Authors note(s):

[okt2018]

I started writing this story because it took form in my head and would not leave me alone. It took me a few months to get it all out of my head and onto a computer, and I believe I am happy enough with it to publish. Since it was all written out before I started posting then I posted it rather fast. Just because I like reading finished stories here on FF and I had this theory that people would be more inclined to read it if they knew there would be a final chapter. I wrote this simply because it was the story I wanted to read, the story I was missing about these characters. I have enjoyed writing it. Perhaps someone out there will enjoy reading it. Who knows.

Many of the characters have been 'borrowed' from JKR's amazing world and will be treated great respect while here. Some characters are my own. This is of course all just for fun and no money is being made. I became inspired by all the fantastic stories that have already been written and posted here and I am dedicating this to writers and inspiring writers everywhere.

[jan2019]

I took a moment to improve spelling and grammar slightly. No (minimal) changes to the actual text.

.

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

Friday, 27 July 2012

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

Mr. and Mrs. McCracken considered themselves quite respectable, despite their tendencies to break a few laws. They never broke any of the important ones. Just those that didn't make any sense to them. Like why would they not be allowed to grow a bit of potion ingredients in their own backyard? It was their own backyard and they should be able to decide for themselves what grew there. Seriously, who cared if it was in a muggle inhabited area. A few muggles with the occasional tendencies to forget where they had put their car keys (or their house for that matter) was of no concern of theirs.

Unfortunately for Mr. and Mrs. McCracken the wizarding society does not the have the equivalent of legal advisors you can call on when you need one. You have to either know someone or do the research yourself. So if you suddenly get called in before the Wizengamot for repeated failure to comply to some silly restriction or other you may not know what to about it.

The well off pure-blood families always had some acquaintance or other that either was on the Wizengamot or had studied Wizarding law, but the McCrackens knew no such person. So they did what people tended to do. They sent an owl to the only person they could think of that knew the ways of the Wizengamot and was likely to help them. She tended to be in the papers for just that reason. Some unfortunate soul or other came under scrutiny of the Wizengamot for no fault of their own, and Ms. Hermione Granger was there to help sort it out.

This is why Hermione found herself walking around Salisbury, after spending a frustrating afternoon carefully explaining that the "rules they had bent" were there for a reason and that there was nothing she could do to change wizarding law. The statue of secrecy was something every witch or wizard had to abide to, no matter the inconvenience. They would have to pay the fine and then they could either buy their potion ingredients in Diagon Alley or they could move to a wizarding area where the growing of these restricted plants was allowed. They were not happy when Hermione left.

Like so often on these trips of hers, Hermione decided to stay a night to get to know the area. The trouble with being able to apparate anywhere you could clearly visualize was that people tended to just find themselves in places they had already been to. So this was her chance to get to know Salisbury. The weather was windy and overcast but that didn't stop her from visiting the Cathedral and exploring the shops downtown. She ended up at the Old Mill hotel, where she took a room for the night.

Sitting at a table by the window, having just finished an excellent meal, she saw the owl approaching. Assuming she was the only witch around she quickly made her way outside to give the owl the opportunity to discreetly deliver her letter.

She waited until after desert to open it. The envelope made it perfectly clear who it was from and she needed a moment to mentally prepare herself. She wasn't quite sure she wanted it to be good news or bad news. Actually she didn't even know which answer was considered the good news and which was the bad news. But the answer was in there and sooner or later she would have to open it to find out. After the last delicious bite of the chocolate cake she found her courage, opened the envelope and red the letter.

Upon reading its content she immediately knew that this answer was not the answer she had wanted to see. What had she been thinking? Oh, never mind. She knew exactly what had driven her to this madness. Those amber eyes. Those sweet amber eyes on the brink of despair. All her little hopes and dreams about to be crushed.

But THIS was a stupid idea. Maybe swearing would help? Shoot? Blast? Bugger? Merlin's pants? Merlin's beard? Crap? She really wasn't a swearing person. Swearing just made her uncomfortable. Maybe if she invented her own swear word she could start using it. Rowena's raisins? Godric's goats? Hoot? No, this was no use.

