Chapter 2: A shot in the dark
A/N: I own nothing except my mistakes. Also, I try to write short chapters and each and every single time I keep failing, haha. I hope you still like it nonetheless. After all, more charmione! Next chapter will be up soon, preparing them for Romania! But for now, enjoy!
Christmas had passed quicker than Hermione had been able to comprehend, mainly because the day after Christmas she had been extremely hungover, something that most potions couldn't even fix properly, and thus she had gone almost straight to bed after having had a bite to eat.
The days in between Christmas and New Year had been a bit wary, for most couples and families all went to do several different things, and Fred, Charlie and her being the only singles in the family, had been forced to go ahead and either entertain themselves, or join another couple. Though Fred and Charlie would occasionally do so, or even tag along together, Hermione hadn't felt like doing such things, and had instead used that time to think back to Christmas Eve and her talk with Charlie.
Just like Hermione had feared, she didn't remember most of it, though did remember his proposal to such a certain extent that she knew that he had been serious. And yet, every time she thought about it, the idea seemed surreal to her. What in heavens was she supposed to do in Romania? Was that really her calling?
It was for that reason that Hermione had been happy that New Year had passed, and that she could get back to her work.
Thus, on an early Wednesday morning, Hermione arose early from her sleep, trying not to wake Ginny and Harry – who she unfortunately had to share a room with (not that ideal lying next to a freshly engaged couple) – as she tiptoed out of the room, taking along her work clothes with her as she slipped into the bathroom.
It musn't have been even six in the morning, but Hermione liked to rise early and start the day, so she would have some time to freshen herself up and tidy herself into her work robes, as well as grab a quick bite to eat.
Besides, it had been a bit of a habit for her. Back in her own flat – which she would be returning to in a week, after everyone else had left the Burrow as well – she had always needed to walk for fifteen minutes before arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, and would then have to walk another ten to grab herself a telephone booth so she could dial herself to the Ministry, and thus she liked to wake up on time so she would never have to hurry.
Here at the Burrow it was a little easier to get there in time. Due to Arthur having got a big promotion a few years ago after the war, they had linked his fireplace to the Ministery's, and thus all he needed was to suit up and step into the fireplace, something that Hermione was not yet quite used to, yet she was happy she could use it for today.
Hence why she grabbed herself a nice piece of toast out of the kitchen cupboards when she had cleaned herself and had gotten dressed, and smeared it with butter, adding a heating charm to her toast so that the butter would meld nicely.
With a flick of her wand she got the kettle to fill itself up underneath the tap, and managed to take it off the stove right before it could whistle, so that she wouldn't wake up the others. She knew for a fact that most of them wouldn't have to work until at least nine o'clock, and she figured that they'd prefer to catch a few extra hours of sleep before they'd need to start another day.
It being this early meant that the Daily Prophet had yet to arrive, so instead of passing her time reading the newspaper, she grabbed a book laying on the kitchen table, surprisingly it being about dragons, and she almost had a feeling that it had been placed there on purpose, for it was practically begging her to be picked up.
Within this book she could learn about the different species, as well as the endangered and the newly found dragons, and by the time that she was halfway through the book it was nearing half past seven, meaning that she'd have just half an hour to spare before she'd be late for work.
And thus, cursing slightly under her breath, she flicked her wand again and watched in satisfaction as the dishes brought itself into the sink and started washing them, and then she lifted them to the cupboards and waited for them to fall down on the other plates with a soft cling.
Hurrying to grab her bags and put on her shoes, she double checked her black faux-leathered suitcase to see if she had all necessary paperwork for today, and satisfied when she found she did, she slipped her feet into her low-rise heels and listened to the tapping sounds of her heels making contact with the floor as she scurried over to the fireplace.
On top of it was a jar filled to a quarter with Floo Powder, and she grabbed a handful as she got into the fireplace, softly but clearly enunciating "British Ministry of Magic," and waited to feel the horrible lurch in her stomach as she slammed the ashes to the ground, and watched her world swirl about until she found the next exit to the MoM.
Stumbling a little, for she was not used to travel by Floo Network, she straightened out her jacket as well as dust it off before she looked around at the minor hustle of works at the Ministry. Since it was still this early, as well as it being the first day of the new year, there weren't many people there yet, and those that were looked as sleepy as the next.
