Sometimes you have to be hard

by burmafrd

Hermione does what is necessary. And a little more. All hail JK Rowling; I am just playing

2. Chapter 2

They all smiled at her and apparated back to the Burrow.

Molly prepared a huge dinner and they all sat afterwards, stuffed, in the living room.

Hermione sighed; she did not want to depress them but she needed to know.

"What happened to everyone."

Molly sighed. "You know about Minerva and Pompey?"

Hermione sadly nodded.

Ginny grimaced. "At least they did not suffer. I am surprised but a lot of the Slytherins did not fight for Voldemort. And they paid. Pansy, Blaise; both were killed; Draco and his father got out fast; Narcissa was killed in the battle. Have no idea where they went but it's clear out of the country. Luna got out and went to America; her father was killed. Neville was killed. Kingsley Shackelbolt was killed as was Scrimagor; Mad Eye you already knew about; Remus got out to Europe with Teddy; Nymphadora was killed. Draco's two thugs were killed; frankly there was hardly anyone left of yours or mines class when it was all over. Of the teachers at Hogwarts as far as I know none of them made it. Luckily they did get the younger children out before the battle got too bad and they mostly lived. A lot of them with their parents went to America or Europe."

Hermione sighed. "I have Harry's invisibility cloak and used it now and then to skulk around and try and find out things. Knockturn Alley is deserted; Hogsmead pretty much so. To me it looked like at least half of the Community got out."

Arthur nodded. "Everyone who could pretty much ran; those that stayed were either Voldemort supporters or just tried to hide and keep their heads down. "

Molly shook her head. "Really could not blame them; once the battle was over and Harry was dead and Voldemort still alive everyone lost heart and ran if they could."

Ginny looked at Hermione. "Except you."

Hermione shook her head. "I ran but it was to a small cabin Harry and I had found while on the run; that is where I stayed. I stopped by Dumbledore's portrait and he told me where some books were hidden; he knew I intended to fight on. That was where I got the knowledge to craft the draining spell I used on the Deatheaters and Voldemort. The original spell was Dark Magic from Romania, but I modified it with a spell from some old arcane books. I stopped at the little flat the order had kept and got Crookshanks and some other books and I pretty much hid out there figuring out how I could kill Voldemort and all the Deatheaters. I used another spell and what I had learned from killing the first ones to summon every Deatheater in England; and I killed them as well. No one who took the Mark is left alive in England."

Everyone in the room shivered a little at that calm statement from the little witch. They all knew that something fundamentally had changed in Hermione; they all hoped that they would not lose her to the dark because of it.

The testimony of the two aurors relieved the ministries worries that a Dark Lady would replace the Dark Lord, but there was a lot to do. The Ministries began to contact all the former Ministry workers that they knew of and started to talk to them about returning to England. They were also contacting the surviving members of the Wizengamot, but there were not that many left alive. The stresses and age of many had caused them to pass on; and many others had been killed by Voldemort; while most of his supporters were killed by the Young Witch at the Ministry. It was clear that whatever Ministry would come now would be mostly young and inexperienced.

Lucius and Draco Malfoy had fled to the Family villa in Italy; Lucius had felt that was far enough to be out of reach of Voldemort. They had mourned the death of Narcissa, and Draco had gone to Durmstrang to finish his education. Lucius had taken up the reigns of his businesses outside of England of which there was many. Those inside England had been shut down. While somewhat reduced the Malfoy fortune was still huge. Lucius kept in contact with some that stayed in England and elsewhere to keep an eye on things. He knew that eventually the other Ministries would have no choice but to make war on Voldemort. And he intended to join in; Narcissa had been killed on Voldemort's orders; that and the humiliation inflicted on him made Lucius his enemy; not to mention that the insane one had to be put down. Most of his senior lieutenants had been killed in the battle and that was noticeable; Voldemort had really not accomplished much since then. Then the owl arrived from a friend who had stayed in England.

