I am sure some of us read J.K on X. This idea came from something she said about Ron and Hermione, I don't remember when.
That and a reference to one of my favorite songs ever. For those who pay attention to detail and like to find easter eggs from time to time.
Going to work on a caffeine overdose, with barely any sleep, Hermione Jane Granger was past her boiling point, maybe nearing her breaking point. But she couldn't have that luxury, too much rested on her shoulders.
Her week seemed to be straight up from the script of a cheap comedy, everything that could go wrong, went off with a bang. She hadn't been able to research and prepare to her heart's content since her daughter was teething and as such, demanded a lot of time. She couldn't really count on Ron since he seemed to be buried in a lot of work all of a sudden (just when she was preparing for a battle in the Wizengamot) even if she suspected foul play there wasn't anything she could do about it. It wasn't as if she could just march up to the head auror and complain about his overworking her husband half to death. Least of all just so she could do her own overworking!
But her last straw, the one that broke the camel's back, was when he left for some last minute mission that had been dropped on him and she couldn't even revise before the main event… he came back just in the nick of time, when she was beginning to panic and considering to flu Molly and just deal with her disapproval… just as she was walking to the door and slipping on her robes.
Rose wailed and when Ron went to pick her up, the toddler was seemingly decided on not letting her go. Her daughter stared at her with big fat tears running down her chubby cheeks, her little arms extended in the universal sign for toddlers who wanted to be picked up. Hermione wouldn't be moved; she cursed herself silently yet again for yielding to pressure. Yeah, right, everything would be just fine if she didn't plan everything in her life and she just let go a little. Let them be the ones to deal with the consequences, then. Of course, meddling didn't account to actual cooperation from the meddler.
Hardening her resolve and feigning ignorance she stepped out feeling slightly vindicated when Ron's cursing could be heard over Rose's wailing. But she couldn't be bothered to stay, not today.
Everything had to be perfect today.
In her defense, she had told Ron -enough times to be considered nagging and obsessive- that she had something big at work. The last time it almost ended up in a row. They said things that she didn't want repeated and for the first time she had considered leaving him.
How could he demand her to throw everything? Why couldn't he? And how were they supposed to afford their house if she did?
A line had been crossed. Even if he apologized- albeit reluctantly- it wasn't as if she could just unheard what he had said. He had thrown some heavy words there that she couldn't ignore. She wasn't precisely thrilled with motherhood, which was right. But it was because she knew exactly what to expect. She wasn't ready and he wasn't either and none of them wanted to concede.
Alas, reality is here. Their child was born and they had to get over themselves for her sake.
He just threw things her way and made comments that sounded as if they came out of his mother's mouth. Yes, she loved her child even if she didn't really want to have another child. And she didn't think it was necessary to abandon everything else to be a stay at home mom. Most importantly, she didn't want to. That wasn't a crime and if he wanted to get married to a younger version of his mother then she wasn't the go to girl for that.
If they didn't want to get divorced, they needed help.
Do wizards even know what therapy is? They certainly needed some if they couldn't sit down and reason like adults.
She could be both, a mother and someone who had a career; her parents had raised her to be that and even more. And she wouldn't settle for less. Yes, she mad married young but it didn't mean she would give everything up. It wasn't as if they married because she was pregnant. Rose hadn't been planned, but she couldn't bring herself to abort. Ron wouldn't have let her either.
But whenever something like this happened she couldn't help but think… how things could've gone if she didn't have Rose now.
She just knew something will come up and he'd forget or fail for whatever reason when she needed him to take care of their daughter. Deep down she knew it couldn't be good to think about her husband like that, but evidence was hard to refute. And no, it wasn't Molly's or her own mothers business to step in when they weren't called and she didn't want to depend on them. Molly could be cutting with her remarks and Hermione didn't want to deal with that, or her own mother getting angry over her overbearing mother in law.
The meeting had been rescheduled four hours later and no one had let her know, she wasn't surprised, but this time it worked to her advantage. Maybe she could get some sleep, right?