Perhaps banging her head against a table would knock some sense into her. She let her head fall to the table and mumbled "ouch" when the table decided to hit her quite a bit harder than she had expected. This would leave a mark. For a few moments she just sat there, with her head on the table and the letter clutched in her hand.

She hadn't noticed him walk into the hotel bar, nor had she noticed when he quietly order two drinks. She had been unaware of him smirking in her general direction as he observed her having her mini-meltdown. But she did notice him placing a glass of amber liquid in front of her and taking a seat across the table, still smirking. Hermione slowly looked up to find none other than Draco Malfoy sitting across from her.

She just stared at him for a minute, not even trying to hide the read mark on her forehead from where she had hit the table just a moment ago.

"Malfoy?"

"Granger"

"What… here… you…"

"Well, you seem to be having a complete mental breakdown and I just couldn't pass on the opportunity for a front row seat. It is extremely kind of you to have your meltdown in my absolute favourite muggle bar. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this. Please continue."

After a short silence Hermione took the drink that Malfoy had obviously meant for her and emptied the glass. It burned.

Staring at her childhood… em… enemy? No, that wasn't quite it. Tormentor? Yes, closer to the mark…. she noticed that he had grown up a bit since she last saw him. It has been 14 years, so that was not unsurprising. She had probably changed quite a bit herself. Time will do that to you.

He had a drink of his own in front of him and she watched him take a sip of it.

"So, what's got you drinking this fine evening?", she threw at him.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you".

"Try me."

After a moment's consideration he leaned forward and, still smirking, told her:

"Ok, Granger. Here it is: My muggle girlfriend just broke up with me."

"Sorry?" she replied, not even knowing where to start with a statement like that. True, she hadn't seen him in a number of years, and true, he kept himself squarely out of the papers. But surely this had to be a joke.

"Don't be. It never would have worked out anyway. It was fun while it lasted, but I never even considered telling her… anything real."

So he wasn't joking? Seriously? Hermione was shocked into silence. She just stared.

It was up to Draco to continue the conversation:

"So why are you banging your head against the table? Brain growing out of proportions? Trying desperately to lower your IQ a notch or two in order to be able withstand all the stupidity surrounding you?"

Without a word she handed him the letter she had just received and he started reading. Among a lot of legal text his eyes immediately found the relevant information "The Ministry of Magic has reviewed your application and finds that you fulfil all the posed requirements", "You are hereby added to the list of eligible candidates for the position of Minister for Magic." and "Elections will be held on September 15th."

While he read another drink was placed in front of Hermione and she immediately started drinking. This was definitely an evening for drinking. Even if the company could be better.

"So why is this bothering you? Shouldn't you be happy? Surely no one forced you to run for minister?"

Hermione continued to just stare at him.

"Shouldn't you be more surprised? Outraged even? I'm 32 with no experience at this sort of thing. I have no chance. People will laugh at me for even trying."

"I'm not laughing. I may be living the quiet life these days, but I am still a Malfoy. I have my connections. I knew as soon as you submitted your name and I haven't laughed even once."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. And I disagree with your assessment that you have no chance. I thought it was a brilliant move as soon as I found out."

"Even if I am muggleborn."

"Yes, even so. It won't be easy, but I think you might have a decent chance."

Not wanting to take this weird support, from Malfoy of all people, any further Hermione decided to abruptly switch topics.

"So who was she?"

"Who?"

"The muggle who dumped you."

"Ah, Linda T. Blumell. Sweet girl. I always wondered what the T stood for. I should have asked her. Now it's too late."

Hermione was not yet over the fact that it looked like Malfoy had been dating a muggle so she just stared at him.

"Pick your jaw up from the floor, Granger. It's not that shocking, really. Times change and people do too. We were together for a couple of years and then it all blew up when she found a wedding invitation for Daphne's wedding and figured out that I had lied about a work trip instead of taking her. She was already pissed about never meeting any of my friends so that was it really."

