Chapter Notes
TW: emotional abuse, minor domestic violence.
A crush of wizards and witches in powdered wigs poured out into the hall, their chatting voices overlapping as they discussed lunch and memos. Face flushed with victory, Hermione began to gather up her things to join them.
They had done it. The Wizengamot had approved the SOCKS Act, her very first piece of proposed legislation. She'd had to amend Sections 14 and 19 to get all the necessary votes, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a huge win for elfish welfare at large. Several Ministry employees came to shake her hand before leaving the room, including the Minister for Magic himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt. He gave her a genial wink of congratulations.
When Hermione emerged from the elevator into the main hall of the Ministry, a huge roar of celebration nearly swept her off her feet. Reporters, Ministry employees, supporters of the SOCKS Act, and many elves themselves had shown up to hear the outcome of today's hearing in person.
She was immediately pulled into the crowd, feeding into the frenzied energy of their collective victory.
Fittingly, the supporters all seemed to have brought extra pairs of socks to wave above their heads, causing a cheery flurry of color to hover in the air. Cameras popped and smoked. Hermione felt her cheeks becoming cramped from her huge smile.
"Hermione!" called a familiar voice. "You did it!"
"Harry!" she said, allowing herself to be crushed in her friend's familiar embrace. Ginny came to give her a hug as well, beaming widely.
"WE did it!" shouted another voice.
Ron stepped forward, pulling her into such a tight hug that she was swept off her feet. Several cameras flashed, catching the moment between them. When he set her down, he drew her to his side, firmly holding her shoulders as he shouted, "WE DID IT! WE PASSED SOCKS!" with his fist in the air. The crowd around them erupted anew, and a rainbow of socks rained down upon
Tham
She recognized several other faces in the crowd. The Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, clapped nearby, and in the far corner she spotted Hagrid, hollering louder than anyone else and waving a red woolen stocking that was roughly the size of a bathtub. Several people began to direct her to stand on the raised edge of the fountain in the center of the hall, calling for a speech.
"Today,"
' she said loudly, pausing to allow the crowd to settle a bit. Reporters crammed themselves closer, posing their quills on parchment for her words. "Today is an historic day for magical creatures everywhere," she said, pausing again for loud cheering and thumping all around the hall.
"The 'Stop the Oppression of Creatures, show Kinship and Solidarity Act, or the SOCKS Act, is
the work of many incredible people and magical creatures alike. However, I would like to give a special thanks to.
Her voice had cracked. The hall had become very quiet while they waited for her to continue.
Hermione swallowed hard, then tried again.
"A very special thanks to Dobby, the bravest elf I've ever met, who was the inspiration for this act.
If Dobby had been here to see it, he would be overcome with joy to know that his fellow elves are now, like he was, free from enslavement," she said, failing to keep the tears out of her voice.
Harry's voice came from somewhere nearby, shouting "Hear, hear!" Applause followed his words, and more socks waved in the air. Several other people joined Harry, and a chorus of shouts for Dobby rang through the hall.
Swallowing her tears, Hermione continued.
"Every magical creature deserves respect and freedom, and today, we have taken a large step in that direction." More cheers followed that statement. "Miss Granger!" called a voice from the front of the crowd.
A brunette woman wearing vibrant red robes stepped forward, holding a large, plumed quill at the ready. Hermione recognized her instantly, but she introduced herself anyway.
*Johanna Wolcroft, Daily Prophet reporter," she said with a smile. "Can you tell us more about the changes that were made to the act before it passed? Is it true that elves will be paid less than wizards for their work?"
Murmurs and whispers followed Johanna's question. Hermione fought to keep her expression neutral as she responded.
Unfortunately, Section 14 of the act, which stated that magical creatures employed by wizards shall be paid wages comparable to those earned by wizards, was negotiated out of the final provision," she said.
No cheerful socks waved in the air at that.
"So, in theory, someone could hire an elf to work for a single Knut per month? Is that much better than outright slavery, in the end?" Johanna asked pointedly.
Hexes popped into Hermione's mind, each idea uglier than the last. Of course Johanna would only ask about the downsides of the bill.
