The Bad Life

chapter 4

When Hermione had brought the Mack family to Diagon Alley it was four days after the press release. Almost everyone they passed bade some sort of congratulations, though there was open fear emanating from some of the more "light" passersby. When they walked past those people Alex looked up wearily to her future mentor only to recieve a warm smile in return. The whole family had been happy for Hermione, though Mrs. Mack was the happiest because she thought it looked well for her daughter's future.

As they were walking around doing their shopping they ran into a couple professors who Hermione introduced them to. Just after they left Gringott's, Hermione having made the Mack's understand the importance of Alex's money being put into a wizarding vault rather than a muggle bank Mrs. Mack noticed a group of men who were being given a wide berth as well as having people walk by giving a hurried curtsey or bow. "Who are those men over there?" she asked, pointing.

Her eyes following the line of the woman's finger, Hermione's eyes opened a bit more and she quickly pulled down the still pointing hand. "That is The Minister, as well as some of his cabinet. Do not point at Him, ever. When they pass by, Mrs. Mack and Alex, curtsey to Him, and Mr. Mack, bow. Do not look Him in the eyes unless he tells you to. If He deems it fit to stop and talk to us, you must be polite; after all, he is our leader and deserves as well as demands our respect."

The Mack family had read all of the pamphlets that Hermione had left with them, including the one that told muggleborns how to act in front of The Minister should they ever be lucky enough to ever have an audience with Him. While Alex and her father had found the procedures perfectly acceptable considering that they were in accordance to the man who ruled the wizarding world she was to become a part of, Mrs. Mack had scoffed. She thought that it was more than demeaning to have to show any sort of fielty to a man who held her daughter as the lowest citizen in his realm.

"I will bow before no one," Mrs. Mack said in an overly confident voice, causing her daughter's face to turn scarlet with embarassment.

"Not even for the Queen of England? You have much to comprehend about the wizarding world, Mrs. Mack. Besides, I didn't tell you to bow. You will curtsey. Your personal feelings on the matter are of no importance. You will show Him respect. He did not gain nor keep power by looking past those who have disrespected him." Hermione spoke to the woman in a low hiss, for the first time showing a face to the family other than a warm and inviting one.

As the group of men approached Hermione delved into the woman's mind and could see that she was still planning on defying this order for the simple reason that it was an order. Oh, well. Hermione would just have to take things into her own hands.

As the group stopped in front of Hermione and the Macks, keeping her hand at her side, Hermione pointed her fingers at the woman and whispered one word. "Imperio!" Hermione and Alex curtsied prettily and Mr. Mack bowed before the man who they now saw was more reptile than human. When Mrs. Mack did not do so on her own, she heard a voice inside her head telling her to curtsy. The voice was so inviting and everything seemed so warm, that the only thing she could do was comply with the voice and curtsy to The Minister and his comrades.

"Minister," Hermione acknowledged with a bow of the head before she addressed the other men in turn. "Rudolphus, Walden, Severus, Alan, Draco. I would like to present Alex Mack and her parents, Bryan and Elizabeth Mack. Alex will be attending Hogwarts this year. Alex, Mr. and Mrs. Mack, this is The Minister, as well as Mr. Lestrange, Mr. MacNair, Headmaster Snape, Professor Davis and my fiance, Mr. Malfoy." With the exclusion of The Minister, Mr. Mack gave a hearty handshake to each man (who did their best to not look disgusted at touching a muggle)as Alex gave a small curtsy. Mrs. Mack was forced to bow her head in recognition.

Before any pleasantries could be sounded, The Minister stepped forward and took Alex's hand in his own and brought it up to his scaly lips in a surprisingly soft kiss. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mack," He said smoothly. "I hope you will enjoy your time at Hogwarts, it is the best Wizarding school in Europe and if you have any troubles there, feel free to speak to Headmaster Snape or Professor Davis, here. Between the two of them, they can sort anything out." He ended his little impromptu speech with a wink to the young girl, who blushed at the attention and promptly responded.

"Thank you for the advice, Minister, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. Hermione has already offered to help me transition into school and I think I might feel more comfortable speaking to her on any issue, especially since I wouldn't want any other students to think that I'm looking for favors. After all, that's not the way to make friends."

At this The Minister chuckled at the precocious girl thinking how she will definately make a wonderful asset to him once she was trained and learned how to use her powers properly. "I do believe you are right there and I'm glad to hear that Miss Granger is planning on working with you. Now if you don't mind, we shall take our lave as we do have matters to take care of. Have a nice day with your shopping and don't forget to splurge on yourself a little."

"Thank you for your time and attention, Minister and to you all have a wonderful day." With that Alex gave one last small curtsey and watched as the men passed her small group by, Draco squeezing Hermione's hand quickly as he walked away. Hermione led them to the Leaky Cauldron for a bite to eat before they started their shopping, releasing the spell she had on Mrs. Mack as they sat down. She started her chatter almost immediately.

"I distinctly remember wanting to give him a piece of my mind, I have no idea why I didn't." At this point Alex looked at Hermione curiously for just a moment. She had been paying attention to all of the older witches interactions with her mother. She had always been able to get vibes from people and she got the distinct vibe the Hermione did not care for her mother at all. Not that she could blame her. She had the sneaking suspicion that the chestnut haired woman in front of her was responsible for her mother's quietness and if truth be told she was really quite grateful. That could have been embarassing; her mother had yet to understand that this was an entirely different world that she had chosen on her own to enter into and she knew that in the long run, her parents weren't going to play any part in this world, never mind a big part.

"Also, it was incredibly rude for that scaly "minister" to not even address Bryan or myself. Of course it would seem as though Alex is the only one who matters, not he people who gave her life or brought her up, oh no-"

Before she could go any further she was cut off by Hermione. "Mrs. Mack. If you cannot hold your tongue about The Minister I suggest you go home or I will be forced to place a silencing charm on you. I do not appreciate hearing Him insulted in front of me, and quite frankly it isn't something you should do, especially in the middle of a crowded estalishment such as this one, if you intend to keep your health. I do hope that you can learn to hold your tongue as your behaviour is more to be expected of a child rather than a grown adult in a public place."

The low voice Hermione spoke in, as well as the flash of her eyes told the woman all she needed to know to effectively shut her up for the rest of the day, their shopping excursion going well. Her poor family, though, had to hear her go on and on about "Miss Know-it-All, Prissypants Granger" for the next few days. It got to the point where Alex and her father actively avoided her, though they each held a high respect for the young witch as no one had ever had the gall to call Elizabeth Mack out on her bitchy whining before.

Alex had gotten so many different vibes from Hemione, but she felt that she could trust her implicitly, and had started a regular correspondance with her using the plain barn owl her father had purchased her in Diagon Alley. Needless to say, The Minister was quite pleased.