You and Me We Got a Big Reputation [ANNA]

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Hermione was excited to make a surprise visit to the Auror training camp today; as Minister for Magic, she felt it was her duty to check in on the young upstarts who, once training was finished, be tasked with protecting the wizarding world. Of course, she had a second motive for wanting to come to the Auror camp as well - her niece Anna had recently gotten married, and she had mentioned wanting to talk to Hermione in private ‘whenever she had the time’. Well, was she Minister or was she Minister? She could make time for her niece, even if it was masqueraded as official business. She tried to look as approachable as possible, but she knew that with who she was, that was hard to do.

Robes of deep royal purple swept behind her as she turned on the spot to Apparate to the site of the trainings. Hermione signed in with the Auror trainer, following protocol to a T as she always did. He walked with her as she surveyed the mentors and mentees working together on the various exercises; stealth, concealment, physical labor. All of them making Hermione quite glad she had not joined Harry and Ron in joining the Aurors over twenty years ago. Finally, she spotted her niece finishing up an exercise and excused herself to go over to her. “Now, how is my favorite niece today?” Hermione asked, grinning widely as she opened up her arms to Anna. Of course she said that to all of her nieces and nephews; she didn’t really have a favorite, but Anna had certainly gone through quite the year with the Triwizard Champion, and her now-husband almost dying. She would go to any lengths to help her family, and now that extended to Oscar Gauthier as well. “I trust you are well?” she added, studying her niece in length as she waited for her to react to her arrival.

@annelise

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Exercises were the bane of her existence. Anna knew they helped recruits and trainees learn what they were supposed to do, but the darn things were hard and exhausting. Auror training was hard and exhausting. That was all there was to it. At least she knew what was expected of her, unlike the Triwizard Competition. There, she was thrown into a situation and expected to figure it out on her own. At least here she knew exactly what they wanted her to do. The exercises changed, but they were routine. Today Anna was doing a particularly hard one and when her supervisor told her she could stop, sweat covered her. 

Anna stepped toward her bag to grab some water when she heard a familiar voice behind her. She spun around. "Aunt Hermione!" She made her way over to her aunt, grinning, but paused before giving her a hug. "Uhhh ... I'm all sweaty. You sure you want a hug from me right now?" Anna gave a small laugh. Her aunt was wearing all her Minister robes and Anna didn't want to mess that up, but she was so excited to see her. She'd been hoping to see her aunt for a while. The truth was, Anna wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. Growing up, she always wanted to follow in Uncle Harry's footsteps and become an Auror, but now things were different. She knew Oscar hated the idea and, more than that, Anna kind of did too. After everything she went through in the Triwizard Tournament, she didn't really want to fight her entire life. The bigger problem was, she had no plan b. She didn't know what else she could do. She hoped Aunt Hermione could help her figure that out, maybe, which was why she asked if they could talk sometime. She didn't want to interfere with important business, but she desperately needed some advice. "I'm doing very well. And so is Oscar, before you can ask," Anna said with a smile. She paused before adding, "Are you here on official business?" Anna felt a little guilty, but she hoped not. She wanted to talk to her aunt, which wouldn't happen if she was here on business.

@hermionejean

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Hermione laughed and pulled Anna in for the hug, smell and all. She didn’t care; she was a mother herself, and though she loved her children, they did not always smell so sweet. “So settling into married life well, are we?” she asked with a teasing smile. She had attended the wedding with Ron, but more as a show of unity than anything else. With Harry still missing, they thought it was best to come together to celebrate something good happening. The wedding had been beautiful; she knew that Percy had had his concerns about them being so young, and having not known each other for long, but Hermione could see the love they had was real. Once you had that, there really was no point in waiting. Then when Anna had almost lost him in the carriage explosion….Hermione didn’t want to dwell on that just now.

