A/N: Written for Hogwarts assignment 3 - Calligraphy task 1: Write about a woman in a position of power.
Also written for Banned Together Bingo: Lesbians.
Word count: 1,090
Daphne drowned out Zacharia Smith as he carried on about what a marvelous success their campaign had been. While his heart might have been in the right place, Daphne had found him insufferable to work with over the past several months. He took just a bit too much credit for each and everything their committee did, taking away focus from the women they were supposed to be helping in the first place.
Hermione Granger was a far more fascinating subject to watch anyway. Daphne hadn't placed herself directly across from the Minister for Magic on purpose. In fact, she'd felt a slight rush of panic when Hermione had first sat down.
The Minister hadn't had the time to attend each of the committee functions, but she'd come to more than Daphne had expected considering her busy schedule. It was all part of a plan to show her support for women entrepreneurs.
Daphne admired it as much as she loathed.
It was one thing to admire someone from afar. She could read about what Granger was accomplishing in the daily newspaper and mostly ignore the rush of admiration and attraction she felt. It was nothing more than a harmless crush. The feelings were another matter entirely when she had to work directly with the Minister herself for an extended period.
Daphne chanced a glance at her, admiring the line of her jaw and the spark in her brown eyes as she took in each unimportant word that came out of Smith's mouth. It wasn't that her appearance had changed much since Hogwarts, though there were signs of maturity in her features. Rather, it was the new confidence with which she carried herself that Daphne found captivating.
"Did anyone else want to say a few words?" Smith asked, breaking Daphne from her thoughts.
She cleared her throat as everyone looked at her. She smoothed out the folds of her robes as she stood, avoiding looking at the one person who would undo the effort she was putting into appearing unaffected.
"Mr Smith has already said everything worth saying," she said with a polite smile in the man's direction.
If she hadn't been so close, she wouldn't have been able to hear the slight snort that Hermione gave in response. Daphne's heart skipped a beat as she plowed on in her best people-pleasing voice.
"I'm very proud of what we've managed to accomplish over the past year. There are now ten more successful businesses being run by women on Diagon Alley thanks to all of your hard work. And thanks to the support of the Minister"—she inclined her head at Hermione while trying not to blush—"as well as everyone else at the Ministry. I'm grateful to have so many people believe in our mission. In the future, I hope we can create even more positive change together."
The enthusiastic response from the crowd was thrilling. Daphne had worked for years to get a committee like theirs off the ground, and it was surreal to know that this phase of their work was done, even if she continued to hope they would do more in the future.
As everyone broke up and began to leave, Daphne found herself inundated with hand shakes. It was almost enough for her to forget that the Minister for Magic was still in the room.
It wasn't until one of the last guests had left, leaving Daphne with no one else to occupy her attention, that she turned around and found the Minister hovering several feet away with none of her aides around her.
She turned to Daphne with a smile, and Daphne tried to appear natural as she approached.
"I enjoyed hearing you speak," Hermione said. "I only wish that I could have heard everything you'd had planned. It might have been more eloquent than what Zacharias Smith chose to speak about."
Daphne blushed but allowed herself a slight nod. Her antagonism with Smith was well enough known that there was little use in falsely singing his praises when one-on-one.
"Thank you for coming," she told Hermione firmly. "Before you were Minister, I couldn't get anyone to take the idea of a committee like this seriously. The fact that you've been so involved on top of that… I really appreciate it. The whole committee does."
Hermione shook her head and waved away the praise.
"It's nothing. I understand how difficult it can be for women to get ahead sometimes. Of course I should be helping them whenever I can."
The surge of foolish bravery that overcame Daphne in that moment was nothing short of Gryffindor-level. Her Hogwarts era self would have been ashamed of acting on something so risky without thinking it through, but in the heat of the moment, Daphne didn't consider any of that.
"No, really," she said. "I'm not sure if I mentioned this while we were working together, but I admire all of the work you do. Not just for women but for werewolves, house elves. Everyone really. I don't think Britain has had a more successful Minister for Magic in...ever, maybe."
Hermione blushed a shade of pink that Daphne found utterly gorgeous.
"You're being far too kind," she said quietly, some of her confidence fading for the moment. "I make mistakes as much as anyone else."
With their time working together for the committee at an end, she saw little reason why she would need to contain her feelings anymore. What was the worst that could come but embarrassment? The rush of adrenaline was too much for her to think of any downsides.
"Maybe," she said, coughing when her voice shook. "But I admire you all the same. As everyone should, I think. You're quite admirable."
Hermione was visibly flustered. She fidgeted with her hands and avoided looking Daphne in the eye. Even her breath sounded uneven in the quiet of the room. Daphne found that she enjoyed it more than she ever could have expected.
She took a step closer, reveling in the gasp she heard from Hermione. She stilled until Hermione finally looked her in the eye.
"Would you like to get coffee together sometime?" she asked.
Hermione gulped before giving a jerky nod of her head.
"Yes," she said, holding a hand over her heart. "That sounds like a very nice idea."
Daphne gave her one last confident smile before she left the room. One last glance over her shoulder providing her with the glorious view of a flustered Hermione.
Perhaps foolish bravery was useful at times.