Another one! Do you guys have any idea who the mystery person might be yet?
xx
The Little Darkness Within You
Chapter 3: I freed you.
When Hermione woke up on Sunday, the sun was already high in the sky and shining right into her face. Refusing to open her eyes yet, she grabbed her second pillow and pressed it on her face. It didn't dampen the happy chirping of the birds, nor the never-ending flow of the river just outside her house. In moments like these, she regretted her decision of leaving the city to buy a charming little house out in the country. Hopefully, once she has settled in a bit more, she might learn to tune out all sounds, just like she learned to do when she lived in the heart of London.
The pillow muffled her sigh as she tried to focus on falling back asleep again. It was Sunday after all, and she needed to catch up on a lifetime's worth of poor sleep. If she can squeeze a couple more hours out of it, she will. She felt slightly guilty for sleeping in so late, but blast it all, it was Sunday! She spent her night having weird dreams about a faceless man with a dangerous chuckle that kept leaving her notes through a box. Was all of that even real? She probably underestimated how little sleep she has been getting lately. As she was well on her way to join the dream world once more, an incessant tapping on the window startled her. With a groan, she threw the pillow off her face and opened her eyes with a squint. A beautiful brown owl was patiently waiting for her to open the window. Not willing to be anywhere near a vertical position so soon, Hermione grabbed her wand from underneath her pillow, and opened the window. The owl flew in and stood on her blanket, holding out its leg and patiently waiting for Hermione to untie the letter. Once the owl was free of its duties, it flew back out as fast as it came in. Hermione rubbed her eyes before reading the letter, it was from the Minister himself.
Hermione,
How have you been, my girl? It has been too long since you graced me with a visit in office. As it happens, I would like to see you tomorrow at 9am, we have much to discuss relating to the Azkaban program you have helped launch last year. I've heard from the grapevine that some strong opposition is being formed again as we speak, in order to put an end to the program. All this will start trickling to news outlets soon, so it's best if we had a contingency plan ready. I know how hard you have worked to right the wrongs of the War, and I'm sure you want to fight back whoever tries to dismiss our progress… I know I am.
I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Kings
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh. It came as no surprise to her that there would be yet again new opposition to the reform she had drafted along with Kingsley eight years ago. Every year or so, a new group of people would speak up against it, and every time that happened, she would get a similar letter from the Minister for Magic urging her for a meeting to dispel the opposition. In a sense, Hermione could understand why people felt so strongly against her program, but at the same time, it barely affected their lives that they ought to just mind their own business.
At the end of the War, Azkaban was filled to the brim with Death Eaters and Voldemort's sympathisers, as well as people suspected to have aided his rise to power. They were quickly rounded after the Battle of Hogwarts, and consequentially, a lot of people were sent to fill the cells of the prison. The entirety of the trials took a whole year to go through, but at least they were fair. Not all people that were Marked ended up in a cell either. Draco Malfoy for instance, served 6 months in Azkaban whilst his case was reviewed. It was finally agreed by the Wizengamot that he was forced to take the Mark when he was still underage, and his crimes, such as the various attempts on Albus Dumbledore's life and the use of Unforgivables, were done under duress. His father was less lucky, but thanks to Hermione's law reform, he was able to leave the gusty building out in the North Sea and move back in the Manor.
Hermione battled from the very beginning to offer some better care to prisoners, as it was her opinion that being a criminal was not reason enough to be treated with less respect than you would any other human. She heard too many tales from Sirius' time in the wretched place, that were enough to make her skin crawl. Although the Dementors were gone, the place was still cold and quite frankly scary. People would still go mad if they had to serve a life sentence in the place, as it was still tainted by hundreds of years of cruelty and despair.
Her Azkaban reform changed the whole experience. All prisoners had frequent visits from a Healer, and they were given new and warm clothes and thick blankets. The paper-thin mattresses were replaced by thicker ones that helped them all sleep better. Their cells were infused with warming spells that made sure they never went cold even in the middle of winter. The entire building was given a strong water repellent charm, that guaranteed none of them would end up drenched to the bone with ice cold water during a bad storm. They were given proper meals three times a day and were allowed one shower a day with hot water. All prisoners were allowed to have some personal belongings, and they had access to a library where they could pick out books to read at their will. They were allowed visits as many times as they liked, even daily if anyone was willing to cross the sea that often to see them. They were allowed leisure hours where they weren't locked in their cells and could walk around and chat with other inmates as well as exercise. In fact, they were mostly free to come in and out of their cells, up until their 7pm curfew, and not before breakfast time. Since these changes, tensions between prisoners were non-existent, and guards reported very little incidents. They also had access to owls, and could send letters to whoever they liked, though the letters were first read by the Aurors.
