Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own Les Mis. And I don't make money from this fic.
September 15, 2000 London, England - Auror Office
"I don't know, 'Mione. Are you sure you can trust him?" Harry asked, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Harry, I've told you time and again, in my line of work, it's less about trusting people and more about trusting facts. The facts are all in my favor. And you said yourself, in front of the Wizengamot no less, that he was innocent in the war. Just a boy without a choice." Hermione scolded. Harry nodded with a sigh.
"Suppose you're right. Just like always. I'll put in a formal request to access the Manor. I'd likely have to escort you if it's still actively under investigation." He said. Hermione grinned.
"How long till you'll know?" Hermione asked, taking out her notepad with a running to-do list.
"Let me check." Harry grinned, standing up so that his head peeked above his cubicle. "Oi, Robards." He called.
"What is it, Potter?" The older man asked, not unkindly.
"Malfoy Manor. Is the Investigation Department finished with it?" He asked. Hermione heard a shuffling of papers a few cubicles away, then the reply.
"Seems like it. Why?" He asked.
"Hermione thinks there may be something useful to her in the house. Unspeakable stuff, you know." Harry said with a wave of his hand.
"Fine by me, Potter. Paper work's on you, though." Robards replied, finally.
"Not a problem, I'll have it in early next week. Thanks for clearing that up." Harry said, before plopping back down in his seat. "Got you an appointment for Thursday morning, if it's all the same to you." Harry said. Hermione blinked.
"That's a formal request?" Hermione asked, in shock.
"Course. Man's got too much paperwork as it is, we all do. Anything we can clear up by word of mouth makes all our lives easier." He said, shuffling through a filing cabinet on his left side and pulling out a thick stack of papers.
"This is the paperwork just stating there will be a visitor to a property held by the Ministry. See what I mean?" Harry said, thumping it on his desk. The stack was nearly an inch thick. "I need you to sign two spots and you're good to go. I'll do the rest Monday." Harry said, handing her a quill and flipping to the correct pages. She signed and initialled two places.
"One last thing. You want me there? Just in case?" Harry asked. Hermione thought it over, then nodded. The first walk through they weren't like to find anything, anyway.
"Awesome. I'll mark it down." Harry said, turning to his desk and writing on a sticky note a quick message before sticking it onto his monthly calendar.
"Thanks, Harry. I'd better go see what Theo is getting up to." Hermione said, Standing and hugging her friend briefly before hurrying away, back to the dark halls of the Department of Mysteries.
September 19, 2000 London, England - Hermione and Theo's Office
Hermione trudged into the office, heading straight for the coffee pot in the corner. She was in a foul mood, which should not be the case on one's birthday. She sat down at her desk with her steaming mug, attempting to calm her nerves. She told herself it was normal for someone to forget something that only happened once a year. Told herself he'd been busy helping George at the shop, and his mum at the house. But somehow she couldn't placate the feeling in her stomach. People forget little things like that all the time.
No, she wasn't upset that he didn't remember. She was upset that he'd started a shouting match that had happened over breakfast. Hermione was having a really hard time with the secrecy clause that was drawing a proverbial line in the sand between her and Ron. After all, the things he was asking her weren't unreasonable. She could imagine why Ron would be so angry; he'd spent over a year being told close to nothing about what she did on the ninth level of the Ministry. All he knew was she worked with time. The first few months, he'd been worried for her safety. But soon, that fear turned to resentment. She told him as much as she was able. When she'd been brought on full time, assigned to work with Theo, Ron was the first to know. He didn't trust Theo, but Hermione had known that from the beginning.
But then things got worse, when her workload became heavier, and the pressure from her boss to find new, compelling data got stronger. She'd started spending more and more time at work. At first, Ron didn't seem to notice much, as he was still an Auror at the time, working twelve hour shifts with not much downtime himself. When he'd resigned to help George with the shop, he started noticing how much Hermione was working, and began questioning her about it. She began eating less and less at their little flat, staying out later do get through one more box in the archives.
She knew Ron was the jealous type. Growing up with six siblings did that to a person. However, she also knew that she'd never, ever even consider cheating on Ron. She felt almost certain, based upon his hostility towards her, that he had come to the conclusion on his own that she was. Hermione utterly hated conflict, especially with Ron, because it was as if she were fighting with a wall. He wouldn't hear anything she had to say, he had to figure it out for himself. And so she was stuck, waiting in the calm before the storm and hoping she'd boarded up the house firmly enough to keep it out.
She wouldn't allow herself to break down. Even in the safety of her office, she couldn't let her facade slip. If it did, she wasn't sure she'd have the strength to put it back up. She looked up as she heard voices in the Time Room outside her open office door. Theo and Malfoy. She listened as they said their goodbyes, parting ways, as Draco headed for his interview with Matthew Robins, Hermione and Theo's boss. She took a sip of her coffee as Theo appeared in the doorway, clad in his usual smart robes, his leather messenger bag hung across his shoulders. He smiled at her, then noticed her slightly shaking hands and his eyes narrowed.