Lucius read the letter with growing disbelief. This was not possible; no one wizard had that much power. He realized that the young muggle had obviously dipped into Dark Magic to drain the Deatheaters and Voldemort; but there was no spell for what she had done. Clearly she had crafted one. And just as clearly she now had more power than any Wizard ever had. Now what would she do with it. Lucius thought about that for a while then heard the Floo announce that someone had come in. Draco came walking quickly through the door.

"Father is it true? We just got word at Durmstrang that Granger somehow killed all the Deatheaters and Voldemort."

Lucius held up the letter. "I just got this owl from a friend in England. Yes it's all true. Somehow she figured a way to cast a spell, apparently wandless, to drain anyone of their power. Looks like she got every Deatheater in England to come to the Ministry where she drained then killed them. She tortured Voldemort for hours before building a gallows and hanging him. He still is hanging there."

Draco sat down in shock. "That is incredible; always knew the little mudblood was smart but that is beyond smart; that is genius. Question is what is she going to do now."

Lucius nodded" That indeed is the question. I am heading back home now. I want you to stay here until I owl you."

"Father are you certain?"

"I need to know and one of us has to survive to continue the dynasty. So I am going."

Less than an hour later he left; he opened up the floo connection to the Manor and taking a small bag with him floo'd home.

He found the Manor abandoned; he had wondered if the Deatheaters would come back but they had not. Then again most of them had been killed at the battle and the newer ones would have no interest; and Voldemort was too busy to care, apparently. All the house elves were long gone but that did not matter, it was easy to get more. Since it was intact all Lucius did was put out a general cleaning spell; then spent several hours rebuilding the wards and cleaning out every trace of the dark Lords stench that remained. Fixing his own meal was not that hard; just something he had not done in a long time. Then he went up to his bedroom and for the first time in more than a year slept in his own bed.

The next morning Owls started coming to the Burrow as more people realized that it was back and so were the Weasley's. Arthur was contacted by the European Ministry and asked to come to the Ministry as they were trying to rebuild it. Ginny was owled by Luna and Remus; they were coming back. 12 Grimmauld had not been touched for some reason so there was plenty of room for them there and Ginny owled them back to go there after stopping by the Burrow. Charlie was contacted by the Dragon Refuge in Romania about coming back to work; he had not made a decision. Molly was contacted by some old friends. Then came an official looking owl for Hermione. It was from the US Magical Department and asked her to accompany Arthur to the ministry to see about rebuilding the government.

Arthur, Molly, Ginny and Hermione went to the Ministry later that morning. Arriving at the Ministry they noted that the Gallows still stood with Voldemort still dangling. But the main doors had been repaired and it was noticeable that there were more than a few people around. They went inside and in the main lobby they found several officials from both Ministries.

A tall man wearing European robes advanced to meet them.

"Good morning. I am Dieter Browner from Germany. Until the Ministry is put back together, I have been appointed to oversee things. We have been trying to contact any former ministry employee that we can find; and any member of the Wizengamot. However so far only a dozen or so have arrived. None of them senior at all. Mr. Weasley, as far as we can determine, you are the most senior Ministry Official left. It seems inescapable that the new ministry will be very young and inexperienced. But I am here to tell you that both Ministries will give all the support and help you want."

Molly sighed. "Well Arthur, does not look like you will be able to get out of it. But I know you can get it done. Anything you need you let me know about."

Arthur nodded. "I know Molly. Well first let's find out who is here; and then we will start owling some other people and see if we can talk them into helping out."

Hermione spoke up. "Anything I can do to help let me know, Arthur."

Dieter bowed to Hermione. "Miss Granger it is an honor. You removed a great threat to the entire world and we are all grateful. We do have questions on the spells you used. It seems clear that you modified some to do what was needed. Our experts are very eager to find out what."

Hermione sighed. "Well let's find a conference room. This will take a while."