Grasping onto a thread of this conversation that might make a little bit of sense to her Hermione asked:

"Daphne got married? Why didn't I know about this?"

"No idea. It was all over the papers. Maybe you should read more."

"I guess my subscription request for Witch Weekly must have gotten lost in the mail somewhere."

"Don't you keep up with the stories they make up about you?"

"No, not really."

"Probably wise."

"So who was the lucky guy?"

"Alexey Torgonov"

"Who?"

"He was one of the Durmstrang crew that visited Hogwarts during the Triwizard tournament. Him and Daphne apparently found one another on vacation in Madagascar and old memories turned into him now being Mr. Greengrass."

"Really? He took her name? How does that work?"

"Something about him being half-blood and Daphne's father not wanting her to take a muggle last name. He seems happy with it though. Greengrass is an old family, one of the sacred twenty eight. This was the only way for the last name to survive since Daphne doesn't have any brothers. Whatever makes her daddy happy means the inheritance is secured and Daphne gets to play lady of the manor."

"And I guess that's good?"

"Oh, she loves that place. I hear she made her parents move to the East wing so she and Alexey could take over the main section of the manor."

"Didn't she have a sister?"

"She has two younger sisters. Astoria and Arendis."

"I see."

Not knowing Daphne at all Hermione was unsure how to continue this particular conversation so she went back to her drink. She was getting tipsy from the wine she had with dinner and now there was plenty more alcohol in her stomach just waiting to enter her bloodstream.

"So what about you? No wedding bells for you and Weasley? What happened there?"

Hermione smiled. Funny how you can do that about ancient history. And her and Ron really was ancient history now.

"We dated. Twice. I guess it wasn't meant to be"

"Twice?"

"Yes. We got together after the war, but that abruptly ended when he "accidentally" got Luna pregnant. They got married but it turned out that they were a terrible couple so that immediately fell apart. Then a couple of years later I dated Ron again only to discover that he annoys me as a boyfriend so we broke up again."

"Oh yea, I heard about him having a kid with Lovegood. I remember laughing about that. But seriously, how do you manage to accidentally get someone pregnant? Did he trip and fall and just happen to land between her legs?"

"We were all pretty messed up after the war. They had a moment together and somehow that moment turned into a baby. I was pretty mad at the time, but I suspect we wouldn't have worked out anyway. Baby Annabelle just broke us up before something else did. Whatever. It's all ancient history now. We are all Ok and everyone adores little Annabel. Or maybe not so little any more. She is already at Hogwarts."

"Ahh, yes. They grow up so fast."

"You say that like you have some experience."

"No, I'm just repeating the socially appropriate answer. My dating history has not resulted in any accidents so far."

"You don't want kids?"

"Well, I suppose I should be married with an heir or two by now. My mother would like me to be, that's for sure. But that is not to be. You are looking at the last of the noble and pure-blooded Malfoy line. Hence the drinking," and he emptied his glass.

"I thought your drinking was about your girlfriend leaving you?"

"Linda? No, that was bound to happen. This is much more about Daphne getting married?"

"What? Did you fancy her for yourself?"

"Not even a little bit."

With the alcohol taking effect Hermione was getting confused. Either that or Draco was being confusing on purpose. She was at least losing track of what they were talking about.

"Am I drunk or are you being deliberately confusing, Malfoy? Explain yourself. I am not following at all."

Draco leaned forward, focused his attention on Hermione and obliged.

"It is like this, you see. Daphne was the last of the eligible pureblood girls to go off the market. Not that I wanted any of them for myself really, but unless I decide to become dead husband number god knows what to Zabini's mum then I am out of options. Half-blood or muggle born for me or none at all. No pure-blooded heirs in my future".

Hermione smirked. "There is always Pansy. She's not married."

Draco just waived that suggestion aside. "I said eligible. Besides, she is seeing… someone".

One of Hermione's eyebrows rose. "So you know about that?"

With a look of surprise Draco slowly nodded. "And so do you apparently. Good for you. I didn't take you for the observant type."

