The couple of weeks following Hermione's announcement about her school were exceptionally busy for the witch. The school was coming along perfectly, and the final contracts were signed to secure her a piece of land to build her magical creatures sanctuary. Hermione had also started making lists of other things she wanted to create in the wizarding world. Hopefully in a few years her presence in the wizarding world would be well enough established so that no-one went against anything she said. That was when she could really start asserting her power and ensuring the wizarding world was just like her father had envisioned it.
She'd also given several more interviews to the press and demand for places at the school were already higher than she'd hoped for. The only slight problem was Rita Skeeter and the scathing articles she was constantly writing about The Dark Lady. Luckily she seemed to be a lone voice in speaking out against The Dark Lady and people just dismissed her articles as her usual trouble making. The only people who did seem to like her articles were the Order and Hermione had heard rumours that the reporter had met up with Harry a few times and the pair were forging an alliance of some sort.
After a couple of busy weeks where Hermione and Draco had barely seen each other, the couple decided to spend a quiet weekend together. On the Saturday morning Draco had convinced Hermione that they didn't need to get up, they could just spend the morning in bed. Hermione needed little convincing to remain in bed with her lover so the pair spent Saturday morning lounging around naked in bed.
"I'm starved after all that exercise." Draco remarked as the couple lay sprawled on the bed.
"We could always get up and go out for some lunch." Hermione suggested.
"We could, or we could just grab something from the kitchen and return to bed." Draco countered. "That way clothes aren't required."
"The kitchen it is then." Hermione chuckled as she hopped out of bed.
Instead of leaving the bedroom completely naked, Hermione picked up Draco's discarded shirt and put it on. The grey shirt just say covered her backside and she left the top few buttons open.
"What happened to no clothes needed?" Draco asked as he watched Hermione dress in his shirt.
"I thought this might appeal." Hermione grinned wickedly. "Although if you have a problem with me wearing your shirt, you can come and take it off me. I'll be in the kitchen when you're ready."
Shooting Draco a flirtatious smile, Hermione sauntered out of the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. She wasn't sure if Draco would follow her immediately or if he would take a few minutes longer and try to creep up on her, so she began the search for food. After grabbing the makings for chicken salad sandwiches, she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. Deciding to give Draco a bit of a show she deliberately opened the top cupboard where the glasses and plates were kept and set about grabbing what they would need for lunch. Because of the height of the cupboard Hermione had to stretch to reach anything, meaning Draco's shirt rode up, revealing her bare backside.
"It didn't take you long." Hermione remarked when she sensed a presence enter the kitchen. "Now get your sexy arse over here."
A low chuckle sounded from behind her and Hermione instantly knew it wasn't Draco. Quickly she pulled Draco's shirt down over her bum and whirled around to find a smirking Lucius standing in the kitchen doorway.
"Lucius." Hermione blushed slightly as she fastened the remaining buttons on Draco's shirt, all the time ensuring it didn't ride up and expose her again. "I wasn't expecting you."
"So it wasn't my sexy arse you were waiting for?" Lucius chuckled.
Before Hermione could respond there were footsteps behind Lucius and a naked Draco came striding into sight. Draco froze at the sight of his father, before turning round and bolting back to the bedroom. Hermione and Lucius both laughed as a sheepish Draco returned a few minutes later, only this time he'd pulled on his trousers.
"Father." Draco nodded to Lucius as he passed him and made his way over to Hermione. "You're timing's not exactly great."
"I wouldn't say that." Lucius smirked. "I got quite the welcome."
"Well Lucius, as nice as it is to see you, I'm assuming there's a reason you're here." Hermione said, flipping into Dark Lady mode.
"Yes, I have a favour to ask." Lucius replied. "There's a Ministry dinner tonight and a few important foreign officials will be there. Narcissa was supposed to be accompanying me, but she's not feeling too well. I was thinking you might like to join me. It could be a great opportunity for you to make an impression on a few senior officials from other countries."
"I would love to accompany you." Hermione smiled at Lucius. "You wouldn't mind, would you?" She asked her boyfriend. In all honesty she didn't need Draco's approval to go, but she wanted to be sure he didn't feel abandoned.
"Of course not, you should go." Draco said. He knew what a big opportunity this could be for Hermione and he was more than happy to alter their plans so she could attend the dinner. "I might pop over and see mother if she's not feeling well. It's not serious is it?" He checked with his father.
"No." Lucius shook his head. There's no way he would consider leaving Narcissa if she was seriously unwell. "It's just a late summer cold."
"In that case, I'll go and keep Mother company and you two can head out for the evening." Draco said.
"If you arrive at the Manor for half seven, we can leave from there." Lucius said.
Hermione nodded. "That's fine. See you then."
Lucius said his goodbyes to the couple and left them alone. Once he was gone Draco turned to Hermione and asked her just how much his father had seen of her.
"I'm not really sure." Hermione shrugged. "However much is on show when I reach into the top cupboard."
"Show me." Draco demanded.
Hermione unfastened the top few buttons on the shirt before turning round and reaching up into the cupboard the way she'd been doing when Lucius had approached. From behind her she heard Draco emit a low growl before he was pressed right up behind her. Despite the fact Draco had put his trousers on Hermione could still feel how aroused he was.
