walking over common ground

The Ministry of Magic had to be the most boring place on earth. Clytemnestra couldn't believe she was contemplating working there. But she was aiming for public relations. Marketing, basically? There could be no doubt that the Ministry needed a face lift. Both physically, and in terms of public perception.

She had no problem being the person who brought the Ministry of Magic kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. It wasn't like it was making any progress in that direction left to its own devices.

Right now, she was sat outside some office that looked exactly like the door to every other office in this place. It was just like being in Hogwarts, except that Clytemnestra had never sat outside anyone's office in Hogwarts. She was too well behaved, and when she wasn't well behaved, she was too smart to get caught.

If what her guide had said right before he dumped her here was true, there was one pretty big difference between this office and all the rest, though. Hermione Granger was sitting behind that door. Clytemnestra had seen Ms Granger around. Who hadn't? She'd been up at the school, sticking her nose in (like she seemed to stick her nose into everything) last year. It was one of the reasons Clytemnestra had asked about this position.

Hermione had spent a fair amount of time at Hogwarts during the initial part of the previous school year. Mainly, she did so because it would allow her to return to the Ministry with first hand experience and proof of what was going on under the new Headmaster's nose, and because of Hayes' influence or reputation or whatever else he chalked things up to.

Bizarrely or not, she hadn't found anything particularly unusual. It was a breath of fresh air in some ways, if only because she knew everyone would be able to breathe a sigh of relief. So as time went on she spent less and less time at her old haunt. Eventually she left it alone. There were bigger things brewing - particularly that spring. Miraculously, nothing had gone amiss at the memorial gala as far as she knew.

So the end of the school year came and she stuck to covering any small PR disasters to do with the Ministry and its departments. But as summer approached, Hermione herself was as well. The Ministry wanted to take on more apprentices, in part to appease parents and improve their image for the department. But it seemed that a fair few of the students were interested in working with her. As Ron had put it, actually, they were 'brave enough' to sign themselves up for a summer with someone like her.

She still wasn't sure if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult.

Nevertheless, she had gone through the applicants and selected one that seemed challenging, but interesting at the very least. Her love of learning had never died, after all. So she stood, moving around her desk to open the door and stepped out into the hallway. Sitting there was a strikingly blonde young woman - a recent graduate, at that.

"Miss Lux?" She asked, just to be sure. Hermione extended a hand in greeting. "Wonderful to finally meet you. We'll treat today as a trial, to see if you like the department and things like that. But why don't you come on in and get settled?"

Clytemnestra shook the offered hand.

"You can call me Clytemnestra," she said.

Both things - the handshake and the quick invitation to use first names - were strikingly mugglish. Precisely why Clytemnestra had suggested it. Granger would know she was a former Slytherin, but she needed to know she was an unprejudiced former Slytherin.

And perhaps it was a little bit of a test. Someone with a name like Hermione would surely have no trouble pronouncing Clytemnestra, would she?

There was really no need for Clytemnestra to get settled, since she was rarely unsettled. Certainly not by this department or, surprisingly, by Hermione, who so far was proving to be more personable than she'd anticipated.

Still she smiled and nodded while the women explained about a trial. Clytemnestra had no intentions of there being a trial, at least from her end. Everyone knew Hermione Granger had ambitions. She would be promoted out of this position and then Clytemnestra would be able to fix everything in this department so that she did like it.