WARNING: This story is currently rated teen, but as it goes on, it may feature some mature themes, so be aware of this, please.

Chapter 1

"Such a lovely party, mio amico." Marie cooed to her assistant, Louis. He simply nodded, observing the elegance of the place. The place glowed with a golden warmth that enveloped Marie with the joyous tone that the party had. Hundreds of people were chatting, dancing, and eating, including high-ranking Ministry employees, Prime Ministers, business-owners and elite purebloods. Spotting the man she had been hoping to see from across the ballroom, Marie rushed past people, being careful not to bump into one of the servers.

"Ah, Marie Benedetti, how wonderful it is to see you," said Edward O'Brien, deputy head of Magical Law Enforcement in Britain, also one of Marie's former flames. They had remained good friends even though they no longer were romantically involved, keeping her posted on how the government was doing in Britain. Marie smiled, taking notice of how the man had changed over the past few months. A thin beard, perfectly combed hair, and a new posture to himself that alerted people that he was official. But he had the same warm brown eyes that matched her own, and a smile that could cheer anyone up. He took a second to look her up and down, then stated, "You look very beautiful tonight."

She smirked, she did look beautiful tonight. Donning an elegant, black, figure-fitting dress, and her caramel-coloured hair pinned up in a half-updo, Marie dressed to impress. "How would you like to meet the man of the hour?" Edward suggested, gesturing outwardly towards the mansion they were inside.

"I'm not sure, he may not, uh, not take a liking for me," I sighed, not wanting to think about approaching her new British counterpart to the Head of the Department of Magical Cooperation.

"He's going to have to, you both are forced to be working in quite close quarters. Come," Edward beckoned, taking her hand into leading her into the crowd. She felt a ping of worry in her stomach for Louis, wondering if he was faring well. He was new, a mere 18 year old boy, who probably had never been to a formal party such as this one in his life. All thoughts exited her head as she laid eyes on the man of the hour, the new British head of Magical Cooperation himself, with his sleek platinum blonde hair that could only belong to one family. "Mr. Malfoy! How are you, sir?" Edward questioned thoughtfully, catching the man's attention from the flock of older folk.

Almost refreshed to see a face under 50, he raised an eyebrow, with a slight curl of a smile on the left side of his mouth. "O'Brien, how nice to see a familiar face. I'm doing quite fine, and yourself?"

"Quite marvelous. I came here to introduce you to-"

"Marie Benedetti, I'm very aware of who she is," Draco stated matter-of-factly.

Edward rubbed his hand on the back of his neck nervously, then gulped, "Well, I'll leave you two to it then. See you both around."

After his awkward departure, Draco eyed her hungrily, like a wolf ready to kill. Marie knew he was doing to treat her with disdain, or insult her. She wasn't up to his standards of a witch, she was only a halfblood. "Signore Malfoy, what an honor to finally meet my British partner," Marie said, offering up some bait for a nice conversation.

"Yes, quite. I must say, for a halfblood, you are very appealing to the eye."

"For a halfblood?"

"Yes, and I would take that compliment very seriously, considering I do not indulge myself in mixing in with…others. But, considering that Britain and Italy have been working very closely for the past few years, I supposed I must be become accustomed to interacting with your kind."

"You must be mistaken, you speak as if being a halfblood is something to be ashamed of, essere imbarazzato by."

"Well, Ms. Benedetti, you must be aware of my family and its ancestral purity, so you must also understand where I'm coming from," Draco tried to reason, as if his rudeness was not his fault. Marie let out a huff, finding it increasingly harder to just idly stand there and not insult him back. But she was an important figure, and she was looked up to by many.

"Yes, Signore, I suppose I understand. I just hope for it not to get in the way of our line of work. Afterall, we are heads of Magical Cooperation. How, um, ironico, if we couldn't even cooperate ourselves," She explained, hoping this would dull down the intensity of the conversation. Draco actually let out a chuckle, his grey eyes twinkling a little.

"I agree, it's our job to do the best job we can, and I'm hoping we can look past our obvious differences and be a fantastico team," Draco smirked, poking a little fun with throwing in some Italian. Marie's fingers twitched at his hidden insults in that statement. Obvious differences? How pretentious. He was so good at masking the hurtful things he said to her.

"Well, if you don't mind, it is late, and I believe I must be on my way back home," Marie exclaimed, trying to excuse herself from the Manor. Draco gave her a quick nod, and then gave her a little bow.

"I shall see you Monday in my office then, and we can get to working," Draco reminded her before she disappeared into the crowd to find Louis and get out of there.

Hey guys, I'm finally back, and with a new story! Now that school is finally over, I can write fulltime for the summer. So, I will also be updating Ignition, for those of you so patient and devoted supporters (I love you guys so much) I also apologize not only for disappearing for like, two months, but for this chapter being so short! I just wanted you guys to get a little taste of the plot, I might be posting again tomorrow or the next day. I haven't figured yet. So, if you liked it, leave a comment. Not so much? Review it anyway so I can make it better! I love you guys so much, and I'm glad to be back! Stay awesome, Gotham.

-April