People had mentioned to Hermione that she could be the Arithmancy or Ancient Runes professor. Was that possible? She was still crazy. Of course, not everyone knew that. Other people with personal problems and mental deficiencies had got jobs at Hogwarts. Hermione listed some of the ones that she knew about, Severus Snape, Quirinus Quirrell, Gilderoy Lockhart and Sybill Trelawney.
Maybe she should ask about a job as an Arithmancy Professor. Septima Vector was promoted to be the Deputy Headmistress when Pomona Sprout was made Headmistress. Did they have an Arithmancy Professor? Septima Vector continued as the Arithmancy Professor until a suitable teacher was found to replace her. Was anyone found to do the job? More information was needed.
Hermione made a decision, “I’ll talk to Healer Brown before I talk to Professor Sprout.”
--ooOOoo—
“You don’t have to come with me.” Hermione glanced at Daphne as they walked through St Mungo’s together.
“I like being with you. Also, you have cost me a lot of trouble and worry over the years, and I would like to see that my efforts are not wasted.” Daphne smiled and nodded to a person who Hermione did not know.
“People know you. They see you coming into the hospital with me. Aren’t you concerned about stories starting about you visiting the mind healers?” Hermione asked.
“Not at all, I have had my own issues in the past. You aren’t the only one to come away from Hogwarts with hidden damage.” Daphne smiled at Hermione. “Anyway, people know me because my husband is filthy rich. That is not the same as you at all. People know you because you are a heroine. You supported Potter right to the end. There would have been no victory without you. Potter told everyone that and he is still saying it.”
Daphne looked at Hermione and waited for her reaction.
“You are deliberately goading me. I loathe him! The mention of his name makes me sick!” Hermione spat out the words with sudden fury.
“Ok! I won’t mention that again.” Daphne calmly replied.
Hermione took several deep breaths and stopped.
They had reached the waiting room entrance.
“Let me calm down before we go in,” Hermione growled.
They entered the waiting room and looked at the receptionist who smiled and waved them to the seats.
Hermione sat for a few minutes.
Hermione: “What do you mean ‘damage’? You never looked damaged back then.”
Daphne: “Maybe I’m better at hiding things like that.”
Hermione: “Come on now, I have told you heaps of stuff about me. Tell me something about you. What was this ‘damage’ about?”
Daphne: “Very well! The story behind the Slytherin Ice Queen, that’s me by the way.”
Hermione: “Yes, I heard that in our fifth year. None of the boys outside of Slytherin could get a date with you. You turned them all down.”
Daphne: “None of the boys or girls inside Slytherin got a date with me either.”
Hermione: “Oh! You really were an Ice Queen.”
Daphne: “Yes! I was a little spymaster and an agent on behalf of my father. Also, I was determined not to get beaten up.”
Hermione: “Beaten up!”
Daphne: “Yes! Beaten up! The senior Slytherin's favourite entertainment when they found a junior Slytherin who was a bit too insolent was to beat them up.
It was all done officially of course. Inside Slytherin, every student had to compete in the duelling tournaments. We trained every day. There were duelling cages in the dungeons solely for Slytherin students to practice and compete. Junior students started competing against each other in the official competition but then all students had to take part in challenges. Any student could challenge another from any year.
If a senior felt that a junior wasn’t respectful enough, then the senior could issue a challenge to that junior who had to respond. The junior would get roughed up. Usually not enough to put them in the infirmary but it always hurt and was humiliating. It was the Slytherin way.”
Hermione: “You were determined to avoid that. How?”
Daphne: “My dearest Daddy knew all about this. He was a Slytherin as was Mummy.
They trained us to fight. They also trained us in Occlumency and Legilimency to give us the advantage while fighting. We could block any Legilimens from seeing our next move and in return, we could see an opponent’s next move unless they were accomplished Occlumens.
The junior Death Eaters all knew that Daddy was not a Death Eater or supporter. They were determined to bully us and send the message to Daddy that he couldn’t avoid supporting them. Calista Selwyn was the senior who wanted to challenge me. She was two years older. In the first duel, I managed to avoid all her attacks. She challenged again a week later. I disarmed her, knocked her down, and tied her up.
That set the pattern. Eventually, I managed to convey the impression that I wasn’t following in my father’s footsteps. It also helped that I could beat up any opponent three years older than me, girl or boy.
I always had to be on my guard. Every time I walked into the common room, I had to be aware of any attacks being planned. I could hex them before they got their wand up. It was a lot easier if I kept a distance between them and me, so I took on the role of the Slytherin Ice Queen.”