Ginny decided to stick with Hermione, to give her support. So they trooped into a nearby conference room. Dieter bustled out to inform the experts who were camped out in the Lobby.

After they all gathered Hermione stood in the center of the room and raised her hands and gave a soft chant; immediately a number of books appeared on the table, along with what were clearly sets of notes. All present were impressed by her wandless magic; and all could sense the power she contained.

Lucius Malfoy had apparated to the Ministry early that morning. Carefully looking about, he spotted the gallows. He could not resist getting closer. He felt a great deal of satisfaction looking at the body of the madman who had caused so much trouble. He then walked into the Ministry; the door was still not repaired. Inside he found several European and American wizards. He introduced himself and asked what was happening as regards the Ministry. He was told that they had contacted all that they knew of; and were working on finding out others. He volunteered to try and find more and went into an empty office to make some notes. When he came out several hours later he noticed more people were about and that the doors had been repaired. He found one of the officials he had met earlier and gave him his notes on possibilities. He asked if anyone else had shown up.

"Mr. Weasley and His wife and Daughter. And Miss Granger."

Lucius pondered that and asked where Arthur was. He was told that for the moment Arthur was occupying the Minister of Magics office. He was trying to contact others to convince them to come work at the ministry. He decided to head up there.

Molly had headed down to the Ministry Kitchen to fix some food; all the Ministry elves had left long ago. Lucius walked into the office and found Arthur scribbling on some owl forms to go out.

"Hello Arthur. I take it you are enjoying yourself?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes this is what I do for fun, Lucius. When did you get back?"

"Yesterday. An acquaintance owled me with the basics of what happened the day before yesterday and I decided to come take a look. Draco and I have been living in our Villa in Italy since the battle."

"You have my condolences for Narcissa. I take it you hiked it out right after the battle?"

" Thank you Arthur. And mine for your sons. Yes. Once it was seen that Harry was dead and Voldemort alive I got Draco and we left. Voldemort had had Narcissa killed the previous day and we were looking for revenge, but the smart thing to do was get out. I have left Draco in Italy until I saw how things were. The bare bones of what I have heard is that somehow Miss Granger was able to cobble together some spells and that was how she did in Voldemort and company. I have to admit I enjoyed seeing him dangling."

"Hermione spent the year in hiding working on the spells. I admit even as well as I knew her that was a tremendous accomplishment. But I worry about how much damage this did to her soul; she tortured Voldemort for hours before she hung him. She seems better but one never knows."

"It was an amazing accomplishment; for any wizard of any age let alone a witch that young. I am indebted to her twice over; while I had nothing to do with it, she was tortured in my home; and now she has removed the madman who had my wife murdered. A Malfoy always pays his debts."

"Well to start with you can take over the Finance department; no matter what we do we will need money to pay for it. And now more than ever."

"Very well. It's not like I have a lot to do right now anyway. I will check around and see if I can find some young people to act as gofers and assistants. Hopefully many who left will come back now that it's all over."

"That is my hope as well; but sadly I have a hunch that many will not come back; every other Magical community on earth are much more open and free than we ever have been; I think many of the young will not want to leave."

Lucius nodded sadly. "I was always one to want the status quo to remain; but I can see where the young would chaff. And I think you are right; many will not want to come back. We will have to convince them that things are changing here."

It had taken over two hours to go over how she had changed the two spells; some of the experts were so immersed in small details that Hermione finally had had enough.

"Look, enough is enough. I have explained how I did it; and here are my notes. You can go over them all you want. But I am tired of repeating myself. I have been very clear. It is not my fault that some of you cannot figure it out." With that she got up and left the room, Ginny following.

"Got to give you credit for putting up with those idiots that long, Hermione."

"I made it very clear to them but they could not accept that sometimes things are much more simple then some want to make them out to be."

"Made sense to me. I know I could not do it but I was able to understand how you did."

