Four times Hermione dated Mr. Wrong
One time Mr. Wrong turned out to be Mr. Right.
It had only taken five years.
The first man she dated didn't work out. At all. It might have been that she knew him too well. Or it might have been because they have been through too much together. Either way, they tried their best to give it a go. In the end they had to concede that they just worked out much better as best friends. After all, she had known Ron Weasley since they were eleven years old. He was there when she failed the first of only two classes at Hogwarts. He helped save her life after she was trapped with a mountain troll. He was the one clever enough to get them across the chessboard when they were helping Harry get to the Stone. He tried to defend her and would have succeeded if his wand hadn't been broken. He was the first one to notice when she kept popping in and out of classes third year. Hermione seriously didn't think anyone else, except maybe Harry, had even noticed her strange behavior that year. Ron, strange as it seemed at times, could always spot her out when nobody else could. Even though they fought like cats and dogs at times, she wouldn't have it any other way.
After they realized their feelings about each other, it was time to get things settled. She helped him get back with the girl he really loved and he helped her get over her fear of heights. Even though he and Lavender had started out as a kiss of exhilaration after a quidditch win, it had quickly turned more serious. At the time, it HAD hurt her to see them together. She'd still had her own hopes of her and Ron then. But after the erstwhile breakup, she could still see his eyes lingering on Lavender ever so often. There was just the slightest tinge of regret there. After their own kiss and the battle, Hermione had soon figured it out. Ron had as well. She would forever love him for the way he'd tried his best to help her make it work between the two of them. Eventually, she realized that they were only hurting themselves more, the longer they stayed together.
Unbeknownst to Ron, she set out to get him back together with Lavender. She surprised her by befriending her after so many years of ignoring her. The only time she had ever allowed Lavender to help her with her hair, makeup and outfit was the Yule Ball. Now she freely allowed Lavender to play with her hair, trying various things from ponytails to buns. They went shopping and she gladly took the other girl's advice with clothes and makeup. She began inviting Lavender along to the Burrow every chance she could. Soon Ron was showing a marked interest in Lavender again. Hermione carefully guided him into breaking up with her and asking Lavender out. It didn't take him long to realize what Hermione had done.
After making sure Hermione was okay with the situation, Ron decided to do something for her in return. He'd long wanted her to be more comfortable riding a broomstick. So, he began teaching her how to ride a broomstick. They started low, simply riding around the garden and down the road to Luna's. Once Hermione was comfortable at that level, Ron took them up further. They started picking apples for his mother and skimming the treetops, looking in birds' nests. Then he took her onto the homemade quidditch pitch and started tossing the quaffle with her. Slowly but surely, Hermione grew more and more confident with her flying. Then he started teaching her how to play the game. Pretty soon it became a common sight to see the two of them zipping rapidly through the air. Never had she thought she could ever feel this free with both feet off the ground. He even taught her how to play his position in quidditch. As much as she'd hated the game when they were younger, she'd not thought that would be an easy task for him. Instead, she really got into the hang of it. She got so good at it that she was elected to pinch hit every time he couldn't make it to an interdepartmental game.
She could have done quite happily without the attention on her love life or the nonexistence of a love life. She tried to tell everyone that she was happy to be single. It gave her a chance to meet some of her own privately set goals. Goals that would have been impossible to reach with her being in a relationship. She wanted to go back and finish her Muggle education, just on the off chance that she returned to the muggle world. Marriage and children were just not as important to her as they were to everyone else. At least, they weren't a high priority just yet. Of course, she wanted to be a wife and mother, someday. Just not right now.
The second time she tried to date was not so bad. Ironically, it was Percy Weasley. Ron had convinced her to give his brother a chance. Percy had changed since his school days. After leaving school, ostracizing himself from his family and coming back to the fold at the battle, he realized that contact with his family was important. It didn't slow down his drive for perfection, though. And it turned out that he was even more of a workaholic than she was. He was quiet, studious and loved his job as much as she did. Sadly, as it turned out, he loved his job more than he loved her. It was pretty bad when SHE was the one attempting to get HIM out of his office at night. During dinner dates, he delighted in telling her about every last little detail on all of his pet projects. NOW she could understand why her friends were constantly rolling their eyes when she talked about her work. Eventually, they also broke up. They could both see that they made better coworkers and friends than lovers.
