RP: Hermione's Ministry appointment

[rar_kingsley]

Date: 12 June 1998
Characters: Hermione Granger, Kingsley Shacklebolt
Location: Ministry of Magic
Status: Public
Summary: Hermione has a house elf-related request and she's taking it to the top.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_hermione]

It had been wonderful to see the boys for lunch. Despite living together, they were now spending their days doing other things most of the time, so she missed them, oddly enough. She did like having her space, but it was still such an adjustment after being around them constantly. After they left her back at Ollivander's, Hermione worked for another hour before she left to keep her appointment at the Ministry.

While she was pleased that Kingsley had agreed to meet with her, she still thought this wasn't important enough for him to deal with considering the state of everything else. Her doubts hadn't caused her to not contact him after hitting several dead ends while going through the proper channels, of course. Her focus could definitely have negative aspects sometimes. In this case, she just hoped that she wouldn't regret her decision to meet him.

Besides asking about Dobby, she did want to check on Kingsley and make sure he was doing well. He used to visit the Burrow for meals before Bill's wedding, so she got used to him being around. He actually spoke to her like she wasn't a stupid child, which went far in earning her respect and admiration.

She arrived at his office a few minutes early and gave her name to his secretary before she sat down to wait for their appointment.

[rar_kingsley]

Miss Stiles knocked on Kingsley's door within a few minutes to tell him that Hermione Granger was here to see him. "Thank you," Kingsley said with a smile. "Please, send her in."

After his secretary showed Hermione into the office, Kingsley got to his feet, offering her a hand to shake. "It's good to see you again, Hermione. How are you?" It was a question that he had wanted to ask her for a long time. Hermione had been on the run with Harry, he knew, and he had worried about those children even after he himself was forced to flee, hoping that they were staying safe. Dinners at the Burrow the previous summer had always been a lovely time, particularly when he was able to engage Hermione in a conversation--it amazed him that she hadn't ended up in Ravenclaw, as intelligent as she was.

"Have a seat, please. I made tea, would you like some?"

[rar_hermione]

When Hermione entered Kingsley's office, she had a moment of panic. This was the Minister's office. Even if the Minister was someone she knew, it was oddly surreal.

However, Kingsley looked the same, albeit with a weariness that most of them carried around these days, and he seemed happy to see her. "Hello, Kingsley. Or should I say Minister?" she asked, frowning slightly. "I've never read the proper protocal for addressing a person in power when one is friendly with said person. If Minister is the appropriate etiquette, I'll address you as such."

"I'm doing as well as most people," she said, shaking his hand firmly. "Alive and living each day as it comes, it seems. How are you?"

She sat down where indicated and smiled. "Tea would be lovely."

[rar_kingsley]

"Please, Kingsley is fine." Most people tended to call him Minister by default, and Kingsley was getting used to the title, though he rather preferred just being known by his name--it was simpler. He and Hermione had had too many dinner conversations for her to start addressing him by title now.

"I'm glad to hear it. And how are the boys?" He trusted Hermione would know which boys he was speaking of. "I'm getting by," he said in answer to her question. "Living day to day is an accurate way of describing it." He poured her a cup of tea and set it on his desk in front of her, along with some sugar and cream, and took his seat again after pouring himself a cup. "So what can I do for you, Hermione?"

[rar_hermione]

"Alright, Kingsley. I'd have felt odd calling you Minister," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "So I'm glad you're not insisting on formality."

She considered his question before she replied. "The boys are okay. There's been a lot to deal with for each of them, but they're strong and surviving, just like the rest of us."

"I'm glad you're doing well. And congratulations on your appointment. I can't think of anyone else who I'd have faith in for restoring confidence in the Ministry."

After he set the cup of tea on the desk, he sat down and got straight to business. She smiled. "I did arrange this meeting as a last resort," she told him. "So I apologize for it taking you away from other important matters. I've attempted to go through the proper channels, but no one in the Department of Magical Creatures was helpful. They just seemed to think that I was either young, foolish, or both."

"I'd like to petition for a posthumous Order of the Merlin to be given to Dobby, a free House Elf who was responsible, in a way, for Voldemort losing the war."

[rar_kingsley]

Kingsley nodded, having anticipated an answer of that variety. Those children--Harry, Ron, and Hermione too, of course--they were strong children, able to deal with things he couldn't even imagine having handled at their age. He had no doubt that they would be all right.

"I'm glad you're all doing well. And thank you. I'm glad for your confidence," he told her with a smile.

He listened carefully and curiously to her request, occasionally sipping his tea. It didn't surprise him to hear that the Department of Magical Creatures had turned Hermione away--a lot of the Ministry, he was swiftly learning, was fairly conservative, and new ideas didn't come all that easily to them.

"I'm not familiar with Dobby's story," he admitted when Hermione was finished. "Could you tell me a little about why you're requesting Order of Merlin for him?"

[rar_hermione]

"You wouldn't be. He died quietly, and there's been no press or discussion about his passing. It's not a story that needs publicized, in some ways."

She glanced down at her teacup as she remembered that night, resisting the urge to touch the scar on her throat. "In early April, Snatchers caught us," she said as she looked back at Kingsley. "Malfoy mentioned something in his statement about us being taken to Malfoy Manor, and I confirmed that. However, a lot of information about that night wasn't brought up because it had nothing to do with Malfoy."