“Officially? Yes, I am here to inspect how the Aurors in training are doing,” Hermione admitted, squeezing her niece’s shoulder gently. “Unofficially though I think we can squeeze some one on one time together,” she said with a smile. “Walk with me,” she instructed, waiting for her to fall into step beside her before continuing around the training grounds. “How are you feeling about training?” she asked. Anna had always wanted to be an Auror like her Uncle for as long as Hermione could remember. But, people change after they’d participated in the Triwizard Tournament - Harry certainly had. Sometimes those changes include what they wanted out of their futures. She wondered if Oscar, after all he had suffered this past summer, was concerned with the idea of his wife putting herself in dangerous situations on a daily basis. Or if Anna herself was even comfortable with that anymore. “A lot has happened since you got into the Auror program,” she added casually, trying to drop the hint that this was a safe space for Anna to talk freely.

@annelise

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Aunt Hermione obviously didn't care about how sweaty and gross Anna was. She pulled her in for a hug anyway, teasing Anna about married life as she pulled away. "I think so," Anna said with a small shrug. "I like it," she added after a moment. She liked being around Oscar all the time, knowing that he belonged to her and she him. It was nice how actually marrying him made her feel even more confident about their relationship, even though she had few doubts about it beforehand. She loved seeing him every day and spending almost all her free time with him. 

Anna nodded, trying to hide her disappointment when the Minister explained that she was here to see how the training was going for the new Aurors-to-be, but she only hid it for a moment. Her aunt's next words were about having some alone time together. Anna returned the smile and nodded, walking with Aunt Hermione. As always, her aunt was super perceptive, seeing as her first question was about just the thing Anna wanted to talk about. Even though she wanted to explain how confused she felt, Anna hesitated. Was this really the place to talk about it? And what if Aunt Hermione brushed off her concerns and thought they weren't anything. When she spoke again, Anna caught the hint. She took a breath, "I'm not sure," she started. "I know I'm learning good things that can protect me and others, but I'm not sure I want this life. I always have, but the Tournament ..." Anna trailed off. She had no idea how to explain that the Triwizard Tournament changed her perspective a bit and that when her Uncle Harry disappeared, her strong desire to be an auror kind of left with him. "And it makes Oscar worried," she admitted. Then she turned to look at her aunt, actually stopping. "But I don't know what else I'd want to do. This is all I've ever wanted." Anna looked down, a little embarrassed. Now was no the time to be indecisive, but that was exactly what she was right now. She didn't know what to do.

@hermionejean

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Hermione smiled at Anna’s answer towards her new marriage. Ah to be young and in love, she thought somewhat wistfully. She remembered when she and Ron had finally settled their differences and tied the knot; she believed that after all they had been through, they would come out on the other side stronger for it. And they had, for almost twenty years they had gone strong. It had broken her heart when she came to the realization that they had become completely different people, but she supposed that happened sometimes. She sincerely hoped it didn’t happen to Anna; Oscar seemed like he would be good to her, and she could tell from the look on his face at the wedding how much he really loved her niece. That made him alright in her book.

The real purpose for Hermione’s visit was of course to have Anna talk to her about her career and its’ next steps. She had seen the aftermath of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons explosions first hand, and it was not for the faint of heart. She knew Anna could stomach it - there was a reason she had been named Champion after all - but the attacks had hit close to home in the form of her now husband. It wasn’t surprising to her when Anna admitted that it makes Oscar worried for her, training to police the very realm that had nearly caused his untimely demise. “I understand not knowing what you want to do. When I was your age, I was in a completely different department than Magical Law Enforcement - I wanted to take the Society for Promotion of Elfish Welfare to a new level. And I did, but then I realized that it wasn’t enough.”

Hermione paused, smiling despite herself. “I had sworn to the old Prime Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, that I would never join the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. And yet I became the head of the department,” she admitted with a chuckle. “What I mean to tell you is that it’s alright to be confused, to not know what you want. You’re not even in your twenties yet!” she exclaimed, placing her arm around her niece’s shoulders and squeezing them lightly. “If you know something feels wrong though, don’t stay there. You’ll only make yourself miserable, trust me,” she advised, knowing all too well that had been Ron’s sentiment during his time as an Auror.

@annelise

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Anna listened intently, her eyes riveted on her aunt as she started to talk. She expressed that she hadn't know where she wanted to go when she first graduated too and Anna nodded slowly. Well, it was nice to know that someone as important as the Minister of Magic went through similar things to her. She already knew some of her former classmates felt this way, but it was something different altogether to know that someone she looked up to went through it at one point. 

