Chapter 51

"Hey, you ready?"

Ron approached Hermione's desk. She had just stood up when he'd entered her office, looking as if she was ready to leave.

As usual, her desk was looking pristine and neat, as if she never spent a single second using it — very opposite to the ones that belonged to Ron and Harry — save for a rather large stack of parchment resting in the centre of her work space.

He picked the pile up as Hermione finished stuffing the last of her belongings into her bag.

"Just about," she said, distracted. That's when Ron realised she wasn't packing; instead she was searching for something. "I've just got to — ah." She extracted a smaller, folded bit of parchment that appeared to have sunk to the bottom of her bag.

"That your speech?" Ron asked, almost as a joke, though he knew his wife far too well to truly mean it as a joke. Of course she had a speech prepared.

"It's just what I'm going to say," she said, stepping around from the other side of her desk and kissing him lightly on the lips. "Just some points." It had been one of those days where their lunch breaks hadn't lined up, and they'd not seen each other since leaving home that morning. And she'd only kissed him because they were the only two in the office.

It was five o'clock exactly on a Friday and she was — as usual — the last one to leave. Had there been anyone else left, she would have taken on a professional stance and simply walked out of the office with him.

She was funny about mixing her professional life with her personal one and didn't consider it appropriate to be affectionate toward her husband when within Ministry walls. That included their lunch dates in the Ministry lunch room on the days they could actually catch up. She was more than happy to have lunch with him, but no one needed to actually know he was her husband.

And then once she was home, she was very good at switching off her work brain, and he could be as loving as he wanted with her.

Ron personally didn't have an issue with kissing her at work, but what could he do? It just made it all the more enticing when she actually did kiss him at work. It was almost like they were doing something forbidden.

"Do you think Kingsley will like what we have?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I think so," Ron said as they walked side-by-side from her office and to the lifts. "And if he doesn't, well… they're just ideas, aren't they? Nothing set in stone."

"Ideas we've spent two months working on," Hermione sighed. "I just… I'm just not sure."

"He wants change," Ron said, "and this is change."

"But did he want this much change?"

"We'll have to wait to find out."

Like Kingsley had requested of them, Ron, Hermione and Harry had spent the past two months preparing their initial proposal for changes towards the Wizengamot. It had been a really challenging task for all of them, to the point that they had begun to wonder why exactly the responsibility had been placed on just the three of them. As much as they all respected the Minister, this felt like something that was much bigger than themselves — this was something that could potentially change wizarding society as a whole. It would spark a lot more resistance than the previous laws that had been put in place, and probably a lot more people who had previously kept their mouths shut would be speaking out.

That felt like a lot of pressure to bear, particularly for Harry, who'd expressed his concerns to Ron and Hermione on many occasions about being put in the spotlight again.

They'd sympathised with him — even agreed to a point — but they'd still met one night a week to go over things, to discuss ideas, jot down notes, until they'd come up with something to bring to the table.

None of them were entirely convinced of what they had, but even after being given two months, they'd run out of time. With their normal work tasks on top of this, it had been an exhausting two months to say the least.

"Is Harry already there?" Hermione asked as the lift opened and they stepped inside together.

"Yeah," Ron said. "I think he's feeling more worried about it than you or me, though for completely different reasons. The Prophet has just stopped throwing his name into every edition, and we all know this is going to get it straight back in if it goes public."

"I know," Hermione said. "We'll have to speak up about this, won't we?"

"Probably," Ron said.

They'd successfully avoided all media interviews after the war, flat out refusing to speak to anyone and ignoring all questions. Harry, after a while, had given a few scripted responses, and once he did, they'd stopped pestering Ron and Hermione.

There had once been a time where Ron had wanted to be in Harry's shoes, but these days he had long since grown out of that desire, happy, for once, to be himself. No one wanted to go through what Harry had.

Hermione was silent for the rest of the way to the Minister's office. Ron reached for her hand to comfort her. She accepted it willingly, and they walked down the empty corridors hand-in-hand until they came to Kingsley's door.

Hermione knocked, and barely a second later, the door opened, Kingsley placing his wand back on the desk as it did.

"Come in, come in," he said cheerfully, beckoning the pair into his office. Harry was already seated in an armchair, looking far more relaxed than he had when Ron had seen him leave the Auror office about ten minutes ago. He was smiling.