"Some people are better than others at hiding their secrets."

"Too true."

This amiable chatting with Draco Malfoy at a random muggle bar was weird. But then again many things in their world was weird and sometimes a little weird was exactly what was needed. They gossiped about old acquaintances for quite a while. Since they moved in completely different circles, they had quite a few funny stories to share.

The whole thing was strange. Draco probably would have hexed anyone who would have dared to call the two of them friends at Hogwarts and she probably would have too. They hadn't been in the same room since the battle of Hogwarts. But they had lived through the same events all those years ago, so it wasn't as if they were strangers. And slowly the glasses emptied in front of them.

"So do you want to win?"

"Win what?"

"The office. Minister for Magic. Do you want to win?"

That was a good question. Not one she had really considered. Running was more of an impulse thing. She hadn't thought about the possibility that she could win the election. That she could maybe make a difference by simply being in charge.

"I don't know" she said honestly. "I hadn't thought that far"

"Then why did you go submit your name for consideration?"

"There was an incident" she said. Her eyes unfocused a bit as her mind thought back onto those amber eyes.

"Explain."

"OK, you may not know this but I am a bit famous" she began.

"Really Granger, I hadn't noticed"

"Shut up Malfoy. OK, so I volunteer for this charity and allow ambitious young kids who score well on their N.E.W.T..s to shadow me for a week. I've done this a few times and it's kind of fun."

"Sure it is", Malfoy replied which only earned him a glare from Hermione. But it was good natured so she let it slide.

"I had this muggleborn girl, Alice Thompson, following me a few weeks ago and we happened to be at the ministry when we heard the news that Kingsley had died. We were at the cafeteria on the 4th floor and after the initial shock of it started to wear off we started speculating about what would happen now and the election process that would surely kick in.

And then Alice all of a suddenly said "I would like to be Minister of Magic some day". I thought it was admirable but the couple of Wizengamot members sitting with us laughed openly at her and said that Muggleborns couldn't become Ministers of Magic. It was even unlikely they could join the Wizengamot. Muggleborns should aim a bit lower than that."

"Really? They said that in front of you?"

"Yes, I think they forgot that I was a muggleborn. These old wizards always do. They are so set in their ways that their shrivelled little brains can't handle the fact that I am both successful and a muggleborn all in one neat little package. So they just ignore it. In their stubborn old minds I must be of the great and ancient wizarding family of Granger."

"That's hilarious."

"You should have seen the look on Alice's face. She looked crushed. I rushed her out of there trying to tell her not to listen to these people. She asked me how many muggle born witches or wizards had ever been Minister of Magic. I looked it up later and the sad answer is that no muggleborn has ever even been considered for the position."

"And that's where you come in?"

"It's stupid, I know."

"Not really. There is no clear frontrunner at this stage. Comparing you to the other candidates I would say you have a fair shot at this."

At this Hermione looked up sharply and focused on Draco.

"Do you know who else is running?"

That insufferable smirk made an appearance

"I am a Malfoy, of course I know. And if you asked me; you have nothing to worry about. All you have to decide is this: Do you want to win?"

At that moment the bartender came with a new glass to put in front of Hermione.

"Where do these drinks keep coming from? Is this your doing?"

"Guilty."

"Why aren't you drunk then? You've had just as many as I have."

"Maybe I am drunk and you are just too drunk to notice."

"Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

"Of course not, Granger. I'm a gentleman."

"Funny, Malfoy. Very funny."

"Do you want me to order tea for you instead?"

"Thank you for the kind offer, but no. I am not drinking anything more this evening. Not even tea. This is it for me." and as to emphasize her point she stood up, which she succeeded at on the second attempt.

"You're not thinking about apparating out of here, are you, Granger?"

"No I have a room booked for the night. Don't worry. I am not stupid enough to attempt that after letting you get me drunk."

"Good. I guess I'll see you in the morning then."

"What? You're staying too?"

"Well, the original plan was to apparate back to the manor after one drink and spend the night there, but that was five drinks ago. So yes, Granger. I'll sleep it off here if you don't mind."

