Chapter 30

October 19th 1999

Confrontation

Life returned to normal for Hermione after her moment, more or less. She slept peacefully thanks to Fred's potion, which he had topped up with a fresh batch without her having to ask, she went to work and she came home to relax in the evenings, apart from Fridays when the two of them would always be found together at either his flat or hers, depending on how they both felt. The only difference was the new weekly catch-up she had with Ginny, who stopped by on a random weekday evening every week. She didn't mind, she was glad to have some female company again. She had even bought herself a TV, which she used to watch occasional movies and catch up on news in the muggle world while she ate her breakfast. Her main concern lately had been Kingsley and the strange new quietness in their office. He had even turned down visits to foreign countries in order to remain at the Ministry, but wouldn't tell her why - he merely offered the excuse of being busy, though she wasn't busy at all and since she did most of his paperwork for him, she wondered how busy he could truly be. There had been a nagging voice in her mind telling her that he was hiding something from her, but until now she had been hesitant to listen to it. Until now, she had been able to ignore it and simply get on with her work. But she could ignore it no longer, her curiosity had been piqued and she had decided as she showered that morning that today would be the day she confronted her boss on his frankly very suspicious behaviour. As she slipped her feet into her shoes, smiling at the old ones in their see through box and in turn her parents who smiled back from behind them, she steeled herself for the day ahead. Turning the TV to standby, she stepped into the floo and threw down her ashes before reappearing in the Ministry atrium.

As usual these days, she had arrived with the usual mass of people who came to work at 9am and allowed herself to be pulled by the current which dragged her towards the elevators. She had grown less apprehensive about meeting Arthur again, though she would preferably like to do it away from work just in case, so she no longer forced her eye onto the ground as she flowed with the river of bodies. It had now been three months since she had bumped into Fred again and the difference in her was visible for all to see, even being commented on by those who saw her very little. Gone was the anxiety ridden, stick thin and sickly Hermione she had been for all those months, replaced with a Hermione much more recognizable to those who had known her before the war had wreaked its havoc on them all. Her talk with Ginny, and subsequent ones that had occurred, had helped her to understand that she wasn't betraying Ron by moving onwards and upwards, but rather the opposite. By living in a way that he would have wanted her to, rather than condemning herself to a life of misery and isolation, she was honouring his memory. Realising that had been like a lightswitch flicking on for her; she could hold her head higher, smile broader and work harder, all while carrying his memory within her. It had been a freeing moment to realise that he could be her reason to continue, as he had become for the Weasley tribe, rather than the burden she needed to bear.

As she diverted from the river of people and pushed herself into the nearest available elevator cart, she went over her carefully planned and rehearsed confrontation with Kingsley. She had no intention of allowing him to fob her off with yet more excuses and lies, but she knew he would try and she was ready to counter his attempts. She thought, or rather hoped, that she had chosen a reply for every possible answer he could give her when she asked what he was up to, having been up since 4am trying to conjure up even the most obscure reasons he might provide for his odd behaviour. The elevator lunged backwards and while it didn't effect her own balance, it threw the wizard in front of her hurtling backwards and caused him to step on her toe. She hissed, looking down at her shoe and was angered to see a muddy footprint marring the shiny leather.

"So sorry!" he muttered, unable to look her in the eye and she simply hummed in response as she tried to buff the dirt from her shoe by rubbing it on the back of her other leg.

Once the elevator came to a standstill, she pushed past the man who had scuffed her shoe and glared at him while doing so. She saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat as he gulped and internally praised herself for being able to intimidate him, though this made her feel bad and she immediately turned around to smile at him but the elevator had disappeared to its next destination and she had lost her chance. She sighed, shaking herself and reminding herself to save her anger for Kingsley, who she truly felt deserved it for being so secretive. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself forwards and down the corridor that led to the door, which she pushed open a little too loudly and winced as Dennis gasped audibly.

"Sorry!" she said, catching the door behind her and closing it softly while Dennis clutched his chest, "didn't mean to scare you."

"You alright, Hermione?" Dennis asked once he had composed himself and she nodded as she pulled her chair out and sat down, "what's got you so riled up?"

"Have you noticed that Kingsley has been acting… Oddly?" she whispered conspiratorally and Dennis snorted, shrugging.

"When isn't he being weird?" the younger boy asked with a grin and Hermione couldn't help but return it, "that man is always up to something."

"Yeah, I know, but I've noticed he's been acting even more strangely lately," Hermione sighed, leaning against her desk and frowning over at her office mate, "all secretive, keeps saying he's busy but I've not had any more work than usual, so how can that be?"

"Not sure," Dennis shrugged and she saw his eyes flick to the door into Kingsley's private office before he leaned further over his desk and whispered more quietly, "I've seen him having dinner here with McGonagall, and it didn't look like an altogether relaxed-"

"Morning Hermione!" came Kingsley's booming voice as his door swung open and Hermione chuckled under her breath at the sight of Dennis trying to cover for himself, flying upright so quickly that he almost flew straight off of his chair as his papers scattered around the floor under his desk, "how are you this morning?"

