AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
"Stupid Malfoy wedding!" Parvati threw the newspaper onto the conference table. "It's plastered all over the damn place! Nobody will shut up about the Malfoys and true love now."
Hermione leaned over to see the paper before her. On the cover was a picture of Ginny and Draco in each others arms, both grinning into the camera. Hermione suppressed her pang of envy. It cost her a fortune to look as great as Ginny did with minimal makeup. Mrs. Malfoy didn't take half as much time as Hermione did to appear presentable either. Then there was the happiness Ginny and Draco radiated. When was the last time Ron's eyes sparkled like that when he looked at her? Hell, had he ever looked at her like that?
"What's the big deal?" Lavender looked at the front page. "It's nice to see people so happy."
"Not when it detracts from our happiness."
"How is a harmless wedding making you miserable?"
"It's distracting everyone from our message," Parvati shook her head as she put her hands onto the cherrywood table. "We were gaining momentum until this Malfoy wedding. Now, we'll be lucky if we stay consistent in the polls."
"It's a disaster," Demelza groaned as Lavender picked up the paper. "With all the attention on the Malfoys and true love, nobody will be thinking about politics and the need to argue over important issues."
"Disaster may be an exaggeration," Hermione folded her hands and sat straighter. For a brief moment she wished there was more padding on the chairs. It would be easier to focus if she wasn't always changing position.
"How could it not be an exaggeration?" Demelza argued. "Nobody is paying attention to us anymore."
"The election isn't for another three months. Surely the wedding coverage will have died down by then," Hermione argued. "People will remember my campaign, and it will be as if the Malfoys never got an ounce of attention."
"Three months isn't as long as you think," Parvati began.
"Yes, and every minute spent on this Malfoy wedding is another moment not spent on you," Demelza replied. "The longer people focus on them, the more likely people are to forget about you."
"Is that such a terrible thing? Perhaps they need a break from me anyway."
"Need a break?"
"Yes, people have been looking at me on the front page for months now. Would it be so terrible if we didn't oversaturate the market with my face?" Hermione frowned.
"We're not over saturating the market. We'll reminding everyone that you're running for office."
"Would it be so terrible if we let Ginny and Draco get some positive coverage so we can regroup?"
"Yes, it is terrible because if everyone is covering them, nobody is covering you," Parvati argued. "If they aren't focused on you, they will only envision Kingsley as the Minister of Magic. So, when the polls open, they'll vote for him because they won't remember anything about you. We don't need to regroup: we need to attack!"
"Yes, but if I'm too vocal, people will get sick of me."
"People shouldn't be sick of you…"
"No, she has a point," Demelza cut in. "We don't want to exhaust people with her. If Hermione has the wrong kind of publicity, then people will see her as either an attention whore or a candidate who only likes seeing her face on the cover of every newspaper. That kind of bad publicity can harm a campaign."
"True," Parvati conceded.
"Wow, Severus Snape was at the wedding," Lavender cut in.
"So?" Parvati snapped.
"So nobody expected him to be there. He's been a recluse since the end of the war, only leaving his quarters to teach and maybe do a Hogsmeade weekend, though he hasn't done that in years. People say during the summer, he goes back to Spinner's End, locks his door, and only orders things via delivery. I didn't think he'd ever come out of the hole he's dug for himself," Lavender answered.
"He's a git too," Hermione scowled. "He wouldn't say a single word to me at the wedding. Instead, all he did was glare at me and grunt a few times."
"Did you expect Severus Snape to behave like a human?" Lavender rolled her eyes.
"I'd hope he'd have a little civility."
"He's Severus Snape. Civility is beneath him."
"Do you see what I'm talking about?" Parvati exclaimed. "We're so focused on Severus Snape being at the wedding we're not talking about the campaign."
"I like Ginny's dress too," Lavender turned the page. "It's very stylish."
Parvati groaned.
"Did they mention me at all?" Hermione asked.
Lavender ran her finger down the article. "Yes, it says, 'Minister of Magic candidate Hermione Granger said of the wedding, 'I am very happy for Ginny and Draco. A soul bond is a sacred thing, something most of us will never get to experience. I am thrilled for my friend that she has experienced it. Ron and I are both happy for them.'"
"Wow, she actually got the quote right," Hermione noted.
"Okay good," Parvati exhaled. "There's still some attention on Hermione."
"It also says that Ron was less than enthusiastic. When asked about the wedding, he simply belched and told everyone his and Hermione's would be better," Lavender continued.
Parvati smacked her head.
"What the hell was Ron thinking?" Demelza groaned. "He knows that someone could read those words as him being unsupportive of true love, and see him as some kind of enemy of soul bonds. Words like that can cause problems for a campaign, problems we will struggle to solve."
"I'm sure he didn't mean them the way they came off. He was quite intoxicated when he said those things," Hermione swallowed.
"How intoxicated?" Parvati asked.
"Enough to miss work today because he had a stomach bug."
"So he's lazy too."
Hermione glared at her. "He had a stressful day yesterday. A day off may have done him some good."
"Yes, sitting through a ceremony and sipping Champagne is the epitome of stress."
"He was upset about his sister marrying his Hogwarts rival."
"So he decided to be an immature jerk about it."
Hermione slumped.
"Someone needs to get Ron under control before he becomes a liability," Parvati warned.
"Or maybe he's an asset," Demelza mused aloud.
"How?" Parvati asked. "People are already over the Golden Couple idea. They want something new and flashy, like this stupid soul bond business. Ron and Hermione are out as the embodiment of true love. It's all about Draco and Ginny Malfoy now."
"It doesn't have to be that way for long. We could say that Hermione and Ron are soul bonded," Demelza suggested.
