Hermione smiled glancing at the herbaceous bouquet sitting on her desk, it'd been delivered that morning, with a sweet note from Neville, telling her that there was a book reserved for her at Flourish and Blotts on the language of flowers that he thought she might enjoy. She sniffed at the spearmint, sorrel, blue sage, and the other herb in the bouquet that she hadn't yet identified. She'd collected the book from Flourish and Blotts during her lunch break. Sitting down at her desk, she slowly flips through the small journal looking for the section on herbs.
"Hmm, Ivy represents affection, friendship, and fidelity…" Hermione smiled softly as she flipped to the 'S' section, "Sage, blue means "I think of you"."
"She flipped through a few more pages, Sorrel represents affection." She hummed quietly as she skimmed the page before turning the page, "and Spearmint represents the warmth of sentiment otherwise meaning tenderness…"
"Now, if I could identify this last herb, maybe I'd know what Neville was trying to say.." She could feel herself blushing as she flipped through the herbs to see if she could find a picture of the last herb in the bouquet.
"This looks promising…" She murmured to herself as she compared the pictures of thyme and tarragon to the herb in the bouquet before realizing that both were included, "Tarragon means lasting interest and thyme means courage and strength."
Hermione huffed quietly, unsure how she felt about the meanings of the herbs, unsure if she understood what Neville meant by sending this bouquet. This was the first bouquet anyone other than Draco had given her, well, Draco and by way of Draco, Ronald. The week since she'd sent the bouquet to Draco with the howler firing him had been quiet, although her interview detailing everything that had happened with Ronald, Draco, and herself - she'd held nothing back as she stood up for herself against the accusations that she had been a poor wife, putting her career first. She explained that she'd done everything she could to make Ron happy, even working up through the ministry to become Minister so Ron could go to a part-time position so they could start a family. Unfortunately, in hindsight, that gave him more time to spend cheating on her.
Sighing, she pushed the ill thoughts away as she began to sort through a few pieces of legislation that had been presented in the Wizengamot earlier this week. She signed off on the new legislation for creatures, including a bill to allow werewolves the right to work making it law that their employers be required to provide Wolfsbane as well as four days off a month for the full moon as well as another bill requiring house elves to be registered with the ministry and given suitable living arrangements and the ability to make their own clothes so they aren't stuck wearing pillowcases.
Once she'd signed the legislation, she sent it off to the Wizengamot and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She'd cleared off the remaining paperwork from her desk until someone knocked on her office door.
"Come in," She called without looking up.
"Hermione, got time to spare for me?" Harry asked as he poked his head into the office.
"Harry, of course," Hermione smiled as she looked up at him as he entered the office and took a seat in one of the comfortable visitor's chairs on the other side of her desk, "What can I do for you?"
Harry cleared his throat, "Ginny was wanting me to check and see if you were going to come to the weekly family dinner tonight?"
Hermione winced, "I don't think –"
"Molly and Arthur told Ron that he's no longer welcome to attend family dinners for the time being." Harry cut her off before she could decline the invitation, "They're really angry with him, but they have no ill will toward you. They're actually really proud that you stood up to the reporters during your last interview when they tried to say you were a bad wife. They've been contacted a few times by reporters and have sent the Prophet a formal statement standing up for you and have denounced the rumors that Ron keeps trying to spread."
Hermione sighed, heavily, "I'll come tonight…but I think they should consider allowing Ron to come every other week, that way they don't have to lose us both. Eventually, they'd begin to resent me if they lost their son over this."
Harry nodded, "I'll talk to them about it. I'm heading out early to pick up James, Gin is meeting me at the Burrow after the Harpies' practice, she seems to be enjoying being an assistant coach, but I'm sure once the baby gets here she'll be ecstatic to return to her position as a chaser."
Hermione grinned as Harry mentioned her godson, "How is Jamie doing?"
