Chapter 3
Hermione POV
Hermione followed Mr. Noirent with sure, swift steps that masked her growing apprehension, as he led her and Dumbledore to the fourth level of the Ministry. She had spotted the man earlier at the trial, almost immediately as she had entered. Her distrust and dislike for him had grown as she watched him observe the trial with a level of amusement. However, upon speaking with him in the courtroom, a few questions regarding the mystery man were answered, but a whole slew of new ones were introduced. Yet, judging from the quiet smile on Dumbledore's face, Hermione realized she needn't worry - still, easier said than done.
Mr. Noirent led them to his office, Hermione noting that his nameplate designated him as the Department Head of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures - instantly, the brunette's mind began to run rampant. Once inside the office, he gestured to Hermione and Dumbledore to take a seat. The professor sat down, looking comfortable and at ease, while Hermione took her seat a bit slower and with hesitation that she struggled to overcome.
The Department Head sat down in his chair, looking across his desk at the two, giving them both a welcoming smile that hinted at him knowing a secret that they weren't, or at least Hermione, wasn't privy to.
"Thank you for taking the time to see me, Miss Granger," he said in a tone that seemed quite genuine to the brunette, and she felt herself settling into her seat - just slightly.
"You're welcome," Hermione nodded, not finding it in her to offer him a smile just yet.
"You must be wondering what's going on," he said with a bit of a smirk. She merely gave him a curt nod in return. "Well, you may have guessed that we're in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures right now - we call it "R and C" for short, up here." Hermione gave him another nod, slightly uncertain this time. "As I said before, my name is Jacob Noirent, and I'm the Department Head. And I must say that it's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Granger," he finished, smiling warmly at her.
"Nice to see you again, too, sir," Hermione replied out of politeness, though she certainly didn't regard their first 'meeting' as a meeting at all.
"The argument you gave back in Professor Dumbledore's office a few weeks back was very impressive, especially for someone so young. And," he added, "it appeared to be highly effective." He gestured with his hand into the air, and Hermione could only assume he meant the use of some of her points in today's trial.
"Thank you, sir," Hermione said while looking to Dumbledore out of the corner of her eye for any signs as to what was going on. He merely gave her a quiet nod and smiled encouragingly.
Mr. Noirent went on. "The Ministry is starting up a new project in France in fall of next year. It's going to be a big project, involving the collaboration between three departments from the British Ministry, along with several from the French Ministry, but it is highly exclusive - few are being brought on," he explained, and Hermione subconsciously leaned forward in her chair, looking to him intently.
"You see, there's been a push by the French Ministry to change the labour laws for house-elves-" Hermione's eyes lit up as the walls of her defenses were chipped away by anticipation, and he smiled "-and you've been personally recommended by members of the staff at Hogwarts when I asked for a list of potential interns. You're interested in house-elf rights, am I correct?"
Hermione nodded eagerly. "Very much so, sir."
"That's great to hear. Our Ministry was approached by their Ministry to help, and I have to admit there's been some...resistance, but I've been able to secure the funds to get a small team out there to assist the French Ministry. Most importantly, though, the Minister supports the project - Mr. Scrimgeour's eager to strengthen relations with France and this is the perfect opportunity to do so," he announced, looking rather pleased. "If this movement is successful out there, it could change things for house-elves internationally. I would be very happy if you applied for this internship, Miss Granger." Hermione willed her jaw not to drop. "The deadline for applications is January 1st," he stated as he produced a few sheets of parchment from his desk drawer and handed them to her.
She absently examined the front page, which was merely a large picture of the Ministry's symbol and the words 'House-Elves Rights and Regulations Initiative: Junior Policy Analyst Application'.
"Long title, I know," he chuckled. "Great to see you again, Dumbledore. Pleasure to see you again Miss Granger, I hope this is not the last time we meet."
With that, he rose from his seat and extended his hand to Hermione, who relied entirely upon instincts to return the gesture. Wordlessly, she followed Dumbledore out of Mr. Noirent's office in her stunned state.
Eventually, she looked to Dumbledore in absolute disbelief. He smiled at her and said simply, "Great opportunity."
She had so many questions bouncing around in her head, one question creating another until it was just a tangled web. She just didn't even know where to begin. Excitement lingered in the back of her head, though quickly halted by thoughts of her and Ginny. What would this mean for them?
Hermione hadn't noticed that she had rudely not responded to the Headmaster, until he spoke once more, his eyes and voice indicating that he'd completely disregarded the unintentional rebuff.
"Miss Weasley is lucky to be with someone who considers her wants and needs as much as their own. Understandably, Miss Weasley is quite smitten with you and she's a smart girl and thoughts of your future together have probably crossed her mind."
Hermione lowered her head, suddenly feeling both embarrassed and foolish. She let Dumbledore herd her into the service lift and she held onto the strap as the lift jolted to life and sent them off.
"Though she has a bit of a temper," Dumbledore went on with a hint of a smile in his voice, "overall, she is quite a reasonable young woman. Most of all, she cares deeply for you."
Hermione gave him a grateful smile that bordered on watery before thanking him. With people like Dumbledore and Luna Lovegood around, who needed rubbish like Divination to tell you the truths of the world.
The service lift came to a stop and the professor stepped out, Hermione realizing that they had arrived at the Atrium. She was about to step out, having grown comfortable to just following Dumbledore, when he stopped her.
"I believe Miss Weasley is waiting for you in her father's office," he smiled, and gave her a knowing look.
