Chapter One

The Minister for Magic walked into her office overlooking the atrium, exhaling deeply and closing the heavy black door behind her. She kicked off her sensible-height pumps and enjoyed the sensation as her bare feet sunk into the deep pile carpet. Flicking her wand at the cabinet in the corner she summoned a cold lemonade, extra ice, direct to her hand, and drank deeply as she crossed the room to the chair behind her desk.

Hermione Granger had been experiencing a hell of a day, thus far. Not that it was really any different to most other days in the heart of the Ministry. Her dream job as Minister came with its own nightmare of responsibilities, and her days were demanding.

Today was shaping up to be particularly irritating, as she had found herself in a heated debate at a meeting of the Wizengamot regarding the educational reforms for Muggle-born students that she was attempting to push through. As Minister, Hermione was of course one of the highest-ranking officials of the Wizengamot, however all new laws had to be approved by a majority vote.

The reforms she wanted to make law were the result of years of campaigning, information seeking and sheer annoyance at her own educational experience in the wizarding world. The bare bones of her education, when she wasn't saving the world, and Harry Potter, had been woeful at best. Born from two Muggle parents, her early childhood was blighted by the upset, fear and confusion that arose from her bursts of accidental magic. The arrival of Professor McGonagall on her eleventh birthday was the first time that everything started to fall into place and make sense. The Professor had sat in her parents achingly Muggle living room resplendent in forest green robes and a tartan travelling hat with a jaunty feather and explained patiently everything the Grangers wished they had known years before. She explained about Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, broomsticks and spell books, and lit a fire in Hermione that could not be contained as the confusion of her childhood years finally all made sense.

On arrival at Hogwarts, despite her very best preparation, Hermione found herself as out of her depth as she had been at her Muggle primary school. Her knowledge of the magical world, wizarding customs, folklore, history and so much else was practically non-existent compared to the majority of other students who had been born and bred in a magical home and community. Being a witch was so much more than memorising spell books and learning how to use your wand.

Muggle Studies, an optional class aimed at educating the students about the non-magical world, had no equivalent subject for young Muggle-born students who not only knew very little about the wizarding world, but who had also only just discovered that they themselves were a witch or wizard. The reform that Hermione was attempting to pass would create a new subject, Magical Life and Culture, on the school's curriculum, and be a compulsory subject for Muggle-borns, and also Half-Bloods who had been raised by their Muggle parent away from the wizarding world. The idea of the subject was that it would provide the students with information that they could not possibly have known, being raised in a Muggle home.

In addition, the reform would make law that when the very first accidental magic occurred from a Muggle-born baby or child, the family would be visited by specially trained counsellors from the Underage Magic department, who would explain to the family everything they were previously told on the child's eleventh birthday by a visiting Hogwarts teacher. Plans could be made to keep the child's developing magic discreet and contained, and the child would grow up knowing they would be attending Hogwarts at eleven. The result would be better, more trusting, relations with Muggle parents of magical children, and better prepared, less apprehensive children, arriving for their first year at Hogwarts. It would also save Muggle-borns like herself from a traumatic time in primary school, not understanding what made them so different from their peers. Hermione felt this was her cause to champion and she had no intention of allowing the proposed reforms to be dismissed. She had worked too long and hard for that.

After the war and returning to a restored Hogwarts to complete her NEWTS, Hermione had started work at the Ministry, firstly as a Junior in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She worked her way steadily through the ranks, ending up a few years later as the Department Head of the newly renamed Department for Magical Creatures. There would be no 'regulation' or 'control' of sentient beings on Hermione's watch. She worked for reforms to be passed which greatly improved life for house elves, goblins, centaurs, werewolves and many other formerly oppressed magical creatures. Remus Lupin would have been proud to see werewolves in their human form arriving for work at the Ministry, just like everyone else. They could earn enough money to support themselves and their families, and all werewolves were provided with Wolfsbane treatment free of charge. They were no longer angry or a danger to society. It seemed simple to Hermione, and like so many things she wondered why nothing had been changed for so long before.

As a war hero and esteemed department head with a clutch of reform successes under her belt, Hermione was unstoppable. After several more years she was appointed Deputy Minister for Magic, working under Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had held the position since the end of the war. The pace of life was breakneck, the work demanding and intellectually challenging, and she loved it.

She had no time for relationships, goodness it was hard enough to squeeze in time for her dear friends, although she made sure she did. Marriage and children were not even in her life plan. She had plenty of love from her friends and their families, though sadly not her own parents, as the Obliviate she had placed on them to keep them safe during the war was of such strength that it had proved irreversible. Hermione considered Harry and Ron to be her family. The bonds they had formed during surely the most exceptionally dangerous school career in Hogwarts history would last them a lifetime. They knew each other so well.

