Breaking the Ties that Bind

Ch 1-The Proposal

She had been at her desk for several hours filtering through paperwork and waiting for when her magical expertise would be need. She had been grateful to see the enchanted memo soar to her cubicle. Now, however, she wished the parchment had never cone to her. Her eyes roamed the page again reading the few lines scrawled in hurried writing.

Hermione Granger

The minister of magic would like to see you in his office immediately after you receive this post.

Her stomach dropped as she rose to her feet, clutching the memo in her fisted hands. The walk to the elevator seemed to fly by in a blink. The caged lift was crowded and seemed to stop at every floor.

Her thoughts drifted to her job. She loved her job. She was a respected administrator for the diplomatic affairs between wizards and muggles. She advised in any cases where muggles needed to know about magical problems and came up with believable stories to relay the information without giving their secret away.

Finally the lift stopped as I feminine voice told her that she had arrived at the floor for the higher administration and the minister of magic. She felt her heart leap into her throat as she stepped into the hallway.

Hesitantly Hermione shuffled forward, passing each nondescript door. At the end of the hall was the ornate door with the bronzed name plate spelling out the name and position in manicured lettering.

Percy Weasley

Minister of Magic

Hermione took a deep breath before lightly rapping on the door. A petite girl with copper hair answered the door, motioning Hermione to the an even fancier door parallel to the first door. She could see two undistinguishable figures moving behind the frosted glass. Rather suddenly the door burst open as a burly man stormed from the office in a tornado of emotion.

The tiny witch hesitantly moved into the office before reemerging to usher Hermione into the office.

At the desk chair, a lanky wizard sat with his head in his hands. He seemed unaware she was there, but she knew that wasn't true.

"Minister?" She flinched slightly when she heard the quiver in her voice.

"I'm your boyfriend's brother. There is no need to be formal Hermione." Percy said as he lifted his head from his hands to look at her.

"To address you as Percy would be improper considering you are superior in position to me." Percy's hand drifted down to pick up his horn-rimmed glasses, sliding them back onto his face.

"Which is why you are such a great diplomat." Percy's eyes shifted from Hermione down to his papers. "I heard you and Ron had another fight... Again."

Hermione's eyes had been following his movements, but the second he said that her eyes zoomed to his face. "Your going to fire me because I had a fight with your brother?"

Percy looked shocked when he looked up. "You think I'm going to fire you." His voice sounded genuinely shocked.

"You wouldn't call me from work at my desk just to talk with me about my latest fight with your brother. You never call me to your office so I assumed you were firing me." The more she talked the more ridiculous she felt.

"Quite the contrary," Finding the paper he was looking for, Percy slid it to the top of the file before browsing the page. "I want to promote you. I was just forced to fire the head of your department and I think you would be best to fill that position."

"Head of the Department of Muggle Diplomacy?" Hermione was rooted to her seat in shock. She had hoped to move up from her desk job, but the jump seemed unreal to her.

"The pay is better. It would mean more work, but you would have the opportunity to travel. You would get to meet many interesting muggle leaders, representatives, and diplomats."

Hermione sat quietly, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Ron. The job was the opportunity she was looking for, but it also meant time a lot of time away from Ron.

"I don't think I'm right for the position, Minister." Hermione muttered, looking down to the left.

"Hermione," Percy had stopped shuffling through his papers and was now looking directly at her. He had seen her expression change as her thoughts passed through her mind. "Take this promotion. As a friend, I am telling you to take this job. You need to get away from Ron and this job is the perfect chance."

"I can't. Ron and I hardly see each other now. If I took this job, we would never see each other. I really shouldn't." Hermione sighed. The longer she stayed in the office, the more torn she felt.

"Hermione, you and Ron are constantly fighting. What you two need is a break. Take this job. I'm giving you the opportunity to excel and you keep pushing it back at me. Tale this chance." Percy could see his words were having the wanted effect. He could see her resolve weathering away under his torrent. Just a few more moments and she would cave.

"I can't, Percy... Good day, Minister." And with those final words, Hermione rose from her chair exiting the room in the same fashion she came in.