House: Ravenclaw

Category: Themed

Prompt: "I have half a mind to puke right now,"

W/C: 4,970 (Docs); 4,963 (Word)

Notes: This is a very AU Post-Hogwarts fic, but I hope you like it anyway.

Read & Enjoy

Pushing her fingers through her hair, Hermione tries to avoid looking at the clock inside the sandwich shop. Since becoming the lead prosecuting attorney at the Ministry of Magic two years ago, things have really changed for her. Not only did her relationship with Ron fizzle out after she accepted her promotion, but all of her friendships became strained. Now? Hermione lives for her work.

She glances at the clock. It is half past three. He's thirty minutes late. Hermione kicks at a rock and rolls her eyes. She'll give him five more minutes. Him, of course, being Draco Malfoy…

Working at the Ministry has forged a strange companionship between them. What with his Death Eater past, everyone in her office refuses to work with him directly. Having seen Draco's change in heart after the war, Hermione has never been hesitant to work with him because she knows that he isn't really the boy his parents raised. Draco became a mostly decent sort of man that can be trusted. He's her professional witness for anything related to alchemy or magical artifacts. It didn't take him long to be renowned for his studies and in the trading business. In fact, she keeps him on retainer for all of her cases; she needs him.

Hermione remembers the case that brought Draco to her – the murder of a woman in Knockturn Alley over a deal gone terribly wrong. Draco had actually been in the area at the time, familiar with the object that killed her, and believed he knew how to pin the murder on the suspect that had been retained. He begged the Minister to be put in contact with the attorney on the case. Willing and qualified, Hermione eagerly accepted his offer. She had found a companion in him by the end the case; a very unlikely companion indeed.

Hermione didn't used to wait for him. Even last year, she wouldn't have waited long. She can't explain why she's so patient with him now, as he shows up late nearly all the time. Somehow he forgets their schedule, even though they meet for business and tea every Tuesday and Thursday, but she prefers not to dwell on it too much. Thinking about it makes her want to puke, usually.

When she gets this way, Hermione paces. The case she's showing Draco is extremely important. Not only because it's a high profile case, but also because she feels sick to her stomach at the possibility that she can't win it.

"Hermione!" Draco's shouts unexpectedly from around the corner. Hermione stops in her tracks and points at him with a forced snarl. Whipping her arm at the door, she hopes that he knows that she's not impressed with his tardiness.

Draco holds the door open, buys their drinks, and pulls out her chair. All the while, he's apologizing for this and that. His excuse is reasonable – putting the finishing touches on Padma Patil's case from a few weeks back - and Hermione cannot help but forgive him straight away. Though, she slams his file folder onto the table. "You realize that this is a meeting – for work – right?"

Draco frowns, offering the file folder for Padma's case. While he looks at the details in his new case, Hermione reviews the details of his old one. The victim was killed with a hand mirror and Padma needed someone that could confidently find the mysterious alchemic properties contained within it. She'd contacted a few of her preferred regulars but none of them could theorize a possibility beyond what she'd already concluded on her own. From what Hermione can see in Draco's notes, he was able to identify not only what had been done to the mirror, but exactly how it was masked as well. Hermione smiles. Padma will be pleased.

"I assume that you need proof that this potion was brewed intentionally," Draco asks and clarifies in the same breath, not even looking up from the paper. In an attempt to force herself to calm down and stop stressing herself sick over the case, she watches the people passing by through the shop window. Hermione affirms for Draco that, yes, she does want him to prove that the brew was intentional to build her case for the murder charges against Ashley Martin.

Draco closes the file moments later. "Hermione, we both know that this is too circumstantial with the evidence available."

Without missing a beat, "What would I need to prove it?"

Consideration flickers in Draco's eyes, and she has come to know that this is different from the look on his face when he's thinking. Usually, when he's thinking, Hermione can follow his train of thought, beginning to end, which she knows is unnatural just for a professional working relationship, but it's made her a better attorney because of it. Draco closes his eyes and drops his chin. "Uh, well, you'd have to find an inconsistency in the testimony, as a worst case scenario, or something from the scene of the crime that is deadly and undetectable."

