After the war, Hermione finds that she had drifted apart from Harry and Ron, as their lives head in different directions. As new opportunities come to her and she makes new friends, will the Golden Trio ever reconnect? Cedric lives. HG/CD.
.o.O.o.
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own it – I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.
Author's Notes:
» This story is has been written in full and updates will be posted at the rate of approximately one chapter a week.
» Thank you to my beta, the wonderful StrongHermione, for all her help and support.
» Thank you for all the reviews, alerts and follows; they're all appreciated.
.o.O.o.
Chapter 12
Finally the day had arrived and Hermione and Cedric presented themselves to Gringotts bright and early in the morning. Cedric was led off by Marco, who would be mentoring him during training, and Jonesy took Hermione to meet the archivist and the goblin Potions Master who was the Head of the potions lab at Gringotts Melbourne. While in the UK, Hermione had discussed with Bill her potential interest in potions and he had mentioned it to the goblins, who had been perfectly willing for her to divide her time between the archives and the potions lab until she started university.
When Hermione and Cedric apparated home that evening, Hermione was bubbling over with excitement.
"Master Stonecrest was amazing, his skill with potions was as impressive as Professor Snape's. But his techniques were quite different, perhaps it's the goblin way of doing things, it's going to be fascinating working with him. And Kellie, the witch who maintains the archives, gave me a project of my own for when I don't have specific research to do. She's a half-blood who knows a little about the muggle world but not much. She said she's seen databases at the muggle library and she wants me to try and come up with some kind of magical database system, because she doesn't have a clue where to begin herself. She doesn't know much about computers or databases and Charms aren't her forte, so when she heard I have a computer and I've been trying to develop a charm to protect electronics from magical interference, she suggested I might like to work on this."
When Hermione finally paused for breath, an amused Helen turned to Cedric. "So how was your day, Cedric?" she asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
Grinning, Cedric replied. "Also good, thank you. I definitely made the right career choice. I know it's only my first day of training but it feels right. I fitted in and I enjoyed what I was doing. It's challenging and interesting work and I won't be sitting at a desk all day, which suits me right down to the ground."
"I'm glad you both had such good first days at work. Will this improve it, I wonder?" John asked, holding out an envelope.
Hermione looked around at the sound of the envelope striking the table and squealed. "My NEWT results!"
Leaping up, she ran over to her father and snatched the envelope from his fingers. She started to rip it open and then stopped. Her face went white as she whispered, "What if I failed?"
John and Helen both snorted and Cedric rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Of course you haven't failed, Peaches," he said with exaggerated patience. "You're the brightest witch of your age, your OWL results were unprecedented and you could probably have sat your NEWTs in sixth year and got all Outstandings. Just open the envelope and see what your results are."
"But what if I did fail? I missed a year of schooling and didn't have much time to revise before I sat my exams."
"Then you'll sit the Australian equivalent exams at the end of the year."
Hermione nodded slowly and with shaking hands opened the envelope and extracted the letter with her results.
"Well?" demanded Helen impatiently, when Hermione stood staring at the letter without saying anything.
"I… I…" unable to speak, Hermione mutely handed the letter to Cedric who grabbed it from her impatiently. He quickly scanned the letter and then picked Hermione up, twirling her around.
"Well done, Peaches!" he cried, kissing his girlfriend, who was beaming broadly. "All Os. What did I tell you?"
John and Helen both added their congratulations and hugged their very relieved daughter. They both noted with amusement that her brain was already ticking with what they assumed were plans for her study at university. She had already applied to study Potions, Charms and Arithmancy at university and had been promised a place if she got Outstandings in those three subjects and Exceeds Expectations or higher in everything else. Her straight Os guaranteed her acceptance.
The next few months passed quickly. Cedric was enjoying his training more and more with each day that passed, while Hermione was totally absorbed in her work. Cedric frequently had to drag her out of Gringotts by force in the evenings, much to the amusement of all the staff, goblins and humans alike. Potions Master Stonecrest praised Hermione's brewing skills but confirmed that she did not have the right instincts to become a Potions Mistress who could adapt existing potions or develop new ones. Instead those instincts were present within her with regard to Charms. Hermione had succeeded in developing the protection charm for electrical devices that she had been working on, which the goblins had patented in her name. This was only for stationary devices, large and small, and she was now working on developing the charm further to protect mobile items, such as an MP3 player, laptop, mobile phone, hair dryer or even more heavy-duty items, such as electrical tools. She was also happily absorbed in the beginnings of creating a magical database programme. This had the potential to be very lucrative for Hermione, as not only Gringotts but other libraries, magical hospitals and the various Departments of Magical Law Enforcement around the world would all be interested in this product.
