A/N: Chapter three, Hermione (: This interview took us a longg time, and a lot of effort, so please review and we will be forever grateful :D
Enjoy!
Hermione Granger Discloses.
As I'm sure you all remember, in my last column (Ron Weasley Reveals), I left you on a cliff-hanger; for want of a better phrase. If you don't remember, well let's just say, I think you should check your family tree – there might be traces of Troll somewhere in your ancestry.
So, let me continue where I left off last week. Confusion was, I have no doubt, your main feeling as you read the end of my column, after a kafuffle was reported to my interviewee, Ron Weasley, involving three muggles, two dark wizards and a teapot. The Auror in question was whisked from my questioning grasp leaving me with his wife; a clever yet ordinary looking woman staring accusingly in my direction. No doubt wondering what I was doing in a small empty room with her husband.
As she stares at me it dawns on me that I might as well kill two birds with one stone and interview Mrs. Weasley as well, seeing as I have her cornered. I am scanning my brains for questions when she shifts her weight and clicks her tongue against her teeth; a definite sign of impatience. Her irritation grates on my nerves slightly as I try to think of a way to begin concentration. I decide to start easy…
"So Mrs. Weasley, as you are here I think it best that we start conduct your interview here and now. Do you object?" Nice and polite, careful to start on good terms, she seems likely to snap. Perhaps she is under pressure at work.
"Well, I am up to my neck in paper work but…" I take note of her hesitation and jump at the chance.
"Good. That's settled then, do you mind if I ask you a few simple questions?" I didn't wait for her answer but plunged straight in, afraid she might protest. "Your husband told me of your infatuation for him throughout your school years, how did it feel to see him with other girls?"
She narrows her eyes but chuckles, "oh he told you that did he? The swine. I shall be having words with him tonight." I am glad she has eased up, from the way Ron answered questions in his interview it seems that he is prone to exaggeration. "Ron always thought that I had a bit of a thing for Harry. Harry frequently told him otherwise but Ron, being stubborn as always, refused to believe him."
She chuckles again. It is a pretty sound, light-hearted. Her face is shining with mischief. I'm sure it has something to do with getting back at her husband. Flicking back her bushy, brown hair, she continues in her small and orderly voice.
"It wasn't until our fourth year at Hogwarts that I finally had an inkling of Ron's feelings. Boys have the emotional range of a teaspoon so it wasn't hard to work out his frequent arguments with me and Harry throughout the year," her chinks flush pink and I smile encouragingly, "perhaps the most serious of arguments was over Viktor. Ron was almost unbearable when I was around him. I'm sure you heard all about me and Viktor from that awful woman Rita." I nod. We had heard alright.
"Was it not you, Mrs. Weasley that discovered how Rita Skeeter was stealing all her stories right from the lips of the subjects?"
A wicked little smile has spread across her lips. "Yes it was, I'm so glad I had the idea. Well it was Harry that gave me the idea, he suggested 'bugging' it is a form of Muggle equipment that allows them to hear private conversations." She pauses to see whether I am keeping up.
"Oh? Can you elaborate for us?" This is interesting stuff; I have always wondered how she found Rita out.
"Certainly," she says, her smile broadening. I can tell she is enjoying spilling the beans immensely. "I always thought there was something fishy going on. How did Rita know that Viktor had asked me to go and visit him? And how did she know that Harry collapsed in a lesson? That got me thinking… some people don't register themselves as Animagi and I looked up the register in the library, Rita wasn't on there."
She seems at ease now; this must be a topic of conversation that she finds amusing.
"I looked up some of the animals that people change into, I had no idea that people could change into insects, I'd thought only mammals applied. I remember, when I was talking to Viktor, there was a beetle in my hair. Harry then assured me that there was a beetle on a statue when Hagrid spoke about his past to Madame Maxine of Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic. From that information, I was sure that Rita was an Animagus. And an unregistered one. Ooh you have no idea how chuffed I was."
"I can tell Mrs. Weasley…" I said; she really is mischievous, her wicked little smile is back.
"Please call me Hermione," she says, dropping all formalities. I decide to press on to uncover more secrets this woman undoubtedly holds close to her chest.
"Ok then, Hermione, you are obviously a very logical and intelligent person. May I ask what you do as a profession?" I can imagine her possibly being the first female Minister for Magic.
"Well I am currently the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. Work is very challenging; as I'm sure you can guess. But I am fairly certain that I do a better job than former undersecretary Delores Umbridge, which is a small comfort." Hermione chuckles again. "I am also president of the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare, (S.P.E.W) an organisation that reinforces House Elf rights." She comes across as an extremely ambitious woman with a rather short temper and she isn't afraid to get what she wants. Which in my opinion, are the perfect qualities for a Minister for Magic.
I suggest this direction for her career and she brushes away the compliment with smile and a titter; she is modest too. Her cheeks have flushed pink again but I can tell she is pleased by my suggestion. It is a shame that I have to change the subject to one not quite so pleasurable for her.
"Well, I'm afraid I will have to ask you about the downfall of Lord Voldemort. I have heard you and your husband played a big part in helping Harry Potter overthrow the most feared wizard of all time."
Her smile falters, but she composes herself internally, I suppose she guessed I would ask about this touchy subject.
She takes a deep breath and thinks for a second. "Harry will of course tell you how it was mostly Ron and I that overthrew Lord Voldemort. He was frequently telling us to stay behind, to stay in the shadows for fear of losing us. He is one of the bravest people I have ever known. We helped him, of course (how could we not?), but not as much as he makes out. There was a time when Ron and I lost faith completely and doubted Harry's resolve. I now feel extremely guilty, as I know the whole truth from Harry. He really did have to make it up, ponder every new lead with immense precision so as not to miss anything that could lead us to the end of our journey."