Hermione let go of Ron's hand as she entered, and Ron shifted the pile of parchment he was still carrying to both hands. They both sat in the two empty armchairs.

"Thank you for once again taking an hour out of your free time to meet with me," Kingsley said with a kind smile. "I know you're all probably sick of my face at the moment, but I have a lot of gratitude toward the three of you." He nodded at the parchment in Ron's hands. "I think we'll get straight to it. Ron?"

From beside Ron, Hermione sat up a little straighter in her chair. He passed her the pile of their plans. It had been unspokenly agreed upon that she would be the one to deliver the proposal to Kingsley, and if necessary, to the whole Ministry. Not only had she already done this before, she was naturally the one who was best at that kind of stuff out of the three of them. Harry was good at giving motivational speeches, but at things like this, not so much. Ron wasn't good at either and never would have volunteered himself for such a task.

Hermione knew what she was doing, and if Kingsley needed convincing that this was the best they had, then she was the one who was going to do it.

"Hermione, then?" Kingsley asked.

Hermione shuffled through the pile, but eventually tapped her wand against it, extracting the page she was looking for. She passed it across the desk to Kingsley.

"That is our basic proposal," she said calmly, immediately taking on an air of professionalism. "We have taken on board the things that you said when you first asked us and also added our own ideas into it."

It was only a short piece, and Ron knew that somewhere in that pile was a much longer, more detailed proposal that could be altered for the next stages if Kingsley saw fit.

Kingsley scanned the parchment, a smile playing on his lips. When he'd finished reading, he set it down and his eyes focused on Ron. "I can see your influence in this, Ron," he said.

Ron flushed.

"Your twenty-something-years of knowledge about the Wizengamot is apparent in these changes." Kingsley shifted his gaze to Harry. "And your personal experience, Harry, is also evident."

Harry nodded.

"And Hermione, your sound knowledge of wizarding law is also very apparent. This is why I asked the three of you, if you were wondering. You each can bring something different to the table, which is what we need to get this right." Kingsley folded his arms across his desk. "Now, in greater detail, tell me about these points. I like what I see, so far. Our minds seem to be thinking along the same lines."

Hermione sifted through the pile again, extracting two more pages of handwritten notes.

"Well, we thoroughly considered the Muggle legal system in doing this," Hermione began, "because we do think there are many merits to it. But I'll begin with what the Wizengamot already offers the wizarding world and work from there."

Kingsley nodded.

The uncertainty Hermione had expressed on the way here had completely vanished, and Ron couldn't help but admire how quickly her work brain seemed to switch on. It was instant, like the light switches in their Muggle house. She was incredible.

"Firstly," Hermione began, "and being the most obvious and important, is that we do not think that the Wizengamot as a whole needs to be changed. There is a shell, something to work with that has been working for centuries, and it has its benefits. We also think that if you were to agree with presenting this to the wider community, if we offer something people are more familiar with, then it will be better received."

Kingsley gave another understanding nod.

"So, our proposal is that the Wizengamot stays, but we implement small, gradual changes to it to make it a fairer and much better system." She tapped her wand against the top page, and Ron saw a section highlight itself.

"Our first change that we'd consider to be of the most importance is putting people into the Wizengamot who have legitimate experience in wizarding law. It is currently filled with people who offered bribes to previous Ministers or whose names are important in wizarding society, but we find that those are not values needed in the new Wizengamot."

"And how do you propose we make that change?" Kingsley asked with a smile.

Hermione tapped her wand again and another section highlighted. Before she spoke, she glanced at Ron and smiled. This had been his suggestion — one that even he was proud of.

"A series of interviews and competence tests," Hermione said. "A bit like the training, albeit not as intense or as physical, that Aurors go through. It seems simple, but you'd be surprised at the lack of experience or knowledge or skill of many people working in the Ministry as a whole, let alone making important decisions about people's or other magical beings' futures."

"Not surprising at all," Kingsley said. "I agree."

"These interviews would be conducted by yourself, initially, Minister, but after some time, those with experience would be running that part of it."

"I like it," Kingsley said. "But, we simply cannot unemployee so many people, especially when they currently hold more experience than any new person would."

