Work Text:
As Minister for Magic, Hermione Granger prided herself on her ability to adapt to unique and complicated situations. She grew up at the center of the Second Wizarding War. Where her skills as a witch were tested and pushed the boundaries on everything, she thought she knew about the world.
Even when the whole of Wizarding Britain almost collapsed under the sudden seizure of power and status, Hermione, along with a hand-picked group of fellow students, managed to patch the system back together piece by piece. It took them years to undo the countless decades of damage left behind by Tom Riddle.
Hermione worked her way through the Ministry with a mission.
Her dreams became reality when she ran at the tender age of twenty-seven for the spot as Minister for Magic. Her opponent had been a slick man by the name of Francis Coolidge. A conceited pure blood who believed that despite her spotless reputation and dozens of awards, that a muggleborn woman could not lead their people to prosperity. He’d been shocked when the newly appointed heads of house for the pureblood families had sided with Hermione in overwhelming support. Added that Harry and Ron backed her up without fail had done wonders for her chances of winning.
Now, two years into her career, she couldn’t understand what just happened to her.
Her day started out normal. Meetings, paperwork, and a small bit of down time before she would meet with the new French Liaison. The last one had been thrown out of England after he attempted to corner Hermione and proposition her. She’d threw him out on his ass.
France promised a professional in place of the man they stripped of his position. It took four months before a new liaison was appointed. Hermione was hopeful that this one would be a lot better than the last one. She wasn’t about to go to war with France if she could help it.
Much to her shock and dismay, the new liaison was someone Hermione knew. The one and only, Fleur Delacour. Tri-Wizard tournament participant, renowned Curse Breaker, future leader of the French Clan of Veela, and one of the top duelists in the world. That wasn’t how Hermione knew Fleur. She wished that was it, but a sense of dread pooled in her stomach when those blue eyes pinned her in place, a knowing smirk danced on pink lips.
Two years after the war ended, Hermione took a long vacation where she planned to travel the magical world. She wanted to explore more magic than she’d been shown at Hogwarts. Two months into her trip she ran into Fleur in the middle of the jungles of the Amazon Rainforest. Fleur was there to help some wizards with a particularly brutal bit of magic that had killed one person already. Hermione found her way to that spot when a friend of hers told her about this amazing Curse Breaker who was going to change the face of magic. Interest peaked, Hermione set out to figure out who this mystery person was.
Fleur wasn’t like Hermione remembered her. She was calm, collected, and cautious. Gone was the brash, bold, and loud attitude that annoyed Hermione during the tournament. This was a woman who knew her worth and refused to let others tell her what she could or couldn’t do. Hermione had watched with growing fascination as Fleur spent hours breaking down layers of magical protections. Her focus never wavered, her body showing no signs of fatigue or stress.
Hermione had never seen anything quite as breathtaking as Fleur in her element. When Fleur took a break for the night, she looked startled to find Hermione watching her with a look of awe on her face. She watched the Curse Breaker blush and stammer for a few seconds before she managed to collect herself. Hermione found it endearing. She ended up staying the whole three months it took Fleur to dismantle the magic. Ancient magic that was long forgotten and took special care with breaking it down. Hermione would sit for hours, making notes in her journal while she tried to understand the complexity of what Fleur was accomplishing.
They’d sit through the evening talking about Fleur’s training and experience. They chatted with an ease that Hermione struggled to find in many people. She never felt judged or too much when she rambled about something. Fleur would listen with a patience rarely shown to her.
A few weeks into her stay their time shifted from conversation to a physical relationship. Hermione felt alive in a way that had been denied her from years of war. Fleur was gentle, sweet, and wrapped Hermione in a safety that surprised her.
When the work was completed, Hermione was whisked back to England to work on the damage to the Ministry. They’d lost touch after that much to Hermione’s dismay.
To find out that Fleur was the new French liaison shorted her brain. Fleur looked even more beautiful than Hermione remembered, and she remembered a lot. Hermione was grateful she was taking this meeting alone. It would look horrible if the rest of the Ministry knew that Hermione turned into a puddle around Fleur.
Fleur had been charming and spoke entirely in French because she knew Hermione spoke it as well as any native. It also had the intended effect of making Hermione forget herself. She was always a sucker for the way Fleur sounded in her native tongue. It twisted her up inside almost as much as the sparkle in her eyes.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ginny asked.
Hermione jumped, having not seen her best friend in her office.
“Oh, uh, nothing?” Hermione attempted. It was a bad attempt.
Ginny just shut her office door and crossed her arms. Hermione looked at the closed door and back to Ginny. Her brain unable to understand anything beyond a pair of eyes that haunted her for the last few years.
“I met the new liaison for France,” Hermione mumbled as she walked to her desk. She sat heavily on the edge, eyes locked on her hands.
