"Happy Anniversary, Hermione!" Hannah Abbott stated as she passed by the office of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement: Special Creatures Department.
"Thank you, Hannah!" Hermione Granger replied from behind her desk, enjoying the praise she was getting for being in her position for the past year.
After finishing her 7th year at Hogwarts, Hermione applied for a position in the Magical Law Enforcement Department in the hopes of one day being able to do something about the mistreatment of magical creatures such as House Elves, Centaurs, and the like. She never imaged that after only 5 months on the job she would be promoted to Head of her Department, and today she would be celebrating a year since that promotion.
When Hermione took office, the laws regarding magical creatures became more relevant to the wizarding community. Before, the laws were not very well enforced and therefor were not taken seriously, but Hermione managed to put a stop to most of that. With her new position, she enacted and enforced laws that changed the ways of many wealthy wizarding families and, in turn, ensured the safety, comfort, and proper treatment of House Elves across the entire community.
Of course, there were some families stuck in their ways of abusing House Elves that Hermione had to deal with, but she only caught a few cases a month, making her job incredibly boring at times. Today was the end to a long, boring, uneventful week. Hermione had been helping the Minster of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, with cases and paperwork all week just to pass the time.
She was finishing up the files Kingsley had sent her when a rapid tapping lifted her head from her work. She walked over to her window and found a beautiful brown owl with a letter attached to its leg. She opened the window and removed the letter, giving the owl one of the grapes she was munching on as a treat.
She sat back down at her desk and finished up the file she was working on, only to notice the owl hadn't left. Obviously, it was waiting for a reply, but it was strange to Hermione, as usual Ministry Officials will wait for a reply from her personal owl. She packed away the file and turned to the letter she had taken from the owl waiting patiently on her window sill.
Opening it gently, she read:
Miss Granger,
I have a strange request regarding my House Elves. They are being mistreated. I need your help with extracting them from my home, but there is a catch. I would like to meet with you in person, please get back to me as soon as possible, and keep this between you and I.
My owl will wait for your reply.
Hermione immediately scribbled her reply onto a blank piece of parchment and attached it to the owl, who flew away after taking another grape. Hermione wasn't sure about the letter for a few reasons, but she was sure about protecting House Elves and she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to remove them from a home they were not safe in.
She sat for a while, wondering who the letter was from and why the person who wrote it was so set on being private about the matter, but she decided that maybe it was best not to dwell on it and only wait to see how the situation played out.
In her reply, she informed the sender that she would be happy to help with their predicament and gave them her Ministry floo address for contact purposes and informed the sender that she would like to speak with them that way first thing Monday morning. She was nervous about giving her in-office floo address, but was certain the Ministry had security clearances on anyone who used the floo network, easing her anxiety.
The rest of her day passed quietly, with only a few visits from coworkers wishing her congratulations on her work anniversary. She enjoyed lunch with Harry and Ron, who worked only a few flights down in the Auror department. She loved catching up with her old friends and was eager to learn about Ginny's first pregnancy and Ron's new girlfriend over lunch.
Hermione and Ron tried dating for a while after the war ended, but came to a mutual agreement that they weren't exactly right for one another and stayed friends with a clean break-up. Hermione hadn't had a serious relationship since, but had gone on a few dates that turned out to be nothing. She was so absorbed in her work that she didn't make time for dating, and she had to admit she liked it that way.
After lunch, she returned to her flat and put a kettle on the stove for tea. When the kettle starting screaming, she almost didn't notice the brown owl pecking at her window. She noticed immediately that it was the same owl she had encountered at work earlier in the day, and went to the window after taking the kettle off the stove.
She removed the letter and unfolded it:
Miss Granger,
I'm afraid I can't contact you that way. I need to get out of my home in order to speak with you about this manner. Please meet me at the Leaky Cauldron this Saturday at 7 p.m. Again, please keep this matter private for the time being.
Hermione was unsure what to do about this meeting, but noticed the owl was waiting patiently again for her reply. She thought for a moment, weighing her options and the risk versus benefit of meeting a potential stranger at a pub. Eventually, her kind-hearted nature and her love for House Elves won the weigh in, and she replied to the letter telling the sender she would meet with them in the pub the following evening at 7.
She tied the letter to the owl and watched it flutter away into the afternoon sky. She made herself a cup of tea and settled in front of her fireplace with a book, drowning all of her thoughts in the pages of her novel.
Before she knew it, it was 8:30 and she was exhausted. She ran herself a warm bath and settled under the bubbles as she finished her book. After toweling herself dry, she slipped under the silk sheets of her bed and fell into a peaceful sleep thinking about the mystery sender she would be meeting the following day.