October 23rd, 2005.
"Why do you look so nervous?"
Hermione looked up from her bowl of soup, her mind made up on eating anything she could before going to work. Probably not a good idea, considering the bile she could feel rise up her throat due to the nerves, but nothing could stop her anymore.
She wondered how Harry must be feeling and before she could think of checking up on him prior to their meeting, Sirius strutted across the room without a shirt yet again.
Her eyes drank in the sight of his skin glistening with water drops and God, why couldn't he dry his body after getting out of the shower, so that she didn't have to fantasize about licking it off for him? The sun rays that hit his solid pecs surely didn't help.
"You could wear a shirt, you know," she informed him, forcing her eyes back up. She regretted the move the moment she saw his lips barely hide a growing smirk.
What a git.
He shrugged, walking towards her as he dried his hair with a small towel. At least, he didn't shake it like Padfoot would've done. There was, in fact, a difference between the two. Let us praise the Gods.
"I could," he told her, plopping down the seat across her. "But I don't want to."
He threw the towel behind him, making it land on the arm of the black couch. "Pass me an apple, will you?" he asked, making a show of stretching his arm, to demonstrate just how far the bowl of fruit was from his seat.
A simple Accio could have done for him, but she stretched out her arm anyways, grabbing the green apple and leaning against the edge of the table so that Sirius's long, slender fingers could reach it.
She felt his warm touch on her fingertips and even just that managed to send a shiver down her spine, her heart booming against her chest.
Hermione retreated her hand and went back to munching on her vegetables, but the crunch that followed his bite on the apple brought her back to a reality that she had to inevitably face.
Hermione Granger liked his presence—no, she liked everything about Sirius Black.
But at the moment, she had more crucial matters that deserved her attention. Her attraction to Sirius bloody Black could be fed and sated later. At least, she hadn't denied it.
Her eyes flickered over to the old clock that hung above the fireplace and she stood up, abandoning her half-eaten meal as a wave of nervousness ran through her body. She could do this—they could do this—it will be fine—
"What is going on with you, Hermione?" He sounded weary, as though he somewhat had an idea of what could be running in her mind at the speed of kilometres.
Her teeth sunk down her lower, plump lip and she fiddled with her fingers as she reached to wear her Auror robes over the blue, cotton sweatshirt.
With her back towards him, she replied, "Nothing, just - I'll see you at the Lupins, okay?"
Craning her neck, she flashed him a quick smile. When his lips lifted into a content grin, she felt the twist in her chest ease, even if just a bit.
When will that bloody 'later' come?
"Harry, are you sure you won't—"
He cut her off with a dismissive hand, looking mildly annoyed. "Hermione, you've been asking me that since this morning. No, I won't lose control. I thought you could trust me as a partner by now," he said, his tone leaking with hurt.
Hermione placed a placating hand on his arm and looked over his face with reassurance. "I do trust you . . . You know what? Let's get going."
Giving his arm a quick squeeze, she let go of it and they both nodded at each other before approaching the tall entrance, the stench of humidity continuing to follow them. Basements had never been fun, even in the Ministry of Magic.
Looking at the words 'Ignorantia juris neminem excusat' one last time, she swung the door open and entered the large room.
Her eyes sought out a particular figure, among many others that wore plum coloured robes embroidered with a silver letter W. This one wore a black robe, catching Hermione's attention immediately once she found the familiar mousy, brown hair.
If not for the abnormal frequency she wore the colour pink, the woman could definitely be recognized for her 'toad-like attributes' as Harry had so-called them.
Not waiting any longer as she knew the trial of the day was over already, she met Harry's eyes as they both began to move to the area where all the Wizengamot members sat.
She hadn't been there in a while, she realized. Though, she was glad that this time, she would be bringing the same evil woman back with her, the one that had tormented her during the course of her past job.
"What is going on here?" the sickly-sweet voice rang around the room, looking down at them with a penetrating gaze.
"As Auror Potter and Auror Granger, we must take you, Madam Dolores Jane Umbridge, for questioning on the behalf of the DMLE," Harry stated in a hard voice, looking none too close to apologetic for wordlessly restraining the vile woman's hands with magical handcuffs.
The reaction came immediately. "Let me go this instant, or I will have you lose your jobs for such incompetence. This is unacceptable!"
Harry's nostrils flared and he let out a harsh breath. "Just like you've been communicating with a wanted Death Eater?" he asked in a calm, low voice and yet, everyone seemed to have heard him as shocked gasps followed the long table.
"Madam Umbridge, if I can give you a piece of advice," Hermione began conversationally as the woman struggled against her hold. "You must not tell lies."
Harry didn't care to restrain the loud laugh that escaped his mouth, so neither did she.
—
Hermione could see how this woman had managed to escape the fate that had been fixed for her after the Final Battle. Imperius Curse, she'd said and while others wouldn't have survived with just a simple claim like that, she was the Senior Undersecretary after all, and the Wizegamot was selfish and greedy, no matter how much they tried to hide it.
Hermione had a hard time believing that she'd managed to make the Lupin Act pass. But she was thankful nonetheless that it had even happened. At least, a large amount of discrimination, inflicted on werewolves like Remus, was no longer part of the Wizarding World.
Hermione looked away from the glass window, signalling to Harry that they should enter the room, where the woman sat restrained.
Swinging the door behind her shut, she walked to the other side of the door and allowed Harry to start the questioning first. She knew how much he'd been waiting for this. All the hurt that had been inflicted upon him, even the scars on his hand because of this bitch.
She watched as Umbridge refused to drink the Veritaserum, rolling her eyes at the outraged look on the woman's face when Harry made her drink it, nonetheless.
