My second fanfic story! Hermione receives some bad news at an inopportune time. Maybe her annoying coworker can help her out? Non epilogue compliant, Dramione :)

And of course, this all belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter 1.

"Happy Anniversary, Granger."

Draco Malfoy strolled into their joint office at 9:15 with the most extravagant bouquet Hermione had ever seen. She wondered if it could even be called a bouquet. It looked like he had robbed a large nursery of all its roses. And robbed every baby shower ever thrown of their pink bows .

He set it down with a plop on her desk where it took up the entirety of her working space.

"Really, Malfoy. What is the meaning of this?" She tried to sound angry, but her resulting tone was one more of annoyance and exasperation.

"I just told you. Our anniversary." He looked at her like she was stupid.

"We're not even remotely dating. Why would it be our anniversary?" She calmly smoothed out a wrinkle on her gray, knee-length skirt.

"What happened exactly a year ago, Granger?" She silently racked her brain. "You're prayers were answered by the arrival of the most handsome, the most talented, and the most charmingly intelligent office mate possible," he supplied when she didn't immediately answer. "Me."

"You're placement as my coworker and office mate doesn't require any sort of celebration, Malfoy. More like, mourning robes." He frowned only slightly. "I can't believe it's only been a year. It feels like an eternity that I've had to put up with you."

Malfoy's jovial mood didn't seem at all deterred by her air of annoyance. "You know you'd miss me if I was gone. How many office mates do you think would shower you with extravagant gifts such as mine?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You mean gifts like that quill eating plant, or the chocolates that tinted my skin blue for 3 weeks? And let's not forget this lovely bouquet." She was allergic to roses, and her least favorite color in the world was pink, both facts he was well aware of.

"Never a dull moment with me, Granger. Like I said, you'd miss me." She groaned in frustration and levitated the bouquet onto his desk, giving a barely contained sneeze in the process.

"Whatever, just get rid of it before my allergies go crazy." He vanished it with a pop, and tossed her a vial of clear liquid he'd pulled from the pocket of his finely tailored suit.

"It's Mediwitch Muriel's allergy potion." She eyed it warily. "I promise it's safe. You have permission to hex me if it's not."

"Oh, trust me, I've never needed your permission." She opened it, swallowed it in one gulp, and gave a shudder. "Ugh, horrible stuff, that." It was a testament to the amount of trust they'd built up in the year they'd worked together that she had downed it without further question.

They both settled into their work spaces again, Hermione picking up her quill and continuing to go over the document she had been working on before she'd been interrupted by Draco while he pulled out his laptop and turned it on. They worked in silence for almost a half hour when Ginny Weasley rushed through the open door.

"Oh my God, Hermione, there's no way you're going to believe this, but, they've given me the Zabini case! I wa-" She stopped talking mid-sentence as Draco coughed behind her.

"Yes, Weaslette, I'm here too." He smirked. Ginny, instead of turning beet red, as he expected, turned and glared.

"What are you doing here so early?" He was notoriously late almost everyday. "Why haven't you reported him, Hermione? Why does he still work here?" She demanded.

Malfoy looked like he was ready to launch into a long speech celebrating his amazingness, so in order to avoid it, and the long debate that would likely ensue with him and Ginny, Hermione said, "Nothing would give me more pleasure, Ginny, but he actually does good work. I won't go back to having an idiotic partner like Finch-Fletchley again." Malfoy looked at her, a little shocked at the defense she had just given him, but quickly recovered, looking very pleased with himself.

"I don't know how you manage. I'd have hexed him into oblivion by now." He had no doubt of that.

"So, why the great interest in Zabini's case, miss Weasley?" He hoped the use of her proper last name might entice her to be honest.

"His's the most interesting case that's been on the horizon, I've been up to my neck in the most boring drivel the last 3 months, and, he's got the body of a god." she said without skipping a beat. She laughed at his look of surprise, knowing he hadn't been expecting that. Hermione also chuckled.

"You know, I'll have to pass those compliments on to him, as he is my best friend," said Draco calmly.

"You wouldn't dare. If you do anything to screw my chances up with-I mean, on this case, I'll curse your family jewels off."

"I will make no such promises. And I very highly doubt that the ministry would allow such bodily mutilation to go unpunished."

"Oh, I'd find a way. Just leave it alone, Ferret, and you won't have to worry." Draco gave her a threatening eyebrow raise and resumed his work, hoping she'd go away. Hermione went to pick up her quill again. Ginny heard the scratching of it on paper and turned to her friend.

She sat herself on the edge of Hermione's desk. "Hermione, when are you going to give up your archaic ways?"

"What are you talking about?" So, Ginny had decided to choose a new target to attack. And of course, she knew exactly what Ginny was referring to. "Shouldn't you be getting started on your exciting new case?" She said without looking up.

