Disclaimer: "I own Harry Potter!" said JK Rowling.

A/N: First fanfiction ever. Please be gracious.

Chapter 1: It's Sudden

"Oomph!" Hermione stumbled, rather ungraciously, to the floor, her list of clients fluttering around like confetti. She growled, swiveling her gaze around angrily. "What in Merlin's name—oh."

A young toddler sat dumbfounded on the floor, too stunned to cry. He was dressed in a Muggle blue jumper with blue sneakers to match. His lower lip quivered as he nervously clutched his charmed teddy bear, his large grey eyes looking straight back at her. Her stomach lurched, her heart automatically reaching out to the young boy. "I'm sorry," she crooned. She reached out to touch his satiny blond hair, but he immediately retracted, tears finally overflowing his pale chubby face. "Papa!" he bawled, scooting closer to the wall. Hermione sat there in disbelief before shaking her head and pulling out her wand to collect the papers. She stood up and dusted herself off, grimacing at the thought of her coworkers seeing her. Let his father deal with this. I'll just go and apologize. Even though no one should be bringing their child to work anyway. She turned her head to look at him once more. The boy had somehow stopped crying and simply sat there, watching Hermione's every move. The bear wiped the remainder of the tears away with its fluffed up paw and gazed at her as well. She frowned. "I—"

"There you are!" Harry exclaimed. He jogged down the hallway, his face showing his great relief. Hermione grinned. "Har—"

"Don't go running off like that. You worried me and your father," Harry bent down to the little boy, scruffing up his platinum blond hair. She gaped in disbelief; Harry was looking for him. She rolled her eyes, tucking her wand back in her pocket and making her way down the hallway. Of course he wasn't looking for me. We haven't talked since—

"Hermione?"

She froze, turning her head first, then the rest of her body. Harry had the young boy in his arms, a sympathetic look on his face. He smiled nervously. She couldn't help but smile back. "Hey," she replied softly. He looked away before forcing himself to look back into her almond brown eyes. "Listen, I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you lately…you know how Ron is right now…but you don't deserve to be ignored by me. And it was your decision to end it, but I'll still be your best friend no matter if you're dating Ron or not so…"

He coughed nervously, eyeing the hallway behind her. She nodded, knowing he was on lookout for Ron. It's been two months…

She placed an affectionate hand on his arm, showing him all was forgiven. "It-It's alright, Harry. I…understand. I would prefer if you stayed with him and helped him through this. I know he might be taking it hard."

"Might?" he asked jokingly with the familiar spark in his green eyes. She laughed and nodded, feeling a tad guilty for speaking about Ron's feelings and laughing about it. "I miss hanging out with the three of us, you know? But it's a little too soon to ask for that right now. Could you…come by my flat tonight?"

He smiled and nodded. "I'll come around seven and we'll have some dinner."
Hermione adjusted the heavy load of papers in her arms. "Okay," she breathed excitedly. He smiled, tilting his head and adjusting his glasses. She turned around slowly, biting her lip from excitement. "'Mione?"

"Yes?" she raised a brow at him.

"I missed you," he grinned boyishly and turned on his heel to his office.

"I haven't had such a good dinner in a while," Hermione sighed, leaning back on her couch and patting her stomach. Harry lay comfortably next to her with a contented smile on his face. Boxes of Chinese food were strewn all over her coffee table, Crookshanks occasionally taking a nibble at the leftover orange chicken. Harry tossed her a fortune cookie. "Open it."

She nodded, grabbing each end and cracking it down the middle. She popped one half of it in her mouth and gingerly pulled out the small piece of paper. Hermione grinned in amusement. "Hey, get a load of this. 'Save your patience for what lies down the road'."

They both laughed until Harry pulled his out. He coughed and sat up, smiling to himself. "'Be prepared to change your life for the better.'"

They laughed again, falling in a comfortable silence in each other's presence. "How's Ginny?" she asked, standing up and clearing away the table. Harry did as well, lazily pulling out his wand. "She's doing very well. So are James and Albus. They miss you a lot, you know. Two months is a lot."