Harry had married Ginny a year after leaving school and was the proud father of James, Albus and Lily. The boy without a family now had his very own. Hermione understood his need to put down roots and give his three the childhood he himself had been denied. He had entered the Auror training programme without taking his NEWTS, and was now head of the department. Ronald, getting over their own brief relationship quite quickly and sowing his oats around the world playing professional Quidditch for his beloved Chudley Cannons, was finally home and settled down, married to Lavender Brown with a quartet of red-headed boys; Colin, Austin, Freddie and Archie, and a fifth on the way. Hermione knew that Lavender was desperate for a girl and distraught that she might follow Weasley tradition and produce ever more males. 'Good Weasley Stock' was how Grandma Molly referred to her ever-growing brood of grandchildren. After a time working with George at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the arrival of Colin prompted Ron to 'get serious', and he enrolled as a mature candidate on to the Auror training programme, answering to Harry, which both of them found hilarious. Little parts of those boys had never truly grown up, and Hermione loved them for it.

Hermione was godmother to all seven children of course, and she loved them all fiercely and individually. Although she'd sometimes admit to a soft spot for Lily Luna, the only girl, who was growing up just as strong and feisty as her mother. They were all her family, in every sense of the word.

A few brief relationships and flings were all Hermione had to speak of, romantically. Settling down or committing herself to another were just not things that interested her. She was utterly satisfied by her work and family, and she had no wish to be tied down to someone who may make demands on her time or put constraints on her working hours. Obviously a girl has needs ... but Hermione found with the help of magic and some personal battery-operated items ordered from a Muggle website, she was able to manage those needs quite well.

Just two years after Hermione had been appointed Deputy Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt announced his intention to retire from politics, and take up a post teaching DADA at Uagadou, the wizarding school in Africa. He told Hermione that he had held on to his ministerial post until she was ready to succeed him, and that he would trust no one else to do the job. He had quit the Ministry in a blaze of glory, with flattering plaudits regarding his time in office, and had taken the next international portkey to Africa with his wife, child, mother-in-law and a couple of geriatric cats.

Hermione did not understand, at that time, what would have possessed Kingsley, in the prime of life at only 65, just middle-aged for a wizard, to leave the prestige and excitement of high office to go into teaching. When she asked him, he had infuriatingly rolled his eyes, patted her shoulder, and told her to wait and see. He was deeply proud of becoming a teacher he said, and was excited to see what life was like at Uagadou. He told her that he had lived the last twenty years at warp speed, and was looking forward to a slower pace of life.

She became the youngest-ever Minister for Magic, and the first female to hold that office. No one but Hermione Granger could have achieved such a feat in notoriously behind-the-times wizarding Britain. She was determined, of course, to be the best Minister of all time. Nothing but the best would do for Hermione, the compulsive over-achiever. At forty she had now held the post for six years and was well-known for being unstoppable, both within Britain and in her dealings with other world wizarding leaders. It was without a doubt, the pinnacle of her career. Thus far, obviously.

Her thoughts slid back to the present, as a lilac internal memo in the shape of a paper aeroplane skittered to a halt on her desk.

"Minister Granger,

The Wizengamot acknowledges that your proposed Muggle-born reforms hold merit.

However to make this reform law in Great Britain would mean an increased workload for the Underage Magic department, and for the staff of Hogwarts School.

We request that you arrange meetings with the Head of Underage Magic and with the Hogwarts headmaster to discuss how they will implement the proposed reforms.

The Wizengamot will convene again in one month's time for you to present your findings and provide solutions to the increased workload.

If you can provide satisfactory ways to implement the reforms I can inform you that the vote in favour is likely to be significant.

I wish you a good day

Hector Hobbstrobble

Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot"

Hermione felt a thrum of excitement course through her body. That was as good as a resounding yes! Of course, she had to see the departments who would be involved in implementing the changes, that was a given, but Hobbstrobble's memo was all but giving her the green light once she had the plans in place!

She had known from the Wizengamot members who had thrown questions at her all morning that they were more than interested in her proposed reforms. Muggle-borns, now that blood-status prejudice was at an all-time low, were considered as equal to pure or half bloods. Filling the gaps in their knowledge via the Magical Life and Culture class at Hogwarts could only be of benefit to everyone. Explaining the wizarding world to Muggle families as soon as their magical child started manifesting would save many an Obliviator visit. The whole reform was just pure common sense – like everything Minister Granger did.

So, she needed to speak to those who this would affect. Firstly, the Underage Magic department. They needed to train counsellors to visit Muggle parents of magical children, most likely opening another branch of their department to do so. This would need funding. The head of Underage Magic was Serene Beventhorpe. Hermione liked her. A mature woman about ten years older than herself, Serene was no-nonsense and forward-thinking. Provided she could get the proper funding and trainees Hermione was sure that Serene would be open to the reform and was terribly excited about the prospect of discussing it with her. She fired off a lilac memo and waited eagerly for Serene to make an appointment to see her.

She also needed to talk with the Head of Hogwarts about introducing a whole new subject to the curriculum and training staff to teach it. That was quite a biggie but she already had so many ideas about what could be included ... and then she remembered quite abruptly that the new but very current Headmaster at Hogwarts was Severus Snape.

Ah. He was definitely no Serene Beventhorpe.

He was, however, definitely an unapproachable, misanthropic, git.