"Even Malfoy has one. Malfoy!"

"What, what do I have?"

"Ginny, you know why I don't have one. And anyway, this is more personal. I hate that the wizarding world is losing that aspect now." Hermione grew frustrated. Not Ginny too...

"That's silly. You can still personalize things, and you don't have to give up owling people. It's just, they do so much more than just that."

"Gin, I grew up in the muggle world. I know how a computer works,"

Draco perked up when he realized what they were talking about. "Ha! I've been trying to tell her the same thing since I got here. Don't even try, she's too stubborn. The more you try, the more she'll say no, just because she doesn't want to give you the satisfaction of saying yes." He received a heavy glare, apparently the mood that had elicited the praise earlier was gone.

"I know, but she'll have to give in eventually. A girl can only try." She looked between the two desks at the pair of them. They were already focusing back on their work. She got up with a sigh, "Speaking of which, I'm going to get back to my very important case. I'll see you, Hermione." Hermione gave her a halfhearted wave, and Ginny was gone, as abruptly as she'd appeared.

Hermione heard a "finally," muttered from Draco.

"You won't really tell Blaise, will you?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Nah, I just wanted to ruffle her feathers a bit. It's quite fun."

"Like you do with me?" Hermione looked slightly indignant.

"Precisely." And they both proceeded with their work.

Their owls, both ministry assigned, brown, and boring, came flying through their window at exactly 12:05.

"See, you're not the only one who clings to archaic ways." Draco held up two hand-written letters. "Let's see, this is from my grandmother, and this one...is from my great-great-great-Aunt who lives in Norway. Yes, I can see how you would have something in common with them." He could see Hermione's hackles rising.

He was baiting her, she knew, so she ignored him and opened her own letters. The first was typed and printed, unfortunately, but still better than the alternative. It was from Luna Lovegood, asking to interview her for an article in the quibbler. She wrote a quick response, giving the times she was available to meet with her. The second was a (Handwritten) letter from Mrs. Weasley.

Draco was typing his responses on the computer when he heard a gasp from Hermione. He looked up to see her face, pale, and shocked as she held her letter in a shaking hand. Was Granger...sad? "Hermione, are you-" He started.

"That little bastard!" No, she was angry. Very, very angry.

"What's the Weasel done this time?" He assumed, as always, that it was Ron who'd upset her.

Hermione looked up at him when he said this. "For once, Malfoy, you're right." He was shocked to see tears glistening in her eyes. Angry, sad tears? She hastily wiped them away, but more came behind them. She was obviously trying to maintain her composure. "We're through. For good this time." Upon saying this, the tears came in earnest.

Draco ran a hand through his platinum hair, ruffling it from its well combed style. He levitated some tissues over to her, not sure what else he could do. He wasn't really the comforting sort. And while he and Hermione had some sort of unspoken truce, where they wouldn't say or do anything too insulting or horrible to each other (He constantly flirted with that invisible line, he admitted), they weren't friends. "I'm sorry, Granger. I really am."

"Thanks." She mumbled. When the tears had slowed down (He kept up a steady supply of levitated tissues), she pushed her now slightly tangled hair from her face and said, "I think I'm going to go to lunch now. I need some time alone." He nodded, and she gathered her blazer and purse before heading out the door, heels clacking down the hallway.

When she returned 45 minutes later, she looked much better. The color had come back to her face, and she'd swept her hair up into a messy but cute bun. For some reason, he noticed that she was wearing pearl earrings. They'd been hidden before by her hair. Draco thought they looked nice.

As she got to her desk, she froze. There was another bouquet on her desk. This one was normal sized, however, and had orchids, not roses. It was trimmed with opaque and translucent purple ribbon in a subtle and beautiful way. "Oh..." She stared at it, touching one of the orchids gingerly. "Where did this...did you see who brought this in?" She turned to Draco as she asked.

"Um, no, I actually went and grabbed something at the ministry cafeteria. Got back just before you. Sorry."

She stared at him a moment longer before walking around the desk and sitting. "It was you," she said in an accusatory tone.

He stood up, walking over to examine the flowers himself as he said, "While it is a very tasteful bouquet, and I'd like to take credit for it, no, it was not me. We should check if there's a card or something." They began searching all over it. It was significantly smaller than the "anniversary" bouquet, but it was still fairly large as far as normal bouquets go.

"There's a card, but all it says is: 'You are beautiful'. There's no name." She smiled slightly.

"Maybe they delivered it to the wrong person then, if it says that."

"Malfoy!"

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist." He turned her so she was facing him, and placed a hand on both shoulders. "You know you're a good looking witch, don't let anyone, including me, convince you otherwise." She nodded silently, and he went back around his desk to sit. "That Weasel wasn't worth your time anyways. What'd he do to screw things up anyways?"