Hermione, though, was fresh and awake, ready to start a new day, though did feel a heavy weight rest on her shoulders as she knew she had to make a decision soon whether or not she wanted to keep living this day again and again for the rest of the year.
Nonetheless, her feet carried her to the lift on their own accord, and several other people nodded their heads respectfully at her. "Mind reeling four for me, please?" Hermione asked a young fellow in a brown suit, who was closer to the lift controller than she was. When he did like she asked she mumbled a quick "thanks", and that was almost the entire interaction that she was going to be having at work today.
Going through different levels, where several people got off in between, she left several people behind in the lift once they got to level four, where the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was situated.
It was a long hall, though many ornaments of several Beasts, Beings and Spirits were decorated into the walls, making it a bit more of pleasant atmosphere to walk into. Besides, it was much brighter and filled with more artificial daylight than other levels were, even though they were technically underground. It definitely helped with the concentration when one had a bit more of light surrounding them.
Within this long hall there were several side branches leading to the different divisions. You had one for the Beings, the Beasts, the Spirits, the Goblin Liasons and the Centaur Liasons, but Hermione would turn right on the second branch to walk into the Beast division, which covered all beasts that had no intelligence of magical law. As House Elves were not considered Beasts or Beings, she had chosen to focus on Beasts besides her S.P.E.W., to see how she could protect those that did not know how to protect themselves.
It had been quite a pleasant division to work in, besides the fact that usually it wasn't as thrilling when bigger assignments were not given. For example, she was now finishing up a smaller assignment, on how to improve housing for Pixies, as well as if using Pixies in classrooms were actually justified or not.
Through this assignment Hermione had done a lot of research. First on Pixies themselves, and following that she reached to Hogwarts for a plead note why they thought Pixies were or were not a necessary addition to their curriculum.
Which meant that she by now had all her paperwork assembled, and all that was left to do was put everything together into a bundle with her own expertise vision, and hand it in.
Looking at the clock on the wall, seeing it was not even eight o'clock yet, Hermione figured that she'd be done with it at around five, which would leave her plenty enough time to get home for dinner, knowing that Molly liked to serve it straight on the dot at six o'clock.
Stalling out the contents of her black suitcase onto her desk, she made several piles of different categories. One beheld the 'Research on the origin of Pixies,' the other beheld 'Pixies: facts and fictions,' and another beheld 'The necessity of Pixies in the school curriculum', all piles which held about 60 feet of parchment per pile.
By three o'clock Hermione was only halfway through collecting her bundle, which she would be handing in at the end of this day, and she was fearing that she would not make her own set-deadline for five o'clock, considering there was still so much left to include in it. Besides, what wasn't exactly helping was that her mind kept drifting off to her conversation with Charlie, and not just her conversation with him, but the heat she had felt during it.
"Darn Weasleys," Hermione whispered under her breath as she chewed on her quill, taking it only out of her mouth when she felt that part of it was already missing from having chewed on it all day.
With a sigh she tossed the quill into a bin next to her desk, which immediately emptied itself of its contents, something that was quite handy as well as disastrous at times. Hermione specifically remembered the first few months of working here where she would occasionally drop something into the bin by accident, only to find that it had emptied itself already, and it was near impossible to retrieve. Ever since she had placed the bin a bit further to the back, so that anything that would fall off the desk would first land on the floor before finding the bin.
Though with all the distractions in her mind, as well as trying to picture what a day in the job of a Dragon Tamer would be like, she found herself growing more bored with the subject at hand, and more excited at the possibility to try something so new and so different.
And thus, nearing six o'clock, and thus being late for Molly's dinner – her stomach growled in protest at the thought of that – she finished her last few lines of the Pixie bundle, before stretching out her limbs while groaning and moaning as a couple of bones popped themselves back in place.
Rolling out her wrists a couple of times, she only now noticed the ink stains left on the side of her hands, as well as in between her fingers, but she had not the mind to care for that right now. All that she was able to think about was handing in this bundle, as well as getting herself to level one as soon as possible, so she could have a word with Kingsley before he'd leave.
