CHAPTER EIGHT: The consultation

"Madame Minister, Eugene Winger and Draco Malfoy here to see you."

Hermione stared at Astoria, terrified. "Wait, what, did something happen?"

"No, no," hurried her assistant. "They've got some project to discuss? They say it's urgent, but if you don't have time, they could schedule the appointment some other time."

Hermione studied Astoria for a second, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Let them in. I've got an hour before the next meeting."

Astoria nodded, and a few seconds later, two figures came in through the door.

Get a grip!, Hermione scolded herself when she realised she wouldn't recognise Voldemort himself if he walked in with Malfoy. Luckily, neither of them noticed that – well, to be honest, it was Eugene who didn't because Draco's stare was also fixed on her. Maybe it was the eyes? Like with a basilisk, but less deadly and more magnetic? Or actually perhaps more deadly.

"Hello, Madame Minister, we're sorry to interrupt you, but honestly, we could use your help," said Eugene, a tall wizard with an impressive grey moustache.

"Well, I'm free for an hour, so what is it?" she asked, pointedly staring at Eugene. She definitely had to avoid eye contact with Malfoy.

"Actually, it was Draco's idea," admitted Eugene, and her non-existent will gave up. Luckily, this time she was prepared for the deadly stare and didn't lose focus.

"Yes?"

"We're going forward with the project. And so, we're meeting Hogwarts' staff next week," Draco explained with admirable confidence. "And since you were, you know, sort of a teacher's pet back in-"

"I'm sorry, Malfoy," she cut in, surprised at her hostile reaction. But suddenly she felt really annoyed with him. "But if you came here to insult me-"

"I'm not insulting you, Granger," frowned Draco. "I admire people who can get people on their side."

"I didn't have any ulterior motive, Malfoy. I was just a good student."

"Precisely why we're here," chuckled Eugene nervously, trying to get back on topic.

"Very well, what do you want to know?"

"We wanted to ask whether you have an idea on how to convince the Headmistress and the teachers to accept the proposal. You know, apart from the fact that they would be helping in the making process of the workbooks," Draco smiled confidently.

She narrowed her eyes at him but decided he did have a point. If he wanted to succeed, he could use her help.

"Well, whatever you do, do not press McGonagall too much," she said matter-of-factly and immediately went into the self-assured mode. "She won't appreciate it. My proposition is: go to her first, present the idea with all its advantages and, for the love of Merlin, please remember to list the disadvantages as well. She has to know you're serious about it, but she's not going to like it if all you see is one side. Make a good presentation and just wait for her verdict. Nothing more can help you with her."

Eugene looked terrified, but Draco next to him was nodding understandingly.

"Already prepared," he smirked proudly.

She decided to give him a slight, appreciative smile.

"What about the rest? Flitwick, Binns, Hagrid, Sinistra, Trelawney, Longbottom and Boot?"

"Well, I don't know Boot that well, but I've studied Arithmancy with him, and I know he likes when you're creative. So try to bring that up when it comes to workbooks. So that not only can he be creative when making them, but also it will increase creativity among the students. Flitwick, Hagrid and Neville will love the idea, I'm sure of that, so I don't think you have to worry about them. Just make a decent presentation. Sinistra can be strict, but once you tell her that she can be in charge of preparing the exercises, I'm sure she'll be on board. Trelawney and Binns will be the hardest ones," she sighed.

"That's what I'm afraid of," admitted Draco.

"I don't know much about Trelawney since I gave up Divination, but what I do know is that she loves to – uh –"

How was she supposed to focus when he was staring at her so intently?

"Uh – generally, just talk something about the inner eye and the dream calendar and stuff like that. She gave them lots of weird homework, so I think it'd be fine if she just put it all in this workbook? I don't know. I hope it'd bring her on board. And with Binns… Maybe try to convince him it'll help understand the importance of history in the wizarding community? Don't mention the students, though. Get the bigger picture here. History is so essential in school and so on."

Eugene looked impressed, and for Merlin's sake, so did Draco, who was smiling broadly.

