A/N: This was written for the DramioneLove Love Fest 2014 to Prompt #25: Hermione works in at Saint-Mungo's as a Magical Being's Healer. She works like a vet/doctor for magical creatures. Well first Draco Malfoy comes in with a hurt House Elf. The week after, he's back with a burnt Crup. A week later, it's a Fire Crab who's lost it's shell that brings him running. But, when Draco comes in one day with a depressive Flobberworm, Hermione decides to have a little conversation with him upon his real motives. I'd like this to be funny, but it's up to you. Oh, and I've named some magical creatures, but feel very free to change them and do what you want!

We found the prompt really cute and fun. Unfortunately, due to work and school getting in the way, the original plotbunny couldn't quite come to life, so this much smaller and rather fluffy one hopped along instead. Many thanks to B for betaing this.

We know we haven't written much recently, but although we're busy, we're still involved with our beloved Dramione. :) And we're really grateful to everyone who has reviewed our fics!

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" is the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This work of fiction/art was created entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.

"Mummy?"

"Yes, darling?"

"I feel funny."

Hermione looked at her daughter with concern. "You don't feel well?" She put a hand to the girl's forehead, but it didn't feel too warm. "Are you hungry?"

"I don't know," Alexandra replied. "I just feel funny."

"Hmm. Maybe we should go back to the house."

"But our picnic…"

"We can have it another day," Hermione said decisively. "You might be coming down with something, and we're going on holiday next week, remember? You need to be in tip-top shape by then, otherwise you'll be miserable."

"But I don't feel sick, Mummy, I told you!"

"I don't know what you're feeling, but if you're feeling off we can always have our picnic on a day when Daddy is free to join us."

"But I want-" Alexandra broke off and gasped. "Mummy, an owl!"

And it was then that Hermione realized what was happening. It was clear that Alexandra had inherited a special gift from her father.

"Mr. Malfoy is here to see you, Healer Granger. It's an augurey this time."

Hermione calmly signed the medical record she had been looking over, trying not to betray the butterflies that had suddenly taken residence in her stomach. "Thanks, Aoife. That should be interesting. Please let him in." Once her assistant had left her doorway, Hermione frantically smoothed her hair and tidied her desk. She had been hoping Draco would drop by sometime during the week and had dressed accordingly. It wasn't that she fancied him, of course; he just always looked so well-dressed that she felt she ought to wear some of her nicer work outfits as well. At least, that's what she told herself.

Three sharp raps on her door signalled Draco's arrival. Hermione jumped out of her seat as the door opened, rushing forward to help him. He smiled when he saw her. "Hello, Hermione. Sorry to disturb you again," he said apologetically as they maneuvered the augurey's cage onto the examination table.

"Oh please, it's my job. And at least you bring in interesting cases- all of my other cases this week have been domesticated animals, like owls, crups, kneazles, and even pygmy puffs. A far cry from your magical creatures." She smiled reassuringly before turning her attention to the bird in front of her. "Oh dear."

"It's quite badly beaten up," Draco said quietly. "I think it was some of the hawks in my area. Augureys usually hunt when it rains, but it hasn't rained in a while so it must have risked it and gotten caught out by the other birds of prey."

"I'm sure we can get it fixed up in no time." Although the augurey was calm, Hermione cast a sedative over it before opening up the cage and getting to work. "Where did you find it?"

"The western end of the forest. It took me a while to find - it's always so difficult, since I never know exactly what I'm looking for."

Hermione hummed in agreement. "Have you been to see anyone about controlling or honing your abilities?"

Draco shook his head. "I've tried searching around, but I don't know anyone who has the same talent. I've been looking through my family's old records, but although they mention Malfoys who had it, they never say how to control it. I think I'm not meant to control it - and I see their point, I mean, since this ability has manifested, you and I have saved dozens of creatures, but I'm worried it will start interfering with my life. It's getting stronger, you know. And I can't just ignore a creature that I know to be in need."

She turned away, as much to get some supplies as to hide her grin. Draco was so very different from how he was when he was younger, but it still amused her to tease him about it from time to time.

