Fulfilling Obligations (Harmione)

Chapter 43: Suspicions

Hermione batted almost subconsciously at one of the flying memos that threatened to embed itself in her mane of hair. When the second one did the same, she wrapped her fingers loosely over her vinewood wand and murmured Finite, causing the tiny paper memos to collapse limply upon her desk.

She swiped the memos to the side until she could finish the report she was reading.

It was early Saturday at the Ministry of Magic, and as such there were few people milling about. By all rights she shouldn't have been there either, but there had been a few very important cases she had wanted to complete before she could fully enjoy her weekend. The files themselves contained little of value - they were mostly blank, at least to her eyes - but certain elements of the files were required to achieve approval from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The reports, being from the Department of Mysteries, were of utmost secrecy and only revealed things on a need-to-know basis. In fact, she found that more often than not she could remember very little of what she had just read when the file was out of her sight. The procedure was more for show than anything, and once they got the faux-approval from the DMLE, the Unspeakables would send the final project summary to the Minister himself.

However, Hermione knew that the Unspeakables could be an impatient lot when it came to beginning a new project, and she wanted to complete the reports as soon as possible.

Hermione yawned as she flipped the file shut and tucked it into the box on her desk.

Her career track had been a little hectic since she had switched departments, and the changes occurred so rapidly she was usually just becoming accustomed to one role when it would be exchanged for another. Or worse yet, another role would simply be added to her other responsibilities. Less than three years ago she had barely been more than a glorified intern in the Department, and now she was a high-ranking official for the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. She liked to think her quick climb through the ranks had nothing to do with her friendship with Harry, but she suspected it was a contributing factor. But she knew her skills and dedication were also being noted. As Harry had informed her, there was even a rumbling of her being offered a position with the Wizengamot, a rare enough offer to a witch of -

"Is there any particular reason you're here on a Saturday? And on your birthday no less?"

Hermione looked up from one of the memos she had pulled before her and raised an eyebrow at Harry, framed within the doorjamb of her office.

This was one of the perks of having switched departments. Hermione was both unspeakably pleased and mildly flustered at having Harry a few doors down from her. By working on the second level, it was fairly common for her to see not only Harry, but also Ron, Arthur, and Mitch at regularly intervals throughout her workday. Hermione had to admit that it was a very pleasant work environment, even if it was a little distracting.

"A few reasons, actually," Hermione said, returning her attention to one of the memos detailing a dispute between two goblin clans over ownership of a particular vault in Gringotts. "Namely the whole employment thing."

"Ah, that," Harry said, stepping into her office. "A bit of a drag if you ask me."

"It pays the bills," Hermione said. "And you're one to talk. When was the last Saturday that you didn't come into work?"

"Well that's what happens when you're a Division Head," Harry said. "As you should also know. I won't be here much longer, though. Birthday party to attend."

"Is that your way of implying I should speed things up so the guest of honor will actually be there?"

"Something like that," Harry said. "So how does it feel to be thirty?"