Hermione furrows her brows before flattening her expression, so that Draco doesn't detect her flare of emotion. This case is the most important one of her career, and maybe her entire life. She owes it to herself, to Viktor, to get a guilty conviction. "Any ideas what I should try to look for? Anything that would raise a brow at the checkout?"
He lists a ton of magical items that would be impossible to detect, or some that would be too similar in their properties to differentiate conclusively from deadly poisons and plants.

"For example, this strain of petal is too similar to that of Hemlock to actually tell the difference, even with the tests we have available to us right now. You could use that theoretically…"

"But it won't work," they say together.

Draco's lips flicker into a smirk that dies away almost immediately. Hermione nods at him, a comfort squeezing around her heart. When Ron left her, things were really hard, even though it was the right choice. Their relationship had been fine, at least to most people from the outside, but for however hard they loved – they fought twice as badly when nobody was around. Their passions were misplaced, and soon, Hermione's desire to move up at the Ministry became the bane of everything Ron wanted out of his life. In the end, they had to go different ways.

Around the same time they broke up, Draco's found himself alone too. Astoria Greengrass, whom had been his fiancée at the time, passed away earlier than anyone could've anticipated. Wanting to forget the pain, he delved even deeper into his passion for alchemy and dark magic. It is only because of how often he helps the Ministry's Magical Law Department that he's not a monitored threat in the eyes of the Auror's office.

"Tell me the truth, Hermione," Draco says in a flat tone. "Is this Krum's case?"

Unwilling to reply, she looks down at her folded hands. It is Viktor Krum's case. Kingsley gave her the opportunity to turn it down, considering her past with him, but Hermione couldn't say 'no' to the opportunity to return something to him.

She can't explain it exactly, not even to herself, but she remembers so clearly how he made her feel when she met him during the Triwizard Tournament. At the time, she was crushing on boys she shouldn't like, helping undeserving people with their homework, and stressing out about a dance that she didn't actually want to attend. Then Viktor had swept in and made her feel special, he made her feel important. She had written it all off as some physical attraction between them, an unexplainable allure, but now she knows better. There's no mistaking it now. Viktor Krum had made her feel loved.

And now he's dead.

It took Viktor years, actual years, to find someone else. He hadn't dated anyone after her, and this Ashley Martin woman was the first person to win him over. Supposedly, she came over from America to write a piece on British quidditch stars, and interviewed Viktor first. They got on so well that they went out for drinks, and the rest was pretty well history. If their friends and family's character accounts were anything to truth, they were set to marry soon.

"I can't believe that the Minister is letting you work on this," Draco grunts. He didn't want her to take it, and he had vocalized as much to her the day that the news broke about Viktor's death being investigated as a possible murder. Draco insisted that there was a conflict of interest. Hermione dated Viktor seriously for a period of time when she was a teenager and they had remained close; there was 'no way' she could remain impartial. In spite of this being true, Hermione had convinced Kingsley that there was nobody better fit than she. "How do you plan to argue this in court, Hermione?"

Sighing, Draco reaches his hands across the table. He stares her down with a look that reminds her of their first year at Hogwarts. Every single time she scored higher marks than him in anything, especially Potions, he watched her with frustrated curiosity. Hermione waits for him to continue, but he doesn't speak.

Clearly finished with the meeting, Hermione stands abruptly. Draco has told her all she needs to know, and this is the only case she'd worked on today. Statements taken, evidence reviewed, and the Wizengamot ready to hear arguments from the representatives – time is running out. If she can't find evidence to prove Ashley Martin is guilty, then she can't repay Viktor for making her realize that she was worth being loved.