Back inside the room one of the officials looked at disgust with the few that had kept asking the same thing over and over again. "I would have told you dummies to take a hike a long time before she finally did. Now I understand why Magical Mystery departments never solve anything."

Hermione decided to see what Arthur was up to and Ginny agreed. They headed up to the senior offices figuring that he was up there.

Heading up the stairs they found Molly. "Just in time girls I have something cooking in the kitchen. Let's collect Arthur and get something to eat."

They were surprised when they found Arthur occupying the Ministers office and doubly surprised to find Lucius Malfoy there.

Molly's hackles rose immediately. Her smile was quite frozen. "Lucius."

The Malfoy smirk was in full evidence as he bowed and said. "Molly. Ginnerva. Miss Granger."

Ginny looked at him calmly. "Mr. Malfoy." Hermione found herself with a smirk of her own. "Mr. Malfoy. I am guessing you got back in country yesterday as soon as someone tipped you off that Voldemort was dead?"

Lucius bowed to her again. "Of course Miss Granger. A Malfoy always makes sure before he moves."

"Of course. I am guessing you left Draco behind just in case things got sticky here?"

"Naturally. As head of the family one must ensure the succession no matter what."

"I would have expected nothing less."

Arthur, Molly and Ginny were watching this with some puzzlement. It seemed something was going on here, but what was it?

"I must thank you personally, Miss Granger, for removing that madman. I am in your debt as regards your visit to my home; there was nothing I could do about it but I deeply regret your trial there."

"I understand, Mr. Malfoy. You were almost as much a prisoner as I was. You have my condolences for your wife."

"Thank You MS Granger. Arthur has asked me to take over the Finance Department; I am going to head down there and see what is left. Good day Ladies, Arthur."

Molly was looking closely at Hermione. "Hermione, what was that all about?"

Hermione smiled. "The last couple of times we talked that was the way it went; outwardly proper and polite; inwardly a war of words."

Arthur and the others blinked but accepted it. They trooped down to the kitchen where as usual Molly had outdone herself.

Lucius had found the Finance Office in the expected chaos; but soon sorted the most important parts out. He found that the Ministry did have a fair amount in the account in Gringott's. So money for salaries and basic expenses would be set for some time. But it was also clear that money for rebuilding and such would not be there. He owled some acquaintances' whom he knew had young adults at loose ends and offered them positions at the Finance department. Several hours of this and he decided to head home; prior to that he contacted the House Elves services and arranged for several to come to the Manor the next day. He was determined to have life back to normal there soon. As he finished cooking his meal that night his mind went back to the exchange with the little muggle. Just as sharp and feisty as he remembered; he could also feel the tremendous power she still had. He felt that future meetings would be very entertaining.

Hermione was also thinking about Lucius that evening as she lay in bed waiting for sleep to claim her. What was it about him that interested her? Pureblood bigot, arrogant, so superior. But she had to admit that he was very attractive. She would kill for his hair. Hers was not as bad as it had been; no longer bushy but fat curls that went all the way down her back. But his was so much better. Hermione had heard the stories about 'Luscious Lucius' and his ability to charm women and bed them. She found herself wondering just how good he was in bed. Not that she had any idea; she and Ron had never gotten close to that before they split up not long before the battle. Hermione now knew for certain that they would never have lasted. Still she wished for a relationship; while being back with the Weasley's was so much better than being alone she really wanted to be with someone. She was tired of sleeping alone and not having someone to cuddle up to and be with. She knew part of that was the loss of Harry and her parents; Harry was the brother she had never had and her very best friend. She would miss him for the rest of her life.

Draco arrived the next morning; he had finished his exams at Durmstrang and had graduated ahead of his class. He found the manor much like it was before the war; no house elves of course but otherwise the same. He found his father just finishing up breakfast; Draco was a little astonished that his father could even find the kitchen, let alone cook.

"I chose to learn this sort of thing just in case events occurred as they have; you would be well advised to do as well."

"Maybe so. So tell me; was it all true about Granger?"