As the Minister of Magic, she knew that Kingsley liked to excuse himself from work at six, knowing that on peaceful days like today, there was no reason for him to linger around longer than necessary, and thus she had quite a hurry to catch him on time, seeing as she still had eight minutes left till six o'clock.
Therefore Hermione collected all her rolls of parchments together and levitated it, and grabbed the finished bundle into her arms, and practically ran out of her office – the quick tapping of her heels following her around – and ran down the hallway to the first door on her left and gave a rapid knock on it, not waiting for her boss to answer before she already opened the door.
"Miss Granger," Prickle said, who was head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, "to what do I owe this surprise?" He asked, light-hearted as he watched her stray hairs flying about as she had been ruffling it for the past eight hours.
"I finished the pixie assignment, sir," Hermione said, scooting over to his desk and placing it on it, letting the rolls of parchment drop down as well, knowing that they would be sent to the archives to be stored as evidence on her bundle.
"Very well, very well," Prickle said, but his voice died out as Hermione went straight for the door as well. "Actually, I was hoping to talk to you, Miss Granger," Prickle said, stopping her in her tracks.
Biting her lip, she knew what was coming. A promotion had been granted to her after she'd finish this assignment, and yet, she wasn't sure whether to take it. "Actually, sir, I'm hoping to catch Kingsley before six. Would you mind if we talked another time?"
Prickle looked a little crestfallen, as if he had expected her to be in a bit more of an excited mood. "Why, yes, yes, of course. You do that, Miss Granger," he said, a little distraught.
Shooting him a grateful smile, Hermione hurried out of the office and managed to jump into the lift just in time before the golden grilles were closing. "What level are you heading to?" An elderly woman asked, and Hermione, a bit out of breath, smiled as she answered with "Level one, please."
The elderly woman looked her over a bit, peering over her glasses as she then pointed at Hermione's hair. "Visiting the Minister of Magic, aren't you?" Hermione gave a curt nod. "I'd be fixing that hair of yours, then, if I were you."
Feeling rather embarrassed, she quickly patted her hair back down as she redid her low bun, tucking in the stray hairs into the elastic. Over the years her hair had been a little bit more cooperative, less bushy and wild, and more tidy and straight. Then again, it was probably due to her jamming it into such a tight bun every day. She assumed that if she'd let it loose again for a while, that it would regain some of the fire that it used to have.
Up the lift went, and the elder woman got off at level two, which beheld most Aurors, and when the woman had left, she was left standing alone in the lift, wondering if what she was about to do was the right choice. One thing was certain: if she were to miss Kingsley today, then she'd refrain from her choice.
Nonetheless, she hurried her steps as her feet made contact with thick, red carpets, the gold linings across the walls showing the magnificence of such a high status within this Ministery.
Though she came her often, being quite acquainted with Kingsley, it never failed to amaze her as she moved through the short hallway, and found Kingsley's office in the middle of it, his name engraved on a gold plaque on a solid black door.
Taking a deep breath, she gave a few curt knocks on the door, and waited a little anxiously before she finally heard a "Do come in, the door is open."
Carefully pushing the door, she peaked inside to see Kingsley hunched over his desk, several piles of parchment stacked next to him beholding information that someone from her rank would never find out.
"Ah, Miss Granger," the man spoke as he watched her come in, his voice booming through the grand office space as he waved her in. "Do sit down, please," he said, pointing to the chair in front of him.
Smiling, she accepted his offer as she scooted the chair back. "I do hope I'm not interrupting, sir," Hermione spoke, but he dismissed it quickly. "Not at all, nothing that can't wait for another ten minutes," he said.
"What is it you want to talk about?" Kingsley asked, pushing aside his quill as he folded his hands on top of each other, giving her his undivided attention.
Sitting here in front of Kingsley, she suddenly felt herself grow rather nervous, but willed her voice to be stable as she spoke confidently. "I'm thinking about a scenery change, sir. If you know what I mean," Hermione said, not quite sure how to bring it.
Kingsley cocked an eyebrow at her. "And what scenery would you like to change to, Miss Granger?" He asked, neither oppressing her idea nor agreeing to it yet.
Clearing her throat, she straightened her back as she lifted her chin a little. She knew she had to look confident if she wanted him to even consider her change of occupation. Otherwise he was not going to take her serious at all, especially considering the fact that it was such a big change.