Harry launched into a very detailed explanation of how Luna has been teaching James all about the Nargles and Wrackspurts and how Rolf, Luna's husband, has been counteracting Luna's strange creature information by teaching James about muggle and magical creatures. Hermione chuckled at that and asked if Luna and Rolf would be attending the dinner that evening.
"Not tonight, they have a Scamander family event they're attending, but I will give them your love and I'm sure James will be excited to see his favorite Aunt Mimi." Harry smirked, glancing at the bouquet, "And I bet Aunt Mimi might like to know that James' Uncle Nev will also be there."
Hermione blushed with a slight huff, "Harry James!" Harry chuckled before standing and waving as he quickly left the room, narrowly dodging the muggle stress ball Hermione launched at his head.
Hermione groaned, rubbing her hands over her face, as she listened to Harry's laughter floating down the hall before it petered out as he entered the lift. She eventually turned back to her work, finding vault statements sent over by the goblins. Gringotts had taken the budget to remodel the house she and Ron had shared from the amount she'd sold the house for, so she didn't owe them anymore for that, and she graciously signed the vault slip allowing half the leftover amount to be transferred to Ron's vault as the last of their divorce settlement. Once she signed the vault slips, they shimmered gold before popping out of her office, presumably going back to Gringotts to her estate manager, Grook, who would make sure everything was in order before transferring the money to Ronald.
Hermione spent the rest of her afternoon in and out of meetings with various department heads and Wizengamot members. Finally, around 6:15 pm, her other personal assistant, Lavender Brown-Patil, informed her that her next meeting was canceled due to a family emergency. Hermione thanked her for letting her know and asked her to push everything else on the schedule to Monday.
"I'm leaving for a family dinner at the Weasleys if you need me, but push everything left on the schedule to Monday and I will handle it all then. Reschedule the meeting with Pucey to Monday, if his family emergency is resolved by then. And then go home, I'm sure Parvati would love to have some extra time with you before the baby gets here, and Padma's probably driving her crazy at this point." Hermione grinned, as Lavender huffed out a laugh.
"You would be correct, like always. Vati sent a note earlier that said if Padma wasn't carrying our baby she would have strangled her this afternoon." Lavender shook her head with a giggle as she wrote a few notes on the calendar on her desk.
Hermione gathered a few of her things from her office, placing a few pieces of paperwork into her briefcase as she pocketed her wand and slipped on her travel cloak. Walking out of her office, she locked and warded her door so no one but her could enter.
"Alright, Minister," Lavender grinned cheekily at her, "I've pushed everything to Monday and sent Pucey a formal letter informing him of the rescheduled meeting and asking him to inform me if anything changes. Have a great night with your family, and I'll see you on Monday." Lavender smiled kindly at her boss as she filed away the last of her work.
"Thank you, Lavender. Have a good weekend with Parvati and Padma. Let me know how Padma's doing." Hermione smiled, waving at her as she made her way to the lift.
When she reached the atrium, Hermione bypassed the crowds lining up to use the floo network and made it out into the Muggle world via the visitor's entrance. Once out on the street in London, she transfigured her travel cloak into a fashionable trench coat that sat open over her black pencil skirt and maroon silk blouse. She quickly made her way through the rush hour traffic and to an apparition point before apparating to the Burrow. Checking the time, she smiled, she was right on time. Dinner usually started at 7 pm and it was going on 6:45 as she crossed through the boundary wards.
Hermione quietly made her way into the Burrow, hoping not to be noticed immediately. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten about the twins.
"MINISTER GRANGER!" Fred exclaimed, with a mischievous look in his eyes.
"How lovely of you to join us, Minister!" George added, dropping into a low bow before standing and looping his arm around her shoulders. Hermione laughed, shaking George's arm off her shoulders as Fred wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug.
"Now, now, boys, give her some space!" Molly huffed, shooing the twins away from Hermione.
Molly gave Hermione a quick squeeze and a small, somewhat saddened smile, "How are you, dear?"
Hermione smiled, "I'm doing alright, Molly. Thank you for inviting me."
