This wondeful world, and these wonderful characters belong to JK Rowling. Only the plot is mine.
Chapter 5
Draco sat and watched in shock as silent tears ran down the face of the witch before him. He had no idea what to do. He was awful with crying women. Experience had taught him that he typically made it worse, so he decided to simply shut up and wait it out.
Doing nothing did not seem to be working. After five minutes of watching Granger crumple in on herself, Draco decided something had to be done. Reluctantly, he slowly began to rub soft circles on her back. He quickly realized the awkwardness of the situation. He was on the complete opposite side of the sofa from her, literally leaning over to be able to reach her. He supposed he would have to move closer. As he moved to sit next to her, she fell into him. Apparently all her strength left with her so called friends. As she clung to him, he continued rubbing soothing circles into her back. Her sweater was really quite soft. He wondered fleetingly if it was cashmere. He would have to ask at a more opportune time.
Still unsure what to do, he began whispering soft reassurances to her. "Shhh Granger, it's going to be okay. They are pricks, and you can find much better friends than ones who ditch you because you are trying to make the world a better place." She sniffled and made a high pitched mewling sound in response.
"I'm actually quite surprised at Potter, I thought Gryffindor's were supposed to be loyal."
"He is being loyal, just not to the right person," Hermione said through the tears.
"Well Weasel's antics don't shock me. He has always been a world class arshole. I mean who acts like that to someone who they supposedly care about." She said nothing in response, but shrugged and began to dry her eyes on her shirtsleeve.
Three days after Harry and Ron's unannounced visit, the news Draco and Hermione had been waiting for finally came.
Hermione was awoken, just as the sun came up, by a small black owl tapping at her bedroom window. The small animal held in its beak a rolled up copy of the day's Prophet, and a small note that read "Front page," in Malfoy's familiar script.
She was quite surprised to learn that he was up this early. Experience and several angry rants had taught her not to disturb him before noon. Apparently the owl did not fly both ways.
Hermione ripped open the paper to the front page, and staring back at her was just what she had anticipating. The pompous face of Percy Weasley looked back at her, smiling, with a glint in his eye that almost seemed malicious.
They had been anticipating the announcement of his candidacy for minister for weeks now. He was the obvious choice for the job, seeing as he was currently serving as the undersecratary to the current minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was set to retire at the end of this term.
Kinsley was been a nice man, and he had started out his tenure as minister with the best of intentions of reform and change, but time had dulled his passion. Over the past several years, he seemed to be more content to let the status quo be, rather than fight the hard fights. Hermione was determined not to let the same happen to her.
After staring at the picture for some minutes, Hermione's eyes shifted to the article following, and she began to read.
PERCY WEASLEY MAKES HIS CANDIDACY OFFICIAL
After much speculation in the Wizarding World as to if he would throw his hat into the ring, Undersecratary to the Minister, Percy Weasley, has officially declared his candidacy for Minister of Magic. Mr. Weasley is up against the famous Hermione Granger, who was running unopposed until now.
Ms. Granger has been a strong advocate for change since she declared her candidacy. In contrast, Mr. Weasley says that his campaign will be anchored in his strong beliefs in upholding the longstanding traditions of wizarding society.
Mr. Weasley's official announcement reads as the following.
"Witches and Wizards, it is my honor to officially announce to you my candidacy for Minister of Magic. This post is one of the most respected and honored positions in our society, and I plan to do it justice.
If elected, I will continue the time honored traditions set forth by our forefathers dating back to Merlin, while speaking out against the radical change that threatens the fabric of our fragile post-war society.
Speaking on radical change, I must wholeheartedly oppose the views and the policy positions espoused by my opponent, Hermione Granger. I thoroughly respect Ms. Granger, and she has proven to be one of the brightest minds of this generation. She is a great friend to my family, and an honorable woman. However, she is misguided in her attempts to abolish laws and practices that have served us well for hundreds of years.
I hope that you will all make the right decision for our society and our world, and vote for me. A vote for me is a vote for tradition and stability in these unstable times.
Sincerely,
Percival Ignatius Weasley
Hermione threw the paper down, mumbling about large ginger heads, and started a fresh pot of coffee. She would owl into work and tell them that she wouldn't be in today. She and Malfoy had a lot to get done.