The group walked through the Ministry of Magic, the magical headquarters in Whitewall, London with their heads held high under the eyes of their coworkers. Many were used to the sight of the large group of war-heroes, but there were those who still considered the young adults something akin to celebrities.
People parted as they passed, voicing their greetings as appropriate. The group of youngsters were not as accustomed with their associates as they would have liked after a year of training. Unable to properly greet some, they would simply nod their heads and smile.
"My cheeks are beginning to hurt," Hermione Granger muttered through a bright smile to the receptionist in the foyer to the Auror Office, Level 2 of the Ministry of Magic.
"You can stop smiling now," Ginevra Weasley mused when the group rounded the corner. Hermione sighed in relief and rubbed her jaw delicately.
"This is why you should be more sparing with your smiles, 'Mione; it'll save you some pain." Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry Potters' inane comment.
Hermione snorted indelicately. "Harry, that makes positively no sense. I cannot simply not smile when I am being greeted."
"Hermione, you don't even know most of these people," Ron Weasley pointed out.
"Courtesy is a requirement in any setting Ronald," Hermione reminded him, in a tone similar to that of Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "And besides, I may not know them personally, but we still work with them."
"Sure, if you really want to get that technical about it," Ron said, shaking his head with a smile.
Hermione didn't return with a sharp retort, choosing to ignore Ronald. As she neared her cubicle, Hermione gave a wave and a promise to meet them for lunch at 1 pm in the foyer. Her oldest group of friends gave their adieus and departed, moving to their own respective work areas.
"Busy day today, Granger," Proudfoot said, leaning against her cubicle wall. Hermione suppressed a groan and reached for the papers in his hand. Glancing over them, she saw that they were more reports on former Death Eater sightings.
"I thought you said busy day, not boring," Hermione said quietly. Proudfoot chuckled and clapped her on the back.
"You will do great things here, Granger," he replied cryptically. Hermione watched the older Auror walk away, a smile on his face, his graceful gait that of one who had escaped the Wars without much injury. Hermione envied the man.
"How's your day going so far?" Ginny asked after swallowing a bite of her Caesar salad. Hermione groaned and put her sandwich down.
"Horrid. Proudfoot gave me another file full of sightings." She took a sip of her water, thinking back on her dreary morning.
"Did you find anything useful?" Hermione looked at Neville Longbottom with a frown.
"When do we ever find anything useful in those damn reports?" The group nodded in sympathy. Said reports were more often than not useless leads, given in by witches and wizards who had merely glimpsed the Death Eaters in passing, if at all.
"At least you had something somewhat challenging to do. I had to look over forms filled out by the new recruits," Ron complained.
"That's what you get for asking for simple work in the Office," Harry reminded his best friend. Ron grimaced in acknowledgement. "Just think of it this way Ron… you could be cleaning bathrooms and cubicles again."
They all groaned as they recalled their jobs at the beginning of their internship with the Aurors Office. It was standard policy for interns to clean up around the Office, along with their other duties.
"I still don't understand why that was ever necessary," Ginny muttered.
"I believe it was a sort of initiation for us," Hermione stated, finishing off her ham and cheese sandwich. "They wanted to humble us. We all needed it." There was a chorus of 'I guess' and 'whatever' as her friends thought over her words.
Checking her watch, Ginny rose from the black chair she had been lounging in. Packing the rest of her salad away, she turned to the group and informed them that she had to make a quick errand before their lunch hour ended. Waving goodbye, the young witch scurried off towards the elevator that would bring her down to the main floor.
Hermione and Neville were the next to rise. Neville announced that he wanted to get back to his work so that he could finish in time for dinner. Hermione followed, claiming a similar excuse. In reality, she just wanted to get the work over with. That, and she was not too keen on sitting alone with Ronald, as Harry would surely leave the table with his girlfriend no longer present.
Sitting in her black swivel computer chair, Hermione pulled the next report out of the folder and glanced at the name. She looked again, just to make sure she had read it correctly. Malfoy family spotted in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She pursed her lips and quickly read the short article printed before her.
Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy: spotted
Location: Kharkiv, Ukraine
Date: 15 July, 2000
Appearance: N/A
Danger Level: 2
From this, Granger derived that the Malfoy family was indeed trying to stay hidden. After the Second Wizarding War, the family had quickly dispersed following their hearing at the Ministry, and had not been heard from since. None of them were given any time in Azkaban, which Hermione secretly found annoying.
"They may have changed sides, but it wasn't 'til after it was almost certain we would win," Hermione muttered to herself. She, along with many others in the wizarding community, did not forgive the Malfoy's as easily as the Wizengamot had seemed to do. She couldn't forget the damage the family had caused.
The fact that the family had supposedly been seen only a few weeks ago didn't change Hermione's assumption that the report was wrong. After all, why would the Malfoy clan suddenly pop up after two years of staying well hidden? She had no inclination to believe that the revered Lucius Malfoy would allow his family to be found so quickly. He was too smart a man for that.
Hours later, Hermione headed to the foyer, seeing Ginny, Harry, and Ron already seated on the beige leather couches, waiting for her. The trio rose as she approached, preparing to take the elevator downstairs. She reached them just as the metal grate slid open, allowing them access to the magical contraption. They had all given up holding onto the handles above their heads months ago, choosing instead to try and adapt to the sudden and jerky movements.
"I'm exhausted," Ginny said as the doors opened once more, and the friends walked out onto the black marble floor of the main level. "If I had had to read one more article on underage wizardry, I was going to scream."
Hermione patted her shoulder understandingly. She had similar thoughts pertaining to her own tedious work. Out of the 107 reports she had read that day, only four were deemed important enough to pass on to her superiors. The other 103 went to a team that specialized in tracing spells. Her heart went out to the party of witches and wizards responsible for carefully following every lead on every report passed on to them.
"Did you find anything good, Hermione?" Ron asked as he slipped out of the elevator behind them.
"I gave four out of practically a thousand reports to Proudfoot," she grumbled. Ron winced.
"That's rough. Who were the four?" Hermione sighed and rubbed her face, trying to remember the details of those particular four reports.
"Umm, the first one was on Antonin Dolohov. It said he was spotted by a group of tourists in Berlin, Germany, and when an Auror went to check it out, there were traces of Dark magic nearby.
"Then there was a report on Igor Karkaroff, the old Headmaster from Durmstrang. You remember him, from the Tri Wizard Tournament? Well, I was told to pass on all reports about him, since he had such close approximation with students. The report itself was nothing really, just like a routine checkup. It basically stated that he was vacationing in the Cayman Islands, and therefore should be checked once he returns.
"I was surprised at this report, actually. It seems that some of Bellatrix Lestrange's old possessions have shown up. The Ministry wanted me to flag that one only because of who she was. They aren't sure if the items are from before or after Bellatrix… changed." Hermione repressed a small shudder thinking about the crazy, evil witch who had loved Lord Voldemort so.
"What about the fourth one?" Harry asked, seeing his friend hesitate.
"It was, well, about the… Malfoy's," Hermione admitted. Harry frowned.
"Why is the Ministry tracking them? I thought after the trial that the Malfoy's were exonerated, or at least not under suspicion."
They all knew how Harry Potter felt about the Malfoy's. He may have had a long running enemy in Draco Malfoy, but during the Second Wizarding War, Draco and his parents tried to prove themselves the only way they could; by not participating.
"Just because they were excused does not mean that they're good people," Hermione said sharply. Her friends looked at her, surprised at her outburst. Hermione ignored them. She knew that her feelings on the Pureblood family were different from most around her, but she felt that they were vindicated. No one chose to comment, preferring to let Hermione think whatever she wanted about their schoolmate's family. They walked out onto the streets of London, choosing this clear night to walk home instead of taking the Floo Network.