Hell, she certainly needed at least a blink of it…
She should've known better, ever since she had started working in the Ministry and had to climb her way through bureaucrats, nepotism and blood prejudice, things never ended up good when she trusted last minute changes in the schedule. It was in their nature not to give in and try and sabotage her however they saw fit. Some just couldn't get around how things were and saw her as a menace to their way of life.
That clerks and departments heads alike shared their dislike of her and had worked against her goals today; not to mention lots of times before. One might say she walked on the trap willingly.
She had slipped but it wasn't irreparable. She still could make it.
Now, thinking more in deep…
It definitely wasn't a coincidence that Harry and Ron had been buried in paperwork, patrols and cases to solve since she announced her postulation to the legislation committee. As the only muggleborn that had dared to do so. Her record and backup had made it impossible to dismiss her directly even if they itched to do so. Everyone could tell, really. She was even surprised it didn't make the newspapers but suspected some galleons were to thank for that reprieve.
Her secretary told her the meeting would be held in four hours. She hadn't lied, technically speaking, Hermione's presentation was indeed in four hours, but she had to be present since the beginning, how else could she develop her counterarguments to the projects presented by others? Yes, there had been changes to the program, the main one being that their presentations for law projects and reforms had been moved up and the ordinary session was further down the schedule. Surely something done to mess with her planning or benefit one of her rivals.
Coffee wasn't enough to cut it anymore, no.
She wasn't supposed to even have coffee since she was still breastfeeding Rose, but her daughter wouldn't die if she had to drink from the bottle or in the worst case scenario, baby formula until everything got out of her system. It couldn't be helped.
"Mrs. Bone, I am not to be disturbed under any circumstances, am I understood?" - Her assistant nodded and gave her a wide berth. If she still had a job it was mostly because she was efficient as much as she was a malicious cow. And she didn't have too much to choose from. Bathilda Bone knew when it was time to obey her boss. This was one such day. No matter if it was Merlin himself, she wouldn't be bothering her.
Hermione was running late by 2 hours to the briefing and presentation in the Wizengamot, the schedule of the event spread on her chaotic desk, she started to plan her countermeasure. There wasn't a lot she could do about entering late, and some might attack her for it.
Whoever had managed to feed the wrong information to her assistant or dissuaded her to misinform had shown they didn't have qualms on playing dirty, at this point; she wouldn't pull her punches either. Even if it meant resorting to the most unlikely allies, if it was money and blood purity that moved them, maybe she could pull something out.
Time was running out and if she didn't pull this off then her name wasn't Hermione Granger.
The last thing Draco Malfoy expected at this time was to get an owl from the Ministry, concretely speaking, from one Hermione Granger- Weasley now- and she wanted his backup and investment in one law project to protect muggleborns and half-blood children.
It was short notice since the presentation was today and he really didn't have time to read all it entailed… but if he did this it would certainly anger a lot of people who wanted a piece of the Malfoy wealth and had been too overjoyed when they thought his family wouldn't rise up again.
Even if the Malfoy name didn't hold the sway it used to, he still managed to salvage some of his heritage, thanks to Potter, ironically enough.
Doing this for Granger had to count as a favor to Potter. And getting others to endorse this as well had to be plus points. Then he could go back to conveniently ignore them whenever they crossed paths, right?
Getting her proposal that was previously bereft of support, sealed by seven pureblood families was something she hadn't expected and she definitely owed Malfoy for this. The widening of eyes from the main clerk of the session had been satisfying to see, Hermione had to contain her glee. It seemed some of her most brilliant ideas came from sleep deprivation. As well as some habits she'd rather forget.
Barely containing her yawns and over conscious of the bags under her eyes, she struggled to ignore the malicious smirks sent her way, when the word spread that her project was endorsed by purebloods, she had enjoyed the quiet outrage that broke through the ranks of her opposition. Surely hey must know how these particular families had a bone to pick with the Ministry, particularly with the Wizengamot for the seizing of a hefty part of their patrimony after the war. Even if they had to fund the application of the law project she presented, they did this to spite the same people who wanted to bleed them dry of galleons.