“Okay? Is it another asshole man? I would have heard the commotion.”
“It’s Fleur.”
A heavy silence fell over them. Tension crackled in the air as Hermione let the words hang there.
“Fleur Delacour?” Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded.
“The woman you’ve been pining over for years since your summer romance?”
She nodded again.
“Is she mad at you?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“I think we are going out tonight on a date,” Hermione mumbled.
“You think?” Ginny’s voice tinged with incredulity. “How do you not know?”
“She talks so fast, I got confused,” she whined. “One moment we are talking about new trade agreements and the next I’m agreeing to a nice dinner date with Fleur. Then she switches back to talking about work.”
Hermione didn’t look up, but she could feel Ginny’s eyes on her.
“I mean, I’m a little disappointed I missed you making a fool of yourself,” Ginny teased. Hermione scoffed but couldn’t deny it. “Are you sure she didn’t just propose to you, and you agreed?”
“At this point, I wouldn’t put it past me to agree to that.”
That seemed to set Ginny off as she doubled over laughing. Hermione couldn’t even feel embarrassed since her cheek still tingled from where Fleur had left a lingering kiss. She was tied up in Fleur even after years of not seeing each other. Hermione had dated over the years but her demanding career and plans to run for Minister had derailed all of them.
“Oh, Hermione,” Ginny said after a while. “Just elope and get it over with.”
“I’m not going to elope.”
“Are you sure about that? Hermione, I’ve never seen you get this twisted up about anybody. The second you hear her name you want to know everything about her. Was the sex that good?”
“It wasn’t just the sex,” Hermione snapped. “She’s brilliant. Merlin, she just understands me in a way no one else does. She doesn’t talk down to me, never gets bored when I ramble, and cares about what I’m saying. Do you know how hard that is to find for me? I’ve tried. I just...life got busy.”
“I’m happy for you,” Ginny told her. “I thought you should have gone after her years ago but seems like you don’t have to. If you do elope, you’re naming your first kid after me.”
“Get out!” Hermione yelled as Ginny left laughing.
Minster of Magic Hermione Granger elopes with French Liaison in a rather bold attempt at repairing relations between Great Britian and France.
In a surprising move, Minister Granger returned to work early Monday morning sporting a new gold wedding ring on her finger. When asked, Minister Granger said she reconnected with an old flame and decided to take a leap of faith. They got married in the late hours of Friday night before disappearing for the weekend.
After a spur of the moment press conference. Minister Granger commented on the rumors about being under the influence of the Imperious Curse at the time of the nuptials. Stated that this kind of thinking was beneath Wizarding kind and she wouldn’t tolerate slander against her wife.
That’s right, Minister Granger has indeed married Fleur Delacour. Mrs. Delacour is known for her skills as one of the top Curse Breakers at Gringotts and has published several books covering Charms to Transfiguration which has shaped the way students learn. She is the heir to the French Veela clan, a top international duelist, and previous Tri-Wizard Champion.
This elopement comes on the heels of deteriorating relations between France and Great Britian as the last liaison was thrown out after an attempted assault on the Minister. The French Minister for Magic released a statement earlier in the day about how pleased he is to see that he made the right choice in sending a liaison who managed to repair the damage between the two countries.
While many might see this as a publicity stunt, many of Minister Granger’s close friends have issued their own statements of support for the newly married couple.
Lord Potter told The Daily Prophet that he couldn’t be happier that Minister Granger and Mrs. Delacour managed to find their way back to each other.
‘She was broken up for a long time about losing contact with her, but she put her need to fix the country over her own happiness. It just goes to show that anything is possible.’
Mr. Ron Weasley released his own statement in a public announcement about how Mrs. Delacour was the best option for his best friend. Someone who would challenge the Minister and we should all be grateful for someone who is going to stand by the Minister when it comes to reform and bringing Wizarding Britain into this new world.
The most telling statement came from Miss Weasley, the best seeker to set foot on a pitch in years.
‘I knew it was coming,’ Miss Weasley begins. ‘Hermione never could hide her feelings. She’s been hung up on Fleur since they met all those years ago. I was about ready to drag one or the other to meet. Turns out, France did the work for me. This just means that I get bragging rights and a godchild named after me.’
With overwhelming support from Minister Granger’s staunchest supporters, we can’t help but wonder what it is about Mrs. Delacour that makes her so important to Minister Granger.
Minister Granger was kind enough to answer that question for us.
‘She understands me,” Minister Granger said with a beaming smile. ‘She gets me in the way we all dream about but never talk about. I got lucky the first time, and I wasn’t about to let another chance slip through my fingers.’
We wish the best of luck to Minister Granger and her wife, Mrs. Delacour.