"Alright there, Hermione?" He asked, setting his messenger bag down and making eye contact with her. She took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yeah, just another row." She said, forcing a smile. He ducked his head once in acknowledgement, then reached inside his robes and removed a little container that he sat in front of her. She looked between the box of muffins and him in confusion for a second.
"I know chocolate chip are your favorite, and I figured you could snack on them all day if you've already eaten this morning. Happy Birthday." He smiled. Hermione stood, carefully sitting down her coffee so as to not spill it, and walked slowly around the desk. She looked up at the taller man, still a little shocked. His face was a mixture of amusement and curiosity at her reaction. She suddenly hugged him around the waist. He stood there for a moment, put off by the sudden, and rather aggressive, physical contact. Once he'd gotten over the shock, though, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her.
"I really, really needed that, Theo." She murmured into his chest. He nodded.
"I'll venture a guess. Ron forgot?" He said quietly. She nodded and he held her tighter.
"There's more to it, but long story short, Ron's a jealous arsehat and I was having a really bad morning before this." She said, pulling away from him.
"Have you tried talking to him, Hermione? I mean about why you two are always arguing?" Theo asked, leaning on his desk.
"Our arguments are always the same. I'm not home enough, I don't cook for him often enough, we don't have sex like we used to." Hermione said rolling her eyes. "Sorry if that was a bit too graphic, but you get my point." She said. He waved it off and pushed off the desk, moving behind it to take a seat. Hermione did the same, opening her box of muffins.
"I don't know what to tell you, Hermione. Maybe try asking Harry?" He suggested. Hermione sighed, but nodded.
"Yeah, my birthday dinner is tonight. I'll see if I can't talk to Harry about it then." Hermione settled back into her chair, popping another muffin into her mouth and starting in on her research for the day.
That Night, London, England, - 12 Grimmauld Place
Hermione found herself surrounded by her friends, most of whom she considered family, in the large dining room of the house Harry had inherited from his godfather. She looked around the table at the smiling faces that sang Happy Birthday to her. The night passed slowly, full of love and light that Hermione had been so missing in her life. Ron held her close again. He kissed her in front of everyone, as though bragging that she was his. And she loved that he had seemingly returned to his normal self; this was the Ron Weasley she'd fallen in love with.
But then, Bill slipped up; he asked Hermione about where she was working. Hermione only saw Bill and Fleur on holidays, and birthdays. The last few of which one or the other hadn't been able to make. This was the first time in nearly a year since Hermione had even seen Bill, so his question was innocent enough. But Ron's face froze. Hermione replied hesitantly.
"I'm working at the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries." she said. Bill's face lit up.
"Ah, I know you can't say much, then, but which room?" He asked curiously.
"Time." She replied, noting that Ron had pulled his arm back from where it had previously rested around her waist.
"Quite an interesting subject, time. I'm sure it keeps you busy." Hermione nodded stiffly. Thankfully, Harry noticed Ron's reactions and called out to Hermione.
"I think I'd rather like some tea. 'Mione, would you mind helping me? I swear, you brew the best tea." Hermione nodded, excusing herself. She was so relieved when away from the Weasley's that she nearly tackled Harry in a hug.
"Hermione, what's going on with you and Ron?" Harry started carefully. Hermione sighed.
"I don't know! I think he's jealous of how much time I spend at work? We've been fighting constantly." Hermione said, sinking down into a chair when they arrived in the kitchen, her hands covering her face. Harry hesitated before speaking up.
"Hermione, I don't know how to tell you this. Ginny has been glaring daggers at you all night, and I'm not sure why, exactly, but I think Ron might think you're, you know, sleeping around. Because you're gone so much." Hermione just nodded, sadly.
"I'd never do that, though, Harry. I don't know how to ease his mind about it. Robins is really bringing down the hammer on us. I can't tell Ron that I'm not coming home until late because if I don't finish one of my duties, my pay will be docked, because then he'll ask me what duty takes eleven hours to complete. All his questions are justified, but I just- I can't answer them! I'm afraid that it's driving a wedge between us that I can't fix. He acts so different around me when we're alone. It's like- like I'm cheating on him with my job!" Hermione sobbed, letting herself break down in front of her best friend.
"Maybe he and I aren't meant to be?" She said, rhetorically, looking up to Harry. He shook his head, clearly not knowing what to do. Harry moved from where he leaned against the counter to kneel in front of her, taking both of her hands into his and looking up into her big brown eyes.
"I can talk to him if you want, Hermione. We can see if that will help any. But until then, try and keep your head up. You're strong, I know you are. You'll get through this." Harry told her. Hermione smiled a watery smile.
"Thanks, Harry. I'll try my best." She managed.
"Now come one, birthday girl. They'll wonder where we are if we take too much longer." Harry said, standing and pulling Hermione to her feet. She felt a little better, as though a bit of the pressure building inside her had finally found a bit of a release. She was able to return to the party with a genuine smile.