In the months following the second great wizarding war most magical lives have been put on hold. Three teams have been formed to assess and repair the damages that were created during the final battles.
The first team is comprised of the muggleborn and Muggle Ministries. The non magical world now well aware, after the Death Eaters attacks, of the witches and wizards that walked by them daily for years and years unaware that they were any different than themselves. Team Muggle is a mixture of diplomats who are aware that the two worlds can no longer ignore each other, and elite doctors from both magically gifted and non magical backgrounds all coming together to decide the next step to be taken in a quest to meld the two worlds together.
The second team has a more physical undertaking of repairing the damages that are evident all over England. Human Laborers and magical charmer work nearly non stop to put the cities back together.
The third group is made up of three disheveled teenagers that can't believe it is all over.
"Mione!" Ron yelled from the foot of the stairs at number 12 Grimmauld Place. "We will be late!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming." mumbled Hermione as she slowly clod down the old greying stairs to the first floor.
"Harry is waiting on us. Jeeze you would think as long as you took you would look a bit more put together than that." Ron winced.
Hermione snarled at Ron lifted her wand and then pointed it to her head. Without a word the cobwebs of restless sleep were lifted from her face and her hair was tamed from the wild frizzy curls to soft slick tendrils that cascaded down to her small waist. "Better?" she barked at the wide eyed Ron.
"Yeah." he said softly through an admiring grin.
Hermione rolled her eyes and walked nearly through him down the hall to the Library. She stood impatiently in front of the gigantic fireplace with her hand in the dish of floo powder tapping her foot when the youthful Weasley stepped up to her side.
"The Ministry of Magic" declared Hermione and a wall of green flames engulfed the two teens.
"Ron…. Hermione?" Harry said as Hermione blew past him stomping down the marbled hallway. Harry looked back at Ron with questions all over his face, "What's wrong with her?"
"What isn't? She's a she isn't she?" Ron murmured to Harry both now staring down the hall at the bouncing curls.
Hermione turned militantly to the right and disappeared from their view. "Well we better catch up before she hexes some poor soul." Stated Harry and the duo rushed away from the row of empty fireplaces.
When Ron and Harry finally made it to the office of Malicor Burgess, the captain of security, Hermione was already seated across the desk from the awkward young man that shuffled through the loose pages of parchment on his desk. Hermione's foot was keeping the same pace it had placed at Harry's house on Grimmauld early that morning.
"Good morning Captain Burgess!" Echoed Harry and Ron.
The young captain's head shot up so fast his glasses flew off of his short nose and ricocheted off of the ceiling landing in a crystalline crunch by Hermione's tapping foot. The tapping ceased as Hermione huffed and bent over to retrieve the busted specs.
"Oculus Repairo" she cast with a huff and handed the glasses back across the green metal desk to the trembling hand of Burgess.
"Thank you Miss….. Good morning Gentlemen" Burgess quickly muttered placing the plastic frames on his face and pushing them as far up the narrow bridge of his nose as far as they would go.
"So Captain Burgess, as I was saying…. There is no possible way that our assistance is unneeded. The damages were incredible after the final battle you must assign us to one of the repair teams!" said hermione with frustration evident in each word.
"Ron rolled his eyes at Harry as they stood behind the chair that their annoyed friend occupied.
"We have been sent in a ridiculous circle looking for someone that can point us to the worklines." urged Hermione.
Burgess nervously returned to shuffling scrolls on his desk to the irritation of Hermione whose foot was about to take off walking on it's own exhausted by the rapid beat she stomped.
"Well Miss Granger, Weasley, Potter." Came a drearily monotone voice from the open door behind them.
The trio slowly turned their heads to the voice afraid to see the dark form they feared to be standing there.
Severus Snape stood in the ministry hall as he would in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Dark robes tailored to his broad shoulders, sleeves practically covering the knuckles of his hands, black lank hair falling forward to cover most of his face, except the gap provided by his large crooked nose, and two ebony eyes glaring into the tiny office that had probably been a janitor's closet during better times.
"Hello Good Sir!" Burgess said excitedly, "just the person we need to settle this little situation. Perhaps you would be so kind as to assist these young people."
Snape sneered, Burgess yes, a Hufflepuff he remembered, the boy bravely asks for my help. No not because he is brave, because he is an imbecile. Snape looked at the placard on the door that stood open.
SECURITY
Hmph. It is no wonder the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters had nearly destroyed the entire wizarding world with dunderheads like this in charge. Snape rolled his eyes, hesitated, for just a moment and then proceeded down the hallway.
"You had better go after him" Burgess said not looking at any of them as he continued to shuffle scrolls that were now falling from the edges of the desk.
The three stared at each other Ron and Harry's mouths gaping open and Hermione hurriedly standing to rush and possibly tackle the ex-professor if necessary right there in the Ministry Building. She ran down the hall after Snape racing to pass him and then standing in his path to stop him.
When Harry and Ron finally caught up with the two facing each other in the hall they could not believe their eyes. Hermione stood feet spread, hands on hips and glaring through the tall man standing with his back to them. Neither person was speaking as the two young men approached. They stood frozen like figures in a museum. Harry circled around to the left as Ron took the right. Blank stares and deafening silence is all that could be observed from both.
"Erm.. Mione" Ron whispered in the angered girl's direction.
Nothing
"Professor Snape?" asked Harry causing Severus to flinch.
Damn, he had actually lost in this stand off with snit of a girl that looked possessed by a demon.
"Follow me." Snape side stepped the still fuming Miss Granger acting as if he didn't even notice her as his robes billowed slapping her on her right side. He walked with purpose down the hallway taking a right and then later another and walked into a large room that was covered in telephone booths. He stepped into one and the three followed hot on his heels. He really had not thought this escape through. All four were uncomfortably squished in the glass and steel box like kippers. Snape sighed irritably and Hermione growled. Ron and Harry looked at each other eyebrows raised. Severus picked up the receiver his elbow grazing Harry in the face knocking the lads glasses askew. Severus pushed five numbers on the keypad and the over stuffed phone booth disappeared from the cavernous room.