. . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . .
The new generation that works for the Ministry of Magic has a different perspective than others before them.
Hermione is leading a new division of Investigations, under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement along side Harry and Ron.
Draco on the other hand, has to prove himself trustworthy after the war, but the Ministry begins to recognize that his talent for potions are becoming a valuable asset. Soon, the Ministry's department of Regulation and Control appoints him the Head of Potions Regulation.
Hermione and Ron chanced a romantic relationship but concluded that they were better off as friends.
FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS
Investigation: the action of inquiring something or someone; formal or systematic examination or research.
. . .
It was a frigid day, on an abandoned street, in a dilapidated British town just outside of London, where Hermione and Ron took notes from a Muggle police officer. They stood close to a broken fence covered in a hoard of rotting vines, that sparsely surrounded a rundown house.
Ron lazily leaned against the wood-rotten fence, taking a sip of his takeaway tea as it creaked against his weight. Before it gave in, he caught his balance, splattering a bit of his steaming tea onto his coat. "Bugger!"
He hastily tried to wipe it down, peeking up to see if anyone had seen his fumble. Luckily, Hermione was still focusing on the Muggle officer wearing a dark blue, oddly egg-shaped helmet. He was giving her details on the case they were assigned to, though he was unable to give any suggestions as to what was going on.
Ron smugly thought to himself, No wonder they were confused, look at those hats. I could not take that conversation seriously.
Ron reached for his wand to cast a cleaning charm, until Hermione stretched her hand out toward him, still concentrating on the police officer in front of her. Ron paused, Oh right, Muggles, wait, did she see me spill too?
Hermione drew back her hand to jot down a few notes, using a pad of paper and a simple Muggle pen, sometimes she missed that. It had become a regular occurrence for her to be the witch chosen to speak to Muggles, it was just easier. If she hadn't, she would have to double back and ask more questions anyway. Most of the Ministry witches and wizards lacked the patience to translate everything or were sloppy in the details on how Muggles viewed the world. She nodded politely to the man in front of her,
"Thank you, officer, we'll go take a look now."
Ron stood up straight upon hearing that she was finished. He was about to speak when she purposely avoided him by walking past and facing the house. He was one of those sloppy wizards at the Ministry. She wished he matched his father's interest in Muggles.
Hermione studied the house, tucking her notepad into her coat pocket, wincing from the cold, wondering if anyone was looking, to cast a warming charm.
"Uh, Hermione what are we waiting for? Let's just go in, it's bloody freezing out here."
Hermione kept her eye on the house, exasperated already, expecting the usual banter that came between them, "You know we have to wait for him, Ron-"
"Load of bollocks, we don't need him. He's hardly come back with any useful information on the last few investigations and-"
"I can hear you, Weasley."
Ron and Hermione turned abruptly after hearing the disentranced reply from Draco Malfoy. He stood there casually, in his long double-breasted, dark green wool coat, holding a brown leather briefcase.
"Oh, like I care if you heard that, Malfoy! Come on, you're late, as usual."
Hermione sighed, even if Ron was right, Draco did have a reputation for being late to nearly every investigation or Ministry meeting. No one ever really knew why, and he never made an excuse and never apologised.
Hermione gave Draco a short smile, "Ok Malfoy, this is what we know and what we can share about-"
"Fucking hell, now we have to debrief him? He's late Hermione! Why should we-"
"Ron, please!" She burst, challenging his fury.
Draco looked up to see Hermione sternly staring at Ron. Only in that moment did the clouds part, revealing a string of light, a slight relief from the bitterness of the day. Hermione must have taken the light as a sign to calm herself, backing off on her aggression toward Ron. She broke her glare on him, glancing over at Draco slightly embarrassed. Draco peeked up at her, taking note of how the stream of light landed over her, revealing what seemed to be a fleck of gold reflecting in her brown eyes.
Ron visibly sulked, huffing and returned to lean up against the fence again, forgetting his lesson earlier. Hermione quickly grasped the front of his coat, able to just stop him from falling, seething, "Next time, you fall, Ronald. I am done catching you."