She couldn't help but smile at the thought of the Potter family. They were practically picture-perfect: beautiful, doting wife; caring, loving (albeit cheesy) husband, and two well-behaved children. Anyone and everyone wanted to be like them. Even she had entertained the idea of having a family like that, but pushed it away when she ended it with Ron. Hermione was surprised she didn't cry over him—over the break up, actually. He had made her cry too many times in the past. She sighed, gathering the trash in her arms. Harry raised a brow curiously, but she beat him to it. "I prefer doing it this way. It's fine, really," she assured him as she dumped the boxes in the trash. He nodded, glancing at the clock. It was already 8:30. Hermione returned, wiping her hands on her jeans and sitting back down in her usual spot. "Sorry, I just washed my hands. Harry, I've been dying to know…who was that boy I ran into in the hallway this morning?"

Harry chuckled. "I had a feeling you'd ask sometime. He's the son of a friend of mine. He brought his son with him when he came to see me."

An owl appeared, pecking furiously at Hermione's window. Harry recognized the black creature and bolted to the window. He opened it and allowed the bird entrance. It didn't budge, simply extending its leg for him. Harry rolled his eyes. "Always in a rush, aren't you, Poseidon?"

The owl cooed in agreement before flapping off into the night. Harry unraveled the note and shut the window. He frowned. "Hermione. How would you like to meet the boy and his father again?"

Hermione shrugged indifferently. "Why not? I'm free tomorrow, surprisingly."

Harry grinned, kissing the top of her head and heading to the fireplace. "Wonderful. I best be getting home. I'll pick you up tomorrow at ten."
He picked up some Floo powder, and with one more happy grin, left Hermione. She sank into the couch, drumming her fingers against her flat stomach. Her familiar settled comfortably next to her, his tail swishing back and forth contentedly. She couldn't help but smile; Harry had invited her somewhere. She couldn't possibly say no!

The two stood in front of a large, towering estate, the cold wind nipping at their cheeks. Hermione looked around the abandoned road for any sign of life. Nothing. She was about to cast a warming charm on themselves before Harry tugged her along gently toward the grand estate. "You didn't tell me he was your friend," Hermione hissed, punching him in the arm. He winced and looked apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, but Malfoy asked for you."

"Why? I see no reason to see him. Unless he wants to insult me again." she crossed her arms defiantly and huffed. Harry rolled his eyes. "'Mione, you're the one who suggested we forgive the bloke."

"But I thought we would never see him again!" she countered, shooting daggers at the Malfoy Manor in front of them as though it should feel disgusted with itself. Harry shook his head. "C'mon, 'Mione. He asked for you. And he's...different now."

Hermione rolled her eyes but followed Harry up the pathway to the Manor. She would admit that it changed in appearance. It no longer had a gloomy aura surrounding it, and the landscape was simply bursting with life. Weeping willows swayed gently in the chilling breeze, and small clusters of flowers surrounded the Manor, most likely thanks to magic. Hermione couldn't help but admire the estate itself, temporarily forgetting what had happened in there. Harry knocked thrice on the giant black door, unconsciously smoothing out his jacket. A small house-elf opened the door, a toothy grin spreading over her face. "The Boy Who Lived! Crumpy is happy to see Master Potter!"

Harry rubbed the top of Crumpy's head affectionately. "Hello again, Crumpy."

The elf turned and curtsied to Hermione. "Hello, Master. Crumpy is pleased to meet you. Yes, yes, very."

Hermione forced a smile, looking over the elf carefully. "Hello, Crumpy. I'm Hermione."

Crumpy bobbed his head up and down and bowed deeply. "Crumpy will show Master Potter and Master Hermione to Master Draco."

He skipped merrily, stopping every once in a while to make sure they were following. They turned down one hallway and climbed up one set of stairs, bumping into other elves as they went. They were just as jolly as Crumpy. "What is going on here?" Hermione whispered, eyeing a painting of a beautiful young woman. She glared at Hermione, covering half of her face with an ornate fan. "Look, girls. We have...company," she uttered with complete distain. The other portraits pointed and giggled at her, whispering and rolling their eyes. Harry frowned and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder. She shook him off, jutting her chin up with pride. She squared her shoulders and huffed, catching up to Crumpy. He was waiting patiently by the door, holding it open for the two of them before disappearing with a pop. Hermione looked around the quaint little study. It was mainly emerald green with green carpet, a green sofa pushed in the corner, and matching green curtains surrounding a window overlooking the gardens below. The walls were lined with all kinds of books, even more were cluttered around the mahogany desk in the middle of the room. Harry settled down on the sofa, pulling off his glasses and wiping them on his shirt. Hermione decided to stand, looking at his massive collection of books. There were plenty that she had never seen or heard of before, and that was saying something.