"They would be required to reapply for their position and seat," Hermione explained. "They would go through the same interview process as any new employee, and then the best people will be offered seats. Some, of course, will retain their positions, however there would potentially be a few who would not and could be given other jobs within the Ministry instead. But it would be fair. The people most fit for the job would be selected."

"Wonderful thinking," Kingsley said.

"The next step…" Hermione hesitated for a moment, looking apologetically at Kingsley. "The next step would be to remove the Minister for Magic entirely from the Wizengamot."

Kingsley raised an eyebrow. He didn't seem to have expected that, but he didn't look upset about it either.

Hermione went faintly red but ploughed on. "Like any other department at the Ministry, we feel that the Wizengamot should have its own Head, who would act as a sort of judge when it came to trials and decisions. They'd be the one with the final say; not the Minister."

For a moment, Kingsley watched her thoughtfully. Then, "I was thinking along those lines myself. I feel like the Minister's influence in courtrooms can be an unfair advantage in many situations."

Hermione nodded. "We therefore propose establishing several new offices within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to cater for these potential changes." She extracted another piece of parchment. "Obviously, the Head of the department would be the judge for the new court, and I certainly do not suggest making them reapply. However, we do wish for you to consider adding two new offices. The first being the Office of the Wizengamot, which is pretty self-explanatory. This would obviously replace the current Wizengamot office already there, and function not only for the registration of wizards, but goblins, house-elves and centaurs as well. The people on the Wizengamot would hold a position strictly in that office and not be employees elsewhere within the Ministry, as some currently do. That would therefore free up other positions for other people to join."

She flicked to another parchment.

"The second office we recommend is the Office of Personal Law. The idea for this has come from Muggle law. I know you're aware of their system, Minister, but to reiterate, Muggles are regularly represented by what they call lawyers — people who develop cases for others in order to defend them in a court of law. Both sides would have someone representing them. These people are obviously highly skilled in such areas and have a lot of knowledge in law, which would have to be the same here.

"We propose this office to be based off the Muggle system. In the past, wizards have entered a trial almost already condemned. It is not a fair system, and we believe that introducing lawyers to wizarding law could save any future wrong convictions and avoid any more Sirius Black incidents in the future. The people working in this office would be lawyers. They would represent anyone charged with a crime and go with them in the hope to at least have a fair trial before being convicted or not."

Hermione had had to go over this with Ron a number of times over the course of the two months. He felt as if he was becoming more versed in Muggle things, but the finer details, such as specific laws, were still tricky for him to understand — especially when they didn't particularly match anything in the wizarding world. But after she'd explained it to him, he considered knowledge of Muggle law an important detail — even for himself, as an Auror, to know, and had also been the one to suggest what Hermione was leading to now.

She shuffled through the notes again, pulling out yet another piece of parchment.

"I know you didn't ask for this, Minister, but this led us to considering how valuable knowledge in not only Muggle law but also in other areas is, as well. We would like to propose a request that Ministry employees — in all departments — become more versed in Muggle culture related to their area of employment. For example, Wizengamot employees would have to know and understand in fair detail Muggle laws and their legal system. Aurors would benefit from knowing more about how policing works. Those working in the Transportation department would have some knowledge on Muggle transportation, including cars, planes, trains, and so on.

"We feel that this will lead to the overall goal of bringing the magical and Muggle communities closer together, whilst at the same time, not breaking the Statute of Secrecy as it currently stands."

Ron beamed. She'd said it all so perfectly. Gotten their point across much better than Ron — and he was sure, Harry, too — could have.

Kingsley sat in silence for a moment, apparently digesting everything Hermione had just said. Then, looking between Harry and Ron, asked, "Anything else to add? Harry? Ron?"

"We all worked on this together," Hermione cut in.

"Hermione was just nominated as the spokesperson, because she's used to doing that," Ron added.

Kingsley nodded. "Well, let me tell you, the three of you have come up with something far more complex than I ever expected. Some of your suggestions, I, of course, had considered, but there are others that are new and exciting prospects in making these changes that I foresee."

"So… you like it then?" Harry asked.

"I love it," Kingsley said. "You backed up all of your proposals with further suggestions and ideas —" that had been one hundred percent Hermione, and Kingsley probably knew that, "— and I think we have a lot to work with. I think that by the end of the year, some of these changes can be implemented, starting with a re-evaluation of the employment process of not only Wizengamot members, but the Ministry as a whole.

