Chapter 29

Pansy sighed to herself as she lowered her head onto Theo's chest. He had his arms tightly wrapped around her body as the two of them snuggled on their king sized bed.

While the two of them were still in a 'courting' stage of their relationship, she had long since moved in with her boyfriend. It had happened shortly after they had gotten together at graduation after they both went back to retake their seventh year properly.

Her father had been appalled at the notion. Why go back when she could just marry Draco and live the rest of her life in comfort? After all that had always been the plan for her, whether she wanted it or not.

But then again, it didn't really matter what her father wanted. With him safely away in Azkaban, and no male relatives to take over as head of the family, it had passed on to her. So when she had been offered a chance to go back to school, she signed right up.

It wasn't like she had an amazing career as a Healer or an Auror or anything of the sort, but she still enjoyed her career as a potions mistress, owning her own company and specializing in potions meant to heal all sorts of ailments.

Her boyfriend couldn't have been prouder of her, something he never failed to mention.

"Things are shifting in the world, aren't they?" she felt herself ask, as the latest copy of the Daily Prophet laid crumped and carelessly tossed off the bed unto the floor. After reading the article it contained, she could not hide her distaste for all of it.

"Yes," Theo said after a few moments. "It's not good, Pans. Like it's not as bad as when the Dark Lord took over the Wizarding Britain, but at the same time, they're gaining a lot of power. And no one really even knows what their end game is anyways. Like what happens when they gain control? Do they just rule out happily until their death? Or is there a larger plan set in place?"

She sighed, as she held on tighter to Theo. "I don't like any of it. I hate that I was targeted, and that I don't even remember why. I hate that I lost those memories."

Which was information she already had to persuade out of Theo. She had assumed her memory loss was simply a side effect of the earthquake, but after he started giving her guilty looks, she had gotten him to explain exactly what had happened; that she was being recruited for the 're-emergence of the Sacred 28', and that they oblivated her when she refused.

Despite not knowing what had happened, she knew she probably would make the same choice again.

It wasn't that her views had magically shifted after the end of the war. It was that after seeing all the blood that had spilled, she couldn't bring herself to think the same way anymore. She still believed in a hierarchy, but from what she knew of muggle culture, it was they had one in place as well, where there were still some who were 'higher' than others due to their birth and family.

But despite that, she refused to be on part of some sort of homebrewed club. She already had a seat on the Wizengamot as her birthright, and more money than she could ever spent. The Parkinson name still carried a lot of value, and even though she loved Theo for more than his name, she knew that their marriage would be quite significant.

So she didn't really need to join some sort of club to feel powerful.

"And you don't remember any more details?" Theo asked softly, shifting her in his arms so he could look into her eyes. He had a similar guilty look in his face as he did before, and she sighed, knowing he was still hiding something from her.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked gently.

"I can't tell you," he said, looking up to the ceiling. When she started to protest, he shook his head, "I love you Pansy, you know that. But I can't tell you because it's not my secret to tell, and that it can get a lot of people killed."

"Draco?" she asked softly, referring to their friend. When he didn't respond, she figured she was right. "Is he going to do something stupid?"

"Probably," Theo snorted to himself. "For a Slytherin, he can act awfully like a Gryffindor sometimes."

"Love does that to you," she said softly, giving him a meaningful look. Despite not telling her a lot about whatever he seemed to be hiding, he had slipped that Draco was developing feelings for the former Gryffindor Princess, as they had called her while they were in school.

"That it does," Theo said, looking hesitant for a moment.

"Theo?" she asked softly, prompting him from his thoughts.

"I didn't plan on doing it like this," Theo admitted. "I wanted to take you out to the gardens, or to a classy restaurant. Not when we were in bed. Something memorable, you know? But I love you, Pansy Parkinson, and I don't want to wait any longer."

"For?" she asked, her heart beating faster.

He rolled over to his bedside table, and unlocked his private compartment, as he pulled out a square shaped box. "Pansy Parkinson, I loved you since we were children running around during our parents' parties. I loved teasing you and turning your hair an awful shade of red. I loved you in school when we would partner in class and you would make bets about who would get the charm first, or how many points Snape would take from the other houses. I loved you all the way through school, and I want to love you for the rest of my life. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

She felt a few tears slip down her face. She threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly as she nodded furiously, "Of course, you git!" she said, causing him to laugh. She pulled back, and he slipped the ring onto her finger. While the future may have been unknown, at least the two of them still had each other.

