As it turned out, the end of the battle did not mean the end of trouble. Hermione hadn't dared to hope for such, though, and was unsurprised when it took days to process all the incarcerated Death Eaters and elect new Ministry officials that had not been corrupted during Voldemort's reign. It was no surprise when Kingsley Shacklebolt was announced as Minister of Magic either. As a leader of the Order, he had the votes he needed and the election was so last minute, no one had bothered running against him.

What Hermione had not predicted was how busy she herself would be. She had volunteered to help St. Mungo's with those who had been injured in an attempt to avoid the publicity those who had fought in the actual battle received, but the papers still seemed to hunt her down. She'd taken to apparating wherever she went and using Disillusionment charms whenever she was in public. Draco remained holed up at Grimmauld Place.

Despite Harry, Ron, and Hermione all testifying that Draco had been the one to actually kill Voldemort, the Ministry did not acknowledge him. Neither did they condemn him like his father or aunt, but Hermione didn't think that was enough. The Wizenmagot had agreed to let both Draco and Narcissa go free of punishment because of their aid to the Order, but they did not attempt to sway the public's opinion of them in the slightest. Not even Kingsley, who had at first been very appreciative of Draco and what he had done, commented.

"Mr. Malfoy chose his path with Voldemort first and with the Order second," Kingsley told her when she demanded to know why he hadn't come to Draco's defense.

The papers had posted a nasty article on him and his family the day after Bellatrix had been sentenced to Azkaban and the Kiss and Hermione had stormed into Kingsley's office later that day.

"Without Draco, we would have never won the war," she hissed, glaring fiercely at Kingsley. "Without him, Voldemort could have won and we would all be dead or worse. As Minister, it's your job to make sure the prejudice that started this war doesn't rise up again. How are you going to do that when you won't stand up for Draco?"

"Miss Granger, I understand we fought together in the Order," Kingsley said, giving her a dangerous look of warning. "However, as Minister, I have to make the decisions that benefit the entire country, not just the prejudice against one man."

Hermione fumed and around them, lights began to flicker. Kingsley didn't look worried, however, and that just made Hermione even more upset.

"That's not benefitting the country," she informed him. "That's benefitting your own popularity."

"Whatever it is, I assure you it is not your place to command," Kingsley replied. "I was elected Minister of Magic because Harry Potter and the wizards of Great Britain believe I was the right choice. Your opinion is not enough to change that."

Hermione stood abruptly, her wand held tightly at her side as she glared across the desk at Kingsley Shacklebolt. It had been merely three weeks since the battle at Hogwarts had ended and only one week since Kingsley had been elected Minister. However popular he was now, Hermione knew it would not last if she told Harry just what Shacklebolt adhered to.

"I am one of three people in this world Harry Potter trusts most," she reminded him, her magic tickling her finger tips as she barely kept it from lashing out at Kingsley. "I will not let him follow you blindly. You will strongly discourage and speak out against prejudice of any kind or Harry and I will see you out of office."

Kingsley narrowed his eyes at her but Hermione did not back down. A year ago, she would have never taken advantage of her friendship with Harry like this, but she would not stand aside and let the wizarding world continue to grow their prejudice and let hatred drive them into a third war.

With one last glare at Kingsley, Hermione showed herself out of his office and apparated straight back to Grimmauld Place where she knew she would find Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Draco.

Harry and Ginny jumped as she apparated in the sitting room in front of them. Ginny opened her mouth to say something before thinking better of it and leaving the room instead. As soon as she was gone, Hermione dropped onto the couch where she'd been sitting and glared at the wall behind Harry.

"How's Kingsley?" he asked casually, slinging his arm up on the back of the sofa and turning so he could face her better.

"He's scum," Hermione snapped. Behind her, one of the lamp bulbs shattered and she sighed. "He knows he was only so popular because you were in favour of his appointment as Minister. He'll do whatever he wants because he had the Golden Trio at his election."

Harry frowned. Hermione knew he'd always hated when people took advantage of his popularity in the wizarding world and this was no different.

"What did you tell him?" Harry asked, looking up at her with vague worry etched on his face.

"He has until the end of the week to shape up or he's out," she summarized. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more. "I've already been very public about my dislike toward his policies and clear prejudices, but he's not threatened enough by me alone."

"I have to do something," Harry guessed. Hermione nodded, giving him an apologetic look. "Perhaps I should talk to him."

"He's not willing to listen to talk," Hermione told him. As far as she'd seen with Kingsley so far, he did not feel threatened when talking with someone one on one. "Unless we start showing him what will happen, he won't change."

"Alright," Harry agreed. He shot a grin at someone behind Hermione and she turned to see Draco and Ginny walking into the room. Draco joined Hermione on the couch while Ginny sat on the arm of the sofa behind Harry. "What do you recommend we do then?"

Hermione refused to admit she'd thought long and hard about just how she would force Kingsley's hand, but she had. In some ways, it was not all that different from war strategy or dealing with magical creatures. However, Kingsley was a smart wizard and she knew anything too rash would give him the power to turn the public against them once more.

It started off simple. Harry was already thrown to the public several times a day and rather than avoid their questions like usual, he made a point of answering them and making it very clear where he stood. Ginny even took to commenting every now and then, mentioning how she was so glad they'd elected a Minister who didn't hold prejudice against anyone.

"Not even those who were taken advantage of and manipulated by Voldemort's forces," she had said sweetly. The papers the following day displayed a photo of her and Harry walking through Diagon Alley and both of their comments on Kingsley.

Ron, known for being outspoken and brash, made it look like an accident when he told the reporters he thought Kingsley wasn't as all-good-and-true as they'd thought. He'd fumbled with his words, but the papers had still posted his face on the front page with the headline Is Kingsley Shackelbolt Fooling Us? Ron Weasley Tells All! He hadn't, of course, but Rita Skeeter had done a splendid job of taking Ron's words ("He just doesn't seem to be doing enough for the families torn apart by the war.") and turning them into the venom Hermione had hoped for ("He's abandoned my family and embraced the fame of being Minister.").

Hermione was owled by Kingsley that night, asking if she would meet him in his office the next morning at precisely nine o'clock.

When Hermione arrived at the Ministry, she made a show of walking in through the Diagon Alley entrance and looking worried. She was almost immediately hounded by reporters for the Daily Prophet and a few other wizarding magazines, but she only stopped to answer Rita Skeeter.

"What brings you to the Ministry today, Miss Granger?" Rita asked, stepping in front of her and blocking her way to the door. "You've kept a low profile since the war, but my readers are dying to know what you think of the new wizarding world."

"I'm here to meet with Kingsley Shacklebot," Hermione answered. She made to move around Rita, but her path was blocked once more.

"The Minister?" she asked. Hermione was sure there wasn't anyone else named Kingsley Shacklebolt, but Rita was prattling on before she could answer anyway. "We've heard from both Mr. Weasley and Harry Potter and their thoughts on the new minister. What do you have to say about him?"

Hermione glanced to her left as a camera flashed and Rita's quick notes quill hovered anxiously, just waiting to pen down her answer so Rita could twist her words however she liked.

"I believe if we want to avoid another war, even the Minister has to take care not to form prejudices and sway the public's opinion," Hermione answered. She watched the quill write down every word as she spoke then glanced up at the Ministry looming high above her. "We must ask ourselves if we—like the Death Eaters and those who were manipulated unfairly by Voldemort—are being made to blindly follow a new and powerful leader or if we can trust the unknown individuals we've placed in power."

Without another word, she stepped around Rita Skeeter and walked into the Ministry of Magic to meet with Kingsley Shacklebolt.