The third boyfriend she had was the first one she really thought might be THE ONE. Anthony Goldstein had liked her ever since their Hogwarts days. He confessed to her that he'd tried at various times to ask her out. But he'd always lose his nerve at the last minute. It wasn't until both Ron and Percy talked him up to her that Anthony finally felt brave enough to ask her out. They had fun dates with her friends and family. He loved children as much as she did. But he also wanted to establish himself in a career before he thought about a family. They seemed to have the very same course laid out for themselves. Then he started changing. It was so slow and gradual that she almost didn't realize what was happening. Not until it was almost too late. He talked her into giving up her apartment and buying a house with him. He told her it was just a jumpstart on their future. Then he started hinting about babies and children. They started arguing. He wanted to get married now and start a family. He wanted her to be a stay-at-home mum until their children went to school. That was the end of that relationship.
In three years, she'd managed to go through three different relationships, two of which she was thankfully still friends with her exes. It didn't mean that she had given up entirely, only that she needed to cool off on the dating scene for a while. She was perfectly fine with that realization.
It took her a whole year to trust herself enough to try another relationship. This was number four and it was an unmitigated disaster. Why she had ever thought that dating Cormac McLaggen was a good idea, she'd never know. She hadn't liked him at Hogwarts, and she hadn't grown any fonder of him since then. She suspected that she was just trying to appease her friends, but she was tired of hearing the same thing over again. Everyone was starting to talk about marriage and babies more seriously now. It was the only thing she could figure as to her reason for giving McLaggen a chance. For starters, he was a social butterfly and wanted her constantly on his arm. At first, she tried to be there for him. But he seemed more worried sometimes about getting their picture in the paper than he did about spending quality time with her. Every time they attended a party, he would stay with her long enough to get their photographs taken. Then she was lucky to see him the rest of the evening! Then, anonymous pictures of them started surfacing, explicit anonymous pictures at that.
Hermione was having breakfast with the Weasleys when she first became aware of the pictures in the Daily Prophet. Mr. Weasley had gone out to collect the paper. He came back with it tucked under his arm. He glanced at Hermione as he grabbed Molly by the arm. He pulled her out of the room and Hermione could hear them in the living room. She couldn't make out much more than 'pictures', but she clearly heard Molly gasp. She frowned as she got up to join them.
"Molly, Arthur? What's wrong?" She asked quietly. Molly turned and smiled at her reassuringly. Arthur raised his brows and Molly nodded.
"Hermione, sweetheart, sit down. We need to show you something." Molly requested. Arthur stood to the side as the women went to the couch. Then he opened the paper to the society page and handed it to Hermione. She looked down and gasped in shock. The woman moving in the picture had her back to the camera, but even Hermione had no problem recognizing her own hair. The man was blurred as he looked towards the camera, but she knew it was Cormac.
"Will wonders never cease?" The headline screamed. The caption had been written by none other than Rita Skeeter. Hermione closed her eyes in mingled anger and pain. 'How could he? How DARE he do this? And Rita Skeeter?! Of all the reporters he could have gone to, it just had to be that blasted Rita Skeeter!'
'The Golden Girl isn't so golden after all! It seems our very own Hermione Granger has a little bit of a wild streak. Is this how she enchanted the Bulgarian Bon Bon, Viktor Krum and Harry Potter in the wilder days of her youth? Inquiring minds would very much like to know. So far, no comment has been made by Miss Granger or Mr. McLaggen. More to come.' From your friendly neighborhood reporter.
With tears already streaming down her face, Hermione grabbed the paper and bolted into the fireplace. Throwing down a handful of Floo powder, she screamed "Ministry of Magic!" As she rushed out of the fireplace and ran across the lobby, she could see people turning to stare as she went by. As she grabbed the first lift going down, she was joined by Marcus Flint and Draco Malfoy.
"Well, well, Granger. If I'd known you liked to ride 'em, I'd have offered my services back in school." Marcus leered at her. To her complete shock, Draco pulled his arm back and popped Marcus squarely in the nose, knocking him out.
She looked at Draco, who shrugged. "I wouldn't want him talking to Pansy like that. And you've been through too much to be talked to like that."
Hermione shocked both herself and Draco by hugging him gratefully for defending her. "Thank you."
The doors opened, and she rushed out and down the hall. When she questioned Cormac, he denied everything. But there was only one way someone could have taken that kind of pictures and he knew it, too. He eventually confessed to having hidden cameras all over the house. She immediately moved out and went to her parents' house.
