Hermione rubbed her temples.
There were way too many papers for her to fill in for the Ministry. She couldn't complain, though; it was her job. Besides, compared to what she normally did for the Ministry, paperwork was a walk in the park. People would oppose, though. The forms she had to fill in were stacked into piles like mountains. Maybe even rivaling the heights of the Himalayan mountains. Normally, people would have thought that paperwork would have caused Hermione to go ballistic. However, that's not the case. What people don't know is that Hermione's true occupation was darker than they'd ever imagine.
Hermione was a professional assassin. A definitely different occupation than what most people would have anticipated for Hermione. It was too sinister to even think of Hermione ever pursuing an actual career responsible for taking the lives of other people. That's why the Ministry had decided to put the hidden Department of Executive Action in the shadows all these years. The department had been reactivated right after the war after its 30 years of deactivation. The Ministry had realized it would provide far more effective results on "dealing" with issues arising. It was never shown to the public nor was it easy to access the offices. The location was quite complex. It was located on the 11th floor, only made possible to go through a secret door inside the 10th floor.
The department was responsible for the "silencing" of people who pose a serious threat to the Ministry and its citizens. This included international terrorists, drug dealers, even mass murderers. Unlike the Aurors or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the targets hold no possible value that can be beneficial towards the Ministry. The Death Eaters would have been their prime targets if the department had been active.
Those who knew of Hermione's occupation were completely shocked. Her friends were saddened by this but they still chose to stand beside her. The most trusted adults in her lives were heartbroken but they could understand why she chose such a monstrous career. McGonagall had especially high hopes for the genius witch, hoping that she would have been a Healer or even Minister. She couldn't blame Hermione though; there was a reason. Everyone who did know also knew that the reason behind her choices was strongly influenced by severe trauma from her past.
Hermione smiled. She had finished the last batch of papers. She had agreed to meet up with Harry and Ron for lunch today. Unlike their female companion, Harry and Ron were Aurors and their hours were far shorter than hers. Despite the difficult of her job and work hours, the trio still had time to meet up with each other. Their lunch hour was one of them.
Hermione stepped out of the elevator. She was meeting up with her friends on the main floor. She noticed that they were at the front entrance, waiting for her.
She was rushing towards them when Kingsley stepped in front of her.
"Ms. Granger. I need you to be a tour guide for a group of orphans today." he simply stated.
"Sir…. This is such a last-minute surprise. I already have plan-"
"I am begging you. You are the only one available who is capable of guiding them around and can handle kids."
She snorted. Kids? Handle? If only he knew.
Hermione should've known something was up when Kingsley came suddenly out of the blue. He would always request her to do surprising tasks or the most difficult assassination targets. This moment was just a prime example.
She would have rejected but his eyes were pleading. She would've said "no" flatly, but she still had a conscious. Hermione was an assassin, but she was still human.
"Fine."
Kingsley grabbed her arm. He directed her further away from her friends. She looked at her friends. They were saddened by her leave but they already accepted it. They've learned to adjust to the situation whenever she got called by Kingsley. They looked at her and nodded. They implied they were getting lunch without her and apparated away.
Kingsley had led her to the water fountain at the center. Right at the spot, there were a group of little kids. They were in their best clothes possible, hiding the depravity they had but Hermione could look past through their eyes. She especially had noticed this in a particular individual. It was a young child, younger than the rest of the group. A young girl. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with denim-short overalls. There was something about this girl that caught Hermione's attention. Maybe it was how there were many bandages on her legs and arms. Or possibly how she was wearing a gray beanie on her head, not revealing any of her hair. It was odd to Hermione since it's the summer and the child was wearing a warm hat. Also, the fact that none of her hair was shown raised many suspicions into the woman. What was worth hiding her hair inside her hat? Hermione was curious but knew she couldn't really intervene since she was just a mere tour guide, tolerating these kids for a couple of hours. It'd be useless to get attached to them at the moment.
Kingsley nodded and left Hermione. She gulped.
A tall lady in formal dress robes approached her. Hermione further inspected the lady. She was old and lanky; wrinkles and bones were even protruding. She was pale (sickly, deathly pale) and had her black hair tamed in a tight hair bun. She had icy blue eyes, a sharp jaw, and a sharp long nose. There was a tag pinned on her robes that said, "Matron of Exceptional Wizards Orphanage".
Hermione shivered. She felt scared for the kids. The head of the orphanage seemed like the evil witch pulled out of muggle fables. Her aura even gave that uncomfortable, malicious intent. Hermione felt sympathy towards the kids. This woman probably mistreats them because of how physically distant they were to her.
"Let's just get this over with." The lady spat at her.
