The Bad Life

Chapter 1

"Oh....oh...oh....OH DRACO!!!!" Hermione's gasps turned into a low gutteral moan as she came under his ministrations. He slumped down onto her as he spilled his seed into her depths for the third time that morning. When he rolled off of her she turned to him with the intention of snuggling her head into his chest. That is, until she got a glimpse of the clock on the far wall.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit," she mumbled over and over as she scrambled out of the bed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, leaning up onto his elbow as he watched her quickly scourigify herself and throw on muggle clothing.

"I have a meeting in ten minutes, Draco!" she answered exasperatedly, looking in the mirror as she straightened out the hunter green blazer she had just put on over the silver turtleneck tank she had pulled over her head. The blazer was a part of a suit; the tailoring of which complemented her body perfectly. She pinned her hair into a messy bun, it still looked professional but was not too severe, before applying mascara and a small amount of lipstick.

When she turned around she saw that he was giving her a sly smile that plainly invited her to skip the meeting and stay with him in bed. She leaned down to quickly kiss his lips. When he tried to pull her down, she backed up. "Draco, you know that The Minister wouldn't be very happy with me if I were late." He sighed and leaned back into the bed looking resigned.

She disapparated to an inconspicuous spot in a well cared for area of Bolton. She briskly walked down the street, her strappy silver heels clicking on the sidewalk until she reached house number seventeen. She walked up to the door and knocked on it at precisely twelve-thirty.

When the door opened to a couple in their mid-thirties she held out her hand. "Mr. Mack, Mrs. Mack, I'm Hermione Granger. Very nice to meet you."

The woman looked slightly taken aback as she held the door open, inviting Hermione in. They led her into a beautifully understated yet rich looking sitting room where they offered her some tea as the group sat down. "So, you are here to talk to us about this letter that was sent to our daughter?" Mrs. Mack asked, getting straight to the point.

"Yes. Alex, being born a witch, has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But since she is born from non-magic parents such as yourselves, or as we say, muggles, you must all be aware of the laws governing our society concerning muggleborns. After we go over everything, Alex will have a week to decide whether she wants to take her place in the wizarding world or if she would rather live in the muggle world, having had her powers stripped."

"You make it sound as though she would be a second class citizen when you say that there are laws about her."

"Well, really that's for you to decide as a family after I tell you what the laws are. Where is Alex, by the way? She needs to hear this from me rather than yourselves so that I can be sure all of the information she recieves is unbiased."

"What are you insinuating, Miss Granger! I should have known from the looks of you that you would have no respect, sending a teenager to do a grown-ups job! If that's what your world as you so put it thinks is appropriate then I'm not sure I want my daughter to be a part of it!" Mrs. Mack jumped off the couch as she went on her little tirade.

When she was finished her husband pulled her back her back onto the sofa, giving Hermione an apologetinc smile. "I'm sorry for my wife's outburst (here he put his hand on her thigh as he could see that she was going to say something about him apologizing). It's just that this whole concept is new to us. We had always thought that magic was a fairy tale."

"It's perfectly fine, Mr. Mack. I'm used to these kind of reactions, but I'm just doing my job." She glanced to his wife as she continued. "And I am twenty three, by the way. Now, where is that daughter of yours?"

"She is upstairs in her room. My wife will go and get her for you." With that Mrs. Mack gave her husband a 'we'll talk about this later' look as she stood up and left the room. Once she was gone he turned back to his guest.

When he started to talk, Hermione held up her hand to silence him (non-magically, just a gesture). "Mr. Mack, everything I have left to tell you has to be said in the presence of your daughter."

He shook his head in understanding though he was becoming more worried by the minute. When his wife re-entered the room it was with their eleven year old daughter, a lean girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. "Alex, this is Miss Granger," she introduced the two as they sat down.

"Feel free to call me Hermione, Alex," the witch said as she smiled warmly to the girl.

"So, I'm really a witch?" the girl asked with excitement in her voice.

"Yes, you are, Alex. More importantly, you are a witch born to poeople who can't do magic. I'm here to help you get used to the idea, as well as to tell you about how the wizarding world works." Her voice was gentle as she continued to smile at the child.

