On a typical Thursday, Draco Malfoy would wake up at eight am, do a quick work out, then shower. He would get dressed, eat breakfast, read the newspaper, and go to work. On a typical Thursday, Draco would go to the ministry and help the Light track down the his former brethren. On a typical Thursday, Draco Malfoy did not hate the world.
It was not a typical Thursday.
"Blaise, I am seriously not in the mood for this shit," he muttered, keeping his eyes on his paper work.
"Well it's a dark day when Draco Malfoy can't control his ire with a well placed, if inappropriate, invective," Zabini responded, seating himself at Draco's desk and lifting his feet to rest on it. Draco raised an eyebrow in answer and kept at his work. "Alright, alright, what's got your knickers in a twist?"
"You seriously haven't heard?"
Blaise crinkled his brow and jerked his head in confusion. "Heard what? That you've gone postal? Yes, I did get that memo. Theo sent me down here to make sure you didn't let any killing curses fly. You know, just in case you were inspired to recreate the good ol' days."
"Starting Monday, I will be Granger's replacement partner," Draco growled in frustration.
Blaise snorted in amusement. "That's good. Now seriously, what's wrong?" Draco gave him a look that told Blaise he wasn't being sarcastic. "You've got to be joking. We're thinking the same Granger here, right? Because you two will murder each other within approximately thirty seconds."
"Yeah... Remember what happened last time?"
"Fucking explosive, that was. And I didn't even know she was back from Australia. She should have told me," Blaise mused.
Draco rolled his eyes. After the war, Blaise had easily assimilated with the Light. His family, though Pureblood and proud of it, had little notoriety, thus making his transition relatively painless. Draco, on the other hand, not only struggled with his own prejudices and infamous heritage, but was deeply distrusted and treated with nothing but contempt for years despite his strong work ethic and talent for tracking down Dark wizards. It had only been in recent months that members of the Light had become accustomed to his presence, though those who knew him better, those who went to Hogwarts with him, were significantly less forgiving.
"I still find your... friendship with her to be unnatural."
"She's smart," Blaise shrugged, his tone carefully diplomatic. Draco made a non-committal noise and continued to read his documents. "What the hell are you working on?"
Draco looked up, blinking as if a bright light had just blinded him. "What are you working on? How do you even have time to be up here?"
"Mate, not all of us are workaholics. You could stand to take a break."
"I'm trying to track down dangerous murderers, Blaise. Not exactly the kind of job you want me to take a break on." Blaise leaned his head to the side in thought before conceding Draco's point. He picked up a closed snitch lying on Draco's desk and played with it, tossing it, letting it roll through his fingers.
"I know you're important and all, mate, but you're running yourself ragged. Hire a fucking assistant and call it a day."
Draco sighed. "I'm a Malfoy. We don't-"
His office door burst open and a woman tripped gracefully inside. It took Draco a moment to register that it was Hermione Granger who had just violated all rules of decorum and rudely barged in without so much as a knock.
"You!" she seethed.
Draco, though completely taken aback, recovered quickly. "Me," he replied arrogantly.
"Did you do this? Is this some revenge for something I did years ago? Because there is no other way a sane person in this Ministry would pair us together," she raged, her eyes blazing hot with fury.
"Oddly enough, I value both my sanity and auditory functions. So no, I didn't request for you to be my partner." Draco managed to keep his voice amazingly calm, despite the shock the sight of her caused. It wasn't her merely being bold enough to thrust her way into his presence and accuse him of treachery. No, it was this... this new Granger. She was wearing a dress far more feminine than anything he had seen her don in years, and it revealed a womanly softness that he hadn't known she possessed. The electric blue of it contrasted prettily with her olive tanned skin. Her hair, once bushy, had been tamed into wonderfully wild curls and the angry blush staining her cheeks made her eyes look like they were on fire. Australia had done the muggle-born good.
Draco tore his eyes away from her and glanced at Blaise, who was eying him with some amusement. The sodding bastard, Draco thought when he realized Blaise had known Granger was back all along. He had come down in anticipation of the woman's outburst and waited to witness the exchange between her and the young Malfoy. Blaise's affable front often led Draco to forget that he was more calculating than he was given credit for.
"Wonderful," she spouted sarcastically. "I'm fixing this," she vowed passionately. "We won't have to work together. If we're lucky, we'll never have to see each other again."
"Don't get my hopes up," Draco grumbled, throwing his quill down on the desk and leaning back in his chair.
"And Blaise, you foul git," Granger continued as though Draco hadn't spoken, her voice containing warm fondness through the insult, "Ginny's looking for you. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off because she can't find you. Something about a Quidditch thingamawhutsit."
