A New Normal
The Malfoys - Aries - 26, Scorpius - 18, Athena - 18, Narcissa Jo - 16, Lyra - 14
The Potters: Teddy - 26, James - 19, Albus - 18, Lily - 16
The Notts: Thomas and Taylor - 17
The Zabinis: Marco - 18, Antonio - 16
The Weasleys (Ron and Padma): Ravi - 25, Rose - 18, Hugo - 16
November 2024 - The Malfoy Residence in Godric's Hollow
"Herms."
"Hermy."
"Hermione!"
Hermione jumped and turned her attention away from the radio to look at her husband. "Huh? What, what's wrong?"
Draco chuckled. "You okay there love?"
She sighed. "Yeah I'm fine. The suspense is killing me though. I wish they'd hurry it up! Why is it taking so long? We have magic for goodness sake!"
Draco rubbed her back gently. "Relax honey. I'm sure it will be soon."
"Need a drink?" Ginny asked from the other couch.
"That would be great. Firewhisky. Neat." Hermione responded without looking up.
"Didn't know you drank like that mum," Scorpius said with a laugh.
"Well when the stakes are this high..." she trailed off and stood up to pace. "Draco when will the girls get here?"
Draco looked at his watch. "Uhh McGonagall said Harry could get them as soon as they were done with classes so they should be here pretty soon."
"'Mione seriously. Relax," Ginny said, handing her the firewhisky.
"How can I relax when everything I've worked my entire life for is being decided right now?!"
"Herms, drink the firewhisky and then Ginny pour her another," Draco said from the couch.
"Already ahead of you," Ginny replied with a wink. "Charmed the glass to automatically refill."
There was rustling in the fireplace and Pansy and Blaise came rushing into the drawing room. "We're here, we're here! Are we too late!? Did we miss it?!" Pansy said, trying to catch her breath as she sat down.
"Nope. Still waiting."
Harry arrived with Athena, Narcissa Jo and Lyra a few minutes later. Headmistress McGonagall had given them permission to come home for the announcement of the new minister for magic.
Hermione looked around the room and smiled. The room was packed with her family and friends. Lyra and Narcissa Jo were playing on the floor with Makayla and little Remus. Athena, Scorpius, Rose and Albus were playing exploding snap. Aries, Teddy and Victoire were talking with Harry and Ginny. Ron, Padma and Ravi were there as well. Pansy and Blaise were fussing at Marco for not coming home to see them more often. Kingsley and Arthur were standing by the fireplace chatting with Theo and Elise and Mrs. Weasley was explaining how the election worked to Hermione's mum and dad.
Hermione felt so much love and knew in that moment, that the outcome of the election really didn't matter. These people had been there for her throughout the long, grueling campaign process and would still be there for her, win or lose.
The campaign had taken a nasty turn once the girls had returned to Hogwarts. Her opponent was down in the polls and resorted to slandering Hermione's name and emphasizing the fact that Draco and his family had been death eaters. Instead of focusing on the issues and highlighting his own accomplishments, his team had tried to downplay hers. His tactics, though horrible, worked to some degree as he was only down three points the day before the election.
Hermione had released a simple statement about integrity and the importance of being able to trust your leaders. She hoped it was enough to maintain her lead and win the election. But for now, all they could do was wait.
So that's what they were doing. Sitting by the radio, waiting for the announcement.
The door to the drawing room opened and Athena slipped into the room, looking worried. Hermione frowned; She hadn't even seen her leave.
Athena walked over to her mother and sat down next to her. She leaned in and whispered, "Hey mum can I talk to you alone for a minute?"
"Sure sweetheart let's go--"
"Hermione they're making the announcement!" Ron called from the other side of the room.
Hermione's eyes widened and she looked over at her daughter.
"Come on mum! We'll talk later; this is more important!"
They rushed over to the radio and Draco turned it up so they could all hear.
"...in recent days, the race for Minister for Magic has been very close but we finally have the results you all have been waiting to hear. I am happy to announce that the new Minister for Magic, with 75% of the vote is Ms. Hermione Granger-Malfoy--"
They didn't hear the rest of the announcement because the room erupted into cheers. Everyone was hugging Hermione and congratulating her.
She was in a state of shock as Ginny shoved a glass of champagne into her hand and Draco made a toast. They celebrated long into the night after Draco got back from taking the girls back to Hogwarts.
Hermione woke up with a horrible hangover the next morning. "Bloody hell Draco, how much did I drink last night?"
He was already up and humming as he got dressed. "Way too much evidently," he replied, opening the curtains.
"Why?! Close the curtains!" she whined, squinting at the bright light.
Draco laughed and handed her a hangover potion and a cup of coffee. "Absolutely not! It's your first day as minister and you don't want to be late!"
"What time is it?" she asked, throwing back the covers and heading to the bathroom for a shower.
"6:30."
"Oh my goodness! I'm going to be late!"
"Herms you don't have to be there until 8."