Ron gained his balance, and she released his coat, moving on to the house. He sneered, bit his lip and crossed his arms, looking away as if he had better things to do as the clouds gathered again, and the sun disappeared.
Hermione exhaled, turning to Draco, "Ok, where was I? Right. So, as far as we know, there was an extensive use of potions and screaming coming from the house. The locals described it as 'torture noises' and 'flashes of light'. Police scanned the house and found empty potion vials." Hermione handed Draco an evidence bag clinking with glass and continued.
"Since you're coming in with us, you'll need to be aware that we might find a child in there. Locals have seen him come and go, alone, but the police couldn't find anyone in there. Ron and I will handle that, but you'll need to be prepared."
Draco nodded, looking past her and gazing upon the house, it was small. He wondered how Muggles could live in these tight spaces guessing that the inside was only as big as the outside.
Hermione glanced back at Ron, and he raised his eyebrows with a tone of sass as if to ask if she was finally done. She gave a slight huff and turned to step over part of the old wooden gate that had been knocked down.
Draco began to follow, but Ron cut him off, glaring back at him. Draco did his best to hide his anger with an unamused stare. He loathed how Ron had ultimate job security because of his role in the golden trio. He suspected that Ron must have been a spare broom, like a backup, collecting Doxy's in the closet, while Hermione was as hardworking as ever.
Draco on the other hand could have popped a blood vessel at any moment, continually holding back his rage while within the clutches of the Ministry, trying to prove that he could actually cooperate with others. Most of his family fortune was being investigated for dark magic, and the Ministry had stretched it for far too long, which he deemed over the top and insulting. It was laced with humiliation on the Malfoy name especially when he worked for them, but he needed the job. The years working for the Ministry helped him mature, and for the first time in his life, he felt like he was doing something worthwhile. Though, around Ron, he wanted to conjure up his youth and hex him into oblivion.
Draco took a deep breath and slowed his pace to give a generous amount of space from Ron. As they walked up to the house, Hermione knocked lightly at the door while gingerly opening it.
"Hello, we aren't here to harm you, we only have a few questions..." But there was only silence. Hermione, Ron and Draco all stood in line at the small foyer, scanning the space.
Ron muttered, "Merlin's beard, what a mess."
Furniture was knocked over, glass was scattered across the dented hardwood floors, and there seemed to be something they could not identify, oozing down the walls. Draco combed back his hair, sensing dark magic that compared to a certain wizard that had taken over his home years back.
There was an eerie aura, and it reminded him of the nightmares that lingered after abruptly waking from a cold sweat. Even if the details had faded, or one could not legitimize why it had frightened you, it left you abandoned and seeping with emotions that haunted you until morning light.
Hermione hissed at Ron for tactlessly stating the obvious, "Ron, quiet." She flicked her wand, "Revelio."
Suddenly, across the room, a dusty, moth-eaten drape drew open, skittering down a half broken curtain rod. There sat, under a broken window, a child no older than six, with dark skin and short curly brown hair, clenching their knees tight, peeking up at them for the discovery. There was less fear and more curiosity in the child's eyes, and Hermione felt sympathy, observing their tattered clothes.
Draco could only think about why the Muggle police could not find this child and slowly raised his wand in case there was something more menacing afoot. Hermione took a cautious step forward, quietly shaking her head at Draco for his wand, and he lowered it slightly. She looked down toward the child across the room, "Hello, we can see you now, are you alright?"
The child remained still, monitoring the three at the entrance way. Hermione cautiously walked over, while Ron and Draco watch from the doorway. She skirted her way around broken glass and stepped over various items recklessly splayed onto the floor to get closer. She crouched down, noting that the young child had one hazel brown eye and one pale gray.
"Please don't be scared, we're here to help."
Hermione continued to talk, asking the child questions, while Ron and Draco stood out of earshot of their gentle conversation.
