Chapter 14
Hermione POV
Hermione stepped out of the service lift on the third floor and headed down the hall in purposeful strides.
After a quick pit-stop at her office to drop off her things, Hermione went off in search of Mr. Noirent. She had been up late last night, which was routine by now, but she was up particularly late last night to wrap up her critique of the French Ministry's initial assessment. She approached his office and looked inside but saw that he wasn't there and from the lack of jacket or briefcase lying about, he apparently wasn't in yet. She was about to head back to her office when someone's voice startled her.
"Looking for someone?"
Hermione turned and nearly slammed right into Vivian Blake. Taking a hurried step back to put some much needed space between them, Hermione caught her breath - vaguely noting that Ms. Blake hadn't flinched at all and stood there with her arms crossed, an amused look on her face.
"Oh, Ms. Blake," Hermione said. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."
"I see that," Ms. Blake replied evenly in more of a teasing manner than anything. Hermione blushed and went to speak, but Ms. Blake cut her off. "Jacob is in a meeting with a Ministry official - he'll probably be preoccupied for most of the morning."
"Oh okay. Thank you for letting me know," Hermione said with a nod and was about to excuse herself when Ms. Blake spoke up once more.
"Was it anything that I could help you with?" She inquired in such a manner that told Hermione that she had to fill the Department Head in on her news.
"It was just regarding the French Ministry's initial assessment," Hermione explained vaguely, waiting to see if Ms. Blake wished to know more. The woman gave a subtle nod of her head in response, urging Hermione to tell more. "I noticed that there were...some fallacies and holes in their arguments. As you had requested, I did research prior to their presentation of the assessment and a number of their claims don't line up with what I found," Hermione said with a touch of hesitation before finding her usual confidence.
"Go on."
"Well, for example, they stated that house-elves are only permitted in certain homes and those families must register their house-elf with the Ministry. They made the claim that they know of all the house-elves in France at any given time; where they are, who they belong to, and for how long they've been with that family," Hermione explained. Ms. Blake was looking at her intently now, studying her much more seriously than before. Hermione continued. "However, this isn't the case at all."
"How do you know that?" Ms. Blake asked calmly, gauging Hermione's reaction.
"Well," Hermione started, "I looked into the sources that they used for their research and the sources are only secondary sources and a number of them are incredibly dated. So, I took it upon myself to interview numerous house-elves on my own, and even managed to talk to a few willing families to see if I could gather some more current information and perhaps from another perspective. It turns out that there are hundreds of unregistered house-elves, even just here in Paris. While a registered house-elf has little rights, if you could call them rights at all," Hermione said in a low voice, "the unregistered house-elves are treated even worse, if you can imagine. It's wretched."
Ms. Blake simply nodded. Unnerved by the lack of response, Hermione went on.
"If the ethical part doesn't create cause for concern, then the criminal aspect should. While a family is held responsible by the Ministry for their house-elf's biddings and actions, if a house-elf is unregistered, then no one is accountable for their actions, granted they're ever caught, if they perform illegal activities. So even if the Ministry were to capture a house-elf and he is found guilty of a crime, he isn't officially attached to any family and there is no one to punish but the house-elf himself."
"Hm," Ms. Blake said, her arms still folded and her face unreadable. A moment of silence formed between them and eventually Ms. Blake said, "Take the French Ministry's assessment, modify it as you see fit and drop it off with me by Monday."
Hermione's mouth opened to speak, her words were lost in surprise.
"Is there a problem?" Ms. Blake asked.
"No, no, not at all. Thank you, Ms. Blake. I'll have it to you by Monday," Hermione responded eagerly. Ms. Blake's signature quiet smirk formed on her face.
"Wonderful. Have a good day, Miss Granger. Nice work."
With that, the woman turned on her spiked heel and walked down the hall to the service lift, her steps clicking all the way. Hermione didn't much appreciate Ms. Blake's off-putting attitude at times, but perhaps...perhaps, she'd prove to be a good leader.