She nodded, showing she was listening, as Hermione continued to explain what happened as she grew up and moved around in the ministry. She smiled when her aunt got to the main point, saying that it was okay for her to not know what she wanted yet. Anna started to smile. "Thanks Aunt Hermione," she said, feeling a bit lighter than she had in a while. She shrugged and then a mischievous smirk covered her face. "So ... I'm going to be resigning from auror training soon then. Do you have any openings that you know of? Maybe I could look into some of those?" Anna wasn't entirely sure how she felt about working in the Ministry of Magic not as an auror, but it wouldn't hurt to look into things. She could research places outside as well and see if she could find something that seemed interesting to her, but it never hurt to ask.

@hermionejean

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Hermione could see the dark cloud lighten around her niece’s face, and realized just how badly Anna had needed to get this off of her chest. “Of course dear, I’m always happy to lend a listening ear,” she told her encouragingly. With multiple nieces and nephews venturing into Ministry work, including her own child, Hermione not only had a duty as an aunt, but as Minister for Magic to assist newcomers in finding their footing in this vast, fast paced world. She laughed at Anna’s next question. “Hm...well let’s think on it together, I’m sure we can come up with something,” she commented, gesturing for Anna to continue walking with her. Hermione was a big fan of the walk and talk meetings; she hated the idea of being chained behind a desk all day, and used getting up from her desk as an excuse to chat with as many of the workers at the Ministry she could fit in her busy schedule.

“With your background, we can always find a place for you that’s still in Magical Law Enforcement but not in the Auror department - Wizengamot Administration is looking for an assistant, if I’m not mistaken. Though I’d understand if you’d want a clean break from the Department in its’ entirety. There’s also the Department of International Magical Corporation, which has its’ own law department. With your status as Triwizard Champion, as well as your marriage to the Beauxbatons alumni, they’re the ones who probably would be scrambling for your help.” Hermione paused, letting her suggestions soak in a bit before continuing. “Of course, if you want a generalized overview of the varying departments, you can always just apply for the general internship program, which places interns in departments in need of extra help.” Hermione shrugged; it was the best way for anyone who wanted a Ministry career but didn’t know the specifics quite yet to get their feet wet. “What are your thoughts so far?” she asked curiously.

@annelise

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Anna smiled at her aunt when she said that she was always willing to listen. "Well thanks all the same," Anna answered. Really, she was a little surprised at how much just talking about it helped. Anna started walking again when her aunt gestured that they should. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for this type of a conversation. She had a hard time explaining herself, she always thought. It was a good thing her aunt was super smart and would hopefully understand what she was trying to say.

She nodded, listening carefully as Hermione started explaining some of her options. Honestly, it all sounded pretty good, most of the jobs sounding like things that Anna could do and probably enjoy. There was just one question she had to stick in there somewhere. When her aunt stopped explaining and asked for her thoughts Anna nodded again. "I think a lot of those sound interesting. Like the Department of International Magical Cooperation, the Wizengamot assistant thing would be interesting. I just ... do you know if any of those jobs would help to possibly qualify me to be a teacher sometime in the future. I think I'd like to teach charms maybe." Anna bit her lip, nervous at expressing what she wanted to do. She had to remind herself that she was talking to her aunt, that Hermione would likely be very supportive, unlike her father. Her father, she knew, would never approve of Anna merely becoming a teacher. He'd see it as degrading, but that wouldn't stop her.

@hermionejean

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Hermione nodded along as Anna mused about her options. It didn’t surprise her when she seemed to take to the idea of being in the department of International Magical Cooperation - she was Percy Weasley’s daughter after all. It was where Percy had gotten his start at the Ministry as Crouch’s assistant, before bumping up to Junior Undersecretary. Of course, there had been ulterior motives to Percy’s promotion, but he had certainly had the ambition to get there. Wizengamot would be a good fit as well, with Anna’s current standing as Triwizard Champion, she’d be high profile to a very elite company of wizards. The Charms professor idea however, slightly surprised Hermione. “Back to Hogwarts after seven years there?” she asked with a small smile. Hermione, though she loved Hogwarts dearly and had thrived in being the best witch in her class, had never found the idea of teaching terribly exciting.