"Whatever, Malfoy. Good night."

And with that she stumbled up to her room.

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

Saturday, 28 July 2012

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

When Hermione finally got down from her room the next morning a strange sight greeted her. Draco had pushed some tables together and was sitting there sorting the mail the owls were delivering. He had obviously been doing this for quite a while for his tea was drunk and whatever he had had for breakfast was gone.

"Good morning Granger"

"Good morning?"

Draco did not look up as he held a vile towards her. Hermione recognised it as a sobering potion. She just accepted the vile it and drank it. As the fog cleared the rest of the strangeness about this morning hit her.

"Where are the muggles?"

"Well, I couldn't have them around for the owl madness so I put up a muggle repelling field and "encouraged" the staff to sleep in this morning."
"So who made breakfast?"

"Batty, my house elf."

Deciding to just roll with the strangeness Hermione sat herself down and asked: "Is there any for me?"

Immediately Batty was there, fussing about and taking her breakfast order. Once that was done Hermione had to duck as yet another owl swooped in bearing an envelope and setting it down on the table. As Draco untied the envelope she noticed who it was addressed to. And then she noticed who all the mail was addressed to.

"Malfoy. Why are you going through MY MAIL?"

"You were asleep and I needed to entertain myself somehow."

Meeting Malfoy, and him acting as if they were best of friends was not what she had expected to have to deal with in Salisbury. Here in front of her was a man she had barely given a thought for over a decade acting as if invading her privacy was completely normal. She probably should have exploded in rage, and might have if it wasn't for that thing that happened that time. She owed him for that.

Batty arrived with breakfast and pushed Hermione into a chair before she could figure out how to deal with Malfoy. She finally said the first thing that came to mind.

"Why am I getting this much mail?"

Draco pushed the mornings Daily Prophet towards her. The front page was announcing the candidates for the upcoming election and among the pictures of serious witches and wizards was her own face laughing hysterically at something. Fabulous.

"These are requests for interviews" Draco said pointing at the first pile. "These are general declarations for support from housewives you have probably never heard of, these are not so pleasant and should probably be thrown and these ones are more personal so you might want to look through those so you can tell your friends you received their mail." As an afterthought he added; "and you should probably check your messages".

Deciding to let the obvious invasion of her privacy slide for now, Hermione fished a gold coin out of her pocket. Here was the reason why she was not only famous for being Potters muggleborn sidekick, but she also had a fortune of her own. Together with George she had made a messaging system for witches and wizards everywhere based on the communication coins of Dumbledore's Army.

These coins were slightly larger than the galleons she had used then and they were capable of two way communication. There were still a few limitations though. This was not like the muggle mobiles which could send messages to anyone. Each coin could only communicate with coins it "recognised", so you always had to meet in person and pair your coins before being able to communicate with any friend. One also had to remember that the messages had to be under 100 characters. Hermione, who had a cell phone to communicate with her parents, would also have liked the possibility of smileys but that feature had not (yet) been implemented. At least the security was good and your coin would only display a message if its owner was physically holding the coin.

The company they had made around the product was called "First Rate Electronic Devices", which was amusing since they had never invented anything that ran off electricity. But F.R.E.D. was doing splendidly nonetheless and the coins were nicknamed freds, which made the Weasleys happy.

As Draco had guessed there were several messages waiting for her on her fred.

[Harry:] Saw the paper this morning. Congratulations. Knew you could do it!

[Luna:] The Quibbler is rooting for you. So, when are you free for an exclusive?

[Ron:] Is this for real? If it is then you have my vote.

[Ginny:] Why didn't you tell me? I demand you stop by today and tell me everything!

[Molly:] Wonderful news, Hermione. Please come to Sunday brunch tomorrow for a proper celebration. I will mak

Molly always had a problem staying within the 100 character limit. She was too used to the formal communication of letters to adjust to the short format. She probably even tried to sign it with "yours sincerely" or "hugs and kisses" . There were more messages and Hermione answered a few while eating her breakfast and ignoring Draco who was still reading through her mail.