"While we have made enormous progress today," Hermione responded diplomatically, "it is true that this was not a complete victory. There is still more to be done, and more minds to change. You can rest assured that I will never give up in the fight for equal rights for all magical creatures, and with the help of everyone here today, we will continue this work. This is only the beginning." Clapping, stomping, and whistling followed this statement. Looking subdued, Johanna melted back into the line of reporters.
"I would very much like you all to hear from two of the incredible elves who bravely supported this act from the beginning, Ignoma and Kreacher," Hermione said, holding out her hand to gesture
to the elves in the crowd.
She stepped down, giving both elves handshakes in front of the cameras, before they took her place on the edge of the fountain. As this didn't give them much more height, the reporters in front had
to kneel
Kreacher gave a long and gravelly speech, thanking every single member of S.P.E. W., which had grown to a considerable mass, compared to what it had been when Hermione had started it at Hogwarts. Next to him, Ignoma, a precocious young elf wearing a tiny pink suit, beamed brightly.
She had joined S.P.E. W. a few years earlier after finding a generous employer to work for.
Hermione had come to rely heavily on her assistance while they campaigned to pass the SOCKS
Act. Ignoma deserved every bit of the attention she got today
By the time Hermione found herself walking back to her office on Level 4, she had shaken hundreds of hands and had taken dozens of photographs. Ron had given her a peck goodbye, promising further celebration when she got home. Harry and Ginny had left with him, holding hands as they gave her their final congratulatory remarks.
As the door of her office closed and silence weighed down on her, Hermione felt suddenly lightheaded. The relief of the SOCKS Act passing, coupled with the fact that she had hardly eaten all day due to nerves, left her feeling rather faint. She slumped into her chair, wondering it she had any snacks still hidden in one of her desk drawers.
A light knock sounded on the door, and Hermione bade the visitor to enter.
Ignoma walked in, still smiling brightly and holding a large, silver envelope.
"Ignoma has a letter for you, madam," she squeaked, placing it atop a neat pile of paperwork on Hermione's desk.
"Thank you, dear. Is this another note from your mysterious employer?" Hermione said, taking the
"It is indeed, madam," Ignoma replied with a wink. "He stopped by today for a bit. Wanted to show his support and make sure you got this."
Nearly four years previously, S.P.E.W. received its very first charitable donation, its giver preferring to remain anonymous. That was the day that Ignoma had shown up on Hermione's doorstep, dressed in a proper little suit and offering to help her cause. Every few months, Ignoma came to her office with silver envelopes exactly like this one, addressed to "The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. They always contained a Gringotts bank slip granting 150 Galleons to her organization. This donor, whom Hermione had never had the pleasure of thanking in person, had been a big part of the reason that the SOCKS Act had passed today.
"And he still won't agree to meet with me?" Hermione prompted.
"Afraid not, madam," Ignoma replied with a sly smile. "But I will pass your thanks along to him." With a cheery wave, Ignoma stepped out of Hermione's office and closed the door.
Carefully, she slipped a letter opener into the top of the envelope, slitting the heavy, silver parchment open.
When she peeked inside, there was no paper. No note, no bank slip nothing. Confused, Hermione looked up again, and gasped.
Hundreds of flowers, in varying shades of lavender, violet, and bright gold, had filled her office.
Marigolds, lavender, yellow roses, lilies, sunflowers, violets, and many others bloomed from all around her, filling her small office with their lovely scent. They appeared to sprout from every cabinet, every corner of her floor, every stack of papers. Several bunches of them climbed up the walls, adorning even the corners of the ceilings.
Astonished, she looked back at the envelope. This time, a card had appeared inside. She pulled it out, finding only a single word written in a familiar, elegant script.
Congratulations.
Smiling broadly, Hermione took a deep breath, inhaling the beautiful fragrance of the gift. The donations were always a godsend, but this... this touched something in her soul. For the millionth time, she wished she could thank this man in person.
The door swung open.
"Hermione, I forgot, did you-"
Ron stopped speaking abruptly, looking around at her office.
