The launch day of Dobby's Law finally arrives.
Hermione stood on the small stage in the Ministry Conference room, her fingers gripping hold of the podium tightly as she watched the seats in front of her slowly fill up. Her fingers had started to ache and she was pretty sure her knuckles were turning white, but the sensation was helping to ground her which in turn helped her stomach settle. It wasn't like her to feel this nervous; although she had never relished speaking in public, she was usually able to keep her cool long enough to deliver her message and to be able to speak calmly.
Her 9 am press conference had gone as well as could be expected. There had been a few questions about the details of the law, but Hermione and Betsy had been prepared with answers for all of them and nothing had thrown her off her sales pitch. Of course, there had been a few questions about her personal life and weirdly, a couple about Harry but these had been easy to ignore or divert and Kingsley, who was there to moderate the session, hadn't even had to intervene.
Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that the press conference had almost gone too well and had lured her into an easy false sense of security. She was now waiting for the public Town Hall event to start. This was an opportunity for anyone who had a house-elf working for them and any other interested parties to come and ask questions about the new law.
Although they'd been receiving pamphlets through their letterboxes and there had been announcements over the Wizarding Wireless Network all week, they needed to have their chance to relay their worries to Hermione and Kingsley. Soon, they would be asked to give up their ownership rights of the elves and ensure that the circumstances in which they worked under were up to the new levels of standards. It was going to be a massive change and families, understandably, were worried about the implications.
It was going to create a lot of work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement too. Any family refusing to sign up to the new law would be allowed a series of warnings before being fined and potentially, they could lose their house-elf completely. Not only that but if the elf were found to be mistreated it would be a punishable offence. It was going to take a while, but Hermione had hoped that by the end of the year, every elf in the country would be free to choose where they wanted to work and free to pursue other interests in their downtime.
The chairs in the room soon filled up, as did every available inch of standing space. A low rumble of conversation filled the room although it didn't help Hermione to relax. The one good thing about living in the magical community was that everyone seemed to know each other and Hermione smiled slightly as she watched friends greet each other and wizards and witches jostle each other for seats so they could sit by the people they knew. Along the front row, the smaller seats were filled with some of the elves Hermione spoke to during her development of the law.
Hermione scanned the crowd for Ron even though she knew he wouldn't be there and the chances of him being able to skive off work to see her were slim to none. Although a handful of Aurors had been placed strategically around the room to act as crowd control, Robards had refused to allow Ron and Harry to join the team working the event. Every time they had gone back to his office to plead for him to change his mind, the Head Auror had reminded them of his warning that they were not allowed to get involved in Hermione's work again. Hermione smiled fondly as she remembered how long Ron had sulked about it. After one last attempt to get on the rotation, Robards had assigned both Harry and Ron to practice duelling with the first-year recruits so that they couldn't even attend as civilians.
The news that Ron wasn't going to be at the event, even as moral support was a bit of a blow to Hermione's confidence. After her meetings with the Wizengamot, she thought that a room full of purebloods would be a walk in the park but the stress of everything had caused her nightmares to make a reappearance and Ron was the only person who was able to calm her down. Although she pretended she didn't care, the Wizarding community's opinion on her was still pretty low and the introduction of such a controversial law was not going to help that. All she wanted was for the law to be a success.
Hermione's attention was suddenly drawn to the side of the stage as Claire Radford and Kingsley made their way towards her, signalling that the Town Hall meeting should start. She prised her fingers from their tight clutch on the podium and took a step back. Although Hermione would be fielding the questions, the Minister wanted to open the meeting and remind its attendees of the need for respect during questioning.
She took her seat as Kingsley made his opening remarks, her foot tapping nervously against the wooden stage; a habit she'd probably picked up over the years from Ron. He would be highly amused if he could see the way she was acting and she could almost hear him telling her to calm down, although it would probably be in a less polite way. Just last night, he'd spent hours throwing the most absurd questions at her about her law to test her and eventually, they'd fallen into bed in a fit of giggles. Ron had spent a good few hours after that helping her to relax and he would not be impressed if he could see that all his hard work had been for nothing.