Hermione had decided to focus on Charms and Arithmancy at university; the latter subject was vital for anyone wanting to develop new spells or potions, so Hermione intended to do a joint degree in both subjects, coming out with two wizarding Masteries at the end. However, she still planned to study Potions during her first year at university as well, as at the end of that one year of university level potions, she would be able to sit the exams which would qualify her as a potioneer. While in the UK, she had discussed further with Professor Snape's portrait the acute lack of skilled potioneers and Potions Masters in Britain. As Horace Slughorn wanted to retire again, Minerva McGonagall was planning when she would come to visit the Grangers and Cedric in Australia, to take the opportunity to try and lure one of the Potions Masters from the university Potions Department to Hogwarts, with the intention of also introducing an apprenticeship programme.
Currently, there were three apothecaries in the UK, who were qualified potioneers and brewed their own stocks, but the potions department of St Mungo's relied on brewers who had attained no more than NEWT level potions. These brewers had been taught well by Severus Snape and could all manage up to NEWT level potions quite capably but none could manage a higher level of brewing. With Horace Slughorn as the only remaining Potions Master and only those few qualified potioneers who could manage to brew highly complicated and advanced potions, Britain was in dire straits. From her second year of university onwards, Hermione would drop Potions and concentrate solely on Charms and Arithmancy, however, since according to Potions Master Stonecrest her brewing skills were sufficient to become an adept potioneer, she felt it would be worthwhile attaining that qualification as well. She had decided against Healing, as she did not really have the vocation for this profession; rather she had considered it more because it was something her parents could relate to and she could share with them, however, she knew her heart did not lie in healing and her parents and Cedric had supported her decision not to pursue a career in this area.
Soon it was Christmas and the Diggorys came for a visit. Minerva had decided to wait until the summer, as the Head was always traditionally in residence at Hogwarts over the Holiday period. Cedric had moved into John's study for the duration of the visit and had given his room to his parents. As Hermione and Cedric were not able to take much time off, having only started work four months previously, Helen and John had decided to take holiday time for the duration of the visit, getting in locums to cover their dental practice. They were both certain that the magical couple would become their daughter's parents-in-law and they wanted to take the opportunity to get to know them. Leaving Amos and Amaryllis to explore the wizarding district themselves, Helen and John instead showed them round the muggle sights and attractions of Melbourne. Despite all they had heard from Cedric about the vibrant muggle way of life, they were stunned by all that they saw. This culminated in a trip to the ballet to see The Nutcracker, which they were absolutely mesmerised by, having never seen anything like it before.
By now, Cedric had become quite accomplished at the muggle way of doing things and his parents were astonished to see him helping to cook without magic and cycling round Melbourne with Hermione. Amaryllis in particular enjoyed helping in the kitchen and Amos was fascinated by the computer and what it could achieve. He had not been aware of the computer when Hermione stayed with them while sitting her NEWTs, as she had not yet perfected her protection charm for electronics and so she had been unable to use her laptop in the Diggorys' house.
The two weeks that Cedric's parents spent with the Grangers were good for everyone. The Diggorys gained an appreciation for muggles and what they have achieved without magic. John and Helen were relieved to see that, despite a slight tendency towards pomposity from Amos, the Diggorys did not treat them with the condescension of Arthur Weasley and both sets of parents bonded over their children and a mutual respect. John and Helen could easily forgive Amos' inclination to boast about Cedric, since they felt exactly the same way, not only about their own child but also about Cedric himself, who had become very dear to them over the previous few months. By the time Amos and Amaryllis went back to Britain, there was an unspoken agreement between the two families that it was now only a matter of time before Cedric and Hermione would become formally engaged.
Once Christmas was over, Cedric and Hermione buckled down again. Cedric's training was going well and he expected to graduate from being a trainee during the summer, while Hermione was looking forward to the upcoming start of university.
Shortly after Christmas, Hermione received a bunch of Weasley letters. She had been corresponding regularly with Bill, Fleur, George and Ginny, in addition to Luna, Neville, Lavender and Parvati. Lavender and Parvati had been keeping her informed of their business plans and she was delighted to hear how well they were progressing. This particular batch of Weasley letters, however, focused on Harry and Ron and their interactions – or lack thereof! – with the goblins of Gringotts.
