Although her earlier advancement had gone smoothly, when she reached Sequence 3, Hermione chose to switch Pathways. She jumped to the Paragon Pathway, which was adjacent to the Seer Pathway, and became a Scholar of Mysteries, also known as a Demon of Mysteries.
Her choice was influenced, to a certain extent, by her political ambitions.
From her first year onward, Hermione had sought to change the state of the Wizarding World and improve the standing of Muggle-born wizards. She wanted "respect for wizards of Muggle birth" to be more than an empty slogan or a piece of political correctness with no practical value. She wanted it to become a concrete reality.
After graduating in her seventh year, Hermione naturally joined the Ministry of Magic, becoming an employee of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
With her unusual background and formidable ability to get things done, Hermione's career advanced with barely a hitch. Before long, she was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
With the current Minister for Magic, Amelia Bones, looking out for her, she also gained frequent access to the kinds of documents the Minister could see.
Almost every Ministry employee believed it was all but certain that Hermione would become the next Minister for Magic.
The process seemed remarkably smooth, but Hermione could still sense that certain factions were quietly keeping her at arm's length.
After all, Hermione was a Muggle-born wizard. That was impossible to hide, and she had no desire to hide it.
As a result, plenty of old fossils disliked her but couldn't get rid of her. So they resorted to passive resistance: they never openly protested, but they refused to cooperate with her work.
Harley once asked Hermione whether she wanted help dealing with the problem once and for all—physically. Hermione turned