She was silent for a moment, and he thought she was going to tell him off for being nosey. Then, she said, "Molly, Mrs. Weasley, wrote to me, because he was too much of a coward. He's...he found someone else. He fell in love. With someone else." She stopped talking and just stared at the ground. He wondered if she'd start crying again.

"Do you know who?"

She shook her head. "The letter didn't say." Hermione walked behind her own desk and sat down to get back to work.

"Hermione?" Her head popped up at the use of her first name. "Did you want to go home? I'm sure Charity wouldn't mind."

She didn't even pause to consider it before saying, "Out of the question. Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous. You guys were together for almost, what, 5 years?" She looked at him when he said this, wondering how he knew, then realized he probably just counted how long it'd been since the war. Everyone knew that's when she and Ron had finally started dating.

"Well, more or less. If you don't count the many times I got fed up and broke up with him in between." Saying that seemed to remind her or something, and she looked like it made her feel better. "Look, I know I should be more upset, and maybe this does make me an emotionless bitch, as Ron sometimes called me, but I am not that broken up over this. I was shocked, and I'm a little broken-hearted." Draco raised his eyebrows when she said "little". Hermione chose to ignore this. "Things were going downhill for a while, I just refused to admit it." She looked out their window for a moment. "Plus, if I go home, I won't be doing anything. I should keep busy right now."

"If you say so, Granger." He began working on his computer again, and she went to open the last of her 3 letters.

"Oh crap," She said when she'd finished.

"Today is not your day for letters, is it." Draco glanced over at her, making sure she wasn't going to start crying again. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw that she just looked annoyed.
"What is it this time?"

"It's a note from my mother, reminding me of my cousin's wedding. Tomorrow. I'm supposed to be bringing a date." Again, he was surprised that she'd shared with him.

"Just don't go. Or, just go without a date," he proposed.

"I would if I could, but my cousin...she's bridezilla. She said I'd better actually bring a date this time since she was paying so much per person for the wedding, or she'd...well, she would make me regret it." Hermione turned a bit red, and Draco wondered what Hermione's cousin had threatened.

"'This time'?" He asked.

"Oh, it's her third wedding. The last one was about 3 years ago, and I had broken up with Ron briefly right before the wedding. When I arrived dateless, she was furious." She stood up and began pacing back and forth by their window. The size of their office didn't give her much room. She began talking to herself aloud. "Where could I find a date at this point. I guess I could ask Harry?" She walked over to Draco's desk and stood over him.

"May I help you, Granger?"

"Yes, I need you to email Harry for me. I need an answer quickly."

Draco leaned back with his arms behind his head and smiled. "If only Weaslette were here to witness you asking that."

"Oh shush," Hermione threw back.

"You know you're going to have to get one, even if just to keep up productivity. Everyone is going to find it inconvenient to contact you only via owl."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. I'm just postponing the inevitable. Whatever. Write my email for me. Please," She added as an afterthought. He complied, and received a response a mere 5 minutes later.

"He says he's busy tonight. Something about a-" He glanced at the email again to finish reading it, "-a date with Narcissa Malfoy?" He rolled his eyes. "Really, Potter? 'I can't believe you are doing any sort of favor for Hermione, emailing me. What is really going on? I would know if Ron had broken up with her.'..." Draco stopped reading the email aloud and looked at Hermione. "Just inter-office memo him or something, he's not taking the email seriously, because it's me, obviously."

Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration. She marched out of the doors to find him in person. Ten minutes later, she returned, looking grim.

"He can't go with me. He really has got a date." She saw Draco's look of indignation and quickly said, "not with your mother! Really now. It's with Luna."

"Interesting," commented Draco.

"Well, not interesting to me. I need a date still." She looked at him. "Any ideas?"

He straightened in his chair and smiled in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable. "Why yes, I have the perfect solution. I'll be your date."

Hermione gave an unladylike snort in response. "You're not serious. It's a muggle wedding!" He continued smiling at her. "You'd really do that? For me?"

"Well, I might require one tiny favor from you in return."

"I knew there'd be a catch." She sat down on top of her desk. "What is it?"

"I want to know," He leaned forward on his elbows, and rested his chin in his hands. "What is it your cousin will do if you show up without a date?"

She glowered at him for a moment, considering the probability of finding another date on such short notice. "Fine," His eyes lit up as she said this. "But I won't tell you until after the wedding. And only if you are good."

"Define 'good.'"

"Alright, I'll define it: Not trying to tiptoe around the line of what I find acceptable or not." She got up from her desk top and walked around to sit in her actual chair.

"I'll be on my best behavior. Don't worry." He grinned mischieviously.

Hermione took that as her cue to start worrying. What had she just gotten herself into?

Please review, just remember I'm new to this! Hope you like it so far!