Ten years later.

It was a big day in Wizarding Britain and all around the country people were getting ready for the main event that would be taking place at the Ministry of Magic that afternoon. After a decade as Minister of Magic, Lucius Malfoy, was stepping down and he would be handing the reigns over to his daughter-in-law, Athena Malfoy, who was about to become the youngest Minister in Wizarding Britains history.

At Malfoy Manor, Lucius was practising his speech in front of the bedroom mirror, while Narcissa finished getting ready. Narcissa had thoroughly enjoyed her time as the Minister's wife, but she had to admit she was looking forward to getting to spend more time with her husband. She was already planning a relaxing holiday for the pair of them, as Lucius wasn't returning to work at the family business. Since Draco had it all in hand and was making a roaring success of things, it meant they would have more time together on a daily basis. Time Narcissa hoped they could either spend together or with their adorable grandson, four year old, Scorpius.

"Are you regretting your decision to retire?" Narcissa asked her husband as he ran over his speech yet again and frowned at the mention of his retirement.

"We always knew my time as Minister was limited," Lucius retorted with a shrug. "I was merely keeping the seat warm for Athena."

"You were doing more than that, Lucius," Narcissa assured her husband. "You've spent the last decade doing the best for Wizarding Britain. I think most people will agree that you've been a very productive Minister. You've certainly been more successful than Fudge."

"That is not a great compliment, Narcissa," Lucius snorted. "Fudge didn't exactly achieve great things in his tenure as Minister. He was far too easily influenced by outside sources."

"Like you," Narcissa chuckled. As much as it could be claimed that Fudge had been heavily influenced by Dumbledore in the early years of his time as Minister, it could be just as easily said that towards the end of him time in power it was Lucius doing the influencing.

"I can't help it if Fudge was weak-willed and wasn't able to stand up to more forceful personalities," Lucius replied with a smirk.

"You never had that problem, and Athena certainly won't," Narcissa said. "But you still didn't answer my question. Are you ready to give up being Minister? Athena is still young, she didn't have to take charge now. You could have had a few more years in the job."

"No, the time is right for me to step aside," Lucius said with a firm nod. "I've loved every minute of these last ten years, but now I'm ready to step back and focus on my family. Besides, I won't be completely out in the cold, I will still be the father-in-law of the new Minister and I trust that Athena will come to me for advice when she needs it. I've still got a vital role to play in things, Narcissa. I'll just have more time for you and Scorpius. Speaking of which, I thought we could take our grandson on holiday once I retire. It would give Draco and Athena some time alone. Maybe to be get started on grandchild number two."

"You expect her to have a second baby just as she's becoming Minister?" Narcissa laughed. "I think a second grandchild will be a few years away yet."

"We'll see," Lucius replied with a shrug. "If anyone can handle being Minister and raising a family, it's Athena. And I doubt being pregnant will slow her down any, it certainly didn't when she was expecting Scorpius."

"True," Narcissa agreed with a nod. "And I think taking Scorpius away is a great idea, but after we've had our own break. I've been looking forward to a romantic holiday with my husband."

"And you will get it," Lucius vowed as he swept his wife into his arms and gave her a searing kiss. "Now, let's get on with this," he said when their lips finally parted. "We've got the rest of our lives to look forward to once I officially retire."

G.O.V.

At the same time Lucius and Narcissa were getting ready for the ceremony at the Ministry, Severus was a few miles away doing the same. As Hermione's business partner he wanted to be there to see her sworn in as the Minister of Magic. Of course it meant her new position would leave him in complete charge of their large Potions empire, but he knew he was up to the task. After all, they'd known for a while that Hermione would be taking over as Minister and that Severus would be left in control of the business, so it wasn't like they weren't prepared. In fact Severus was looking forward to being in sole charge.

Although one thing he wasn't looking forward to was trying to fasten his tie, and the dreaded accessory was still draped over his bed. Even after a decade and several meeting with the best Healers in the world, Severus still didn't have much dexterity in his hands. The scars on his face had faded substantially and were now so faint that a lot of people missed them, and a risky procedure had restored the hearing in his left ear again, but there had been very little that could be done for his hands. While they were far from useless, they just couldn't handle fiddly or delicate tasks. Of course it made certain elements of brewing potions impossible for him, but at least he had the running of the business to occupy his mind and he'd learnt to cope with not being as hands on in brewing potions.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered, reluctantly picking up his tie and slinging it around his neck.

"Let me, before you strangle yourself," a voice called from behind Severus and an attractive young witch stepped in front of him and deftly sorted his tie.

"Thank you," Severus said, smiling down at the witch who had once upon a time being his assistant.

"You're welcome," Becky replied with a smile of her own.

Romance had blossomed between the pair following Hermione's revelation to Severus that his assistant had fancied him. It was a fact Severus hadn't been able to get out of his head, and although he'd been sceptical of such an attractive girl being interested in him following his accident, Becky had proved that her interest in him was genuine. And these days they were very happily married and very much in love.

"Come on, we don't want to miss Hermione's big moment," Becky said, taking her husband by the hand and leading him out of the bedroom.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Severus replied with a smile.

