shoelaces. She didn't remember tying her shoes, Josh must have done that.