She shifted her weight uncomfortably, a movement that echoed those of her husband and best friend when speaking about this subject.
I decide to move on. Rather too hastily for my liking, this interview has become uncomfortable. I settle on asking her about something she is obviously passionate about: S.P.E.W.
"Hermione, what was your inspiration that gave you the idea for S.P.E.W? As I am sure you have gathered, not many people take elf rights seriously…"
The corners of her mouth twitch appreciatively, she is grateful for the subject change.
"Just the way elves are treated, it disgusts me. People can call me what they like; believe me, they have. But my feelings about this matter won't change. Often I think about things from an elf's perspective: getting beaten, spoken to like a piece of dirt, dressing like a piece of dirt and having their feelings swept aside once again, like a piece of dirt!" I've never thought of anything from a pest's point of view before. Hermione is making me think, this is wonderful press for her organisation, I press her for more.
"I can tell you are extremely passionate about elvish welfare. May I ask you what you have done to change the way people see elves?"
"To be honest Violet," she says in a 'matter of fact' tone, as though she has said this many times. "It was quite a struggle to convince some elves that they were being poorly treated! Only a select few would dare to speak ill of their Masters. After I had persuaded them that perhaps they might like to be treated fairly, I have been travelling frequently around the wizarding communities of the world with these elves and explaining to the members of the Foreign Magical Leadership Committees of these countries about the cruel treatment of House Elves. I seem to have got through to France and Austria but America is having difficulty understanding what the House Elves are saying… something to do with the accent."
She sniggers silently at a memory. Her awareness travels have really shown me that she means what she says. My theory about how she should apply for Minister for Magic resurfaces in my mind. I decide to ask her about it.
"Now a little question regarding your future," she raises her eyebrow questioningly, "If you were to become the FIRST female and Muggle-born Minister for Magic, what would your first act be?"
Her deep brown eyes light up and the corners of her small, precise mouth pull up into a smile. "Well, I would develop a new law for elvish and other magical creature rights. It is something that would change the way Witches and Wizards see our world permanently. And the second most important thing that I would focus on is definitely Muggle-born rights. I hate the way Muggle-borns are treated, even twenty years after the death of Voldermort, nothing has changed."
"I can tell it means a lot to you. Do you come from a muggle background?"
"Yes, both of my parents are muggles." She grins slightly. "They are dentists."
"Oh? And what are these 'dentists'?"
She giggles and tries to change the conversation. "They look after teeth...nothing that you or your readers are interested in."
I take the hint and change the subject.
"My sources tell me that you, Hermione Weasley, have been listed on the Daily Prophets' top ten 'Most Successful Witches'. Would you like to tell me more?"
She blushes feverishly and answers very quickly as if in a hurry to, once again, change the subject.
"Yes, I heard about that when it was published.. Of course, its only with the help of my friends and family that I've got to where I am now. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic-" she laughs rather manically, "-but of course you already knew that... Well, yes, Kingsley was so supportive with everything I did. He agrees with all of my motives and any idea that I want to pursue he has my back. He is so brilliant, the best Minister for Magic I think our world has ever had," she says warmly and I smile in agreement.
"If you had never become a witch, Hermione, have you any idea what you would like to have been in the Muggle world?"
She looks rather annoyed at this question but answers anyway. "Well, I suppose I would have followed the same sort of route that I'm on now. I would definitely have gone into law, and I would have worked very hard to get to be Prime Minister. Unfortunately, it would have been much more unlikely to get to that status, there is much more competition in the Muggle world."
"I'm sure you could have made it," I say with a smile, and she blushes but grins back- I have her on my side again.
"Do you still keep in contact with Harry and Ginny? Do you see them very often?"
"Oh yes, we see them at least once a week. For one thing, it seems that Rose and James are best friends. Following in our footsteps." She laughs in delight. "Rose is mine and Ron's eldest daughter, and James is Harry's and Ginny's," she added as an afterthought.
"I know, I know more about you all than you think," I explain with a wink. The corners of her mouth turn upwards, but she doesn't seem as involved as she had done before.
"I'm sorry, but I really should go now..." she reveals in an apologetic voice.
"Oh, no Hermione, please just let me ask you one more question!"
She laughs and nods, her hair shaking in a hectic bush on her head.
"Please, tell me and my reader's, what was it like on that night? On May 2nd, twenty years ago?"
She shuffles on her chair and moves her hands underneath the table in an uncomfortable manner.
"There isn't really a way to describe it. It was... terrifying, but it was so fast paced there wasn't any time to think. It's lucky, in a way, that there were no moments to ourselves, because the fear would only have built up in us.." She shivers and her discomfort in this subject passes on to me and I feel strangely melancholy. "The deaths... were awful. So many people died there that deserved to live for so much longer. Remus, Tonks, Fred, Colin..."
She trails away and I stop her where she is as I can see that she is getting upset just thinking of the sacrifices made on that terrible night.
"Well, thank you for talking to me, Hermione, you have told me and my readers so much. I've really enjoyed getting to know you."
She smiles and stands up, shaking my hand in a professional way.
"It's been a pleasure, at least, for once, we have a nice journalist, you're so much better than that awful Rita Skeeter."
I laugh and thank her for the compliment. When she has turned on the spot and Disapparated I take time to reflect on my time with Mr and Mrs Weasley.
They both seem so nice, so normal. But after all they've been through, there must be some kind of permanent scar left over from those years that they lived through in terror. It makes me ponder how brave and noble all these people had been, and how the war between Voldemort and the rest of the world brought out the best in people like them.