"I have been lenient these past years, trying to rebuild what we lost, but I think it's about time we tighten up just who can go where as a means in ensuring we have the right people in the right places."

"You mean, you'll put it forward to… the Wizengamot?" Hermione asked, sounding a little uncertain.

Kingsley chuckled. "No. I see that route as a fruitless process in making these changes, for I already foresee the majority opposing such drastic change. But as the current law stands, the Minister's power within the Ministry is the most powerful, and I believe that using that power to get this through is the way to go."

They all stared at him, Hermione's mouth moving up and down like she wanted to say something, but didn't know what.

Eventually, it was Ron who spoke. "You mean that you're definitely going to do this then?" he asked, a little taken aback. It felt rather surreal to think that his suggestions in the dining room of his house could potentially change the way wizarding society functioned as a whole.

Hermione, who'd already made changes and laws, didn't seem as perplexed. But Harry looked as Ron felt.

"This proposal was for me, yes," Kingsley said. "Obviously a lot more work will be needed to put these ideas into place. And I've no doubt that as time goes on we'll find things that can't logically be done or things that we — you — haven't thought of now, but I would like to use the rest of this year to start writing these up as official laws and gradually implementing them so that by January next year, we will have something substantial to put in place."

This time, Hermione seemed to find her words. "Minister, when you say —"

"I'll be writing the laws, Hermione, don't you worry. I understand you have your own work to be moving on with, and I appreciate the time all three of you have taken out of your personal lives to do this. You have given me the ideas, and I may be asking for your help or clarification, but my purpose as Minister for Magic, I think, is best used in reshaping the way the Ministry and wizarding society functions."

Hermione visibly relaxed, sinking into her chair slightly.

"Thank you," Kingsley added. "I'll be in touch regularly. Oh, and whilst I have no doubt you were already aware of this, this discussion remains between the four of us. If word were to get out…"

They all nodded, showing their understanding. Then they stood. Ron thought they'd be leaving, but Hermione's voice cut in, the professionalism lost. She was looking at Kingsley as a friend.

"Minister… Kingsley?"

"Yes, Hermione?" Kingsley asked, smiling at her.

Hermione glanced between Ron and Harry, who were both staring at her with frowns on their faces. She'd said everything they'd discussed. As far as Ron was aware, there was nothing else to tell the Minister about.

Hermione's cheeks turned faintly pink as she looked back at Kingsley. "There's just one other thing I'd like to suggest."

"Of course," Kingsley replied. "Suggest as much as you want."

"It's just in the Muggle world… there are times where an employee is able to take leave from their position for various reasons and still be paid."

"Go on," Kingsley said, returning to his desk. Ron and Harry sat down, too, and a moment later, Hermione did the same.

"Well," Hermione said, "Muggles here in Britain are able to take leave from their jobs if they're unwell, they're entitled to four weeks of annual leave — leave for personal reasons, or holidays, and so on, and also…"

Ron frowned again. She seemed uncomfortable for some reason.

"And also things like maternity leave."

Ron's frown turned into surprise. He opened his mouth to say something but decided not to at the last minute. Then, he wondered why Hermione was so uncomfortable in suggesting such a thing. It wasn't like she would be needing time off work any time soon… would she?

Ron stared at her, but for some reason, she didn't meet his eye.

"I see," Kingsley said.

"It is just something to consider," Hermione said quickly. "For all employees. Its purpose is to allow people to still be paid when they're sick, or when they decide to go on holiday, or when they decide to… have children." She still didn't look at Ron.

Kingsley nodded, smiling. "Thank you for that, Hermione. I can definitely see the benefit of such things and will consider that when writing these laws. If I may have your ideas?"

Hermione placed the large pile of parchment on Kingsley's desk, and they all stood up again.

This time they did leave, albeit a little awkwardly.

Ron kept glancing Hermione's way, but she seemed adamant not to acknowledge him. His brain was ticking over many different scenarios right now, wondering why she had hesitated on that suggestion — why she'd not told Ron and Harry about it. He didn't really know what to think.

They reached the lifts before anyone spoke, and realising neither Hermione nor Harry were going to be the ones to break the silence, Ron took it upon himself to do it.