"I plan to win this case by keeping a level head and good evidence, Draco, how else would I do it?" she chokes, barely able to remain calm and composed. He can't possibly understand, can he? He doesn't know what it's like to lose someone who chose her even when she had chosen Ron. Hermione remembers dancing with Viktor at the Yule Ball and again at Bill and Fleur's wedding. He always gave Hermione and Ron good seats to his matches, buying them romantic dinners and free memorabilia from his team. When he did finally choose someone else, it ended badly. "I really should get going, so, enjoy the rest of your day."

Hermione rushes out of the shop, tea still untouched on the table, and reminds her that she needs to go home and rest. She can't work well if she's sleep deprived and angry. She leaves in such a rush that she doesn't notice Draco behind her, and is shocked when he grabs her wrist before she can apparate home to her rented cottage in Godric's Hollow.

"Hermione," he breathes, "I was thinking - when this trial is over…"

"Yes?" she asks, filling the momentary pause.

Draco smiles softly. Years ago, the idea of interacting with this snobby Slytherin seemed more like a practical joke than any version of reality she would face some day. Hermione can't believe what a great man he's become and it pulls at her heart in a way she can't explain. Sometimes she considers whether they are just professional colleagues or it maybe - just maybe - they might be friends. Much to her surprise, Hermione doesn't hate the idea of being friends with Draco Malfoy.

"I've been meaning to ask for a while, but I was hoping we could grab a drink sometime - without needing to work through it."

Stunned, her jaw drops open but says nothing. Only a moment ago she was thinking of them as friends. Did she miss signs that Draco's feelings were more romantic than hers? Thinking it through gives her a headache. Hermione's priority is to get through Viktor's trial. Finding closure by putting Ashley Martin in Azkaban is her only priority. Uneasy but wanting some clarity, Hermione asks him for something more specific. "Did you mean as a date or…?"

Draco nods.

So she wasn't wrong. "I haven't even thought about dating, not since Ron – and you've lost Astoria – so it's just – you know? I'll keep in touch for work, okay?" She backs as far away from Draco as she can before putting a hand to her face and quickly disappearing.

Once securely in her home, a thought crosses her mind: what about when the trial ends? Hermione suddenly isn't sure about her own feelings, wondering if there could be something more, and not being sure in any capacity is confusing.

Last Wednesday, Hermione sent an investigator to search Viktor's personal residence again.

Last Thursday, Hermione requested Draco assess new evidence from the scene.

Last Friday, Hermione filed a request to admit new evidence.

Finding new evidence so close to the hearing is tricky. The Wizengamot rarely accepts evidence to begin with, and to request the admission of new evidence that was obtained without fair disclosure to the opposing party? Hermione is pushing her limits. She's thought about it nonstop since then.

Nobody would've thought that the trash can in the kitchen was worth searching, especially since it appeared to just be some napkins and scrap papers with nothing notable on them. Nobody considered it to be evidence. Hermione had insisted, though, and it is paying off – exponentially.

The defense attorney, Cormac McLaggen of all people, had begun pitching a fit immediately. That's why she's in the Minister's private lobby, pacing the room nervously. McLaggen's opinion is that the evidence should be inadmissible because the investigation hadn't been disclosed, and his argument is sound – at least without context. Hermione isn't arrogant enough to believe that she hasn't done something questionable by pursuing evidence without approval. However, what she's found could possibly change the outcome of this case.

Cormac superseded the Chief Wizard on the Wizengamot selected to hear the arguments by going directly to Kingsley Shacklebolt, and she secretly hopes that it works in her favor. Not only has she worked with the Minister when moving Harry when he turned seventeen, but she's friendly with him outside of her present work too. The result of his decision, though, has been a private meeting between the Minister and their respective professionals scheduled to testify: Draco Malfoy, hers, and Spencer Whiddon, his.

"Can you believe this trash," McLaggen asks, clearly referencing the Daily Prophet that he's reading. Hermione almost walks over to see what he's talking about but thinks better of it. This case matters to her, more than any other case she has worked on.
Viktor Krum mattered to her.