After a while Draco was the one to break the silence.

"So are you going to answer my question or keep ignoring it?"

"Which question?"

"The one I asked three times yesterday" he replies smirking.

"I was drunk yesterday. You are going to have to remind me."

He put down the mail and looked directly at her.

"Do you want to win?"

Hermione hesitated before she answered. "I suppose…"

Draco waved that non committal answer aside and pushed the Daily Prophet towards her showing the candidates. "Out of these seven people, who do you think is best qualified to become Minister for Magic?"

Hermione pulled the paper towards her and studied the faces and accompanying names. Some of them were familiar while others were not. She noticed that, of course, most of them… no, the majority of them, were from well known pureblood families. These candidates could probably recite their magical bloodline back for centuries. Her old arithmancy professor, Septima Vector, was on the list. Although a nice and logically minded woman, Hermione just didn't see her having the authority to lead the magical community. She cracked up when she saw Zabini's name on the list.

"Blaise Zabini is running for Minister for Magic?!"

"Yes, well. He gets bored easily and he thought it would be funny. I believe Theo is helping him."

"You don't seem too enthusiastic. I thought you two were friends."

"Unlike Theo I don't think he stands a chance. I don't waste my time on doomed projects. You however… you have a shot and I think it would be amusing to see you succeed. You would be a much more interesting Minister for Magic than someone as stuck up as for example Evan Fawley. But I am not going to help you unless you actually want to win. So for the fifth time: Do you want to be Minister for Magic?"

Hermione looked at him and went back to studying the candidates. This time she considered the question seriously. Who would she vote for? Who would she trust to be in charge? And it hit her that out of the choices given there was no one she trusted for the office more than she trusted herself. She really was, in her personal opinion, the best candidate.

She looked up and decidedly answered her old childhood tormentor. "Yes!"

A smile slowly spread across Draco's face. "Excellent! Let's get started then. You should probably take notes."

"Wait. Are you seriously getting involved? You want to help me? To be my campaign manager?"

"Campaign manager? What's that?"

"Never mind. It's a muggle term. Pretty self explanatory though. It's the one who manages the campaign. Tries to increase the support for the candidate he is working for."

"Oh, I am definitely NOT working for you." Draco seemed horrified at the thought. "I don't even think anyone should know I am supporting you. But it might amuse me to be able to use my considerable knowledge of how the political system works to nudge you in the right direction and attempt to keep you from making some political suicide or other. Let's face it. You lions have a tendency to run towards danger without a proper plan. My knowledge of the pureblood world, political manoeuvres and what's happening in 'the right circles' is extensive and I am at your service.".

At least he had the decency to roll his eyes and make air quotations when he said "the right circles".

"Hey, me and Kingsley were quite close. I know a thing or two."

"Being friends with the Minister of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix is not the same as being able to navigate the magical political maze. There are things you should know that you won't find at the library."

He winked and then launched into a lecture on her fellow candidates. It took Hermione a couple of minutes to realize that he hadn't been joking about her taking notes. She quickly summoned a new notebook and a couple of pens out of her bag and begin writing. She needed to know what she was up against. She would probably have to double check a lot of what Draco was saying though. She was smart enough not to trust him blindly. At least not yet. But if he was telling the truth then this was gold. Not only was he talking about the candidates, their financial and social standings but even about the people closest to each candidate. Even if she knew that Rowana Lestrange had a bookstore/publishing company out in Godric's Hollow she did not know that set company had just pulled out of serious financial troubles. And even if it was public knowledge that the unmarried witch was "very good friends" with Fauna Fortescue, Hermione did not know that the two had registered as potential adoption parents.

Draco talked and Hermione took notes for almost an hour and slowly she formed the opinion that for whatever reasons, he probably was trying to help her. The question was if it was wise to accept his help. Was he going to want something in return? Did he think she would consider herself in his debt if she won? She decided that for now there was probably no harm in taking whatever advice he offered freely, but she would have to be careful not to get in too deep. He was a Malfoy after all.