G.O.V.

Another couple getting ready for the ceremony at the Ministry in another part of the country were Tonks and Remus, and they couldn't be happier that everything had worked out for Hermione. Remus still tortured himself over his part in Hermione's kidnapping all those years ago, and every day he was grateful that things hadn't been any worse. Not that things had worked out great for everyone, and he would never forget his two closest friends, not to mention Harry and Ron, but he was well aware that everything could have been a whole lot worse after the Order had stupidly listened to Dumbledore and kidnapped Hermione as an infant.

And as for Voldemort, Remus was certainly convinced that he'd been dead all along. He had to admit he had wondered if they'd been deceived yet again by Dumbledore when his final letter claimed The Dark Lord wasn't dead, but all the evidence pointed to him just trying to salvage his reputation. There hadn't even been a sniff of The Dark Lord being back, and Remus didn't think that he would stay out of sight for a whole decade. No, if he had been alive, the world would have known about. But he wasn't, Dumbledore had killed him in cold blood and most of Wizarding Britain had seen the proof with their own eyes.

"Will any of the Weasleys be there this afternoon?" Tonks asked, interrupting her husband's thoughts.

"The twins will be," Remus replied. "After all, Hermione is still their main investor. It's thank to her investment that they have the shop in Hogsmeade, the postal service and when I was talking to George last weekend, he said they were looking at premises in Ireland."

"And the other Weasleys?" Tonks questioned.

"I don't think Bill or Charlie are in the country at the moment," Remus answered. "And I guess Percy will be there, he does work at the Ministry again."

Percy had actually been back working at the Ministry for the last six years, and it had been Lucius himself who had given him a second chance. The move had gone down particularly well with the public and it had helped prove once and for all that the Malfoys held no grudges against the relations of those who had persecuted Hermione, both when she was a child and once the truth about her parentage had emerged.

"And Molly and Arthur?" Tonks queried. "And what about Lily?"

Although the truth was, Tonks didn't expect any of them to show their faces. Molly and Arthur were virtual recluses these days, who would only see their family. As for Lily, she wasn't quite as bad, but she'd never recovered from the loss of her husband and son and she was a shadow of her former self.

"I doubt it," Remus said. "But Hermione will still have plenty of support. Most of the staff at Hogwarts are planning on attending, and didn't you say Neville will be there?"

These days Neville owned the biggest Herbology centre in Wizarding Britain, and Remus knew that Hermione's Potions company had a large contract for Neville's business to supply her firm with all their Herbology needs.

"Yes, Frank mentioned it last week when he popped in," Tonks replied. "You know, I swear he regrets retiring, he's always popping in to see how things are going."

"At least he got the chance to keep doing the job he loved and retire in his own time," Remus replied. "Both he and I were lucky to get away with our role in Hermione's kidnapping as a child."

"Let's not dwell on the past, Remus," Tonks said softly. "Let's focus on the future. And the future looks bright from where I'm standing."

"Me too," Remus agreed with a small smile.

Somehow his life had turned out pretty perfect, and not only did he have a beautiful wife, but he also had a gorgeous one year old son, Teddy. Sometime he didn't think he deserved his happiness given the mistakes he'd made in the past, but he would take the life he had and every day he appreciated what he had.

G.O.V.

"Don't be so nervous, you're going to be great," Draco assured Hermione as his wife nervously paced the floor in his father's office at the Ministry.

"What if it's too soon?" Hermione asked. "I've just turned thirty. What if I'm not ready? What if I don't have enough experience?"

"You have more experience than most people twice your age," Draco scoffed. "Just look at everything you achieved before you even left Hogwarts. And what you've done since then."

"That was different. That was all over revenge," Hermione argued. "But that's all over with. No-one is coming for me any-more. My enemies are either dead, or in Ginny's case rotting in Azkaban."

"I wasn't talking about the revenge you achieved," Draco chuckled. "I was talking about what you achieved in spite of everything you were going through. You found out your entire life was lie, and you didn't crumble. You stayed strong and not only got your revenge, but carried on your normal life as well. You were Head Girl, and you still had the best exam results in out year. You then turned a failing business on it's head and built an empire."

"I had some help with all of that," Hermione replied. "You helped me so much in school. I couldn't have managed everything if I hadn't had you by my side. And as for the business, I've had Severus to help."

"No disrespect to Severus, but I'm sure he would agree you were the driving force behind the business," Draco said. "He wouldn't have done it on his own. You are capable of so much more than you realise, Athena. You're ready for this. This is your moment to shine."

"And what about Scorpius?" Hermione asked, looking over to where their son was happily sitting at Lucius's desk, colouring in a picture. "What if I end up neglecting him while I'm trying to run the country?"

"It doesn't matter how busy you were, you would never neglect Scorpius," Draco assured his wife as he pulled her into his arms. "Now stop worrying, we both know this is your destiny. You were meant to rule the world, and I was meant to be by your side."

"The prophecy doesn't exist, Draco," Hermione chuckled.