Unlike Cormac McLaggen, who is just a stain in her past. When Hermione had dated him, it had been nothing like dating Viktor Krum. Where Viktor would ask Hermione questions about who she was and what she liked, and what her aspirations were for her ideal future, Cormac would brag about his past accomplishments. While Hermione kept in close contact with Viktor for years, she stamped out any possibility that Cormac would reach out to her for any reason. Viktor was a gentleman in every way, whereas Cormac McLaggen was the definition of a wolf in sheep's clothing, selfish and entitled beyond measure.

"I would prefer if you just kept quiet," Hermione replies, a few minutes late, but at least she says something.

"Hermione," Cormac lowers his voice, hiding his laugh. Even though she's far more experienced in the ways of Wizengamot trials, his arrogance blinds him to her capability. It is almost as if his being turned down by the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement only exacerbated his worst traits. Before he finishes his thought, she rolls her eyes. It's meant to be a retort for whatever stupid nonsense he's about to spout off at her. "You've been too influenced by Malfoy's ways. The rules apply to everyone – including him. You didn't follow any of the protocols put in place by the law. You know that that's not how this works."

His voice is meant to be suave, she thinks, or perhaps soothing? But if it is, Hermione wouldn't find comfort in his faked enthusiasm. As far as she's concerned, his voice is the most irritating thing on the entire planet. "Fuck off."

"Pardon me?" he coughs.

"Fuck off, McLaggen," Hermione repeats, resisting the urge to charm him silent. "You have no right to tell me how things work when you are on retainer for convicted Death Eaters!"

Cormac sighs, and it is demeaning in a way Hermione can't pinpoint exactly.. It makes her sick to her stomach. What had made him think that there's nothing wrong being on standby should any of the Death Eaters need his services from Azkaban? It makes her sick because he fought against them once. She didn't think highly of him, using him to make Ron jealous, but she hadn't thought he was the sort to follow the cash flow either.

"Submitting evidence without asking to obtain it is wrong," he laughs, like it's a joke.

"You will have plenty of time to review the details with Whiddon! I'm sorry that I'm the only one that thought the trash was worth a look, but I had the evidence preserved for your use too. My submission is just for the test results, photographs, and correlating opinions to be submitted by our separate professionals." Waving her hands, Hermione turns completely away from him. She's inclined to slap him across the face, a skill she had hoped to leave behind in her third year.

Before either of them can continue, the door to the Minister's private office swings open loudly. Cormac stands and Hermione straightens. Surely they both start searching the faces of their professional witnesses, but Hermione doesn't forget to listen for Kingsley's unmistakable voice.

"Misters Malfoy and Whiddon have reviewed their findings and opinions with me regarding the new evidence," he begins, voice deep as ever, and no less comforting than it has ever been. During his brief pause, Hermione tries to assess the expression of the three men. Immediately, she notices that Whiddon doesn't try to look at Cormac; in fact, he doesn't take his eyes off of the Minister at all. Not even for a second! As for Draco, he isn't looking at anyone, and especially not at her. For anyone else, this might've looked bad, but he knows that she can read him. He has to make his expressions impossible to read. But, of course, he knows that if he can't be read, that tells a story too. It tells a very promising story for Hermione's case, in this instance.

Cormac starts tapping his file folder against his legs, as if waiting for someone to tell him to stop or continue. She doesn't even know why he brought his file of copies. This wasn't a meeting for him. Basically he just needed to be there to hear the Minister's decision.

"I am standing by my decision to let the Wizengamot hear this case," Kingsley begins, "but I will also personally review the details of this case. Should there be any information needing redacted from the final proceedings, I will contact the Chief Wizard immediately."

"And our hearing is postponed then?" The fact that Cormac even asks this is shocking to Hermione. It is obviously going to be a few weeks before anything can be determined with certainty. She accepts the delay graciously, racing from the room before she loses her composure by insulting Cormac's idiocy, or hugging Draco for the argument he must've made when meeting with the Minister and Whiddon. It can't have been easy, she's sure.

It's a miracle, really, that he was able to get Kingsley to consider reviewing the details personally. She'll have to find a way to thank him properly for it. Draco has just proven why he's such an asset to her career – and, consequently, her life – yet again.