For those that had served a sentence in Azkaban before all these changes that Hermione pushed for, the two experiences were polar opposites. Hermione was utterly surprised to see that many Death Eaters went as far as to send her personally a 'thank you' letter, highlighting the fact that this was probably the best ides she has had yet. Treating them with respect when they expected to be let to rot and forgotten about until the day they died worked wonders. Blood prejudice seemed totally forgotten when these people were given a chance to serve out their sentences with dignity.
Their gratitude was the motivator that led Hermione to push for even more changes to help free up cells in the prison. Although many people were against Death Eaters being given a warm blanket and meals that did not consist of salt water and mouldy bread, a whole lot more of them were against her Rehabilitation Program. To everyone's surprise, the reform won the majority of votes, but some pushback was met regularly whenever someone new was approved.
Over the last five years since the reform passed, people serving life sentences were evaluated regularly to determine their danger to society. With the fall of Voldemort, some of them ended up realising how stupid they have been in following the words of a mad man. Those who wished to be eligible all agreed to willingly submit to a questioning under Veritaserum, those who refused however were still given a chance over time, but their application took a lot longer to process and they were risking being denied a spot in the program. To Hermione's surprise, nearly every single inmate signed up. They were given a very extensive booklet containing all information pertaining to the program and what was expected of them. Nothing was hidden, and nothing was overlooked. For a whole month, they pored over the proposal and were free to owl Hermione's taskforce to ask any question they needed an answer to.
The rules were quite simple. Once their application was sent, they were set to meet with two representatives. They were again free to ask any question they had on the process moving forward. Once that first contact was made and if they were deemed sound of mind enough, they could choose to submit to questioning under Veritaserum, or not. They knew in advance what questions were going to be asked, so nothing came as a surprise after the fact. Their conduct inside the prison was also examined closely, but thankfully since the changes, inmates were a lot less cranky and therefore less susceptible to start a fight with each other. Once their application was approved and they were deemed harmless to the public, they were able to leave Azkaban. Of course, that was not the end of it, they still had five steps to follow through until they were granted full freedom.
The first step was probably the hardest. They were allowed to return home, but they had to remain in house arrest for a year. They weren't given a wand, a trace was put on their person, and they had to wear magic suppressing bracelets. They could have visits from anyone they wanted, but they were required to continue proving their redemption by reading some ministry approved books and turning in homework on them. They would also be expected to meet with a ministry official once a month to discuss their progress.
Once the year is up, the Ministry provided the ex-inmates with a Muggle job, to ease them back into a more social life. They were free to go wherever they wanted to, as long as they showed up five times a week to their place of employment and did not attempt to flee the country or do magic.
if their work performance was satisfactory in the course of a year, they were given a monitored wand, and the effects of their magic suppressing bracelets were lessened. That meant they could perform simple spells to help in their day-to-day life, but they wouldn't be able to transfigure a toad into a cushion just yet. They were free to keep their Muggle job or get one that required minimal use of magic.
After yet another year, and an ultimate meeting with the ministry official, their bracelets were removed, but they still had to carry the Trace and use the monitored wand.
The final step took the longest to reach, as it needed ten years of perfect behaviour, at the end of which their wand was no longer monitored, and the Trace was removed.
All in all, the process to total freedom took nearly fifteen years, but it was well worth the wait if the number of applicants was anything to go by. Of course, if they broke the rules at any point, they were sent back to Azkaban, and had to submit to the whole process all over again.
Hermione was quite proud of the work she had done for the Rehabilitation Program. If there was anything she would gladly take the credit for, was to have been able to put aside her own prejudice to change the future and help shape a better society. Most of all, she was proud of the twenty-seven people that had already left Azkaban and were well on their way to successfully completing the process. Whenever she received a glowing letter from a Muggle employer, her heart would swell. In those moments, she knew she was doing the right thing. The opposition could say whatever they wanted, but the proof was right in front of them, this program worked, and nothing would be able to squash it.
A low buzzing sound took Hermione out of her thoughts. Her eyes fell on the little black box on her nightstand. It was, after all, not a dream. She got embarrassingly excited when she noticed that a little note was waiting for her. Forgetting everything about going back to sleep, Hermione sat up in her bed, her back against the headboard, as she unfolded the letter from her mystery pen-pal.
Wake up sleepyhead, it's already 2pm!
Hermione chuckled as she summoned a quill and paper from her desk.
What makes you think I only woke up now? Plus, it's Sunday for crying out loud, I am allowed a lie in, am I not?
Sticking her response through the opening, she got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. When she was clean, dry and fully dressed, another letter was waiting for her.
Call it a hunch… I just knew your first waking thought would have been to send me a note. And as you asked me not to wake you before noon, I felt it was totally acceptable to wait two hours until I did, so you would not think me to be a 'hungry kitten'. Seeing how long you slept, I think there is no doubt on who the Kitten is, except this one is a sleepy one.