"What's your name?" Harry began, a satisfied smile on his face when she answered in a monotonous tone. He craned his neck to look at her, silently asking who should go first. Honestly, he should already know that she wouldn't mind him doing whatever he needed to do.
"Let me check again. . . just to make sure it's working. Who gave me these scars?" Harry's hand flew inches away from Umbridge's face, whose eyes shot wide open.
Her face turned red and Hermione almost believed that she might be able to hold back the truth, but alas it came out, anyways. "It was me."
"It still burns sometimes, you know? Of course, we're not here to talk about that. We could get done here quickly, so don't try to lie - not that it's going to work. Why have you been in contact with Amycus Carrow?"
Umbridge's nostrils flared, her mouth opening automatically. "He had expressed interest in getting the revenge that he and his friends deserved."
"So what - you offered to help them?" Hermione asked, eyeing her appraisingly.
The older woman spared her not a look, but still answered, "I approached them first."
Not only had she been able to communicate with the Death Eaters, she'd somehow even convinced them to risk being shipped to Azkaban - for what? More Pureblood agenda? It hadn't worked before, and Hermione would be damned if she let that happen again while she was alive.
Harry gave the woman a loathsome look. "What did you talk about in those letters?"
Finally, Umbridge's gaze shifted towards her and her lips curled into a feral smile. "I informed them of a little miracle that happened at the Department of Mysteries. They were convinced that a Mudblood with so much power was dangerous."
Hermione's wand made its way towards Umbridge's neck, the top digging lightly against the woman's skin. Harry took a deep, shuddering breath, and he asked in a low voice, "Who else is involved?"
With her wand still pointed at the woman, Hermione thought about the possibilities. It couldn't be Rookwood or Rowle, as they'd both been caught in Romania by the Order, unaware of anything that had been happening in England.
So, the only ones left were—
"Amycus Carrow and Antonin Dolohov."
It wasn't surprising — she'd caught signs of Dolohov's recent attack and it looked like he wasn't one to run and hide, but oh - how much she wished she could get her hands on him right away.
She'd always wondered that perhaps, had he not knocked her down during the battle in their fifth year, Sirius wouldn't have fallen in the Veil. It was a little, innocent girl's delusion, but it still mattered to her. She will forever hold a grudge against her purple scar; it had stopped her from saving someone - from doing her very best.
"Do you know where either of them are?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as though she could read her mind just like that — which, she technically could because magic and Legilimency were real.
The older woman's cheeks puffed with air, looking more like a squirrel than a toad; one that had stuffed its cheeks with lies. It won't be long until the truth started spilling out.
"No."
Harry gave her a resigned look, but Hermione shook her head. They could still get a few more things out of her. "What is your plan? I'm sure you've made one, considering that you were the one behind the attack on me."
Under the heavy light that hung above the table, Hermione could see the beads of sweat that began to trickle down Umbridge's forehead.
"We had planned to lead you to the Death Chamber, have Diggory force you to confess on how you'd brought multiple people back to life — all to have our Dark Lord live again. When I heard that critical investigations started over it, I urged Carrow and Dolohov to stay hidden for the moment."
So, they were highly motivated, but still not enough to risk getting caught. "Would you be able to get in contact with them again?"
"No. They always initiate contact each time they move." Umbridge's dark eyes burned with a hatred that she couldn't find herself to fathom even now, how one could carry such spite over the fickle factor that was blood.
Harry was frustrated, she could tell by the clench of his hands and the harsh push back of his black hair. His chair moved back but before he could get on his feet, she latched her fingers around his wrist to stop him.
Arching a brow at him, she said, "There's one more thing we need to do."
Nothing was going to get her out Azkaban, not even the claim of the Imperius Curse. Not if she denied it herself.
"You look like you've had a hard day."
Hermione looked away from the glowing form of the moon, craning her neck to glance at Remus. Despite his older scars, her friend looked more at ease than she'd ever seen him.
She could see how much good love had done to him. Tonks was like a sanctuary, the woman who'd given him everything that he'd thought he was unable to receive. She'd fought back every time he'd harshly stated that he deserved none of it. And yet, Tonks had continued to believe that he was worth all the struggle and more. Hermione was sure that he truly was.
Teddy Lupin was the miraculous fruit of their love. He was so enthusiastic—showing Hermione how tall he'd gotten the moment she stepped through the Floo after work—and smart too, showing each parents' best attributes.
She scooted over the blanket that she'd set up on the wet grass, allowing Remus to sit beside her. He gave her a feigned serious look when his knees popped loudly, and she smiled.
"Sometimes, I feel like working on my case with no breaks, not until I catch the people we're looking for," she admitted, absentmindedly picking at a few strands of grass. She wasn't perfect and she couldn't finish everything all at once, but the disappointment that came with not solving a case right away still stung.
"Sirius told me of how late you get home every day," he commented, shooting her a concerned look in a typical Remus way.
She snorted, blowing out a short breath. "Just because he's been acting like a good boy lately and staying at home, he shouldn't tell on me."
"You know he has grown closer to you," he told her, sounding cautious as if he knew of how her heart was picking up an abnormal rate. There was nothing she could do to control it and she felt utterly helpless.
Searching for Canis Major among the vast sea of constellations, she heard herself say, "I've grown to care for him, as well."
The silver beauty that met her eyes urged her to let Sirius know that, too.
Hermione will do that, not now but . . . soon.
A/N: I hope you liked it! The muse for this story comes sporadically, so forgive me if the updates are irregular. Still, I would love to know what you think about it, and thank you for the support!