A/N: Tumblr fic request, the prompt being the first lines of dialogue and 'HP universe meets stubborn muggle-born'. Post-series, pre-Cursed Child if we're taking it as canon, and focused on Hermione. Standard disclaimers apply.

"What do you mean you won't allow a witch to be an astronaut?" The shout echoed down the corridor of the Ministry, cutting through the babble of conversation beyond her office door and swish of papers flying overhead. "I've worked all my life for this! You can't take that away from me!"

Hermione looked up from her desk just in time to see her door fly open. Papers blew out of their neat stacks and danced to the floor as her colleague Quentin Templeton burst in. He slammed the door behind him and shot her a pleading look. "Help me."

"I'd be more inclined to do that if you didn't break down my door," Hermione said reproachfully. "I've only been in this office two days; I'd hate to have to go back to my cubicle already."

"You don't understand. She's not listening to reason. There are laws! We have them to protect ourselves! But she doesn't understand that!"

Hermione opened her mouth to ask exactly from whom Quentin thought he was hiding when her door flew off its hinges. Quentin yelped, diving to the side and just barely avoiding being clipped; Hermione had to throw up a shield, which in turn destroyed her beloved door and the last vestiges of her filing system as the remaining papers scattered everywhere.

"You," the girl barked, looking at Hermione, "you're important, right? You have some pull here? Can you tell this…this…pureblood that being an astronaut is a prestigious profession and there is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't pursue my dream?"

Hermione sighed.

With a few flicks of her wand, she cleared the debris from the two chairs in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat, Ms.—?"

"Maureen Davidson," the girl spat. She cast a glare at Quentin before flouncing down into her seat; he didn't move from the corner beyond climbing to his feet. "I have been preparing for this for years. I did distance education and homeschool curriculums on top of my studies at Hogwarts so I didn't fall behind in the muggle system. I've attended summer school and conferences and space camps and am learning Russian. I got my pilot's license when I turned seventeen last month. I've applied and been accepted to several universities, but that bloke—" she pointed at Quentin without even looking at him "—tells me I can't go. Tell him he's wrong."

"Ms. Davidson—"

"He says I need to take a job in the wizarding world, that I have to be a contributing member of society. Well, why can't I do that by becoming an astronaut? I know the competition is stiff, but I'm top of my class in everything, and he has no right to tell me this isn't feasible. I have my entire career path planned out. I'll be fluent in Russian in five to seven years, in a PhD program for chemistry— That's potions to you," she sneered, looking back at Quentin, "and well on my way to logging over a thousand hours of flight time. But now I can't do that because an astronaut isn't a proper wizarding profession?"

Hermione steepled her fingers. She had a feeling Ms. Davidson had been experiencing the dreaded department shuffle, given that her case only had a passing connection to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "Quentin, do you mind leaving us for a moment?"

Quentin mumbled something affirmative and fled. A quick reparo and aguamenti later, and Hermione had filled a previously-shattered water glass and offered it to Maureen. The girl looked defiant, so Hermione added, "I thought you might be thirsty after all that."

"Thanks," Maureen mumbled as she took the glass. She looked slightly less disgruntled after swallowing a few mouthfuls.

Hermione took the opportunity to lean back in her chair. "Ms. Davidson, I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I haven't even introduced myself." And chances were very good that Maureen hadn't seen her name on the door before blowing it off its hinges. "I'm Hermione Granger. Please excuse my colleague; as you rightly deduced, he is a pureblood and as such is still woefully lacking in knowledge about the muggle world that is beyond the scope of everyday function."

Maureen blinked. "You're—?" She grabbed for the water and drained it. "Okay. So. You're a muggle-born, too. Which means you really do understand. Is there really a law that says we have to choose a wizarding profession just because we have magic?"

"It's strongly encouraged," Hermione allowed, "but nothing's written down, not even in the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Witches and wizards tend to enjoy a longer life span than muggles, but new blood and the new ideas that come with it is strongly encouraged in the workforce. It's exceedingly rare for someone with magic to struggle to find employment. As a society, we are still quite small, even worldwide. That is why it is preferable for anyone of magic to seek employment within the wizarding world."

Maureen crossed her arms. "The wizarding world likes to ignore the technological advances muggles have made. Technology and magic may not mix well, but they don't have to be mutually exclusive, do they? I mean, when I said I dreamed of seeing Earth from space, your friend looked at me like I had a death wish. They do know muggles landed on the moon nearly fifty years ago, right?"