"Thank you, Madame, we really appreciate it! You helped us so much!" bellowed Eugene, shaking her hand vigorously. Malfoy just rolled his eyes.

"It's nothing," she smiled warmly.

They were just leaving when the grey eyes found hers again. For some incomprehensible reason, Hermione felt weak in the knees.

"Thank you. And I'll see you in two weeks, Madame Minister," he smiled slightly.

Somehow, she couldn't utter any words, so she just nodded with a hint, or more like a caricature, of a smile.

When they left, she sat down and started banging her head on her desk.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked herself.

"Well, I wouldn't know, but I could cut the sexual tension with a Diffindo from behind the closed door."

Hermione lifted her head and saw smirking Astoria standing in the doorway with the coffee.

"What are you talking about again?" she groaned.

"I'm talking about-"

"You know what? Never mind, I don't want to know," she shook her head aggressively. "Besides, it's so inappropriate of you!"

"More like you don't want to acknowledge," Astoria muttered under her breath but smiled brilliantly at Hermione. "Besides, I'm talking to you now not as an employee but as a friend. You clearly need one."

"It's ridiculous," said Hermione hotly, ignoring Astoria completely. "Ginny's been on about it as well, but on what grounds are you actually assuming anything?"

Astoria looked at her, taken aback.

"Firstly, he bullied me, okay, it's not like I'm just going to forget that, am I? I'm over it, yes, sure. But it's because I dealt with that after years of trying. Secondly, I don't care if he's smart or if he reads or anything, there are more important things – like bravery, for example. And so what if he actually tried to save his family during the war? And – and friendship! I mean, okay, I suppose he still has friends since I saw him with them last time, they seemed close, but it's not like, you now… Whatever. And finally, it would be probably the most inappropriate and undesirable thing to happen, ever."

Astoria raised her eyebrows, studying Hermione, who was pacing around her desk, closely. She wasn't sure whether the Minister remembered that she had company.

"Um, darling, are you trying to convince yourself or me?" she asked finally.

Hermione turned to her, fuming.

"You! It's your fault! You put these ridiculous thoughts in my head!" she exclaimed, so Astoria sighed heavily.

"You're a piece of work, do you know that? If you actually thought about the things you've just declared oh-so-passionately, maybe you could be honest with yourself for once."

Hermione glared at Astoria so furiously – that it made her get up from her seat immediately.

"Right, going back to work now. Okay, so, if you need me, call me," said Astoria and hurried back to her desk outside.

The door closed, and Hermione sat down again, sighing heavily.

Well, congratulations, you didn't have to yell at her, thought the Minister. It wasn't her fault Astoria was delusional. She and Draco Malfoy? What else? Sooner the house-elves would get equal rights or – or Voldemort would rise from the dead. And the staring thing? Simple explanation! He just had pretty eyes. Happens, right? It's not anything extraordinary! It doesn't mean anything!

But what about the time when you borrowed him a book instead of telling him you'd see each other less often?, a quiet voice in her head asked.

She snorted. It was just stressful, wasn't it? She couldn't know how he would react! Not that he could be anything but satisfied, right?

Then it was settled. Astoria and Ginny have lost their minds. She – Hermione – was perfectly fine and sane. Whatever that was with the staring or the rest of it was a simple misunderstanding or, better yet – a coincidence! Yes. A coincidence.

After she'd drank her coffee, she smiled to herself. Now that that's been settled, she was ready for the next meeting. From now on, it was going to be a good day.

Two weeks later, Draco was sitting at the lunch break in the cafeteria, staring down at his food gloomily. He knew full well that he had to get up any second to go for his evaluation with Granger. Only it was hard for him to leave his seat. Not because he didn't want to see her – that was obvious he didn't, who would willingly put up with her – but because of these two idiots who messed with his head. He just wanted to prove them wrong so much, he was afraid of what would happen. Well, their last meeting was a complete fiasco in proving them wrong, mostly because he couldn't keep his eyes off her. But that didn't mean anything, obviously, nor was it relevant whatsoever to their little make-believe theory.

