Loneliness
After the Second Wizarding War, Hermione returned to Hogwarts to complete her education. He managed to obtain a position in the Ministry of Magic, specifically in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Their main goal was to enact a law that would ensure fairer treatment for house-elves. It took him a long time to accept that most elves did not wish to be freed, but that did not mean that they should be mistreated by their "masters." He came to an agreement with the elves and wizards, stating that the elves would not leave their family homes, but that their masters should offer them better living conditions. In addition, it was agreed to provide them with fabrics so that they could make a more suitable wardrobe. Likewise, if a family wished to free an elf, but keep him in their service, they had to pay him a salary of three galleons (a figure set by the elves themselves).
At first, this led to certain problems, as some traditional families were adamantly opposed, deeming it unacceptable to give dignified treatment to creatures they considered inferior. However, few dared to face the war heroine and the fine imposed on those who refused to comply with the requirements. Those who resisted could face time in Azkaban, while the elf would pass on to another family related to his former master. Fortunately, after two years of struggle, this measure was no longer necessary.
It had made other significant advances, such as the Luping Act, this law was enacted as a response to the prejudice and discrimination suffered by those who had been turned into werewolves during the war.
One of the key provisions of the Luping Act was to ensure that werewolves had equal opportunities in the workplace. They could no longer be denied employment or limited in their career options because of their status as werewolves. This opened doors for them to be able to perform in any area in which they had skills and aptitudes, without being discriminated against because of their status.
In addition, the law addressed the concern of full moon nights, when werewolves underwent involuntary transformations and could pose a danger to themselves and others. A system of controlled confinement was established, supervised by specialized medimagicians. These centers allowed werewolves to spend their full moon nights in a safe environment, where they were provided with necessary medical care and dangerous situations were avoided.
Despite enjoying her position very much, Hermione felt that she had achieved satisfaction with her previous goals and longed for a new challenge. After five years working in the Creatures Department, his interest had shifted to the search, control, and research of cursed objects and their properties. Their job was to identify, track, and study cursed objects, unraveling their mysteries and potential dangers. Through painstaking research and rigorous control protocols, she strove to understand the mechanisms behind these objects and find ways to mitigate their negative influence.
And so she was now, trapped in her study, with more than four hours spent reading books and searching for spells that could undo the dark magic that clung to the necklace confiscated the night before.
Fatigue was beginning to set in, but Hermione persisted, fueled by her passion for knowledge and her commitment to the safety of the wizarding community. Knocks echoed at the door, interrupting Hermione's concentration and causing her to look up from her book. Hannah Abbott, his assistant, entered the room holding scrolls in her hands.
"Hermione, here are the rune scrolls you requested," Hannah announced, extending them to her. "Also, Kingsley asked me to inform you that he expects a detailed report on the object confiscated" he added with a smile that failed to cheer the chestnut up.
"Is that the cursed object?" the blonde spoke, as she watched and admired the beautiful necklace resting on the desk. "I hope the gift Neville has in store for me is just as beautiful as this," he joked.
Hermione warily warned, "Be careful when touching it, it overflows with dark magic everywhere. Each emerald on the necklace glows with a sinister brilliance, as if it contained the very essence of the curse. Its deceptive beauty contrasts with the darkness it conceals."
Curious, Hannah asked, "Have you been able to figure out what it does yet?"
Hermione nodded and raised her wand, enveloping the necklace in a golden light as it floated between the two. "The curse that afflicts those who wear the necklace is a continual agony that manifests itself through blue flames burning on the skin. These hellish flames don't just cause intense physical pain. As the curse intensifies, the emerald necklace clings to the wearer's neck, becoming impossible to remove. Each attempt to break free from the collar only increases the intensity of the pain and the strength with which it clings, making it an unbreakable prison." The person who had found him was Terry Boot's Muggle girlfriend. He had mentioned that his girlfriend purchased the necklace from an antique store. If it weren't for Terry's knowledge and ability to detect dark magic, the girl might have experienced a tragic fate.
"Well, I don't like it as a gift anymore," Hannah said with a shudder, feeling a sense of uneasiness run down her spine.
"I'm frustrated with this," she admitted in front of her friend. "The only thing I have discovered so far in the ministry's records is that several jewels like these were cursed. Most of them were destroyed immediately, so I haven't found any counterspells that can bring them back to normal."
"Maybe you should rest today, Hermione. You look so exhausted," Hannah spoke worriedly as she noticed the dark circles under her friend's eyes.
"No way, I couldn't rest easy. I won't give up until I find something to help me figure this out."
"If you want, I can stay and help you with the books."
Hermione appreciated her friend's support, but with a smile she shook her head. She wasn't very good at working in a team, she liked to be alone with her projects because she tended to become intense and bossy. Poor Hannah didn't deserve that. "Don't worry about me. Besides, don't you have to get ready for your anniversary dinner with Neville?"
"Oh, he'll understand if I'm a little late."
