Harry Potter belongs to JKR

Chapter 54

Harry set his quill down and flexed his hand. He still had Ron's performance appraisal to complete, and of course it would be the most difficult. The trick would be to make it as good as possible without making it seem obvious he was making it as good as possible.

"Not like there's a conflict of interest or anything there, but whatever," he thought.

The redhead popped his head up over the edge of the wall which separated their cubicles.

"Any word from the Leprechauns?" he whispered.

Harry shook his head.

"Macmillan and Fawley tried to pull the gold together to cut some kind of deal, but she said budgets were tight everywhere and it was too expensive," Harry said, "plus Macmillan said Laklier is hit or miss. He mentioned at least three instances of him taking gold and giving almost nothing in return."

Ron quirked his lips to the side and puffed out a quick breath.

"Sounds about right for Leprechauns," he said.

Harry nodded.

"Any word about Scabior?" Harry asked.

"He received a sentence, whinged and moaned about it a little bit, but it's house arrest so I imagine that was more for show than anything else," Ron replied.

"Whereabouts?" Harry asked.

"Undisclosed location," Ron replied as he made air-quotes with his fingers, "for his safety."

"Riiight," Harry said. He wasn't sure about how he felt about the slimy mercenary getting off having spent less time in Azkaban than Harry himself.

"Then again, he did lead us to Travers, which led us to the farm," he thought.

Almost on cue, a pair of paper aeroplanes from the Tracer department rounded the corner and landed on his and Ron's desks.

"Analysis of whatever they were growing?" Ron said.

Harry nodded and sat down, but before he could tear the envelope, Amy, one of the DMLE receptionists, knocked on his cubicle.

"Lieutenant Potter? Miss Granger is here to see you," she said.

He stood up and tilted his head towards Ron to ask if he would join him. They followed Amy back to Reception. On the way, he tore open the Tracer report.

Analysis complete. Nostrandis Emperiosa: Mostly Harmless. Nostrandis Emperiosa is a mould which grows in dark, magic rich environments. Perishes quickly when exposed to light, except red light. Minor potion reagent applications. Not currently regulated.

Harry hmmed.

"Not much there… could cross reference the reagent with deadly potions that could be ritualized," Harry thought, "bet Robinson is already doing exactly that… I'll talk to him later to make sure."

He folded the report and tucked it into his pocket as he spotted Hermione, dressed in professional Ministry employee robes, tapping her foot by the DMLE Reception counter. She waved as they approached and walked to meet them halfway.

"Morning Ron, it's good you're here too," she said, "is there anywhere we can speak privately?"

Harry nodded and led them to one of the secure meeting rooms they used for mission briefings.

"What's going on?" he asked as he closed the door, "congratulations on the appointment, by the way."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "I wanted to give you both a bit of advance warning. Maybe sit down for this one…. you know all the Being outreach we've been doing these past several weeks? Minister Winthrop is going to propose withdrawing from the Statute."

"The Statute… of Secrecy?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded and his mouth dropped open in shock and alarm. She stayed silent for a moment as the news settled.

"That's… that's huge," Ron said, "the Statute's been in place since-"

"Sixteen-ninety-two, I know," Hermione said.

"I was going to say forever," Ron mumbled.

"You have to keep it to yourselves, it's not common knowledge yet," Hermione continued, "but I wanted to get an idea of what you thought."

She folded and unfolded her hands in front of her robes and bit her lip. It took a moment for Harry to find his voice.

"Why?" he asked, "I mean… why repeal it?"

"Think of all the people we could help, the people we're already helping," Hermione said.

"I mean, yeah, that's great, but… revealing magic to the muggles?" he said as he tilted his head, "That's entirely different."

"But is it something you might support?" she asked.

It was clear Winthrop had sent her, and it was just as clear she thought it was a good idea.

"Usually she's the thoughtful one…" Harry thought.

"I… I don't know, I'd have to give it some thought," Harry said, "I mean… when did you find out? How long have you had to think about it?"

"A few weeks," Hermione replied, "since I returned from Paris."

Harry made a motion as if to say 'see?'

"We have to think carefully about the consequences," Harry said.

"Okay, but don't forget to weigh them against all the people suffering right now, and what it says about us if we stand by and don't help them, when we could," Hermione said, and she turned to Ron, "what do you think?"

Ron leaned his chair back on two legs and stared at the ceiling as he puffed his cheeks out in a long exhale.

"I dunno," he finally said, "I've never really hung out with muggles. I've no idea what to expect… can't we just keep going the way we're doing it now?"

Hermione shook her head.

