"I believe in you."

Harry's hand found Hermione's and he squeezed it, both of them staring straight ahead as the elevator in the Ministry led them towards the Atrium. Today was the day she would finally learn if she would be one of the four final candidates running for Minister for Magic.

Hermione bit her lip worriedly, but nodded stiffly, grateful for her brother's support.

"Ron and Padma stopped by this morning to wish me luck," she mumbled to Harry, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Rose even made me a bracelet. For good luck, and a touch of bravery." A smile touched the corner of her lips as she remembered her goddaughter's words.

Harry lifted their joined hands into the air and studied the tiny beads in Gryffindor red and gold, smiling at his niece's handiwork before letting go of his sister. "We all believe in you, Mione. There's no one better suited than you, you-"

The doors to the elevator opened again, and Hermione felt so nervous she couldn't concentrate on what Harry was saying any longer. Instead, she quietly studied the group of people joining them in the confined space until she caught a glimpse of pale blond hair. Right as she realised who was about to step into the elevator, Malfoy's head jerked upwards and he looked straight at her.

The blond smirked slightly, shaking his head, clearly amused, and made his way to the back of the elevator to stand right in front of Hermione and Harry, making the others who had joined grumble at his rudeness for pushing them out of the way.

"Oh, Lord Potter! I didn't see you there!" an older wizard suddenly said to Harry. "You know, I was about to head up to the D.M.L.E. this afternoon. You see, my granddaughter swears she's seen some shady business dealings happening at-"

Hermione felt the silencing spell hit her before Malfoy even spoke.

"You're as prepared as you can be, Granger. Relax. Just keep your occlumency up and do not let them get at you, and you will be fine," he assured her, his back still to her.

"You can't be sure of that."

She frowned at no particular spot between his shoulder blades. Had he seen through her and her nervousness, even though she had her occlumency up?

Sighing deeply, glad for the silencing spell around her, she started fidgeting and studying the other people in the elevator with her. There was Walker from the Department of Mysteries, probably there to support his colleague Spencer. Lord Parkinson was talking to Lady Louvrex and had sneered at Hermione when he'd first joined the group in the elevator. What was she doing? How would these people ever-

"Stop it," Malfoy said again as if he knew exactly what she'd been thinking. "I can feel you worrying. You know you're better than all of them. Do not let those bigoted purebloods tell you otherwise."

Hermione took another deep breath and strengthened her occlumency. She'd always thought she was skilled at the magical ability, but in the past week, Malfoy had taught her to strengthen her walls even more. To not let a flicker of an emotion pass. Once the magical shield was in place, she could feel her shoulders weren't as tense, and the anxiety she had felt earlier was now at bay.

"Good." Malfoy took a step backwards and stood in the corner beside her as more and more people joined them, all eager to go and view the candidates' speeches at the Wizengamot. His knuckles brushed hers as if he was trying to convey his belief in her, but he didn't dare to look down.

"Thank you." She grasped at his fingertips and her shoulders sagged even more. Since when did Malfoy have such a comforting aura around him? At least to her.

The doors to Level Ten opened and Malfoy leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Now go get them, Granger. Show them who you truly are."

Hermione and the eleven other candidates stood in front of the Wizengamot an hour later, the room filled to the brim with people now that all the prominent figures in Wizarding society were present. The stands, usually filled only with plum-coloured robes, were a cacophony of colours this time. All candidates had five short minutes to present their qualifications to run for Minister for Magic and to explain which causes they supported. Her speech had been outstanding, even if she said so herself. Of course, Malfoy had helped her to improve upon it, but she felt proud of the work they had achieved. If only, she could get enough votes.

She shook her head. Malfoy was right. There was no use in being anxious. She could do this.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "And now, we shall tally the votes for the preliminary rounds. First, McLaggen, Cormac."

The idiot strutted forward, running his hand through his hair as if he was going to charm the voters present. Instead, he reminded Hermione of a pompous buffoon. His moment of glory was short-lived, however, as only two wands in the room lit up.