Hermione forced her attention back to the Minister just in time for him to introduce her. She took a deep breath, ignoring the shake of her hand as she took her place back at the podium. She focused on keeping her voice calm as the questions started to come in thick and fast; most of them addressing concerns about suitable compensation and how family history would be preserved. Some good conversations with the audience members followed these questions and Hermione worked with Madam Radford and Kingsley to facilitate these, with Betsy making an input on the questions given to them by the house-elves in the front row.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly and Hermione soon relaxed into the questioning until silence fell over the hall.
"Does anyone else have any more questions?" Hermione surveyed the room, watching as an extremely frail elderly lady, draped in an expensive-looking green dress and a black fur-lined cloak stand up, leaning heavily on a cane with a shaky hand. The witch pulled her wand out of her pocket and Hermione spotted the Aurors react accordingly out of the corner of her eyes. The witch pointed her wand at her throat to amplify her thin voice.
"Miss Granger. I am Lady Rowland of Highclere Manor. House-elves have been in our family for hundreds of years. Although I support your cause in principle, I wonder how you have determined that you are the best judge what house-elves really want? Isn't it true that during your time at Hogwarts, you took actions that led to the house-elves at the school refusing to service the Gryffindor common room and dormitories for fear of being accidentally freed?"
Hermione smiled wryly. She was surprised it had taken this long for questions about S.P.E.W to be raised. She made sure to gather her thoughts before broaching the subject.
"When I was 14, I met a house-elf called Winky after the Dark Mark appeared over the campsite. She worked for Barty Crouch and I can remember feeling so affected by how poorly she had been treated that when I got back to school, I started the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I admit that I was misguided; being muggle-born my only knowledge of house-elves before Winky was Dobby, who had relished being free and who loved clothes. I took that to mean that all house-elves would feel the same so I tried to free them. Eventually, I learnt that they didn't want to be freed, as such, but a lot of them did want to be treated properly."
The elderly witch nodded and shifted her position on her cane. "So what makes you think now that house-elves wish to be freed? Surely this is just another misguided attempt of the Ministry to abolish the work pure-bloods have been doing for hundreds of years to preserve our magical rights. Ones which we were born with. We do not want an equal playing field. How do we know creatures want to be treated the same way?"
Hermione bit back her immediate response. The question made her blood boil but she knew she had to try and stay neutral to win the population over. It made her feel sad to know that the elitism found in the magical community was still rife, that some purebloods didn't want equality for every magical person or being, despite how they were born. The Wizarding World was still so archaic in that respect and she knew she still had a lot of work to do to make things better for everyone.
"Dobby's Law is not about making the house-elves do anything. It's about giving them choices and options. The same ones that we get and treating them well because they are living creatures. They do not deserve to be punished or abused or forced to do things against their will. Kreacher was a house-elf who used to serve the house of Black and was left to Harry Potter once Sirius Black died. He was left to rattle around Grimmauld Place because he had to stay true to the family he was born to. When Harry, Ron and I first sought refuge at Grimmauld Place, Kreacher was bitter and hateful. We gave him a chance to help us in our mission and we rewarded him for his efforts. Soon his opinion towards us changed and the nicer we treated him, the easier it was for him to provide a better level of service and he was happy to do so too. I want more house-elves to get an opportunity to be like Kreacher because most importantly it's better for them and as a side product, it will bring you benefits too…"
The old woman scoffed. "So we're just expected to listen to a Mudblood, and not only that but one who has been known to be involved in criminal activities that include breaking into Gringotts and encouraging an elf to attempt to commit murder, in the house he once served nonetheless…"
Hearing the word 'Mudblood' being thrown around so casually in a professional setting combined with the accusation that she was the reason behind Dobby's death left Hermione feeling like she'd been hit by a stunning spell. She took a small step back from the podium, her hand moving absentmindedly to rub against the scar on her lower left arm as she watched Lady Rowland's smug smile peer up at her.
She could hear Kingsley's voice dismissing the question, but she couldn't make sense of the words over the pounding of rage in her ears. At some point, he must have called for the end of the session because the doors of the conference room were suddenly opened and the attendees started to file out. Hermione felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, pushing her carefully off the stage and into a side room.
"Are you okay Hermione?"
The sound of her name help Hermione come to, and she shook her heard to pull her back out of the shock. She found herself glancing up at the Minister's friendly but concerned face.
