#and why she is vital in my nicheverse

[divagonzo]

I am reading you new story Beloved. In the latest chapter, I don't understand the hostility between Hermione and Jones. Did you have another story where there back story or history is explained. Thank You.

Mornin’ Nonnie. Coffee is brewed in the kitchen.

TL;DR answer: - Read Ch. 16 of Ron Weasley Chronicles.

Long answer under the cut below because it’s long and spoilerish for Beloved and other fics in my entire Nicheverse.

Hemera Octavia Jones is an OC of mine. She’s s statuesque at 1.85M, dark brown skin, unapolgetic in being cometent to the point of arrogance, unabashedly Bisexual (*in a relationship with Aurora Sinestra, Astronomy Prof at Hogwarts, whom she met when she was DADA professor in the 1998-1999 post-war term), best friends with Kingsley Shacklebolt (even if she is a few years younger), cousin to Hesetia and Gwenog Jones, and 1983 graduate of Hogwarts (Hufflepuff House)

She’s much like how Okoye is written for the film adaptation of Black Panter - but that was purely accidental on my part, considering I’ve not yet watched it and wrote Jones before the movie came out (nor have I read the first comic.)

I wanted someone who was a force of nature and much a foil for Hermione, like another wing of the same bird with similar goals.

She started in the program right out of Hogwarts, having Gawain Robards and Kingsley Shacklebolt as Seniors (and later, Moody, too, before he retired.)

Her first and only year at Hogwarts (which is in a half-written Yr 8 fic focusing on the friendship of Hermione, Ginny, and Luna while the guys are off being Aurors) was wrought with problems, most of them caused by Hermione Granger. Jones, though, also saw so many of Hermione’s weak moments, the ones where she lost her temper, had PTSD flashbacks, nightmares, and other mental health problems. Admittedly, Jones also protected Hermione, sometimes from herself, and from additional scrutiny from others and outside influences, so she would have a chance.

Hermione never realizes that until much, much later on.

(This is also when we get a better introduction to Audrey Reeves (who is later Audrey Weasley but that’s not what you asked.)

Jones and Hermione knock sparks and will for a very, very long time. Hermione can’t drop the grudge from that first year and Jones takes great pleasure in antagonizing her, because Hermione is so passionate but it’s also a weakness because others can possibly control her by being emotional. (Yes, I realize it’s a toxic trope idea and anti-feminist but it’s also something that women get from other women sometimes, myself included. Thus, while problematic, it’s also realistic.)

But here is the ultimate relavant section from Ch. 16 for you:

“Go on. I’m listening. I figure that after the last coupleof days, I should listen to my mistakes so I can learn from them. You’ll alsonot sugar coat anything for my benefit.”

Hermione leaned against the door. “I don’t know where yougot the idea that we’d be friends from the first day. I don’t know why youpresumed that I would be so open and trusting with someone I didn’t know. Noteven Professor McGonagall can force that. But,” Hermione stopped and she sawHemera nodding, “But when you were teaching us, you were so bloody mental. Youdidn’t listen to anything the survivors were telling you. Because you are anAuror, you taught the class like no one else had gone through anything worsethan taking our OWLs. Everyone in your classroomof seventh-year students had been throughhell, one way or another. Yet you treated us like first years that didn’tdeserve to be out from our Mum’s apron strings.”

“I had a task, Granger. The Minister wanted you in the AurorCorps and we needed the help. He thought you would be an amazing asset. I wasalso there to see if anyone else had the aptitude for it. When you’re down to12 Aurors from 100 because of the culling and the Coup, you take what mightwork.”

Hemera winced while shifting in her bed. “But there wassomething else, something personal. Ron let it slip that you attacked him onetime, with magic. He explained what happenedwhen he was first assigned to me as a trainee. He tried to say he wasresponsible for it, and I know that’s bullshit. But it caused a huge problem.Do you want to know what that was, and what happened as a result?” Hemera’seyes flashed. “No matter how hard I worked him, insulted him, belittled him, orhumiliated him, he wouldn’t raise his wand against me. An Auror who won’tdefend himself is useless to me and will probably get a whole team killed. Nomatter what I did to him, he wouldn’t raise his wand against me. He’d have noproblems with the other Seniors in training. Butme, a woman? He said he couldn’t do it, ‘cause of what you did to him.

“Do you know how bloody long it took me to re-train Ronafter that incident? It took a month of daily training; a month of wasted time,all because you got shirty he went and kissed another girl ‘cause you couldn’tpull your finger out and tell the bloke you fancied him.”

“I couldn’t afford to lose him as my best friend!” Hermioneyelled. She looked and saw Harry roll over in his bed and Ron shift but wentback to snoring. “I didn’t know and you never said.”

“I was too busy fixing your mistakes, mistakes you neverbother to apologize for. Hell, even I can say I’m sorry and I’m as much of an arseholeas anyone. But you? Ron casually mentions off-hand that he has to back downwhile rowing with you, and apologize anytime that you think he’s wrong.  The fewtimes he’s stood up to you and tried to tell you when he’s feeling less thanstellar you bite his bloody head off. Fuck, he has zero pride when it comes tostanding up for himself, because you and Potter never once tell him that he isright about something.”