"Well, the goblins finally did it!" she announced, coming into the living room, holding the sheaf of parchments that Nyx had just brought her.
"Did what?" asked Cedric, looking up from the book he was reading.
She sat down next to him on the couch and said, "Froze Harry's and the Weasleys' vaults."
"How angry were the Weasleys with Ron?" Cedric asked her.
"Furious! And it wasn't all aimed at Ron either. Harry got to share the experience, too," she said with an evil grin. "Apparently Molly's screaming could practically be heard all the way into the village. George pranked both boys for a solid week. And when I say a solid week, I mean a solid week, without pause. Ginny shot Bat-Bogey and stinging hexes at them every time she saw them and when Charlie came charging over from Romania in a rage, he had to be stopped from beating Ron into a pulp. Percy had them vomiting slugs for three days and Bill told them they should count themselves lucky he doesn't actually transform or he'd let his werewolf out to play with them. Once everyone had calmed down a little, Arthur sat the two boys down and informed them they were going straight to Gringotts to sort this mess out – and he and Bill would go with them, to make sure they did actually deal with it…"
.o.O.o.
Bill led the two boys into Norbog's office, with Arthur following behind as a rear guard.
"Sit," Bill said.
When Ron started to object, Bill placed his hands on Ron's shoulder and pushed down, forcing him to sit. He then turned to the goblin. "Senior Officer Norbog, I realise that I am attending this meeting as a client rather than an employee of Gringotts but may I have your permission to perform magic within your office nevertheless?"
The goblin grinned ferally, making Ron and Harry shudder. "You may indeed, Curse Breaker Weasley."
With that, Bill withdrew his wand and placed a high-powered sticking charm on both boys, affixing them both to their chairs, so that they could not leave. Ron swivelled round to face Arthur and demanded indignantly, "Are you going to let him do that to us?"
"I'm going to let Bill do whatever may be necessary to make sure you two face up to your responsibilities. With Senior Officer Norbog's permission, of course," he replied, bowing to the goblin before sitting down.
"I defer to Curse Breaker Weasley's judgement in this instance," said the goblin. "Now, Mr Ronald Bilius Weasley, Mr Harry James Potter, I believe it is time that we discuss the matter of reparations to Gringotts Bank after you broke in, stole from a vault, stole a dragon and destroyed part of the Bank in your escape. We'll waive the issue of the item taken from the Lestrange vault, since one of our own assisted you with that."
"Hang on a minute, why isn't Hermione here too?" Ron demanded, rudely interrupting the goblin.
"Ronald, if you can't keep a civil tongue in your head, I'll silence you. It's time you learned some manners," warned Bill. "For your information, Hermione contacted Gringotts back in May with regard to her share of the damages. It was one of the first things she did after the Battle of Hogwarts. She came to an agreement with Gringotts months ago."
"Well, why didn't she make an agreement for us too?" Ron demanded indignantly.
"Because you wouldn't speak to her. You ignored her very existence for weeks. And then, when I suggested negotiating for you at the same time as I negotiated for Hermione, you told me to bugger off. So I did as you requested."
Harry, in the meantime, had been sitting quietly as Ronald blustered. Finally he raised his head from his shame-faced contemplation of the floor and spoke. "Leave it, Ron."
"No. Why didn't the selfish bint sort it all out when she made her own payment?" the angry red-head demanded belligerently.
"Are you seriously suggesting that Hermione should have paid for us?" Harry demanded incredulously. "You were there too, Ron. You agreed to the plan and you were as much a part of it as Hermione and I were."
Norbog cleared his throat and Harry immediately looked at the goblin, who had been sitting observing the interactions. "Senior Office Norbog, I apologise. It was most dishonourable of us not to have acknowledged our liability earlier."
"No! This is rubbish, Harry. We saved the world. If we hadn't broken into Gringotts, Voldemort would have won."
"That's true, but it doesn't mean that we can't accept responsibility for our actions. Or are we like the Death Eaters now? Doing whatever we want or getting away with everything, just because of who we are? That's not right, Ron. I don't want to be that kind of person."
Ronald was left spluttering with indignation but Harry ploughed on with the negotiations. It soon became clear to Bill that the goblins were feeling vengeful and were indeed going to impose greater penalties on the two boys. Harry's apology, while it had appeased Norbog somewhat, was too little, too late, and Bill suspected that Harry understood this.
