cunning, pliable, chestnut-hair sunfish (hermione)

[Deleted]

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Leslie was skipping down the halls like a mad woman toward the Staff Room. Her best friend was there on for a meeting with the Headmaster. Leslie knew she was coming... sometime, she had just forgotten what day it was because the letter had gotten tossed somewhere on her desk and got lost in the chaos. But now she was here! The two women kept in touch, of course, but that was different than seeing each other in person.

Leslie opened the Staff Room floor and looked for her favorite brunette. When she spotted her, she skipped forward, trying to act a little nonchalant about all of it. She arrived beside Hermione and folded her arms and leaned back slightly, "hey, wassup, glad you made it safely," she could only hold the act for so long...


@hermionejean

[Deleted]

Hermione had just bade Neville farewell and was lingering in the staff room. When she had returned for her seventh and final year at Hogwarts, Hermione had found herself quite alone and mostly friendless. She of course had Ginny and Luna, but they had their own friends that were on a different level from her. She had felt reclusive and sad, especially after a fight with Ron sent her crying to the kitchens for some comfort food. It was there she had met Leslie, who had snuck from the Hufflepuff common room for a midnight snack. They were quite different but as if it was fate, they immediately clicked. They had ended up talking for hours while engorging themselves on food readily supplied from the house elves that had remembered Hermione from the battle and were happy to accommodated.  Leslie had lifted Hermione's spirits greatly by the time she returned to the Gryffindor common room, and they quickly became each others confidantes in eveything, and Hermione credited her with being able to get through that last year at Hogwarts in one piece.

When the door to the staff room flung open, Hermione stood up and turned to face the petite blonde that had bounded in.  Leslie pretended to play it cool for a few moments, but Hermione let out a laugh and ran to her friend, throwing her arms around her.  "It's good to see you too Leslie!" she said excitedly, stepping back and sitting back down.  "How are classes going?  Rose and Hugo aren't giving you any grief right?" she asked, gesturing for her friend to sit down.


@leslie

[Deleted]

Lelsie was glad that Hermione hugged her first, otherwise she would have crushed the brunette with her love. She wrapped her arms around Hermione and smiled brightly. ”I missed you! How are you?” she asked as Hermione backed up. She took a seat opposite of her. ”Classes are great! It’s weird being back but I’m glad that I came because this year has been… well, you know how this year has been. Rose and Hugo are great! Rose is a brilliant girl, as we’ve always known, and Hugo is just so sweet. I feel bad for him, though. My little weasels give him a hard time,” she chuckled.

”What about you? How’s work? How’s your niece?” she meant the Minister of Magic, and Hermione would know that. Otherwise Leslie would have clarified from the sleu of nieces in her own classes.

@hermionejean

[Deleted]

"Oh you know, works been absolutely crazy, with everything that’s happened this year,” Hermione started with a small smile and a little wave. “Actually, that’s what I was here to talk to Neville about. Victoire’s been looking for new ways to find out who murdered Andrew and I wanted to get Neville’s two cents before I reported to her next week with our findings,” she told her. She felt very good after her meeting with Neville; the old friends had put their heads together and come up with some out of the box ideas and she was actually excited to bring them up with Victoire. If you could call finding new ways to catch a murderer exciting.

“Victoire is holding up as best she can be, being the Minister in times like this is not going to be easy no matter how strong you are,” she said, folding her hands together in front of her. “I’m glad you’re here though, it makes me feel good that my children have you to come to with anything. I mean, they have Neville as well but he’s Headmaster now and so things are different,” she confided in her.

@leslie

[Deleted]

Leslie listened as Hermione explained why she had come and how things were going with the new Minister. Leslie respected the kid, even though she sometimes worried about her. "Awe, Neville tries to be there for everyone but you're right he has so much more to do now. Rose and Hugo seem to be doing well. Have you checked in on them yet?" since Hermione was here there was no doubt that she would check in with her children. Heck, Leslie wanted to call her own kids over to say hello to their aunt Hermione. The trio was most likely causing some sort of trouble by making walls explode into candy or something... aw, well, she'd just let them be.

"I'm glad you're the liaison between Neville and Victoire. I'm sure it's easier for both of them having someone they trust so much working toward the schools protection. I mean, I know that's your job and all," she chuckled.

@hermionejean

[Deleted]

Hermione nodded. “I saw them before I met with Neville. Hugo had just come in from being on the ground by himself and Rosie….well there’s something she’s not telling me. I’m sure its about a boy and whenever she’s ready she’ll tell me,” she said, laughing nervously. Her relationships with her children were wonderful, but Rose was also sixteen going on seventeen. She remembered being that age – Ron had his first girlfriend in Lavender Brown and she had sent little yellow birds after him in a jealous rage. Now they were friends with Lavender and her husband Seamus, but she’d never forget those feelings.

“I’m glad I am the liason too. It gives me a reason to come up and see the people I love more often than not,” she said, squeezing her friends hand gently. She hesitated only slightly before continuing. “You…haven’t noticed anything with Rose, have you?” she asked. She hated to pry, but if Rose had opened up to anyone adult in the area, it’d most likely be Leslie.


@leslie

[Deleted]

Leslie rolled her eyes, "we've been telling the students to go everywhere in pairs or groups but... you know how he is, he just doesn't like too many people at once," she felt bad for young Hugo. Such a good kid to be plagued with such a terrible thing.

Leslie gave Hermiones hand a squeeze back accompanied by a soft smile. At the mention of Rosie, Leslie raised an eyebrow, "she seems to keep to herself more than Hugo, lately. I've sensed bitterness between her and your niece Ondina... I don't know, I try to stay out of that stuff," she chuckled. However, when it came to her own kids... "she does seem different, though. Happier in a weird bitter way. I don't know." She shook her head. "I remember being that age. It was always bittersweet, wasn't it? Well, except for the rather serious points."

@hermionejean

[Deleted]

Hermione sighed; Rose and Ondina had never exactly seen eye to eye in the past and had tended to keep away from each other during summer trips and family reunions. At sixteen, the main source of bitterness between two girls was usually a boy – perhaps this was what Rose was keeping hidden from her. At this point, the only thing Hermione could really do was wait for Rose to feel comfortable enough to come and talk to her about it. “I feared as much, Ondina and Rose have always been at odds with each other, but I would have hoped it'd dissipate by now,” she said with a small shrug.

She checked her watch and gave a small start. “Leslie my dear, I’m terribly sorry to cut this short but I have a full slate of meetings this afternoon including Victoire and Harry. I have to be off now, but hopefully I’ll have some time soon and we’ll grab lunch or dinner at the Three Broomsticks?” she suggested. She reached out and gave her friend a goodbye hug and bustled out of the Staff Room, continuing on to the outside gates where she Apparated back to the Ministry.

END HERMIONE