Inell's Fanfiction Archive

It’s after two when Hermione and Kevin arrive back at the Ministry. They haven’t spoken since leaving Warrington’s cell, though she’s not entirely sure why not. There are many things that she wants to say right now, but she’s lost in her thoughts. Perhaps Kevin is experiencing the same thing. After they step through the secure Floo and back into the Auror Department, he murmurs something about needing to use the toilet.

She walks to her office, wondering if it’s odd that she feels as if she’s walking in a fog. As far as cases go, she’s actually dealt with a few that were worse than Warrington. She’s met crazier people, too. Still, there’s a quality to Warrington that makes her skin crawl, so it’s been a difficult day dealing with him. It isn’t just that, though. She isn’t sure if she should feel triumphant and revel in the successful interview, or if she should feel disgusted by everything she’s heard and give in to the urge to vomit that she’s had since the interrogation started.

When she reaches her office, she steps inside and finds Teddy explaining something to Susan. Good. It saves her the time of having Caroline locate them. She runs a hand over her face before she pinches her arm hard in a tradition that she started after her first successful case. It hurts, so she knows the settlement actually did happen. She walks over to Caroline’s desk. “Can you find out if Ron is available for a brief meeting soon?” she asks. She wants to talk to her team first, but Ron needs to hear everything, too.

“Did you have a specific time in mind?” Caroline looks down at the schedule and frowns. “I rescheduled most of your afternoon appointments like you requested, so you’ve got time before your meeting with the Minister at four.”

“Nothing specific. Just find out when he can give me about fifteen minutes for an update on the Warrington case. I have some information for him.” She looks over at Susan and Teddy. “I need you two in my office in a few minutes so that we can debrief when Kevin gets here. Finish up whatever you’re doing and come on in.”

“I’m just showing Susan which drawer is always sticking on the desk,” Teddy explains as he stands up. “It’s hers now, so I didn’t want her caught by surprise.”

Right. It’s Friday. Teddy’s last day in the department. She can’t believe that she forgot. It’s been a hectic couple of days, though, as her rearranged schedule can attest. “Alright. I’ll be in my office,” she says before she walks over and unlocks her door. Before she sits down, she pours a glass of water.

“Is something wrong, Boss?” Susan asks as she and Teddy enter the office. “Did the meeting not go well?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just been a long day. Traveling to Azkaban is never pleasant, but it’s especially not when dealing with a case like this.” She takes a drink of her water and leans back in her chair. “Kevin will be here in a minute. He had to make a stop on the way.”

“Are you sure that everything’s okay?” Teddy asks as he sits down next to Susan. When she nods and gives him a frustrated glare, he seems to finally accept her answer. He glances at Susan and shrugs before focusing back on Hermione. “Susan’s all moved in to her new office area. I got the rest of my stuff out. We’ll be going over a few of the cases she’s been reassigned after this, and then she should be ready.”

“Hopefully.” Susan makes a face. “There’s more than I ever realized, but I’ll get it down. Ted’s offered to answer any questions that I have for the first week or two, so that’s a relief. His being downstairs will be helpful.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that everything’s getting worked out there.” She looks up when Kevin enters the room and closes the door. “Alright?”

He nods and sits down. “Caroline said to tell you that you’ve got Ron at three.”

“Got it.” She straightens up and opens the file. “Well, now that everyone’s here, we can discuss the interview. It went well. Better than I expected, in all honesty. Warrington refused defense representation, but we did offer it and notated that in the file, so it’s official.”

“I have copies of the statement here,” Kevin says as he hands them each a stack of parchment. “We made copies before we came back, since we had time during all the security measures.”

“Basically, I questioned Warrington and told him what we had against him.” She’s glad that she doesn’t have to go into detail because she’s not sure if she can stand repeating it all so soon. “After he realized that we had his bollocks to the wall, he started to talk about deals. He’s pleading guilty, and he’s given us information about where he got the children.”

“Deals?” Teddy frowns as he looks up from the file. “What kind of deal?”

“No kind. I refused to discuss a deal even after he changed his plea. There are children involved, so my sense of justice requires more than a bargain. However, he seems to think the Wizengamot might be lenient if they find out he was willing to cooperate. He’ll be in Azkaban for the rest of his life. The only question is how long that life will be,” she explains. “The Wizengamot is responsible for sentencing, so they’ll evaluate the case files and make that determination.”

“So there’s no way that he’ll get out of prison now?” Susan clarifies.

“None at all. By changing his plea, he’s ensured that.” Hermione takes a moment to enjoy the success. “It also means that neither of the children has to testify now. I had hoped to get enough to go after him and get a guilty plea, but I wasn’t sure if it would be possible. After learning so much about him, though, it wasn’t that difficult to play at his weaknesses and get him to consider the facts.”

“She’s bloody brilliant at interrogation,” Kevin speaks up. “Don’t know how she could do it, some of what he was saying, but she definitely earned the guilty plea.”

“Of course she did,” Teddy says. “She wouldn’t be our boss if she wasn’t amazing at her job.”

“While I appreciate the compliments, that’s enough.” She takes another drink of her water and rubs the back of her neck. “There’s more information in the copies you’ve been given, but it’s done now. I have to submit the paperwork to the Wizengamot and appear for the sentencing, but the worst of it is finished. Great work everyone. We wouldn’t have been able to wrap it up so tightly around him if it hadn’t been for your contributions.”

“I’m just glad it’s done,” Susan admits. “This was a tough case.”