"So I assume Proudfoot was very interested in the Dolohov file," Ginny said, tactfully changing the subject. Harry squeezed her shoulder on the sly in thanks.
"Yes, he was quite happy with that report. The Aurors had thought Dolohov was hiding somewhere in Western America, therefore putting him in the American Aurors jurisdiction."
"I thought we worked with the AAA?" Ginny said, furrowing her brows.
"We do," Harry clarified. "We just have to inform them first before we do anything drastic, like hunt down a Death Eater. Sometimes that can take a while, and then the trail is cold."
"Exactly. Which is why I'm surprised he returned to Europe, where we can catch him at any time," Ron said with what looked like the beginnings of a smile. It was no secret that Ronald Weasley hated Death Eaters with a burning passion.
"Well, all this talk of evil has made me tired," Ginny said, stifling a yawn. Hermione smirked at the younger witch.
"Having a hard time keeping up with the big kids, Gin?" she teased. Ginny stuck her tongue out and laughed.
"If that's what'll help you sleep at night, Granger, then sure," the redhead tossed back. "Night all." The four waved their goodbyes and parted ways, Ginny and Harry continued onto Upper Thames Street, heading for their flat on Kennet Street.
As Hermione watched the couple make their way home, arms around each other, she sighed. If only things had worked out between her and Ron…
"You ok?" Hermione looked at her companion and forced a smile.
"I'm fine, thank you. Just tired, is all." Ron nodded once and waited for her to start walking again. "I haven't talked to your mother in a while, how is she?" It may have been a diversion, intended to distract them from an awkward walk, but Hermione truly wanted to know how Molly Weasley was faring.
"She and Dad are still as busy as ever, trying to make sure we all have everything we need to have a happy living." Hermione nodded, recalling the way her friends' parents acted towards their children. "Since Fred… after Fred died, Mom's been bent on keeping herself integrated in all our lives. She still calls every few days, checking up on me, and I know she does the same with Ginny."
"It's got to be hard on her," Hermione murmured, her heart going out to the woman she thought of as her second mother. They were all devastated when Fred died, and it was clear that this was his mother's way of coping with her son's death.
"How… how're you doing, Ron?" He didn't respond at first, his head straight ahead as they walked.
"I'm doing alright, considering," he said at last. Hermione understood his unsure words. "Of course, I miss the silly git, but I know that I can't hold on to him forever."
Hermione was a little surprised at the maturity her redheaded friend was showing at this point in his young life. Knowing Ronald as well as she did, the witch had not expected him to let go so calmly, without more than a few fits of rage or overwhelming sadness.
"I'm happy for you Ronald," she admitted, looking over and up at him. He smiled down at her.
They arrived at Hermione's flat on Brick Lane, Ron waiting patiently while Hermione pulled out her key and unlocked the front door. At first, being on the first floor had concerned her, but now she was glad that there were no stairs for her to trudge up, unlike Harry and Ginny, who resided on the third floor.
"Night, Ron." Hermione turned to walk into her apartment, stopping when Ron put a hand on her arm. He pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"G'night, Mione," Ron said into her hair. Pulling back, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before retreating out of her building and Apparating to the Burrow. Hermione quickly ducked into her kitchen, locking the door behind her. Immediately going to her black leather sofa, she flopped down and rubbed her temple.
After the War ended, Ronald and Hermione had dated. But when his depression lasted more than a few months, Ron broke it off, saying he needed space and to spend more time with his family. Hermione was understanding and compassionate, cooperating with his request. But in the year and a half apart, she had found that she enjoyed being single. It kept her focused on her work, something she was very adamant about furthering.
Lately, Ron had shown that he was interested in rekindling their romance. Hogwarts Hermione would have jumped at the chance to get back together with her first love, but this was War Hero Hermione. She was a changed woman, and she didn't know where Ronald fit into her personal life.
"What am I going to do, Crooks?" she asked the orange cat as he sidled up to her dangling arm. Absently stroking his fur, Hermione closed her eyes and tried not to think about Ronald or his kiss.