Draco stood in an alley way, waiting for his meeting. It was an odd place for it but the setting wasn't the strangest thing about it. Hermione Granger had called him a few hours before and told him to be there. As if the fact that she had called wasn't weird enough, he had actually shown. The old Draco wouldn't have done that.
In the four months since the battle of Hogwarts, Draco had began to change. He wasn't sure exactly when it had happened or how much of the old him had died; but the boy who had joined the Death Eaters was not the scarred and battered man who had emerged. Most of the people he knew had been sent to Azkaban for their crimes. Only a clerical error had saved him from the same fate.
Comparatively, Harry Potter and his lackeys had been living large since their victory, as far as he heard it. They now had everything they wanted, while people like him were left with nothing to offer anyone. So why had he been summoned by the Mudblood? It was odd.
She arrived then, an unobtrusive figure, telltale ginger hair hidden beneath the cowl of her hooded cloak. Draco put his hands in his pockets and lounged against the wall. He felt his usual sneer slip into place. It didn't feel right anymore. Apparently that was a part of him that had been damaged. Nevertheless, he had nothing to replace it with. Fake disdain was better than nothing.
"Granger," he acknowledged her.
She pulled back her hood and squinted at him.
"Malfoy? You look different,"
He shrugged, "So do you. Have you gained weight?"
She pursed her lips and conflicting emotions flashed behind her eyes. She clearly did not want to say whatever she was about to say. Finally, she forced the words out from between clenched teeth.
"I need your help,"
He snorted, "If I ever feel inclined to help you, I'll send you a letter. Now, if that's all−"
She whipped out her wand and pressed it into his nose. He froze.
"You are going to help me," she said with frightening calm, "I'm pretty confident I can make you feel inclined to do so,"
He swallowed. He could hear his pulse racing. God damn it, if he'd wanted to die, he could just have done the right thing while he was a Death Eater. Hermione must have seen something she didn't like in his expression, because her resolve wavered. Finally, she lowered her wand.
"I won't do it his way," she said.
Draco didn't have to wonder long who she was talking about. He had seen enough cruciatus curses working for his old boss.
So, knowing Granger and her stance on violence, he was quite surprised when she stepped forward and kneed him in a very sensitive area. He doubled over, gasping.
"Help me?" she said, pausing to kick him in the shins, "Please,"
"Are you insane?"
"Just about. Harry and Ron are missing and the Ministry is covering it up. No one is helping them,"
"And you want me to save them?"
She grabbed a handful of his hair and forced him to look at her, "Pretty please,"
"Okay, okay! Stop kicking me!"
She stopped, like nothing had happened. She offered him a hand back up but he didn't take it. Glaring at her, he pulled out his own wand. Best not to be caught unprepared again. She nodded, satisfied.
"Okay, let's start working. Harry went missing about three weeks ago and…"
Over her shoulder, Draco caught sight of movement at the mouth of the alley. Next thing he knew, a flare of red light erupted on Hermione's back and she crumpled to the ground with a small gasp. Swearing, Draco fired a quick series of stunning charms in the direction of the light. There was the sound of footsteps as someone ran to escape the onslaught. There was no return fire. He glanced around. Granger was down and he could easily evade her. He didn't have to help her with anything.
But whoever had hit her with the spell was probably going to come back.
"Damn it," he said and bent to carry her to safety.