“I’ll be happy to put all those files away,” Kevin agrees. “Of course, who knows what we’ll get next, right? Have to love our jobs.”

“Well, I won’t be here for the next one,” Teddy says. “I’ll miss it, but I’m going to be pretty happy downstairs.”

“You’ll have to keep us posted about the kids.” Susan glances at him. “I know it’ll be a while before they’re even remotely okay, so we’ll want to have progress reports or something.”

“I should be able to do that.” Teddy looks at her and smiles. “I’ll give you reports every couple of weeks, Boss.”

“That’s good. If none of you have anything, I think that’s all I wanted to go over right now. I’ll be talking to Ron about the information Warrington gave us, but, otherwise, you’ve got copies of the statement.” She watches Susan and Kevin stand up and leave. Teddy lingers, fussing with the file deliberately until they’re alone.

“Ron’s got the kids this weekend, right? So, uh, dinner tonight to celebrate?” he asks under his breath. His words are so quiet that she can barely hear him, which isn’t really necessary since they’re the only two people in the office.

“Are you asking me out on a date, Ted?” She arches a brow and smiles slightly. Celebrating sounds like a good idea, and she’s glad to have a chance to see him without work or children interfering. She watches him remove his spectacles as his hair changes color.

“What if I am?” He looks up at her through a fringe of pale orange and smiles. “Would you go out with me?”

“I’ll think about it. I mean, I had plans to clean the house tonight and wash my hair, so I have to decide if having a date is more enjoyable.”

“It is. Trust me. I’ll make it worth your while. In fact, I’ll even make the sacrifice of allowing you to ravish me,” he offers.

“Get back to work, Lupin.” She shakes her head and laughs softly. “I’ll meet you at your flat at seven, and we can go out for dinner.”

He grins as he stands up. “I’d word-I-can’t-say-at-work you right now, but I don’t want to push my luck. I’ll see you at seven, Hermione.”

She watches his bum as he walks out of the office, rolling her eyes when he looks over his shoulder and catches her. He winks before he leaves and shuts the door behind him. Cheeky git. She takes another drink of water before she opens the file and begins summarizing the interview so she’ll be ready for her meeting with Ron.

Fifteen minutes after three, there’s a knock on the door. Ron steps inside and closes it behind him. “I don’t have much time,” he says before she can greet him. “It’s been a hectic day, and I just got a new case that’s going to mean working late.”

“Working late?” she repeats slowly. Her visions of a celebratory date with Teddy vanish as Ron looks guilty.

“I’m sorry. I know that I’m supposed to have the kids tonight, but this case is going to need me for several hours. I have to interview witnesses, check with the lab, and start looking into the victim. I don’t know when I’ll be done. Can I pick them up tomorrow and keep them until Monday morning instead? I can take them by Mum and Dad’s before I come to work on Monday.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Ron. It’s work, so I completely understand.” She isn’t angry with him. She’s just disappointed that her plans with Teddy will have to be postponed. “We can meet on Monday morning, if that’s more convenient. I was just going to brief you on what happened with Warrington’s interview, so there’s nothing that needs your immediate attention.”

“How did it go?” he asks as he sits back in the chair. “I can take five minutes. Probably should take a few minutes before I get started. It’ll let me focus easier.”

She nods. “It went alright. Warrington is a bastard, which we knew, but it turns out that he’s also self-serving, which shouldn’t be a surprise. When he was confronted with everything we have, he started trying to talk deals and leniency. No promises were made, of course, but he has given us some names for your team to investigate. Between us, I hope that the Wizengamot decides to create a new punishment involving his bollocks and a searing charm.”

“Ouch.” Ron shifts and gives her a pained look as he apparently imagines having his bollocks roasted. “But I agree. That’s good news, though, that he’s willing to deal, even if he doesn’t get a deal out of it.”

“It’s even better because the witnesses don’t have to testify and relive the nightmare that he put them through.” She frowns. “I don’t normally support Endless Sleep, but, in his case, I think that I’d make an exception.”

“That bad?” Ron grimaces. “He wouldn’t tell us anything during questioning, but he still made my skin crawl. Right bloody monster, that one.” He stands up and smiles wryly. “Better get back to work. Sorry about tonight, especially if you had plans.”

“It’s fine. I did, but I can reschedule them. Do you want to pick up the kids tomorrow morning or do you want me to drop them by?”

He considers it. “Maybe drop them by? I’m not sure how late I’ll be tonight, so sleeping even a little later might be brilliant. Say eleven?”

“Eleven is good.” She smiles. “Get to work, and we’ll talk more about Warrington on Monday.”

“Will do. I’ll tell Harry to schedule some free time so he can be there, too.” He snaps his fingers. “Oh, you mentioned names?”

“I have a list here. Do you want it now or do you want to wait until we can discuss it?”

“Actually, give it to me Monday. With this new case, my team is going to be busy tonight, so we wouldn’t have time to start investigating it anyway.” He goes to the door and glances back at her. “Thanks for not hexing me over the schedule change.”

“Just be glad that I’m in a good mood,” she tells him before he leaves. She stares at the closed door for a moment before she sighs. There go her plans to work late to catch up on her cases as well as her date and potential sleepover with Teddy. It’s frustrating, but it’s also not uncommon for their jobs to require schedule changes. Teddy will understand, so she’s not really concerned about that. She’ll tell him later about the change in plans. For now, she has a lot of notes from the interview to organize in Warrington’s file.

End