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Chapter Two

Her heels clacked noisily on the marble floor as she strode purposefully towards her destination. With its high, arched ceilings trimmed with gold and imposing marble arches, the hospital was built more like a cathedral than a place to house the sick.

It was an impressive feat of architecture, undoubtedly, but she couldn't help but inwardly scorn the gilded monstrosity, sure that funds could have been far better put to use in aiding those it was intended to help, rather than impressing foreign dignitaries.

After all, it was a hospital, not the ministry.

Restraining the urge to tut in distaste, she ran a hand over the tight knot of hair pinned at the back of her head, controlled only by clips and a liberal amount of willpower. Satisfied that her hair was in place, she turned her attention to the modest blouse, smoothing out the worst of the creases with practiced ease and twisting her skirt back into the correct position.

Finally content, she rapped sharply on the door to the boardroom, swallowing back a thousand irritable thoughts to focus on the task at hand.

The door swung open abruptly, bringing her face to face with an apologetic looking elderly gentleman, who ushered her inside with a sympathetic smile.

Now familiar with the expressions of pity she received on a daily basis from the senior members of staff, she nodded briefly before persevering onwards into the cold chamber.

The boardroom was designed to be intimidating, she'd realised fairly early on; with the board members, somewhat stereotypically all males, raised to a level above the speaker. It had the formidable air of a courtroom, high ceilings and empty space intended to isolate the ill-advised soul who sought to win the favour of the board.

She straightened, drawing on her heels to give her the extra height she so desperately needed. But nevertheless, no matter how daunting they intended to appear, no mere man was going to intimidate Hermione Granger.

The head of the board gave her the nod to begin speaking, but his attention was elsewhere, and it was painfully clear that he was barely listening to her presentation. Disinterest thronged the air like smog, choking her with frustration and indignance. Fortunately she had expected this.

She'd finished presenting the idea, knowing full well it would be rejected by every member of the board, knowing full well that none of them had listened to a single word she had said, knowing full well what their stance on the matter would be before she had even entered the chamber.

And as the customary rejections began to fall about her ears like dead flies, she waited patiently for them to finish.

Smiling in a slightly predatorial nature, she took another step forward.

"Gentlemen, as you may now be well aware, I have put forward this request an approximation of five times, and have been denied each opportunity. I have proposed a project that could mutually benefit both our society and the individuals it affects. I have even offered to fund part of the project myself.

Yet each time I have been rejected on the grounds of mumbled excuses and rules that haven't existed in thirty plus years, but you have quoted them regardless, perchance hoping I wouldn't bother to research further.

However, I have noticed that large sums of money have been given freely to other researchers studying far less ground breaking or significant projects. Another coincidence perhaps is that each of these members of staff are male. More suspiciously, on closer examination, every single one of these is a so-called pureblood. Hardly a coincidence considering a further three members of staff had already been turned down on the grounds of a lack of funds – especially since these three researchers consist of two females and one muggleborn male."

During her speech, she'd taken particular interest and delight in the growing discomfort amongst the board members, still smiling pleasantly at them, secretly enjoying the look of unease of the face of the head.

"But I hardly expect that you were aware of that. 's claims to be an equal opportunities employer, so I would be frankly astounded that the governing body were knowingly enforcing a sexist and blood purist work environment."

Repressing the urge to grin at the now white as a sheet head of the board, she decided to twist the knife a little further.

"It would be particularly damming for the hospital, especially given that equal opportunities are somewhat of a hot topic in this political environment, if it became widely known that 's were enforcing practices that were of a discriminatory nature."

She watched the bulging eyes and sweaty brows with a sense of satisfaction, before adding quickly,

"I speak purely out of concern for the reputation of my workplace, of course. It wouldn't do for me to be seen working somewhere that endorsed such archaic values."

And so it was that fifteen minutes later she left the chamber, desperately trying to suppress the urge to bounce like a five year old. Brandishing the paper of authorisation in one hand and a slight smirk on her face, she gave the old secretary a passing wave, holding back a giggle of delight as he stared at her in awe.

Feeling oddly rebellious, she retrieved her wand and banished all the pins from her hair in one swift motion, sighing in relief as mousy curls tumbled about her shoulders once more.

Back to work.

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