Prior to the meeting, Bill had ascertained the consequences of donating blood to the goblins. It was explained that the blood would be added to the main ward stone that was regarded as the Heart of the Bank, which only the Gringotts Head Goblin could access. The blood would strengthen the ward stone but would not damage the boys in any way. The blood could not be compelled by anything other than the ward stone and, should the stone activate to power up the wards from their usual semi-passive condition to a more combative state, there would be no negative effects or repercussions for the boys.
It was agreed that both boys would donate blood and either pay a monetary compensation or else work in service until such time as the debt was paid off. Harry paid off his entire share immediately and offered to pay Ron's too, however, Norbog was feeling ornery, and disliking the rude and foolish youngest Weasley son, decided to accede to Bill's prior request that each person involved in the incident must pay their debt by themselves. Ron was not amused to learn that since he did not have the money, he would be working for Gringotts for free for the next several years, doing the most menial of jobs as he had no skills that the goblins felt they could utilise. It was a shell-shocked and very angry young man who returned home to the Burrow that night.
.o.O.o.
According to Bill, Ron was now working with Gringotts' maintenance crew and he hated it. He was a caretaker, much like Argus Filch in Hogwarts, except that Ron was able to use magic, and he was finding it somewhat demeaning. Hermione sighed.
"Oh, oh. I recognise that sigh. What are you thinking?" asked Cedric.
"Ron's never going to manage to pay off his debt like this. He's going to become bitter and resentful and he's going to end up doing something the goblins can't or won't forgive."
"And you have a solution for him?"
"Possibly. I need to consult with someone else before I say anything, though."
Hermione wrote a letter to Minerva, asking her to read it to Professor Snape's portrait. When Hermione was sitting her NEWTs, he had offered to let her have his potions journals if she decided to pursue a mastery in potions. At that time, he had also agreed that if she went into a different field, the journals could be donated to the Potions Department of Monash University, however, when Hermione had written to inform him that she was planning to pursue a mastery in Charms and Arithmancy rather than potions, and had asked for the journals to donate to the university, he had informed her that he wanted her to keep the originals and that she could only give university copies. Minerva explained that Severus' portrait had initially thought to encourage her to consider a Potions Mastery because he was concerned about the lack of Potions Masters in Britain but, in reality, while he agreed she could be a superb potioneer, he also acknowledged that she does not have the instinct and feel for the subject that would allow her to become a Potions Mistress. He agreed with her changed career plans but had chosen to give his original journals to her regardless, because he felt that she was one of the few people who would appreciate and respect them.
She had little doubt that he would agree if she asked to donate a copy of the journals to the Potions and Healing Departments of Gringotts, however, she was less sanguine about his feelings concerning her donating the journals on behalf of Ronald Weasley. She was correct that Professor Snape's portrait was not happy about the idea but he also agreed that Ronald, with his uncontrollable temper, was likely to lash out and do something drastic, most probably with tragic consequences, and so he reluctantly agreed to Hermione's proposal for the sake of the boy's family, most especially Arthur, who he had always respected.
When the goblins asked why she would do this for such an objectionable young man, she explained "I'm not doing this for the man he has become, but for the boy I was once friends with, and also for the sake of his family, who have showed me many kindnesses and who could not cope with the loss of another son or brother, should things go badly with his service." She was referring as much to the possibility of him taking his own life out of despair as to the possibility of the goblins executing him should he offend them beyond all hope of redemption, but chose not to explain her reasoning, as she was certain the goblins would not sympathise on either account.
"You are a very generous and honourable young lady, Miss Granger. There will always be a position available for you at Gringotts, should you wish it. Master Snape was a world-renowned Potions Master and his personal potions journals are without price. We would be delighted to receive copies of these, even if it means rescinding our requirement that Mr Weasley pay off his debt by himself. I just hope that Mr Weasley appreciates what you are doing for him," Master Stonecrest, the Head Potions Master of Gringotts Melbourne said to her.
Of course, Ron never did acknowledge it, but she had not expected him to and so she was not upset.
"I didn't do it for him; I did it for the rest of the Weasleys," she reminded her parents and Cedric when they voiced their disapproval over the lack of gratitude from Ron and as she received letters of thanks from every other Weasley, even Molly, her family stopped complaining.