It had only been an hour and Hermione had the urge to just scream and pull her hair out. The headmistress kept criticizing her touring skills. She also kept insulting the kids and physically disciplining them in public. Hermione was never supportive of physical discipline, and despite her Gryffindor colors, she knew it'd be better to tolerate than stand up to her beliefs. The Wizard Society was still "backward", that being very archaic and traditional. If she were to ensuite a fight at the moment, the majority would support the headmistress over Hermione. Hermione's disagreement wasn't worth all those consequences. It wasn't just her abusive colors that were pissing off Hermione, but also her self-conceited attitude. This woman had the audacity to say that Hermione's efforts in the war were futile and that she just joined Harry to get a taste of fame. Unbelievable!
It wasn't just the headmistress that was getting on her nerves, but also the kids. They (most of them) had been very loud during the tour, talking over her and making inappropriate sounds. In addition to their awful behavior, they have all picked on the poor girl with the gray beanie on. They've shoved her to the floor, pushed her, and even flicked her forehead. They were just a complete nuisance!
When Hermione agreed to the minister to guide these guests, this is not what she had expected! It was complete madness!
Hermione sighed. The group was back at the fountain, thus indicating the end of the tour.
It was FINALLY over!
"Well, this concludes our tour. If you follow me back to the apparition po-"
SPLOOSH
Hermione turned her head to the left sharply. She followed where the source was coming from.
She gasped. To her horror, the little girl had been thrown into the fountain. The other orphans laughed at the child, while the matron paid no attention. The older orphans had thrown the poor child into the fountain.
Hermione turned her head towards the child. Her heart broke. The little girl was crying, bawling her eyes out hard. No one was doing anything to help. The surrounding ministry employees did nothing and just ignored the scene.
Hermione was enraged. This was the last straw. She walked towards the fountain. The children backed away from her. Hermione looked down at the child. The child whimpered and tensed up. She was afraid that Hermione was going to doing something devastating to her.
Hermione offered her hand to the child. The child hesitated but took it. The little girl got out of the fountain.
"Let's get you fixed up," Hermione said with a smile.
The two walked away from the group. Hermione turned her head and glared at the group. They better stay where they were, or else she would've killed them. Eventually, they reached the girls' washroom.
Hermione pulled out her wand. She scrougified the little girl's clothes, making her clothes dry in an instant.
The girl gasped and smiled at Hermione. Hermione giggled at how cute she was being. This was the first time she had actually seen the child up close. The girl was pale and had the most brilliant chocolate brown eyes Hermione had ever seen. There was something about her eyes that seemed familiar to her. It was as if she was staring at her own eyes.
Something shiny caught the corner of Hermione's eye. Hermione noticed a golden pendant lying on the child's chest. She inspected it with her hand. There's something that she couldn't exactly point the significance of the child's necklace.
"Please don't touch it," mumbled the child.
Hermione adjusted her focus from the necklace to the girl. This was the first time she has ever heard the child spoke. At all.
"And why is that?" she asked.
The girl bit her lip.
"It's the only thing I have that came from my actual family," she confessed. "Besides, whoever tries to take it gets electrocuted."
Electrocution? Upon taking the necklace by force? Something about that seemed so peculiar to Hermione. It reminded her of what she had done to another necklace…. No… It couldn't be. Could it?
Hermione scanned the child from toe to tip. Brown eyes identical to hers. Enchanted necklace. This was all too coincidental!
Hermione's heart was racing.
"Is it okay if you can take your hat off, please?" She asked while failing to hide her tone of anxiety.
The girl shrugged. She slowly took her beanie off. With it, she revealed her platinum blonde hair tied in a top knot.
At this point, Hermione was hyperventilating. All the physical evidence and features this girl exhibited was all too convincing. There was a high possibility that SHE actually who Hermione fears she actually is.
No
This was just a mere coincidence. All of it. There are more than 1 billion people in this world that could share the same physical features this girl has.
But what if?
Hermione's stupid mind was acting against her. It's not possible!
You haven't even asked the most important question yet.
That's right. She hadn't. So why hadn't she asked the question yet?
Hermione gulped.
She was going to ask, just to prove that this was all a strange fluke. Nothing to fear, right?
Hermione sighed.
"You haven't really told me your name. My name is Hermione, what's yours?"
The girl bit her lip.
"Agnese…. (Pronounced as Ag-Nay-Say) and I am 5 years-old."
Shit. The name and age are big indicators.
Hermione mentally laughed at herself. Here was Agnese, her highly possible estranged daughter.
Well, I felt inspired to write a story like this by reading my friend's fanfic. This story will go to a completely different route. Unlike most stories that involve Hermione with kids, Hermione actually gave up her child for adoption (reasons to be revealed later). Hope you guys will stay tuned for this story.