As she had guessed, almost the entire order returned to Nurmengard that evening once she informed them that the wards were keyed to her. The first thing she did was to assemble everyone in the auditorium. It was a sombre assembly as people realised that more than half their number were still in St. Mungos.
She explained the situation to them; that they were under suspicion of illegally overthrowing the government . Several people burst into tears or started shouting obscenities. The youngest Weasleys in particular leading the baying for blood. Hermione raised her hands, calling desperately for silence. She was amazed when she was immediately obeyed and an expectant hush fell across the room.
They remained silent as she explained that the wizengamot had assembled to prove their innocence and that in the meantime they should remain in Nurmengard castle because it was immune to international law. Murmurs of interest swept across the room but were immediately silenced as she once again raised her hands. It was a surreal experience, receiving that level of respect from those that were her peers or older.
She finished by extending Grindelwald's offer for people to remain in the castle indefinately after everything was over. This provoked another wave of interested murmurs as she asked them to discuss it with their families and inform her when they came to a decision. She dismissed them to a roar of discussion, unsurprised when Luna and Neville approached her immediately to ask to stay. Both were orphans now; Neville's grandmother had died in the battle of Hogwarts and Luna explained that her father had died in the final battle.
She agreed immediately and offered to assign them rooms as soon as she knew which would be free. She then retreated to her own rooms to where Harry was pouring over his law books in front of the big windows.
'They saw you duel Bellatrix.' Harry said before she could even ask as she threw herself into the chair opposite him.
'It's surreal.' She commented and Harry barked out a laugh.
'I'm just glad to pass the baton, besides you really chucked me in the deep end with the DA in fifth year.' His eyes twinkled as he spoke and he put his quill aside to laugh as she huffed indignantly.
They both jumped when a large snowy owl knocked on the window and Hermione had to scramble to reach the balcony door. It took several minutes of cajoling to get the bird down from the obvious window to the balcony, then several more to find a suitable treat. She assumed any that Grindelwald may have owned had gone off long ago.
Eventually, the disgruntled owl allowed them to untie the letter and took off, batting them in the face with its wings. They hurried back inside to open the official looking letter, which had been sealed with the stamp of the wizengamot in purple wax.
Harry broke the seal nervously, reading the letter before breaking out into a grin and handing it to Hermione.
It was an official notification that the laws making non-magic heritage illegal had been revoked and announcing the Kingsley had been appointed temporary Minister for Magic after the current cabinet had been found to be under the imperius curse. It also announced that Voldemort was dead and that supporting him was henceforth considered to be illegal. They hugged, then Harry ran out to the living quarters, using a sonorous charm to read out the letter to everyone in the castle.
Cheers rang through the levels and people flocked out into the corridor and suddenly people were pulling out firewhiskey and butter beer, a round of George's indoor fireworks exploded through the corridors and everyone was hugging everyone else. For the first time it finally felt like a victory as they celebrated, George kept sending off fiery phoenixes and everyone erupted into cheers every time one soared overhead.
The elves seemed to notice that there was a celebration happening because suddenly there were strains of music echoing up from downstairs. A curious group of students that went to explore came rushing back hollering that the ball room was open. The mob flowed without pause into the giant room downstairs, helping themselves to tables laden with food and drinks.
Hermione waved her wand from the doorway, and gold light shimmered across the room. The heavy drapes shimmered to crimson, gold chased the black out of the table runners and a phoenix blazed up the overmantel from the fireplace. A thunderous cheer and applause met her magic, followed by another round of fireworks as everyone chanted hers and Harry's name. Harry grinned from the sidelines as she tried her hardest to blend into the wall.
For several hours, people congratulated her and burst into thunderous cheers and applause at seemingly random intervals. When Kingsley arrived, Hermione was only too happy to lead the hurrahs for the new minister, shoving the attention from her own shoulders and onto his.
She was glad to sink into the background as people made the rounds congratulating their newest celebrity, pretending not to notice as he glared at her across the room. Around two in the morning the party finally started to die down, George was mumbling something about Fred as he staggered in the direction of his twin's room. Hagrid started bawling about Fluffy and had to be shepherded away by a giggly McGonagall and a hiccupping Flitwick.
Hermione levitated the only remaining Creevey to his bed and left him asleep on the couch in the care of his less sneaky (and therefore less inebriated) year mates. Kingsley caught her on the way up to her own rooms and they took a seat in the living area of his rooms.
He was one of the few that had remained as sober as she had through the celebrations, so it was clearly business as he poured them both a warm drink and sat down opposite her.
'May I be quite plain, Miss Granger?' He asked, without any of the usual pleasantries. His tone made her slightly nervous but she nodded anyway, there was no advantage to delaying the news that he needed to tell her.
'You are well respected, dare I say it your peers are in awe of you.' She nodded, already aware of this fact. 'Those of your year group are widely considered heroes but yourself and Mr. Potter are widely considered legends; the saviours of the wizarding Britain.' She winced, knowing that she'd have to endure the same celebrity as Harry for the rest of her life.
'I assure you that I have no plans to remain in the spotlight.' She informed him and Kingsley regarded her for several minutes over his mug.
'I hope you will reconsider Miss Granger, the wizarding world needs heroes right now.' He sounded worryingly like Dumbledore as he spoke and Hermione suddenly feared that she was about to be cornered into something she didn't want to do.
'What are you suggesting?' She demanded and he smiled at her proudly.
'You are the brightest witch of your age and you led the Order of the Phoenix to defeat the darkest wizard Britain has ever seen...' he held up his hand to stall her protest. 'I haven't led the order since you rescued Gellert Grindelwald – a bold move. The world needs bold moves right now.'
'I still don't understand what you are asking.' Hermione insisted and Kingsley sighed.
'I wish to propose you as the deputy minister for magic.' He informed her and she choked on her tea.
'I have no idea about politics! I don't even have newts.' Hermione coughed and Kingsley waved her concerns away.
'That can be arranged, the position will not be confirmed until the wizengamot can officially elect me to office. Meanwhile you have already led an organisation through a war and convinced a dark wizard to fight with you for no reward, deputy minister is really rather simple in comparison. I believe you are exactly the kind of witch that can motivate the change the world needs.' She knew that he could see he was getting to her. She was smart enough to see the effect that she had on the order and if she was a leader of the heroes, it would threaten the already unstable government to separate herself from them. Either her or Harry needed to take the position and Harry certainly wouldn't be willing.
'I'll need to consider.' She demured, lowering her cup to the table as the gravity of the role she'd just been offered settled on her shoulders.
'Thank you. I hope to be working with you soon. I think you might find it a useful position to hold in your endeavour to free Mr. Grindelwald as well – access to the trials, the media. Feel free to contact me with anything you might need.' He smiled at her and she returned the expression uncertainly, not sure if that was entirely ethical.