After four bad relationships, she had decided to call it quits. There was no way for her to ever have a healthy relationship and something not go bad with it. She resigned herself to being the maiden aunt, the one everyone always dumped their children on. She found a new place and proceeded to turn herself into the fun aunt, the one all the children adored. The one who spoiled the children rotten, gave them all the sugary treats they wanted and sent them home to mum and dad. She resisted any and all attempts to set her up on a blind date. She told them she was happily single and intended to stay that way. If fate wanted her matched with someone, they'd throw them together naturally.
As it turned out, fate did have a match in mind for her. But never in a million years would she have thought it would be HIM! But once she got over the shock of it, she realized he was exactly who she needed by her side. After all, the muggle world even had a saying about it, 'a reformed rake makes the best husband!' And he had definitely been a player before he went to prison. He'd had everyone fooled, even his own bosses. She'd heard about him over the years, but she wouldn't have thought he was as capable of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes as he did.
It wasn't even that memorable of a first meeting. They ran into each other, literally, as they both dropped the papers they were carrying. Her files went one way and his parole officer's file went another. He immediately dropped to his knees, helping her gather the files. As she scrambled around, picking up papers, she couldn't help but notice how attractive he actually was. When she'd first seen him years ago, she'd been so intimidated by his sheer size that she'd not given his face much attention. After all, they'd been trying to escape, and he was trying to detain them. He smiled at her as he handed her belongings back. Then he collected his own file and left. She realized he must have been there for a parole meeting.
Joining Voldemort had been the worst mistake he'd ever made. He was already on the fast track to being an Auror. 'Why had he fucked it up by allowing himself to be convinced to follow a madman? Oh, yeah. That's right. Dad had threatened to kill mum and his little sisters if he didn't join. Fucking bastard!' He'd made sure the old fucker suffered for that one. The first joint mission they'd been sent on, he'd spent more time jinxing his dad than the man and woman he'd been assigned to torture. He'd made sure that mission ended his father's life, too. That ruthlessness, inherited from his old man, had been the very thing that Voldemort had been looking for. He immediately branded Corban Yaxley into his Inner Circle. He was seventeen years old and fresh out of Hogwarts. The Dark Lord told him to continue with his plan of joining the DMLE. He had need of spies in that department. Yaxley didn't care. He just wanted his dream job.
When he first joined the Death Eaters, Voldemort had actually been a fairly reasonable wizard. Then something had changed. The man started talking and acting crazier by the day. Then he declared his plan of destroying a child. 'A child?' Yaxley was left scratching his head over that one. Sure enough, that Halloween, the DMLE was ordered to send Aurors to Godric's Hollow. To the home of James and Lily Potter. The couple had been known members of the Order of the Phoenix, headed by Albus Dumbledore. They were unable to find even a trace of Voldemort. Yaxley felt a tingle on his arm. As he lifted his robe enough to see his arm, his brand changed. He watched in amazement as it faded down to an ordinary looking tattoo. The Dark Lord was gone. He looked around as he tried not to show his relief. He knew there were older, more experienced Death Eaters on staff besides himself. He wondered what had become of the Potter boy. He was nowhere to be found, either. A week later, he shuddered as he was forced to lead his friend Rabastan Lestrange and his brother Rodulphus and sister-in-law Bellatrix to the cold, dead cells of Azkaban prison. None of them had given his name up during their trials. For that, he was grateful and tried to repay them by keeping the Dementors away as much as he could.
Over the next eleven years, he did his job and kept his head down. He knew there had been whispers over the years about his Dark Mark. Unfortunately, the Ministry couldn't prove he had one. He wore long sleeve shirts and kept a Dissillusion spell on his Mark when he was unable to cover it up. He knew most of the whispers came from witches he'd been with. That gave him no choice but to obliviate any memories of him right out of their minds. He wouldn't have thought they would talk about him, seeing as he was single, and they were married. But it only served to remind him that, aside from his mother and sisters, he wasn't too good at reading the deeper emotions of women. 'Oh well. That would be their lesson for daring to mess around with Corban Yaxley.' He went on his merry way until that little brat Harry Potter showed up at Hogwarts. Then it never failed to amaze him as the child found some way to get in trouble every single year and dragged his two best friends into the situation! At first, Yaxley thought nothing about it, except to shake his head. Then it happened. In the boy's fourth year, the bloody Dark Lord managed to come back from the dead! 'How the bloody FUCK had he pulled off that hat trick?!' Yaxley showed up when summoned to the graveyard, only to see a dead student on the ground and another, the Potter boy, restrained to a headstone.