"Hey, Potter. Scorpius is-Hello there."

Hermione whirled around. There stood the one and only Draco Malfoy. He was donning a navy blue suit and white tie, his platinum blond hair was combed neatly to the side, steel grey eyes wide in mild surprise. Hermione fought the urge to cross her arms and spit out an insult. It was natural habit. She dug her hands into her pockets nervously. "Malfoy."

He glanced at Harry uneasily before resuming his gaze on Hermione. "Granger. I can't believe you actually showed up."

She rolled her eyes. "Spit it out, Malfoy."

He held up his chin smugly and made his way to his desk. "Of course. I'm sure Harry has informed you of the proposition I made for you."

Harry squirmed in his seat, flashing him a weak smile. Draco sighed, folding his hands in front of him. "I'm here to ask for your help. There's been…Death Eater-like activity going on."

"We're hoping to keep this under wraps," Harry piped in. Draco nodded and continued. "Potter and I have agreed to work this together, but we can't have him constantly leaving the office when things turn up. That's where you come in."

Hermione raised her brow, lips pursed. Draco pulled out a piece of paper and slid it across the desk for her to see. It was an application sheet. Her face contorted with disgust. "I'm supposed to be your secretary?"

Harry immediately stood up and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. He had warned Draco beforehand on his best friend's reaction, but that didn't deter him at all. "It's just a cover up, 'Mione."

"Do you KNOW who I am?" she screeched, whipping out her wand and ignoring whatever Harry said. "I am one the best Aurors in the ministry. I am the brightest witch of our age. I helped bring down Voldemort. I—" she huffed, narrowing her eyes. "Don't think for one second I'll degrade myself to serve you and your whimsical purposes!"
She huffed in indignation, staring him straight in the eye. Sure, she had taken things out of proportion, but Hermione was sick and tired of being pushed down into doing things she knew she didn't have to do. She was regarded as the brightest witch of her age, but treated like a student fresh out of school. They regarded her as a fragile being, and only sent her on missions where she didn't do much. Most of her work was in her office, doing opened her mouth to say more, but Draco cut her off. "Whimsical purposes you say? Might I inform you how dangerous Death Eaters ARE?"

"I know that," she snapped. "But how do I know for sure they're the ones behind everything?"

"We don't," he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "But we're taking precautions here. We don't want anybody's blood spilled because we weren't aware of the Death Eaters' presence."

That very phrase shook her back to reality. It wasn't about her. She had to do whatever it took to keep the wizarding world—Heck, even the Muggle world—safe. Her pride didn't matter. Her needs didn't matter. Her hopes didn't matter. What mattered was saving the world by Harry's side. Even if she had Draco Malfoy as the other teammate instead of Ron. She slowly wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor. "How can I help?"

Draco, slightly amused by her sudden change in attitude, pulled out a quill and handed it to her. "Resign your job and become my personal secretary. You'll still work for me, of course, but the work is very light. I need someone who can get up and go in a moment's notice. If I ever catch a lead, you and I will go and investigate and inform Potter. It's a good thing he's the head, if something ever happens, we've got the Ministry on our side."

Hermione nodded, reading over the document carefully. She read it thrice more to make sure she didn't miss any important details. The terms were all agreeable, and the pay was extravagant. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "Malfoy. I have to live here?"

He nodded, fiddling with his wand lazily. "Yes, but you're free to go and do whatever you need. I only request you stay on weekdays, and that you're easily contacted when you're away."

Hermione nodded. That was rather unsuspected. She figured she would be a prisoner if she stayed, but if all she needed to do was be ready for secret missions, she was perfectly fine. Harry squeezed her shoulder, urging her to finish up. She signed her name quickly, sliding the paper and quill across the desk. Draco took it, raising a brow curiously. "Still a Granger? I'm surprised."

"Malfoy..." Harry warned. Draco held up his hands in mock surrender. "Anyway, I've got to run. Granger, I'll see you next week."

Draco excused himself with a swift nod and left without another word. Hermione relaxed once she no longer felt Draco's presence. Harry gave her an uncertain smile. "Sorry, 'Mione. I-I know that I could trust you with this." Hermione looked at him and waved it off. "Anything for the Boy-Who-Lived."