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Tom Riddle stood waiting outside the door the Kingsley Shacklebolt's office wearing his nicest robes and a new pair of shoes as well. His hair
was neat as a pin, and he smelled so nice Hermione had found it quite difficult to let him leave the house at all.
He smiled at the memory now, of telling her he'd dressed for success, to look his best to get the best job, not the best head job, but she'd
grinned and proceeded to give it to him anyway. The thought of her sweet mouth as she'd teased him into submission had him hardening again, and
he willed his thoughts into another direction. The last thing he needed was a raging hard on while he was trying to coerce Kingsley into giving
him a good position within the Ministry.
When the door opened, Tom was quite surprised to see Lucius Malfoy step out along with the Minister. Kingsley seemed surprised as well to see Tom waiting for him there. He looked at the two men to gauge their reaction, and the two schooled their features, pretending they had not yet met.
"Ah, no doubt you must be a Malfoy," said Tom with an amused look.
Lucius raised his brow momentarily, and then relaxed into a smile as he stepped forward. "This may sound sort of strange to say, but you and I are actually friends, of a sort," he answered smoothly. "Well, I hope that we can be friends again, but this time for all the right reasons, if the Minister will allow?"
"That's an excellent idea," Kingsley said. "It gives me an idea, as a matter of fact. I've been of a mind to set up a committee to rehabilitate some of the witches and wizards who were—shall we say, damaged—by the insidious propaganda put out during the war. As you say that you no longer believe in the idea that blood purity is important, Riddle, I believe you'd be the perfect man for the job. I want you and Lucius here to convince the purist hold-outs to get off their high horses and step into modern times. In today's society, there's no room for such antiquated notions, and we welcome witches and wizards from all blood pools. If you two were to deliver that message, it might just stick."
"Wow!" Lucius said, his brow raised. "That's quite a tall order. Many of those people would rather hex us than listen to a word we had to say, Kingsley."
"As to that, you'd have my permission to hex them right back if they tried," Kingsley said. "You are Ministry officials, after all. But I need to be certain that you both mean what you are saying about your change of heart, though. Have you both truly renounced the idea that blood purity is of foremost importance?"
"I'm married to a Muggle," Tom pointed out, his brow raised slightly, as if that alone should be proof enough for the man.
Kingsley cast him a shrewd look, and then burst out laughing. "Yes, you are, aren't you. Can you imagine that, Lucius? The Dark Lord is married to a Muggle."
"I'm not the Dark Lord," Tom grumbled, eying them both. "Let's get that perfectly clear here and now. If I'm going to work with you, you've got to get it straight in your heads that I was never the Dark Lord."
"Yes, Tom, of course you weren't," Lucius placated him. "Though, to be fair, you're just as moody, it seems."
"Thanks," he grumbled.
"But, as I was saying, I want to be certain that you mean what you say about changing your ways, so I intend to include a third member in your party," Kingsley insisted. "Someone who is as adamant about equality as you two once were about exclusivity. And no, Tom, I would not appoint your wife, for she would be easily swayed. The man I have in mind for the job is none other than the hero of the war himself—Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter?" Lucius gasped. "You're going to put us with Harry Potter? That will be a sight to see."
"How so?" Tom asked. "It makes perfectly good sense to me. It's what he fought for, of course Harry would want to see all his dreams become a reality."
"Have you met Potter, then, Tom?" asked Kingsley curiously.
"Yes, of course," Tom said. "He's even been over to my home. He's one of my wife's dearest friends, sir. You didn't think I'd get away with escaping making that acquaintance, did you?"
"No, I suppose not," Kingsley chuckled. "Well then, I shall call him in at once, and we shall seal the deal."
"Ginny, my love, you're not going to believe this," said Harry later that day as he returned home from work. "I've got a new assignment."
"Really, Harry?" she asked as she kissed him on the cheek, trying not to get the flour from her face on his. Her face, hands, and apron were covered in the stuff as she turned back to add chocolate sauce into the concoction she was attempting to create.
"What are you trying to make besides a mess?" he asked with a laugh.