He listened as Lucius, Crabbe, Goyle and others were chastised for not even attempting to locate him. When Lucius tried to turn the Dark Lord's wrath onto Yaxley, the Dark Lord laughed at him. "No, Lucius. Yaxley is EXACTLY where I both want and need him to be. A spy within the DMLE. He's in the perfect position for a takeover. Best of all, he raises no suspicion with any of his activities." He frowned sternly at Lucius. Lucius paled as he realized he must have put a foot wrong somewhere. He frowned as he thought back over the past couple of years. Yaxley snorted in silent laughter because he knew Lucius would be analyzing every single thing he'd done since Harry Potter surfaced in the wizarding world. The Dark Lord dismissed him to go back to the DMLE. He apparated into his office first and then showed up at a department meeting, in time for the Aurors to be summoned to Hogwarts. Barty Crouch, Jr had been caught, disguised as Mad Eye Moody. Once again, Yaxley wondered how Crouch, Jr had pulled off that feat. Everyone knew how fucking paranoid Moody was.
Over the next two years, Yaxley slowly maneuvered himself into position to take over as Head Auror. All the while, he played the field and acted like he couldn't care less whether he worked or not. To anyone following his career, it would seem like he was more interested in seeing how many times a week he could land himself on the society page than actually working. The witches loved it, of course. They swarmed him at every social gathering and competed to see how often they could invite him to more private gatherings. The wizards frowned darkly, especially those who also bore a Dark Mark, but they were content to let him be, hoping he'd fuck up and piss off the Dark Lord. When the time came to dispose of Dumbledore, Yaxley was the only one of the raiding party brave enough and with enough authority to shove Greyback away, in order to allow Draco the opportunity to kill the headmaster.
During the war that followed, the only time Yaxley made a misstep was allowing the Trio to escape from the ministry. Other than that, he was the perfect Auror/Death Eater or so it seemed to the world. During the battle of Hogwarts, he fought like a demon. It was a testimony to his powerful magic that it took the combined efforts of Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Horace Slughorn, Aberforth Dumbledore and Filius Flitwick to take him down. Once he was subdued, he was bound over to the Aurors to stand trial alongside his fellow captured Death Eaters. Amazingly enough, once his wand was tested, he was given a far lighter sentence than the rest of them. Every death pulled from his wand by Priori Incantatem was in fact an actual wanted wizard. Instead of his Death Eater duties, he had actually been doing his job under the guise of helping hunt down Harry, Ron and Hermione.
In spite of that fact, the ministry decided that he still had to have some form of punishment. Therefore, he was given a semi short sentence to serve. "I hope you understand, Corban. You did do wrong and there has to be some consequence for your actions." He had a lot of time to think about what he'd done. Ten years' worth of time. The only thing he could be thankful for was that the Dementors were gone. If he'd had to cope with those bloody things, he would have argued his own case, asking for the death penalty. As it was, now he had nothing to do but worry about how his mum and sisters were coping without him. He supposed he should have thought of that before allowing himself to caught fighting for the wrong side. Oh well, in the words of his mum, 'too late to cry over spilt milk.'
He'd had to wait three years before his first appeal was filed. He already knew he'd lose that one and the one after it. Much to his surprise, he'd been told that he might have a chance at freedom the next year. He wrote his mum to find out if they'd told her anything. "I've only been in prison four years, mum. I was sentenced to ten years. What the bloody fuck is going on out there?"
"The minister is arguing your case himself. He's trying to remind them of your perfect arrest record. He even has Harry Potter arguing for you. It seems Mr. Potter wants you back in the Aurors office. The way they explained it to me is, you wouldn't be on any actual raids. You'd simply be advising Mr Potter on some cases they're having trouble closing." She wrote back.
Yaxley was flabbergasted, to put it mildly. 'The Minister of Magic AND Harry Potter both arguing for his freedom!' He just wasn't sure whether to be thrilled at his possible future freedom or wary as to WHY it had to be him. His arrest record hadn't been THAT perfect. While Yaxley was mulling things over in Azkaban, Hermione and Cormac were getting closer and closer to a breakup. Harry, Kingsley and all of her friends there at the ministry were hoping for exactly that. They had a plan in mind for her. The day she came storming to the ministry and threw a lamp at Cormac, they knew it was time to put their plan into action. She might be shocked at who they had in mind, but he was perfect for her. He'd made his own share of mistakes.