"Yeah but there are going to be photos taken of me today! I actually have to look nice and that's going to take time!" she called from the shower.
Draco simply laughed, shook his head and continued to get ready for work.
********************
Hermione flopped into the chair behind her new desk in her new office, exhausted from the day's happenings. It was only 1:00 and she had already had five meetings, a press conference and had to sit for her official portrait. Luckily, Kingsley was still on hand for the first month of her term, to help her with the transition. Draco stopped by to have lunch with her and she was halfway through her meal before she realized she had never finished her conversation with Athena so she decided to write to her.
Athena,
Hello sweetheart! I hope all is well. I'm sorry we didn't get to chat last night; It was just so hectic. If you still want to talk, write me back and I'll see if I can get up there your next Hogsmeade weekend. I love you and I'll talk to you soon!
Love,
Mum
She sent the letter off with a sigh. She was overjoyed to finally be in the position she worked her entire life for but it was a lot of work.
Hermione checked her afternoon schedule and smiled. She had a meeting with the new Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, her replacement, at 2:00.
There was a knock at her door promptly at 1:59.
"Come in," Hermione called, putting the paperwork she was working on to the side.
Harry walked into her office with a wide smile on his face and sat down in the chair opposite her desk. "Good afternoon Minister."
"Good afternoon Head of Magical Law Enforcement," Hermione replied with a giggle.
Harry sighed. "Can you believe we're actually here 'Mione? We've worked so hard and it's all paid off."
"I'll say," Hermione said with a grin. "We still on for dinner at the Burrow tonight?"
"Yeah. Mum Weasley is cooking up a spectacular congratulatory feast from what Ginny told me."
"Oh I can't wait! I love Mrs. Weasley's cooking. Anyway, we'll have plenty of time to chat later. Do you have any important news?"
Harry frowned. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news on your first day, but these been a string of robberies in Diagon Alley over the last few weeks," he said, handing her a stack of files.
"Why am I just being informed of this now? I was Head of Magical Law Enforcement and should have been notified."
"Well uh, you see, Kingsley thought it best not to worry you with it while you were running your campaign."
"I see."
"You're angry," Harry said. It wasn't a question.
"Not angry, annoyed."
"I'm sorry 'Mione, we thought it was best at the time. You were so stressed out."
"You can beg my forgiveness later. For now, brief me on what's going on. And do it quickly; I have another meeting after this."
********************
Athena sighed after reading the letter from her mother.
Taylor turned to her and frowned. "What's wrong Athena?"
"Nothing. Hey do you have a sheet of parchment and a quill?"
Taylor nodded and put down her fork to reach into her knapsack. They were finishing up lunch in the great hall.
Hey mum,
Thanks for taking time out of what I'm sure is a busy first day to write me. Don't worry about it though. It's nothing important. I'll talk to you when I come home for Christmas. Love you too.
AGM
Athena sealed the letter and decided she would take it up to the owlery before class.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Taylor inquired. "You've been awfully quiet lately."
Athena smiled at her best friend. "Yeah I'm fine. It's just weird being here at Hogwarts when all of our friends have graduated. I miss them."
Taylor leaned in and hugged her. "Well we've got each other! And in seven months, we'll be out of this place for good."
"You're right," Athena replied, gathering her things. "I'm gonna dash up to the owlery to send this letter to my mum before my potions class. I'll see you at dinner?"
Taylor nodded and waved as Athena walked away.
Athena stood in the owlery near a window, closing her eyes and allowing the cold November air to wash over her. There was fresh snow on the ground, still undisturbed by footprints. Winter was Athena's favorite season. Not only because of her birthday, which had just passed, but because it was just so peaceful.
She sent her letter to her mother with a brown owl and was preparing to leave when she decided to pen another letter.
Hey Al,
It's me. It was good seeing you yesterday. I'm glad you and your dad are getting on; I told you he wouldn't care about you wanting to be a healer and not an auror like him, Teddy and James. He just wants you to be happy. I hope you are happy. It's so boring here without you and Marco. I mean I guess I should be happy that I'm head girl but more than anything I just want to come home. I'm rambling now so I'll stop. See you at Christmas.
All my love,
AGM
She sighed wistfully and headed down the stairs to get to potions.
A/N Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I can't wait for the next one; It's gonna be exciting! ;) Also, the first chapter of my original story Miss Communications is posted on my page. As always, thanks for reading. Please vote, comment and follow!
Here's a sneak peek of the next chapter:
Hermione found Draco in the library with a glass of firewhisky and his head in his hands.
"Herms?" he called without looking up.
"It's me," she replied taking the firewhisky from him and downing the glass.
"Wow. Haven't seen you drink like that in awhile. Not even during your campaign."
"Well," she said tiredly. "Nothing on the campaign was this bad."
"God tell me about it," he replied angrily. "If gouging my eyes out would rid me of the image of them permanently etched in my brain, I would do it."
"It gets worse," Hermione said, climbing into his lap.