The fact was a fact – and it was that he did not like Granger. At all. Zabini and Nott might've tried to make him believe their bullshit, but he knew better than that. So what if he found her somewhat attractive? It didn't mean he liked her. Draco was simply a man with good taste. Nothing more.

Besides, why would he willingly like her? Yeah, he bullied her in school and felt this weird… repulsive feeling toward himself when he thought about it, but it's not like she was likeable in any way. So what if he appreciated wit and intelligence? There's a difference between that and being an insufferable know-it-all. Right? And – and she was bossy! So bossy. It may be a valuable trait to have, especially with being the Minister and all – but he didn't appreciate being pushed around. Not that he ever experienced that with her – but still! He was the leader and got used to it. And even if he were interested in her that way – but, just a little, let's be realistic – it wouldn't be in this world, but in whatever illusion Blaise and Theo created. Maybe it was possible in some kind of a fucked up dimension – like if Dumbledore was a lion who could talk, for example. But even then, why would she ever forgive him? What would people say? What would her friends say? What would his friends say?

He sighed irritably, furious at where his thoughts had led him. Absolutely ludicrous. Laughable. Farcical! He shook his head and got up from his seat. Well, he was going to prove them wrong!

Draco marched to Hermione Granger's office with a confident smile on his face. He greeted Astoria, told her a few compliments, to which the girl blushed shyly and went into the office.

Well, sweet mother of Merlin. He was not going to prove them wrong, after all.

Hermione Granger was sitting at her desk, as usual. Dressed in a simple black dress with her hair tied behind in a braid. But it was not that, which rained on his parade. She was in tears, and even his arrival did not stop them from flowing down her face. She simply looked at him, miserable, emotional and exposed.

That's when he felt a very weird and unfamiliar pang in his heart. He knew it was worry – but would never admit it, not even before himself.

Draco slowly approached the desk and sat opposite her. She wanted to hide her face in palms, and for some unclear reason, he softly touched her hand so she wouldn't do that.

She looked at him in surprise. His first instinct was to snatch it right back, scream and run out of this office – but since neither scaring her nor making a fool of himself was an option here – he slowly took his hand back but did not break the eye contact. He had no idea how much time had passed when they were simply sitting there, looking at each other. Even if Theo was here with his annoying cough, he wasn't sure it would be enough this time.

After a few more moments, he finally snapped out of it, wanting badly to bang his head on this very desk. What the hell was that? Because it was certainly not proving these two arseholes wrong!

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked quietly.

"So you could tell everyone that the Minister's crying in her office?"

He frowned. "I wouldn't do that."

She hid her face and shook her head. "It's okay. You can stay."

He nodded, studying her closely for a second.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"It's-It's about Ron," she said shakily, not looking at him.

Why was she telling him this? She wasn't sure, but the words apparently had a life of their own, and they decided to trust Malfoy for a reason she neither knew nor understood.

Meanwhile, he suddenly felt a very appealing urge to punch that Weasel in the face. It wasn't entirely understandable, but he justified it to himself that Weasley simply deserved it for being himself.

"What about him?"

She sighed, breaking a small – and yet, a sad – smile. "I don't even know why I care about it. It's not like I want to be with Ron anymore. I don't want to get back together with him. He's my best friend, and nothing's going to change that. I have absolutely no idea why I'm crying."

He watched her as she blew her nose miserably. For some reason, he felt weirdly compassionate at seeing her like this. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it. Patting her on the back seemed both awkward and inappropriate.

"So he found someone?" he guessed.

She nodded and threw him the newspaper on the desk.

He took a closer look. Right there on the front page was Ron, holding hands with an Indian girl, who Draco recognised as Parvati. Or Padma. Well, one of the Patils, either way. They looked happy and shared this sugary, gooey, lovey-dovey look that would put even Theo and Blaise to shame. The title said, "ONE OF THE GOLDEN TRIO FOUND HAPPINESS AFTER DEVASTATING DIVORCE?". And the few lines beneath were as follows: "Ron Weasley, the war hero, one of the Golden Trio seems to have found love once again. He was seen with one Padma Patil – also a Hogwarts graduate who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts – unmistakably happy. After a year and a half from the celebrity divorce with a current Minister for Magic, we certainly wish him all the best! For more information, turn to page 14."

