The Politician's Wife

Chapter 14: Epilogue I will always wonder if he played me that day in his flat. That he knew that if he had tried to cajole me into staying at the Ministry it would tell me that he was more interested in furthering his career than me. If so, it was quite a gamble, but then politics is half smarts and half a roll of the dice, and Draco Malfoy is something of a consummate dice roller. No matter, I suppose.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 13: The Politician's Wife The faint smell of citrus made me look up. He was leaning against the doorframe of my office; his chin too prominent, his cheeks too hollow. Lingering in the doorway, as if uncertain about his reception, my face must have reassured him because he stepped into the room and closed the door. He cast a Silencing Charm for good measure. "It's true then. I'd heard rumors."

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 12: All Fall Down Because my office was temporarily assuming some of his duties while we searched for a suitable replacement, we had to communicate. This was done solely by memo. Which his secretary signed. With a mutual understanding precise as the cut of a sharp knife, I never looked at him in meetings, or chance run-ins at the canteen, or the lift. He followed suit. We talked at each other, not to each other. I did notice he was losing weight. And that when he stepped in the lift, he often smelled of cigarette smoke.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 11: House of Cards It all came crashing down on a glorious summer day in early July.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 10: Your Serve "Ahem," I said in a stern voice and shook my hand in his face. The Borgia heirloom was firmly cemented on my wedding ring finger, and no amount of pulling would dislodge it.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 9: Made of Steel "To my gorgeous, brilliant wife, Hermione," Ron lifted his glass in a toast, so boisterous that half of the contents of the glass slopped over the side. "Who's been watching my back for thirty years."

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 8: Double-edged Sword Despite a horrible night during which I slept a total of about four minutes, tops, the next morning's sunrise and a strong pot of tea restored rational thought.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 7: To the Bone To this day, he denies it. Over the years, I have tried to trick him into admitting that he had cursed himself so that I would be responsible for the presentation. Because it is so his leitmotif. He always stops short of bearing any responsibility for anything with an iota of controversy surrounding it. He moves heaven and Earth, sits back a safe distance to watch worlds collide, and then creeps back in to feast on the spoils. Like a jackal.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 6: Papercut After last week's disastrous lunch--where I saw fit to lash out at Malfoy because I was disgusted with myself--I made a silent vow to be on my best behaviour before I Flooed to his flat. Cool, professional, I wouldn't let him needle me or goad me. We would collaborate like the two senior Ministry colleagues that we were and not bring our personal enmity or private problems into the process.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 5: Knife's Edge He followed suit and soaked my face with his champagne. At which point, Mrs. Chevalier walked in bearing a tray of desserts. She took one look at our bedraggled hair and wet faces, and beamed at us. "L'amour," she said with a fond sigh and left the dessert tray on the desk. "I will leave you two love birds alone," she whispered, her French accent extremely pronounced. She exited the room humming La Vie en Rose.

ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 4: Made Over Chapter Text "I know I'm going to regret this," he sighed. "Malf--?" I didn't even finish his name before he whipped out his wand and hexed me. "Petrificus Totalus!"

* Disclaimer* Hello! Yes, we understand the quality is different. This was originally recorded as a gift for a friend before ETL Echo was even a twinkle in our eyes. We thought people would enjoy it nonetheless! So please be nice! We do this for free and for fun! ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 3: Copy Me "How were your holidays, Granger?" There were so many things wrong with this scenario, I didn't know where to begin. Draco Malfoy was sitting in my office, the office I had warded no fewer than sixteen times, some of the spells dating back to the thirteenth century. Draco Malfoy was not only sitting in my office, but he was sitting at my desk. In my chair. Rifling through my In Box. Rifling through the confidential post in my In Box. A cigarette dangled out of his mouth. He'd already transformed the paperweight into an ashtray, and what had been a fresh pack of Players lay on the desk. He must have been there for some time because several butts littered the ashtray, and I could barely see him through the smoky haze. With one hand I cast a Smoke-Be-Gone Charm, and with the other I picked up the cigarette wrapper and threw it in the dustbin. Which was filled nearly to the top with my discarded post. "Have a lie-in? You are," he looked at his watch, "three minutes late."

* Disclaimer* Hello! Yes, we understand the quality is different. This was originally recorded as a gift for a friend before ETL Echo was even a twinkle in our eyes. We thought people would enjoy it nonetheless! So please be nice! We do this for free and for fun! ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Chapter 2: Don't Mind If I Do One month, three fist fights, six Howlers, and one bitch-slap fest later later: early summer, Hogwarts, 12:30 am.

* Disclaimer* Hello! Yes, we understand the quality is different. This was originally recorded as a gift for a friend before ETL Echo was even a twinkle in our eyes. We thought people would enjoy it nonetheless! So please be nice! We do this for free and for fun! ETL Echo presents The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier. Summary: This story is set twenty-three years after the fall of Voldemort. Our main characters are Ministry employees, middle-aged, and the majority of them not very happy. Chapter 1: Juliet Is the Sun... Granger, I need to speak with you about Jenkins... It took little more than a minute flick of my wand to incinerate that memo. A second one followed on its heels. I sighed. I will never get home tonight. I am more than three floors away from you, and, as sure as I am of my own name, you incinerated my first memo the millisecond you recognized my handwriting. My secretary wrote this, so now I know that you'll have at least read to this point. About Jenkins... I coughed into my hand as the second memo scattered ash around my office.