Number 12 Grimmauld Place
Ginny woke up the next day, still feeling exhausted from the day before. Her head ached, but this time it wasn't from too many drinks. She sat up and checked the clock. It was 8:30. She had a harpies live radio show in 2 hours. She groaned and got out of bed. She grabbed an appropriate green dress and quickly did her hair. She left her room. Harry's door was still closed. She thought about knocking and checking on him but decided against it. She walked downstairs to the kitchen. Neville, Hermione, and Luna were sitting around the island. She grabbed some breakfast from the options that Kreacher had made. He handed her a cup of tea
"Thanks Kreacher," she mumbled.
"Your welcome Miss Wealsey" she didn't bother to tell him to use Ginny. She sat down at the island with Neville, Luna and Hermione. No one was talking. She started to eat. Neville kept looking towards the staircase. He was looking for Ron or Harry
"D'you think they'll just work this out by themselves?" Neville asked
"They always have," Hermione said, staring at her tea. "Even when they got into a big fight when we were on the run, they eventually made up. They usually put me in the middle for a couple of weeks before though"
"They were both right. Harry made a choice and Ron shouldn't have judged him but Harry could have been there to help Ron" Luna observed
"Whatever, hopefully they make up quickly, they live together. It's not like they can just avoid each other" Ginny said
"You would be amazed," Neville said. Hermione nodded in agreement. Ginny heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She felt her whole body tense. Their conversation immediately stopped. Harry walked into the kitchen. He was scowling. He sulked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed breakfast. Kreacher gave him a cup of tea
"Thanks Kreacher," he muttered. He sat down next to her. Neville and Hermione looked apprehensively at each other. Ginny heard footsteps again and prepared for the worst. Even Luna looked uneasy. Ron came down the stairs. He glared at Harry and Harry glared back at him. Ron sat down as far from Harry as possible. The others looked at each other. The air in the room was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Neither man said a word to each other. The others couldn't find a way to break the ice. Neville looked at his watch. He stood up from the island and grabbed his jacket and walked over to the fireplace. Harry checked his watch as well and followed Neville. Ron begrudgingly followed Harry. The fireplace glowed green as the 3 men vanished. Ginny finally exahalied.
Ministry of Magic, London, England
Hermione Granger stepped out of the ministry elevator and walked over to her division. She pushed one of her dark curls out of her face. She signed tiredly. She had hardly slept the night before, between Harry and Ron's fighting and her own nightmares. She had scheduled an appointment with her therapist before heading down to a stressful breakfast. Dr. Stanton had an opening that night and so did her coworker, Dr. Greenwood, who was working with Ginny. She was grateful that Ginny took her advice of speaking to someone. Dr. Greenwood was a specialist in childhood trauma and was so far helping Ginny. She walked past Shayna but did not seem to hear her calling her name. She sat down at her desk and began to work on her paperwork.
"Hermione!" Shayna yelled. She was now standing over Hermione's desk. Hermione's head shot up in surprise
"What?" She asked
"Did you forget what day it is?"
"Tuesday?"
"Yeah, Tuesday the 23rd?" Hermione's mouth formed into a long o shape
"Oh god, I forgot" She ran a hand through her curls, a habit she picked up from her best friend who was currently fighting with her boyfriend.
"Yeah, hey, are you ok?" Shayna looked down at Hermione's outfit of a pants suit and oxfords and then up to her half up bushy curls. Hermione sighed, she smiled lightly when she realized why Shayna was examining her outfit
"I made a promise, I'm not changing" Hermione smiled
"I know, but you look exhausted, you might not want-"
"Shayna, I have point to prove and I'm not backing down"
"You're braver than I am"
"No, I'm just more stubborn" Shayna laughed lightly
"Ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be". The two women walked to the conference room at the end of the hall. Shayna stepped inside first and then stood against the wall. Hermione walked in second. Her co-workers did not bother to look up from their conversation. She noticed that the women sat away from the head of the table while the men sat together towards the front. All of the women were in heels and skirts and had pin straight hair. It was one of the many oddities of her new office. She did not know them. She worked only on house elf legislation and worked mostly alone, besides Shayna. She took a seat near the front of the table. At this gesture, everyone looked up. Hermione sat down as all eyes were on her. She felt their glares. They stared at her pant suits, flat shoes and bushy hair. One of the men was glaring at her more than the others
"Sorry, these seats are only from Department of sentient Magical creature officers, not secretaries." Hermione rolled her eyes to herself and took her reports out of her bag, organizing them in front of her "Excuse me? Hey, can you hear me? Who do you think you are?" He asked, slightly red in the face
"Ms. Hermione Granger," She said crisply. Hermione subtly looked around the room. None of her co-workers had noticed, but she noticed everything around her. The men and women's disapproving glares turned into looks of reconcognition. The man who felt a need to speak out against her before was at a total loss for words. Just as she made this declaration, her boss walked into the conference room. She had been subtly avoiding him since she had arrived and so far had done a splendid job. If she was going to make a statement, she wanted as many people around her as possible to witness it. Peter Lowman sat at the head of the table. He smiled as he sat down and scanned her coworkers. He stopped when he got to the end of the women
"Oh, where's Miss. Granger?" He asked
"I'm here," She said.. He glanced up to her wild curls and pants suit.