True to his word, Lucius had launched a search for the prophecy the moment he'd become the Minister of Magic, but he'd never been able to find a trace of it. If the prophecy had been made, it had never been record in the Ministry's archives, and if that was the case, it would be the first prophecy in history not to be recorded by the Ministry. Instead it seemed far more likely that Dumbledore had made the entire thing up as he'd tried to get the Order to do what he wanted.

"Whether the prophecy is real or not, I still believe this is where you were meant to be," Draco insisted. "You were meant to have power. You were meant to be in charge. Maybe this is where you would have ended up if Dumbledore's hadn't interfered. Maybe you would have been Minister in a world where your father held ultimate control."

"Maybe," Hermione conceded. "But I think we should focus on the here and now. And right now, I think I'm ready to become Minister of Magic."

"That's my wife," Draco said with a grin. "Come on Scorp, let's get ready for Mummy's big moment."

With her husband and son by her side, Hermione took a couple of calming breaths and headed down to the atrium, where the ceremony would take place and she would be sworn in as Britain's newest, and youngest, Minister of Magic.

G.O.V.

The crowds for Hermione's initiation as Minister of Magic were larger than anyone had predicted and there wasn't a spare morsel of space in the vast atrium at the Ministry of Magic. The press were out in force, as were friends and supporters of Hermione. Even those people who still weren't sure how they felt about having the daughter of Lord Voldemort as Minister were present as they were keen to make a decision about the witch in question.

As the outgoing Minister of Magic, Lucius began proceedings with a speech. After thanking people for the support he'd received during his decade in charge, he spoke briefly about the changes he'd made over the last decade and what the country had achieved in that time. He then turned his attention to his successor, and spoke passionately and lovingly about the witch who would be taking his place.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your new Minister of Magic – Athena Malfoy," Lucius cried loudly, sweeping his arms towards Hermione. Even though Hermione used both names it had been decided that officially she was going to use the name Athena as it was the name her father had given her, and it reminded people that she wasn't trying to hide from who she truly was or forget the past.

Stepping forward, Hermione embraced Lucius and thanked him for his kind words. She then also spoke about her father-in-law, and what a great Minister he'd been before touching on some of her own ideas for how the country could move forward and continue to prosper. Not once in her speech did she mention power, or taking over the entire wizarding world, and the small fears that had still existed in the minds of her doubters were slowly extinguished. It was obvious to anyone watching that the witch taking over the Ministry wasn't anything like her power hungry father.

That was, it was obvious to all those who didn't truly know Hermione. For those in her most trusted circle of family and friends, they all knew she was a lot more like her father than anyone could ever imagine. She most certainly had her father's darkness and his ability to use whatever means necessary to get what she wanted. However, these days she had everything she wanted and there was no longer a need to use darkness to achieve her goals. Instead she was going to use the other side of her personality, the kind, compassionate side, to become the finest Minister of Magic, Wizarding Britain had ever known.

And among those in the crowd who truly knew Hermione was Voldemort. Of course he was in disguise and no-one would ever realise that the nondescript brown haired man watching events with such interest was the dark wizard himself. As far as everyone was concerned, he was dead, and he was happy to keep it that way. The people closest to him knew the truth, and in all honesty he was content with his life. He still missed his wife, and always would, but he'd finally been given the chance to get to know his daughter and every day he felt blessed to have Athena in his life. And the icing on the cake was his beautiful grandson, Scorpius. If Dumbledore had gotten his way, Voldemort wouldn't have known Athena or Scorpius, but luckily the old man had failed and Voldemort still had his family.

G.O.V.

"You know, I think this is what the prophecy meant," Frank confided in Remus as the two wizards stood with their wives and watched Hermione taking the oaths that would lead to her been officially declared the Minister of Magic. "This was how she was going to rule the world, as Minister."

"And her dragon is by her side," Remus said as Draco stepped forward and embraced his wife, their son in his arms. "Damn Dumbledore. If he'd had his way this might never have happened. He could have ruined everything."

"I guess everything worked out in the end," Frank remarked.

"At least for some people," Remus muttered, his mind turning to those who had lost their lives.

Although he couldn't help but think that everyone who had lost their lives had done so because of Dumbledore. He'd set a chain of events in motion that had caused so much trouble and caused so many people so much pain. And in the end it was all for nothing, as Hermione had ended up on top after all. She was the ultimate victor – a true Goddess of Victory.

The End.

A/N – Finally we've reached the end of Goddess, and as usual I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story, and to follow, favourite and especially review. The amazing support I receive from people keeps me posting my stories on here, and hopefully it was continue for many years to come.

As for new stories, I'm afraid to say that at the moment I don't have any completed stories in the locker. I do have some nearing the end, and several I'm actively working on. But the summer has just been so sweltering and the heat has been so oppressive that I've managed very little writing. Still, I've got some new collections pieces to post over the next few weeks and with a bit of hard work (and hopefully some cooler weather), I do hope to have a new dark story ready to go before the end of the year. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten the third part of the Darkness trilogy, that is one of the stories I am working on and aiming to get completed over the coming months.

So thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the end of this story and Hermione and Draco's happy ending.