"I was hoping to test my luck at the dragon reserve in Romania, actually," Hermione said, her voice unwavering, even though she still felt rather odd for saying this out loud. Was she honestly going to do this? Leave behind her security and safety?
Kingsley, too, must have picked up on her hesitance, no matter how confident she sounded. "A dragon reserve, is it now? I don't recall you ever mentioning dragons," Kingsley spoke, murmuring the last part as if thinking aloud.
"It hasn't been something that has kept me busy the past few years, no," Hermione answered honestly. "In fact, it had been brought under my attention not too long ago, and the more I've been thinking about it, the more I think that this might be what I really need."
He looked her over as he leaned back in his chair, an expression unreadable as he tilted his head to the side. "If I'm not mistaken, Prickle must have revealed that you'll be promoted to Deputy of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, starting next week?"
Feeling her cheeks redden a little, she lowered her gaze momentarily before looking at him. "He was planning on announcing this, yes. And I have been thinking about it, and what an honour it would be," Hermione stressed the 'honour', wanting Kingsley to know that she was definitely not ungrateful. "And yet, I feel it would not be enough to keep me satisfied within my work field, sir," Hermione concluded.
"Why is that?" Kingsley pressed, wanting to make sure he knew everything before granting or refusing anything.
"I've been so caught up with pressing the laws of S.P.E.W. these past few years, and thanks to your help, I've finally made this possible," Hermione said, her face lighting up at the thought of this. Kingsley, too, cracked a smile as he nodded his head, sharing her enthusiasm. "But ever since this success, I've been dusting off at the remaining work in this department. I feel like I need more of a challenge."
Kingsley remained silent, but nodded several times, more to himself than to her. "I was worried that would happen, yes." At this he leaned back straight in his office chair. "You have been one to always challenge yourself, and I too, have noticed your lack of enthusiasm over the past year."
"Not that it diminished the work you delivered," he pressed on quickly, to not make her worry, "but I do miss the fire in your eyes when you tackled difficult and challenging subjects."
At this he went back in thought as his eyebrows furrowed. "I would indeed miss your presence greatly, Miss Granger, and I would not let you go without a heed of warning."
Kingsley retracted a sheet from the bottom of his drawer with a swish of his wand. "This here is the latest correction of the income of a dragonoligst. Which, mind you, is not even a quarter of what you'll be earning if you were to accept the promotion."
Hermione took the sheet he offered, and glanced it over. It indeed did barely earn her anything, especially considering the risks she'd be taking every single day, and yet the money did not hold her back. Especially when she saw that the sanctuary currently held 16 workers, which was 27 workers short of what it ideally needed to have. Charlie had absolutely not been kidding when he said that they were seriously understaffed.
With her newly found motivation, she looked at Kingsley confidently as she handed back the sheet. "Sir, with all due respect, I do not care much for the earnings," and as she said this, he gave her a knowing smile.
"All I care for is the endangerment of dragons, and workers that should earn thrice of what is written on this sheet, at the very least. That is a challenge, sir, that I would love to handle," Hermione spoke, not a doubt wavering her word.
Nodding, Kingsley unclasped his hands as he looked at her. "Very well. I do think that you are more than capable of succeeding, and I trust that perhaps out of all people, you might be able to persuade the Bucharest Ministry of Magic to grand the sanctuary their expenses again, for it seems that for the time being, the Ministry there has given up hope."
Feeling her heart grow warm, she let a smile cross her lips as she nodded enthusiastically. "I do pity to see you leave, Hermione," Kingsley said, for the first time using her first name. "But I trust that you'll do great things, and when you think that time is right, you are of course, more than welcome to join us here, again."
Nodding, she gratefully accepted his words. "Thank you, sir, you have no idea how much that means to me."
Smiling, he retracted a new roll of parchment as he laughed deeply. "I think I do, actually." With that he scribbled a long text onto the parchment, and scribbled a signature. "I have hereby written your admission, as well as a recommendation letter to the sanctuary in Romania. I'll expect they will be able to welcome you within a few days," Kingsley said, then offered her the parchment and a quill. "All I need is your signature as well."