"It was. It has not seemed to change her much; though you can feel the power when you get close to her."

"You spoke to her?"

"Arthur Weasley is for all intents and purposes the acting Minister and he asked me to take over the Finance department. She came in with Ginny Weasley and Molly. She is staying at the Burrow which she rebuilt."

"She rebuilt that place?"

"Apparently in minutes and exactly as it was. I think it was child's play for her."

"I guess it is now. Wonder how having all that power will affect her?"

"No one knows though it's clear that the Europeans and Americans are very intimidated by her."

"Well no wonder. If I happen to run into her I am certainly not going to say anything that might make her mad. She could fry me with the flick of her wrist."

"She would not even have to do that; apparently all that power is available to her to use wandless."

"Ouch. Probably a good idea to avoid her all together."

"Probably not a bad idea. I am considering asking her to come over for dinner one night as a partial apology for the treatment she got here."

"There really is no reason to do that; she is very aware that at that time you were as much a prisoner here as she was."

"She already has said that; but I did enjoy our conversation and intelligent conversation is something I have missed for some time."

"Wow, thanks Father."

"You know what I meant. Actually Severus was the only one that was interesting to talk to."

"I understand she erected a statue of him at Hogwarts. Do you have any idea what it looked like?"

"No. As a matter of fact I am going over there to look at it. Since Severus's body was burned and no pictures are available of him it's not like there will be ever anything else for him. This way I can say goodbye to him."

"Well I think I will look around Knockturn. See if anything has opened up yet. I take it the yanks and Europeans are patrolling?"

"Until we can rebuild the Auror department we are stuck with them."

Lucius stood before the statue. He found himself moved. The little witch had caught Severus perfectly; the slight sneer and glaring eyes and posture were exactly right. The inscription he knew Severus would scoff at but as far as he was concerned it was as it should be. And the many varieties of lilies around it were a very sentimental but true addition.

"Well Severus, I guess this is goodbye. I wish there was more but there never will be. I will miss you, my friend." He touched the pedestal, then moved away, stopped and bowed towards it, then apparated.

Draco found most of Knockturn closed; Diagon Alley had a little more life but not much. Though there were signs that more businesses would open up sometime. He wondered how many would anytime soon. The damages done by the war and Voldemort would be around for many years. He turned as a familiar figure walked by.

"Miss Weasley."

Ginny stopped and turned, and raised an eyebrow. "Very polite for you Draco."

"Just an acknowledgement that the world has changed. No reason to let old rivalries linger. There really is no point anymore."

Ginny sighed. "None at all. It is depressing to think how few of my classmates, and in your case even more, are left alive; and how few of them will probably ever come back."

Soberly Draco nodded. "Virtually none of my classmates on the Slytherin side are left; they almost all died in the battle or soon after."

Ginny grimaced. "Luna is coming back; but outside of you and Hermione there is really no one left that I knew well at Hogwarts. We are not going to have many our age to talk to or go around with. And that is not likely to ever change. I wonder if many people realize that what happened is going to change our community forever. It will never be like it was before the war; let alone before the battle."

Draco looked thoughtful. "That is very true but I have not thought about it. I did not make many friends at Durmstrang; saw no reason to and frankly they did not interest me. I am English and that will not change. But realistically I will almost certainly have to look to Europe to find a wife; not that I am in a hurry but that is probably what I will have to do."

Ginny grinned. "Finding a pureblood girl of the same age is going to be hard anywhere; finding one not yet attached it going to be even tougher."

Draco's eyebrows rose. "Yes, I might have to lower my standards and look at half-bloods."

Ginny smiled wider. "That should be fun to watch."

Draco suddenly smiled. "I know father is going to invite Granger to dinner one night as an apology for her treatment when she was a prisoner there. You should come as well; Luna too. The few Hogwarts survivors ought to stick together no matter what house they were in."