Hermione: “Wow, they made you fight to survive. They were supposed to be your friends.”
Daphne: “You really are Gryffindor, Hermione. I lied my way into Draco Malfoy’s gang to keep the pressure on us down and improve my spying.”
Hermione: “So what happened after we left.”
Daphne: “The last year was bad. The house was divided. The junior Death Eaters did not have it all their way.
Slughorn was Head of House, and he only just managed to keep a lid on things. There were no killings in the common room.
If Draco was a proper Death Eater, then there would have been murder. He showed his true colours. He was weak and cowardly. The gang broke up. Crabbe and Goyle were bound to Draco by being his father’s vassals, but they were disappointed by his lack of blood lust. Draco’s father tore up the betrothal contract between Draco and Pansy. Pansy’s father could not pay the dowry demands. Pansy wanted to dump him anyway, much to his relief.”
Hermione: “Then, when you graduated, you were top of the class, and you had a severe anti-social attitude.”
Daphne: “Snap!”
Hermione: “Was there anything else?”
Daphne: “Anything else like sexual harassment, do you mean?”
Hermione nodded.
Daphne: “Girls from lesser houses and half-bloods like Tracey Davis were always being pressured. Astoria and I were safe enough, we were classed as pure-blood princesses. I trained Tracey to fight and to be a proper bitchy miss and managed to get her accepted into the gang. That gave her protection.
The lower-ranked girls could get favours for themselves and gain status if they gave in to the high-ranked boys. Madam Pomfrey could restore their virginal status if they went to her for help the day after. Most Slytherin girls had to be virgins if they wanted an advantageous marriage.”
Hermione: ‘Did that affect you; I mean did that add to the anti-social problem for you.”
Daphne: “It sure did. I ended up behaving as though I had been molested even though I hadn’t been. The feeling of what was happening was so pervasive. I showed some classic symptoms of being a victim. The biggest one was that I pushed people away from me who got too close. I was reluctant to let anyone into my life.
My husband helped me to break out of that. He started asking me out. I said no. I avoided him. He didn’t get insulted or give up.
He was kind and patient and eventually got me to go to lunch with him one day. I panicked the whole time. I ran away to my mother.
She told me to get back to London and make an appointment with a mind healer. She knew that I needed help.
My husband was wonderful. He supported me through the whole thing. He didn’t give up. We got married. He was my first and only boyfriend and is now my husband and father of my children.”
Healer Brown came to the doorway. “Ladies! Sorry I am late. Please come in.”
Healer Brown worked through his opening statements and questions.
Then the interesting part started.
Healer: “I would like you to respond to each of these names.”
Hermione nodded.
Healer: “Albus Dumbledore.”
Hermione: “The scheming, unscrupulous manipulator should be consigned to the deepest rubbish bin of history. If I find myself thinking of doing anything he ever told me to do, I slap myself on my face, hard.”
Healer: “Ronald Weasley.”
Hermione: “I don’t hate him. I don’t love him. I feel nothing either for or against him. That may change. I feel that there is more to find out about why he married me. He must have known that I was not a suitable match for him. It was I who insisted on rushing into the marriage. My compulsion was powered by Dumbledore’s enchantments, may he rot in hell.”
Healer: “Harry Potter.”
Hermione: “I hate him with white-hot heat. I loathe him. Hearing his name makes me feel sick.”
Healer: “Has that feeling changed since you have been meeting with me?”
Hermione: “No, not at all.”
Healer: “Do you remember why you dislike him? Is there anything that he did which stands out?”
Hermione: “I..., I..., I can’t remember. Bilious was constantly finding things Potter did to complain about, but I hated Potter long before I married Bilious. I can’t remember what it was that made me hate Potter.”
Healer: “You have no unrestored memories. We have restored them all.”
Hermione: “I don’t understand.”
Healer: “I want you to look through all of your things. The things that you use on most days. I want you to look for something that you don’t notice. It may be something that was given to you by a person who you trust, then and now.”
Hermione: “A person who passed on a gift to me from Albus Dumbledore. Something that was given to me in a way that I would not notice or remember. The sneaky, cunning manipulator, is nothing safe?”
Daphne: “Bilious?”
Hermione: “You are having a Slytherin influence on me, Daphne. You don’t refer to Ronald by any other name.”
Healer Brown glanced from Daphne to Hermione.
“Ah! Well! Is there any other issue that you would like to discuss?”
Hermione looked at Daphne. Daphne nodded.
“There is something that I need to do to move forward with my investigation into the Wizarding Marriage Ritual.
