The Inspectorate for Elfish Labour Conditions [Dramione]

1 | Hermione

Music: Another Story, Nicholas Hooper (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

                 "Are you sure we don't have to come with you?" Ron asked for the umpteenth time, worriedly eyeing his girlfriend. He sat tilting in his chair, sipping his tea as he reached for another piece of toast. "Harry can easily make this an Auror-required mission, you know."

Hermione sighed and put her cutlery aside with a determined gesture. "Yes Ron, I'm absolutely sure. Nothing's going to happen to me and I'm not alone. I have my inspectors with me, and they are trained by your actual Aurors to deal with problematic situations. Besides," she said with a frown, "do I have to remind you that you don't even work in the Auror office anymore?"

For weeks, Ron had been trying to talk her into this and he simply refused to let it go. He didn't understand, though. Not really. This was why she had declined to be escorted by Harry's department over and over.

Her remark received a faint mumble in agreement from the bespectacled young man next to her, and she shot him grateful smile. He didn't notice, though, since he was currently hiding behind The Daily Prophet. Probably from Ron's annihilating look. It was clear as daylight that Ron had expected more support from his friend on this. But Harry actually seemed to agree with Hermione, though he was careful enough not to let himself be drawn into their discussion.

"Still, I don't like it," Ron grumbled, sitting back in his creaking chair and folding his arms before his chest in a displeased manner. But Hermione only shook her head at this and brought her dishes to the sink. Mrs Weasley's bewitched dishwashing brushes immediately set to work.

She gave Ron a quick peck on the cheek. "That's your problem. Get your cloak, Harry. We have to get going."

                   In a matter of seconds, the two of them arrived at the Ministry of Magic, emerging from one of the enormous Atrium fireplaces. It was six weeks until Christmas, and overnight the Ministry house-elves had adorned the stern reception area with dozens of sparkling Christmas trees. It was a true sight to behold and an indication that the festive season truly was around the corner. Hermione waved her goodbyes to Harry and began to wind her way through the masses of civil servants heading for the lifts. It took her several minutes before she reached the lift that would take her to the fourth level, and she suppressed a relieved sigh as the doors closed.

After completing her education at Hogwarts almost seven years ago, Hermione had enrolled in the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, thus finding a way of, as Ron always put it so encouragingly, getting paid for her loony obsession with house-elves. If it were up to Hermione, the wizarding practice of keeping house-elves as veritable slaves would have been abolished yesterday, but having learned from her experiences in school, she also knew that things often took time to change, even if they shouldn't, and so she decided to start sowing some of the seeds in her position in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Within a year, she had managed to cause quite a lot of disturbance in the once-sleepy office by initiating several projects aiming to improve the lives of house-elves and raise awareness about their position.

The latest development in her efforts was something she'd been working on for two years - the founding of a labour inspection copied from those already existing in the Muggle world. The inspectorate was to supervise and uphold the sharpened regulations on the treatment of house-elves - regulations which had been drafted by Hermione herself.

Once the Minister had indulgently approved of what he called 'her little project', she had started to select and train the inspectors, making sure that they would also receive a thorough training in defensive charms by both Aurors and Hit Wizards. Though Ron seemed to take a different view, Hermione was actually well aware of the dangerous situations the inspectors might come across while performing their duties. After all, most house-elves worked for the wealthy, old, Pureblood wizarding families whose ties with the Dark Side during the war had been a given. That's why she had decided to accompany them in the first place.