Hermione went to turn around when Percy rounded the corner, stopping and peering between the now-absent service lift and Hermione.
"Was that Ms. Blake?" He asked.
"Yes," Hermione answered, unsure of what else to say.
"What did she want? Is she coming back? I was hoping to speak with her," he huffed.
"We just spoke about the French assessment. And she didn't say if she was coming back," Hermione replied, ending in an apologetic tone. "Sorry."
Percy huffed once more, his frown increasing. "No matter." He turned to leave and Hermione remembered her talk with Ginny a couple of weeks ago - she had meant to speak with him sooner, but neither of them had really had time. Newly determined, she called out to Percy.
"Yes?" He asked, unmistakably annoyed.
"I was hoping to have a few minutes of your time, I wanted to talk to you," Hermione said giving him a serious look.
"I'm very busy, the Minister-"
"It's about Ginny," Hermione interrupted, eyeing him further.
He looked nervously over at Antonia, who Hermione couldn't see, but didn't imagine was paying attention anyhow. Percy turned and walked briskly past Hermione, not bothering to look at her.
"We'll talk in my office," he said in a low, hushed voice.
Hermione scowled and wordlessly followed him. True, it was better to speak in private, and Hermione would've suggested it anyway, but his attitude was far from appealing. They entered his office and he ordered her to close the door behind her before he sat down in his chair, leaning back and looking rather pompous. With a heavy sigh she sat down in the chair across from him, sitting upright and matching his gaze.
"Okay, so what is it?" He asked, already impatient and unimpressed. Hermione refused to be intimidated.
"I know you've been wondering what I'm going to tell everyone about me and Ginny," she said, not bothering to beat around the bush. He broke their gaze, but looked back a moment later, newly intensified. She smirked, though it was void of humour. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything. As far as anyone here will know, other than you, I'm not seeing anyone. And know that Ginny and I spoke about this and we agreed upon this approach - you can confirm with her if you want."
"That's fine," he replied evenly.
"I would appreciate if you would honour our wishes," she said, her gaze turning earnest.
"That works well for me," he announced with a slow nod. "I'm glad to see you're heeding my advice."
Hermione bit back a scoff. "Yes, sure. But it's really more about establishing myself first. I'm not ashamed of who I am or of Ginny," she asserted.
Percy looked uninterested. "Doesn't matter to me. I just believe it's better for everyone to keep this quiet."
Just that statement alone made Hermione want to rush out and tell everyone about her and Ginny, just to prove him wrong and shove his ignorance in his face. But, she knew she was just upset by his words and felt that keeping quiet was like telling him he was right. She'd tell people eventually.
"Is that everything?" Percy asked in a bored tone.
"Yes. I'll let you get back to your busy schedule," Hermione replied as she stood and opened the door to leave. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Percy," she said politely before crossing the hall to her office and shutting her door.
"Hey Mione."
Ginny's tone was one of surprise, the delivery a bit winded. The girl stood before Hermione, her cheeks red and her hair unkempt, a slice of the quidditch pitch visible behind her.
"Hi Gin," Hermione smiled affectionately. "Practicing late, I see."
"Yeah," Ginny responded with a heavy sigh as she glanced back at the pitch. "I was sick of doing my Herbology assignment, so I came out here. Just put the bludger away," she said as she kicked at the jostling box on the ground, "That's why it took me a while to answer. What's going on?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Hermione apologized, momentarily ignoring Ginny's question.
"Don't worry," Ginny shrugged. "I interrupt you all the time."
"That's not true," Hermione frowned.
Ginny offered her a small smile with a tilt of her head. "If you say so."
"I do," Hermione responded rather firmly with a decisive nod. Ginny chuckled.
"Okay, Love." The redhead's soft smile faded as she eyed Hermione in concern. "Are you just getting home?"
Hermione laughed with a shake of her head. "Yes, Ms. Blake gave me this huge assignment, but it's good, I'm happy to do it."
Ginny continued to eye Hermione with worry.