Kingsley Shacklebolt came to Azkaban to personally let Corban know his appeal had finally been won. He was a free man. Shacklebolt brought a set of clothes his mother had picked out for him. He took his last cold shower and left his prison uniform on the floor of the shower room. He was taken to the warden's office where he was given a file with the name and number of his parole officer. He walked into the open air and took a deep breath. Finally. Finally. He was free. He'd done the crime and done his time. Now it was time to face the real world. Time to show everyone he was a changed man. He had several years of parole to get through.
He went to the ministry to meet his parole officer. He was looking down at his file as he collided with a soft body. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!" She exclaimed. He found himself looking down at Hermione Granger.
"That's ok, sweetheart. I wasn't watching where I was going, either." He admitted, chuckling as she turned red. He knelt to help her gather her files. He stole glances at her and caught a few side glances from her. After handing over her files, he picked his own up and went on down the hall.
Hermione watched as he walked towards Harry's office. Harry had told her earlier this week he'd have a new parolee. He just hadn't told her who his new parolee would be. 'Who had decided that it was a good idea to let Corban Yaxley run free again? Hadn't he already shown his allegiance during the war?!' She rolled her eyes as she saw Cormac and Marcus, leering at her from down the hall. 'That blasted arsehole was never going to leave her alone!' She'd had to threaten getting the Daily Prophet permanently shut down before Rita Skeeter finally agreed to retract the photos Cormac had sold her.
Corban saw the two standing there chuckling. "Oi, Yaxley! You've been shut away for a while, right? I can tell you someone who'll treat you right, as long as you let her ride you!" Cormac said, smirking as he spoke loud enough for Hermione to hear him. She was suddenly horrified, knowing what he was going to tell him. She backed up and went into her office, slamming the door shut as she crammed her fist against her mouth.
Harry heard Cormac and walked to the door of his office, in time to see him showing the photos he'd secretly taken of Hermione before their breakup. Yaxley took them with no expression on his face. Then he tucked them into his pocket and looked at Harry, then Cormac and Marcus. It was as if he was trying to make up his mind about something. Harry was amazed as he smiled and, quick as a flash, reached out and slammed their heads together. Marcus went down for the count. Right as Cormac was passing out, Yaxley pulled the photos from his pocket. He lit them on fire right there in the palm of his hand. "A wise wizard NEVER kisses and tells, you bloody, fucking bastard!" He snarled as he flung Cormac away from him.
It was then Harry noticed that Kingsley, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville were all there, watching Yaxley in action. Kingsley looked at him and flashed a smile as he nodded. They'd definitely chosen the right wizard for Hermione. Now it was just a matter of Corban winning her trust. "Oi, Yaxley. Neat trick there. When did you learn how to do that?" He cocked his head curiously.
"Rowle wasn't the only one whose accidental magic came out as fire. Who do you think taught him how to control it?" Yaxley asked him. Harry nodded as he led him back into his office.
"You're probably wondering what cases we need your help with. These are the files. You might recognize them. I'm told you were working these same cases just before the war." Harry watched him carefully. Yaxley picked up the files and flipped through them.
"Your best chance of catching Baxter and Bernard is the continent. Switzerland in particular. If all hell hadn't broken loose that first weekend of the war, I was going after them." Yaxley told him calmly. "Anything else you need me to help with?" He flopped into the chair and propped his feet at the edge of Harry's desk.
Harry leaned against the wall as he debated the wisdom of setting Yaxley in pursuit of Hermione. "I have a few minor cases that I've given over to a coworker. Those are mostly research, so you might not be interested in helping her." He watched Yaxley perk up slightly and tip his head. "Actually, you just met the coworker who has those files. Hermione Granger. I told her I'd send you down, if you were interested in helping her."
Yaxley's eyes widened. He put his feet down and sat up straight. "Are you sure she'd want to work with me, though? She seemed a bit, um, scared of me just now."
Harry cupped his hand over his mouth, concealing his smile. "Yeah, she'll be fine, working with you. Fair warning though, she'll be shy at first. It might take her a while to start talking to you." He straightened up and walked behind his desk. "You could go on down there and introduce yourself. I know she was planning on stopping at her office only briefly, then heading on down to the ministry library to start researching those files."
