Hp: Hermione and Darkness

Hermione practically sprinted up the stairs to change out of her pyjamas. She had no idea what to wear for her first adventure out of Headquarters. Before she realised it, she had wasted five minutes just staring at the clothing in her trunk. Shaking her head to break out of her excited trance, Hermione grabbed a pair of shorts and a blouse and threw them on as quietly as she could to not wake Ginny. She crept out of the bedroom, shut the door softly, and then took the stairs two at a time.

Tonks was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. "Ready?"

"Absolutely," Hermione said.

"Good, because I'm not good at Muggle grocery stores," Tonks admitted as they headed down the hall.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione noticed Tonks getting dangerously close to the troll leg umbrella stand. She quickly grabbed Tonks and pulled her out of its path, preventing another early morning screaming session from Mrs Black.

"Thanks," Tonks said with an embarrassed grin.

"Anytime," Hermione replied with a smile.

As they reached the front door, Tonks paused. "You remember the address, yeah?"

"The what?"

"The address. Here. Headquarters," Tonks clarified.

"Oh, yes. Twelve Grimmauld Place. Why?"

"Just so you can get back in," Tonks said. "I'm not a Secret Keeper, so I can't remind you once we leave."

"Got it," Hermione said, immediately recalling the Fidelius Charm protecting the house. "Yes, I remember the address."

"Good, ready?"

"Yes!"

Hermione stepped out into the grey London morning and took a deep breath. Even though it was overcast, she could still feel the sun on her skin. Everything seemed much brighter than inside the House of Black.

"I think there's a market down this way," Tonks said, looking uncertain. Hermione didn't care if they got lost. She followed the Auror aimlessly, savouring the brief taste of freedom. Tonks looked relatively Muggle-like in her outfit, though her bright green and teal hair attracted a few passersby stares.

"So, tell me about working in the Ministry," Hermione said, eager for a distraction.

Tonks chuckled. "What about working in the Ministry?"

"I don't know, anything," Hermione said. "What's it like being a woman there? Do you like being an Auror? What kind of other jobs are there? What should—"

"Thinking about your O.W.L.s, yeah?" Tonks said.

"Guilty as charged," Hermione admitted.

"Working at the Ministry is," Tonks paused, thinking. "Working at the Ministry is exhaustingly wonderful. There's always so much going on. You're right in the middle of it all. And it's nice for me because I've always been on the fringe because of the whole Metamorphmagus thing, but it makes me a bit more special there. Does that make sense?"

"Absolutely," Hermione said, feeling honoured that Tonks was opening up to her.

"It's all underground, though magical windows show whatever weather Magical Maintenance decides on for the day, from bright sunshine to hurricanes. You learn very quickly not to piss off the Magical Maintenance Department," Tonks grinned. "All entrances open to the Atrium. The Atrium is on level eight. It's a large hall with fireplaces up and down both long walls for employees. There's a visitor's entrance somewhere else. Can't tell you where—never used it. There's a big fountain in the middle of the Atrium. I've fallen into it a few times. The water is always warm. I'm a bit clumsy if you haven't noticed."

Hermione laughed. "No, I had no idea," she said sarcastically.

"Continuing on our tour," Tonks said in a mock museum guide voice, "come the hall of lifts that can take you anywhere in the Ministry except the tenth floor. That's where the big Wizengamot courtrooms are."

"Is that where Harry is?" Hermione asked, worried.

"Oh no," Tonks said. "Those courtrooms are for the most serious of cases."

"Then where would he have his hearing?"

"Probably floor two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ooh, wanna see if I can name all the departments on each floor?"

"Sure," Hermione said, genuinely interested.

"Okay, so level one is the offices of the Minister for Magic and Support Staff. We covered level two. Level three is the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. I've been there a lot. The Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is on four. Five is the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Six is," Tonks stopped and screwed up her face in concentration. "Oh! Six is Magical Transportation. Games and Sports is on seven. Eight is the Atrium. And nine is the Department of Mysteries. And ten is the courts. Ha!"

"Bravo!" Hermione said, but that last part piqued her interest. "What's the Department of Mysteries?"

"It's a mystery," Tonks laughed. "It's where all of the confidential stuff is kept. The people who work there are called the Unspeakables because they can't talk about anything they do. It's the only department in the Ministry that's not under the Minister's control."

"But what kind of stuff is there?"

"Like I said, it's all confidential, even to me. I can only guess what goes on in there."

"Then guess," Hermione said with a smile, hoping to mask her desperation.

"There are a lot of records there, I know," Tonks said. "Probably a lot of experimental magic and weapons, too."

The word "weapons" stood out to Hermione, recalling their conversation with Sirius on Harry's first night at Headquarters.

"Any idea what kind of weapons?" Hermione asked as casually as she could, but Tonks finally figured out what Hermione was trying to do.

"Oh, I think we went the wrong way," Tonks said, changing the subject. They did an about-face in the middle of the street and started up the other way.

Hermione sighed. She had pushed too far. She knew Tonks would keep quiet about anything remotely related to the Department of Mysteries from that point forward.

....

Want to read ahead by more than 60 chapters. Then join my pa*treon now.

Link: pa*treon.com/Amelie796 (Remove the *)

Free members will get 2 chapters for free.