Hermione's heart dropped.
"What's.. all this?" Ron asked slowly, looking around at all the flowers.
"Oh! Erm, remember that anonymous donor for S.P.E.W. I told you about? Er, well, I guess he sent all this-as a congratulations!" she said brightly, hoping desperately that he was not thinking what she thought he was.
"That rich prick? The one who keeps sending you money?" Ron said.
Hermione attempted to keep her voice calm.
"He's not sending me money, Ron. He's sending it to S.P.E.W.! He's a generous, anonymous benefactor for the organization I've never even met him
Ron surveyed the room, a suspicious frown on his face. Nervously, Hermione swallowed, waiting
for the bomb to drop.
She needn't have waited long.
"See, Hermione. This is what I'm talking about. I know you're lying to me," Ron said, the muscles in his jaw jumping in anger.
Hermione tried to breathe evenly.
"Ron, not now. We can talk about this when I get ho"
"And when will that be?" Ron shouted. "Midnight? Again?!"
"Muffliato," Hermione whispered, pointing her wand at the door. The rest of the Ministry did not need to know about her personal problems. Ron ignored her, continuing to raise his voice.
"All these late nights, Hermione! All those secret owls you keep getting!"
"I'm working, Ron! And those are proprietary Ministry owls--they're for my eyes only!"
"And now a room full of flowers!" Ron didn't seem to be listening anymore. "Do you think I'm stupid?! Do you think I haven't figured out what's going on?!"
Hermione closed her eyes, fighting back tears.
"Nothing is going on, Ron," she said. The phrase came out exhausted from overuse.
Ron stared at her, shaking with anger, waiting for her to say more. Hermione could only stand there, eyes cast downward, hands trembling where they were clasped in her lap.
When Ron spoke again, it was with a tone of quiet fury that sent a shiver down her back.
"I was gonna wait to do this. I wasn't gonna do this today. I wanted you to have your moment." He sighed, his jaw working. "But I can see that it's pointless to wait."
"Wait for what, Ron?" Hermione said, her voice trembling.
He pulled something from the pocket of his cloak and held it up for her to see. It was a small vial of clear liquid, stopped with a cork. With dread, Hermione recognized it immediately.
"Veritaserum?" she said, breathless.
Ron fiddled with the bottle as he spoke.
"I want you to take some of this, and then tell me you're not cheating on me. It's the only way I'll
trust you.
Ron looked up, waiting.
Hermione collapsed in her office chair, dumbfounded.
The silence between them stretched on so long, Hermione began to doubt the passage of time.
Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she would wake up, and Ron would be normal again. Not this paranoid, awful version she had come to know.
The worst part of it all was that even if she wanted to, she couldn't take the potion.
Not because she was cheating she wasn't. That was the truth.
But because she knew he would ask her about the night she had left in the middle of an argument with him.
The night she had gone for a drink at a bar.
The night she had bared her soul to, of all people, Draco Malfoy.
If he found out about that, it wouldn't matter that she hadn't cheated. That would be betrayal enough.
Making her decision, she stood. After another beat of silence, she found the strength to say what she had dreaded saying for so long.
"No."
He stared at her, rage pulsing in the veins of his forehead, waiting as if she would change her
answer.
She didn't.
"That's it, then? No?" he asked.
'No," she repeated. "If you don't trust me, Ron, then I'm afraid I can't continue this relationship with you.
He opened his mouth to start speaking, but Hermione had had enough. She slashed her wand through the air, crying "Silencio!" as she did.
The shout Ron had been about to release died in his throat. He looked at her with such shock and rage that she didn't even recognize him.
"You've said everything you have to say, Ron. It's my turn to talk now," Hermione said, seating herself once more. On either side, flowers caressed her arms, giving her the fortification she
needed, and the reminder of her power. Her voice was surprisingly steady when she spoke again.
"I've done nothing wrong, Ron. I've told you over and over, I've done nothing wrong. The only mistake I made was trying to convince myself that a relationship with you is more important than my work. But honestly," Hermione sighed, looking around her office, "it's not. People depend on me, Ron! Thousands of magical creatures depend on the work I do every day. And I can't go home to someone who thinks they should be more important than that."