Yaxley practically jumped up out of his chair on hearing that. "Well, I'd better catch up to her then, shouldn't I?" Just outside the door, on his way past, he made sure to give the unconscious form of Cormac a good, solid kick to the head. "Oops, sorry. I didn't see him down there." Harry had to fight to keep from busting out laughing. Ron, coming towards him, stared at the ceiling as if to say, 'I saw nothing!' After he was down the hall, they closed the door, put up a silencing spell and cracked up laughing.
Yaxley went down the hall until he came to the door bearing her name. He gave a soft tap and waited for her to answer. Inside, Hermione was leaning against the door as she cried. Upon hearing the knock, she gasped and held her breath. 'Of course, he'd come hunting her down after seeing those pictures! Why wouldn't he? He wouldn't be the first one she'd hexed, and he wouldn't be the last one, she was sure.'
"Miss Granger? Hermione? Are you in there? Potter sent me down. He said there were some files I could help you research?" Yaxley leaned against the door. He could hear her sniffling on the other side. Just knowing she was crying made him want to go back up the hall and blast those two bloody buggers right through the fucking wall. 'How dare they hurt her like this!'
Hermione's eyes widened. 'Harry had sent him down to help her?' She hurriedly dried her eyes and cracked the door, peering out at him. He smiled and waved his fingers at her. She pulled the door open and invited him in. "I have to collect a few reports that will help. Then we can go on to the library, if that's ok with you." She smiled shyly at him.
"Your wish is my command, sweetheart." He left the door open as he leaned on the wall. Watching as she went from desk drawer to filing cabinet, his eyes wandered over her office. Finally, she was ready to go. He took the huge stack from her and motioned her ahead of him. They went to the lift, unaware of the audience watching them go. Upon reaching the ministry library, Hermione secured her usual table. Then she divided the stack between him and her. It was only after they sat down that she realized how small the table was. Yaxley's legs were long enough to fit around hers. They kept brushing knees under the table.
"How long have you worked for the ministry?" He asked. She darted a look at him to see if he was really interested. He was looking right at her, eyebrow cocked.
"I've only worked here for a few years. I actually worked in a bookstore for a year or so after Hogwarts. I was catching up on my muggle education." She shrugged her shoulders uneasily at him. "Just in case being in the magical world didn't work out for me."
"That makes sense. You always want to hedge your bets. Have another option if the first one doesn't work out." He reached out and brushed the folder she was holding, nudging her hand lightly.
"How did you hedge your bets?" She asked curiously. He tipped his head at her as he considered how to answer her.
"Being a Death Eater was never my first option. Had it been up to me, it would never have been an option at all. Being an Auror, that was my dream. Quidditch was my backup option. I was a fairly decent Keeper in my day." He caught her hand as she tried to pull away. She stared at the faded tattoo on his arm. Someone had drawn over it. 'Had he really tried to conceal his Mark?'
Before she could say anything about it, they were joined by Harry and Ron. "Oi, Hermione! We're going to Switzerland. I need to talk to you about something important." Harry said. Ron stood quietly behind him, observing Yaxley. He'd zeroed in on the clasped hand. Yaxley was frowning at them.
"Oh! Ok. Let me just finish-." Hermione started to say. Now Yaxley was frowning at her. Ron was biting his lip as he tapped his chin. Clearly, Yaxley didn't want to let her go.
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. You can't go, Hermione. I need you to stay here." Harry cringed as Hermione glared at him. Yaxley had started smiling.
"What are you on about, Harry?" She snapped at him. Ron was chuckling softly into his clasped fist.
"Ok. The thing is, Yaxley can't leave England. That's one of the conditions of his parole. I'm Yaxley's parole officer. If I don't file a parole meeting every week, he goes back to Azkaban. I need you to take over as his parole officer, just until I get back." Harry told her quickly. Yaxley was grinning as he rubbed a finger over her hand.
"But Harry-?" She protested. Harry shook his head at her.
"No. This isn't up for questioning. He's more valuable to us outside of Azkaban than inside. All these files were cases he was actually working on. We need his input, Hermione." Harry told her firmly.
Hermione nodded in defeat. She knew when she could and couldn't talk Harry into changing his mind. This was one of those times. Harry handed her Yaxley's file as he and Ron left.