Malfoy really could hold a grudge, not that she blamed him. The man worked with Gringotts! that had to give a message on how much he cared about profits. For Merlin's sake! It had been useful for her ultimate goal and countless children will benefit from this.
Things were looking up.
Maybe she could make it. After months of preparation and all the obstacles on the road, she could see the finish line even if it wasn't really the end. But picturing the beginning of it might be jinxing it.
The children will get the care they deserved and luckily she´ll get her dream job position or at least, a foot in the door.
Yes, she won. But she couldn't care any less as she ran.
She didn't even care how it looked for anyone who might be watching and she didn't have the time to seethe at the malicious satisfaction shown at her expense. She finished her presentation and the law had been approved when no one could counter her arguments and it had been confirmed and investigated that she counted with resources and backing to set it all into motion.
Really, the power of a seal was something she might not understand completely even after years of living in the magic world. The vicious clerk had delivered her message when Hermione was still elated by her success.
"Mrs. Weasley"- she said, stressing the name and looking at her with faux concern- "Your assistant was quite adamant about you not wishing to be disturbed but Auror Weasley has tried to reach you enough times as to collapse the flu in the legislation floor. It seems your child is sick. And they need you immediately at San Mungos. it must be difficult to balance all that work and a proper home life…"
When she finally made it to the pediatric floor, she didn't know how she looked but Ron sure was angry. He didn't explode or anything and she was surprised he was here alone; while she made her way here she imagined all kind of scenarios…
It never crossed her mind that maybe Ron didn't flu anyone. She almost preferred his explosive temper to this… cold rage. Even as she was exhausted beyond her years and barely functional as all the adrenaline had fled her system as soon as she arrived. She was thankful of the reprieve, the empty hallway and no Molly Weasley looking at her as if she was unworthy for wanting a successful career and a family all at once.
"Fancy seeing you here, really. What finally got through to you? Was it the Patronus or the hundred times I asked your assistant where were you? Hell, not even Merlin himself was important enough to be disturbed over. Rose didn't even stand a chance.
Unable to meet his eye, she secretly cast silencing charms around; they didn't need the field day a shouting match in the hospital will give to any reporter. Even if they weren't Harry or Ginny, people still bothered them from time to time. She definitely didn't need the bad publicity.
"I get you want to do a lot of things at work. As if you have anything else to prove! Damn it everyone knows you already. Heck, some don't even know why you married me. But this is our daughter and I couldn't reach you anywhere! I actually had to beg that damn hag of the legislation committee. If this is the beginning I don't want to know how it's going to end."
"I'm not quitting"- she cut him.
. "You won't even ask what's wrong with Rose? Even now your main concern it's quitting?"- He sure sounded angrier now.
. "It can't be that serious if you focused on berating me instead of filling me in"- she said, with some bite.
And that did it, the famous red that crawled all over him when he lost it.
Those silencing charms came in handy. She braced herself for the next thing that came out of his mouth, surprisingly, he didn't snap.
. "There you go again. Damn it Hermione." - Hands on his hair, and red face already. Yep, must be serious and she couldn't wait until he got around to say it- "Get your damn priorities straight! None of this mess would've happened if you had been reachable! And the first thing out of your mouth is that you're not quitting. Rose is in there with devil knows how many potions on her and you only think about work, woman!"
. "You never said anything about potions! Why potions?!"
Someone cleared their throat behind; a meek looking witch with a bun that reminded her of Professor McGonagall, she looked as she obviously waited to talk to them.
"I assume youre Mrs. Weasley. I came to give an update on Rose, it's good you are here. If you would follow me, thanks."
They walked silently, Ron was silently fuming and Hermione didn't feel like dealing with it, even if it was somehow deserved. It felt too unfair and beyond her capabilities as of right now.
The bed was enormous compared to their daughter; Rose was lying in the middle of a web of charms that glittered above her like some of Georges creations. She didn't know any of them.