Letter to the Editor

Dear Daily Prophet,

I would like to write this open letter in response to the protest that occurred a few days ago, outside the Ministry of Magic. I am sure by now, the news of what has happened has long since spread, and become a warning message of how twisted our group is, and that our notions are dangerous and full of violence.

I would like to mention that these tales have long been exaggerated and are quite wrong.

I am not the leader of this group, and while I do not know the identity of our leader, I would like to inform the public of the truth of what happened, and not some fairy tale spread as a cautionary for others who see the cracks in our very flawed and outdated system.

The truth is, the protest was peaceful and no violence occurred on our part. It was mere chanting, and asking for a change, when the Aurors received an order to remove us, as we were a disruption. They used violent tactics and spells that were nothing less than brutality. They turned a peaceful protest into a slaughter, so to speak.

In fact, none of us even hurt the Minister of Magic. What actually happened, is those injuries were faked in an effort to gain further sympathies for an already sinking ship.

So I am asking you, why support something so broken, that Reparo does not even work on it any longer? Whether we elect a new Minister, or change the system that is more flawed than words could describe, either way, something needs to be done.

We cannot continue to support this.

We need a change.

And so with these words, I leave you, hoping you can all see the truth in the words I am speaking, metaphorically, to you. Please help us make the change that needs to occur in this world.

Signed,

A very concerned citizen.

Hermione snorted, as she set the paper on fire as it levitated in the air. What a load of trash. She wished she could say that she was confident that it would not change a thing, and that no one would believe that dribble. But she had seen firsthand the sorts of things people believed when it appeared in print. She still winced when she thought of the horrid hexes and cursed letters she had been sent when people had believed she was hurting Harry's feelings back in fourth year. Seriously, what kind of people do that sort of thing to a fifteen year old girl they did not even know?

So it wouldn't even surprise her if people believed the paper and that trash of a letter.

"More garbage?" she heard a voice ask. She looked up to see Draco wearing only his sleep trousers and nothing else, meaning he was completely shirtless.

Her eyes lingered over his well-toned torso as her breath caught in her throat. She felt herself grow red at how affected by him she was, and she wanted nothing more than to completely take in the sight of him.

If he noticed her staring, he didn't say anything. He walked over to the table and pressed a kiss to her head as he sat down beside her and grabbed a few pancakes from the stack she had made earlier.

She felt herself freeze slightly at the intimacy of his actions that he had done subconsciously.

"Yeah," she said with a sigh as she ran her fingers through her curls and placed them in a bun on the top of her head. "I don't know how else we can get through to people. It's like nothing we're doing is good enough, you know? We keep trying to help, but what if we can't stop it? What if the same thing the children were sent back to prevent happens anyways and we have no choice but to watch it happen?"

Draco shook his head, "I don't know, Hermione," he said softly. "I wish I could reassure you that nothing bad is going to happen and that we're going to come out on top, but I can't do that. It's like everything is building up for some huge event, and we're running around like headless chicken, trying to prevent it. Telling you that we're going to win this war is Gryffindorly. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I just can't bring myself to lie to you."

She sighed, "It could all go down tomorrow, and my parents would never even have an idea what happened. They want no contact with me or Scorpius, so I could die tomorrow, and they wouldn't even know. They would honestly probably just say 'I told you so' before shutting the door in your face when you go to deliver the news of my demise."

"Don't talk like that," Draco snapped at her, causing her to look up at him in surprise. She knew that she wasn't exactly talking about the happiest of things yet his reaction wasn't one she had expected.

"Like what?"

"Like you're expendable," Draco said, closing his eyes. "Like no one would miss you if you were harmed in this battle. Like no one loves you enough to care about your absence. Because if you honestly believe that for even a moment, Granger, I'm going to hex some sense into you."

She felt touched by his words as she went on to explain just what she had been trying to say with her words, "I didn't mean it like that," she said softly, placing her hand over his. "I just meant that it was upsetting that if something happens to me, they have to live with the fact that they told me that they wanted nothing to do with me."

