Chapter 3
Mars 2001
He saw her coming, from miles away. These past three years have been very productive for his wife, ex-wife?, wife.
He is happy for her, well, Happy is a strong word, maybe the word would be relieved, or something along those lines. He honestly thought his wife's life would be a lackluster one after his imprisonment and the death of their son.
Say his name.
No. breathe in not today either.Breathe out
So relief at seeing his partner of twenty-five years not only standing beautiful and proud but receiving the honour of being Minister of Magic sounds like a good word, even proud would apply.
The picture in The Prophet is exquisite. Her in austere but elegant robes of the finest material, the severe chignon he knew she preferred when trying to look demure and meek, her chin up and posture hard, as if made of granite, receiving the Minister office from a frowning Shacklebolt who looked as if he had a pygmy puff down his throat. Marvelous!. The first Malfoy in generations to be in office, true it was a woman Malfoy, but there were worse things to happen. His great-uncle married a half-blood for Salazar’s sake.
He had to recognize that leaving that pesky detail of her sex aside, that was convenient at least when they got married, She was a fine choice in view of the circumstances. And the way she played them all, from the letters to the editor of The Prophet not long after her trial.The donations and the galas, Always making herself be seen next to the right names in the right conversation, Pictures of her in the societal pages near enough of the mudblood girl to gain popularity but never close enough to be touched by her or risk sharing the same air.
Then the seeds of discontent, how no one noticed he didn’t have a clue, she used every method he’d been employing the last twenty years. she just,what? changed the packaging and the wording? and with great skill too, he could see the pieces of her game from this condemned island in the middle of the sea. The same domino pieces he used to play with making them fall and form patterns as he wanted, a snake, the Malfoy crest, a bald, noseless psychopath with debated immortality, good times, then not so good.
Although pride and relief for Narcissa where a heavy presence in his chest, he wasn’t a fool, he has also read in between the lines, this statements of prosecution, humane death sentences, she was coming for him, he would be the first in line to ensure she kept her promises, the example to set, the first in a long line of executions. If he knew his wife and her sadistic streak,as he knew he did, she wouldn't stop with the Death eaters.
He would consider it sexy if it weren’t for that. Who was he kidding? These photos and her machinations over the papers have been the most stimulating thing in years. His cock twitched in a pavlovian response, everytime they delivered the journal.
“Have you had news from the former Minister?” Lucius asked his solicitor Alfred Pucey
“Nothing since his short visit to you, a couple of months ago” he answered without hiding his judgment over the shortness of the Minister’s visit
“I couldn’t let Mr Shacklebolt get the wrong idea about who was in control over that conversation. That is now his lost”
“You both lost Malfoy”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It was two weeks after that conversation when
“Malfoy, you have visitors”
“Where is the intelligent one?” he deadpanned trying to hide his smirk at the stony faces of the lackluster two thirds of the Golden Trio
“She won’t be coming to see you” The boy-who-won't-drop-dead responded.
“No worries, I’m sure she’ll come for the next visit” he sighed
“What makes you think she’ll visit the likes of you after everything?” asked a very unicolor Weasley, not two minutes into this reunion and he was already the embodiment of a howler.
“What makes me think she’ll be interested in talking with me, Mr Weasley, is that I have no doubts that Ms Granger must have a thousand questions about how this new government came to be and what are the next steps”
“What can you tell us?” asked Potter, ignoring a sputtering Weasley
“Did you know your Godfather was Narcissa’s cousin?”
“EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT!”
“RON!” chided Potter
Lucius starred a Weasley for a second, two… “ They weren’t close in any way, least of all after he was blasted from that hideous tree. The Malfoy family tree is much lovelier, the portraits more accurate to reflect the Malfoy’s beauty and elegance” the boys looked at each other and rolled their eyes “but I digress. After the disappearance of Black, and the other phenomenons that happened during our stint at the DoM, she became obsessed with the subject. I was captured by the Aurors and Narcissa was in house arrest with the Dark Lord, practically a hostage situation, she spent the time when her presence wasn’t required, studying the mysteries of the department. Once I was broken out of here by the Dark Lord she was obsessed with it and didn’t stop talking about it”
“It’s the Veil isn’t it?” a cleared eyed Weasley asked “that’s what she wants to use to replace the dementor’s Kiss”
“She has already worked that out then?” not surprised that the brightest witch of her age had at least brushed against this theory “ I imagine she has many more questions, if Severus and my Son..” not today either “were to be believed about her curious mind. Has she worked out the future steps of Minister Malfoy’s platform? Surely she doesn’t believe that this will stop with death eaters and high risk criminals?”
“I don’t believe Lady Malfoy adheres still to your pureblood agenda” Potter said resting his elbows on the table dividing them “Lady Malfoy has changed, she is cordial and polite to us, has shared ideas and conversations with us and has collected funds for different charities including Magical Creatures and beings, as well as Hogwarts scholarships”
“I’m not asking you what you believe Mr Potter” imitating the posture of the young man “ I’m asking you what she believes”
_____________________________
Of course she doesn’t believe Lady Malfoy has changed , but she doesn’t have proof of the opposite.
Hermione had asked for days off work ever since they set a date for the election, she hadn’t used any of her vacations the last two years and with all the extra hours she pulled weekly they owed her at least an extra month. She kept working on her projects at home, she wasn’t going to stop until she had succeeded with the werewolf legislation, note to self;I’ll need to come up with a catchier title for that. The idea of being off work was to have a flexible schedule to also help Kingsley with this investigation.
She was on edge since the Order’s meeting, no matter how noble, if you can call it that, the campaign to bring justice to the wizarding world was, a threat of a coup was a mayor red flag to say the least, and exactly what the campaign was supposed to be against. Add to that the pamphlets that disappear after an estimated time frame,hiding the evidence of their existence and Hermione impersonated her aunt Lilian with conspiracy theories about the bermuda triangle.
pretty sure is under the fidelius charm, whose jurisdiction is that again ?
Hermione has followed all the bread crumbs and trails meeting only deadends. None of her colleagues or acquaintances had any information, and when she approached them they scattered like nifflers in a vault. I guess they learned how to avoid my inquisitions after two years working with me.
A positive side about the, very false and very incendiary article of Rita over the protests, I wonder if she got my gift, was that people really thought she was pushing for Kingsley’s resignation and got people talking around her more, sadly the resentment and grief that still polluted their society was the only thing people wanted to talk about. If you asked what other proposals were part of the platform no one had an answer.
After azkaban and the trials what else are they proposing ?
Where do they stand with the misplacement of orphans during the war?
The treatment of victims of Werewolves attacks by Greyback the last 15 years?
Housing and employment of squibs?
What about the records, wands and disappearances of muggle-borns under Umbridge’s Muggle-born registration?
A silent Order of The Phoenix stared back at her after her ranting
When the date of the election and the candidates were published she crashed. She never believed Lady Malfoy had changed.