"I'm okay. I'm so sorry I froze. The use of the term took me by surprise; I wasn't expecting it at all given the context of the meeting…"
Kinglsey nodded his head. "I understand. You know how I feel about it. I will make sure I catch up with Lady Rowland sometime this week; maybe remind her of the simple rules of etiquette. You've done well today – it went smoothly all things considered."
"Thank you…" Hermione let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "At least it's over and done with now. Betsy and I will get the notes written up as soon as possible and send them over to your offices." She smiled as Betsy turned up by her side and the pair said their goodbyes to the Minister and Claire Radford before slowly making their way back up to their department.
Unfortunately, the rest of Hermione's day didn't go quite as smoothly. By the time she stepped through the fireplace and into Primrose Cottage, she had dealt with numerous howlers expressing their disapproval about Dobby's Law. A number of the letters she had tried to ignore had ignited part of her desk, scaring the life out of Betsy. She probably should have known to expect it, given the response to the article about her in Witch Weekly just before Christmas.
She rubbed her eyes; she was so exhausted her bones ached but she was soon distracted by the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen. She slipped her heels off with a relieved sigh and unfastened her business jacket, flinging it over the back of the sofa before wearily wandering through to the kitchen. She leaned against the doorframe, watching as Ron expertly moved around the room, finishing off the meal he'd been preparing. He'd tied her pink apron around his waist in a weak attempt to keep tidy, but the kitchen was just pure chaos. The boy never learnt the meaning of 'tidy as you go'.
"Well, this is a nice surprise…" Hermione felt her heart fill with love for Ron as he turned towards her, a huge smile spreading over his face as he spotted her in the doorway. He immediately set the pot he was emptying down, getting it to finish sorting itself out with a tap of his wand before walking quickly over to her. As soon as he got to her he pulled her into a tight hug.
"I heard you'd had a bit of an afternoon, so I thought I'd skip this evening's gym session so I could cook for my girl…" He nuzzled his lips against the top of her head. She'd spent ages this morning working it into a smart up-do, but he longed to unpin it and pull his fingers through her curls. "Are you okay?"
"Nothing a bath and dinner won't fix…" She closed her eyes with a yawn, resting her forehead against his chest. She allowed Ron to loosen his grip on her and lead her over to the kitchen table. He carefully set her down in her seat.
"Well, I can sort that out for you no problem. Sit there and tell me about the launch of Dobby's Law…" He kissed the top of her head one more time then went back to serving up the dinner.
He listened carefully as she told him about the Town Hall event and the pile of hate mail she'd received; the second lot in less than a month she'd hastened to point out to him. Ron put her plate of food in front of her once it was ready and sat down opposite here to eat his own.
Their conversation soon fizzled out naturally as they ate, although that didn't bother Hermione or Ron. Their silences were always friendly now and Ron knew that Hermione liked to think as she ate. He was just happy to sit in her company and he pushed his foot gently against hers so that she knew he was still there as she disappeared into her own thoughts. Eventually, he finished his meal and sat back in his seat, a content smile on his face.
"So Dobby's Law has launched to mostly a success and anything else can be dealt with. What's next on Hermione Granger's list of how to conquer the world?"
Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts and she smiled as she pushed her leftovers across the table towards Ron. "Well, my next step is getting my translations published. I've been working on them so long; they're starting to annoy me. But I guess I should start thinking about what my next project will be…"
Ron looked like he was thinking as he inhaled the rest of the food. "You could join the Auror Academy. I could help you with that, it would make a nice change to me copying from you…" He smirked across the table at her.
"As tempting as that sounds, I have actually received an offer…" Hermione pulled her wand out and accio'd the parchment Kingsley had given to her last week. She had stowed it away in her desk in the study after getting home, determined to push the offer to the back of her mind until after Dobby's Law had been released. She watched as the parchment landed on the table in front of Ron.
He frowned and took the parchment, unfolding it and carefully reading it. He felt his heart start to speed up, beating a nervous tattoo against his ribs and his stomach lurch as he digested the words. He was careful to keep his face neutral, a skill he'd picked up during Auror training. When he finally spoke, he was surprised at how calm his voice was.