"Cookies, silly."
"The Muggle way?" he inquired with a chuckle.
"Yes, I thought I'd give it a go," she answered as she licked the spoon. "So, what's your assignment?"
"Oh, that!" Harry said, remembering what he'd been about to say. "You're never going to believe it. Kingsley just created a new division, the Rehabilitation of Supremacists Division, and he means to have me, Tom, and Lucius head it up."
"He what?"
"We're supposed to try to convince the buggers of the error in their thought processes, and teach them that in order for witches and wizards to thrive we must be willing to permit the mingling of magical blood with bloods of other sorts," said Harry with an ironic laugh.
"Does he actually believe they'll listen?" Ginny wanted to know.
"He thinks they might with Tom as the spokesman," Harry explained. "I think he's off his rocker, personally, but Tom said he'd give it a go, so I guess I'm in as well. Tom says he's going to point out the fact they both he and I are mixed, and we are the two most powerful wizards of our era. He even said he was going to point out the fact that his Muggle wife may well be more powerful than either one of us. I could just imagine how well that will sit with those high and mighty types!"
"He's likely to get himself hexed but good," Ginny mentioned. "He doesn't have his Death Eaters to back him up anymore."
"No, he doesn't," Harry agreed. "But he does have Lucius and I, and he's still the most powerful wizard of his time. I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to take him on and expect to win the battle."
"Not even you, dear?"
"I won last time over a technicality," Harry admitted. "He was attacking me with my own wand."
"You don't think you would have won, if he'd used his own wand?" Ginny asked.
"Well, it's hard to say, isn't it?" Harry said. "Besides, that was not the same person as this one. This one hasn't learnt all the spells that man knew. I have no idea what this Tom knows yet compared to that one. I don't think I'd want to try to find out, either. The other one killed me, and I don't have the Resurrection stone anymore."
"Good thing he's on your side now," Ginny said, smiling.
"Yeah," Harry answered, smiling back. "Really good thing."
"My Lady," said Narcissa Malfoy as she bowed to Hermione. "I've taken the liberty of arranging a small tea with several of the ladies for tomorrow afternoon, and I wanted to make certain you would be attending. It's a good idea to maintain good relations, for the sake of your Lord and husband, if you wish to keep his followers willing to remain loyal, don't you think?"
Hermione sighed as she turned away from her mirror to look up at the woman. She'd been trying to brush the tangles from her hair, but remained unsuccessful. Narcissa, seeing her dilemma, stepped forward and took the brush from her, attempting to help.
"You don't much care about his followers, I take it?" she inquired.
"I didn't bring him into the future to help him further his obsession with world domination, if that's what you're asking," she answered with a laugh. "Although I do agree with him about the Ministry being outdated, and in need of some serious change. But, you must understand, I was born Muggle, and have less of an idea about the rest of the Wizarding World and its entire body of government. Is the entire thing just as corrupt, or not?"
"Oh yes, my dear," Narcissa said. "The Ministry is by far the best of the breed, as far as the governments go. The rest of Europe is far worse. Of course, there is no real Wizarding government in America to speak of, it is still governed by the Ministry as well, never broke free when the colonies broke free of British rule, you see. So if he were to overthrow here, your husband would have gained that whole half of the world as well, and have to contend only with the four other governments of this region, which, I'm sorry to say, are a formidable force."
"Do you think those other governments would attack us if the Ministry were overthrown?"
"Undoubtedly, my dear," Narcissa told her. "It's only the strength of the Ministry itself that has kept them at bay this long. That, and the treaties between them."
"Treaties which would not exist between them and any new governing body," Hermione said, sighing. "I hope Tom has thought of these things."
"I'm sure he has, my dear," Narcissa said. "The old Lord often had dealings with ambassadors from the other governments before. It would, however, be a good idea for this young man to do the same if he intends to win them over at some point."
"I'll have to let him know about that," Hermione commented. "Thanks, Narcissa. I don't think my hair's ever looked that nice before."
"Don't mention it, my dear," Narcissa said. "I always like to be of help."
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