"Yeah," Lavender's eyes gleamed as she lowered the paper. "We could have them plan a wedding and everything. The voters could do things like vote on her dress."
"No," Hermione snapped. "I will not turn my wedding turned into some kind of publicity stunt, especially when I have real issues I want to discuss, issues which affect people's daily lives, more so than any wedding ever could."
"People are only going to want to talk about lycanthrope rights for so long," Parvati warned. "Especially since most of your bills have been vetoed. The more bills you get vetoed, the less effective you appear."
"If I was Minister of Magic I could get more done," Hermione argued.
"If the Malfoys pull more stunts like this, you won't get elected," Parvati argued.
"I highly doubt Ginny and Draco planned their wedding so they could distract everyone from an election which is three months away," Hermione argued.
"Planned or not, they still did it," Demelza replied.
"Ooh, they're going to have a two week honeymoon in Paris, and another two weeks in Venice," Lavender squealed. "That's so romantic."
"Great, now we will have Daily Adventures with the Soul Bonded Malfoys," Parvati muttered.
"The evening issue is going to cover the reactions to the wedding, as well as the implications of the soul bond for the rest of the Wizarding World," Lavender set down the paper.
"I'm sorry, but why is this soul bond thing so important?" Hermione asked. "It's great that Draco and Ginny are happy, but why is it so important that they are soul bonded?"
"Their soul bond isn't important at all," Parvati argued. "It only distracts people from actual issues like the downturn in the economy."
"I don't know," Lavender glanced down at the paper, her eyes glistening. "I wouldn't mind a soul bonded partner. A love like that must be amazing."
"You know," Demelza pulled the paper near her. "We could use the soul bonding to our advantage."
"What, do you want Draco and Ginny to interrupt their honeymoon for a statement on why Hermione's policies are better for the Wizarding economy?" Parvati asked.
"No," Demelza's lips curled up. "We need to get back to my original idea, namely tell everyone Hermione and Ron are soul bonded."
"No," Parvati answered. "It'll be too obvious of a publicity stunt. People will see right through it."
"How?" Demelza asked. "Ron and Hermione are happy together. They've fought obstacles to be together. Who's to say they aren't soul bonded?"
"For starters, they don't have the telltale spark when they kiss," Lavender argued. "The second they kiss in front of a camera, people will know it isn't real."
"Even if we were, I refuse to compete with the Malfoys," Hermione argued.
"Newsflash, you already are competing with the Malfoys," Parvati warned.
"We're running a campaign not based on soul bonds, but on what matters to people. I'm focusing on the issues," Hermione gave her a pointed look. "This campaign is about issues, not about publicity stunts and soul bonds."
"Fine," Parvati exhaled. "Just don't be surprised if you fall behind in the polls because people are focused on the Malfoys, soul bonds, and Ron belching in Rita Skeeter's face."
"Did he really do that?" Demelza asked.
"He did," Hermione sagged.
"Great," Parvati muttered. "We may need to smooth that over before it affects the poll numbers."
"Let's see if it has any affect on the polls first," Demelza suggested. "We don't want to draw attention to something most people are ignoring. People may be too caught up in the romance that is Draco and Ginny Malfoy to pay any attention to Ron."
"True."
"Look, these poll numbers don't matter. The only poll which matters is the final one on election day," Hermione interrupted. "When people hear my ideas and attend my debates, they're going to realize Ron being rude to Rita isn't important to their daily lives. What is important are my views on increasing literacy for Wizarding youth."
"You're giving the electorate too much credit," Parvati warned. "Most of them are more like Lavender than you'd think."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lavender snapped.
"It means that the second we finish here, you'll start comparing dresses and seeing who wore what best," Parvati answered.
"Well Ginny did look stunning in her wedding dress," Lavender's eyes fell on the newspaper. "Molly wore her black dress and mourning veil quite well. It showed off her figure, accentuated her curves. She showed that older women can still rock the latest funeral attire."
"Circe's balls," Parvati moaned.
"I'm sure the evening issue will have more ballgowns," Lavender turned to Hermione. "And I'm sure you looked stunning in that red cocktail dress I bought you."
"It was very nice, though my feet hurt afterwards from the shoes," she admitted.
"Comfort and fashion do not always mix," Lavender warned.
"I know," Hermione curled her foot as it ached.
"Speaking of fashion," Parvati turned to her watch. "You're scheduled for a lunch with the Hogsmeade seniors group in two hours."
"Right," Hermione took a deep breath. "I almost forgot about that."
"Don't worry," Lavender stood. "I'll get you looking beautiful, but not too much. We wouldn't want you to scandalize the seniors with too low cut of an outfit."
"Thanks," Hermione drawled.
"Lavender is right," Parvati rubbed her chin. "A nice bun may make you more approachable."
"But, it has to be done right," Demelza mused. "If she looks too homely she'll lose younger voters."
Hermione squirmed. As a child, she promised herself that when she was older, she wouldn't care about her hair or put it up in fashions which only irritated her. Now, her hair demanded everyone's attention, whether they be her campaign staff or the media.
"Don't worry, I'll give her an approachable yet tasteful hairstyle," Lavender promised.
"I know," Demelza relaxed. "That's why you're the best."
Lavender smiled.
"All right," Parvati clapped her hands. "Let's get moving. Those seniors aren't going to meet themselves."
"Actually, they will," Lavender answered. "Whether or not Hermione comes, they'll still be there."
Parvati frowned. "You know what I mean."
"I do," Lavender stood. "Come on Hermione, let's make you look beautiful."
Hermione forced herself to grin and followed them, wondering when they would stop about weddings, hair, and lunch, and start talking about the issues which plagued the Wizarding World.