"What do you mean, how the wizarding world works?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well, we live by what is known as a caste system, do you know what that is?" When the girl paled and nodded Hermione continued, sensing that this girl was smart enough to tell her plainly how everything works rather than dumb it down like she often had to do. If she chose to stay she would probably be Ravenclaw. "Our system works by blood. The top level of the caste is purebloods, or people who have only been born of soley magical families for at least five hundred years. In the middle are half bloods, whose parentage is mixed between pureblood and muggleborn and at the bottom are muggleborns, which is what we are."

"We?"

"Yes, I'm also muggleborn. As we are at the bottom of the system, there are more laws surrounding some of what we can and cannot do. I am the highest ranking official at the Ministry of Magic, and believe me I definately earned it. While if you are ambitious, the Ministry may not be the place for you, there's still a lot of options available."

"If you're the highest ranking, what did you say, muggleborn, then what is your position?" asked Alex.

"I am the head of the Muggle and Mudblood Liason Office."

"So you have people working underneath you?"

"Yes," Hermione answered slowly, wondering where this was going.

"Then why are you here and not one of them?"

"Because I like my job but I only get to come and see Hogwart's students rarely and I was missing it." The girl looked to believe the answer which was true, but only a half truth. Alex had a large amount of power, and The Minister wanted her to grow into her gifts so he could use them to his advantage.

"Okay, what are the other laws?"

"Well, the ones that would impact you the most would be the marraige laws-"

"Marraige laws? They say who can marry who?" The girl sounded slightly outraged and her parents didn't look to pleased either.

"Yes. But its really not that bad. Purebloods, while encouraged to marry other purebloods, can also marry halfbloods. Halfbloods can also marry muggleborns, but muggleborns cannot marry purebloods. The only exception to these rules would be if The Minister himself were to ordain the ceremony and give his blessing."

"How often has that happened?"

"Never, but it still doesn't leave out the possibility."

"And who is this 'minister'?" asked Mr. Mack jutting into the conversation for the first time since his daughter had arrived.

"The Minister is the man who is in charge of the wizarding world. He runs the Ministry, among other things."

"And what is this minister's name?"

"We do not speak his name. Some because they are afraid of him, but personally I just think that it is highly disrespectful. He is known only as The Minister."

"And this minister is in charge of everything?"

"In effect. The last thing that is necessary for you know before you make your choice is this. When you come of age at seventeen, you will swear fielty to the Minister in a bnding ceremony so that you will always be faithful to him and his will. Now, don't look at me like that, its nothing sexual. It's really just a recognition of him being superior and its really not a big deal."

"If its no big deal then why is it necessary?" Mrs. Mack asked coldly. The more and more she learned, the less she liked the idea of sending her daughter into this world.

"Because The Minister values loyalty and it is nothing more than a confession of loyalty. But there are many more positive things about the wizarding world than negatives. We tend to live longer, healthier lives (when not cursed) than muggles, for one. And if my assumption is right, and your daughter is a rather studious person like myself, there are so many subjects to learn and move into."

"Really, like what?" The tone of the girl's voice told Hermione that she had chosen the right route to get the girl to want to see a better side of things.

"Well, there's arithmancy, ancient runes, curse-breaking, and many others. There is always something new to learn and experience if you want to. And if you want to live a nice life with just your family then that is also a good way to go. Really, there's nothing like being a witch." She sighed with contentment, hoping that it would help the picture she was trying to paint.

She glanced over at the clock on the mantle. "I must be going in a couple of minutes. I will be back in a week to hear your decision of whether to become a part of the wizarding world or stay in the muggle one."

"And if I choose to stay?"

"Then I will have to strip you of your power. It doesn't hurt, it's just not something I like to do. It always saddens me to see that be the choice made, but it's not my choice to make." Really the part she didn't like about it is the part where she has to kill the child and obliviate their parents. Well, more the killing of innocent little children. But she didn't get to be the most powerful muggleborn by chance.

She stood up, her host doing the same as they walked her to the door. Just before they opened it, though, she apparated away to her office in the Ministry.