"Mister McLaggen does not meet the required five percent votes to proceed," Kingsley noted dully.

Trying to keep her face under control, Hermione's eyes scanned the stands to find Malfoy's, a smirk plastered on his face. "Loser," he mouthed to her. She pulled up her occlumency even tighter. If she hadn't, she might have actually giggled.

Her other colleague Fawley did not make the cut either, but she held her head high and thanked those who had voted for her for their confidence.

One by one, the candidates stepped up, and some made the five percent mark, but they were still unsure if they would be in the top four. Gawain Robards seemed to be doing well with a solid nine percent. Hermione got nervous when Spencer got more than twelve percent of the votes, and Greengrass received thirty. She could still reach the five percent mark, if Floyd did not gain too many votes, but she was unsure if she could beat two of the others who had six and even seven percent…

When Kingsley called out Rhys Floyd's name, the businessman cleared his throat. "If I would be permitted, to say something else before the voting, Minister?"

Hermione blinked. This was highly unusual. He'd already used up his allotted time. Normally, candidates would only speak again after the votes to thank their voters, not before.

Kingsley waved his hand, seemingly amused at the whole situation. "Fine, Mister Floyd. Make it short."

Rhys nodded. He put his hands in the pockets of his dress pants, indicating he was perfectly at ease, and let his eyes glance over the stands. "Dear esteemed members of the Wizengamot, Heads of Department, Lords and Ladies of the wizarding world, and my fellow business companions. I stand in front of you today, to ask you to reconsider your faith in me. You see, the speech I made earlier, was not about me. It was about the qualities of another individual within our midst."

The crowd started murmuring. Hermione dared to glance at Harry, who seemed to be utterly confused as well as Neville leaned over to him and whispered in his ear.

Rhys started pacing around the room slowly now. As if this was his true speech and he was trying to sell it as best as he could. "As you all know, I'm a businessman. During these past few months, I've studied the other candidates and concluded that there is only one person present, who could help lead Wizarding Britain into a new era. Into a more prosperous time for all of us. So, before you vote, I would like to ask you to consider Lady Hermione Granger, instead of me. I'm sure she will continue on the path that Minister Shacklebolt has put us on and lead us all towards greatness." The black-haired wizard turned on the spot and he watched Hermione's expression, grinning.

Hermione blinked. Was he doing what she thought he was doing? Was he pulling his candidacy and instead supporting her? Her eyes found Malfoy's instantly, and the smirk he'd plastered on his face told her that he was not surprised at all. He had told her he would make it. That she would have enough votes. Had he known all along?

She had to keep herself together when she noticed Floyd had that exact same smirk plastered on his face. What was it he had said to her at the gala?

" I aid those who will make me more money."

Had this been his plan all along? Had he been seizing her up, figuring out how her plans to introduce technomancy into the British Wizarding world could profit his own business and investments?

The conversations in the room turned louder, some looking clearly displeased, while others weren't perturbed by this turn of events at all.

"Mister Floyd, this is highly uncommon," Kingsley stated, quieting everyone down. "But I have to admit, I agree with your choice. All those in favour of Lady Hermione Granger, please raise your wands."

The minister himself raised his wand first, and Hermione could see Harry nearly popping his shoulder as he too raised his wand as fast as he could. More and more wands lit up.

"Lady Granger has received twenty-four percent of the votes. This means we have our four candidates. Lord Gareth Greengrass, Lady Hermione Granger, Mrs. Rowena Spencer, and Mr. Gawain Robards. A press conference will be held Monday afternoon in the Ministry Atrium. Meeting adjourned."

The gavel hit thrice and before Hermione could question Rhys about his actions, Fawley ran over to Hermione, hugging her. "I will make sure everyone who voted for me, will vote for you, Hermione," she enthusiastically said. "I'm so happy for you!"