“Well, we could get you into the Experimental Charms department first - that’d be good practice for any students that come running to you having gotten a charm or spell terribly wrong,” she mused aloud, then gave her a smile. “You would make a good teacher my dear, an excellent one even. However, I am quite certain Headmistress McGonagall requires an age of at least twenty four before becoming a professor.” From what Harry had told her and Ron during their sixth year, Voldemort had tried to teach immediately after Hogwarts. Thankfully, Headmaster Dippet had enough sense to not give him the job straight away and it had become a rule soon afterwards. “Would you want to put in some time here at the Ministry before moving onto Hogwarts? There are some other jobs of course that could also prepare you for a teaching career?” Hermione asked, curious to learn more of Anna’s desire behind the idea.

@annelise

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Anna shrugged a little when her aunt teased her a little about wanting to go back to Hogwarts. "Yeah ... I like it there, and I think teaching would be a good fit for me. I know it takes a while to get all the qualifications and experience they want, so I'm trying to figure out what to do in the meantime." Teaching did sound like something she would enjoy though, which was a bit of a surprise to Anna. She never pegged herself for the teaching type. Maybe she should find some place where she could get experience teaching something and see if it still worked with her. Hmmm ...

Her eyes widened with excitement at the idea of the Experimental Charms department. "Oh, that sounds really interesting!" Anna exclaimed, probably a bit more enthusiastically than she meant to. As Hermione pointed out, the experience would be very good when dealing with students, which made the idea appeal to her even more. She nodded repeatedly when her aunt started talking about age requirements. "Oh, I know I can't apply right away. That's why I'm looking for something to help me qualify. The Experimental Charms department sounds really good to me, actually." Anna was a bit surprised by how suddenly she liked the idea, but she did. She wouldn't mind something like that, she was sure. "Are there any other places you think would be good for experience?" Out of all the people she knew, Anna's Aunt Hermione was probably one of the best to ask for this sort of thing, which was one of the reasons why she'd wanted to talk with her so badly. 

@hermionejean

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Hermione laughed, pleased with Anna’s enthusiasm. “Well, enthusiasm is one of the main things the committee looks at, so you have that going for you,” she said with a warm smile. “You could learn about the different charms people have tweaked and tried over the years that have to pass through the committee for approval, which could provide you with some tips and tricks when charms go awry at school.” Hermione’s distinct memory of having cat hair covering her face and a tail swishing behind her for a few perilous days flashed through her brain, and she grimaced slightly. The Polyjuice Potion she had concocted had been technically perfect, as Harry and Ron had been able to transform into Crabbe and Goyle perfectly. She had just had the misfortune of assuming Millicent Bulstrode’s hair left on her robes had been her own, and not her pet cats. “Sorry, just reminiscing about something that happened back when I was at Hogwarts, decades ago,” she admitted, cracking a smile.

Hermione went into a train of thought, running down the departments in the Ministry that would be good for a young woman like Anna whose Charmwork was outstanding and wanted to eventually go into teaching. “Well, I know Professor Flitwick was a professional dueling master before he started up at Hogwarts. Not that he did any illegal duelings or anything of that sort…” Hermione trailed off, trying to think of if he had worked at the Ministry in some capacity. She wasn’t sure, but then remembered something he had mentioned to her. “You can always further your studies in magic, focusing on charms or a specific type of spells. Flitwick delved into years of research on Dueling Mastery before he ended up teaching. I believe it was viewed by Dumbledore as incredibly favorable.” She looked over at Anna. “Obviously though, that would require more studying, and likely little to no pay,” she admitted. “Is there anything outside the Ministry perhaps you were potentially looking into?” she asked her niece.

@annelise

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Anna smiled when her aunt mentioned that her enthusiasm was a good thing. "Well that's one," she agreed softly. She wasn't particularly worried about being able to get the job she wanted. "I really like that idea," she admitted after aunt explained a little bit more about what the job would be like. It sounded like something that would definitely help her prepare for the job she wanted to have. Anna smiled when she saw her aunt lost in her thoughts for a few moments. It wasn't completely out of character, but Anna found it endearing. "Do you want to tell me what it was?" she asked, unable to stop herself from being curious.