Feeling a cool breeze sweep through the open door, Draco turned to shut it. He decided not to just stand around, walking in further he found a table laying sideways, so he lifted it to its upright position. He placed his briefcase on top, snapping it open, and it became quiet. Draco turned to see Hermione and the child paused, staring at him.
When Hermione made eye contact with him, she nodded to agree that he should continue. He looked back into his case, organizing empty vials and sliding on protective gloves, trying to listen in on the murmurs between Hermione and the child. Not able to distinguish anything, he gave up and turned to scan the room, deciding on where to start. He glanced back at the door, where Weasley stood looking bored, which helped his decision, choosing the furthest wall from him. As he approached it, reaching in every place he could, he collected what he guessed were various potions beginning to dry upon the wall.
Ron stood watching Draco, waiting for Hermione's orders, nearly about to lean against the wall next to him, he paused realizing how disgusting it was. He dared to reach and touch it, caught off guard when Draco slapped his hand away. Ron scowled, but Draco ignored his offending glare, as he continued to cork a vial of the substance.
On the other side of the room, the young child continued to respond to Hermione in a quiet whisper. At one point, Hermione adjusted herself, leaning her ear in as she crouched down next to the child. It gained Ron's attention when the child began to hold her hand. Hermione appeared to have lost her balance at one point, bracing her other hand to the floor.
Ron anxiously observed, relieved that Hermione did not appear in danger, curious on what the child could have been saying. Then Hermione and the child turned together, looking at Draco, while he continued to collect samples. Finally, Hermione stood up, but she appeared bewildered as she walked back toward Ron. She stood next to him, turning to face the child, "Ron, I think… I think he, or she… I'm actually not quite sure… I think they are a seer."
Ron looked at her quickly, then back at the child, convinced the child was a boy, "No. He's way too young, really? Wait, why do you think that?"
"He said things. Or She- just-" Hermione stumbled on her words because she was still processing what the child had just told her. Usually, Hermione was highly skeptical about predictions and prophecies, and this made her question everything she knew.
"She looked at my hand, and touched it and... she said so many things, things no one could know. What was to come and…" She paused, trying to focus back on actual details, "Ron, she has no parents. Apparently, she's been jumping from house to house." Hermione turned to fully face Ron, scratching her forehead, worried, "She said they are looking for her, but she had a hard time describing who they were, as if, they changed. She knew they'd finally find her, but-"
Ron looked at her intensely, "They?"
Hermione looked flustered, shaking her head, "What, Hermione?"
"I don't really know… but, she was waiting, for us."
"What do you mean, waiting?"
Hermione cleared her throat, "She knew they would catch her, but she chose this place to be caught because she knew we would be here. To help."
Ron peeked over to the small figure under the window. He felt sympathy for her. She was so young, and running away from unknown people. Ron followed her gaze onto Draco. She appeared amused, monitoring him as he shuffled broken glass with his formal leather shoes, moving across the room collecting more samples.
Ron lowered his eyebrows and then glanced back at the child, "You mean to say, that he, or she rather- purposely let, whoever was trying to get her, do whatever they did here, so that eventually, today, we could help her?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"What did they do to her Hermione, was it bad?"
Hermione exhaled, "It sounds like they didn't get very far." Hermione gestured to the other side of the house, "She knew that the fussy older woman next door would call the police at any noise, and she did, it's in the Muggle report."
Hermione shifted, crossing her arms to think, "The child said they tried to steal her, maybe they suspected that she was a seer." Hermione paused and reached to grab her notepad and pen from her pocket, fumbling slightly. Each time she thought to jot something down, she stopped herself. Feeling scatterbrained she looked back up at Ron to continue, "She's apparently been hiding for a while now. She has a different accent, not one I recognize. Says she's from an orphanage far away from here, running and using her abilities to get to this point."
Ron took a sip of his now lukewarm drink. "Poor kid, did you get her name?" he asked, convinced that would solve the he/she dilemma.
Hermione shook her head, "Says she doesn't have one."