“That’s impossible. Ron never backs down from a fight,especially with me.”

“Isn’t it? You weren’t there seeing him constantly beingknocked on his arse because he wouldn’t raise his wand in self-defense. Whensomeone you love attacks you with magic it is a hard betrayal to overcome. Butsomehow he did but the consequences held him back until he pulled his head outof his arse and raised his wand to me and fought back like you finally did. It took me dropping my wand and tellinghim that he either raise his wand to me and fight back or I would personallykick his arse out of the program. I berated him in front of everyone andbelittled him to the point he slugged me before walking out.”

“Good for him,” Hermione muttered. “I would have loved toslug you myself some of those days.”

“Things would have gone swimmingly for you had you tried,Granger. You might have gotten over your fear and made something of yourself,for the Auror corps.”

Jones had a secondary task: recruiting for the Aurors post-war. Hermione was who they wanted, just as much as Ron and Neville and Harry. But her post-war time (years, really) was filled with much mental health distress, such as ptsd, anxiety, sleep deprivation from nightmares, and a short-term sleeping draught potion addiction (where sleep was vital but also a co-morbidity to depression, too.)

They knock sparks but Jones also had to re-train Ron to be who he needed to be, as an Auror. While Viv has mentioned in her public and private meta that Ron needs praise and encouragement and positive support, Jones didn’t know that and didn’t do such until after he would be willing to stand up for himself. Once he did/does, the relationship changes for the better, even if it appears to be negative.

For the relationship with Ron, it’s about self-respect. Once he has that, Jones can respect him too, even if she disagrees. Admittedly, that’s one of my not-necessarily positive traits. O_O

So when I write this, it’s a case of breaking a bad habit and rebuilding a new one. When you break someone, it’s your personal responsibility to rebuild them. That takes patience, determination, and giving a (dung) about their welfare and well-being. That’s what Jones did here - which Hermione never realized that it was for his own safety and benefit.

Yes Ron is soft-hearted and so caring but he had a job he wanted to do and was incapable of doing it if he wouldn’t stand up for himself and others. Once he decided to do such, his career took off.

It’s only years later that she sees Ron and Harry as peers, along with Hermione, but it’s that she has trust issues and can’t get too close because Aurors get injured, maimed, and killed in their profession. Once she realizes that she can get close to them, as a peer and as a friend later on, the relationship blooms for everyone, including Hermione.

So nonnie, if you read this far, congratulations. Now you know why Auror Hemera Jones is vital in  my nicheverse.

[divagonzo]

I know u can't answer this just yet cause u just posted the fic but I'm confused on 1 thing... if Hermione & Ron shagged, wouldn't Ron have told Hermione that he didn't shagged Lavender in 6th year? I don't understand why Hermione would still believe that after she & Ron did it, when I'm sure Ron would have talked about wether or not he did it with someone before

Evening ‘nonnie. Butterbeer?

Those things were brought up in other fics, such as Nightmares and Dreamscapes and Four Days Later.

But the Mugwump Notes answer you’re looking for?

Hermione believed Lavender and didn’t bother to question it further. In my nicheverse, Hermione didn’t question it, especially since their first time (in the nicheverse and also side-verse) was emotional glass meltdown shagging without conversing about previous what-ifs.

I admit I do love reading the weeks/months of build-up, slow exploration and learning one another series. Sign me up for 30 chapters of slow-burn all summer explorations that are evocative and heart-pounding. My favorites list has a plethora of those stories.

My nicheverse doesn’t have that. I made that decision 5 years ago when I set  out writing into a nicheverse (and later, sideverse.) that they’d not have that slow build/burn to their first time. Those two garden gnomes aren’t anything for being patient and slow-burn, at least how I see them, once they realized that they had open invitation to anything and everything.

So what I wrote in Balancing the weight of the kingdom I used those previous fics to weave into this one, which also includes Hermione suffering some post-war trauma effects and wasn’t in a healthy state of mind. Throw in Ron being traumatized at watching Fred perish and fighting his own nightmares and insomnia… and his mental discipline is minimal in this time-frame too.

As @coyotelaughingsoftly​ demonstrates, when she’s running a fever or on medications, she can’t remember conversations that might or might not be important. Ditto here, which might seem a trite and worn-out trope to most, but is a vital issue and an important one to those dealing with neurological issues or have disassociative times. Since this particular Hermione is the one from my side-verse, which means she’s also on the Autism spectrum, I based such on situations and issues with my Husband. There’s been plenty of times I’ve told him things - and because of how his mind works, it works differently from mine - and he won’t remember them. We worked out a work-around for his benefit so he can be informed of important things, so he’s not locked into his head and tuning out the world around him, especially when the sensory overload has gotten way out of hand.

This was intentional, in the fic.

Did they eventually talk about it? Sure. But remember who we are talking about? Two passionate and brilliant in their own way people who can occasionally be pants about their feelings and emotions and processing such.

I wanted to keep them in canon while also being a bodice and trousers ripper, in both nicheverse. But there are deeper and darker reasons why they happened as they did.