"Honestly, Gin, it's good. She wants me to overhaul the French Ministry's initial assessment - on my own, with my own evidence and ideas. It's a huge task, but it's an honour," Hermione explained, still a bit in awe at how things had unfolded this morning.
"I guess that's good," Ginny said with a sceptical look.
"It is," Hermione laughed. A moment later her laughing ceased and she rolled her eyes. "Ms. Blake will probably take one look at it and throw in the garbage, though."
"I highly doubt that," the younger girl argued. "I doubt she'd ask you to do it if she didn't think you could do it or if she didn't care." Ginny's eyes brightened and she excitedly asked, "Does Percy know? He'd have a fit if he knew."
"You think?" Hermione asked, brows furrowing in apprehension.
"Completely. He'd be so jealous. He always has to be the little pet," Ginny snorted. The action was fleeting though, because she immediately stopped, a look of shock on her face and she began to stutter. "Not that you're, you know, her pet or something..." By now the poor girl's face was a deep red and she looked up at Hermione with sorry eyes.
Hermione gave her a disapproving look, but smirked. "It's fine, Gin. I get what you mean...and I'm not a teacher's pet...or Ms. Blake's...pet," she asserted slowly and with distaste.
Hermione cleared her throat and looked at Ginny uneasily. "Actually, speaking of Percy. He's partially why I messaged you tonight."
"What'd he do?" Ginny asked, immediately on the defense.
"Not too much," Hermione replied with an amused look. "I spoke with him though, about us. I asked him not to tell anyone about us and he seemed more than content with that."
The redhead gave a derisive laugh. "He would be." Her gaze shifted from side to side briefly in annoyance. "He's such a prat. I can't stand him. I'm sorry that you have to deal with him."
Hermione reached out to push a stray hair out of Ginny's face, but the image turned to smoke. The brunette pulled her hand back in mild surprise and disappointment, soon replaced by a feeling of foolishness for forgetting that Ginny wasn't really there. The smoke faded and a clear image of Ginny popped into place. Hermione let out an embarrassed laugh.
"Sorry," she mumbled before regaining her thoughts. "Right, don't be sorry about Percy. It's fine. I can handle him."
Ginny opened her mouth to say something when she turned away sharply and back again to check her watch.
"Oh no, I need to head back inside. I can message you bac-"
Hermione shook her head regretfully. "Actually, I should probably get to bed soon. I wish we could keep talking, but I should take a quick shower and then try to sleep."
Ginny's face fell briefly, but she put on a brave smile. "Sure, no problem. Well, I'm glad you messaged me. When should we talk next?"
The sweetness in the redhead's voice made Hermione's heart break, she winced a bit and replied, "Saturday?" She could see Ginny about to protest so she quickly rattled off her reasoning. "I have late meetings with officials from the French Ministry and then I promised Mr. Noirent some documents by Friday morning, but with this new assignment from Ms. Blake-"
Hermione stopped her explanation mid-sentence as Ginny raised her hand.
"It's fine," Ginny said evenly. "Don't worry about it. We'll talk Saturday. Take care of yourself, don't work too hard, okay?"
"Gin-"
"It's fine, honestly," Ginny insisted as she pulled out her wand. "Talk to you then. Bye, Love."
"Well, wai-"
Hermione's face fell as the image of Ginny disappeared and all that remained was the ring. She sighed. She felt like a terrible girlfriend. A scowl quickly formed on her face, who was she kidding, she was a terrible girlfriend. It was just so hard to balance things right now. It wouldn't be this way forever though - it'd slow down eventually.
"Excuse me, Ms. Blake?"
The blonde woman looked up from the paperwork on her desk at the sound of the interruption.
"Miss Granger," she said as she straightened up momentarily before leaning back in her chair.
"Good morning," Hermione smiled nervously. She could feel the sweat forming on her hands, it felt particularly obvious on the hand that held the booklet she had spent the last week slaving over.
