Between the Shadow & the Soul
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda
It was an early evening in Diagon Ally and the restaurant was dimly lit. The collection of candles were scattered across each table, offering up a warm glow for the handful of its patrons. It might have been off-putting for some but for Hermione and her nocturnal companion it was perfectly suited to the occasion.
"Mr. Sanguini, I have the letter!" The curly-haired woman exclaimed, drawing forth a simple sheet of paper. What it lacked in flourish it made up for in what it meant to the pale man. She handed the document over to him. "The ministry approved our request and we won't need to go to trial."
"Miss Granger," the vampire crooned, a flash of sharp teeth tugging at his lips in a genuine smile. He peered over the piece of paper, reading and re-reading the words. "This is marvelous news. Thank you my dear child, thank you a thousand times over."
She was not put off by his use of "child" like she might have been with someone else. Given that Sanguini had close to a hundred years on her, she supposed age was a relative concept to him. But in this moment, he did not look a day over twenty-two. The sadness that had permanently etched itself into his youthful appearance dissipated with the knowledge that he was finally being recognized by the Ministry of Magic as a person. It was a big step for those like Sanguini, who would otherwise have been barred from many of the things wizards and witches take for granted.
Hermione had looked into the faces of countless magical creatures over the years, seeing the humanity in them that the rest of the Wizarding World still overlooked. They both knew that having the piece of paper that declared him a person would not be enough to give him all the benefits offered to others in wizarding society—but it was a definite start.
The witch matched his smile, excited that the document wasn't the only piece of good news she had for her client that day. "And it gets better; the court issued a request for Gringott to unfreeze your account too." One of the most frustrating parts Hermione's clients often faced, particularly vampires and werewolves, was discrimination in the banking system. Money that been in their accounts prior to becoming their current classification was often seized by the government until their personhood could be determined, a lengthy and expensive process.
"You are a remarkable witch, Hermione Granger," the vampire said as he thanked her one last time.
A remarkable witch. Hermione had heard that a lot over the years, sometimes in sarcasm but generally it was benign. At 27-years-old, Hermione Granger had achieved a great deal of success in her life to warrant such a compliment. But in truth when one is given the label of being the "brightest witch of her age" at the mere age of 11 it tends to set the bar high on personal achievements.
From house-elf activism in her youth, she had gone on to study wizarding law specializing in the rights of non-human magical entities. And Hermione was a perfect fit for the job; scouring books to meticulously build cases. Her unwavering determination to seek out all options, every ancient scroll that might give her client the upper hand. She had won most of her cases, a fact that she was especially proud of, and making herself invaluable to the company in the process.
But as she left behind the restaurant and Apparated back to her downtown bugalow, she was greeted by the familiar silence of an empty home. Well, she said to herself, almost empty. Scratching at the high-rise window was her extremely large cat Crookshanks. She let him in and was greeted with a thankful purr as he darted off to find a bookshelf to claim as his bed. As a joke for her birthday Ginny had given Hermione a sweater with the words "Cat Lady" scrawled across it—a little jab at the fact that despite the amicable break-up between Ron and her, she had not dated anyone else since they parted ways. Hermione blamed her hectic work schedule but in truth she knew that it wasn't entirely the reason.
She grabbed the tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice on the coffee table, curling up on the couch to reacquaint herself with the familiar story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. The truth of the matter was that Hermione's penchant for English literature had lent itself to some high standards for dating. If he's not Mr. Darcy, she often said to herself, then he isn't Mr. Right.
Hours past into the night before Hermione's head began to droop from fatigue, book still clutched in her hands, her mind welcomed the dark tendrils of sleep. As she drifted off to a peaceful dream, Hermione was unaware of what sort of days soon laid ahead.
Arriving at her work, she found the office in flutter of excitement that only occurred during a major trial. Puzzled, she was relieved when her secretary came rushing to greet her. Tabitha Jones was a petite young woman only a few years out of Hogwarts. Blonde, cheery and extremely efficient at her job Hermione found her to be an invaluable employee but also friend. "Hermione, did you get my owl?"
Hermione furled her brow while shaking her head. She did not like to feel unprepared and given the chaos of the office, set aside pleasantries to state pointedly: "No, I told you that owl of your's is too old to be delivering time-sensitive information. What in Merlin's beard is going on?"
"No one knows. A bunch of very important looking people came walking through about a half an hour ago and have been meeting with the boss in his office. There is a lot of rumors flying around though. I thought you would definitely know."
Hermione heard the surprise in Tabitha's voice. There was very little going-ons that Hermione was not generally involved with on some level. Her success with high-profile trials had gained her a great deal of publicity in the news but also gained her immense respect in the company. As such their boss, Zachariah Frankford, almost always included her in important meetings.
"I am not sure but I am going to find out," she said and started off towards Frankford's office. Their boss's secretary nodded to the door as Hermione approached. With a knock, the witch entered the room and gazed upon a small group of unfamiliar wizards seated around Frankford's desk. Sitting in his leather chair was of course her boss but it was not he who stole her attention but the tall blonde man standing closest to him. She met the gaze of his piercing blue eyes and was unable to mask her surprise at the sight of that familiar smug smile.
"Oh hello Granger, so glad you could join us," said Draco Malfoy.