Trying to still her shaking hands, as she, for the first time in ages, felt genuinely excited again, she scribbled her signature a bit messier than she usually did, but watched in satisfaction as Kingsley sent it to the post office with a flick of his wand.
"You mentioned that someone had brought this occupation under your attention?" Kingsley asked, rising from behind his desk, and Hermione did so, too. "Yes sir, Charlie Weasley did, actually."
Kingsley nodded knowingly. "Finest Dragon Tamer around, if you'd ask me," he said approvingly as he walked with her to the door. "Very well, I expect he'll be leaving to Romania in a few days as well. Why don't you tag along? I'm sure he'll be able to assist you there better than anyone."
Hermione nodded as she shook his hand, a grin plastered on her face. "Fantastic, sir. Will do. Thank you so much," she said again, and he waved her off with a smile. "Do take care, Miss Granger."
Unable to believe what just happened, Hermione stood rooted to her spot outside of Kingsley's office, hearing the door click shut as she stood holding her breath.
Her heart was rapidly beating against her chest, and yet she could not stop grinning like a madman, feeling like she could do several laps around the hall in joy, but tried to restrain herself, knowing that she was still in a professional environment.
Nonetheless, as she walked back to the lift, she had a pep in her step, and joyfully she twisted the lift controller until it would bring her to level six, where she could take the Floo Network to travel back to the Burrow.
The Burrow.
How on earth was she going to tell Charlie? And what about the rest of the family? What would they be thinking? None of them, besides Charlie, had even the slightest idea that she had been unhappy at work, let alone switch careers for that matter.
And yet, all those worries did not muffle her enthusiasm, as she decided she'd just let the night coarse the way it would. She was feeling rather spontaneous, that's for sure.
The small ping of the lift announced her arrival at the sixth floor, and she enjoyed the quick taps of her heels as she hurried in line to the fireplaces, seeing as most people were planning on heading back at this hour of the evening.
It took her almost five whole minutes before it was her turn, but she did not waste a second as she hurriedly spoke "The Burrow," and for once, welcomed the lurch to her stomach before she stood on solid ground at the Burrow again.
"Oh, hullo Hermione," Ron greeted her, lifting his head from a Quidditch magazine as he watched her arrival. Almost all girls were still busy helping Molly prepare some food, but by the smell of it, it was almost ready to be served.
"Hey Ron," Hermione greeted in return, gladly removing herself from her jacket as well as her heels. After all the running from today, they had become rather tight at the sides of her feet. "How was work?" He lazily inquired, and Hermione couldn't help but grin wildly at this.
"What?" Ron asked confused, feeling for something on his face, as if thinking that something bad was stuck on it. "Oh, it was wonderful," Hermione said, though Ron still remained a bit wary at her grinning face. "That great, eh?"
"Oh, absolutely," Hermione responded vaguely, not yet sure how to announce her news. Luckily for her, though, they were called over for dinner, and she hadn't need to think about how to bring her news the rest of the night, for most of them were rather distracted with the little ones, who were actively playing with their new toys. Teddy had gotten a toddler broom, where he could fly on, but only to half a foot from the floor. As for Victoire, she had gotten a hairbrush, that would allow her hair to turn straight or curly on command.
It was the first time as well since she had arrived at the Burrow that she chattered excitedly with the rest of them, finding some late Christmas spirits, even though most of them had burnt through that.
"What's got you so excited?" Ginny inquired as they were on cleaning duty. After Bill, Percy and Audrey had done the dishes, Ginny and her were assigned to clean the kitchen, because with so many people in the house, it definitely got rather messy.
Grinning, Hermione simply shrugged. "Oh, c'mon, you can tell me, y'know that right?" Ginny asked in disbelief, wondering why Hermione wouldn't just spit it out.
"Of course I do, Gin," with this Hermione actively scrubbed the table, trying to stall time before continuing to speak, "but it's a rather big announcement, and I'd like the whole family here for it."
Ginny stopped in her movements, before squinting her eyes at the girl. "You're not pregnant, are you?" She asked, her hands propped on her hips in almost a mother-like fashion. At this Charlie made its way into the kitchen as well, grabbing for an apple in the fruit basket, but looked rather curiously at the two girls, clearly having caught word of Ginny's prior question.
