Visit 7
“Welcome back, Hermione.”
“Hello, Dr. Stone.”
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m well,” lying again, “I’m ready.”
“Where would you like to start?”
“Probably with my meeting with Kinsley, that kind of is the root of the incident.”
“Alright,” he raised a hand, “Whenever you’re ready to start.”
“Kingsley sent me an owl asking for me to visit the Ministry. I figured this would happen since we were coming up on the tenth anniversary and I’ve always been asked to speak along with Harry. It was a short meeting, but he made it clear that I was to introduce the recently released back into the wizarding community. I knew it was going to be hard, controversial to say the least but it was part of my job.”
“How did that affect things in your personal life?”
“Ron was angry, he wanted nothing to do with it. Since we were publicly together, it got attached to him as well even though I hadn’t even spoken yet.”
“Did that cause the outbursts?”
“A lot of times this has happened before this,” breathe, “This incident was just the most public.”
“Do you feel as if this outburst was the final straw?”
“The outbursts at home were worse than this one. I genuinely believe my magic had just had enough of it and protected me.”
“Would you like to talk about what was happening behind closed doors?”
“Not in depth yet, but some of them. The first few were all twisted to be my fault. When we were in the Chamber looking for fangs, he blamed it on what the horcrux had shown him even though it wasn’t really me.”
“And what happened in the Chamber?”
“After I stabbed the cup with the fang, he pulled me out of the Chamber by the shoulders. He had heard someone coming so we hid in one of the caverns. We saw Draco, Blaise, and Goyle come into the Chamber. They grabbed a few fangs and left. When I let myself breathe he smacked me across the face. I saw Draco turn around and I think he saw but he didn’t show any emotion if he did.”
“Do you think he would’ve intervened if he did see?”
“Knowing him differently now, I think he would have.”
“What happened next?”
“He began yelling in my face once we were sure they were gone about how disappointed he was in how I acted while he was gone. We had hidden our relationship from Harry when we were on the run. We were so focused on looking for horcruxes that I didn’t want it to be a distraction.”
“How did he assume you acted when he left?”
“He assumed that Harry and I were closer but we’ve only ever been friends.”
“So you know and understand that him hitting you was not your own fault, correct?”
“I didn’t at first but I know I never did anything wrong then.”
“Good, Hermione. How do you think that affected your later relationship?”
“For years I thought we both were just traumatised and that’s why he acted that way. I thought he was just stuck in the war mentally and that I could help. It took me so long to realise that it was him and not his mental state.”
“Do you feel as if he has a redemption arc?”
“No.”
“You are so fucking stupid. You’d think the brightest witch of her age could make a simple fucking meal.”
Smack.
“Can’t be a decent lay.”
Smack.
“How dare you agree to introduce them.”
Smack.
“You’re just like them, fucking rubbish.”
Smack.
“Hermione?”
“I’m okay. There were just a lot of times I fell short as a friend and a girlfriend.”
“Did you fall short or did he not like how you strived to achieve more?”
“I still have to remind myself that I never fell short, but sometimes it felt like I failed him as a friend.”
“No,” Dr. Stone leaned to the edge of his chair, “You never fell short. He fell short for you. Everything you did, every choice you had to make, was your attempt to make the best decision for you and your community, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then he fell short, not you.”
“I made the best choices I could.”
“You did, that’s why your magic was over it.”
“Yeah it was,” I scoff, nearly laughing, “The incident really was just my magic being done with him. The speech was fine, no one really had any qualms with it besides him. His face was red and angry through the whole thing. After I finished, I welcomed Harry to take over and stepped off the stage.”
“From there what happened?”
“I went towards the back of the Great Hall to leave the room for a moment. I was supposed to talk with the Slytherins to offer them any support they may need. That’s when he got up and followed me towards the main hallway.”
“You said previously that he grabbed you once you were out of the Great Hall.”
“He did, one hand on my shoulder and the other going for my hair. That’s when I tried to push away and my magic threw him. He ended up slamming into the wall opposite of the Great Hall doors. I ended up fracturing his pelvis in two spots and a severe concussion that led to a magically induced coma.”
“Then you blacked out?”
“Sort of. I remember him hitting the wall and falling to the floor. That’s when everything started to go black at the edges of my vision. I heard someone say my last name, a man, before everything went completely black. Then, I woke up in St. Mungo’s with Harry, Ginny, and Kingsley all in the room. Apparently they found all the bruises when I got my exam and called them in since they’re my emergency contacts.”
“Did they question you about the bruising from there? I’m assuming that’s how they determined that he would be charged.”
“Yes,” I’m crying again, “Ginny made Harry and Kingsley leave while I spoke with the other healers. It’s hard when they’re your friends. Everyone I work with is a friend to me, now they all know.”
“They were able to use that to protect you, Hermione.”
“I know, I just still have this internal voice saying that maybe everything was my fault.”
“You’re so smart, Hermione. It’s hard to see someone so bright allow themselves to be dimmed. Everyone in your life speaks about how you are a light, the brightest in the room. You’re letting one person dim something so bright. They don’t call you the Golden Girl because of the war, they call you that because you are golden.”
“I don’t feel so golden.”
“Would you like to read something? It was given to me in one of the files.”
“I guess.”
The paper he handed me is nice, too fancy to be anything written by Harry or Ginny.
Kingsley,
I write this to you as the sole witness to the event that occurred during the 10th Anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. I and I alone was there when Miss Granger’s magic protected her from Weasley. She acted with no malicious intent other than self-preservation. It was a hard moment to witness but I can attest to Miss Granger’s actions in their necessity.
I have known her for many years and envied her for the majority. She has always been a strong-willed, bright individual. In a world full of darkness and solemnity, she was always a positive and bright person. Each day she chose to stand by Weasley’s side because she’s a good person who chooses to look for the good in anyone. She has done this for so many people who didn’t deserve the credit she gave them.
I am willing to speak on her behalf before the Wizengamot should she bring charges against Weasley.
“No one signed this letter.”
“Someone did, they chose to be anonymous to you.”
“To me? So someone did say my name.”
“Yes, someone saw. They want you and you alone to choose your path. They feel that the war took many of your decisions away from you.”
“That’s kind of them.”
“You have control in every choice, Hermione. This is just an additional reminder of that.”
“Right.”
“We are starting to run low on time today. Do you have anything else you’d like to discuss about today’s session before our check in?”
“No, I think I’ll be ready to discuss more next week.”
“Okay,” he put his files down and opened his notebook, “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” I use my sleeve to wipe away the tear stains on my cheeks.
“Have you had any anxiety related attacks since our last session?”
“No.”
“Anything that would usually trigger one that you were able to stop using tools?”
“No, I stayed home most of the last few days.”
“Okay, good. Any nightmares?”
“No.”
“Great. Any thoughts of self-harm or suicide?”
“Nope. This week has been really good.”
“That’s great news. We are all done for today, I’ll see you next Thursday.”
“Goodbye, Dr. Stone.”
“Goodbye, Hermione.”