A/N: An Anthology of Harry and Hermione stories I'll never get to expand. I have a lot. (But don't quote me if I decide to do it...)

Offices involved are: Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and Wizengamot. AU. No Voldemort.

"I'm busy, Harry."

"But you promised," the raven-haired mouthed outside the glass door, sighing dramatically before he continued, "Besides, it's already 7 p.m.! On a Friday! Don't make me call Dobby—"

With a flick of her hand, the door opened and he walked inside with a spring in his step, happy to have been let in. Seating himself on the chair in front of her, he ran a hand across his messy hair. "See? That wasn't so hard, right?"

"I'm quite busy, Harry," she insisted, putting her quill back to its container. "I have a deadline to catch."

"You already bailed on me last week," he whinged before smiling sheepishly, "And that's false, Hermione Granger. Your deadline is next week."

"How did you—"

"Lavender told me."

Lavender Brown, her secretary and right hand woman. Trusty Lavender who was in charge of socialising in her stead. Her friend Lavender who has a wee school girl crush on Harry Potter.

Hermione let out a huff. "I don't like it whenever you charm her into submission, Harry."

"I did not!" he exclaimed as he grabbed a parchment on her desk, pretending to read something on it. "I quote our lovely Ms. Brown, 'Drag her out of that hell she calls the office, Harry. I'll change her address soon.' End quote."

"Traitor," she muttered under her breath and leaned back to her seat, arms crossed in front of her chest. She didn't bother telling him she was working on a mere passion project of hers.

"Come on," he prodded, feeling his emerald eyes pierce her soul. "I promise to co-author whatever you're working on."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "But you always do—"

"Exactly!" he exclaimed as he stood up, grabbing the hand resting on the desk. "Come. We'll be late for our reservation."

"Prat."

They Apparated into Le Pur and she smiled at the server, expecting to be accommodated to their usual seats. She raised her brows when they were led to the back area and ushered them to a private room.

She went in first, pausing by the entrance as the occupants of the room stunned her into silence.

Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, and Cedric Diggory sat on a round table, chinwagging like it was a normal occurrence to them. They guffawed, looking like they grew up as friends...like no one threw hexes at each other as Hogwarts students...or as Wizengamot members.

"What's going on here?" she asked, her pitch higher than usual.

They paused to stare at her, then shifted their gazes to Harry who closed the door behind him, smiling sheepishly at her.

"You might want to sit down, Hermione," Neville said, offering her a seat.

"Harry James Potter—"

"I told you she's going to be mad at me," he said as he exchanged amused expressions with the other occupants of the room.

"Speak," she spat out, finally taking Neville's offer after a muttered thanks. "Someone should start speaking before I start with the hexing. Please."

"This is a proposition, Hermione," Cedric began, kind eyes watching her a bit warily.

"Become our minister," Harry blurted out beside her, making Draco groan in his seat.

"What?" she hissed at him. "Are you mad?"

"Oh, you haven't seen Theo's plans. He's the mad one, I'm telling you."

"Plans?" she echoed, huffing when the lack of knowledge was getting to her nerves. "Have you been friends all this time? Was it all a show? All the notes and charts I've prepared when it comes to voting, honestly!"

"No, it's not that," Neville answered. "We've only been talking for a couple of months."

"Four months," Theodore clarified.

She looked at him dumbfounded and attempted to speak a couple of times. "But...last month...there were hexes thrown...because you weren't in favor of increasing the Hogwarts budget," she paused as she took in the laughter around her. "Why?"

"I enjoyed Cedric's drunken reiteration that night," Neville said, wistfully smiling to himself.

Blaise rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Because Draco's version sucked."

"Oi!"

"It was a ploy…" Cedric trailed off, smiling apologetically at her before continuing, " to get our fathers off our backs. The Minister still confers with our fathers."

Hermione could only gape at them in response.

"And to answer your second question—"

"You," Harry breathed out. "It's because of you."

"Me?" she echoed again.

"What our lover boy meant to say is that we're afraid to end up like our fathers," Draco answered, trying his best to look nonchalant. "And so we planned on working together."

"You inspired us with this realisation," Neville added.

"And we needed a common ground. We need someone whom we can rally behind," Blaise finished.

"I'm not even eligible to run for minister," she protested lightly.

"Not yet," Draco pointed out.

"You will be in five years," Theodore said.

"Yes but...why this early?"

"We have a five-year plan, Hermione," Harry said, rubbing his hand together as Nott passed her a stack of parchment. "It starts today."

"I thought you wanted me to rest," she pointed out, already sifting through the documents.

"You march to the beat of your own drum, Janey," Harry said, handing her a pen she could use and grinned when she grabbed it with more force than what was necessary . "Besides, you'll reach your agendas faster this way. Trust me, or rather, trust us?"

"And none of you will betray me?" she asked as she wrote on the edge of the parchment, missing the amused glances they passed around as she began to start working before their very eyes.

"Vows," Draco said, grimacing at the lengthy note she wrote in one section. "We could offer you one."

"I'd rather not have that," she said, pausing from her annotations, and gave understanding looks to Draco and Blaise. "That might not let you oppose me...even in a private setting. Everyone needs opposition to move forward."

"I told you she's going to deny it," Harry muttered with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"You sound awfully proud of yourself," she said. "If you actually knew me, Potter, then you shouldn't have surprised me with this."

"I like keeping you on your toes," he declared and raised a glass towards the men who groaned in response. She thumped the back of his head and he spluttered, trying to release the water he just inhaled in his system.

"Well?" Theodore prodded, looking cautiously at the notes she made. "What do you think?"

"I'll send everyone a revised copy tonight," she said, fixing the stack of parchment before placing it inside her trusty beaded bag. "Shall we begin?"

"Let's!" Harry exclaimed as they clinked their glasses together.