A scene inspired by Magi's misspells Ch26 Dark lady Granger. Not so much the content as the title really.
Hermione had always been a thinker. She was someone who always had a plan, and despite all the setbacks that were likely to occur, or the difficulties she would face she always played the long game. Which is why she sat in her room after all the reward ceremonies and funerals… and smiled. Her plans were all coming together.
In all honesty it wasn't a plan she had expected to make. It was all because of that blasted hat. She had wanted to be a ravenclaw or even a slytherin if only to stick it to those purebloods and show them that she was more than witch enough to handle them at their own games. But no, oh no, the hat had decided she had the heart of a lioness and put her in gryffindor. Now just one glance across the table told her that the house of lions was not all clean and perfect. She could work with what she had. She just had wished to have been in a house that was a lot more knowledgable. But then she laid eyes on Harry Potter. Now she read a lot of books. Written a lot of plans. Had done a lot of soul searching. So she was more than easily able to read most people. See their inner thoughts through the most basic of actions. What she saw when she looked at Harry was a lot of anger and a certain kind of tiredness. Like he was always keeping his emotions under control and was growing sick of it. That combined with his fame made him a key component in her oldest dream. To rule the world.
Now she didn't want it to prove a point. Didn't have a bone to pick with the world or anything. Sure she had been picked on because of her teeth, or hair, or her bookishness. But that was at most a minor nuisance. Not worth raging at the world at. Punch someone in the face or hit them with a choice hex maybe. But rage? No, not at all. Their were people with much better reasons to than that. Like Harry for example, or Neville longbottom. She also didn't have a bad home life either. Her parents were very loving and supportive and she loved them. Infact she planned to give them very comfy lives in her new world order if they lived that long. You never know how long it will take to take over the world after all. She didn't have a deep hatred, or megalomania. She didn't want to show that she was better than everyone. None of those cliche bad guy reasons.
She wanted the world… just to see if she could. No more no less.
Now… now everything was moving. True it was had been at a grander scale than she had realized when she first started. They took down lord Voldemort himself along with his entire army of death-eaters and dark creatures. They also lost a lot of friends and allies. She wasn't heartless, it hurt going to all those funerals and seeing all those familiar faces in caskets. It just meant all the more that she unite the world through her harmless and rather generous means. Make Harry king of the world and make him her puppet. With the fall of Voldemort he was one step closer to being the head of England. It would still take some work and she would still need to guide him subtly but she was well on her way.
Now she couldn't do this alone. She realized this. So she recruited help. The first had been Ginny Weasley. She had been quite innocent and yet still tainted by her deeds during the second year. She had pulled the young girl aside and talked to her, revealing things slowly. It had helped that she had a small crush on her puppet. It also helped that while she planned to be the main puppeteer and mistress she was more than willing to share. Add in a bit of understanding and positive attention and she had her first personal minion.
The second had been Luna. She didn't so much choose her as was chosen by her. It was a very interesting set of circumstances. The Lovegood girl was very astute. She had her pegged as an overlady in training from day one apparently. Then almost immediately asked to join up. Which had thrown Hermione for a loop. Apparently Luna really wanted to get back at those who thought it was funny to poke fun at her, and what better way than to help someone take over the world. Hermione gave no arguments that day, and was very glad she hadn't because Luna was a very good advisor. She picked up on things that Hermione sometimes missed or thought of things that the young gryffindor didn't.
With Ginny being her hands and Luna being her eyes and ears Hermione's plans flourished. Of course she wasn't the only one that needed minions. Harry as leader of the world would need loyal retainers as well and not just the mistresses she brought to his bed. Thus stepped in Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. They were easy really. Harry did most of the work though she did push things along to help the two boys grow. And boy did they need to grow.
Ron had been a jealous youngest son that couldn't control his mouth. However his biggest, and arguably only, redeeming feature was his loyalty. For some reason no matter how bad things got, when the chips were down Ron stepped up. He was also had a small talent for strategizing. She had needed to cultivate that loyalty and goodwill between the boys. It wasn't easy. Ron still couldn't control his mouth sometimes. However now he was a loyal minion. he was also quite cute. Too bad he was probably very much straight. Especially since she was pretty sure Harry was bi, or at least curious, there was also pan, and demi to consider according to Luna.
Neville was slightly harder. She didn't see him as often. He had also been almost a complete nervous wreck in the beginning. All thumbs, no confidence. But he had potential. Especially at the end of that first year. He had stood up to them and stood his ground. He had the ability to be so much. A true second in command if not leader in his own right. That was something she had so wanted to bring out and with Harry's unknowing help had. Finally getting a wand that was properly attuned to himself had done wonders for him as well. Luna had shown a large amount of interest in him, though she had assured that he was likely willing to experiment. Which was always a good thing. You could never have too big a harem.
THough she had to admit to herself that including those two into the harem wouldn't be easy. Ron would likely not want to sleep with his best friend. Neville might be easier if he developed a crush for both luna and Harry since Luna was going to be one of her fellow mistresses. However she would need to explain to them why their was a harem. Either come up with a really good reason or tell them the truth. Truth be told most of those that joined her harem would be told when she determined they were deep enough and trustworthy enough not to betray her. However Harry could never be told. He would have to be kept in the dark. At least until he found out himself or figured out enough to confront her. Until then she would come up with some explanation to keep him satisfied.
Of course Ginny, Luna, Ron, and Neville weren't the only people she either allied with or guided secretly. Nor were they the only ones in her little harem and soon to be Harry' as well. She just needed to take a few more steps to finish up the foundation.
With Voldemort dead everyone was trying to move on. The ministry was kissing up to Harry who had plans to be an auror one day. But she could see it in his eyes that he just wanted to rest. To recuperate. She would give him that time as well as plenty of healing. In a rather intimate way if she could help it. First she would use Ginny to help encourage him to see herself and Luna more often. Also gently show him that she was a rather open girl. Helps that the three of them already had a relationship going and include a few of the other hopefuls on occasion. Start with the three of them. Slowly add in other girls that he might have interest in. Then introduce boys in. First Neville and others that are really close to him. Mmmm yes that should work nicely. It could take months to fully implement. But she was a patient woman. As more people joined in and Harry got confident again, they would work on their individual careers. Slight pushes from those in the know SHOULD help steer him up the ladder. Once he is head of the ministry Hermione would steer him to having good relations with other countries. Getting them under his sway… before absorbing them and then moving onto the opposition. Again it would be slow and not as bloodless as she would like it. However if all the cards were played right, and with more being added to her hand all the time, she could see her dream become a reality.
The hat had said she had the heart of a lioness. In the end it was right. And she just couldn't wait to see her pride grow.