Ron could see that Hermione was still shaken from something, confused as to why the child had so much interest in watching Draco collect samples.
Draco came back to his makeshift workspace, able to spell a clear seal around his briefcase as a protective barrier to run sample tests. Hermione finally snapped out of her train of thought, "Ron, can you get a blanket, food, water and some fresh clothes? Here's some Muggle money, should be enough, there's a shop three blocks away."
Ron huffed, frustrated that he had become some errand boy now, "If it weren't for the kid, I'd be annoyed you know."
Hermione placed her hand on her hip, annoyed, "Yes, trust me, I know. Thank you, Ronald."
Ron pinched his lips, glancing back at the child to make assumptions about their clothing size, opened the door and shoved his hands in his coat pockets as he descended from the house.
Draco tried to get Hermione's attention now that she was not distracted by Weasley, turned to her gesturing for her to come over, "Granger…"
"Malfoy?"
Hermione stepped over to him, to see what he was about to show her, still peeking up at the child under the broken window.
"My tests show the use of; Veritaserum, Living Death, Wiggenweld, Aging potion, and Polyjuice potion."
Hermione leaned in close to see, pressing her crossed arms tighter as she began to think out loud,
"I've seen this once before in kidnapping cases; using an aging potion on the child to avoid the trace, and then knocking them out, wake them up when needed. If she's a seer, they probably wanted her to reveal something."
Draco watched her as she scanned his testing equipment, never usually standing this close to her. Hermione unaware and completely in thought continued,
" 'They change', must be from the polyjuice, maybe the only way she would have a hard time predicting who 'they' actually were." Hermione trailed her words, continuing to think, not aware of Draco watching her intently.
Hermione did not have to confide any of this information to Draco, in fact, she really shouldn't have. He did not have the authority to the details of the investigation. He wondered why she was letting herself slip, as she was usually more confidential than this.
He turned to look at the child to think, and she usually did not believe in seers, she made that all too clear in her weekly meetings. The child must have said something earth-shattering to make her believe.
Though it was not his place he thought they should test the child to make sure she was not under any polyjuice potion, but they would need to take her back to the Ministry for that, if she was in fact, a juvenile.
Draco turned back to Hermione with curiosity, wishing he could hear her thoughts. Just then there was a light coming through the window above the young girl. It lit Hermione's face, and Draco noticed a small eyelash across her cheek, and he desperately wanted to reach out and collect it. He swallowed hard trying to ignore the magnetic pull towards her as she casually stood so close to him, it gave him a fluttery feeling in his hollow heart.
Something was slightly different today, he felt that at any moment, he could reach out and touch her as if it were suddenly allowed. Draco steadied his breath, reminding himself that his ridiculous emotions were not part of their current reality and buried them deep in his mind.
As the light made her wince, Hermione blinked, realizing how near she was to Draco, and looked up to catch him staring. Slightly embarrassed, she looked to his briefcase as he cleared his throat, "Is this good for you?"
Her eyes shot up at him, catching the light streaming through the irises of his platinum colored eyes, wishing they were a window to his thoughts. Her heart raced, as her mind scrambled to understand his meaning, feeling flush, until he spoke again,
"I mean, should I collect more?" He turned to remind her of the rest of the room covered in substances. Then he grinned to himself, and peeked up at her, enjoying her transparent rush of embarrassment.
Hermione flustered, nodded in agreement, "Oh, right! Yes, well, we should really..."
Seeing her stall to answer, he assumed she was politely avoiding something, "You know, you can take these back to the lab, if you want, to double check."
She glanced up at him, then back to the vials and test tubes, trying to avoid his watch on her reaction. Hermione reflected on Ron's earlier accusations. It was true though, Draco's analysis on the investigations had come up short in recent cases.
"Granger, it's fine. I'm not offended. Go. I'll stay, collect more samples."
"Are you sure? I mean-"
"Really Granger, it's nothing."
She glanced at the girl, and Draco could see the worry on her face.
"I'll watch her, Granger. She's hardly as annoying as you were at that age, and I'm hardly as mean as I was."