Hermione rather suspected most didn't, so she smiled instead of answering. "What you need to understand, Maureen—may I call you Maureen?—is that most of these laws, explicit and implicit, have been designed to protect us." Maureen kept saying them instead of us, and Hermione needed to change that if she hoped to resolve this; if Maureen refused to acknowledge that she was just as much a part of the wizarding world as she was the muggle one, then Hermione was fighting a losing battle. "It's not simply a matter of protecting us from persecution anymore; there is also an element of sustaining our society. It is imperative that our youth bring forward a fresh outlook on the way we do things; too often, we find ourselves abiding by precedents set centuries ago. Even in the wizarding world, which has evolved much more slowly than the muggle one, change is vital. Without it, our society will stagnate. Now, if every muggle-born or half-blood decided to pursue a career in the muggle world, what do you expect would happen to the wizarding one?"

Maureen narrowed her eyes. "I know what you're getting at. You're trying to get me to say that without people like me, the wizarding would never change. That it would flounder and die, trying to keep alive traditions that are not only no longer relevant but also don't even hold meaning anymore, because that's all the purebloods know." A heavy generalization, but she was getting the point. "But that's irrelevant. All my friends, regardless of their blood status, are happy to enter wizarding society. It'll live on just fine without me. But I've wanted to be an astronaut for as long as I can remember, and there's no equivalent to that in the wizarding world."

"That's true," agreed Hermione. "There is no equivalent of astronaut in our world. I'm sure your Head of House informed you of that."

"My Head of House didn't know what I was talking about," complained Maureen before Hermione could continue, "and suggested I take it up with the Ministry. Which is why I'm here. Again. Because I've had to come before, and it's never accomplished anything." Maureen adopted a high, simpering voice and mocked, "Oh, this isn't my department. I'm sure they can help you down on the second floor. Why don't you try there, dear? No? Well, why not the fourth floor? Oh, I'm sorry, miss, but you should be on the second floor. You tried that? I'm sure there's just a misunderstanding. Why don't you go back and I'll write a memo to the appropriate people?"

"What you need," said Hermione, "is to find the appropriate balance in order to get the best of both worlds."

Maureen raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"From what you've said about your schooling, you've already shown great discipline and expertise when it comes to juggling our two very different worlds. I would propose that you keep doing that rather than choosing to abandon the wizarding world in favour of the muggle one."

Maureen snorted. "Sure. That would be great. Except apparently that's impossible. Is now your cue to say that I need to be the change I want to see in the world?"

"Something like that." Hermione's smile returned. "Have you considered work in Muggle Relations?"

"Muggle Relations?" Maureen repeated. "Like, for the Muggle Liaison Office? Don't they just modify the memories of muggles who see things they shouldn't? Stuff like that?"

"There's more to it, though I will admit memory modification is a common task for those in the field. No, I was thinking you'd be better suited to a long term undercover assignment."

Maureen stared at her. "A what?"

"An undercover operative," repeated Hermione. "Sometimes deployed in pairs, granted, or even larger groups, but solo missions are the norm. It's usually a position held by squibs knowledgeable of the muggle world or by muggle-borns such as yourself. The idea is to gauge muggle society, to see how they react to the unexplained events of our world to which they are exposed and to be among the first responders on the scene to do damage control when there's a breach of security or an attack. Essentially, you'll be doing a lot of work to ensure that all those bedtime stories of witches and wizards stay just that, for the most part." Hermione grimaced. "I hate to admit this, but it is safer if muggles as a whole are skeptical of magic. At the very least, we can't risk the level of destruction that would result if warring sides started employing magic. The threat of nuclear war is real enough without adding in the possibility of magical genocide."

"Okay," Maureen said slowly, "but what exactly does this have to do with me being an astronaut?"

"As long as you write consistent reports, I see no reason why you could not position yourself in the UK Space Agency and apply to go out-of-country when the time comes." Hermione folded her hands. "I'm sure Muggle Relations would be delighted to have an enterprising young witch such as yourself in their employ. Now, I'm sure you don't want to hear this again, but if you go up to Level 3, they could give you some more information so that you can properly consider the position before deciding if you would like to apply for it."

Maureen grinned. "Thank you. It is so relieving to finally get an answer. I can totally see where your reputation comes from." She sprang to her feet, turned to go, hesitated, and turned back. "Um…can I do anything about your door?"

Hermione laughed and waved her off. "Leave that to me. You deserve to keep working on turning your dreams into reality. Good luck. If you keep this up, I'm sure you'll be sailing amongst the stars someday."