The Journey to the Queen
Chapter 10
9:00am, August 20th, 1998 - The Burrow
Hermione knew she was going to need as much time as possible to prepare the boys to meet the Queen. Hence the 9:00 am start. At least she got to have a full Weasley family breakfast before shopping.
"Morning Gin."
"Morning Mione. The boys should be down in a few. I think they are dreading shopping."
"Color me surprised. You're coming shopping with us right? Please don't make me do this alone." Hermione begged.
"Fine, if I must." Ginny laughed.
"I'm going to need someone's help Gin. It's going to be like herding cats. Has your brother ever seen a muggle suit?
"I doubt it. Can't be any worse than those dress robes from your fourth year." Hermione, and Ginny fell into a fit of laughter at the memory of those robes. The boys finally came downstairs when they started to smell breakfast.
"G'mornin." Harry, and Ron yawned.
"Morning dears." Mrs. Weasley said as she took a seat at the table. "Tuck in everyone."
Hermione smiled, Mrs. Weasley's breakfasts were her favorite. They rarely had large breakfasts at home as they were usually busy with the horses, and the last thing you wanted before exercising horses was an overly full stomach.
Once breakfast was complete and everyone had their tea, Hermione started sharing the plan for the day with Ginny and the boys.
"Okay, our goal today is to get the two of you muggle suits. That's step one in proper attire for meeting the Queen. We will floo into the Leaky, but instead of going to Diagon. we will go towards muggle London, and catch a cab."
"Why do we have to dress up for this? It's not like we are going to a fancy dinner like Sunday." Ron bitched.
Mrs. Weasley happily explained the significance of the event to Ron. "Ronald, stop this right now. You're going to be meeting The Queen, show some respect and appreciation. Also, be thankful that you have Hermione around to help you understand these things, that way you won't look completely lost when you meet her."
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said sincerely. "Harry, Ron, let me know when you guys are ready. We've got a lot to do today."
Hermione waited in the dining room with Ginny until the boys were ready. Mrs. Weasley's statement must have lit a fire under Ron's ass, because he was ready to leave in less than ten minutes, and Harry was right behind him.
With all her minions in tow, they each went through the floo, ready to start their adventure. They caught a taxi, which took them to Suitsupply. She knew Harry and Ron would be able to find suits that would be acceptable for meeting the queen.
"Good morning." The shopkeeper said as the group walked in. "What can I help you with this morning?"
"These two." Hermione said as she gestured towards Ron and Harry. "Need a day suit, appropriate for meeting members of parliament."
"Tailored, or off the rack?"
"Off the rack please. Something they can take home today."
The shopkeeper nodded, and turned to Harry and Ron. "Gentlemen, if you could follow me."
Hermione and Ginny took a seat as the boys had their measurements taken. They had some time to chat before Harry and Ron started trying things on.
"So what do we do now?"
"Gin, we just get to watch, give our opinion, and tell them what to buy."
"Oh, this will be fun."
Harry, and Ron tried various suits until they each found something that would work. Ginny excelled at the job of telling Ron, and Harry what did, and didn't, look good. Harry picked a gray three piece suit, with a white shirt, and a Gryffindor red tie. Ron went a different route. He chose a simple two piece, double breasted, navy suit, that he paired with a light blue shirt, and a Gryffindor yellow tie.
Once their purchases were complete, they thanked the shopkeeper, and left. Since they all know the way home they apparated back to the Burrow from an empty alleyway.
Kingsley was coming to the burrow to learn Royal Protocol around 1:30 pm. Mrs. Weasley had made a light lunch that everyone was enjoying. Like all the time Hermione spent at the Burrow, lunch was filled with laughter. Before long, it was 1:30 pm, and they heard a crack of apparition signaling Kingsley's arrival.
"Good afternoon." Kingsley said.
"Hey Kings, are you ready for royal protocol lessons with Hermione?" Harry laughed.
