Written for Quidditch League, for Seeker for Wigtown Wanderers, for the prompt: A 'big age difference' relationship.

Rose and Draco.

Words: 1246

Intern

When Rose Weasley walked in on her first day, I had to roll my eyes. I knew I would be getting an intern, but she was the last person I expected. Ron just grinned at me when I threw him a look. He was the one who'd assigned the interns; he could have given me some warning it would be his daughter.

I had nothing against her, of course. I'd never met her. But I did have a thing or two against her mother.

I smiled at her, as well as I could, and saw a blush creep up her cheeks. Oh, great. She was nervous. Nervous people in the Auror Office was the last thing we needed. They made mistakes.

"Draco Malfoy, Chief Auror," I introduced myself, holding a hand out for her to shake. She took it with a clammy hand and a smile.

"Rose Weasley, intern." Was she mocking me? Or was she just dense? I shook it off and lead her into my office, gesturing the seat opposite me.

"So, you'll be with us for the next eight weeks, and we're going to start this week with shadowing and paperwork. It doesn't sound like the most fun, I know, but you need to get a feel for how the office is run. It's not all like it's written in the papers. We've got a few forms for you to fill out and sign, so I'll give you some time for that in a moment, but to start you off, Burke here is going to run through the basics. It's what we call the governance," I began. I'd had this speech practiced, of course, but sitting opposite a Weasley, my heart just wasn't in it. "After the first week, you'll be given charge of the governance behind a mission we have planned. That should last a couple of weeks and you'll be responsible for ensuring the paperwork is complete, making sure everyone is organised and ultimately keeping them safe through that organisation. Charnock over there will help you out with all that. After that, it depends on you. If you show the aptitude, you may be able to accompany some of our Aurors on a mission, or you could choose to look at some of the Back Office roles in more depth. We'll be monitoring you throughout and there'll be plenty of opportunities for you to test yourself, sound good?"

I looked up from my paperwork to gauge her reaction and spotted her eyes jumping up to my face, from where they'd been staring. What was she staring at? As the blush came back, I hazarded a guess that she'd been staring at my chest. Great. The last thing we needed was a kid who fancied me.

She nodded abruptly as Burke stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm John Burke, Project Management Officer. I'm responsible for all the Governance here so if you'd like to follow me, I'll talk you through it," he smiled, and she stood to follow him.

I handed him the forms and watched them leave, immediately burying my head in my hands.

This was going to be a nightmare.

I'd known for a week now that I'd be interning with the Aurors, and I was excited. I wanted more than anything to follow my father's footsteps into the Auror Office. I guess the one thing I didn't bank on was spending so much time around Draco Malfoy.

I'd fancied him from a distance for a while now. I mean, who didn't? He had this tortured soul thing about him, largely due to the difficult time he'd had in the war, and as Head of the Aurors, he was dangerous. He always managed to look rugged, but in a refined sort of way. He had an air of darkness about him, too, despite the white blond hair. After his marriage had fallen apart a few yars ago, he was also marvellously single.

But come on, Rose, get a grip. You haven't blushed so much since third year! I went to the bathroom to calm myself down, but it didn't seem to be helping. I wasn't made to spend so much time in closed quarters with the man! I'd been here for a week now, and I felt like I'd really got a handle on the ins and outs of the place. It was twenty past three on the Friday, and I was about to go into his office for a whole half an hour for my weekly performance review. My hands were clammy and my heart would not slow down. I wondered if he'd guessed. Breathing in a deep sigh and steeling my Gryffindor courage, I headed out and knocked on his door.

"Come in," he shouted, head buried in files.

I opened the door and stepped in, taking the seat opposite him as he worked.

"Sorry, you're a little early; I just have to finish this up," he told me, and I said nothing, waiting patiently.

"Right," he said as he finished his sentence. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Great," I told him with a grin. "There's so much that goes on here I never knew about."

"Yeah, a lot of people say that." He smiled at me. Merlin, that was one hell of a smile. "Anything take your fancy?"

"Well, I'd still love to experience a mission. But your Project Management Office do wonderful work, keeping everything ticking over, and the Intelligence Team have a really hard but worthwhile job."

"The two departments we Aurors couldn't do without, but which no one seems to know exist. Good choices," he said. He smiled again, but he seemed tired. It didn't reach his eyes. After a pause, he continued. "I'm hearing good things from the floor. You seem to be picking things up really quickly and asking a lot of questions, which is what we like to see."

His voice was monotone, flat.

"You don't sound impressed?" I asked, wondering if I was stepping over the line.

"Well, no offence, but you're Hermione's daughter. I'd be worried if you didn't ask questions."

And there was the low blow.

"You're judging me by my parents?" I asked, incredulous.

"Well, no, it's just…" As he fumbled for his words, I shook my head. Maybe he wasn't the saint they made him out to be.

"If anyone should know not to judge someone by their parents, it's you. I got a feeling you didn't want me here, and now I know why. The main reason I wanted this office was because I thought I'd be judged on my own accomplishments," I told him.

"Okay, while I don't appreciate an intern raising their voice to the Head of Office, you might have a point," he said, voice strained and controlled. This was not a man who liked to admit he was wrong.

"Okay."

"We'll start fresh on Monday. You'll be running Operation Lilac from the inside. Think you can handle it?" he asked.

"I know I can."

As Rose Weasley left my office, my stomach sank. I'd done her an injustice. I saw that now; she'd pointed it out in not too kind words. But Merlin, she had guts to stand up to me. I liked that. I'd promised her we'd start afresh on Monday, but her words reminded me of certain punch I'd once received. She did remind me of her mother, but I decided there and then that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.