Ron looked devastated. This would be the final blow: confirmation that he was not as important as her work. He had accused her of putting work first, of not caring enough about him, for nearly the entire duration of their relationship. When that hadn't worked to get her home sooner, he had resorted to accusations of cheating. At this point, their trust had been broken beyond all repair.
Hermione was ending things, once and for all.
"TIl leave the flat."
Hermione continued. Needing an anchor for this bit, Hermione chose to stare
at the silver envelope on her desk. "I'll stay with Ginny and Harry for a bit. Might go and see my parents. But I'm done, Ron. I'm breaking up with you."
CRASH!
Hermione jumped out of her seat as the sound of Ron's fist smashing through her office wall hit her
cans
Quickly, she lifted the Muffliato spell and sent a note flying like the wind out her door. Security would arrive in moments. Ron continued to crash around her office, ripping flowers from their stems. To his fury, they all seemed to grow back instantly, as perfect as ever. This sent him into a blind rage, and he began ripping the flowers out of their arrangements and hurling them around the room, crashing into filing cabinets and stacks of parchment as he went.
Just as Hermione was about to use Petrificus Totalus on him, for his protection as much as her own, security surged into the room. Wizards wearing gray Ministry cloaks bore down on Ron,
using their own wands to restrain him instead.
"BAHHHRGH!" The noise burst from Ron as the silencing charm wore off. "HERMIONE!
DON'T DO THIS! NO!"
One of the security guards silenced him again. The man turned to Hermione, taking in her stricken expression and tear-stained cheeks.
"Are you alright, Granger?" he asked professionally.
"Y-yes. I think so. But he needs to leave now," she said. Her voice had become small.
She couldn't look at Ron, who she knew was glaring daggers at her from his restrained position next to the other security guard.
"Yes, madam. We'll see him out," the guard said, and they swept Ron out of the room.
In the silent, half-destroyed room, Hermione sank to the floor. Panic crawled up her throat, gripping at her heart along the way. She took a moment to control her breathing, pulling her knees
Into ner chest.
All around her, among upturned cabinets and a mess of parchment, the flowers sat perfectly unharmed, silently wishing her congratulations.
In the corner, Hermione spotted something shiny. She reached under the parchment that partially obscured it and held it up.
The vial of truth serum.
She thought about smashing it to pieces for a moment but held off. Instead. She pocketed the bottle. You never know when you might need a little truth serum.
Numbly, Hermione stood up. Waving her wand, she righted her office. Parchment flew back into neat stacks, bits of the wall fit back together again, seamlessly wiping away the evidence of Ron's anger with her.
Gravity seemed to be worked extra hard on her. Slowly, she seated herself in her chair. She needed to think.
She needed to talk to someone.
Her mind immediately went to Ginny, but she thought twice. Ginny was Ron's sister, and even though Hermione was certain Ginny would take her side, she didn't want to cause a rift in the Weasley family. The same went for Harry, who was just as much a part of the family now as any of the Weasley children.
The thought of confiding in her parents was nauseating at the moment. Their relationship hadn't been the same ever since Hermione had tracked them down and removed their memory charms.
Confessing that she was having relationship problems to two people whom she had once betrayed so thoroughly felt hollow and wrong.
Hermione paced around her office, wringing her hands.
She knew who she wanted to talk to, of course. But it wouldn't be right, bringing Draco into this mess. They had only talked the once, weeks ago now. It wasn't like they were really friends.
Besides, she had already hurt Ron so much tonight. Going behind his back to complain about him to his least favorite person in the world seemed like something of a bad idea.
Cursing, Hermione sat herself back in her chair, feeling stuck.
That had always been the problem with dating Ron. She didn't have anyone she could truly confide in, not completely. When issues arose, Hermione had to work them out alone, every time. It was isolating, and it made her feel as though she was keeping some terrible secret from everyone she loved.
With a deep breath, Hermione made her decision. She pulled out a piece of parchment and began to address a letter.