Ginny cocked her head, and then nodded. "You are on. Since I have never been to Malfoy Manor I would be interested to see what it looks like."

Arthur sat back and sighed. It was not good. Lucius had agreed to take over Financial, but there really was no one else senior enough to head any of the other departments. Auror's were virtually non-existent; the only ones left had fled the country and frankly he doubted they would be worth anything anyway. He realized that he would probably have to take over the Auror department; but then again right now there was no one there so what was the point? He was beginning to wonder just how they could put the Ministry back together.

Hermione had listened with interest as Ginny had described her encounter with Draco.

"Did he seem like he had changed?"

Ginny thought on that for a moment then nodded.

"Definitely quieter. Still a little snarky but nowhere near what he was before. I think he realizes everything has changed and nothing will be like it was before."

Hermione snorted. "Anyone with a brain should know that by now."

Ginny sighed. "You realize that there are only about half a dozen of us left?"

Hermione nodded quietly. "I cannot blame those that left for not wanting to come back. Really what is here now?"

"Not much."

Arthur listened that evening as Ginny relayed the conversation. He sadly shook his head.

"It is really beginning to sink in that for all intents and purposes the English Wizarding world is just about dead."

Hermione sighed. "When you look at the losses of people, and those that ran and probably will not come back, there is very little left."

Ginny had been quiet. "Is there a point in trying to rebuild?"

Molly shook her head. "Part of me says we have to try, but when there is virtually nothing to start with I have to question why try?"

Arthur sat back. "I have been asking myself that question all day as the reports came in. Right now there is no one left of the Ministry that held any position higher then assistant division chief except me. I think I can convince Lucius to remain as Financial Minister but that is it. Just about everyone else from the prewar ministry is retired or dead or worthless. And of those that were there during the war most were either Voldemort supporters or at the very least questionable; and they are pretty much all dead anyway."

Hermione shook her head. "We are going to have to ask the rest of the Wizarding world to send us people that can hold those positions while we train new people. No other real possibility."

Molly blinked. "That will take years."

Ginny sighed. "And that is assuming we can find people to even train."

Not 10 minutes later an owl arrived. Ginny took one look and snorted. "Has to be from the Malfoys. Way too fancy for anyone else left."

She was correct. It was an invitation to Hermione and Ginny to visit for dinner the next evening.

Hermione and Ginny looked at the huge mansion. It seemed nothing had changed there; then the door opened and a fully dressed and well looking house elf appeared.

"Dimsey will take you to the main dining room."

Hermione had little memories of the Mansion except her torture; so she took a good look as the house elf led them deeper into the Malfoy home.

Ginny, never having been there before, was all eyes.

They found to their surprise that Luna had already arrived. And they were both shocked that Remus was there with Teddy. Considering the Malfoy attitude towards werewolves that was the most astounding thing of all.

Hermione immediately hugged Luna.

"I am so sorry about your father."

Luna hugged her back and smiled mistily. "He died to save me; a Deatheater was about to kill me and he took the death curse for me." She took a deep breath. "I was so angry I used the Killing Curse myself."

Ginny joined in the hug. "It was your right to avenge your father; and frankly what else could you have done?"

Hermione then hugged Remus. "I am surprised you came back so fast."

He sighed. "This is still home no matter what. And I feel like everyone will be needed.'

She nodded. "If there is any chance to rebuild we will need everyone we can get."

At that point Lucius and Draco came into the room and greeted them all. Then Lucius went to Remus.

"I want to apologize for how I treated you in the past. It was wrong."

Needless to say they were all gobsmacked to hear Lucius Malfoy apologize. Hermione recovered first.

"Now I know the world is doomed. A Malfoy formally apologizing and meaning it."

That lightened things up and they all sat down.

Draco looked around. "Outside of maybe a couple of others, this is about the whole class left from the last two years of Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded. "There might be a few that got away but from all I have heard that is true."

Ginny was sober. "The younger students got out in time before the final battle; but I wonder how many of them will come back."

