"And why won't you be working today, Ms. Granger?" Her heart was pounding as she stood before Lucius Malfoy in his large Ministry office.
"I need to go to Ollivanders," She tried not to blush at how damn childish she sounded. She felt like a first-year all over again.
"What?" Lucius asked, his aristocratic mask cracking to show true confusion in his eyes.
"I messed up last night." Hermione couldn't rush to tell him the story; she had to make him tease it out of her.
If she was too chatty, offered up too much information, he would know she was lying. She needed to convince him she was really embarrassed about what had happened, and her silent, awkward shuffling seemed to be working. She felt like such a Slytherin as she tried to lie and manipulate her boss; she liked it more than she expected.
"How." It was a command and not a question.
"I tripped last night when I was researching in the arch chamber." She started, remembering the lie Sirius and Severus had helped her craft that morning.
"My wand was in my hand, and when I fell, I dropped it." Hermione looked at her feet now because even though it was a lie, the whole story was so embarrassing any witch worth her weight in galleons would rather die than admit she'd lost her wand.
He only raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"It fell through the veil," She huffed, "So I need to get a new wand."
Lucius seemed to be entertained by her annoyance, and it made her relax a bit. He believed her; he was amused at her mistake, which meant that he wouldn't look too much further into her story.
"Well, by all means, Ms. Granger," He tried to suppress his amusement, "Let the wand choose the Witch."
Hermione groaned with annoyance and nodded her goodbye.
Slipping back out into the Department of Mysteries and making her way down the quiet hallway. She just needed to go back to the arch chamber and gather up a few research pieces, the ones with the final equations written on them. No one but her ever goes in there, and there aren't any cameras, so she should be able to slip the documents out undetected.
It was a quick walk, and her heart stopped every time one of the Unspeakables gave her a passing smile. It felt like they could see right through her lies, but she kept reminding herself that she'd fooled Malfoy, and he was the one to be worried about.
He was acquitted of his charges the year after the final battle, and after that, he resumed his life much as normal. While there had been many changes to Wizarding England after the war, some things never change. Some of those being the aristocracy and the power of money. The Malfoy family had those in spades and helped ensure that both Lucius and Draco could resume their normal lives. There had been a very public and contentious divorce between Lucius and Narcissa, but he'd thrown himself into his work since then. He'd been chosen to head the Department of Mysteries because of his first-hand knowledge of some of the more unique aspects of magic, knowledge typically handed down through pure-blooded families. Kingsley couldn't deny the use of having Malfoy as a part of his cabinet, and thus he was placed back upon his pedestal once more.
His opinion was respected, and if he didn't find a reason not to trust her, it would be a great help.
Once inside the arch chamber, Hermione quickly moved up the platform and to her desk. Her notes were still there, though she couldn't be sure they hadn't been disturbed. She'd been so exhausted the night before when she made her ill-advised attempt, so she didn't remember much of the details.
There were a few specific documents that she needed to take, the ones noting the wording of her new spells and the runes she used for her tether. They were the only pages that showed she'd actually attempted her previously theoretical research. Severus had pointed out that if all her notes went missing, then people would notice, but if the few select pages disappeared, everything would appear normal.
She slipped them quickly into her bag, using wandless magic to erase the chalk runes on the stone platform. It was nerve-wracking, leaving so much data and research behind, but she knew that none of it could be used to definitively convict her.
"Granger!" She had to stop herself from swearing out loud as her coworker, Unspeakable Tibbs quickly approached her.
"Tibbs, how are you?" Hermione plastered on a fake smile and tried to pretend that today was a normal day.
"I'm good," He was slightly out of breath due to his job down the hallway, "Except they pulled me off my current project."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, apparently, Malfoy was notified of some magical signature in the Department last night." Her heart stopped, "And now they want me to be the Unspeakable liaison for the Auror team investigating."
"Well, that sucks," She pulled a disappointed face, trying not to sound too interested.
"Well, they think we'll have it wrapped up quickly, so hopefully, I'll be back to my research."
"I hope so! It was good to see you, Tibbs." She slipped back into the small flow of people walking the halls. Her heart was pounding, and all she could think about was getting back to Severus' house, getting back to somewhere safe.
As she passed the large fountain in the atrium, she noticed a group of Aurors whispering to each other. They were all so engrossed in their conversation that they weren't paying attention to their coworkers around them. She hated it, the cold fear settling in her stomach. Somehow, they knew something had happened last night, and she hoped they didn't figure out any more than that.
Hermione found the first unoccupied floo and made her way back to her small apartment. She couldn't stash the papers there, but there wasn't much of anything there to begin with. With all the hours she worked, Hermione had never really settled into the apartment. Her walls were bare, and her shelves were empty of knick-knacks; it was a glorified crash pad though she was loathed to admit it. It made her think of Severus' house again, all the books, and how cozy it was. Sometimes she did truly regret not making more of an effort to turn this place into a home. It was only a pit stop, though; she hadn't been lying when she said she needed a new wand. Severus and Sirius were going to help her destroy hers when she returned to Cokeworth.
The walk to Diagon Alley was short, and the process at Ollivanders was just as she remembered it. Her new wand felt odd in her hands, but it was better than Azkaban, so she could deal with it. It was hard losing her wand; it felt like losing her hand. It had been a part of her since she was 11 years old; it had survived the war with her and been through many battles.
With her new wan stashed in her robes, she apparated to the outskirts of Cokeworth. It was a small town, but she wanted to leave as little trace as possible. Hermione walked the cobblestone streets, looking at the identical brick buildings which lined it. Something was calming about the symmetry, and she tried to calm herself before she got back to the house. Despite how badly today had been, she needed to prepare for the chaos that would result from Severus and Sirius being alone together all morning.
The eerie silence which reached her ears as she let herself into the house was more disconcerting than the noise she expected.
"Severus?" She called into the still house and was met with a grunt from the living room.
At least they were alive.
"What happened?" Sirius' voice called from the kitchen, and she heard Severus' annoyed grumble in response.
"Well-"Both of them heard her hesitation, the anxiety in her voice, and suddenly they were all in the living room.
"Hermione." It was Severus who spoke now.
"They know something happened last night, but not what." She started, "But they don't have any idea or suspects, and I managed to get my documents out."
"Well, hopefully, the investigation runs cold." Sirius nodded, but Severus looked more concerned.
"A breach in the Department of Ministries? They'll be lots of pressure to solve it, Black."
"Oh, shut it, Snivell-"
"Stop it!" Hermione yelled, "Both of you. We don't have time for this."
Everyone went silent because she was right. But none of them were quite sure what they could do. It was a waiting game, and Hermione wasn't sure if the three of them would be able to hold out against the Ministry, especially Severus and Sirius.
Sirius stalked up the stairs, he was angrier than he needed to be, but no one followed him. Hermione still wasn't sure how to talk to him about what had happened; she just wanted to forget herself in a book.
"Did you see Lucius?" Severus asked her now that they were alone.
"Yes." She didn't like talking about the former death eater with her former professor; she knew they'd been friends at Hogwarts.
"Did he believe you?"
"I think so," She chuckled, "It wasn't hard to act embarrassed and reluctant to tell him I'd lost my wand."
"Good, because if he saw through you, then this will all come crashing down around us."
Hermione said nothing, just cuddled up under the thin blanket she'd used the night before. Settling into the couch once more, she sat and watched the fire, trying to calm her thoughts. She could tell that she would need to be at her best for what was coming, but it was even harder to calm herself when she didn't know what to expect.