When they were done discussing candidates Hermione's hand was cramping up and she was grateful when Batty came over with tea and scones. Hermione politely thanked the house elf.

"So when did you give up on your house elf campaign?"

"I didn't really. I just... modified it a bit."

Draco raised an eyebrow encouraging her to elaborate.

"I grew up and let go of my dream where all house elves are free and skipping happily into the sunset holding hands. Instead I used my time at the ministry to modify a legislation or two. So now, if a house elf is mistreated their owners are basically forced to encourage them to relocate to a new family. There are no raids specifically to check up on their wellbeing, but both the Aurors and the DMLE have the right to enforce the legislation. Harry has freed a few for me."

"So is that what happened to the Carrow houselfs I read about in the Prophet?"

"Yea, the Carrow elves were rather traumatised after the war. Dusty is at Hogwarts now and Miffy is still with me."

"You have house elfs?"

"Currently I have four of them, actually. All saved from less than ideal circumstances. After the war quite a few house elves ended up with me because their owners had not survived the battle. I guess I became the un-official rehabilitation program for houselves. Every now and then I try to convince some them to start working for someone that needs them more than I do. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't."

"And that is how you ended up with four, when others are grateful if they have one?"

"I suppose so. I had to open a laundry service for some local restaurants for them to have something to do. The house is spotless, but they keep cleaning and cooking anyway. I bet they switched my bed sheets this morning even if I wasn't at home to sleep in my bed."

Draco chuckles.

"So that's what you do nowadays? Own your own laundry service?"
"No, no", Hermione answered waving her hand dismissively. "That's just something to keep the house elves happy."

"So what do you to then? Still at the ministry?"

"I do lots of things. I still do occasional consulting or special assignments for the ministry if they need me, but its not a 9 to 5 kind of thing. I am also involved in research for F.R.E.D. and I when I have time I do some writing. I tried painting for a while, but I was no good at it. It is quite liberating not to have to work to put food on the table. Then one can do whatever one fancies at the time."

"Like running for Minister for Magic?"

"Like that for example."

Suddenly Draco put is teacup down and sat up straighter.

"Back to business then" he said in a more serious tone. "Tell me the horrible secrets that the tabloids are going to dig up on you to sabotage your chances."

"What do you mean? I have no horrible secrets."

"Of course you do. Everyone has something to hide. Maybe some disgruntled ex-boyfriends willing to sell compromising information to the highest bidder? Some innocent bending of the rules along the way to get something done that needed to get done?"

"I think most people already know of my "bending of the rules" as you so eloquently put it. Breaking into Gringotts. Destroying priceless historical artifacts for the simple reason that they happen to be Horcruxes. I believe it is all covered in the newest edition of Hogwarts: A history along with a full page bio of myself. I am quite known, you know."

"Ahh, but you are wrong there. True that there is a certain brief period of your life that has been well documented, you were given a hero-status and all discretions were forgiven. But that was years and years ago. You have managed to live relatively quietly since then. Now, when the vultures come out to analyse your every move they will either find your dirty laundry or they will make up whatever stories they think will best sell their newspapers. This is going to be huge, Granger. There hasn't been a proper election since before the first Wizarding war."

"What have I gotten myself into."

"Basically you can think of yourself as the main attraction at the zoo. Everyone will come to look at you and poke you a bit. And for the press the most efficient way for them to fill their papers is to find anyone with a grudge against you and print whatever their version of the truth may be. So, tell me about those ex-boyfriends?"

Hermione reflected briefly on her dating history for the past decade.

"Well, there was the Luna-getting-pregnant incident, but I am on good terms with both Luna and Ron now so that is all ancient history. I dated a couple of muggles while I was at Cambridge, and even if the press finds them I doubt they have anything too damaging to say about me. Then there was Ron again briefly. Then there was Terry Boot. We were together for almost a year. Nothing too dramatic there, but I can check in on him to make sure he is on board and speaks nicely about me. About half a year later I briefly dated George, but very few people know about that…."