I want to talk to Pomona Sprout about applying for the Arithmancy Professor job at Hogwarts. I need to be there to dig into what this Wizarding Marriage Ritual artefact is.
It is stored somewhere at Hogwarts. If I was a staff member, I could search for it without raising too much interest.
It is also a job that I want to do. It may be a long-term position for me.”
Healer Brown thought for a moment. “As long as you continue to see me once a week, I don’t see any problem.
Mr Potter is a school parent. You have to be prepared to deal with that.
If you can be in the same room as him without hurling hexes at him, it should be safe enough.”
--ooOOoo--
The headmaster’s office was different. The last time Hermione had been there the place was bare. Snape never put anything of himself into the office. There were two portraits on the wall behind the desk which Hermione did not want to see. Dumbledore and Snape were sleeping or pretending to sleep. Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick were still alive, so their portraits were not there.
Pomona Sprout had a collection of plants which rustled and swayed despite the lack of any breeze. You always felt that you were being observed and not just by the portraits. A pair of plants which might have been lilies turned to follow Hermione as she walked in. Their heads stayed pointed at Hermione while she sat before the desk.
“Hermione, it’s been too long. How are you?” The headmistress was genuinely glad to see Hermione.
“I’m recovering, Headmistress. I have been getting a lot of help from family and friends. There are still issues but the consensus of opinion on my wellbeing is that I am now allowed out on my own.” Hermione smiled.
“Please Hermione, my name is Pomona. I have been very impressed by Rose’s progress in her first-year classes. She seems to have taken the loss of her father very calmly.” Pomona was fishing for the reason why.
“I write to Rose every second day and she writes back. She is aware of how much I have struggled with my husband’s passing. One thing that I must point out is that both of my children were never close to my husband. He had certain issues which put a barrier between them, and those issues were never resolved.” Hermione hoped that Pomona would keep her curiosity under control.
“Ah!” Pomona waited. Hermione had nothing more to say about Rose.
Hermione sat up straight. “What I wanted to discuss with you Pomona, is the Arithmancy Professor position. I understand that you don’t have a person to fill that job and Septima Vector is still doing it.”
“Yes! Are you interested? I can tell you right now that I would be delighted to offer you the position. You are the most qualified person in Britain right now. I have been putting feelers out to Europe and the States but there are no takers. We can’t offer the kind of money that the best teachers get overseas.” Pomona was suddenly hopeful.
Hermione replied, “I would like to talk to you and Septima about what I would like to do. I want to propose that I start in an Associate Professor role with Septima supervising me. When you both feel that I am ready then I will take on the Arithmancy Professor job. I want to be clear that I am working on some consultancy jobs right now which will continue. I also want to work on my own research projects.”
“That is music to my ears. You will retain your practical experience and expertise and at the same time, you are advancing the boundaries of our knowledge. You have been doing this on your own, as far I can tell.” Pomona was slightly awed.
“I worked from home. I dealt with my clients by correspondence.” Hermione answered.
“There is an issue that I need to mention. Since my husband passed, I have been getting help from the Mind Healer Clinic at St Mungo’s Hospital. There were problems which needed to be fixed dating from our time at Hogwarts and the war.” Hermione was less assured.
Pomona’s eyes widened. “My dear! None of us was unaffected. Your experiences were brutal and there seemed to be nothing done for you afterwards. I’m happy to hear that you have got some help. If ever there is anything that you need, please come straight to me. I will do everything in my power to assist you.”
A small silver bell chimed. “Ah! We have a visitor. Come in!”
The outer office door opened, and Rose walked in. She rushed up to Hermione and hugged her in the old Hermione Granger fashion.
“Mummy! What are you doing here? There isn’t more trouble is there?”
“No! I’m here to talk to the Headmistress. There might be a job for me at Hogwarts.”
“WHAT! If you are coming here that means Hugo is too. You’re not going to watch me all the time, are you? I was having a great time.” Rose was alternately delighted and horrified.
Hermione laughed. “Yes, Hugo will live here with me. He will floo to Aunt Fleur’s every morning and then go to his school from there. I will be much too busy to check on you all the time. I will have a job to do.”
Pomona Sprout spoke up. “There are other young children here as well, Rose. Other staff have children who are too young for Hogwarts classes. You don’t see them because they have their own place.”
Pomona spoke to Hermione. “Lunch will be served in a minute. Please join me at the Staff Table. Rose, you may go to lunch.”
“Yes Professor.”
“About our business, I will put a proposal to the board. When they approve it, I will send you your invitation.” Pomona smiled.
“Thank you, Pomona.” Hermione smiled.
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