The brunette awkwardly hugged her colleague and scanned the room for Floyd, wanting to catch him before he left. She could see his dark blue cloak flowing behind him near the doorway, some of the members of the Wizengamot surrounding him. She whipped her head back to see if Malfoy was still in his seat, but he too had disappeared. With an excuse to Fawley, she sprinted off, trying to smile politely at everyone congratulating her.

But there were too many of them, Harry and Neville hugging her tightly and congratulating her. No matter how much she loved her friends, right now, they were slowing her down. Keeping her from the truth. Floyd would surely be gone by now…

After fifteen minutes, she finally opened the doors to the Wizengamot, and at the end of the hallway, she saw Floyd making conversation with another wizard, both men shaking hands.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Malfoy clapping Floyd on the back, all smiles, as they got on the elevator to the atrium before disillusioning themselves. Merlin. Was it true? Had Malfoy been behind all of this? No. Fucking. Way.

Hermione ran, her heart hammering in her chest and her short heels echoing around the hallways. She'd seen Floyd and Malfoy talking at the end of the War Gala, and she assumed Malfoy had just been doing some digging, seeing what the other candidates were up to. But what if… What if this had been his ploy all along? He'd told her he was working from the shadows. That she had nothing to worry about. Had he really known that Floyd had wanted to do this?

She smacked the elevator buttons in a hurry, hitting multiple at once. Time had never passed so slowly until the contraption finally showed up to take her to the Atrium. Ministry memos flew around her head, probably sending out the message of who the candidates were to be to different departments and journalists waiting in the building.

Shoot. She hadn't thought about the journalists. That was probably why the two men had disillusioned themselves in the first place. Taking a deep breath, she too hid herself right before the elevator reached the Atrium, and indeed, the press was waiting for someone to come out. Disappointed that it was empty but for a few memos that whizzed past, and landed in some of their hands, they started talking to each other again, discussing the contents of the memos. Hermione slipped past them unnoticed.

When she reached the nearest floo, she nearly bumped into someone when she grabbed the floo powder and said loud and clearly, "Malfoy Estate."

In her hurry, she tumbled out of the fireplace, and Tilly popped in just in time to steady her.

"Miss Hermione, is everything alright?" the little elf asked, clearly worried. "Master Draco is currently at his residence at Diagon Alley. I could go get him if you would like to speak to him?"

"That would be lovely, Tilly. Thank you," Hermione said, trying to catch her breath, before the elf popped off. She hadn't considered that Malfoy wouldn't have gone straight home after the meeting. Perhaps, he and Floyd still had some business to attend to after all.

The elf came back only two seconds later. "Master is in a meeting, and Tilly is not supposed to disturb… Would you like to come back later, Miss Granger, or are you staying for dinner?"

"I- I don't want to intrude, Tilly, I can-"

The elf waved her hands in dismissal. "You could never intrude in the Master's home. Why don't you go up to the library and I will bring you some tea before I start dinner?" she smiled. "Would you also care for a vial of calming draught? You seem quite distressed, Miss."

"That honestly would be lovely, Tilly." Hermione swallowed, her emotions starting to overwhelm her now that she finally let her occlumency slip. "You're too kind."

The elf took her outer wizarding robes from her before whisking both them and herself away.

Hermione made her way upstairs, and by the time she opened the doors to the library, Tilly already had a small fire burning in the fireplace and had set up tea for her next to one of the cozy armchairs she'd sat in last Sunday.

"Do you need any help preparing for dinner?" Hermione asked the elf as she bustled about.

"No help is needed, Miss Hermione. But thank you for your offer. I see why the master likes you so much. You are very kind," Tilly smiled before popping off.

"Malfoy mentioned to Tilly that he likes me?" Hermione wondered out loud as she sat down in the armchair and took a sip of her tea laced with calming draught. "Honestly, this day cannot get any stranger…"

A sigh escaped her lips as all the stress and excitement of the day finally seemed to leave her. Perhaps, she should close her eyes, if even for just a second…

"Hermione."