Hermione glared at him, trying not to smile, as Draco handed her a small pack of vials to take. All Ministry employees were trained in handling civilians, and Draco always had a good memory for such things, proven when he corrected Ron in meetings. She paused at the door to say something, but he quickly interrupted, "Yes, if she says anything important I'll document it. Go."
Hermione smiled softly and turned to leave.
The girl stayed sitting, keeping a tight eye on Draco as he busily collected more samples on adjacent walls. Then Draco's ears twitched to hear the girl's gentle voice from across the room. She appeared to be speaking to him as if they were continuing a conversation from before,
"You have two paths with her, perhaps three."
Draco paused, Is she talking to ME?
Then the child continued, whispering like she was finally able to expose a secret, now that they were alone, "I needed to find you, you're not easy to see, your path is never planned. Depending on your choices, with her- everything can change."
Draco, had stopped reaching for a potion high on the wall and lowered his arms to his side, turning his body slightly and looking over to the child, "You, needed to find, me?"
The child nodded "The war is still going on. It will always be there."
Draco paced slowly back toward his briefcase, scrutinizing the girl from afar. He reached for a notepad and quill to jot down anything she might say, as promised.
Apprehensively, he stepped over to the child and had a sudden fixation to her eyes, not only from the different colors, one brown, one gray, but from their depth. Something about the girl's mannerisms, made him think that she had seen something haunting, or just more life in general, far beyond her apparent age. Maybe she IS under polyjuice. I'll just stall until Granger gets back.
"Are you going to tell me anything that happened last night, or is this just about-"
"It's about everyone."
Draco raised his eyebrows, and looked around the room, then back at the girl, "Do you see the future, can you see what will happen?"
"Yes, but it changes. You make it change so often, it's not easy to keep track."
"Me? How- Ok, wait. If you don't have anything to say about what happened here last night, I really need to get back to-"
"You separate or live with secrets. Either path hurts you both, they hurt everyone."
Draco, who had already turned to make his way back to the table, stopped. He suspiciously turned around as if to discover a prank on him, waiting for someone to jump out of another room.
"Who-"
"You…" The child pointed to her gray colored eye, "and her" pointing to her hazel brown eye.
Draco's head raised slightly, breathing deeply through his nose, studying the child. To prove her wrong, Draco pointed to the front door to where Hermione had just left, "Her? You know we're not together right?"
"You will be, don't worry."
"Who says I'm worr-Trust me, she wouldn't- I mean we aren't-..."
Draco chastised himself for trying to explain himself to a child, or whoever she was. Clearly, she was hardly a true seer, suggesting Hermione would, or could even… His thoughts began to feel displaced, and the little girl continued, "She thinks about you too. She will say yes."
Draco's heart was beginning to pound quicker than it should, for not being a believer. The weight of the child's words had exposed his most honest desires and fears, and the sudden release of them into the air foolishly made him feel as if they could actually come true. He took a second and berated himself for allowing this girl to get to him, but he could not help think of the meaning. What- say yes to what? How would she know I think of her. Would she say this to Ron too? Maybe she'd play this game with him. The child seemed content with herself, beginning to playfully fiddle with the broken glass near her. Why would a seer be looking for me?
She delicately lined up galleon sized pieces of glass, lengthwise on their edges, balancing them carefully on the wood floor. The broken shards touched the next in line, like a tiny transparent wall. He winced his eyes at the sight, impressed that they did not topple over without some use of magic. She pointed to it,
"The wall in your mind is useful, but you're lonely in there. It comes naturally to you, but not to her. Maybe try a fence instead. You must let her in. Perhaps start with a small gate." Then she knocked a middle piece out, leaving a gap in the line of glass. Looking up at him as if to ask if he understood. He just watched wondering how a young child such as this could make such metaphors. Did he think like this at that age?
Then, as a matter of fact, she stated, "It will change everything, for everyone."