"Wait, you dated not only one Weasley twice, but two Weasleys?"

"What can I say. They can be charming when they put their mind to it those Weasleys."

"You have no taste, Granger. I should set you up with someone."

"Dating the pureblood elite you hang out with does not sound appealing to me"

"You do know that the Weasleys are pureblood, don't you?"

"That is not the word you would have used for them back in the 'good-old-times'.."

Draco just chuckled at that.

"Well, as I said. I grew up and realized the world isn't quite as black and white as I once thought."

At that Hermione's fred plinged and she fished it up to check who was messaging her.

[Ginny:] Are you coming over for lunch or am I coming over to your place?

"Are we almost done here? Ginny wants me to come over for lunch."

"Almost, I just want to finish our conversation about vultures and getting the right sort of publicity. Tell her to meet you in a 20 minutes somewhere in Diagon Alley."

"Why there?"

"It's the strategically smart thing to do. She is Mrs Potter and you need to be seen with her. It will give the impression that the saviour of wizardkind is supporting you."

"Of course Harry supports me."

"You know that and he knows that and even I may suspect that is the case, but it is not obvious to the general public. The average which or wizard doesn't even know if the Golden Trio is still on speaking terms."

"We are still friends. But we usually meet at my house or his house or at Ron's."

"And that is exactly the problem. For you to win this election you need to be seen as often as possible surrounded by your war heroes. Do you think you can convince Potter and Weasley to meet you for drinks at the Leaky Cauldron some day?"

"We always get together on Mondays."

"Well, from now and until the election those meetings should always be in public. Cast a mufliato if you don't want to be overheard, but be seen together. Happy and having fun. Give the papers something to write about or they will print speculations and lies."

"OK, Malfoy. I agree that you may have a point." And she send her reply to Ginny. "God knows I have had my share of speculations and lies printed about me in my time."

"Being seen with them will solidify your reputation as a war hero, but we also need you to socialize in other crowds. I will check some upcoming social events and give you some suggestions on where you should be seen."

"What, am I supposed to be your pet now?" Hermione said smirking. "You are going to drag me about displaying me to all the 'right people'?"

"Merlin's beard, no. That would be completely counterproductive since I am decidedly the wrong sort of people. Being seen with me is not a good ide Granger. You may not know this but the Malfoy name took quite a hit when my father sided with a psychopath in a war or two a few decades ago. We may not be despised, but getting my official endorsement for this venture of yours would be political suicide. The readers of Witch Weekly just love to hate my family name."

"So no running for Minister for Magic for you?"

Draco just chuckled at that.

"No, Granger. I'm Ok in the shadows. But it does mean that this meeting of ours is officially one of the dirty little secrets that could ruin your campaign. You probably shouldn't mention having a civilized conversation with me to anyone."

He looked at her with a sad smile and Hermione felt a little sorry for him. Maybe, just maybe the version of Draco sitting here in front of her wasn't all bad. Somehow, against all odds, he seemed to have grown up a bit. Of course she wouldn't put it past him to be faking it. Snakes tended to be rather devious.

"Give me your fred." he said as he extended his hand. Hermione fished out the coin and handed to him. He fished out his own, laid them together and quickly performed the pairing charm. This would allow them to communicate if needed. He then handed her the coin along with the neatly sorted and labelled piles of mail and told her not to be late for her meeting with the honourable Mrs Potter. Just before she apparated out of there she could swear she saw him give her a wink.

- # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # - # -

Late that night Hermione sat at home, reading the autobiography of Hector Fawley, who had been Minister of Magic from 1925 to 1939. She was about to start the eight chapter when she noticed her fred giving a little pling.

[Draco:] How did things go with Mrs Potter?

[Hermione:] Fine. Two reporters spotted us and took pictures.

[Draco:] Excellent. And the Golden Trio is going out on Monday night?

[Hermione:] Yes Malfoy. I did as you suggested and booked a table at the Leaky.

[Draco:] Then my work here is done for now. Sleep tight.