It had been almost a year since Draco had first come to her clinic with a sick house elf. It was a surprise, as house elves never went to their masters when they were sick; one of Hermione's many peeves with the house elf system as she believed it should be the responsibility of their master to ensure they received proper healthcare. Draco's elf, Pearly, had developed arthritis - not an uncommon ailment in older elves - and had been painfully shy when Draco had brought her to seek treatment. His care towards his elves had done much to dispel any of Hermione's lingering feelings of ill-will towards him. Not that there had been much to begin with; ten years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and although Hermione hadn't had any reason to really converse with Draco, the wizarding community was small enough that they'd run into each other many times and had put the past behind them.

Soon after that, Draco brought an injured owlet for her to treat. Next, a couple of weeks later, it was a bunch of fairies that had been poisoned by Muggle insecticide. The following week he asked her to visit the Manor to check one of his aethonons that had broken its wing, and later in the month he brought her a porlock. It was when Draco brought a flobberworm into her clinic and insisted that it was depressed that Hermione couldn't help but ask how it was that he knew so many injured creatures.

The Malfoy estate was one of the largest sanctuaries for magical creatures in Europe; it was by far the largest that was privately owned. The Malfoys, it turned out, had once developed an ability to let them know when one of the creatures on their estate was injured. There were tales of several of Draco's ancestors who were great magical creature healers, who had a bond with all of the animals under their protection and could, to a certain extent, communicate with them. The skill was lost over time, as the succeeding Malfoys became more interested in politics and less interested in the beings and beasts that lived on their land. Occasionally, the magic would resurface in a Malfoy, as it had in Draco. It had started slowly when he was twenty-five. At first, it was just a general feeling, one that he couldn't place. As it got stronger, there were times that he thought he was going mad. One day, nearly two years after the first time he had felt the sensation, it led him to Pearly. Once her arthritis was being treated, the feeling disappeared and he realized what it meant. The feelings grew stronger and more defined until Draco could sense creatures in distress even if they weren't on his estate, meaning that he would sometimes bring Hermione an ailing squirrel from the park or tell a family in Diagon Alley that the crup they were taking for a walk had better see a vet. Draco also had a certain amount of influence over the animals in his care, so he could approach even the wild ones and calm them down enough to get them to Hermione to be healed. His powers were undoubtedly a gift, but with it came a responsibility he had neither expected nor wanted. Had they manifested when he was younger he most certainly would have gone into magizoology or veterinary healing, but by the time he was aware of them, he was already quite settled with managing his investments and various projects.

"I found a book that might help," Hermione told him. "There are apparently some tribes in Africa as well as in the Amazon that have similar abilities. It's only briefly mentioned in a chapter of the book, but if you think it will be useful I can speak to Luna as she and Rolf might know a tribe or two in Brazil."

"Really? Thanks, that would be great. I've had to rearrange a meeting today to bring the augurey here. Hopefully that doesn't become a regular thing." He rubbed his face tiredly and leaned against the wall. Suddenly he straightened up and looked anxiously at her. "I mean - not that I don't like seeing you. I just don't want to have to rearrange my meetings to do that."

Hermione bent over the augurey and ducked her head, focusing on a cut on one of its wings to hide her smile. "I know what you mean," she said, trying not to read too much into his statement. "You know, I'll probably need to keep the augurey here for observation for one night, at least. They usually look quite thin, but I'm worried this one is too thin. Like you said, it's been an unusually dry summer so it might need some nourishment. You could go back to your office, if you'd like, and I'll update you tomorrow."

"No thanks, I'd rather stay, if that's all right with you. I've cleared my afternoon already- cleared my mind as well!" he chuckled, moving to sit on the chair beside the examination table. "I've put it in my head that I won't get any work done this afternoon, and you can't make me."

She laughed. "I won't even try."

"Good." He leaned back in his chair and watched her clean and heal several of the bird's wounds. "So, any exciting cases today?"

"Just one. Someone brought an augurey in today, can you believe it?"

"No! An augurey? Aren't they harbingers of death? That does sound terribly exciting. You're lucky to be alive."

"I know. I've got many more days of taking care of overfed pygmy puffs ahead of me."

They continued their banter until Hermione was finished, after which Draco helped her take the augurey to the back room where the animals were kept for observation. She placed a bowl of insects into the cage for the augurey to eat when it was ready and followed Draco back to her clinic after they washed their hands.

"If you're not doing anything tomorrow, would you like to come to the estate and release the augurey?" Draco asked. "If it's all right by then, of course."

Her stomach fluttered pleasantly. "I've got the clinic open in the morning, but I've got nothing planned for the afternoon."