Draco closed his eyes for a moment, Ok, maybe she's just clever. I'm obviously closed off. Draco snorted to himself,
"Look kid, I don't know what— but you probably just picked up on... I mean—" Draco scratched his chin, "Why would we separate or have secrets? What… what does that even mean?"
Draco felt like he was falling for a trap by asking this, but he could not shake it from his mind. The child looked down at the floor, she appeared sad all of a sudden, "You want to be happy, but it's hard for you. You both won't last long unless-"
The child continued to scan the floor at the shattered glass that Draco had been shifting around when collecting samples as if she could see something within the broken pieces.
The child's eyes shifted back and forth, Draco was mesmerized by the color shift, swearing the colors began to slip between her eyes as if it could not keep up with her movement. Then she paused to stare at a single piece, "There is another path, a path altered by my words, but only if you let go of your doubt and listen closely."
Draco lowered his eyebrows, perplexed, but waited. He was secretly more than eager to hear anything she might say about his future if it did actually involve her. Draco remained silent, but the child responded as if she had understood him, agreeing to listen.
"Good, here goes; You will be with her because you were always meant to be, as in the past, so be it in the future." Her hands reached out to different parts of the floor as if she was pointing to words on a page, and then on to the next. "Many will add to your doubt that you deserve her." She pointed to a corner as if the people she referred to were standing there, but there were only larger pieces of glass.
"Your most desired destination will come from your most challenging journey. Your guilt feeds upon your heart until there is nothing left and her forgiveness has never occurred to you."
Then she slightly turned to the broken window behind her, gesturing to the opening, "You must let her. It is her nature. She is to mend you, let her."
She turned to Draco, looking him directly in the eye, like a mother, softly giving advice to a young child, "Your depth of love for her will be seen by the world. Only then, will they see as I do."
Draco swallowed hard, unable to move, but his knees felt weak and his heart sunk into his stomach. He took a deep breath, then snapping out of it, he began to pace, this time very aware of the glass, stepping over it. He ran his hand slowly through his hair. It's all true, something he had never really believed to be possible. His mind scrambled for logic, How could she know we were together in the past? Did Hermione mention it to her earlier? Did she mean like at school or like in another life? This is- I mean, what motive could she have to be saying all of this?!
Draco struggled to abandon his logic, attempting to hone in on his feelings instead. He ultimately dared to believe the child's prediction, perhaps because he was desperate for someone to be on his side and to understand. The child spoke again, keeping her eye on Draco as he paced the room,
"Be patient, it takes you a while to accept her forgiveness, but you will feel it, and you will know."
Draco leaned down on his knees to brace himself, looking up to scan the child's eyes as if to find out more. There could be no way that this child contained the exact colors of his and Hermione's eyes, she's a Metamorphmagus, that's what she is, right? This is all just a game to her.
The child picked up a shard of glass that reflected light onto his eyes, scanned it closely and smiled, "I can already see your future altering. Your children are beautiful, but watch out for your daughter, she is very much like you."
Draco stood up straight, placing both hands behind his neck, exhaling, no one would believe this, he hardly could. He dropped his arms slightly startled when he heard a noise toward the front door.
The child appeared excited, whispering loudly to him, "It's her! She has good news, but only thanks to your work. She's pleased, it makes her feel better about you. She wants you to do well."
Draco watched as Hermione walked back in with a smile and his heart fluttered at the sight. All he could think of now was a future with her, hope tipping the scales more than ever before.
Sure enough, Hermione came in, trying not to appear unprofessional, he could sense she was more overly joyed than usual, confirming that his potions were correct. Draco only stared at her, hanging on to her every word. She was proud to note that his work also led to finding the actual wizards attempting to steal the girl. The Ministry was able to track recently purchased ingredients, in the same time-frame that these exact potions found on the walls.
"You did great, Malfoy. We almost dropped that lead, and thanks to you, I mean, you know, good job."
Draco hardly deserved this intense praise and nearly retorted something in his usual sass, but stopped himself as the child's words echoed in his mind, let her.