Her aunt continued, explaining more about how her Charms Professor got the job. It was interesting, but Anna wasn't really interested in dueling professionally, not that she thought that was Hermione's suggestion. She nodded, the bit her lip for a second as Aunt Hermione asked if she had any other ideas. "I was thinking ... about maybe becoming a cursebreaker," she said softly. Anna wasn't sure how her aunt would respond to that, but she was trying for it. "What do you think about that?"

@hermionejean

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Hermione hesitated for a mere second, then laughed. “Oh, why not. It’s not like they can do anything about it anyway,” she relented with a smile. They continued walking as she began to tell her story. “In our second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened, and we were absolutely convinced it was Draco Malfoy behind it. So I decided to take the initiative and find out the truth, and together, Uncles Harry, Ron and I brewed a Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.” Hermione paused, shaking her head a little. “They took on the appearance of Crabbe and Goyle to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room, and I had grabbed hair from a girl called Millicent Bulstrode. However, what I thought was her hair was actually her cats. Needless to say, I did not join them on their adventure to the other common room.” Hermione laughed again. “Good lord that was over thirty years ago, how time flies.”

At Anna’s mention of becoming a Cursebreaker, a glimmer of recognition appeared in Hermiones’ mind. Not only was her brother in law Bill a veteran Cursebreaker, which Anna obviously knew, but she was pretty sure Viktors oldest girl was training to be one. She had seen the girl...Irene, no Irina, at Anna’s wedding, so she assumed the two were friendly enough to warrant an invitation. “I think Cursebreaking is a very honorable profession. I’ve met many, including your uncle of course, over the years, and they all love their jobs,” she commented, her head tilting to one side. “What gave you the idea for Cursebreaking?” she asked out of curiosity.

@annelise

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Anna listened intently as her Aunt Hermione started to explain a bit about the mischief she and Harry and Ron got into when they were at school. She couldn't help but grin as she heard about the illegal potion making and the effects it had on the trio. "Ooooh, a cat? Aunt Hermione, that's terrible!" Anna exclaimed, but she couldn't help but chuckle softly. At least her aunt was laughing too so she couldn't get mad at Anna for it. 

She nodded as Hermione expressed that Cursebreaking could be a good way to get some experience, talking about how honorable it was. She smiled and nodded as she spoke about how they all enjoyed their jobs. "Well, my friend Irina is a Cursebreaker, and when I told her what I'm telling you now, she suggested I get experience working as a Cursebreaker. Do you think that would work?" Her aunt, so far, had neither confirmed nor denied the possibility.

@hermionejean

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Hermione chuckled. “It was terrible. That was the year the Chamber of Secrets was opened again, as I’m sure you’ve read about by now, so everyone assumed that I had been attacked by the monster. Of course...I did end up being one of the monsters’ victims, but that was months later in April.” If Hermione ever was a believer in premonitions, that would have been the time, however after dealing with Sybill Trelawney for three quarters of a term, she had fully come to believe it was mere coincidence. “It didn’t turn me off to cats completely thankfully, otherwise I wouldn’t have adopted Crookshanks.” The part kneazle had crossed the rainbow bridge about fifteen years ago, but he had been around when the majority of the Weasley cousins were young. She was quite sure he hated most of them, but he had played a very vital role in Hermiones adolescence so she was glad he got to at least meet the next generation.

Aha, so she had been right; Viktors daughter had joined the Cursebreakers. Hermione smiled and nodded. “I think that could work; a lot of Cursebreakers go on to teach after they retire, whether its’ retirement from injury or just getting too old for it.” Hermione chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “It’s good that you have a friend in the program already though - going into the Ministry with your uncles was a lot easier knowing they were just a floor away if I was having a stressful day,” she admitted. She put a hand on her niece’s shoulder. “Do what makes you happy; that will always be the most important piece of advice anyone could give you. Anything after that is just detail.” She squeezed lightly, and let go. “My door is always open if you need me as well. Well...it’s not always open but I’m here when you need me,” she admitted with a laugh. If someone else had overheard the Ministers door was always open, she’d never get a moments peace!

@annelise