"I think father may have seen a bit too much of you." He growled as his hands unbuttoned the shirt Hermione was wearing.
Hermione quickly turned around in Draco's arms and let the shirt fall to the floor. Completely naked she hopped up onto the kitchen bench and pulled Draco so he was standing in between her legs.
"He would have seen a lot more if he'd turned up later." Hermione chuckled as her hands worked on ridding Draco of his trousers. "I'm completely exposed now."
"That's just the way I like you." Draco grinned as he pushed his trousers down his legs and stepped out of them.
Hermione grinned back at Draco as he stepped forward and pulled her towards the edge of the counter. With one smooth motion he was buried deep inside Hermione and thoughts of Lucius were banished as the couple lost themselves in each other.
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Just before half seven Draco and Hermione, in full Dark Lady make-up, flooed to Malfoy Manor. Lucius was waiting for the couple and after greeting his father, Draco headed off to spend the evening with his mother. Lucius meanwhile took hold of Hermione's arm and apparated her to the Ministry dinner.
Hermione was incredibly nervous as Lucius led her into the vast dining hall and introduced her around. Luckily for Hermione being in her Dark Lady guise gave her extra confidence and no-one noticed her nerves. Within half an hour she was feeling fairly comfortable at the dinner and was happily conversing with the foreign dignitaries before dinner.
It was over dinner that Hermione encountered a problem with one of the Germans, who happened to be the Deputy Minister of Magic for the country. The man, Boris Klein, had been off with Hermione all night and it was only a chance remark over dinner that revealed why. He was a muggleborn and didn't like what Lucius was doing within the British Ministry, not to mention he disliked her purely because of who her father was.
"Who the hell does he think he is?" Hermione hissed to Lucius after dinner. The pair had stepped outside the dining hall onto a balcony that overlooked the nearby river and countryside. "Did you see the way he looked at me?"
"Yes." Lucius sighed. "Unfortunately it appears as though he will soon be in charge in Germany. The current Minister is unwell and Klein in next in line for the job."
"He'll never support anything I want to do." Hermione muttered. "If he's in charge, I don't stand a chance of exerting any power in Germany."
"I thought you weren't branching abroad just yet." Lucius said.
"I'm not." Hermione answered. "But things will run more smoothly if there's amenable people in power when I make my approach. Klein's still relatively young, if he becomes Minister he could hold the position for years. Before we know where we are, he could have ensured Germany won't ever put any restrictions on muggleborns."
"What do you suggest? You can't exactly get rid of him." Lucius chuckled.
Hermione smirked evilly as she looked up at Lucius. "Why not? I think it's time I took a leaf out of my father's book. He always got rid of the people who stood in his way, it's time I started to do the same."
"Just be careful." Lucius warned. "Your father was so good at eliminating his enemies without repercussions because he didn't do the deed himself. You have to find someone to do the dirty work for you."
"Don't worry Lucius, I have two people in mind for the job." Hermione replied casually.
"Can they be trusted not to betray you if things go wrong?" Lucius checked. Ultimately it was Hermione's call on how she handled Klein, but he wanted to ensure she knew the risks involved.
"I can trust them." Hermione reassured her right hand man.
"Good." Lucius nodded. "Do you need my help with any arrangements?"
"I'm good." Hermione said. "I'll handle this. You just act all surprised when Klein has an unfortunate accident."
"I can do surprised. Just look at the surprise I got this morning." Lucius grinned, chuckling when he noticed Hermione blush slightly.
"The look on your face wasn't surprise." Hermione shot back. "It was glee."
"It's not every day I get a glimpse of a young woman's posterior. I was making the most of my luck." Lucius joked.
"As long as you enjoyed yourself." Hermione rolled her eyes at Lucius.
"Oh I did." Lucius grinned. "And no doubt you and Draco enjoyed yourselves after I left."
"How do you know that?" Hermione asked, wondering if he'd returned for some reason and had witnessed what had happened in the kitchen after he'd left.
"You were wearing Draco's shirt, and I know from experience that there's nothing sexier than a woman wearing your clothes. I still love to see Narcissa wearing my shirts like that, it always leads to a good time."
"And on that note, I think we should re-join the other guests." Hermione chuckled. "I really don't need to hear any more about what you and Narcissa get up to."
"Shame, I have some pretty wild tales." Lucius remarked as the pair made their way back into the dinner.
"I bet you do." Hermione muttered as Lucius was whisked off as soon as they re-entered the room.
The rest of the evening passed without incident and apart from the German Deputy Minister, everyone liked Hermione and accepted her without any problems. By the time the evening ended and Lucius took Hermione back to the Manor, The Dark Lady was already making plans to deal with Klein. She did however want to wait a while before enacting them, she didn't want to risk anyone connecting her to whatever nasty fate awaited him. It wouldn't look good if a muggleborn was to meet a sticky end mere days after meeting her. She would wait patiently and when the time was right she'd dispose of Klein and ensure Germany had a Minister that was more approachable and was more accepting of her beliefs.