"Miss. Granger, I thought I made it clear about the dress code last time we spoke?"
"You said I had to follow it" Hermione said crisply
"Yes and-"
"And I am" She cut him off. "I am following the dress code, you can read it yourself" He looked flabbergasted
"Women have to wear feminine suits, heels and must have professional hairstyles" he gritted his teeth.
"Actually, there is nothing about the type of suits that are acceptable. Heels are impractical. If I am running away from snatcher or dueling Voldemort-" Her entire office began yelling at this
"Don't say his name" one of them snarled
"I faced Voldemort, survived and won. Not saying his name only increases our fear of him. I faced him and won and I keep winning by not showing him the fear he wants all of us to have so I would suggest we all start using his name. And back to heals, I can't fight in them. If you can Mr. Loweman, then by all means, you can wear them and as for my hair, nothing about it is unprofessional. If you think my hair texture, which I can not control, is unprofessional, well to change it, I would have to spend hours on it, hours I could be spending on work." She said, She again looked around subtly. A mix of shocked and beat red faces stared back at her
"Miss Granger, I don't know if you understand this but we are a family here and we all learn how to respect each other" one of the women said. Hermione thought her name was Diana but she was not sure. Hermione noticed that out of all of the women she was sitting closest to Mr. Loweman. "We don't sass each other or, or use such profanities" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"What did I say that sounded sassy?" Hermione asked her coldly
"All of it" she said incredulously
"I was simply answering a question, however if you have a problem with it we can talk after the meeting, it looks like we are behind schedule" she jerked her head towards the clock. It was now well past 9:30, their starting time.
"Er, right, we will finish this discussion later," Lowman said, looking down at his own notes. "Right, So the first order of business, Jenkins, you were working on Werewolf legislation surrounding the order of merlin, correct?"
"Yes sir, I reviewed the case and suggested the correct course of action"
"And what was the council's decision?"
"They chose to ignore my advice and rewarded it anyway, the ceremony was in early October" Hermione tried her best to not show her shook, for she could not believe that her office had tried to stop professor Lupin from getting Order of Merlín after everything that happened during the war.
"Anything to add Miss Granger?" Diana spat
"I'm just wondering why Professor Lupin would be denied Order of Merlín, after he died to protect us at the battle"
"He's a werewolf, Miss Granger, not a wizard" Jenkins said like it was simple logic
"One more interruption Miss Granger and I will have to ask you to leave" Hermione bit her tongue. She did not particularly care about being asked to leave, but she wanted to know what this office was truly up to, so she could report it back to Kingsley. Hermione quietly wrote down notes as each of the men spoke. She also noticed that all of the women worked with other men while some of the men worked alone. Odd. She sat quietly until Loweman got to her
"What about you, Miss Granger"
"The newest piece of house elf legislation passed in the Wizengamot" She said
"Good, what bill did you manage to pass?" He asked
"The right of illness, it allows house elves to request sick time as need"
"I didn't approve that bill" he glared
"The minister gave it his seal of approval along with a 45 to 5 vote" she said crisply. She sat, stewing, as the rest of her coworkers explained their newest bills and regulations. She watched the clock. It was almost noon, soon she could leave to go meet Anna and Serena for lunch before classes started. She stared at the clock as it got closer to noon, until it finally hit the number 12. Her coworkers began to collect their belongings before leaving the room. She rushed out behind them, avoiding Mr. Loweman and Diana as she raced to her desk. She grabbed her paperwork and put it into her bag. She said goodbye to Shayna and rushed to the ladies room. She quickly changed into an appropriate for class outfit of a sweater and jeans. She left the bathroom, feeling out of place in her muggle street clothing before she apperated to Draoidh University. She walked into the muggle cafe and sat down at a table with Anna and Serena. She had told them that she had to work in the morning, just not where.
"Bad morning?" Anna asked her
"You have no idea"