Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I do not own.

For those of you reading my other story "Ignite Your Bones" don't worry, I have that story finished and will be posting the end of the story in the coming weeks.

Tuesday September 19, 2006

A lot had happened to Hermione Granger-Weasley in the eight years that had passed since the final battle. And today, her twenty seventh birthday, seemed to be a great day of reflection on those last eight years.

Shortly after the Final Battle in May of 1998, Hermione and Ron had committed themselves in marriage following the high of emotions after surviving the battle. In any other circumstance, Hermione was sure that she would have drawn out her relationship with Ron for years before actually marrying him. But instead, caught up in the passion the near death experiences had provided, they married only months later. Her reasoning-of course- had been that they already knew each other so well anyway.

Of course the friendship relationship they had shared up until that point could only go so far in preparing the two of them for living together as a married couple. The first year had been a challenge, but after the initial hump they had settled into married life quite nicely. However, he was Ronald Weasley, so there were arguments—rather intense ones—but those were easily resolved with fantastic make up sex.

Because they were Ron and Hermione they had a lot of arguments, and make up sex, which naturally led to Hermione's unplanned pregnancy. However, the two parents couldn't have been happier when Rose Weasley was delivered on May 27, 2002. Everyone delighted over how Rose looked all the time; she was a perfect combination of the two of them. Instead of the startling red of some of the other Weasleys, Rose had dark auburn hair similar to that of her Aunt Ginny's, and was infused with similar body as her mother's.

Hermione and Ron had settled into their roles as parents well. Hermione had been working at a wizarding law firm before her pregnancy, but after Rose's birth had decided to take a few years off to be a stay at home mom. Ron was working for the ministry as an auror at the time, and he brought home enough money for them to live comfortably.

They had been living comfortably, until January of last year when Ron had been killed in an accident on the job. There was no foul play involved, but instead he had been the victim of a rebounded practice curse that had killed him instantly. Hermione could only be thankful that he hadn't suffered.

His death had left an empty hole in Hermione. She mourned not only for the loss of her husband and lover, but for her best friend and the Father of her daughter. Most of 2005 had been spent trying to put her life back together with the help of Harry and Ginny. They had gotten her through the worst of it, with the help of the rest of the Weasley clan and Hermione's parents.

Even after she was past the initial mourning, there was still a hole left in her life. Not just the hole Ron had left behind, but another one. She missed her job, and though she loved her daughter she knew that she was not in a position to not work anymore. However, the law firm she had worked for before Rose's birth had been joined with that of another firm and all of the partners she had worked with had retired save one, who Hermione hoped remembered her.

So that was how she found herself on the morning of her twenty seventh birthday, walking into the office building where the firm was housed, hoping beyond hope that Mr. Larsen remembered her from her days in the old firm before her pregnancy. She had worked with him a few times, but it had been the much older Mr. Horton that had declared her a personal favorite of his. Too bad he was retired.

She needed this job badly. She had been surviving on savings and a job she had taken at a local muggle library since Ron's death, but she and Rose needed a much better income to continue the life they had been living while Ron was still alive.

"Hermione Granger-Weasley, here for the interview." Hermione said to the secretary that sat behind the large mahogany desk.

The secretary looked up at her curiously before glancing back down at the piece of parchment before her.

"Yes, the partners are waiting for you in the conference room. Go down this hall and it's the first door on your right."

With a smile and a thank you, Hermione headed down the hall as the secretary had indicated. The office was rather nice, mahogany dominating the space with beige walls, which gave it a very masculine feel, and that made sense given that she was sure all of the partners and other lawyers in the firm were men. It was a pity she hadn't finished her training, otherwise she would be here for a position as a lawyer instead of the law librarian they were looking for to do research.

Sure enough, upon her entrance into the conference room she was greeted by the visages of three older men, one of which happened to be Mr. Larsen who seemed to recognize her immediately.

"Mrs. Weasley, so sorry to hear about your husband, please sit down." Mr. Larsen greeted with a small smile that was echoed by that of the other two partners. "Gentlemen, Hermione worked at the firm before the merger. Excellent researcher, best one we had; we were sorry to see her go."

"And why, may I ask, did you leave Mrs. Weasley?" One of the other partners asked.

"I wanted to be able to stay at home with my daughter, Rose." Hermione replied honestly after she had taken a seat and smoothed down her black skirt.

"Hermione let me introduce you to these other two. That is Harold Greengrass," Mr. Larsen said gesturing to the man who had asked the last question, "and that is Jacob Wood."

Mr. Wood chuckled at the look of recognition Hermione gave him and confirmed, as his looks suggested that, "Oliver is my son."

"He looks just like you." Hermione smiled.

Mr. Wood nodded his head with a smile, "Tell me, Mrs. Weasley, how old is your daughter now?"

"She turned four in May."

"You've spent every day with her for four years correct?" Mr. Greengrass asked to which Hermione nodded her head, prompting his next question, "Then are you going to be able to come back to work on a full time basis?"

Hermione nodded, "She's at an age where she needs to be socialized and I am ready to cut the motherly strings a tiny bit. My mother in law will be watching her through the day with her cousins, so I have no worries about her being there at all."