He looked back at the child and gave her a faint smile. The child's smile matched his, but with more glee, and then she proudly grinned up at Hermione. This made Hermione curious, turning to Draco,
"Did she say something? I mean- you know, about last night, the case?"
Draco peeked over to the child, then back up to her responding softly, "Nothing about the case, Granger."
Hermione's professionalism suddenly vanished, her body sulking as if someone had revealed a secret of hers without her permission. Her mouth opened to speak, but there was a rustling noise at the front door, it was Ron walking in, holding a plastic shopping bag, "Here are the clothes, hope they fit-"
Ron looked up to find that Hermione and Draco were standing close, paused stiffly. He looked past them down to the child who had a jovial grin, her eyes focused on them. Ron lifted the bag of items he had just purchased, shaking it slightly to get her attention,
"Uh- Hermione?"
She kept her stare on Draco, "Yes. Thank you, Ron."
Draco's heart began to race, unable to believe that Hermione was still looking at him. It was almost as if the presence of the child had allowed their professionalism to slip.
Perplexed, Ron brushed through them, dividing them cluelessly, to bring the bag over to the child. He pulled out a fresh shirt and handed it to the girl, "Here ya go, I hope you like green, oh hey, matches your eyes."
Draco and Hermione both whipped their heads over to Ron in confusion. Hermione stepped closer to the child, crouching down to study her eyes. Ron leaned to grab food and water from the bag while she made eye contact with the girl.
When the girl made contact with Hermione, the green hue of her irises faded away and returned to the hazel and gray that Hermione had witnessed before, catching her breath. She glanced back to Draco who was already next to her, also witnessing the color switch. Hermione stood up, her eyes nervous to meet his. He managed to softly nudge her, and she bashfully looked back at the girl who was now taking a sip of water.
Unaware of it all, Ron interrupted the unspoken emotion between them, "Are we, you know, taking the kid back or-?"
Hermione cleared her throat in an attempt to get back to the case. "Er, yeah. I mean, yes, we are taking her back to the Ministry."
Hermione gave the child a reassuring smile and reached her hand out, and she easily stood up to hold it. Draco went to pack up his briefcase, surprised to turn and find the child reaching her hand out to him. He could not remember the last time he had held a child's hand, or anyone's for that matter.
There was a comfort in it that he could not describe as he looked up to Hermione who was already watching with a knowing smile. It made him wonder what the child had said to her when they had first discovered her. Then, all three walk past a bewildered Ron, who trailed behind. They were outside in the cold again, and Draco released the child to allow Hermione to guide her into the back of a borrowed Muggle police car. The child curiously sat down in the back seat, while Ron walked over to the driver's side. Hermione closed the door gently for the child and began to open her door until she felt a touch on her arm.
She looked up to find Draco trying to get her attention,
"Hey er- sorry, I just wanted to see if you would be interested in, maybe getting something to eat. Not now obviously, but maybe later tonight."
Hermione was taken aback by Draco's request, "Oh, I already had plans with Ginny..."
Draco nodded, pinching his lips into a smile. He would usually act unaltered by her rejection, along with a proud reply, but instead, allowed his embarrassment to surface, giving it away by looking toward the ground.
Hermione noticed, quickly rectifying it with a suggestion, "Would you like to go out with me maybe, tomorrow?"
Draco's head popped up at her response and his eyes widen. "Yeah? I mean...Yes."
Hermione grinned at Draco's slight excitement at her response, "Ok Malfoy- Draco. Tomorrow. Then, we can discuss children's names."
Draco's heart leapt, and his eyes widened at her comment. She tilted her head slightly smiling, "You know because she doesn't have a name." Gesturing to the back seat where the little girl sat.
Draco exhaled and looked down at the girl through the car window, to catch her eagerly smiling back at both of them.
Then, the sun peeked past the clouds for a moment and tinted the surface of the car window. The tint shaded the girl, and instead, Draco and Hermione appeared together in the reflection of the glass.
* Beta credit goes to AlexandraO, thank you so much for taking the time on my oneshots!