He looked at Hermione again, who was mindlessly playing with her pen.

"Do you really pay attention to some bullshit in tabloids?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

She sighed heavily. "It's not that. I'm happy Ron's happy. I told you, I don't know why I'm crying."

"Maybe you wanted to hear it from him?" he prompted.

She looked at him in surprise, wiping away the rest of the tears.

"Look, I'm not trying to pin you against him or anything. I'm sure he's done it for some sort of heroic motives, or whatever guys like you do things for, but I'm just saying it's possible you wanted to find out about it from him, not the tabloids."

There was a moment of silence, during which they stared at each other again. This time, Draco felt his heart racing. But what the hell for? He wasn't going to jump off a cliff or something, no need for adrenaline. His heart apparently has gone mad just as Blaise and Theo have.

Hermione shook her head.

"Ugh, I hate to say it, but you could be right. I suppose he didn't tell me because – because-"

"He didn't want you to feel sad," he finished for her, intently watching for her reaction.

She didn't burst out crying, but her lower lip started trembling.

Then, another one of those weird feelings overcame him. He felt the urge to hug and comfort Hermione. Granger, that is. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, was utterly ridiculous, and he was not going to listen to such absurd nonsense, even from his own head.

"Right – um – what about the evaluation?" he changed the topic quickly.

She looked at him in awe, as if she's completely forgotten about it and promptly grabbed the documents.

Needless to say, they were perfect again. Hermione smiled softly and looked into his greyish eyes again. She wasn't sure what this feeling resembled – um, melting? – but she thought it must have been pride. Because it was her who decided to hire him, of course.

"Passed with flying colours, as always, Malfoy," she said, and he chuckled softly.

For some reason, at hearing that laugh, her heart started hammering in her chest. That laugh? Preposterous! She must have heard something else, which must have scared her, just didn't take note of it. Happens all the time! It was certainly something like that.

"I try," he admitted with a disarming smile.

"And – er – what about the book?" she asked sheepishly.

She didn't want to mention that. It was stupid. The reason why she recommended it to Malfoy in the first place was still unclear. But she finally decided that not acknowledging it would be even weirder.

"Oh," he said, lowering his head. "I haven't really had time to read it. I will, though! Just, you know, with the project and everything-"

"No! Don't worry! I understand!" she hurried, waving her hand. "How did it go with the project?"

An arrogant smile crept on his face.

"How could it not go perfectly with me in charge?"

Hermione rolled her eyes but could not suppress a smile.

"Ah, of course, my apologies," she jeered. "How could I have asked such a preposterous question!"

"I know you're mocking me, Granger, but I happen to have uncanny leadership skills," he smirked.

"Why, I don't doubt that for a second," she returned the ironic smile. "You continue thriving with your leadership skills while I'm still the same bossy girl, even though I currently hold the most powerful position in the wizarding world."

His smile faltered. "What?"

"Don't you think it's ridiculous? Haven't you ever noticed that? Back in school, you were literally bossing everyone around and were told you have 'leadership skills'. Whereas I actually tried to lead – sometimes I was too pushy, I admit – but still, I was told I was 'bossy'. That's an interesting point of view, no?"

He stared at her, puzzled. "Never thought about it that way."

"That's because feminism in the wizarding world is non-existent for some reason. And I am going to fix that," said Hermione, smiling proudly. "Luckily, we don't have that much of a problem with equal payment. I have to give it to wizards they are-"

"Femi-what?" he asked, making her laugh.

"Feminism, Malfoy. Fighting for gender equality? Once you read the book I recommended to you, you should get a glimpse of what I'm talking about. I'll make a feminist out of you yet."

"Will get to it, then. Until next month, Madame Minister," he said with a bow, to which she laughed heartily.

He left the office in high spirits. He did prove Blaise and Theo wrong. He did not like Granger, and – what is more – he made her feel better! And even laugh!

Before he could leave the office, though, he collided with someone with a heavy thud. He looked down and immediately recognised this person by the dishevelled black hair. And those bloody glasses.