"She´ll wake up hungry. I trust you can breastfeed her. Some of the charms and potions we gave her to stave off the worst of her accidental magic and cure some of her rashes can react horribly with muggle baby formula and we really don't recommend it…"
The sound that escaped her was halfway between a laugh and a sob. Ron looked at her warily; at least some of his anger seemed to have faded. The med witch didn't comment anything and left.
Is this how it felt going to hell for heaven's sake?
Long story short, Rose had her first bout of accidental magic and it had been so powerful that she managed to harm herself. It was something to be proud of, yes. But it also scared the living daylights out of Ron. She had been needed to help ground her daughter as the amount of magic that came out of her little body was past expectations and healers had to do some old fashioned ritual and literally improvise since she wasn't there and the ritual called specifically for the mother. But in her absence Ron had to make do. She arrived too late to do anything but breastfeed. But she couldn't since she had so many caffeine and energetic drinks in her system that her daughter wouldn't sleep until New Year if she even tried to feed her.
Even so, she always planned for emergencies. They said maternal milk but didn't specify if it had to be fresh. Getting that milk pump was worth every weird look and comment she got for buying it.
. "There are some bottles of milk in the fridge, I'll go get them"- she announced.
Ron didn't say anything, just sat and watched Rose as she left.
In the end it wasn't just the bottles, she filled Rose's bag with her essentials and packed a suitcase for her and Ron. Her portfolio was abandoned and she couldn't bring herself to pick it up. A break from work was advisable and also doable, for now. Getting out of the business suit and Wizengamot robes she settled for jeans and a t-shirt. Screw robes.
People though she was a lousy mother and blood purists would hate her regardless of her wardrobe.
When she made it to Rose's room, Ron was out cold sitting on a corner, a potions vial and a note picked her attention as she dropped the bags on the couch.
Turns out, the potion was for her. So she could get everything flushed from her system and breastfeed… that med witch could really read the room, shell give her that.
…
Rose had to stay for at least 3 days. Now that the open war for law reformations and postulations was over, she didn't have pressing matters at the office and they were too thrilled to grant her a paid leave if it served to postpone the inevitable. Ron had to come and go, even if he had less work – coincidently- he still have to cover shifts.
That left her with few options, she had to stay at San Mungos with Rose and get her meals here… and that made her privy to a well of information, mainly malicious gossip from the staff.
Some admittedly nasty comments about her whenever they thought she wasn't listening.
Apparently she was a dreadful mother since she couldn't be reached when Rose got in. ha, surprise there.
What could be more important than her child? Children were a priority! Such a wicked woman! – Such were the comments. Really, working here had to be the dullest thing ever if they had time to wag their tongues so much.
…
Rose ran through her office like a little storm, wreaking havoc and Hermione smiled a little sadistically as her assistant tried and failed to control the worst of her daughter's hyperactivity. Well, the Minister wanted all of this, yesterday. He was pleased with her management of the funds for war orphans and her placement of children born in abusive or hostile environments.
Spinner End Home was running smoothly, not everyone got where the name came from. Malfoy and Harry had agreed on it even if they clashed on pretty much everything else.
Her current predicament was related to some embezzled funds. Thankfully it hadn't been much.
Sitting on her desk, reviewing and signing reports and trying to get as much as possible done before she had to go on leave, her monster of a belly got in the way of things and she really felt like a whale, but needs were a must. She had to sign this today.
Ron had a mission with Harry, something about some death eater wannabes she couldn't care less about. Molly had made her disapproval clear- and been olimpically ignored- when Hermione refused to leave her department to her deputy and insisted on signing and reviewing till the last moment possible.
Thankfully, Ron stood by her. Their therapy was paying off. She had conceded to take a break from job at least for five months after giving birth and he set his foot down about accepting field missions that made him leave home at weird hours or for days on end. Compromise and negotiate, had worked wonders really.
Those days at the hospital with Rose felt like a lifetime ago, her lowest point had made way for what she had now.
Let them call her a dreadful mother again, maybe she could try her hand at some hexes and put the blame on the hormones.
She made it, and at the end of the day, they hated her because she didn't submit, she never will.