"Great. We don't have to go to the house, as I know you might not feel very comfortable there. How about I meet you here and we Portkey to the forest?"

"Sounds like a plan."

The next day played out exactly as Hermione would have imagined her perfect date to be, had she been the type to imagine such a thing. The only problem was that she wasn't quite sure if it was a date or not. Draco met her at her clinic and they decided to grab lunch before returning for the augurey. Hermione was quite satisfied that it was healthy enough to be released, although she worried about the continuing dry spell. Still, it wasn't good to keep a wild animal in captivity if it was well enough to be set free. Draco's Portkey took them to roughly the same spot that he had found the augurey, and Hermione was pleased to see the mournful-looking bird look slightly less mournful as it realized it was home. She and Draco then walked slowly through the forest, their hands brushing but never quite lingering, and he pointed out various trees or animals of interest. The creatures of his estate seemed to know their master, and although none came too close, neither did they run away. Draco spoke of his land with comprehension and pride, but not a trace of arrogance, and Hermione eagerly drank in the knowledge he was imparting. Hours later, when they eventually tired, they sat beneath a tree, a bottle of wine and some nibbles between them, and Draco read to her from the journals of his ancestors, sharing the history and responsibilities of his gift. Later on, they moved to the patio of the manor to have dinner, and it was Hermione's turn to speak, since he claimed his throat was sore. She told him of her clinic and how she became a veterinary healer, of her childhood dreams, her parents, and the Muggle world. She was pleased to see that Draco's prejudices seemed very much behind him.

There was no longer any point in denying it: she fancied him.

It was nearly midnight when Draco finally escorted her to the apparation point. The moonlight brought out a whole new set of creatures, although as they walked in the garden Hermione could only hear their calls from the forest.

"This was a lovely day," she said, breaking their silence.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Draco replied, smiling.

"We should do it again sometime."

"Yes, that can definitely be arranged."

Hermione turned to look at him, his brief answers at odds with his loquaciousness earlier on in the day. Her first thought was that he was tired, but as she looked at him more closely, she detected a hint of nervousness in him. Although he hadn't been completely open and forthcoming, there were some things Draco had said throughout the day that made her realize the next move was up to her. The war - and the things he had done during the war - had destroyed him, and although he had rebuilt himself and made himself stronger, she knew he didn't see it that way. He saw himself as a burden, someone with a dark past that he wouldn't want to foist on anyone. He'd settle for friendship, no matter what his feelings were on the matter, if that was what she wanted. She could understand why he felt that way, but it saddened her. It wasn't right; he deserved love as much as anyone. Deciding to take the plunge, she asked him, "Are you free for dinner sometime next week? It's my turn to plan something," she added, seeing his pleased, surprised look.

"I'm free on Monday night," he said, sounding simultaneously eager and hesitant, as if she might think it was too soon. "It would sure make Monday morning more tolerable."

"That's true," Hermione chuckled. "All right, Monday it is." She tried to suppress the feeling of giddiness inside her and they both grinned at each other. Feeling bold, she added, "It's a date," and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"Okay," he nodded when she stepped back. "Thanks. For the, er, date and the - never mind," he broke off, realizing that thanking her for a kiss on the cheek wasn't the smoothest thing to do. "Owl me the details?"

He seemed so confident about everything else, but a simple gesture had him stammering and blushing like a teenager on a first date. Hermione smiled, a wicked thought coming to mind. If this was how he reacted to a kiss on the cheek, what would he be like after a kiss on the lips?

Only one way to find out.

Hermione grinned to herself at the memory and snapped back to the present.

"Is he dead, Mummy?" Alexandra asked, approaching the owl that lay on the path ahead of them.

"I don't think so," Hermione replied, cautiously approaching the bird. As they neared, it began flapping a wing, hooting pitifully. "It's injured, though."

"You can heal him, right?"

"Yes, I should be able to."

Alexandra moved quickly and reached the owl first, reaching out to pet it. "Be careful!" Hermione exclaimed, afraid the agitated bird would scratch. It seemed she needn't have worried, as the owl quickly calmed down under the young girl's gentle hands.

"I think his wing's broken, Mummy, you have to do Episkey."

Hermione smiled as she knelt down next to her daughter to assess the injured animal. It seemed that at just 5 years old, she was manifesting her father's gift, but might also become a magical creature healer. She couldn't wait to tell Draco- he'd be so proud.