To Her

Mondays

Hermione had a hate/love relationship with Monday mornings. She loves researching and reading, being enveloped by texts and the written words that fell upon them. The idea of being inside the mind of the writer, imagining the inner workings of their brain form the sentences that her eyes laid upon. It was like a passage through history. Putting yourself in the shoes of the writer, feeling empathetic as they continuously scribbled and crossed out words that didn't quite catch the essence of their intention, before they'd perfectly written their train of thought and brought the story to life.

Of course, it was usually just the text that she's read close to a hundred times, and it was purely for research purposes. But she felt as though she were living in it, nonetheless. The part of Monday mornings that she hated was actually trying to make herself, and her wild mane, presentable after a weekend of being in her natural state. Muggle jeans and a jumper, letting her hair roam free. She had a small variety of work-appropriate wear and could put together well-enough outfits that weren't completely obscene, all thanks to Taura who has a small knack for fashion and a better eye than she did.

She looked at herself in her bedroom mirror and studied herself before getting dressed for work. She didn't view herself as the prettiest witch, but she supposed she wasn't ghastly to look at. Her figure was proportionate, and she'd noticed that it filled out more since her days at Hogwarts. But she didn't imagine she was anything special. The way people carry themselves and treat others was much more valuable than any looks they may possess. She valued and praised people with a good head on their shoulders.

Slim fitting navy blue trousers and a white blouse? That looked acceptable, she thought. Then she remembered that she would be meeting with Malfoy daily from now on and that oddly inspired her to look more polished. She decided to switch the trousers to her more fitted, cream plaid-patterned ones and paired them with her usual black pumps. She wasn't big on accessories, nor did she have any.

She looked in her mirror once again and thought highly of the outfit she'd pieced together by herself. Before flooing to the Ministry, she had to kiss her furry flatmate goodbye.

She said good morning to Taura, who was always at her desk already filing documents before Hermione even arrived. Taura followed her into her office.

"Good morning, boss. How was your weekend?" Taura smiled as she set Hermione's coffee on her desk.

Hermione shrugged and set her things on her desk before she sat. "Uneventful, as usual. Although, I tried to make a bacon cheeseburger but ended up almost burning my place down. I completely forgot that I was cooking the patty when I was reading the letters. Daft of me, really." She huffed a laugh.

Taura looked at her confused. "Letters?"

Hermione's stomach dropped as she looked at Taura with wide eyes. "Merlin, don't tell me I'd forgotten to tell you," Taura gave her a look telling her to go on, "I received a package of unaddressed, unsigned letters close to a week and a bit ago. Well, I'm assuming they were written to me since they were sent to me. The most curious thing." She sipped her coffee.

Taura rested in the chair across from Hermione, her face turning into a look of confusion. "Letters? Sent to you without a return address or anything. This is either mirrors a horror film or the greatest love story ever." She said intriguingly.

Hermione nodded as she smiled. "I've opened and read a couple. They seemed to have been written to me in my last years at Hogwarts, and the writer fancied me, so I'm hoping it's more of the greatest love story theory. It's an intriguing mystery trying to determine the writer. So far, I've come to believe it's the Blaise Zabini bloke I've mentioned to you."

"Curious, indeed. I heard he got placed in the Magical Games and Sports Department. Should we take up a game of quidditch this week after work to take notes? You know, for research purposes and possibly some conversation starters." She smirked at Hermione, making Hermione's cheeks turn a bright red.