Lucius shook his head. "The damage to Hogwarts was extensive ; the Deatheaters and Voldemort did not bother to fix anything. It will take time and a lot of money to repair it. And frankly the money is going to be short. The Ministry has enough to operate for a year or so from what I was able to find at Gringott's. But there is virtually no tax base left now for future revenue."

Draco nodded. "Diagon Alley is all but deserted; Hogsmead is deserted. With Hogwarts not probably going to reopen soon if it ever does, that will not change."

Lucius was grim. "I admit I did not realize that it was this bad. But right now I do not see how we can rebuild without a massive amount of help from the rest of the Wizarding world. And I have to wonder how much they are willing to do."

Hermione sighed. "We need something like the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Western Europe after World War 2. But who has that kind of money let alone personnel resources?"

Lucius shook his head. "Even the entire Malfoy fortune would not be enough to do more than get the basics done. We are talking hundreds of millions of Galleons. Perhaps as much as a billion."

They all shuddered at the numbers. Hermione thought hard.

"Not even the American and European Wizarding communities could come up with that much no matter how hard they tried."

Lucius nodded. "I have been running the numbers for the last few days and I frankly do not see how it can be done. We can get started but so much is never going to be rebuilt."

Hermione sat back and looked at him. "If the English Wizarding world is going to survive, then we have to prioritize what is really important and find a way to get it done."

Ginny looked at her. "How do we do that?"

She took a deep breath. "By making hard choices. The core of Wizarding England has been Hogwarts and then Diagon Alley. Schools and employment and consumer goods. That is what the foundation of any society is."

Draco cocked his head. "And everything else has to just wait?"

She nodded. Then looked at Lucius. "Do you disagree?"

He shook his head. "As a businessman I cannot. Employment fuels everything; but Hogwarts is the only way to keep the young children and teenagers. So they have to go together; and for both to survive Diagon Alley has to revive as well."

Hermione thought hard; "If we can get the other Wizarding communities to fund the repairs to Hogwarts, can we get Diagon Alley going again?"

He sat and thought. "Possibly."

Ginny then had a thought. And took a deep breath. She then looked at Hermione. "All that extra magical energy- could you rebuild Hogwarts like you did the Burrow?"

They were all surprised at that and then all looked at Hermione. She was thinking. "Maybe. But I knew every nook and cranny of the Burrow. I don't as regards Hogwarts."

Lucius was thoughtful. "The parts that were severely damaged were mostly the public areas. You know them well. If you could get that done that would be most of it."

Draco then smirked. "And a lot of people would be happy if you did not have so much magical energy."

She rolled her eyes but had to agree. "It is hard; I can feel it boiling up inside me sometimes. So I would not be unhappy to get rid of at least some of it."

Ginny nodded. "Well then how about tomorrow you give it a shot. Do it quickly before you try and over think it."

Hermione glared at her as the rest of them laughed.

But the very next day Hermione, Lucius and Draco stood outside of Hogwarts. Hermione looked around.

"OK. I need to center myself and concentrate. So everyone stay silent."

They all watched as she closed her eyes and was completely still. Then after a few minutes she raised her hands; with her eyes still closed. Then without a word they felt the power.

It was as if they were next to a lightning bolt; their skin tingled and deep inside each of them they felt their own magic respond.

The damaged North Tower began to shimmer; then slowly it began to reform.

They all watched, amazed, as all the exterior damage to Hogwarts disappeared in just a few minutes.

Hermione slowly lowered her hands and took a deep breath. Then opened her eyes. She looked at the rebuilt School and smiled. "So far so good. Let's go inside and see how it looks."

They were to find that virtually all the damage was repaired; only in the areas that Hermione was unfamiliar with was there still work to be done.

Lucius was astounded. Not only wandless but silent. He had never heard of the like.

Arthur blinked. "She did what?"

"Rebuilt Hogwarts wandless and silent. In minutes."