"Excellent." Mr. Larsen smiled. "Now, before you left the firm years ago you talked of your interest in finishing your studies to become a lawyer, is that still something you're interested in now?"

"Yes, it is."

"Well, given your references and what we all know about you, we are ready to hire you as our law librarian. However, we are also willing to work with you and your desire to finish your studies."

Hermione couldn't hold back the smile that spread across her face, "That would be great, sir."

"Good. I'm sure you can find a program that can work around your schedule, and we are more than willing to work your hours around such a program because we feel that as a lawyer you would be an excellent resource for this firm." Mr. Wood smiled.

"Now, how do you feel about starting today?" Mr. Larsen asked.

"Well, it is my birthday…"

"Is it? Well Happy Birthday!" Mr. Larsen said.

The other two wished her a Happy Birthday then looked at her expectantly. Initially she had been hoping to enjoy her birthday by going shopping after the interview. But, after all of the excellent things these three had just told her, she couldn't very well turn down a day of work could she?

"Well, what's my first order of business?"

Xxx

Draco Malfoy was not having a good day. The source of his problems could be explained by what had happened to him immediately following the Final Battle. After he and his parents had run away from the battle, they had hid out in the Manor for a few weeks before aurors came knocking at their door. All three were put up on trial, but only Lucius had been sent to Azkaban. His mother had been saved by the testimony of Harry bloody Potter himself and he had been saved by Mr. Greengrass. As his lawyer, Harold, had pleaded that Draco had been a minor when he had taken the dark mark and therefore was not accountable for his crimes. The only thing that saved him for crimes committed after his seventeenth birthday was the testimony of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger who had testified about their time in Malfoy Manor, when he hadn't said a word to his aunt to confirm her suspicions.

After Lucius had been sent to Azkaban on a life sentence, he and his mother settled into their lives as social outcasts. It suited him just fine, the solitude, but his mother had hated it. Fortunately for her, during Draco's trials she had become close to Harold's wife, Beatrice, and before Draco knew it he was engaged to their daughter Astoria. He felt as if he had no choice to consent, given all that Harold had done for him and given how happy the prospect made his mother. So, that was how he found himself married to Astoria Greengrass in 2000.

Their marriage was awkward. Sex was awkward, interaction was awkward, and just living together was awkward. They didn't love each other; they didn't even know each other! Yet, somehow despite the awkwardness Astoria had gotten pregnant and they had welcomed Scorpius August 7 of 2003. After that, they never had sex again. And only a year ago Astoria had taken off for parts unknown, leaving her son behind with her husband. It had taken months to track her down, but when he did he had her sign the divorce papers from the bed she shared with her Italian lover.

Draco didn't care. But he did care about how her decisions affected his son's life. He loved Scorpius and now that he was his sole care taker, he would do anything to protect him. Including protecting him from his mother. His greatest fear was that one day she would come back and try to take Scorpius away from him after years of abandonment. Thankfully, Harold and Beatrice still continued to play a large role in Scorpius' life and had disowned their daughter for her actions. He was sure that if his greatest fear did happen, they would back him up and make sure Astoria never saw Scorpius again.

But being a single Father was not easy. Scorpius had been in an absolutely horrid mood this morning, which had set the bar for Draco's entire day. Somehow he had managed to get Scorpius to his day care, but he had not managed to avoid the oatmeal his three year old had been slinging around, and had arrived at work with oatmeal smeared on the front of his dress robes. And before he could change into the spare he kept in his office, Zabini had seen, damn him.

And speak of the devil; Blaise waltzed into his office with a wide grin on his face, pulling Draco out of his musings.

"I've got news that is going to make your day even better, Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes, "What is it?"

The two of them had worked together for years now. After his marriage to Astoria in 2000, Draco had gone through his studies to become a lawyer and when he finished Harold immediately hired him into the firm. Zabini had been hired only a few months after him and since then they had become pretty good friends. Of course they had known each other from their Hogwarts days in Slytherin house, but they certainly had not been good friends then. Now, somehow, they were.

"You will not believe who our new law librarian is." Blaise chuckled delightedly.

"Just spit it out, Zabini."

"Hermione Granger…well Weasley, but her husband died didn't he? Is it still right to call her Mrs. Weasley then?"

Draco ignored his question and instead focused on what that answer had told him. Hermione bloody Granger was now an employee at the firm? Could his day get any worse at this point?

"She used to work at Larsen's firm before the merger, and it looks like she's going to be training to be a lawyer in the firm here too."

"This day just keeps getting better and better."

"Cheer up Draco," Blaise chuckled, "I haven't told you the best news yet."

"Oh Merlin, I don't even want to know."

"Yes you do." Blaise grinned evilly. "Mrs. Weasley or whatever is the politically correct thing to call her now, is working with you starting today on your research for the Haversham case!"

Today was just not his day.

"Get the hell out of my office right now, Zabini."

"Okay okay." Blaise laughed, and headed for the door.

"By the way, Blaise. Just because her husband is dead doesn't mean she automatically loses his last name. The politically correct thing to call her is whatever she asks you to."