"Of course, you're invited, Hermione! You're family, whether or not you're married to my idiotic son." Molly reassured her, patting her cheek and heading back into the kitchen.
"Aunt Mimi!!!" James screamed from the other side of the room, struggling to get out of Harry's arms and to his Aunt Mimi.
Hermione smiled and dropped her briefcase, slipping her trench coat off her shoulders, and hanging it up in the hallway before holding her arms out for James to run to her as soon as Harry released him,
"Ah, my little Jamie! How are you?" Hermione asked, picking the three-year-old up and rubbing her nose against his for a moment. James' giggles resounded around the room as everyone settled back into their conversations.
"I good, Aunt Mimi. Uncle Nev is hewe too! He bwought me a toy!" He smiled, holding up a stuffed toy of a cactus with a smiling face.
"That was very nice of Uncle Nev, did you thank him for your new toy?" Hermione asked the little boy in her arms, as she glanced across the room where Neville was in a conversation with Ginny and Harry, unable to keep herself from eyeing him up in his muggle denims and tight black t-shirt.
"Mummy wouldn't let me take it until I fanked him," James grumbled, tugging on a few of Hermione's wayward curls.
Hermione looked back at the toddler and quietly laughed at the pout on his face, "Well, good." She kissed his little nose before setting him back on the ground. James ran off to go play with his cousins as Hermione looked around at the rest of the Weasleys in attendance. When she noticed Angelina sitting alone while Fred and George played with the children, she made her way over to the couch to sit with her.
"How are you doing, Angie?" Hermione asked.
"Well, my husbands are continuing to play pranks on anyone and everyone at all times of the day, including our children. And I've just gotten over my morning sickness, but we'll see if that returns later on." Angelina grinned, "How are you doing, Auntie Mimi?"
Hermione smiled softly at Angie's baby bump, "I'm, surprisingly, doing well. The final sale paperwork for the house came back and I sent half of it to Ronald and haven't had contact with him or Draco since I sent the howler. And they haven't attempted to contact me, so I'm assuming they are fine as well."
Angie smirked viciously, "Ron asked Fred and George to give Draco a job at the shop. They said the only job opening we have is a product tester. Draco lasted a day before quitting."
Hermione tried not to laugh, but couldn't keep it in and laughed loud enough to gain the attention of everyone in the room.
"Sorry!" Hermione squeaked when she realized the rest of the room had gone quiet and was watching her.
"It's good to hear you laugh, Mi." Ginny smiled at her brightly. Hermione blushed before Molly interrupted anyone else from speaking by announcing dinner was ready.
The large family gathered in the kitchen, taking random seats at the magically enlarged table. Hermione found herself seated between James in his transfigured high chair and Neville. Ginny and Harry kept giving her sly looks from across the table. Molly levitated the food onto the table and everyone began serving themselves. Hermione asked James if he wanted some pot roast, which he refused to eat and instead demanded she give him "taytoes".
She smiled gently at the little boy and gave him a moderate serving of the mashed potatoes that Molly made especially for him. Hermione was so focused on feeding James that she didn't notice Neville quietly filling her plate with her favorites before he served himself, though she was the only adult that seemed to have not noticed. When she turned back to her plate and was pleasantly surprised, she quietly thanked Neville, who waved off her thanks and they began eating.
The conversations around the table seemed to be focused on Ginny and Angelina, who were the only ones currently pregnant, although Molly seemed to be hinting to Percy and Audrey that they should start trying for a baby soon as well. Percy and Audrey seemed flustered but shrugged her off and continued their conversation with Bill and Fleur about Gringotts' petitioning for an expansion through the Ministry. Charlie, who was visiting from Romania, struck up a conversation with Hermione about the new bills passing through the Wizengamot about creatures' rights and casually asked about the bill he'd presented earlier in the week. She smiled and explained that she couldn't tell him what the Wizengamot had decided yet because they hadn't come to a conclusion.