Watching Draco during Cormac's cross-examination is difficult, almost painful at times. Hermione went out of her way to be harder on Draco than she would've been during any other case, but she didn't really lay into him or interrogate him the way that Cormac has been doing. Even though he's suspected the outcome of the case to be less than favorable for his client, he's decided to go down swinging. Hermione is reminded why he became an attorney, and how harsh he can be when displeased.

It took Kingsley nearly three weeks to decide to let everything proceed as planned, even with the new evidence that Hermione had procured. Surprised and upset by this, Cormac seemed to be putting very little effort into defending his client and all of his focus on discrediting Malfoy as a professional witness.

"So, what you're saying, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that the only test that could confirm these leaves as those belonging to the Aconite flower is by using small samples collected from the scene on other plants to confirm the poisonous properties known to exist in Aconite?" No longer the tone of a man trying to sound important, Cormac's voice booms with intensity which forces all eyes and ears to be drawn to him. It's his way of ensuring that nothing slips past him.

Draco shifts, not out of discomfort as far as Hermione can tell, but more out of boredom. He never feels pressured by hearings where he must report his findings – not even when they're being vehemently challenged.

"That was correct, initially," Draco begins, cooler and calmer than ever. "This was the only test recommended to Mister Whiddon and myself at the time we were given the evidence samples."

Visibly irritated, Cormac rubs a hand over his face completely. "You must understand my concern that the only test recommended to you isn't even reliable."

"I do, and that is why I portioned my allotted sample and conducted a secondary test on the leaves found in the victim's home," Draco explains, preparing to detail the process again for the Wizengamot. Hermione keeps her face down, noting what Cormac is choosing to attack and what he's ignoring. It's habitual for her to take notes about any hearing she attends, reviewing it when the case is closed to better her performance.

"Without permission?" Cormac asks.

Draco shrugs. "When asked to review this evidence, no limitations on what I could do to find the details necessary were dictated to me, and I took it upon myself to be as thorough as possible."

A hush snakes through the courtroom. It is intentional, Hermione thinks, leaving room for the public to decide if he's taken too many liberties. Most likely, he's hoping that they'll conclude that if he tested beyond the recommended procedures, perhaps it isn't reliable.
Draco left no room for error, though. It almost quells her nerves.

"So, earlier when Miss Granger was taking your testimony on your findings, you said that you did an isolation test. You actually said, as I remember, that it left 'no room for error'. That's a confident conclusion to make and I would like to hear why you're so sure that the leaves pictures in Exhibit 19A and 19B are definitely those from the Aconite flower." It seems like Cormac goes on forever, slowing his talking speed so much that there seem to be pauses every few words or so. This drawl is uncharacteristic and calculated. Daring to glance around the room, Hermione tries to gauge the effect of his performance.

It almost makes her nervous.

"I am not the sort of professional that likes to leave any room for doubt in my findings. The easier the isolation test, the more reliable the results, which is why I used water with the leaves found at the victim's residence." Draco is impressive, detailing the logical nature in choosing water. It doesn't alter the makeup of the plant, nor does it dilute the properties of it. After making a fresh slice through the middle of the leaf he submerged in the water, whatever preserved properties from the plant would mix with the water.

"And that wouldn't be diluted in the water, you say?" Cormac interjects. Hermione shifts in her seat, somewhat offended personally by the tone of voice he took with Draco.

"It doesn't dilute the poison, which is the only thing that matters in this case, because when I sent the water to the Ministry for official verification – the results were exactly as I suspected." Draco is leaning forward in his chair, annoyed by Cormac but still victorious in proving his point. The entirety of the Wizengamot are listening, watching Cormac closely, but she trusts Draco will not waver.

"And those findings were, as you've asserted previously, that the leaves found in the victim's trash do belong to Aconite, correct?" Cormac's question falls flat, some of his fire dying away as he clearly begins to close his cross-examination.