"I don't know. Did you, and Ron find suits for tomorrow?"
Both Harry, and Ron nodded. "We have picked something that meets Hermione and Ginny's standards."
Hermione jumped into the conversation. "Alrighty, Harry, Ron, Kings, are you ready to learn enough royal protocol to survive an afternoon with the Queen?"
The three men groaned. Hermione rolled her eyes. "I can go if you guys want to manage this one on your own…"
"No!" They all shouted.
"Well alright then. Lesson number one. How to address the Queen. When you are first introduced you are to bow, and say "Your Majesty." The bow is a light neck bow, not a full bow at the waist. Like this."
Hermione demonstrated a neck bow. Kingsley picked up on it immediately, followed by Harry. Ron kept trying to fully bend at the waist. Harry, and Kingsley kept laughing at him, which made them no help, what so ever.
“Good lord Ronald. Just bend your neck like you’re nodding.” Hermione chastised. Ron finally seemed to get it. She hoped.
“Alright, now that you know the formal greeting, let's get to the protocol.” Harry, and Ron looked confused that there was more. “Now, you only bow the first time you meet her. Your first meeting should be, shake her hand (if offered), and bow. As you do this you will say “Your Majesty”. You will see me curtsey instead of bow.” Hermione demonstrated.
“Does that make sense?” Kingsley, Harry, and Ron nodded.
“After you’ve formally addressed the Queen as “Your Majesty”, any time after that you may simply call her ma’am. That’s ma’am as in jam.” She clarified.
“How do you know all this stuff Mione?” Ron asked.
Caught off guard, Hermione took a moment to think. “My muggle primary school often had visitors from the Royal Family, so we received instruction on protocol.”
Ron looked satisfied with her answer. Harry was clueless, so he didn’t ask any questions. Kingsley on the other hand had a knowing smirk on his face that she wanted to just smack off. Fuckin Kingsley, she knew he was going to be a thorn in her side now that he knew. She hit him with a low powered stinging hex instead of telling him to sod off like she wanted to.
“Let’s go through this again. You’re going to pretend I’m the Queen, and I want to see you greet the Queen properly.”
Kingsley, Harry, and Ron were passable. Kingsley, and Harry more than Ron, no surprise there. All she could hope was that Ron wasn’t going to embarrass himself, but after what she witnessed that seemed like a longshot.
“Tomorrow the portkey will leave my office at 11am. We will portkey to Aberdeen Airport, where a car has been arranged to pick us up. The drive from the airport to Balmoral is approximately an hour. We are slated to meet the Queen, and the Prime Minister for a casual lunch at 12:40. Let's meet in my office around 10:30 so we can go over everything one more time before we leave.” Kingsley instructed.
August 21st, 1998
Hermione had been up, and busy since 6:00 in the morning. This morning she was in the stable early with her mum as they had new horses coming in, and one was an early birthday present for Hermione, but she didn't know that yet. At 6:20 the transporters pulled in. She heard the sounds of Horses excited to get out of the trailer, some stomping, and calling out as the lorry opened.
"We have three in total for you." He said with a thick irish accent. "You have amazing taste, they're all beautiful, and have amazing temperaments." His comments were directed to her mum.
Hermione watched as the three horses were unloaded. They were all tall warmbloods and looked absolutely beautiful. Her mum made her way over, and started introducing her to the horses. The first was a pure black, 12 year old Fresian gelding, roughly 15.5 hands high (HH).
"Eventing or show jumping?" Hermione asked her mum.
"Neither. Dressage." Dressage wasn't her mum's go to discipline, so she was curious why mum bought him. .
The next one off was a beautiful, 10 year old, chestnut colored, Selle Francais, about 16.2 (HH). Just looking at her confirmation Hermione could tell she was a jumper.
"Well she's clearly a show jumper." Her mum laughed in response and nodded her head.