Ginny looked at Hermione that evening at the Burrow. "Do you feel any different?"

Hermione thought for a moment then nodded. "It's like the level has dropped. Not sure how much but I definitely feel better. Less pressure to keep it all under control. But not a great deal, though."

Several of the foreign wizards when told shook their heads. To do all of that and still have apparently lots of power left was nothing short of amazing.

Arthur then asked for a meeting with the Senior Wizards who had been helping out.

"With Hogwarts rebuilt, we need to see about Diagon Alley. And convincing people to come back or immigrate. Any suggestions would be very welcome."

The senior American Wizard was thoughtful. "I think we can come up with about 100 million Galleons if we really try hard." He looked at the senior European wizard. He nodded as well. "I think we can match that. But there really is no one else that can really kick in."

Arthur smiled. "That will get us started. But I think the critical part will be getting the people."

"Things have to change." Hermione was blunt as she looked at Arthur that evening.

He looked at her. "For instance?"

"The laws and the basic premise of the Wizarding World here. For starters women have to be treated equally in all ways. AND magical creatures must have the same rights. Werewolves need to be fully recognized. And then the rest of them as well. We have to make it clear that the old ways that failed in so many instances are gone and will not be back."

Molly blinked. "A lot of the older generation are not going to like that."

Hermione looked at her. "Who cares? They are not the future; they are the past. The young are the future and that is the only way we will get people to come back or immigrate."

The others blinked at the blunt pronouncement but could not really disagree.

As Acting Minister of Magic and with so very few of the Wizengamot left Arthur began to implement the changes.

The First was that in the future the Minister would be elected by the people not the Wizengamot. Next that all magical sentient creatures had the same rights; no difference at all.

Those were the basic changes; the details would come later.

Next came Diagon Alley; between Lucius, the Americans and Europeans enough money was found to reopen all the businesses that wanted to with interest free loans or outright gifts.

A real problem with Hogwarts was the almost complete lack of teachers. There were none left from before the war; and other schools needed what they had.

"We are going to have to basically go to every Wizarding school in the world and see if we can get one or two of their younger teachers. Then some apprentice teachers as well."

Arthur nodded at Hermione's plan. That was about the best they could do.

Who was going to be Headmaster was the real problem. There literally was no one.

Ginny finally just threw up her hands. "Hermione, you do it. You probably know as much as any of the teachers we will have if not more."

Hermione blinked. "Ginny I am not even 20."

"So?"

Hermione opened her mouth and Ginny shushed her.

"The one primary requirement of a Headmaster is that people will respect him or her and follow their orders. NO one is going to cross you now."

"Well of course since they fear me."

"Good enough for what we need."

Arthur and Molly were thoughtful as Ginny relayed her idea.

Arthur looked at Hermione. "Technically Ginny is correct. I have no doubt you will know as much as any of the teachers we will be able to get. And she is also right in that no one will challenge you."

Draco and Lucius were informed and both were thoughtful.

Draco shook his head. "Well in one respect it is natural; the know it all as Headmistress."

"And certainly she will NOT have any disciplinary problems."

Hermione however did make one point.

"How many parents will worry about me having all that Dark Magic still in me?"

That was indeed a concern but 6 months later Hogwarts was able to open. Only about a third of the class size. But it was still open.

Hermione stood before the small student body and young teachers. Less than 100 in all.

"This is the beginning of the new age of England's Wizarding world. IT will be nothing like it was in the past. To begin with there will no longer be any Houses. The problems that caused were not worth the results. From now on there are only Hogwarts students. Magical creatures that are sentient will be treated exactly the same as humans. There is no difference now. Further anyone trying to make up a problem because of blood will be subject to severe discipline. Pureblood, Half blood and above all Mudblood are now words forbidden from being used inside Hogwarts. If I see anyone trying to start that nonsense up again they will no longer be part of Hogwarts."

There was a long way to go but that was the beginning.