"Oh-of course, thank you," Hermione smiled sheepishly as she took a step back further into the service lift. "Thank you, for everything," she said sincerely, locking eyes with the wise and ever-kind Headmaster.
"You're the one who did all the work," he said lightly. "See you back at Hogwarts," he bid as he turned to leisurely walk towards the floo network.
Hermione followed him with her gaze for a few short moments before sighing deeply and readying herself for the lift to bring her up.
She walked in a bit of a daze to Mr. Weasley's office. She was only a few steps outside of his office before she gathered her wits and hurriedly put away the papers that Mr. Noirent had given her. She took a moment to try to compose herself and began to prepare her responses for the questions she was sure would come. As she entered Mr. Weasley's office with a knock, despite the door being open, she spotted Ginny waiting nervously for her.
"What happened? Are you okay? Dad said that guy is the head of the Ministry's Magical Creatures department!" The redhead blurted out in a rush, causing Hermione to release a great deal of tension in an amused laugh, and continued to smile fondly at her girlfriend.
"I'm fine, honestly. He just wanted to compliment me on the arguments I brought forth for your trial. Nothing major."
Ginny looked at her sceptically, and Hermione quickly noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were looking at her with similar expressions.
Hermione relented somewhat and explained, "Well, he said that I should consider a career in that branch."
This explanation seemed to satisfy the Weasleys, and the brunette was enveloped in congratulatory words of praise, pats on the back and hugs. Ginny looked the most excited, more so than Hermione, herself, looking absolutely thrilled by this new development.
Hermione couldn't enjoy the moment the same as the rest, there was so much weighing on her mind right now. She wanted to tell Ginny the whole thing, but Hermione felt she needed to research this opportunity a bit further. She couldn't bring it up lightly, and there was no point in mentioning it and jeopardizing their still relatively new relationship if she wasn't even going to pursue this opportunity. However, she inwardly committed to tell Ginny the full story over the holidays, whether she had rationalized things any more or not.
Much to Ginny's chagrin, soon they were headed back to Hogwarts. They arrived just as dinner had become available and they sat down with their very eager, very curious friends. Hermione was thankful that Ginny was in such high spirits and consequently chatty, as she fielded all the questions directed their way and provided the Head Girl with the opportunity to attempt to sort through her thoughts.
If Harry, Luna and Ron didn't already know the outcome of the trial through Ginny, then they would certainly know by the sour mood Draco appeared to be in, having returned to Hogwarts as well and was currently shooting nasty looks at them from across the hall.
Though still caught up in her own torrent of thoughts, Hermione noted that Ginny was in the middle of bragging to everyone about Hermione's meeting with Mr. Noirent when a tawny owl flew into the Great Hall, gaining everyone's attention.
"That's odd," Ron commented as they watched it swooping in, carrying a small parcel. It circled over Draco momentarily before dropping the package into his hands.
Hermione and Ginny exchanged a look before turning their attention back to Draco who looked just as puzzled as everyone else. Eventually he announced, rather proud and boisterously, "Must be from my father. He's well aware of how crooked our justice system is and knows how upset I am," shooting a look towards the pair that didn't go unnoticed by anyone.
Hermione watched curiously as he opened the parcel to reveal a golden snitch. Through the murmurs, she heard that his name was engraved on it and after rolling it around in his hands, the wings spread and they were the colours of Slytherin House. It took off out of his hand and flew in playful circles around his head. He smiled smugly and reached out to grab it.
Upon contact, the snitch exploded in a giant plum of purple smoke and confetti rained down upon a large portion of the Slytherin table, pulling a collective gasp out of all the students and staff in the hall. A smaller snitch emerged from the chaos and flew up towards the ceiling, a trail of fireworks behind it, and wrote out, "Always a winner" before it, too, exploded into a smaller puff of smoke.
Hermione just stared at the whole display, her mouth open in shock and mild, though suppressed amusement wasn't far beneath the surface. She heard Ginny and Ron snort in laughter, and soon the initial plume of smoke dissipated enough for everyone to see Draco's face and hair covered in soot, the whites of his wide eyes a sharp contrast to the rest of his face now. Everyone else at the table, however, appeared to be unscathed.
"Who did this," Professor Snape demanded, as he stalked over and rummaged through whatever scraps of the gift he could, but appeared to come up with nothing.
"All that flair and desperate need for attention spells out 'Weasley' to me," he said slowly as he carefully eyed the Weasley siblings, who now stared back silently.
"Now, Severus," Dumbledore interjected as he appeared alongside Professor Snape. "How could it be either Ron or Ginny when Ginny has just moments ago returned to Hogwarts and Mr. Weasley has been helping Professor McGonagall with some prefect matters?"
From the look on Ron's face, the suggestion was a total lie.
"I will accompany Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing, ensure he gets all cleaned up and is in good health. Please, everyone, return to your dinners. Everything is fine," the Headmaster announced calmly as he ushered Draco out of the hall. Professor Snape's glare lingered on Ginny and Ron a moment longer before he strode back to his spot, clearly unsatisfied with how things ended.
Hermione simply looked at the siblings with a look of disapproval that tapered off into an amused smirk.
Ginny simply looked at Ron, identical grins playing across their faces.
"I think Malfoy just received a little celebratory gift from Fred and George."
AN: Bit of a short chapter. Now you all know who this Mr. Noirent is and what he wants with Hermione ;) Though, perhaps a few new questions will have popped up. Next chapter the girls will be going to the Burrow for winter holidays - cue family time! I hope you enjoyed this chapter - thank you again to everyone for sticking around and adding this story under their favorites/alerts or leaving reviews. Take care, everyone.