Neville didn't keep up with much of the conversations around him, Harry noticed he seemed to be more interested in watching Hermione as she talked to Charlie and fed James. Harry observed Neville until Ginny nudged him to keep him from staring so obviously. Harry turned back to his plate and ate before reaching for a second helping. Eventually, dinner was gone and Molly sent everyone back to the sitting room while she cleaned up dinner and prepared dessert.
Hermione helped James out of his high chair before settling him on the ground so he could run after Victoire and Teddy to play. Hermione tried to assist Molly in the kitchen but was refused and sent into the sitting room with everyone else. Neville attempted to strike up a conversation with her.
"Minister," Neville greeted her, with a teasing smile.
"Mister Longbottom," Hermione smiled at him, "Thank you for the bouquet. And the book. You didn't have to buy it for me. Let me repay you."
Neville shook his head, "Of course not. I could never accept payment for a birthday gift."
Hermione frowned, "My birthday was three weeks ago."
"Yes, but you were still married three weeks ago. And my gran mentioned that you've been busy with new legislation and Wizengamot meetings. I didn't want to interrupt." Neville said a bit sheepishly.
Hermione blushed, "And now that I'm not married?"
Neville looked like a deer in headlights for a moment before swallowing, "Well, I just…um, I thought maybe you might be open to going out with me…?"
Hermione, biting her lip in contemplation, smiled hesitantly, "I might be open to the idea…"
Neville looked somewhat relieved at her response, "In that case, I have another book you should read beforehand…don't worry this one isn't about herbology or flowers. I'll send it to you."
Hermione smiled, "I look forward to receiving it. And thank you again, for the flowers and the book. I do enjoy learning new things and I'd never put much stock in the language of flowers, but it seems to be quite lovely."
Neville nodded, biting back a smile, "It is quite fascinating at times."
The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the toffee pudding Molly made for dessert, and Fred and George showing off their newest pranks and inventions to the family members gathered whilst regaling them with stories of Draco Malfoy trying to be a product tester.
Eventually Ginny and Angelina had to go home and rest, as pregnant witches grew tired more quickly than normal. Harry, Ginny, Teddy, and James floo'ed home, soon followed by Fred, Angelina, George, and their toddlers, Arthur II and Roxanne. Neville excused himself soon after, and Hermione finished discussing the dragon legislation with Charlie before Bill, Fleur, Victoire, and Charlie headed back to Shell Cottage where Charlie was staying with them during his short visit home. Percy and Audrey were still in quiet conversation with Arthur when Hermione quietly said goodnight to the patriarch and the couple before heading into the kitchen to bid goodbye to Molly.
"Hermione, dear, Harry informed me of your conversation earlier this afternoon," Molly said as she hugged the petite woman, "Thank you for trying to make things easier for our family, but you must know that we love you, very much. And things will eventually settle with Ronald and our family, but we all agree that you did nothing wrong. You did not deserve any of this and we want you to know that you're always welcome in our home and our family."
Hermione smiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes at Molly's kind words, things hadn't always been well between her and the matriarch of the Weasley family but in the years that she and Ronald had been married they had settled their differences and Molly had become her biggest supporter, especially after she'd found out what Hermione had done to protect her parents during the war. She'd been the one to encourage Hermione to become Minister because she thought Hermione could actually enact real change in their world, and she even ran Hermione's campaign for Minister.
"Thank you, Molly. That means so much to me." Hermione choked out a quiet sob. Molly didn't need anything more before she pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing her back gently to soothe her. They stood like this in Molly's kitchen for a few moments before the floo sounded, alerting them to the fact that Percy and Audrey had left and that Hermione was the last to leave. Arthur joined the women in the kitchen and hugged Hermione to him as Molly released her. Hermione hugged Arthur back before he released her a moment later.
Wishing the older couple a goodnight, and asking Arthur to visit her on Monday to discuss his department, Hermione walked out of the house and towards the ward boundary to apparate to the new home she'd acquired in muggle London, coincidentally also on Grimmauld Place (although hers wasn't hidden with magic and she hadn't yet informed Harry and Ginny that she was their new neighbor).