"All good thank you Kingsley," Hermione replied, standing from her chair to get closer to his eye level, though it proved impossible seeing as there was more than a foot in difference between them, "I was wondering if I might have a word in your office?"

"Uh, yes, sure, of course," Kingsley stuttered, taken aback by her invitation into his own office and raised his eyebrow as he went in front of her, "what would you like to discuss?"

"Well…" Hermione started, sounding sweet enough as she smiled at Dennis through the door she was closing before turning around to glare at her boss, "you can start by telling me why you're being so damn secretive all of a sudden!"

"I haven't been-" he started and Hermione could see that he was trying to quell a grin as his lips twitched at the corners, something that only served to anger her more.

"You keep telling me that you're very busy, you've cancelled foreign visits and Dennis just told me that you've been having lunch with Minerva and yet while your workload has apparently increased by unspeakable amounts, my desk is almost always empty," she rattled off, marking each item on her list by holding up a finger on her left hand, "so I would love to know what's keeping you so busy while I am struggling to fill my time!"

"Hermione," Kingsley said, not even attempting to hide his smirk now but holding up his hand when she made to chastise him more. He cleared his throat and wiped the irritating grin from his face before gesturing for her to come over to his desk, "I was waiting for the final plans to come through before I told you, but seeing as you are so eager to be involved I guess now is as good a time as any."

She sighed angrily before crossing to his desk and watching as he pulled a ribbon from around a rolled piece of parchment, unfurling it across the length of his desk. She gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she stared down at the parchment and five familiar faces stared back at her. These were plans for a monument, hundreds of names etched in stone with five recognizable stone figures at the base. Ron's face was looking up at her, complete with his smile and messy hair carved from marble. Tonks and Remus were beside him, hands clasped together as they had been even in death. Snape, his face mostly covered by stone tendrils but still instantly recognizable and last but not least, the older brother of her office mate, Colin Creevey, still clutching his beloved camera from beyond the grave. She choked on a sob as her eyes trailed further up and came to find a single solitary house elf, carved from marble like all the other figures. Dobby was smiling at her from the parchment. She certainly hadn't thought of a response for this.

"Harry insisted on Dobby being there," Kingsley said softly, lifting his arm and pulling her against his side, "and Severus, too. Though his actions were pivotal and changed the outcome of the war, so I can understand his reasoning even if some won't be so forgiving of the man."

"This is a beautiful memorial," she sniffled, pulling the sleeve of her jumper over her hand and using it to wipe her eyes, "where will it stand?"

"In the courtyard at Hogwarts," he informed her and she nodded, her heart swelling to know that these would be the people who would watch over students for years to come, "its grand unveiling will be towards the end of December, we haven't settled on a specific date yet. That's why I had lunch with Minerva, she's hoping to open the gates of Hogwarts for all who wish to be there."

"That's amazing," Hermione whispered, pulling away from his side and leaning closer to the parchment to get a better look at the carvings it depicted, "do the Weasleys know about this?"

"Not yet," he sighed, shaking his head as his face contorted in thought, "it was decided that they should find out about Ron's inclusion at the unveiling. Only five, well now six, people have any idea what it's going to look like and one of those is the artist who is currently carving it."

"I guess that explains all the secrecy," she muttered, rolling her eyes before straightening her back and turning to look at him, "will you speak?"

"Yes, I plan to give a speech," he smiled, crossing his arms over his chest and shh-ing her when she opened her mouth to speak, "no, you will not be proofreading it, Hermione. This one is all mine, it will be a surprise even to you."

"Oh I…"

That's when it hit her full force that she was expected to be there for the unveiling. She swallowed down a new lump of fear in her throat at the thought of being around so many people, back in the place that had haunted her nightmares for so long, while the person who had been the star of those visions stared down at her from his stone immortality. She sighed, shaking her head to fight the wave of nausea that crashed over her at the idea and stumbled into the chair that sat before Kingsley's desk, usually reserved for the Minister alone but he didn't make a comment, instead smiling softly as he watched her before rounding and sitting himself in one of the chairs that was typically meant for his visitors. The room was silent as she focused her attention, staring directly into the face of the departed Weasley as she tried to come up with an excuse for her absence, or decide whether she even wanted to give an excuse at all. She had come so far and she didn't want this to be the cause of another setback and the thought of the Weasleys being shocked by what was unveiled left her insides reeling. She thought of Fred, wondering how this would effect him and whether this could possibly be a cause for a setback in him, too. Had he been back to Hogwarts since the war? Had any of them? It seemed strange of Kingsley to expect them all to return to the scene that had left them all with so much damage while not giving them the incentive of immortalising their dead son. She lifted her head, having made a decision, before making eye contact with Kingsley.

"At least one of the Weasleys should know what to expect." she told him and saw his lips twitch upwards, though pretended not to notice as he collected himself swiftly and simply lifted one eyebrow.

"Do you have any suggestions?" he asked, an odd tone to his voice which she also chose to ignore.

"Fred," she all but demanded, choosing to ignore the glint in his eye, too, "and I should be the one to tell him."

"Of course." he replied and she didn't even question why he didn't have any demands of his own.