She woke with a start as she felt a hand clasp her shoulder. The library was basked in darkness now, the fire burning low, and she realised she must have slept for at least a few hours.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, fumbling to sit up straight. "I didn't want to fall asleep. It must've been the calming draught…"

Malfoy smiled down at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't home sooner. Tilly came to get me as soon as my meeting was over. She made dinner if you'd like to stay?"

The brunette nodded her head in thanks. "That would be lovely."

"I almost forgot to tell you congratulations." He offered her his hand to help her up. "You beat all of them but Greengrass today."

"I think I have you to thank for that, considering you probably had something to do with Floyd pulling his candidacy," she remarked as she slipped her hand in his. "Or was it all his ploy to begin with? Is that why he approached me at the gala?"

"Honestly, I thought you would have figured it out sooner. I did tell you not to worry," he smirked, her hand still firmly in his. "Floyd was never planning on becoming Minister, he was trying to figure out where to invest his money. To see what the electorate wants and who they might support. He's making way too much money right now to want to get involved in politics. All I had to do, was show him the changes you want to make to the Wizarding World once you become Minister and convince him to run in the preliminaries as a decoy. He was always going to support you. I barely had to offer him any money after he talked with you at the end of October and studied your campaign goals. He was ready to convince most of the businessmen and -women in Britain to vote for you. Not that he didn't appreciate the money I did offer him in the end."

"I can't believe you did that," she whispered, looking up into his eyes. "You planted one of your fellow businessmen just to go against Greengrass and his voters."

"I didn't really plant him there. He nearly offered himself on a silver platter after I showed him your ideas. Both Floyd and I wanted to give you a chance to go toe-to-toe with Greengrass. He has even financed at least a fifth of your campaign. He was especially interested in your ideas to find a way to integrate magic and muggle technology by using technomancy. None of his so-called voters were going to vote for him either way, if he'd pulled his candidacy or not. Both he and I went and convinced all of them of your potential. Of the investments they could make and the business they could start if we make technomancy work. We took care of the Wizengamot and preliminaries, to ensure your victory. Now it will be up to you to convince the whole of magical Britain. But I am certain, that will be no issue for you." He smiled one of his rare smiles at her, as if he truly believed that she could do this.

It was strange, having someone there to have her back again. Hermione had become so used to doing everything on her own, that she forgot what it was like to be supported. To not be in all of this alone.

She realised that ever since Malfoy had waltzed back into her life, she'd felt less… Lonely. Yes, they got into heated arguments from time to time, and they didn't always agree with one another. Both of them had strong personalities after all. But he'd been… Watching out for her. Being considerate of her. Taking care of her. Supporting her from the sidelines to the best of his abilities.

"You're thinking again," he chuckled as he tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "If we'd been at Hogwarts, you'd be nibbling on the end of your quill by now."

"You sure know a lot about my mannerisms at Hogwarts, for having hated me so," she murmured.

"I told you last week. I never hated you, Granger. If I did, then I only hated the idea of you. Of a muggle-born being better than me."

"Yet, here you are, supporting me to become Minister for Magic," she mused, studying him.

"Here I am indeed." He sighed, a pained expression on his face.

He was so close, that she could smell that fragrance of apples on him again. She was starting to wonder if it was his cologne, or if he was secretly stuffing apple cake and pie into his face all the time like Agatha had suggested last Sunday. Hermione had been wrong the first time she'd noticed the scent of apples on him. It smelled nothing like the orchard at the Burrow, it smelled like… Home.

Her hand trailed up his face, the stubble rough under her fingertips and Malfoy's breath caught in his throat. "Would you be angry with me if I said I wanted to kiss you, Draco?"

"I could never be angry with you, Mione," he whispered against her lips as his hands cupped her cheeks, making butterflies flutter in her stomach.

He kissed her then, soft and sweet. Hermione was certain that this was what peace behind the veil felt like.

Author's note:

There it is, folks. The moment we've all been waiting for.

See you all next week ^_^