"I would imagine that's your revision of the assessment?" Ms. Blake asked as she glanced at the document clutched tightly in the brunette's hand.
"Yes," Hermione answered as she stepped forward into the woman's office and helped herself to a seat. "I'm sorry I couldn't get it to you sooner. I wanted to ensure that all my facts were correct and properly cited."
"Very diligent of you," Ms. Blake commented lightly as she held her hand out expectantly. Hermione handed her the document, not realizing she was holding her breath during the exchange.
"Thank you, Miss Granger," Ms. Blake said as she set the booklet down on the side of her notably organized desk.
"You're welcome," Hermione said, unwilling to move, feeling as though more needed to be said. She had just spent sleepless nights poring over the assessment and making corrections - there had to be something more to say.
Ms. Blake had returned to the document she was working on prior, paying no further attention to Hermione. The brunette sat a moment longer, simply staring at the woman before her with a mixture of disbelief and irritation before abruptly standing. After a brief moment, she forced herself to walk calmly out of the room, absently realizing that Ms. Blake probably was going to actually throw the document out in the trash.
Her upset continued to build as she made the short trek down the hall to her office and sat down heavily in her chair. She took a moment to give an harsh flick of her wand that sent her office door flying shut; the inevitable slam of the door closing only stopped by a moment's ounce of willpower that made her ease up and let it merely click shut. She sat at her desk staring fixedly at the wall before her, simply gritting her teeth as her emotions continued to build despite her attempts to calm herself.
She immediately wanted to call Ginny; her girlfriend being the only one she wanted to speak to at the moment. It didn't even require a glance towards the clock though, for Hermione to come to the unfortunate realization that Ginny would be in class right now and unable to speak. Plus, Hermione was well aware that poor Ginny had been inundated with the brunette's work complaints for weeks now - it really wasn't fair.
Hermione sighed wearily and her gaze shifted to the stack of papers on the side of her desk. She really didn't have time to spare, but frankly, after that moment in Ms. Blake's office, Hermione didn't exactly feel at the moment that work deserved as much investment as she'd been giving it.
Without further hesitation, Hermione reached out and snatched up a blank piece of parchment and laid it out before her. She grabbed her quill, dipping it in ink and began to write.
Dear Ginny,
I'm sorry I've been so busy - I know it's not fair to you. I just want you to know how much it means to me how patient you've been with me and how supportive. You've been incredible and sometimes I can't help but think I hardly deserve you at all. I hope you know how much I lo
Hermione's writing came to an abrupt halt as a resounding knock carried through the room. Hurriedly clearing her throat and tucking the letter underneath another stack of paperwork, Hermione called out.
"Come in."
"Sorry to interrupt, Hermione," Mr. Noirent apologized as he opened her door just enough to take a step inside. "Ted and I are about to discuss the upcoming meeting with the French Ministry and we thought you should be involved. We're just in the boardroom if you have some time."
With virtuous effort, Hermione forced herself to repress the sigh of sheer frustration that threatened to escape, and instead offered her boss a smile. "Sure thing, just give me a minute to gather my documents and I'll be right over."
"Great. Thanks, Hermione."
"No problem," Hermione replied as she struggled to maintain her pleasant demeanour. Once Mr. Noirent was no longer in sight, Hermione let her shoulders slump in something that felt a bit too much like defeat and she slowly rose from her chair as she began to shuffle through her files. Her hands stilled as she came upon her letter to Ginny and a pang of regret shot through her chest as she tucked the letter away once more. She'd have to finish it later, though she wasn't sure quite when...
Later that week, Hermione sat in on the follow-up meeting to the French Ministry's presentation of the initial assessment. She sat down at the far end of the long, rectangular table, and absolutely hated that she wasn't closer to the action.
Ms. Blake hadn't so much as spoken to her since Monday when she dropped off the revision and Hermione had grown further insulted and embarrassed. She shouldn't have thought for even a second that it was an important task, because that made her failure that much more spectacular.
Hermione came back to the moment; a French official was speaking.
