Post by Lady Mage on Feb 5, 2008 10:47:43 GMT -5
Wizarding Common Law
[/u]Chapter One: Seven Years Later
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own this plot. So don't steal it!
Rated T. Hermione & Fred. They've been living together as friends for seven years which means that according to Wizarding Commonlaw, they are now married. Hermione is Head of the Auror department, and dealing with a case involving a series of murders. How will she be able to cope with the difficult case with the wedding presents that keep appearing? Is there any way to divorce in the wizarding world? Moreover, do they want to? And what the heck does toilet paper have to do with anything?[/center]
The twenty five year old Hermione Granger paused at the corner of the Auror office where she had worked as an Auror the past seven years, opened the door, and went in.
“Wotcher, Hermione,” Ron called. He had taken over saying ‘wotcher’ to commemorate the dead Nymphadora T. Lupin.
“Hello, Ronald,” she said in her usual fashion. She knew it bothered him, and that was why she did it. There was a time after the war when she was continuously bothered by him (like when he had just started dating Luna and going on about crumple-horned snorkacks), and now it just was a habit.
He growled, and pivoted his revolving chair away from the door.
Hermione walked in, laughing at his drama. She was used to the Weasley drama- after all, didn’t she have to live with it every day? Although, admittedly, Fred was less annoying even if he did play more practical jokes.
In short, Fred was an angel, and she was glad that she’d found herself needing a home and he’d offered her house-room. He’d been the perfect housemate these past seven years and they got along fantastically. His near-death experience in the war had done wonders to make him more mature.
But back to work. Ron was certainly not an angel, and now he was leafing through papers dramatically pretending to ignore her.
“Where’s everyone else?” she asked. As the head of the Auror department, they had better be on time or be responsible to her.
“The clock went back from Daylight savings time, remember?” Ron said, as if he knew it all.
“You can’t fool me Ron- you obviously had the same problem!” she retorted, a little put out.
“Hmph,” was all he had to say.
Ah well. Let Ron ruffle his papers. She had better things to do, like deal with the case that had just come in about how a Mr. Perkin Warbeck, the opposition for the muggle prime minister, had been murdered in East Anglia in a locked room from the inside. It was obviously a wizard killing, but who would have done that? To add to it, it was the third in a series of killings that all seemed related somehow. She thought she had had everything under control since she had become the head of the Auror department two years ago when Kingsley was made Minister of Magic. Kingsley thought it was serious, and he was probably right.
She would have to brief the rest of Ron’s group when they came in, and perhaps even get Honoria’s and Eleanor’s groups involved. This was a serious matter, and had to be investigated thoroughly. After all, weren’t Voldemort’s first killings much like the killing of Warbeck?
She didn’t know what to think, and so she sat down and reviewed all of the information. Mr. Warbeck had been a well-to-do muggle who was involved in muggle politics. In fact, he was pretty high up and was the opposition for the current muggle prime minister. At first glance, it seemed as if it was a killing by a muggle hater. But it might be something more serious.
Gradually, the other Aurors filed in. Honoria Callahan, Group Leader; Pavarti Patil, in Honoria’s group; Eleanor Dudley, Group Leader; Dean Thomas, in Eleanor’s group; Seamus Finnigan, also in Eleanor’s group; Lambert Fortescue, Ron’s group; Ginny Weasley, Honoria’s group; and so forth and so on…
Hermione mentally prepared herself to begin the day. Even after two years, she still wasn’t used to being the head of the Auror department. It had come suddenly, right after her promotion to group leader, but she had wanted to reform the old system and it was not her place to complain that as head of the department she saw less adventure than the rest of the Aurors.
“Allright, folks, we’ve got a problem here… I’ve just come from speaking to the minister, and it relates to the two previous killings…”
They groaned. That could never be good.
After a long day at the office (she put Honoria's and Eleanor’s squads on the problem of Mr. Warbeck) Hermione was glad to get home to the flat she shared with Fred.
Fred was already there, and was stirring some concoction over the stove in his Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes robes. Hermione always thought they were really amusing- the magenta robes clashed so brilliantly with his hair and freckles…
“Hey ‘Mione,” Fred greeted her, “Just a moment- I’m almost done here.”
Hermione nodded and went into her room to get her Birkenstocks- marvelous muggle shoes that always felt nice after a day in high heels.
She plopped on the couch after pulling some turkey out of the fridge and regarded Fred. He was a few years older than her, perhaps 27, but he looked younger from the constant fun he had in his shop. But Hermione knew that behind that young looking face of a prankster lay something deeper and more powerful. For instance, the unexpected help she had had from his quarter when she had been promoted to Head of the Auror department and was tackling her first major case.
Fred finished in the kitchen and came and sat on the couch with her. “How was your day?” he asked.
“Well, I spoke to the minister and there seems to have been another killing, this time a Mr. Perkin Warbeck, opposition to the muggle minister,” she said slowly.
Fred looked thoughtful and reached for some of her turkey. “Do you think these killings are connected?”
Hermione frowned, “I thought of that,” she said, “It seems as if someone is trying to whittle down the muggle Parliament’s people.”
“Hmm…” was all Fred had to say.
“But why?” she asked. “There is nothing to connect the killings except for the presence of toilet paper in all the rooms!”
“Portkeys, perhaps?”
“I already thought of that,” she said, “But no, when tested, they don’t work. I had them tested for magic too, but it’s only the common spell to make it soft!”
“Hmm…” Fred said again, “I’ll let you know if I think of anything, ok?”
“Thanks Fred,” she said, hugging him, “You’re the best.”
“Anything for ‘Mione,” Fred replied into her ear.
“Anything?” Hermione joked.
“Well, maybe not anything, but a lot.”
“Thanks Fred.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, before grabbing the container of turkey from her hands, “Now lets have a real dinner, and sit down at the table and everything. Sound good?”
“Yeah,” she said. Suddenly she was very hungry.
“Good, the spinach quiche will be out momentarily.”
Hermione grinned. Fred’s spinach quiche, previously known as Mrs. Weasley’s spinach quiche, was one of the most delicious things in the world.
They sat down at the table and he served her.
“Yum,” she said, “So delicious.”
Fred beamed. They sat there for a while, just enjoying the food and the aroma of the kitchen, before Fred remembered something.
“’Mione?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Well your solicitor paid a call right before you got home. He wouldn’t tell me what he wanted, but I think you should owl him in the morning.”
“Probably something about the Warbeck case that I asked him to investigate,” she said, “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
They were soon to learn otherwise.
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