"So, Mya." Her mum said, using her nickname. "There’s only one more horse coming off the lorry. This one is an early birthday present for you from your father and I."
Hermione was surprised and tried to prepare herself. What she saw next was one of the most beautiful warmbloods she had ever seen. Coming out of the trailer was a tall, 16.8 HH, dapple gray, Holsteiner.
"He's beautiful. Is he a stallion or gelding?"
"A stallion, coming to us from the trainer in Antwerp, Belgium. Mya, meet Mercury. He's a 6 year old holsteiner, born in Germany. He's quite green, but shows amazing promise in show jumping and eventing. Your father, and I thought the two of you would be a good match as he's coming into his competitive years, and so are you.”
Hermione was beaming. She had a soft spot for dapple gray horses, and the one standing in front of her was absolutely beautiful. She walked up to him, and started petting his head. He was an absolute sweetheart, who clearly loved attention.
"Mum, I'm going to turn Mercury out in the indoor arena, since the other two are going to the small pasture."
"Not for long please. He still needs breakfast."
Hermione nodded at her mum, and made her way into the arena. She turned him out, and smiled as Mercury had the zoomies. She watched how much he enjoyed having a run around, after such a long trip in the lorry. That was how her mum found her twenty minutes later.
"Did we make a good choice?"
"Yes mum absolutely! He's magnificent. Can you tell me more about him?"
"Of course! He is fresh out of training and ready to compete. His sire was a show jumper, and he's out of a mare that has an impressive record in eventing. His genetic, and health testing was above reproach. If he competes as well as his parents did, you should be able to stud him out as well. I was thinking you could compete with him at lower levels this year to prove him."
"That sounds like a great idea."
"Let's get this guy some breakfast, then we can take Dottie and Lola out for an hour or so before you have to get ready." Her mum said.
Hermione nodded, and walked with her mum, to put Mercury into his stall. She was completely overwhelmed with her day, and she hadn't even had lunch with the Queen yet.
Hermione was thankful for their stable grooms, they had already tacked up Dottie, and Lola for their hack. They went on a leisurely hack across the property, and were back with plenty of time for breakfast.
Following breakfast Hermione got ready to go meet Kingsley and the Boys. She chose a summer dress, with a matching jacket. At 10:20 she made her way out to her usual apparition spot, and headed to the Ministry. She apparated right into the Ministry atrium, then made her way to Kingsley's office. Where his secretary let her go right in
"Hey Kings."
"Hi there, how are you Hermione?"
"I'm well. I did a lot of work this morning, so this is a nice break."
"Oh? What did you have to do?" Kingsley was curious about what work she could possibly have to do. He had assumed their staff took care of everything for them.
"We had a shipment of horses come in at 6:00 this morning, then a few that needed to go on hacks."
"How many horses does your family have?" After seeing where Hermione had grown up, Kingsley decided to get to know her better, as there was clearly more to this girl than meets the eye. Before Hermione could answer his question there was a knock on the office door, and the boys walked in the room.
"Harry, Ron. Thanks for getting here early."
"No problem Kings."
"What Harry said." Ron added as he put candy from the dish in his mouth. Now with Harry, and Ron here, the question Kingsley had asked fell to the wayside.
Kingsley got the trio's attention, grabbed the portkey and made sure they were all ready. All four of them made sure they were touching the portkey, an old stained baseball hat. At promptly 11:00 the portkey whisked them away.
The group landed in Aberdeen Airports portkey lounge. Hermione was thankful she had learned how to portkey properly, as she landed on her feet instead of on her face like what happened the first time she traveled by portkey. Looking around the room, she was happy to see Harry, and Ron also had a better outcome with the portkey than last time. Kingsley cleared his throat, getting the tio's attention.
"They said the driver would be waiting for us at baggage claim." Kingsley said, now leading the trio through the airport. They went down the escalators toward baggage claim where a man in a suit had a sign with Kingsley's name on it. Kingsley walked over to the man, and introduced himself, and the trio. The driver led them outside to an SUV that would be taking them to Balmoral Castle.