"-if there are no objections, we'd like to move on from this stage of the process. We-"
"Actually," Ms. Blake cut in, her voice casual, almost to the point of bored, "your assessment is inaccurate and horribly flawed. Perhaps your analyst was distracted when he completed his research and assembled this document." She picked up the document to eye it momentarily before tossing it lightly onto the table. "Miss Granger, here, however, was able to correct and complete your research and quite competently so. I suggest you read over her revisions," Ms. Blake announced as she held up Hermione's assessment. "I am confident that you'll find this version much more accurate and therefore useful. With your agreement, we'll use this document as the foundation for when we begin our policy formulation."
The French official looked stunned, and the analyst looked absolutely mortified. Finally, the French official found his words. "Ms. Blake, I have faith in my colleagues, and I personally looked at the assessment - I didn't see any of these...oversights, that you speak of."
Ms. Blake looked patronizingly amused. "With the resources that your department had access to, yes, I'm sure it was accurate. However, the sources you used were inaccurate and outdated, if we want the reforms to be effective, we need to know exactly what the current climate is."
"And where did," the official looked down the table in Hermione's direction, displeased, "Miss Granger, get her resources, might I ask?"
"It's all in here," Ms. Blake replied easily as she held up the document once more. "I suggest we take a week to let you and your team go over this document, and then we'll reconvene and move forward. I just want what's best for all of us, the house-elves, and the people of France, and this is step one. I would hate for the public to look back on the grounds for the decisions we made, only to criticize its inaccuracies."
Hermione's sat pin-straight in her chair, every nerve and muscle in her body taut with tension. She couldn't believe Ms. Blake just did that. She hadn't mentioned the document at all prior, and now this?
Ms. Blake rose from the table. "If you have any problems with this, please speak with me. However, I am confident that you will find the contents of this document to be more than satisfactory," she assured everyone as she gave a subtle nod to Hermione, who still sat completely stunned. Ms. Blake flourished her wand and a stack of paperwork appeared in front of Percy.
"Mr. Weasley," Ms. Blake said, "Please make sure everyone gets a copy of Miss Granger's assessment." She looked out across the table, waiting for an objection, before she said, "Okay then. Thank you everyone for your cooperation. 'Til next time."
Hermione briefly caught Percy's eye and the dark look that he gave her made her turn away. Forcing herself to look back, she witnessed Percy slowly rising from his chair, his wand out and manoeuvring booklets to each of the officials. Hearing clicking heels approach, Hermione turned her head just in time to see Ms. Blake eyeing her. The woman beckoned her with a wave of her hand. Hurriedly, Hermione gathered up her notebook and quill and walked in quick strides to catch up with the blonde who was already out the door.
Even though Hermione was still a few steps behind, Ms. Blake began to speak, not bothering to even attempt eye contact.
"Great work on that assessment, Hermione," the woman said.
The use of Hermione's first name caught the brunette off guard.
"I can see why you came so highly recommended from your professors," Ms. Blake said, now turning to Hermione as she fell into step. "The Minister as well."
Hermione amazed herself with a coherent response. "Thank you, Ms. Blake. I appreciate that."
"You deserve it. Your work was top-notch," the woman gave her a small smile. However small, it seemed like the first real smile that Hermione had seen from her.
"That's very flattering," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "I'm sure it wasn't so amazing. I just noticed a few small inconsistencies...that's all."
Ms. Blake gave her a studying gaze. "Given some time and experience, you could go very, very far - and I'm not the only one who thinks that."
Hermione blushed and thanked her as modestly as possible. That was a huge compliment to be receiving from anyone, especially someone of such rank.
"Let's meet again after the next meeting and we'll discuss how to move forward. Enjoy your day," Ms. Blake said as she proceeded to the service lift.
Hermione walked back to her desk in a daze. She had a lot to think about.
AN: Hi everyone! Thanks again for keeping up with this story and dealing with the measured pace. All reviews/alerts/favorites are much appreciated :) Hope everyone has a great weekend!