Eighteen months later.
Glancing towards the sturdy doors of her new office, Hermione sincerely hoped that the Minister for Magic's office was soundproofed. The doors were locked, and the frosted glass ensured that no-one could see inside the room, but if they weren't also soundproofed, they might well be able to hear what was going on.
"Draco," Hermione groaned, biting her lower lip to stop herself from crying out. "We need to stop. We're expected downstairs at any moment."
"I'm not stopping until I've finished," Draco replied, his words muffled as his head was buried between Hermione's thighs as she perched on her new desk, her skirt hiked up around her waist.
"You are such a bad influence," Hermione muttered, arching her back and tightening her grip on Draco's soft hair as she sped towards the pleasure her husband was so adamant on giving her.
Moments later, Hermione forgot all about her worries about the room being soundproofed as her climax hit her, and she cried out her husband's name in pure pleasure. Slowly Hermione's breathing began to return to normal and her head began to clear from the euphoria she'd just felt. Draco was still on his knees in front of her, only now he was wearing a very smug smirk.
"I did tell you I planned on christening your new desk," he chuckled.
"I didn't think you meant just before I was officially sworn in as Minister," Hermione muttered as she shakily got to her feet and smoothed down her skirt. However, both she and her skirt were so ruffled that she had to get out her wand to make herself looked presentable.
"I think you've forgotten something, Minister," Draco remarked with a smirk as he rose to his feet, Hermione's black silk knickers dangling from his finger.
"Keep them as a souvenir. Or better yet, return them to me at a later date when we can truly christen the desk," Hermione replied, giving her husband a saucy wink.
"You're going to be sworn in as the new Minister for Magic without any underwear?" Draco questioned, the very thought leaving him hot under the collar.
"No-one but you will know," Hermione pointed out. Her skirt was certainly long enough to avoid any potential flashing incidents, so unless someone was going to lie on the ground and look up her skirt, no-one would ever know she wasn't wearing underwear.
"That is so very hot," Draco muttered, trying to get himself under control since he would soon be seen in public, and he didn't want everyone to see how his wife affected him.
Chuckling at her husband and knowing that he needed a few minutes to calm himself down, Hermione double checked her reflection in the mirror that hung on the wall. She then reached for the short speech she'd wrote for the occasion and checked that she remembered it all. She was hoping to be able to give the speech without having to use notes, but just in case she needed them, she placed them in her handbag alongside her wand.
"Are you ready?" she asked her husband, who was now looking his usual cool and collected self.
"I am," Draco replied. "Are you?"
"Definitely," Hermione answered confidently. She'd been waiting for this moment for years, and even though she'd been elected Minister for Magic over two months ago, it was only now that she was officially taking the reigns and would take over the running of Wizarding Britain.
With Draco by her side, Hermione left her office and using the golden lift that ran the length of the Ministry, she descended to the first floor. The ceremony that would swear Hermione in as the new Minister was taking place down in the Atrium, and it would be a public event, but before Hermione could descend to the Atrium, everything had to be ready for her arrival. Several of Hermione's new ministerial staff were buzzing around on the first floor to make sure everything was running smoothly, and Hermione was informed that they were running on time, and she should be ready to make her first official appearance as Minister for Magic any minute now.
"Good luck, sweetheart," Draco said, giving his wife a quick kiss before he headed off down the stairs to take his place in the audience.
Less than five minutes after Draco had left, Hermione was informed it was show time, and with her personal assistant by her side, she stepped back into the lift and descended the final floor to the Atrium. When the lift doors opened, Hermione was greeted with a wave of cheers as she stepped from the lift directly onto a makeshift stage which had been erected for the occasion. The Atrium itself was packed with people including the press, ministry workers and well-wishers. However, for Hermione the most important people were sitting right near the front of the crowd.
Directly in front of the stage sat her family. Draco was sitting with Scorpius, Lyra and Erin, and alongside them were Draco's parents. Also in the first row were Harry, Ginny and their children, and Blaise and Daphne. The next row back was filled with the redheads of Weasleys, ranging from Molly and Arthur all the way down to Ron. At the sight of Ron, Hermione did a double take, and found that her old friend was indeed sitting beside George, smiling proudly at her.
After the debacle at Molly and Arthur's anniversary and Ron's apology, Hermione hadn't really spoken with Ron. He did stick around for a few weeks, long enough to see the way the papers crucified him for making such a fool of himself, but then he'd headed back off and Hermione hadn't seen or heard from him since. But given what a big day it was for her, she was touched that he'd made the effort to be there for her. Things may have been different between them now, but he'd once been such a big part of her life and she wasn't sure she would be where she was now if it hadn't been for the friendship she'd shared with Harry and Ron when she'd first entered the wizarding world.
Giving Ron a small smile, Hermione turned her focus back to the ceremony at hand as she took her place beside the outgoing Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Once the cheers and applause had died down, Kingsley stepped forward and made his departing speech as Minister. After speaking about what the job had meant to him over the years, and how proud he was to have served his country, he then turned his attention towards the future and gave a glowing speech about Hermione and the exciting future that he foresaw for Wizarding Britain with Hermione at its helm.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your new Minister for Magic, Mrs Hermione Malfoy," Kingsley announced to yet more cheers and applause.
Thanking Kingsley and giving him a hug, Hermione stepped forward to receive the official rights of the Minister for Magic. After swearing to uphold the law and serve the people who had elected her, Hermione signed her name in the official records, and she was legally created the new Minister for Magic. With the formalities over, Hermione delivered her heartfelt speech, which touched on her time in the wizarding world, and the hardships they'd all endured during the war. And finally, she thanked the people who had made it possible for her to be standing there as Minister – her friends, her family and most importantly of all, her husband.
