Chapter 28
It was a bright sunny morning and Hermione felt that everything was going her way. She walked through the ministry with more confidence than ever before. Everything was going to work out as planned. She would talk to the minister and this whole ordeal would be cleared up. It was as simple as that.
She got on the elevator and rode it to the minister's office floor. She walked into the large waiting room. Charlotte was seated at the front desk filling out incoming paper airplanes of paperwork.
"Oh! Hello Hermione! How can I help you?"
"Hey, Charlotte, may I speak to the minister please?"
"Of course," Charlotte replied, "he's just about finished with another meeting."
Hermione walked down the hall to the minister's office. As she got to the door, it opened and out walked Ron. He had a smug look about him, which instantly turned into a frown the second he saw Hermione's friendly face.
"Hi Ron." Hermione said politely.
"Hi." Ron mumbled quickly. He walked away with his eyes glued to the floor.
Perturbed, Hermione hadn't realized that she had been standing outside of the open door.
"Won't you come in, Miss Granger?" She heard Kingsley Shacklebolt's booming voice calling from the office. She quickly shuffled into the room and sat down in front of his desk. She began to talk, when he interrupted her.
"I'm glad you've come to see me, Miss Granger," he began, "I have a few things to tell you about, but first, why is it that you came here on your own accord?"
Hermione took her chance of finally being able to speak. "I'm here to talk to you about the Daily Prophet and the lies that are being spread by Rita Skeeter."
Shacklebolt's face grew cold and stern. "I assume you are speaking of yesterday's article pertaining to Draco Malfoy. I happen to believe those 'lies', Miss Granger."
Hermione was utterly surprised. "How could you?! You know what a horrid woman Rita Skeeter is! How could you possibly believe absolutely anything that comes from her quill?!" She exclaimed.
"I believe, Miss Granger, that your views on this topic have been altered by your recent affairs with Mister Malfoy." He said coolly.
Hermione's face grew red. "Wha…how…who…" she sputtered pathetically.
"My recent meeting with Ronald Weasley was very… enlightening."
Hermione couldn't believe it. Ron was one of her best friends. They had been through so much together. They'd been so close for over fifteen years. How could he?
"What did he tell you?" She asked through gritted teeth.
"He told me plenty, Miss Granger." Shacklebolt said calmly. "He informed me of how you have let love get in the way of doing your job properly. Let me be absolutely clear, when you became an auror you made an oath to let nothing ever get in the way of maintaining order in your department. I have always thought, Miss Granger, that you were one of our best aurors, perhaps even the best. I had to give the title of Head Auror to Harry Potter because he had indeed killed the Dark Lord, but I made you Deputy Head Auror based on so much more. To be betrayed like this is shocking and I am extremely disappointed in you." He scolded.
Betrayed? Disappointed? Hermione was so confused. What had she done wrong? She sat in silence and disbelief. Shacklebolt took this as a cue to keep talking.
"If what Ronald Weasley has told me to be true, is in fact the truth, I implore you to tell me right now. Is it?"
"Yes." She said frankly and stubbornly.
The Minister sighed. "I'm afraid that you'll have to clean out your office. I can't have my aurors even slightly being affiliated with any deatheaters, past of present. You're fired Miss Granger."
Hermione stared at her hands. Angry tears began to well up in her eyes. She stood up with her head held high and walked out the door.
oOo
She stood in front of Draco's and now her, house door with a box of her office junk in her hands. She felt utterly defeated and beaten down. The Minister had been betrayed and disappointed by her, and she felt the exact same way about Ron. She was so distraught and just needed to calm down. Pat was at school and Draco was at work. She would have the house to herself.
"I'll just take a nice bath and think about this later." She thought to herself. She opened the door, put her box down, and started for the bathroom. To her surprise she saw Draco on the couch.
"Draco!" She screamed on accident.
Draco fell off of the couch. He stood up startled and shocked.
"Why aren't you at work?!" Hermione asked.
Draco yawned and scratched his head. "I could ask you the same thing." He laughed.
She gave him the Look and he started explaining. "Well, the restaurant has been so slow lately. My boss sent me home today. They cut my hours… and pay." He told her glumly.
Hermione ran towards him and started crying hysterically. She held him so tight, it seemed that she would never let go.
"Hermione! What's wrong?" He was afraid. He stroked her hair and held her close. "Please stop crying and tell me what happened."
"I got sacked!" She wailed.
"What?! Why? You're a great auror!"
"It's because of you!" She cried.
He was offended by this. "Me? What did I do?"
Hermione looked up at him and saw the hurt in his eyes. "No. I didn't mean that. It's not your fault, its Ron's."
That particular name always made Draco very mad. "What does he have to do with this?"
Hermione calmed herself down and began to explain everything to the last detail. When she finished, Draco was enraged.
"That's completely wrong! How could the minister believe anything like that, I thought he was alright!"
"Oh, Draco, what are we going to do? I mean, with me out of work and you getting not even half pay, what are we going to live off of?"
Draco smiled. "You've seem to forgotten how filthy stinking rich I am in the wizarding world."
"Are you ready to go back? With all of this Rita Skeeter business starting, it may not be a good idea. Is Pat even ready for such a big change?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure whatever is going to happen won't be the worst I've seen. Pat and I will be fine as long as you're with us." He gave her a squeeze.
"Do you think that going back to the wizarding world is our only option?"
"Well, do you want to live with your dentert parents?" He joked.
"They're dentists, Draco, and no, that would be awful. We would never eat ice cream again."
Draco pulled Hermione close. "Everything is going to be fine."
oOo
