Disclaimer: None of the main characters (ie, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, etc.) are mine! They are the lovely creation of the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling. As is the wonderful world of Hogwarts. I do not take credit for any of her brilliance.

The Thin Line Between Love and Hate Blurs

Chapter 1: The Silver Sickle

Friday: August 29, 2003.

At one in the morning, the streets of London were still crowded with sightseers, teenagers, and young adults. It would have been a spectacular sight if anyone had actually cared to sit on a bench and observe the passersby. In fact, one could almost say that downtown London at one in the morning resembled an African watering hole where all the animals are clambering to find their rightful areas and yet, still segregate themselves from others. Most of the people on the streets were either 1) piss drunk, 2) sightseeing (although what you can find at one in the morning that you can't find at one in the afternoon is still a mystery) or 3) on their way home or to a gathering. But, all of this was inconsequential to the four women huddled around a table in the middle of the Silver Sickle, a popular pub that many of the twenty-somethings found themselves in at the end of a long, hard day of work.

They sat back in their chairs, relaxed with a pint of beer clasped between their hands and looked around the room for a minute before one of them spoke up.

"Oh come on! He was gorgeous!"

The other three women simply laughed and shook their head before taking a sip of their drinks. These four women, residents of an apartment complex seven blocks away, always came to the same pub every Friday night to relax and catch up on the weeks gossip. All of them shared similar personalities, enjoyed the simple things in life, and found comfort in the fact that they had each other. In fact, it was a rare occurrence if something happened to one of them and the other three wouldn't know within the hour. They were all single, and enjoying it—sometimes they were completely unattached or sometimes they were seeing someone occasionally. Only one of them was different, and no matter how close she became with these women, could not reveal her secret just yet…maybe in time, but not yet.

Jennifer Connelley was a nurse down at the London General Hospital and often had stories that either made the other three women shrink back with disgust, or bursting at the seams laughing. On the other end of the spectrum was Shayla Andersen, a lawyer who was known for being a shark in the courtroom. It was Shayla's antics that often had the other three women shaking their heads, albeit often with laughter emanating from their lips. Rose Sniegowski was a waitress at a fancy hotel's restaurant. She often griped about how much she hated her job, but no matter how often her friends urged her to find a new one if it was indeed so horrible, she never did. Things went on at her job that would shock most people if they knew, but all of the instances she spoke of were nothing more than fuel to the story-telling of the week. The last member of their little 'group' was none other than Hermione Granger.

Oh, sounds familiar? Yes, she had decided to live a double life. There was no denying the fact that she was a witch, and a very, very good one at that, but she often felt that if she denied her muggle heritage she would be less of a person. So, during the summer holidays she lived in London, working as a bookkeeper in a quaint bookshop that few people actually frequented. Her friends knew that she taught at some uber private boarding school, and that's what kept her away from them 9 months out of the year. She owned an apartment in Hogsmeade as well, a home away from home as she called it. Whenever she had business to attend to in the Wizarding world, this is where she would reside until whatever business that had brought her there was concluded. So yes, Hermione Granger was both a bookkeeper, and a teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a muggle and a witch.

However, at the moment, this has little to do with her current situation. As per usual, Hermione and her friends had all gathered at the Silver Sickle to have their customary beer and story-telling. It was her last one for 9 months and all three of her friends were begging her not to leave them again. Shayla was trying her hardest to hook Hermione up with one of her co-workers to try and bribe her into staying in the area. In fact, it was her little outburst about how 'gorgeous' the man had been that brought such laughter to the table.

"Do you really think she'd give up her perfect teaching job for an overpaid, pompous lawyer?" said Jenn, "I mean, cmon Shayla, this is our Hermione we're talking about!" She laughed jovially and tipped her beer mug toward Hermione, who acknowledged with a tilt of her head.

"Look girls, if we haven't been able to find someone to get her heart racing and knees shaking yet, I don't think we'll be able to. She's dead set and determined to die a spinster," Shayla playfully shoved Hermione, who nearly spilled her beer, resulting in roaring laughter from all four women. Hermione sat amongst them, smiling outwardly but sighing inside; already regretting that she would be months without their company while teaching at Hogwarts. It was the life she had chosen, and as much as she hated parting from them, she wouldn't trade it for the world. Ever since graduation, life had been both complicated and fulfilling, it was all she could ever hope for.

"Oooooh!! My, my, isn't he a handsome one?" Rose's squeal and voice broke through Hermione's thoughts as she wheeled her head around to see who Rose was looking at. It was none other than Harry Potter. Disregarding her friends' slack jaws she jumped up and bounded toward him with a crushing bear hug.

"Harry!! Oh my God, I didn't know you were going to be in this part of town! Why didn't you owl..I mean, let me know?" She finally released him and took a step back, slightly abashed that she had responded so enthusiastically to the appearance of one of her best friends and asked a little quieter, "How's Ginny? Is she with you?"