With speeches done, the press wanted some pictures of the new Minister, so Hermione obliged them. Aside from doing some on her own, she posed with Kingsley. She also posed with Harry, since he was a war hero and a big deal in their world. Finally, the press wanted some family shots, to show their new Minister was also a mother and wife as well as a politician. Standing beside Draco, with Erin, Scorpius and Lyra around them, Hermione had never been happier.
"I've got a few more official things to do here, but can you make sure someone had invited Ron to the dinner this evening," Hermione said to her husband once the press had taken their pictures. That evening they were planning on having a celebratory dinner at a restaurant for their friends and family.
"Weasley's here?" Draco questioned, surprised as he'd never spotted the redhead.
"He was sitting behind you," Hermione chuckled.
"Why would I look behind me, when you were in front of me?" Draco teased with a smile. "Are you sure about inviting him tonight?"
"Yes," Hermione replied with a nod. "We all agreed to forget the past, and any mistakes that might have been made. He made the effort to be here, so the least we can do is invite him to dinner. After all, the rest of his family will be there."
"Okay, but there better not be any trouble," Draco warned. "I may have accepted his apology for what happened last time, but I will never forget it."
"I don't think anyone is going to forget it," Hermione said. "Least of all Ron. But we can move on and be civil. I don't want to hold grudges, Draco."
"How can I refuse you anything on your big day?" Draco asked with a smile. "I'll make sure he's invited."
"Thank you."
Giving her husband a parting kiss, and promising that she would be home in time to get ready for the evening, Hermione headed off to undertake her first official duties as Minister for Magic.
When Ron had heard that Hermione had been elected Minister for Magic, he couldn't resist attending the official ceremony that would see her take her place as leader of their country. He'd returned with no expectations, but not only did his family give him a pretty warm welcome, but he'd been invited to Hermione's celebration dinner. Malfoy had been the one to give the invitation, but he'd made it clear that the offer had come from Hermione herself.
The dinner itself was being held in a fancy restaurant Ron had never even heard of, let alone visited. Luckily Harry and Ginny knew where they were going, and they allowed him to tag along with them. When they arrived at the restaurant, they found that the entire top floor had been put aside for the celebration.
"This must be costing a fortune," Ron remarked with a low whistle as they made their way up the stairs to the lavish top floor, which was all set for the celebration dinner.
"Lucius can afford it," Harry chuckled.
"Lucius is paying for this?" Ron questioned. To be honest he expected Malfoy, or even Hermione herself, to have organised the evening.
"He insisted," Ginny replied. "Draco had wanted to do something to celebrate, and he'd been planning something a bit more low-key, but Lucius stepped in and insisted on giving Hermione the celebration she truly deserves. He's very proud of her."
"Who, Malfoy or his father?" Ron asked.
"Both," Harry replied with a laugh. "Lucius dotes on Hermione. Draco is always complaining that his father prefers Hermione to him."
Looking around for Hermione, Ron couldn't spot her, but he certainly saw plenty of people he knew. It seemed his entire family were present, along with a few of their other friends from school. And of course, everyone's children were present, and there had even been a table especially set up for the youngsters, so they didn't have to deal with their parents' chatter over dinner.
Ron had been at the restaurant for half an hour and was busy catching up with Neville Longbottom when Hermione and her family finally arrived. While it seemed that everyone was keen to greet the new Minister for Magic, Ron hung back and waited until it was just Hermione and her husband before he approached them.
"Congratulations Hermione," he offered with a smile. "You're going to make a great Minister."
"I hope so," Hermione replied with a nervous smile of her own. "I've got big shoes to fill. Kingsley has been brilliant since the end of the war."
"And Kingsley believes in you more than anyone," Draco reminded his wife. "He said it himself this afternoon, there's no-one better than you to pass the baton on to. You're going to make us all proud."
"Stop it, you're going to make me cry," Hermione chuckled, clearly feeling emotional. "Thank you for coming Ron, it means a lot," she said, turning to her friend and changing the subject.
"I had to be there to see it," Ron replied. "And I'm grateful for your invitation tonight. After last time, I'm lucky you you'll even speak to me."
"That's all in the past, and we've all moved on," Hermione assured Ron. "So how are things with you? Are you still enjoying your travels?"
"I've settled in one place actually," Ron said. "It's a small place in Greece. I visited it years ago, and was tempted to stay on then, but I wasn't ready to settle down. But this time when I went back, I knew it was right to stay. I've got a job in the local bar, and I've got a place by the sea. I'm happy there."
"I'm pleased for you, Ron," Hermione replied with a warm smile.
"And I'm pleased for you," Ron returned. "You've got everything you ever wanted. The perfect job, and the perfect family."
"I'm not sure there's such a thing as perfection," Hermione chuckled. "But I do like to think I've come close. I wouldn't change my job, or my family for anything."
Ron smiled, happy that Hermione had what she always wanted, and happy that he was okay with that. He could now fully accept that their moment had passed, and Hermione was right where she was meant to be. She was the Minister for Magic, Malfoy's wife and mother to their children. Her life was as close to perfect as it could get, and Ron was sure there would be plenty of golden days ahead for his old friend as no doubt she would go on to become one of the best Ministers for Magic their country had ever seen.
The End.
A/N – Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story. I hope you all enjoyed it. While this story has been posted once a week it has given me time to work on other stories, and I now have a few more finished stories which are ready to go (although the majority of them are reunion based). I will be posting a new story next week, I just have to decide which one. At the minute I am leaning towards a Dark Hermione story, but I don't want to make any promises. I guess people will just have to check next week to see what is posted. But for now, thanks again for reading and for your continued support.