"We're going to be famous," he said. "The three of us, before we're twenty-five."

"What do you mean going to be?" Harry asked.

"Me and Hermione," Ron corrected.

"Your names still appear in news articles every so often," Harry reminded him with a smirk.

"Not nearly as much as yours," Ron retorted. "You know what I think? I think I'll ask them to put our names on a Chocolate Frog card. You know — little kids collecting them. Can you imagine that, Hermione?"

"Imagine what?" Hermione asked, seeming rather relieved that the conversation had taken this turn. "Little kids collecting cards with our faces on them?"

"Yeah, and then our own kids discovering it. They'd probably hate it, you know." He looked at her pointedly, questioning, and she flushed, but shrugged.

"I would hate it if I were in their shoes."

"Whose shoes?" Harry asked, looking between them both. "Fictitious children discovering fictitious cards? Or —"

"Yes, fictitious," Hermione said stubbornly. Ron and Harry both watched her. "What?" she demanded when they said nothing.

"All that stuff you said before…" Ron began.

"What, about maternity leave?" Hermione said, now sounding annoyed.

Ron nodded.

"You think I suggested it because I might need it soon?" she asked.

Ron said nothing.

And she laughed — short and sharp. "Ron, if I was pregnant, do you think that would be how I'd tell you?"

"Well, I dunno, Hermione," Ron said. "You just went all weird about it. I thought maybe…"

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink. "Well, I just wasn't sure what you'd make of me bringing it up. Whether you'd panic because you thought I was —"

"I did think it," Ron said. "But I didn't panic."

Hermione said nothing.

Harry laughed awkwardly, drawing their attention to him. "Well, Ron," he said, "if getting your name on a Chocolate Frog card is your dream, I think it's a damn good one."

Ron was relieved to change the topic. "Ginny's home this week, isn't she?" he asked.

"Yes!" Harry said. "All week. I can't remember the last time I saw her for more than two nights in a row."

"So, you're happy to go home then?" Ron asked.

Harry looked at him as they all stepped into the lift. "Can I thank you again for looking after my sorry self over the past months?"

"No," Ron and Hermione said together.

"We like having you over," Ron assured him.

"You're our best friend," Hermione added.

"Yeah, but I'm sure I've been intruding on your happily married life where you get to see each other every night," Harry said. He paused. "Thanks for not telling me to get lost."

"Wouldn't dream of it, mate," Ron said. "Besides, you weren't intruding. Those happily married things were saved until after you left anyway."

"Ron!"

"What? It's true. It's only Harry we're talking to."

"Nothing I haven't almost witnessed with my own eyes," Harry assured Hermione as the lift came to an abrupt halt on the atrium level of the Ministry.

"You don't have to be so… blunt about it," Hermione said, slightly pink in the cheeks.

"Who's going to hear?" Ron asked. "The cleaner over there?" He pointed to the only other occupant in the atrium — a little old wizard using his wand to guide the mop over the floors. "Besides, that wasn't blunt. That was vague. I could have meant anything."

"I'll see you guys on Monday," Harry said. "Ginny and I have plans for our first weekend together in months."

"Enjoy," Ron said, as Harry vanished via a fireplace. He looked to Hermione. "Dinner, my genius wife?"

Hermione looked up at him, an affectionate smile appearing on her lips. "I'm really hungry, so yes."

Ron grinned at her. "Great. Let's try somewhere closer to home. That way we can walk."

She smiled again before pushing him towards another fireplace. "Let's go then, because it's a long walk into the city and if we leave it too late, we will be too tired for anything else when we get home."

"Now who's being blunt?" Ron said, laughing.

"Who's going to hear?" Hermione asked with a sly smile. "The cleaner?"

Ron smiled.

Neither of them mentioned what had been vaguely talked about just moments ago, and Ron planned to not bring it up. He didn't think they were quite ready for the baby conversation just yet.

I'm back! I intended to make a message on my profile, but never got around to it, but if you are following my Insta (whenihaveyou . romione) (no spaces) I did make an announcement that I decided to take a 1 week break from posting! I thought after 50 chapters, one week could be spared haha. Plus, my family were visiting last weekend and I simply did not have the time to post, so it was good timing!

I'll be posting weekly again now... maybe until I get to chapter 100 and then I'll have another break ;)