Draco smiles. "As I understand it, Mister Whiddon was able to come to the same conclusion in his findings as well, but, yes. Every measure was taken to verify that these findings were not a fluke result, and I am positive that the leaves undoubtedly belong to Aconite."

"I appreciate your diligence, Mister Malfoy," Cormac breathes. "Thank you."

Time moves quickly for the final arguments and before she realizes it, everyone is filing out of the courtroom while the Wizengamot deliberates their conclusions. Unwilling to travel far, Hermione takes a seat on the bench with her assistant, Violet. A few compliments are exchanged, quick moments of gratitude flicker between their idle chatter, and then Violet leaves to use the lavatory. Hermione is alone.

Unfortunately, she's not alone for very long. Cormac sits beside her and strikes up a conversation as if there's no animosity between them. "He's a scoundrel, but I have to admit that Draco Malfoy pulled out every stop for this case."

"Because this case matters," Hermione mutters, turning her body away from him, plotting some sort of escape.

Cormac laughs. "No, this case didn't matter to him."

"It matters to a lot of people," she growls. "People loved Viktor."

"No," Cormac contradicts, something sad in his voice. "You loved him."

There is a difference, she knows, between loving someone famous and really loving someone. Many fans loved Viktor, they looked up to him, wanted to be him, and so on – it was the love of admiration. He was a role model to many aspiring quidditch players. To Hermione, though, that love was different.

"This case didn't matter to him," he starts, and Hermione turns to sneer at Cormac in frustration when she notices him staring down the hallway. She follows his line of sight until she finds Draco at the end of the hall, back turned towards them, sipping from a cardboard coffee cup. He must've gone to their shop after leaving the courtroom. There's a second cup on the floor. "He pulled out every stop - and he always does when you work together - because you matter to him."

Knowing that Draco cares about her in any capacity is still a foreign concept. She remembers the days when she cried herself sick because he would find new ways to insult her and belittle her at school. Those frustrated looks of curiosity had turned to hateful glares across the classroom. Draco learned to spite her at every turn at Hogwarts, and it churned her stomach to be in the same room as him.

All of that feels far off now. Hermione stares at the cup by his foot. Without being near him, without needing to ask, she knows that it is the drink she always orders when they meet on Tuesday and Thursday. Strange, unexpected, and awkward as it is to hear someone else tell her what Draco has said to her himself – Hermione cannot deny the truth in Cormac's observation.

"I wanted to love you like that," Cormac says unexpectedly.

Hermione scoffs, "What?"

Cormac doesn't shift or try to look at her. "I wanted to love you the way he loves you, but I didn't get it. I know I'm a little late to the finish line, but there's nothing I wouldn't give to have a chance with you again."

"I have half a mind to puke on you right now," she spits, nearly falling over as she abandons her position on the bench. Hermione isn't sure what he's trying to accomplish by revealing this information, but Cormac McLaggen has never been anything shy of selfish and achievement oriented. "And for the record, you never had a chance."

Shrugging, he stands and joins her, finally daring to look at her. He doesn't want a second chance at loving her. He just wants a second chance to have her. It isn't about love. That's why he 'wanted' to love her. "To be fair, Ron never had a chance either. That's why it's Malfoy standing down there instead of him."

"You're right," she says. At this point, her work on the case is done. They're just waiting for a verdict now, and as far as Hermione is concerned, she doesn't have to hide how comfortable she is with Draco from McLaggen. "I'm glad it's him."

Heart racing, heels clacking, and mind wandering, she dares to recall the question that Draco posed to her all those weeks ago when she was desperate to prove Viktor was murdered. She hadn't been sure if she would've accepted his offer then. However, seeing him rise to the occasion and put her priorities first, really gave her perspective. It is all rather fast, but sometimes it happens that way.

Hermione is ready to be loved again - to be really loved by a good man.

Author's Note:

This story is the fifth draft, and underwent three massive rewrites to get to this version. Thanks to the ladies who all helped make this less awful: 2DaughtersofAthena, Celestia0909, and TheCrownprincessBride.