"Six months in New York is going to be interesting Hermione. Have you accepted the offer? When are you leaving?"
Hermione watched him closely, trying to gauge his true feelings. Sometimes, his Auror training clouded her ability to read him properly and she found it frustrating. She sometimes missed when he wore his heart, and his feelings, on his sleeve so she knew exactly what was going on with him. She spotted the muscle along his jaw clench and then unclench and she knew deep down he was unhappy. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, feeling their hard work over the last few weeks start to slip away.
"I'm not sure if I'm going to take them up on the offer. I don't think I want to go to New York…"
Ron dropped the parchment to the table and Hermione winced as it landed in a puddle of leftover sauce. "What do you mean you don't want to go?! You're always banging on about visiting the city!"
"Yes, with you for a few days. Not for six months alone…"
"It's only six months Hermione; we've spent longer apart. You know the work inside out already so it'll be piss easy for you so you can still do all the tourist things and still get your name out there. That's what you want, isn't it?"
Ron ushed his chair away from the table, angrily tidying up the plates from their meal. There was no way he was going to let Hermione give up on such a great opportunity but he knew she was stubborn and once her mind was set on something, it was hard for her to give up on it. As he filled the sink with hot water, his mind ran countless scenarios on how they could make it work for both of them but each option just ended up with him being alone for a long period of time. Selfishly, he wanted her to stay; especially given what happened the last time, but he knew he would never ask that of her.
Hermione watched Ron, trying not to let a fond smile cross her lips as he stormed around the kitchen in her pink apron; he knew that would make him feel worse. She carefully considered her words as she tracked his movements. Usually, she relied on Ron being the more logical one out of the pair of them; he was good at looking for different angles and seeing things that others couldn't especially when she got caught up in the detail. With a sigh, she pushed herself away from the table and picked up a tea towel, determined to help him clean up.
"Who says I have to leave the UK to help them?" She didn't look at him, choosing instead to focus on wiping down the units by hand. "It's so easy to correspond via floo or even international owl mail and if I have to, I can portkey over there for a day if they need me there in person. A six-month secondment is just ridiculous and they have to have someone there to continue the work once I'm gone anyway, so surely it's better for them to hire someone I can work with…"
Ron sighed, tearing his attention away from the washing up to turn around; leaning against the sink to watch her. "I guess that could work…"
Hermione dared to lift her eyes from the counter to look at Ron. "There's plenty of time for travel; we're only 21 for Merlin's sake. We can live and work in a different country every year if that's what we want; although the more kids we have the harder that will be.
"I'm not saying it'll be easy staying here, but that way I can still work on my translation project because their office hours will be late because of the time difference. Kingsley said I can keep my credentials for the Ministry, so maybe I could ask if I could work from London? Plus I want to develop a career here; I still have a long way to get people to trust me and Dobby's Law is only the start of that. There are a lot of things I need to change here. I don't want Dobby's Law being the only thing I've achieved here and I don't want to be a one-trick pony…" She leaned wearily against the counter.
Despite his grump, Ron couldn't help a laugh escape his lips. "There's absolutely no way you're going to be a one-trick pony, Hermione."
He looked like he was thinking again before letting out a heavy breath. "Okay, if staying here is what you want then I guess I'll drop it. But you have to promise to let me know if you want to go, okay? I don't want to hold you back…"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't think you're holding me back." She moved to close the gap between them, ignoring the feel of his soapy hands sliding up the back of her blouse as she cuddled up to him. "If MACUSA is interested in working with me, they'll do it on my terms." She lifted her head, seeking out his lips for a soft kiss.
Ron returned the kiss, albeit a bit hesitantly. He still felt nervous that she was going to leave, despite the work they'd both put in recently to move past everything that had happened over the last couple of years. There was still the small part of doubt, buried deep down in his self-conscious that couldn't believe she would willing choose to stay home with him over an exciting opportunity like that one MACUSA had offered her but he had to trust that she was telling the truth.
AN: You didn't think I would send Hermione to New York did you? I worked hard to make her decision realistic but at the same time, I just couldn't bring myself to split them up again. Thank you for all your kind comments and reviews, as per usual they've made my days. Let me know what you think of this chapter! :-) xxxx