Hello Love

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬

It was Friday and Hermione was slumped over her desk. She was utterly exhausted, it had been a long day and her shoulders felt tense. She rolled her shoulders forward and massaged the muscles on the base of her neck, releasing some of the tension that was locked there.

She had been working with Kingsley all day long, or minister as she was ordered to call him. They had been fighting in The Battle as equals, but that was no longer the case when he became minister of magic. There were still Death Eaters around and there were rumours that they were planning a rebellion. It was Hermione's task to find out if the rumours were true, but it was difficult to pinpoint a source and it had given her multiple migraines over the last month.

'Mrs Weasley?' she heard a timid voice say. She looked up from her desk at the thin frame of her secretary, her short wispy blonde hair was tousled and her eyebrows were scrunched.

'Melody, you can just call me Hermione.' Said Hermione with a sigh. 'These formalities are not necessary.'

'I ought to call you Mrs. Weasley.' She said rejected. 'The minister will have my head if I don't.'

'Of course.' Said Hermione thin-lipped. 'What is it?'

'I didn't see any appointments in the calendar for the upcoming week, are you taking a week off?' she asked as she nervously shifted her weight between her legs.

'I am.' Said Hermione with a small smile. 'It has been hectic these last months, I deserve a breather.'

'Where are you going?' asked Melody. 'You know, just to reassure me and the minister.' She added quickly.

'Cornwall.' She said, 'I'm going to Cornwall.'

'Are you travelling alone?' asked Melody.

'That is none of your concern.' Said Hermione with a small nod. 'Was that all? It's late and I really like to go home.'

'Y-yes.' Said Melody with a firm nod. 'Alright, have fun on your trip.'

'Thank you Melody.'

⪼⪼✦⪻⪻

When Hermione apparated into the small flat that she and Ron lived in, she noticed that he wasn't home. She frowned and tried to think where he could be at this hour, but she quickly shrugged it off. He was probably at Harry's, they were both aurors anyway, and they had been working together the last three years.

He barely passed his exams and Hermione had helped him more than once so he could achieve his goal in becoming an auror. He had been incredibly lucky and Hermione didn't even know how he managed to pass at all. It was probably due to their fame, the golden trio. Two of them aurors, and one of them landing a ministry job. It was expected of them, the tabloids wrote about nothing less, but it felt confining.

Everyone expected that Hermione married Ron, that she would become the minister of magic because she was the smartest witch of her age. Even though she really wanted to work at the ministry, to have a purpose in her life, she also felt as if she was in an iron vice.

Hermione turned on the shower and slipped out of her clothes. Maybe a warm shower would ease the tense feeling and her worried thoughts.

She let the hot water run over her head and shoulders, it was nearly scalding hot, exactly the temperature she liked. Ron always showered luke-warm and that irritated her enormously. She closed her eyes, she didn't want to think of Ron at the moment. Things were not going well between them lately. She clenched her fists at her sides, and slowly breathed out through her mouth.

The water soothed her tense muscles and she just started to relax when there was an audible pop in the living room. Her eyes snapped open, Ron.

'Mione!!!' he yelled. 'Where are you!' she heard him stumble about and he knocked over a piece of furniture. She groaned, he was drunk again.