Are you spending the day in bed then? Want some company? (I mean me… but you knew that already)
Her cheeks turned a rosy shade, which made her realise yet again how long it has been since she spent a day in bed with delicious company. You need to get laid, Hermione, she thought as she picked up the box and her writing material to set down on the kitchen table as she worked on making herself a cup of tea. If she was getting flustered by words written by a complete stranger, those must be the signs that it was well overdue a trip down to the pub to pick up someone to warm her bed at least for a night.
She sipped on her tea as she drafted a response.
Thank you for being so considerate and not waking me at ungodly hours. I have however slept a fair bit and would have slept a great deal more if it weren't for the owl that insisted on delivering a bit of mail to me.
Though, I'm sorry to disappoint you, I have already left the bed for the day, so your company is not needed. But now that I am up, showered and have a delicious cup of tea in my hands, I can humour you for a bit. Have you done anything fun today?
Once her note sent, she settled down in her living room, with a book on fungi. Neville has jokingly gifted it to her following a party with the surviving D.A members. They all thought it hilarious how close the trio had gotten to failing their mission in destroying Horcruxes because of a sneaky poisonous mushroom. Surprisingly, and although she never thought she would need that sort of knowledge again, Hermione liked reading the book. It offered a great deal of information on just how each fungus could be used in food or potion making. She was halfway through a chapter when the hum of the box alerted her to yet another note.
You truly pain me, Kitten. Here I was imagining all the things we could have done in your bed for the rest of the day. Now all my hopes are squashed, and I am very sad… (what if I said please? Unless you are saying no because you already have a husband keeping you warm at night.)
Though I know it is unproper to ask, you are NOT a ninety-year-old lady, are you? I would hate to be putting my flirt on if it turned out you were one of my grandmother's book club friends. You can't be hinting at showering and making all I've got below the waist twitch at the thought if you turn out to be very far from what I imagine.
I have done nothing of value today, I made myself some delicious breakfast, and patiently waited for you to remember my existence. Now that you have, I intend on pestering you until bed time. I know, I know, very generous of me.
Hermione laughed at the letter. How can this man continue to flirt so much with her when he was afraid that she was a lot older than he wished her to be?
You are unbelievable, truly!
I am sure this will come as a disappointment to you, but I am not part of your grandma's book club, although if they do read interesting books, I would love to be invited along. I am turning 29 later this year, so that should reassure you that I am neither too old nor too young.
I am also not married, although I am not sure why I share any of this with you. I guess that I know that even if I lied, you will still be trying to talk your way into my knickers. You don't seem much the type to be deterred by a wedding ring.
The rest of her day was spent sending messages back and forth. He seemed quite pleased to find out she was not yet old and wrinkly, and that he was free to continue courting her. Hermione vowed herself to never admit to him how flushed her cheeks would get each time he hinted at anything that was not purely platonic. Though she suspected that he knew exactly just how his words could affect her.
She learned quite a few things about her pen-pal that she hoped would help her uncover his identity, though they seemed to have entered an implicit game of not sharing any identifying information about one another. Therefore, she had no idea what his name was, or what he did for a living. He said that he left Hogwarts the year before she started her first, and thus can't have met in the halls. He seemed quite interested in getting to know her, asking stupid questions like what her favourite colour was, or what flowers she liked best. Despite all the flirting, he was quite charming. Hermione got the feeling that he was someone who used to have a lot of charisma and self-confidence, but for some reason had lost it all. His letters seemed to be more a reflection of the person he used to be than the person he is today. Maybe the disappearance of his sibling had broken him in more ways than she was aware of. Being a single child, she never knew that type of proximity, although her friendship with Harry was the closest thing she had to it. She would for sure lose her sanity if he one day disappeared without a trace or died way before his time was due.
By the time her alarm was set for the following morning, and she was ready to go to bed, another note arrived.
Kitten, I know we've already said our farewells for the night, but there is just something I need to say before I go sleep too. You don't need to answer right now, I know you need your beauty sleep.
I just wanted to say thank you, really. You did not need to be keeping me company today, or as you said 'humour' me, but you still did it. Today it felt like I had a friend, and it's such a precious feeling. I know I keep joking about jumping your bones, and I hope you don't think me to be a total slag for it or think less of me because of it, it's just how I am (and I know you love it, although you won't admit it). Thank you for putting up with me all day. I'm 38, and it's probably the first time in my life where someone has been kind to me just because they wanted to be, and not because they wanted something from me or felt obliged to. You're one of the good ones, Kitten.
Now, I hope you sleep well and that I did not scare you off. Rest your pretty little eyes (what colour are they? Bet they are beautiful) and dream of me (I am, after all, quite handsome and make good dream material). I would tuck you in if I could.
Hermione's eyes were full of unshed tears as she laid her head on her pillow with the biggest smile she's had all day.
