Chapter One
My life was a whirlwind, from the moment I finished Hogwarts. No, from the moment I started. Ever since I got there, the pressure was on me to succeed; no one expected much from me because of who my parents are. Which is ridiculous. I had to work extra hard to prove them wrong, so obviously I teamed up with the Boy-who-lived and ended up saving the world. Did that even help? Not as much as you'd expect it to.
Somehow, there are still people who look at me today and expect less from me. Despite the fact that the only reason they live in the world they do is because of me. Despite the fact that their beloved Chosen One would have died many times over before reaching third year, let alone making it long enough to defeat the Dark Lord. Nevertheless, I continue to work my muggle-born arse off to protect those who need it. Even if they don't respect, appreciate or even acknowledge the fact that I am there. Why do I do this to myself?
I know I deserve better than that. I have given all I am to defend the world they claim is superior, yet all I see is the same pathetic, inconsequential beliefs that plague the muggle world. No matter which world you live in, there are always people who seem to think they are better than everyone else, because of where they are born, or who their family is, or even which supermarket they shop at. It is all so insignificant. If only I could convince them of their stupidity.
If only I could show them how wrong they are. The old families who look down their noses at me while I'm desperately fighting for their son. Or the ministry officials who sneer when I walk in the room, when I'm doing half their workload on top of mine. Or even the Weasleys. The oh-so-sweet Weasleys who think they are better than all the other purebloods because they took in a muggle-born like me, even though they wouldn't dream of actually interacting with muggles; that would be a massive step too far. All of those in this world who ignore my contribution to their saviour, who try and hide me away in a basement office so they don't have to see me, who would rather rot in Azkaban than accept help from me. If only I could show them.
"Show them what?" A drawling, almost uninterested voice commented from my open doorway. The grey eyes of the intruder looked over at me, the sparkle in them showing more concern than his voice did. "Talking to yourself is a clear sign of madness Granger."
"I'm not talking to myself. You're here, aren't you?" I met this eyes with my own. He, in all honesty, is one of the few people who actually seem to give a damn about me around here. He cared enough to come all the way down to my office at least. Harry always drags me up to his; says it's good for me to get out at least once in a while. "And never you mind what. Why are you here Malfoy?"
"I just came by to see if you wanted lunch. If you're gonna bite my head off for walking in your door, you'll be too full for any other food."
"It's been a long week, just leave it, okay?"
"A long week? It's only Tuesday. Come on, up you get. I'm not leaving you in here like this. We're going to the Leaky Cauldron and you can tell old Draco about all your problems." With this statement, he literally grabbed me under my arms and pulled me away from my desk – though this wasn't the first time he had had to do it, I'll admit. I just a barely managed to grab my purse on our way out the door.
About half an hour later, we were sat at a small, secluded table in the corner of the pub. Even here, I wasn't really wanted. If I'd been with Harry, Tom would have moved heaven and earth for the Boy Wonder to get a decent seat – his bushy-haired sidekick was clearly not worth as much.
"So, what's got you down in the dumps today then Mione?"
"Since when did you call me Mione? You know I can't stand that blasted nickname." I know I'm grumbling at the wrong person, yet it's hard not to when they are the only one who will listen. "I'm just so fed up of it all. The constant need to prove myself to any and every one. You would have thought I'd managed that by now. The world just doesn't seem to care about the war now. They think that the bad guys have been put away and all is well. If one more menial office worker asks me to do their work again, I might just Avada them myself! The war was supposed to be won, and the world a better place. Wasn't it?" As my speech tailed off, I began to doubt whether they were in the wrong, or whether it was me? Maybe I am just clinging to the world I entered, too scared to move forward in the wizarding world, too knowledgeable to go back to the muggle. I shook these thoughts off before they had time to settle.
"No. Just because nobody else can see how badly they're screwing it all up. At the rate they're going, there'll be another war in less than 50 years. All the 'good guys' – no offense – have done is move the discrimination from blood prejudice to war beliefs. It's not gone anywhere, if anything it's worse. I refuse to be a part of this anymore."
Malfoy watched me as I got clearer on what needed to be done. The world couldn't continue like this. It needed more. It needed to be better. I won't let the mistakes of the past be repeated. My way of thinking might be a bitter pill for the world to swallow right now, nevertheless it's a necessary one.
"What do you say about a little coup, Malfoy?"
To say that he appeared shocked would be the largest understatement that had ever been made. Very quickly, however, he calmed his expression, and replaced it with a cold, calculating look.
"A coup, my dear Granger? Tell me, what exactly are you suggesting?"
"I'm saying the ministry is perpetuating beliefs that go against what the winning side of the war supposedly stood for, and I won't stand by it anymore. The latest propaganda would have us believe that every person with a dark mark – and many without – should be locked away, or even killed. This whole school of thought is beyond ridiculous. Some of them were as much victims as they were criminals. Somebody needs to make a stand for what is right."
Little did I know that other ears in the overcrowded pub were also listening in on my increasingly impassioned talk. Ears that agreed; ears that belonged to those who had been wronged by the current administration, even ears who thought I wouldn't be willing to take it far enough.
"I'm going to make them see what they're doing is wrong. If not, I'm going to do it for them. They won't know what's coming for them"
AN - This story is an entry to the Are You Crazy Enough To Do It? Challenge, so each chapter will follow a different writing prompt. Hopefully, it will still feel like a cohesive story. As such, updates will be sporadic at best I'm afraid.
This chapter's prompt is number 375 - No using the word 'but'.