The Right Thing To Do

Chapter 2

Hermione got all the way back to her desk without breathing. At least it felt that way. The logical part of her brain – her whole brain – knew that she must have been breathing the whole time, but she was gasping by the time she'd reached Level 4.

She sat at her desk for several minutes, waiting for her blood to slow, and it wasn't until then that she'd realized she left her wand downstairs. She closed her eyes and pushed on her temples. How idiotic.

"Granger."

Hermione released her temples to see her coworker, Aiden O'Connor, standing at the corner of her cubicle, eating a banana. What a foul thing to do.

"You had your Wizengamot thing this morning, yeah?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "How'd it go? Is the git getting the Kiss?" He smiled at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Actually, Aiden, I volunteered to testify on his behalf."

The banana stopped halfway to his mouth. His jaw went slack for a moment. "Is that right? Apologies. I thought the two of you didn't get on."

Aiden was one year behind her at Hogwarts. He was also in Gryffindor, so she assumed he had seen enough of Malfoy's and her interactions over the years to support that idea.

"We didn't. It just – It was the right thing to do. Not every mistake deserves a life sentence in Azkaban."

Aiden's eyebrows lifted and the corners of his mouth turned downwards. She assumed this meant "Meh! You're right!" but she couldn't be sure because the smell of banana was engulfing her.

"So magnanimous. But I guess that's to be expected of the 'Golden Girl.'" He grinned at her and started to walk away. "Oh, Mathilda wants those notes on the Welsh Green egg this afternoon if you can."

"Of course. Thank you, Aiden." Hermione watched him leave, scowling.

He knew she hated the terms "Golden Girl" and "Golden Trio" and that is why he used them so often. When she interviewed at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures two months ago, she had submitted her resume under a false name. When Mathilda Grimblehawk saw Hermione Granger walk into her office, she flipped her tea over all the papers on her desk and asked Hermione if there was anything she could do for her. Hermione insisted that she be given no partial treatment simply because she was a war heroine, and insisted on starting at an entry level position and working her way up through the Ministry. Even though the Office for House-Elf Relocation was her main goal, she had been assigned into the Beast division of the Department. Hermione was determined to move within departments and up the ladder based on merits and talents alone, not on her fame.

Ron had done the exact opposite, flaunting his status in articles for the Prophet. About a month after the Battle of Hogwarts Rita Skeeter asked him what he'd like to do next, and when he said he wanted to play Quidditch for the best team to have him, the offers poured in for weeks. He'd been gone for almost a year in Ireland, coming by only once a month or so to visit. He never brought home any of the girls he'd been dating, but Hermione had seen them pictured together. Molly Weasley was blind to all this, of course, insisting that Hermione should join Arthur and her for a visit to Ireland. A year ago, when Hermione was headed back to Hogwarts for her "eighth year" and Ron was headed to Ireland, she told him they should take this time apart and keep their options open. She didn't mean that open.

Harry had fallen somewhere in the middle. No stranger to fame and Rita Skeeter's probing articles, he was almost comfortable as the center of the wizarding world. He had gladly accepted a position as an Auror last summer, despite not having taken his N.E.W.T. exams. His only saving grace was Ginny, who didn't much care for the spotlight. Hermione and Ginny had gotten close after sharing dorms for their last year of Hogwarts, as Hermione had been the only Gryffindor "eighth year" girl to come back to school. They'd rented a flat after Molly had promptly forbid Ginny and Harry from moving in together upon Ginny's graduation. Ginny generally spent the evenings and nights at Harry's, but Hermione got to see her often enough.