Draco winced and Blaise sighed. "Your insight into the noble sport of Quidditch is moving, Hermione. Please, next time you have an interview, do bring up your knowledgeable terminology."
Granger slapped him lightly on the arm and Blaise chuckled good-naturedly. "Later, Draco." The She-Gryff gave Draco a pointed look before closing the door behind her. Draco let a heavy exhale whoosh out of him and pressed his fingers over the bridge of his nose to stifle a growing headache. This was not a typical Thursday.
0.o.0.o.0
"Hermione, you could at least try to get along with him," Blaise suggested lightly.
Hemione rolled her eyes. "Blaise, I'll accept that he's not the evil little git he was when we were in school. That doesn't change the fact that's he's still a self-righteous ferret. That doesn't change the fact that he'll be replacing a damn good partner. How the hell am I supposed to adjust to a change like that?"
"You're over-exaggerating Draco's antagonistic qualities. And don't bring your last partner into this, it's not fair to him."
Hermione stopped and looked at Blaise carefully. "What's it to you how we get along, anyway?"
Blaise sighed. "Just because I was a Slytherin doesn't mean I always have an angle, love. I think your lives would be better if you at least tried to be decent to each other."
Hermione snorted delicately. "Admit it. You just don't want to have to listen to us complain about each other," she teased.
"Yes, that would be an excellent bonus."
Hermione continued to walk to Harry's office, dusting her dress off lightly. "Well, it's not going to matter in any case. Harry's going to fix it."
"Ah, and all my conciliatory efforts will be for naught, yes?" he said tragically.
"Blaise your talent for dramatics is wonderful," she chuckled as she opened the office door.
Harry Potter looked up from his paper work and grinned at his long-time friend and Blaise Zabini. Initially, he hadn't trusted Blaise, but after years of Ginny working closely with him and Hermione testifying to his goodness, Harry had overcome his House prejudices.
"What's going on, guys?"
"Did you know that I was partnered with Malfoy?" Hermione stormed.
Harry sighed before remembering something. "Blaise, d'you know that Ginny is looking for you? She says that-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Blaise said before waving a quick farewell to them both.
Hermione turned back to Harry and sank into the chair across from him. "I can't be his partner, Harry. Don't make me. I'm begging you."
Harry looked at her pityingly. She'd had a rough year already, and he hated burdening her with this. "Listen, there's no one else to do this. He's the only one that's qualified that's been working on similar things. He's good at his job. It's only temporary."
"Don't you think it might be more dangerous to pair us together than it would be for us to work alone?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at her. She of all people, he thought, would be able to handle working with the blonde-haired git. "I seriously doubt he'll do you physical harm, Hermione." Malfoy had been a model citizen since the war. He kept his hands clean, was even considered a hero by some for all the former Death Eaters and Voldemort copycats he'd chucked into Azkaban.
"We'll murder each other," Hermione vowed vehemently.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, I really am, but I've already talked to Kingsley. There's nothing we can do."
Hermione looked crestfallen and Harry felt guilt splash over him. He really didn't want her to have to be paired with Malfoy. The bloke was a prejudiced twat, and Hermione just so happened to be the object of his hate. "Just give it a try," Harry said gently. "If he mistreats you, you'll have a legitimate claim against him and we can go through the steps to have you two separated. Until then, there's nothing we can do."
Hermione nodded, stood up, and made to get out of the office. "Hey, Ginny wants to know if you'll come over for dinner. She doesn't like this solitary thing you've been doing since... well, since that. Ron and I don't like it either, for that matter."
She sighed. Since that, she had been avoiding her friends all together. She wasn't sure how to interact with them anymore. She wasn't the same person. So she fled to Australia where her parents lived and spent a year there. Oddly, Blaise had been the only one she kept in close contact with. Hermione wondered if maybe that was because they weren't that close before... that.
It hurt Hermione that she couldn't be around the people she loved. She was sure it hurt them, too. Ron had reacted especially negatively and had even tried to bring her home, but she couldn't bring herself to return to England. She knew she had to make her peace. She still hadn't made her peace, but when Blaise told her that the killer had resurfaced from the underground, she gathered her things and resumed her position at the Ministry.
"I'll be there. So long as Teddy is. I haven't seen that boy in too long."
Harry beamed at that. His affection for his godson rivaled the love he had for his girlfriend, though Ginny didn't seem to mind. "He's getting so big, Hermione. He's starting to look more like Remus, too, except when he turns his hair green."
Hermione laughed at that. "Tonks would be proud." Hermione's chest ached at the thought of her lost friends. It was five years after Voldemort's demise, and the world was still riddled with the wounds of the monster's tyranny. She couldn't help but think, Will this never end?