Blaise grinned in reply before leaving his office, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. Draco simply shook his head and returned his attention to the piece of parchment he had been attempting to read before Blaise had barged in with this news.

Draco's mind was still processing the fact that he would be working with Granger. Unbelievable, what would happen next?

He realized that was the wrong thing to think when seconds later there was a hesitant knock at his door. When he got up and opened it, he noticed that Hermione Granger looked just about as thrilled to be working with him as he was her.

"Congratulations on the job." He said as he turned to take his seat back behind his desk.

"Thanks. I didn't realize you worked here."

Draco just nodded as she hesitantly took one of the seats in front of his desk.

"Mr. Larsen told me I would be helping you with your research for the Haversham case. So, whatever you need just let me know and I'll be on my way to the library."

Glad to be on professional issues, Draco eagerly handed her the parchment he had made his research list on. The Haversham case was a case of property dating way back, so the research was going to be extensive. He had to admit; he was thankful the firm had finally hired someone competent enough to do the research for him. The last guy had been a complete idiot. However, from what he remembered of Hermione, he knew that Hogwart's favorite bookworm would get the job done right.

"I realize that list is going to take a few days. Do whatever you can today; I am still working on closing out another case today, so we have time. The court date isn't until mid October."

As Hermione looked over his list, he took the opportunity to look over her. The last time he had seen her up close had been at his trials years ago. Since then he had seen her at a distance in Diagon Alley, but never up close. She had grown into a woman since the trials; her hair, which had been bushy and unmanageable, was now mostly tamed in long loose curls that hung down her back. Today she was wearing a professional black pencil skirt, with a plain white blouse, but her heels caught his attention. He certainly was not expecting for Granger to be wearing black peep toed four inch heels. He imagined her in flats, probably from years of seeing her in her Mary Jane's back at school.

He had to admit though; they made her legs look fantastic. She had grown into an attractive woman, no matter how much it pained him to admit that to himself.

Just as he was about to take an assessment of the assets motherhood had left Granger with, the door to his office burst open and an irate looking nursery school teacher stood glaring down at him holding his three year old son by the hand. A quick glance at his son's guilty expression was enough for Draco to know that he had lost yet another day care for his son.

"Mr. Malfoy, your son is out of control. We have warned you before that if his behavior didn't improve that he was no longer welcomed at Mother Gooses' nursery school."

Draco sighed, "What did he do now?"

The lady matched his sigh, "All of the children experience accidental magic at the day care, Mr. Malfoy. But your son takes it to the next level. It is as if he is deliberately directing his magic at some of his classmates. Today was the final straw, and I'll have to ask that you find another day care for Scorpius."

With that said, the lady released Scorpius' hand and turned on her heel and left. Draco held out a hand to his son and Scorpius immediately ran up to his father. Scorpius looked unsure as to whether or not he was allowed up on his Father's lap at the moment given what had just happened, but Draco decided the matter for him and lifted him up and onto his lap. Wrapping an arm around him, Draco looked down into his son's grey eyes and tried to give him one of the sternest looks he could. While he was angry at Scorpius for yet again getting himself kicked out of a day care, he also was immensely pleased that his son was powerful enough to engage these deliberate magical attacks.

"Scorpius, this is the third time you've been kicked out of day care. How am I supposed to do my work if I don't have someone to watch you during the day?"

Scorpius said nothing and just stared back up at him guiltily.

"Listen, you can't use your magic against other people, Scorpius. It isn't nice. You don't want to be branded a bad boy do you?"

Scorpius shook his head and Draco nodded, "No you don't, and I don't want a bad boy as my son. That's why you're going to hang out here today while I try to find a new day care for you. Somewhere where the teachers and the other kids aren't as mean. That Harrison kid was picking on you, wasn't he?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Alright, that's what I thought." Draco nodded and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and opened a desk drawer to the emergency box of crayons he kept there. Scooting closer to the desk with Scorpius in his lap, he handed his son a crayon and gestured that he color on the parchment for the moment.

"Um…I think I'll head to the library now." Hermione said awkwardly from her position in the chair. She had been privy to the entire drama and had felt awkward the entire time. However, now had been the first chance to escape.

"You have a daughter don't you Granger?" Draco asked curiously as Hermione stood up.

Hermione nodded.

"Where have you put her in for day care?"

"My mother in law babysits all my nieces and nephews as well as a few other kids with the help of some of my sisters in law."

"So, she takes non-Weasleys?"

Hermione laughed out loud at what he was potentially proposing. Was Draco Malfoy, the high and mighty pureblood, that had mocked the Weasleys for years and called them blood traitors actually thinking of entrusting his son willingly into the Weasley's care?

"Are you serious right now?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"Granger, I am desperate right now. Isn't it obvious? There is no one else able to watch Scorpius through the day. My mother is in France and his maternal Grandfather works here with us and his other Grandmother is not capable of handling a high energy boy all day."

Hermione sighed, "Well, I can tell Mrs. Weasley about you, but she will have to decide if she is willing to take your son on and she'll have to contact you."

"Thank you, Granger, really."

Hermione nodded, "Don't thank me yet. Well, I'm off to start research. I'll report back to you at four thirty with what I've found."