"We could do so much more, but then Statute might come under strain," she said, "we'd have to have more and more obliviators to keep it from falling apart, when those people could be helping save muggle lives."

"So, we pull back the Outreach," Ron said, "at least we can still do something without risking… whatever would happen if the Statute collapsed."

"That means helping fewer people. Some of them will die," Hermione said.

Ron looked pained at that and glanced to Harry.

"People will die if we suddenly withdraw from the Statute too, and what does the rest of the world think?" Harry asked, "the Statute is an international agreement. Isn't withdrawing from it the same as not having enough obliviators and letting it collapse that way?"

"We could control it better if we knew when it was going to happen… have a plan to introduce them in a benign way," Hermione said, "I'm not exactly sure what other countries think. I know we're not the only ones though."

"We have to think it through properly," Harry said, "we're not in this alone, and going our own way, telling the rest of the world to sod off in the process, probably won't work out too well. When's he planning to tell everyone else and schedule a vote?"

"He's already feeling out support, I imagine sometime after Fall Ball, but before the end of the year," Hermione replied.

"Okay. I'll want to see detailed plans," Harry said, "everyone will."

"Yeah, see if you can get them to me too, I'll make sure my dad looks them over," Ron said.

Hermione nodded.

"Okay, but please, keep it to yourselves," she said, "it's very sensitive, and there are lives at stake."

"We will, promise," Harry said.

Ron nodded in agreement.

Hermione pressed the button for the lift to return to the Junior Undersecretaries' Office. The familiar tingle ran up her neck as she crossed the threshold, the result of extra wards Winthrop had placed on the office to prevent tampering and eavesdropping. Percy looked up and waved she entered, then leaned forward, head in both hands as he focused on whatever department he was studying. Winthrop had allocated the office to herself and Percy after the Paris trip, and they had all but taken up residence there. Currently, they spent their days and a good portion of their evenings working through Ministry departments one by one, identifying all the inefficiencies they could, then putting together plans for streamlining each organisation. Hermione had also started coordinating the Being outreach, prioritising which projects received attention first. She sat down at her own Ministry issued desk; she hadn't managed to customise it with a single photo or decoration yet, and had only started to consider what she might include when Minister Winthrop entered the office and closed the door behind him.

"Miss Granger, welcome back. So, how did it go?" he asked.

"He wants to think about it," Hermione replied.

Winthrop nodded.

"That's fair, but tell him not to take too long. Time waits for no man," he said, "that's not why I'm here though. Just over a week from today, the Ministry's Fall Ball will be held at Malfoy Manor."

"I read about that," Hermione said, "why is the Ministry sponsoring an event there, of all places?"

"Politics," Winthrop said as he waved a hand dismissively, "it's going to be a traditional Fall Ball, which means a masquerade dance."

"Alright," Hermione said as trepidation tightened her chest.

"According to tradition, senior members of the Ministry's administration open the dance with the hosts," Winthrop said, "I know you and Mr. Malfoy have history-"

"Absolutely not," Hermione said.

Winthrop's expression hardened.

"It is important to lead by example," he said, "the Malfoys are the purest of the pure, and you're the most well-known muggleborn war hero in Britain. They have been gracious enough to open their home to muggleborns and Beings for this traditionally Pureblood event. If you're going to be a part of this administration, you cannot let your personal feelings get in the way of tasks and official events designed to help heal and unify our society."

Hermione furrowed her brow and smashed her lips together into a thin line. Objectively, he was correct, but it was Draco sodding Malfoy.

"One dance, no other responsibilities?" she asked.

Winthrop nodded.

"Only to open, and I will be dancing with Lady Malfoy at the same time," he said, "after which, you may dance with whomever you wish."

Hermione's thoughts immediately turned to Bellatrix. The urge to ask Winthrop if she would be attending swept through her, but that would be too obvious, especially with Percy a mere four metres away, making a point to not look up from his work.

"You're going to have to hold his hand," she thought, "and he'll have his on your waist."

She shuddered at the thought.

"It's for the benefit of all Wizarding Britain. You've endured worse," she thought.

"Fine, I'll do it," she said.

"I knew I brought on the right witch," Winthrop said, and he turned to Percy, "how are we progressing on the initiative?"

The redhead looked up at that.

"We're seeing upticks in efficiency in several departments, especially the DMLE, where we've focused more on reducing paperwork," he said, "some department heads are upset at the role eliminations, and have requested delaying until the training programs are fully initiated and staffed."