Harry took the encounter in stride and hugged Hermione just as hard back, unable to suppress his wide smile. It was good to see her again; coordinating times to see each other was hard with his job as an Auror at the Ministry, but he tried to make it possible, she was like family. He followed her lead back toward the table of gawking women, "It was a spur of the moment thing, Hermione. I had the night off and Ginny told me you'd be here so…I thought I'd stop by. She's good by the way, the baby keeps us up at all hours of the night, but she's doing great. Motherhood really suits her."

"Hermione, love, who is this fine specimen of man that you've brought into our midst?" Shayla, the bold and ever forward one of the bunch blurted. Though she was the only one to voice it, Hermione knew that both Jenn and Rose were thinking the same thing; they were all making googly eyes at her best mate and it was quite funny.

"Girls, this is Harry Potter. One of my best mates from school, and he's married."

She could see the air deflate out of all of them as they turned back to their beer and took a sullen sip. Laughing she pulled up another chair and motioned for him to take it. The night was suddenly brighter and she was finally looking forward to going to Hogwarts again, at least there she could have constant contact with Harry, Ginny, and Ron, not to mention Neville who worked with her and Luna who had taken over her father's business at the Quibbler.

Two o'clock in the morning had quickly crept on the group of girls and they reluctantly agreed that it was time go head off to bed. Slightly tearful, they all bade Hermione a warm farewell, instructing her that she had better keep in touch for fear of loss of limb at their next encounter. She watched them all leave, tears in her eyes and sniffed loudly before turning her attention back to Harry. "So, what really brought you out here? I know you, Harry James Potter, and you do not drop by unexpectedly on old friends, what's up?"

Her simple question seemed to weigh on her best mate and she suddenly became very worried. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought that the former Death Eaters who finally went into solid hiding after Lord Voldemort's defeat had found a new lord and were uprising again. Then again, it could be something that just affected her…he was always looking out for her, just like she had looked out for him and Ron all through school. Now, he had her interest. What could bother Harry enough to come seek her out in person, and now just send an owl? She was about to find out.

Harry took a deep breath and looked into her honey brown eyes, "Draco Malfoy's going to be teaching at Hogwarts this year. Potions. Professor Slughorn finally decided he was done with the place and went to retire in Pago Pago or some place or other."

The blow that Draco was going to be at Hogwarts was enough to physically wind her. She couldn't believe that after five blissful, Malfoy free years, she was going to be living and working in the same place as him. He had finally admitted to falling prey to the Dark Lord at 16, but he was let off with a slap on the wrist; his father on the other hand, was still in Azkaban for his association and would remain there for at least another two years. It was rumored that Draco had been taking care of the estates and his frantic mother up until now, but apparently, everything was under control because now he was to become the new potions professor at Hogwarts. He hadn't even bothered continuing to court Pansy Parkinson after school; the last that Harry or Hermione had heard she had married Blaise Zabini, leaving Malfoy and his inheritance alone.

Hermione was at a loss for words, "I…how…I mean…how did you find out?"

"We have to screen all potential applicants now, and Professor McGonagall informed me that Malfoy got the job. He's the most qualified, Hermione, and we all know that despite all that happened, he isn't a bad guy deep down. Wait, did I just say that? Ugh, I think I need more alcohol!"

His outburst helped lighten the mood a little bit, but Hermione still couldn't believe that she was going to have to confront Malfoy after so long. They had never gotten along, which stemmed from his strict upbringing that anybody who wasn't a pureblooded witch or wizard was beneath him, and they had never even tried to patch things after the war. They sat for another half an hour catching up on things before Harry finally glanced at his watch and realized that he needed to get home to Ginny and the baby. They left the Silver Sickle and Harry walked Hermione home before saying goodnight and apparating back home.

Hermione gazed at the spot where Harry had just disappeared for a second before heaving a sigh and walking into her flat's kitchen to make a cup of tea. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning, but she wasn't tired in the least, too many things were roiling around in her head. It was bad enough that she had to leave her friends behind at the end of every summer to teach at Hogwarts, but now she had to deal with Malfoy. Hogwarts had been a sanctuary for her, a place where she could flourish as a witch and teach everything she knew into the new generation of witches and wizards, he would ruin it all. A small thought crept into her brain, maybe he had changed, maybe he wasn't half as bad as he used to be; she should give him a chance. She shook the thought from her head; there was no way she was going to treat Malfoy any different than she treated any of the other teachers. She would respect him, and expect to be respected in return, but she expected nothing else of him or herself.

After drinking down her tea, she went to change into a tank top and shorts to sleep in. The bed looked comfortable and inviting; she gave in and climbed in. Though her thoughts still roiled around in her head with no intention of stopping, she closed her eyes and was asleep within minutes.

Quote: "Pago Pago"---taken from the movie XXX from Eve's character.

Rate, Review, please. It's my first fanfic and I'd be much obliged to any kind of advice, constructive criticism, or "great job"s. Thanks! -Serenity