The drive passed quickly, with Hermione reiterating the protocol for how to meet the Queen. Before they knew it, they were being driven up the driveway to the Castle. The group of four were met by one of the Queens aides, named Robert, who explained the order of events for the afternoon, and further reiterated the protocol for meeting her Majesty.
"First we will be taking you to the drawing room where you will meet the prime minister. Again, there's no need for the royal protocol, just be respectful." Robert explained, and led the group towards the drawing room.
One by one, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were introduced to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair. He thanked them for everything they did, and their service to the country by ridding the world of the evil that was Voldemort. Polite small talk was made until Robert signaled it was time for the group to move on.
They were then led toward the throne room, where they were brought in to meet the Queen. They were arranged in a line, with the Prime Minister, and Kingsley at the front. Hermione, Harry, and Ron rounded out the line in alphabetical order. They were told the Queen would be along shortly.
At promptly 12:40 the Queen walked in the room. The Prime Minister, and Kingsley greeted Queen Elizabeth properly, no surprise there. Then it was Hermione's turn.
"Your Majesty." Hermione said politely as she curtsied perfectly.
"Ms. Granger, Hermione, it's lovely to see you again."
"Lovely to see you as well ma'am." Hermione responded, hopeful Harry, and Ron didn't hear what the Queen had said.
She watched as Harry successfully greeted the queen, hopeful that Ron would be able to pull off the same. Ron managed the Your Majesty part correctly, but delivered the most clumsy bow Hermione had ever seen.
"Thank you all for coming today. I hope you know how thankful we are for what you have done in ridding the world of Voldemort. Now, I hope you don't think I would ask you here just to say thank you. I invited you here to present the three of you with an Order of the British Empire."
Hermione was astounded. That was the highest award in the country. Something that was not often awarded. It was the equivalent to a Knighthood, and was generally awarded during large ceremonies. The Queen giving the order in a private ceremony was unprecedented.
The Queen presented the three of them with the Order of the British Empire. They were given the highest order, the Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. The boys could now use the style sir, while Hermione could use Dame.
"Shall we head into the dining room for lunch." The Queen said.
The group followed the Queen into the dining room. Hermione was seated near the Queen, towards the head of the table. The Prime Minister was across from her, and Kingsley to her left. She was thankful as this would make it difficult for the boys to hear her conversation.
"Hermione, again it's lovely to see you. I haven't seen you since Ascot two years ago. How have you been, outside of the whole saving the world thing?"
Hermione laughed. "I've been well, thank you. I've been doing my best to keep busy. Spending as much of my free time in the stables as I can."
"That's lovely. Any new arrivals?" Anyone who knew the Queen, understood she was far happier talking about horses, and dogs than current events. Hermione was more than happy to talk about the horses.
"We just received a shipment of horses this morning actually."
"Go on."
"Mum had two new ones come in for her. A 12 year old friesian gelding, I'm told he has a wonderful dressage record. She also brought in a 10 year old selle- francais mare for show jumping."
"Those are both lovely breeds. The francais will surely excel. was it only the two she brought in?"
"No ma'am. She, and my father also purchased a new horse for me, as a birthday gift. A 6 year old holsteiner stallion, fresh from the trainer."
"That's exciting. Do you have plans for a specific discipline?"
"I'm thinking eventing like my mum, but fortunately, I have time to decide."
Conversation flowed easily over lunch. Hermione was thankful she was able to talk about a subject she loved, without having to worry about Harry and Ron. At the end of lunch, which lasted about 45 minutes, the Queen again thanked them for coming, and excused herself. They said their goodbyes to the Prime Minister, and then made their way to go back home.
Once back in the SUV, Hermione let out a deep sigh of relief. Thankful that the day went well. Now, she just wanted to go home, relax and have fun before going back to Hogwarts.