"That's fine, I'm assured it's only a few teething pains and most of them will be up and running by the middle of next month. Extend their notice periods a by three weeks, but coordinate with Personnel and move forward with the reductions," Winthrop said, "what else?"

"The review of all non-repealed Wizard Council decrees is complete," Hermione said as she handed over the stack, "and the oversight proposal for St. Mungo's should be done later today."

"Good," Winthrop said as he skimmed through the Wizard Council review, "run that over to me when it's finalised."

Hermione nodded and Winthrop departed back to his office. Hermione reviewed the St. Mungo's proposal again, made a few amendments, then ran through it again with Percy.

"If this passes, any senior healers involved in anything on the side will almost certainly be censured, perhaps even removed," she thought, and senior healer Peregrine came to mind.

A sense of justice dripped through her; with all the hoops she had jumped through to try and get the obliviation cure approved, which it still wasn't, she didn't feel any remorse at all.

"It looks good," Percy said, "are you certain they're intentionally delaying treatment approval though?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Not certain, but if anyone is, the investigation will uncover it," she replied. She waved her wand a few times to bind up the parchment, then hefted it to ferry it over to Winthrop's office. She rounded the corner and remembered who his secretary was.

Daisy Vane, blonde hair tied up in a tight bun, greeted her with a practised smile, one that didn't reach her eyes.

"Welcome to the Minister for Magic's office, may I help you?" she asked in her faux saccharin sweet voice.

"He asked me to deliver this to him personally," Hermione said as she hefted the ream of parchment.

The smile faded from Vane's face as she stood up and poked her head into Winthrop's office. She closed the door and turned around as Hermione approached.

"The Minister will see you now," she said, but as Hermione passed, Vane grabbed her upper arm through her robe.

"Don't get any ideas," the former Head Girl hissed, "despite going with him to Paris and your appointment to a junior position, make no mistake, I am Winthrop's first disciple, not you."

"What in the world?" Hermione thought. She glanced down at her bicep and met Vane's eyes with her own.

"If that makes you happy," she said.

Daisy Vane released her and glared daggers as Hermione stepped into Winthrop's office. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the map of Europe mounted on the wall.

"Sir?" Hermione said as the door closed behind her, "the proposal for St. Mungo's oversight."

"You may leave it on the desk," he said without looking away.

"If it's alright, I'm going to head home early today," Hermione said as she set the proposal down, "or rather… on time today. Now that I'm attending the ball, I need to prepare an outfit."

"I need to find out if Bella is attending, and what she's wearing," she thought.

Winthrop didn't answer, merely waved a hand in acknowledgement. Hermione exited to Diagon and apparated straight home.

"Bella?" she called, but there was no response. Hermione knew she was helping plan the event, and with her own long hours, they had barely seen one another.

"What to wear… what to wear…" Hermione thought, "you have to dance with Malfoy. Ugh."

And then the perfect mask came to her, the most muggle option possible. A soft pop echoed from the living room.

"Bella?" Hermione asked.

"Could it be?" Bellatrix replied. She rounded the corner, raven hair as wild as ever, dark robe unbuttoned at the top to reveal the pale skin just beneath her neck. She placed a hand to her chest and gasped.

"It's true, Hermione Granger is home at a reasonable hour," she said, "is the world ending?"

"Stop," Hermione said with a grin. She couldn't help but grin when she saw Bella these days, especially when she was in a playful mood.

"Not that I've managed to see her much," she thought.

Three steps forward and Hermione embraced her tightly. She relished the sensation of Bella's body against hers through their clothing and robes, but instead of going in for a kiss, she pulled back.

"If I'd known you would be here, I'dve worn something for the occasion," Bellatrix said.

"You look ravishing as it is," Hermione thought.

"Are you invited to Fall Ball?" she asked instead.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall.

"Am I invited? I'm planning the bloody thing," she replied, "…why, are you?"

"I was informed today that I'll be attending," she said.

Bellatrix smirked.

"Won't we make a fine pair," she said as she absently twirled her wand in one hand.

"I was thinking, we should coordinate outfits," Hermione said.

"Can't, unmarried couples aren't allowed to know each others' outfits before arriving," Bella said.

Hermione's mouth dropped open.

"Tradition," Bellatrix said, "haven't you read the program?"

"I haven't received a one yet," Hermione replied.

The wand clattered to the linoleum floor, and Bella shifted her gaze downward, then bent over and picked it up. She stared at it accusingly for a second, twirled it again, much more deliberately this time, then nodded to herself as the wand continued to spin.

"What were you saying?" Bellatrix asked, "oh, the program. Well, I'm sure you'll receive one. Or we could skip the ball and run off."