He squeezed her hand, "Just know you're not alone, alright? The Weasleys love you as if you were a second daughter to them; that I can tell you first hand. My mother absolutely adores you, even if she might not come right out and ever tell you that. She might still slip into her old thoughts without realizing it, but she loves Scorpius, and she cares about you too. And don't even get me started with just how much Potter cares about you. I swear it's as if the two of you are actually related sometimes."

She smiled at that, and he moved his chair closer to hers so he could wrap his arm around her. "Did you know he threatened me that first night?" he asked her softly as she rested her head on his chest.

She looked up at him in surprise. "No one told me this!" she exclaimed softly.

He grinned, "He wanted me to promise I wouldn't do a thing to hurt you. That he might be my partner, but you came first, and you always would. Even when we were in St. Mungos after I was injured, he told me to proceed with caution. But he knew I wanted to talk to you that day to apologise for everything that happened in the past."

She laughed slightly, "I don't think it's just him you should be fearing," she said wagging her eyebrows. "I don't think the Weasleys would be all that happy if you did anything that hurt me either."

He poked her side, "Yes, I get it. You have a large herd of people protecting you from everything," he teased her softly.

"That I do," she grinned, looking into his grey eyes. She felt warm in his arms, and she didn't want to move away from it all. She knew she had to eventually tell him about her feelings for him, but for now she was more than content with letting nature take its course with their relationship.

If Draco noticed anything, he didn't let it slip. Instead, he settled for pulling her into him tighter.

"You know we still have to think about the future?" Draco said softly, "As much as I love this sort of weird way we all are living together, we need to think about accommodations."

"Yeah," she said softly, trying to push the thought out of her mind. She didn't want to think about not having Draco down the hall from her and having relaxing mornings like this, despite everything that was happening out in the world around them.

And when Scorpius later came down the stairs, he immediately demanded to be a part of the familial bonding, so Hermione pulled the boy into her lap as he ate, and Draco held them both into his chest.

She could get used to this.

Marcus watched as their leader stood with his second, facing the large group in front of him. He hadn't been all that pleased that Marcus had yet to find out whatever secret Potter and Malfoy were hiding, and he could sense the impatience glowing from the man.

Honestly, at times Marcus couldn't help but wonder if he only had any power because of that Staff he sported so proudly. Without it, did he even have any power?

However, Marcus still agreed with his ideals, and for that he stayed to fight the battle. After the war, the Flints had lost a lot of the social standing they once had, and he couldn't help but feel cheated. He wanted his status back, and he wanted the perks that went with it.

This time, Marcus refused to be on the wrong side of history as everything went down. He would be on the winning side, and he would regain everything that his father had lost when he perished in the final battle.

His bloodline would later tell stories of the great Marcus Flint who restored their family to its former glory and more. There would be songs and tapestries made of him, and Marcus would be around to fully enjoy all of it and its perks.

He knew whatever was about to go down would happen soon. Despite not bringing in any good news lately, Marcus had quickly worked his way up the ranks to the point where he was included in the inner council and their meetings. He knew that it was happening soon, and that it wouldn't be long before he had everything he had wanted for so long.

The only thing he needed now was a beautiful witch to rule alongside his empire; one that was smart and talented, and could keep up in conversations. One that looked pretty and did the housework, but wasn't mindlessly brainwashed with housewife ideals.

And he knew exactly who it was that he wanted; Hermione Granger.

He knew he probably should be concerned for her blood status, but that could easily be overlooked when thinking of her other qualities. And it helped that if she were formally taken in by a respectable pureblood family, her blood status would become that of her new paterfamilias.

So Marcus stood behind his new master as he listened to whatever motivational speech they were receiving now about how they were changing the world for the better and how they were going to be victorious.

As He went over the plans, obviously only giving the lesser members the broad overview, Marcus tuned back in. He smiled, knowing that very soon he would have everything he had ever wanted and more. It was only a matter of time and patience.

"We will rise from this victorious, my friends," their leader said in a booming voice, lifting the staff theatrically. "We will gain what is rightfully ours. We will gain the change we want to see in the world. Tomorrow is the first day of a new empire. Tomorrow, we bring down the Ministry of Magic."