"Seriously, Hannah. I can handle this. Go and enjoy your night." Not very convinced, the former Hufflepuff said goodbye to her friend, knowing how stubborn Hermione was and how impossible it was to change her mind.
Going hours without any useful information, Hermione leaned back in her chair and ran her hands over her face in frustration. Her hair, which had previously been pulled back in a bun, was unraveling and curly strands were falling freely. He looked disdainfully at the cursed necklace, thinking that perhaps he should approach the problem from another perspective.
The necklace itself looked expensive, with white gold and three emeralds sticking out, surrounded by small diamond inlays. It was very ostentatious for his taste, the kind of jewel that only wealthy people could afford to buy or inherit as a family heirloom.
Suddenly, his face lit up with a new thought. He quickly searched the register for jewels that had been destroyed. Each of them had the names of the former owners, all belonging to pure-blood families. Some had voluntarily surrendered their family heirlooms, while others were unhappy with having their jewelry confiscated for destruction.
Hermione searched for the name of the owner of the last jewel delivered. Bingo!
Item: Engagement ring, voluntarily given in 1998, months after the Battle of Hogwarts. Destroyed that same year.
Evil Properties: Drain magic from the wearer, weakening them and causing a slow and painful death.
Owner: Theodore Nott.
Theodore Nott had been a classmate in some subjects. Hermione had seen him withdrawn several times in the library, and it was hard to miss his slightly wavy brown hair and deep blue eyes. As a young man, he was tall but frailly built, a lonely boy who never felt compelled to join the "groups" led by Malfoy. Although she had occasionally seen him chatting with him and had learned that they teased her together in Potions class. His father, Mr. Nott, was a loyal purist and follower of Voldemort. She had bewitched him in the Department of Mysteries when he tried to grab Harry as they fled the Hall of Prophecy. She shocked him and left him incapacitated as shelves full of prophecies collapsed around him. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Nott was tried and exposed as a Death Eater, and has since been imprisoned in Azkaban. His son, Theodore, was not tried, as he was not involved in his father's acts, and there are records indicating that he was evacuated along with the other Slytherins.
Perhaps he could provide some useful information. Although she wasn't close to Theodore beyond a few brief greetings, Hermione knew someone who was: Luna Lovegood. She took a scroll and wrote a short letter to her friend with her pen. He tied the letter to his owl's leg and watched the bird fly away.
Feeling satisfied, she decided it was time to return home. Before leaving, he secured the collar under protections to avoid any disaster. He took a handful of flu powder and disappeared into the green flames.
"Crookshanks," he said with a smile as he bent down at the height of his cat to pick it up and coo it to his chest, "did you miss me my little one?"
"Meow" her cat rubbed against her cheek.
He sat down in one of his armchairs and, placing Crooksshanks on his lap, relaxed and felt the animal's purrs as he stroked its coppery fur. The tranquility lasted a short time as she felt how her stomach roared with hunger, realizing that she had not eaten anything in her entire working day, she could get up and prepare something quickly but she was quite comfortable and did not want to wake the cat that was now sleeping peacefully, she took out her wand that was trapped between her hairstyle and summoned with an "Accio Chinese food" to the remains of boxed noodles that the woman had ordered. The night before and he wasn't done, he cast a warming spell on his meal and enjoyed his depressing dinner.
A sigh escaped her lips as she watched the fire crackle, she didn't complain about her life, after living in fear and struggling from a young age Hermione didn't feel she had the right to be depressed by unimportant things. However, there was something sad about being a 26-year-old woman returning alone to a house with only a pet cat. Not that she thought she needed to get a man to feel fulfilled, but considering that in the wizarding world people married young and most of their friends were coupled, she felt a certain envy at how well they were all doing in love.
Her last serious relationship had been with Ron, they had started in the heat of battle and after two years together they decided to break up as they felt they were not what the other was looking for, they called it quits for good as it was not worth losing a friendship of several years, that and not putting Harry or any of her other friends in uncomfortable positions. He then tried to contact Victor again but it didn't work after a few meetings, distance was a problem and mainly they had m t was a problem and mainly they had very little in common. Finally, she tried dating a muggle boy her parents had introduced to her as a patient, he was quite cute and nice but it wasn't going to work as she had to constantly lie about her life and suppress her witch identity so as not to violate the secret statute.
Deep inside she knew that this was the reason she sought out new challenges in her work, so she wouldn't feel so alone with her own thoughts and could put them aside while she focused on her projects that left her with no energy to process her feelings and go straight to sleep. But there were nights when she couldn't avoid them and this was one of those nights.
Maybe she should work on that more, consider dating again, Ginny had once told her that more than one wizard would be interested in her, but she knew the interest came from the fame of her name and before she was the "golden girl", "Harry Potter's best friend" or "the smartest witch of her generation" before she was all that she was a simple person who didn't want someone who was dazzled just by her titles, she wanted someone who didn't see her as perfect or golden, who didn't seek her company just because of her role in the war, just someone who wanted her just for being her.
And with those last thoughts she fell asleep, in her living room, on a couch and with a cat cooing her dreams.