The wand stopped twirling and Bella stared at her. Hermione swallowed as the silver-flecked gaze pinned her.

"Fuck the Ministry, fuck the traditions, let's just go," Bella whispered.

Hermione almost said yes, except for the important work she was doing, and the commitment she'd already made to Winthrop.

"Remember Spring Dance though?" she asked, "Shouldn't we at least attend one proper ball first? This time we can spend more than an evening planning our outfits, too."

"And then after the ball?" Bella asked.

"After the ball… we'll see," Hermione replied.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" Hermione said as she folded her arms, "what if you stuff it up and I don't want to go with you anymore?"

Bellatrix snorted and started twirling her wand again.

"Stuff it up, me?" she asked, "you're the one who has never done one of these."

"Should I be honoured to be invited?" Hermione asked, "the lowly muggleborn? Ugh, that reminds me, I have to dance with Draco to open."

The wand stopped twirling.

"So?" Bellatrix asked.

"I despise him, and he despises me," she replied.

Bellatrix giggled at that.

"Welcome to my world," she said, "I despise nearly everyone and they feel the same way about me, but you don't see me running around hexing everyone… despite how much fun it would be. So… either do it or don't."

Hermione stopped to consider her words. At the time, saying 'no' hadn't really felt like an option. She realised the silence had stretched, and while Bella seemed content to let her internal train of thought travel indefinitely, she didn't want the conversation to end just yet.

"What are you going to wear?" Hermione asked.

"Can't say," Bella said, "it's-"

"You just said eff the traditions," Hermione said.

Bellatrix's teeth clicked shut and she glowered for a second, then apparently conceded the point.

"I was planning on wearing a feathered mask, and a floor length traditional dress and all that, black, of course, boring, what everyone would expect. I'll enchant it with a kind of transfiguration, sort of like what Winthrop did with those boys, and have it change colour like it was on fire and transfigure into something more risqué, and then back again. Or maybe I could use enchanted fire, I hadn't sorted that part out yet. The idea is to be kind of like a phoenix, rebirth and all, back and forth," Bellatrix said. She frowned, "well.. it was an idea."

Hermione's mouth had dropped open at the thought of an enchanted fire burning Bella's clothing away, revealing her thighs, revealing her midriff, revealing her arms and shoulders and back…

"It sounds…" she said.

Ravishing, stunning, dazzling…

"Amazing," she said.

"What was yours?" Bellatrix asked.

"I… well it sounds silly now, but I was going to wear a Marie Curie mask, to annoy Malfoy," Hermione replied.

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"She's… a famous muggle scientist," Hermione replied.

Bella rolled her eyes and the wand started twirling again.

"It was the most muggle thing I could think of, and she's somewhat of an idol of mine," Hermione said.

"What makes you think someone like Draco Malfoy is going to have the slightest clue who that is? If you want to annoy him with your mask, you can't wear something that will require you to explain why it should annoy him," Bellatrix said, then she paused, "actually… come to think, you could explain it, in detail, while he's a captive audience during the dance. That would be more annoying to him than anything else."

Bella nodded in satisfaction as Hermione snickered.

"You're evil," she said.

Bellatrix smirked and flicked her wand, shooting a few sparks across the room.

"A bona fide wicked witch," she replied.

Hermione took in the sight of her, casually leaning against her kitchen wall, and her heart skipped a beat.

"For my dress… do you think we could use the same enchantment, but when mine is burning and risqué, yours is conservative, and vice versa?" she asked, "that way one of us would always be… sort of the opposite of the other."

Bella ran her gaze down Hermione's body and back up to her eyes.

"Only if I can do your hair and makeup again," she said as she took a step closer.

Hermione swallowed as her pulse quickened and heat rose to her cheeks as she recalled the intimate pre-dance session.

"And I'll do yours," she said. Bella entered her personal space, close enough to feel the heat from her skin, close enough to nearly lose herself in silver-flecked eyes.

"It's a date," Bella whispered. She closed the distance and Hermione's eyes fluttered shut as she Bella's warm, soft lips press against hers. Then suddenly, she was gone.

"What?" Hermione said as her eyes snapped open to see Bellatrix skipping away, towards the living room.

"I need to buy more faaabriiic," Bellatrix said in a sing-song voice, "but don't worry, there's nothing like a little anticipation to make post Fall Ball all the sweeter."

Hermione put a hand to the corner of her mouth.

"You… tease!" Hermione said.

"Guilty!" Bellatrix said, as she blew her a kiss and vanished around the corner, followed by the pop of apparition.