"Dobby was a free House-Elf, who Harry helped free in our second year. He worked at Hogwarts, and he cared about Harry a lot," she continued. "When the boys were taken to the dungeon while..." She paused and shifted, realizing this was the first time she'd had to discuss this. "While I was having a conversation with Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry was able to get word to Aberforth Dumbledore, though he didn't know who at the time, who contacted Dobby to come help."

"I honestly don't know how much time passed. I was otherwise occupied, and I was unconscious, I think, by that time. I heard later what happened. Dobby saved Luna Lovegood and Mr. Ollivander before he returned and provided a distraction so that Harry and Ron could save me before Bellatrix Lestrange could slit my throat," she said simply, pleased that her voice didn't waver during that part of the discussion. "If not for Dobby, Voldemort would have arrived and killed Harry weeks before the Battle at Hogwarts even happened."

[rar_kingsley]

Kingsley was quiet during her story, letting Hermione talk without interrupting. He was finally hearing something of what the children had gone through during their own time on the run, though Hermione seemed remarkably composed in relating it.

"I see," he said ruminatively when she was finished, looking down into his teacup momentarily as he reflected on what she had told him. "It sounds like he was instrumental in helping you escape. And he died providing a diversion?"

[rar_hermione]

"Without his assistance, the boys would have died and I'd have been Greyback's new pet," she said bluntly. "Not to mention Luna and Ollivander, who wouldn't be necessary to keep alive by that point, since Voldemort would have won."

She nodded. "Bellatrix Lestrange killed him. He managed to get us out, from what I was told, before he died. He's buried at Bill and Fleur Weasley's cottage."

"I'm aware that no Order of the Merlin has ever been given to a non-wizard. I've studied the books that I've been able to find, and I know that House Elves have never been considered true magical citizens by the Wizengamot in the past. However, Dobby saved Harry, and, by doing that, he gave us the chance to face Voldemort and end the war. He was a free elf, and he chose to sacrifice himself to help Harry, to help us, and, given the circumstances, I think it's time for a sign of progress in the recipients of such an award. I know that there are far too many people who deserve awards for their contributions to actually do give them all one, but, in this case, he really did provide the means for Harry to live and face off against Voldemort to end it all."

She shook her head. "Centaurs helped fight. House elves helped fight. They willingly chose to assist wizards without being pressured or forced. Yet, they're continuously treated as inferior or have unfair rights just because they're not like us. And I know this would be different, to honor a House Elf in such a way, but it's just the right thing to do considering his part in the war."

[rar_kingsley]

Kingsley nodded when Hermione was finished, reflecting on all that she had told him. He was well-aware that any wizard or witch who had made the kinds of sacrifices Dobby had and been an instrumental force in ultimately protecting the entire community would have been awarded the Order of Merlin without question. Custom was what stood against Dobby, custom and his being a house elf; non-humans were simply not regarded as worth recognition by many wizards and witches. Kingsley was aware of that. Dobby's case would be an unprecedented one, without any similar awards given to non-humans before him. Yet Kingsley's tenure in office had already been characterized by a number of unprecedented moves and policies.

And if by some chance Kingsley's temporary appointment was made a tad more permanent, he knew that one of the goals he wanted to work toward was harmony in the community, between all of its members. Much of that would require long, difficult battles to change enormous sections of law and policy, such as those against werewolves. An Order of Merlin for Dobby seemed like such a small thing to give in comparison, although he knew that there would be plenty of people against it.

"There's going to be an Order of Merlin committee forming soon," Kingsley told Hermione. "As you can imagine there are a number of individuals who we feel deserve rewarding in the wake of the war, and we're hoping to have a ceremony at the end of the summer. I'm going to bring Dobby's story to the committee personally. It'll be a bit of a battle, but I think everyone will agree in the end to give him the award."

[rar_hermione]

"Oh, there is? I wasn't sure how that would work, since there are so many people involved in the war this time who deserve recognition for some part," she admitted. "I mean, there are some who played instrumental parts, like Dobby and Snape, but I'd certainly not want to have to decide who to honor among the living."

She smiled and nodded. "I know it'll be a battle, but I know it's the right thing to do. Hopefully other people will be able to set aside their prejudice to see that, too. I always tend to remember a quote that I heard ages ago from a Muggle about one ripple of hope leading to others to create a current of change. I have no problem being that ripple, if it's within my power to do something to help others."

"Thank you, Kingsley. I know you're extremely busy, and I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me and to actually listen. If I'd had one more person pat me on the head and send me on my was as if I were a silly child, I might have started hexing people."

[rar_kingsley]

Kingsley chuckled. "I expect it'll be a fairly drawn-out process," he admitted. "Then again, nearly everything at the Ministry is.

"You're a brave young woman, to stand up for what you believe in in the face of criticism or hostility," he told her seriously. "And I can't tell you how much it heartens me to hear of your willingness to push for social change, not to mention your perseverance. Young people like you give me hope for the future."

Kingsley smiled. "Please, it was my pleasure to meet with you today. I'm glad you're doing well, Hermione."