Hermione laughed loudly, shaking her head as she dipped her towel in the bucket to rinse it out. "And who exactly should I be pregnant from?" Hermione shot back, though Ginny shrugged carelessly. "Hey, who you get into bed with is not my concern," she simply stated, making Hermione laugh again.
"I wish it was that simple, Gin," Hermione said, still not noticing Charlie's presence as she scrubbed away at the table. "Oh c'mon, you can't tell me that guys have not been drooling after you?"
Hermione shrugged as she rinsed her towel one last time. "It hasn't been my priority, really," at the crunch of an apple being bitten she was suddenly made aware of another presence in the room, and as she twirled around she saw Charlie leaning against a kitchen cabinet, looking highly amused as he munched away on his fruit.
Feeling herself grow rather embarrassed for having openly admitted to him that she was basically sexually inactive, she quickly wheeled around to Ginny, mouthing at her 'You could have warned me!'
At this Ginny just laughed as she emptied her own bucket in the sink, and Hermione proceeded to do the same. "Anyway, if you want the entire family to be together for this announcement, I can just call them over." The young witch said, picking up on their conversation where they had left off.
Shaking her head, Hermione tossed the bucket in the cabinet underneath the sink, and waited for Ginny to do the same before closing the door. "Tomorrow, maybe. There's someone I wish to speak to first," Hermione said, though Ginny looked at her a little weirdly.
Before she could inquire, however, Harry called her over as Ron and him were laughing about something, and Ginny quickly excused herself, leaving Charlie and her alone in the kitchen.
Not wanting to be the first to speak, for she was still rather embarrassed that he had to hear that, she waited for him to close the gap between them until he rested near her side. He was by all means the shortest Weasley of them all, and yet due to his muscular built, it still felt like he was towering above her. It didn't, of course help that she wasn't the tallest one herself, so even though he might have been the smallest Weasley, he was still at least one head bigger than she was. Though not when he leaned against the countertop like he was doing now.
"I take it by the smile that's been glued on your face ever since you came in that you thought about my offer?" Charlie asked her, his voice low and humming. Thankfully, he completely disregarded what he had heard, though there was still a humorous look on his face as she turned to look at him.
Nodding, she turned all the way around so that she was facing Charlie, as well as standing with her back to the living area, so that her excitement wouldn't be noticed by too many people yet. She first wanted to talk to Charlie about it, and then think about how she'd bring the news.
"I have, actually," Hermione said softly, then felt a grin creep up to her lips. It seemed like it was contagious, because a smile edged to his lips as well as he stopped eating his apple, waiting patiently for her to continue.
"I was at work today, still not sure what to make of your offer," Hermione started, feeling herself grow excited again as she thought back to today. "But the entire time I was so distracted from my work, thinking about this opportunity, and when I had finished it all, I decided to pay Kingsley a visit."
Charlie seemed to get excited as well, though he didn't open his mouth to speak, wanting to give her room to do so herself. "He and I talked for a long while, about the advantages and disadvantages. And I honestly think he was quite saddened that I wanted to leave," at this a grin was slowly starting to form on his lips. "But he said he'd write my admission, as well as a recommendation letter, and he wants me to leave with you for Romania in a few days," Hermione finished, feeling as if her skin was going to tear from grinning so broadly.
"Are you for real?" Charlie asked hopefully, uncrossing his arms and setting his apple aside. Hermione nodded vigorously, and gladly let him lift her up in his arms. Her feet lost contact with the ground as he lifted her in the air and squeezed her tightly, a cheerful laugh brushing against her ears. "That's fantastic, Hermione!" He exclaimed, though quickly lowered his voice as Hermione noticed some heads turn to them when he put her back on the ground.
"You think so?" Hermione asked, biting her lip tentatively. "Of course! You'll be a great asset to my team, from what I've heard about you," Charlie nodded enthusiastically, one arm still lingering around her waist as they were now standing side by side.
"Brightest witch of your age, weren't you?" He spoke teasingly, and she laughed as he pulled her a little bit closer before letting go. "Don't get your hopes up, Weasley. I might not be that great."
Charlie, however, shook his head. "I think I'll take my chances," he said.