CHAPTER ONE

'You know what you have to do,' Richard said, quietly.

Hermione didn't answer at first. She was seated opposite Richard, her fingers drumming thoughtfully against his desk. Glancing at his cool, collected expression, she knew that what he was saying made sense. But that didn't make his suggestion any more palatable.

She chose her words carefully. 'They don't like me,' she said.

Richard quirked a sandy eyebrow. 'They know you?'

'Draco Malfoy and I were in school together. We studied in the same year.'

She knew, even as she was saying this, that her words were a mistake. Richard snorted sardonically.

'School rivalry? Is this some kind of house-versus-house situation? You can't honestly be serious.'

Hermione sighed. 'Ricky, it's more than that. Malfoy and his entire family hated Harry and they were all torn up about my supposedly impure blood. Some of these rivalries go deeper than you'd imagine. They aren't going to let me into their house.'

Richard sighed and slid his wire-frame glasses further up his nose. Hermione caught him glance towards the false window in his office – the artificial sun's rays were deep orange and on the verge of fading away, and she knew he wanted to get home to his wife and kids.

But he wasn't going anywhere until they thrashed this thing out.

'Well?' she pressed.

'They aren't going to have much of a choice. There's been a death in the family – an inquest is essential and all the paperwork which comes with that. I can have Marianna at the Registry whip up some very authentic documents which will force the Malfoys into letting you into their house.'

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She had been working under Richard for four years and this was the first time he had condoned – let alone suggested – forging paperwork.

'You're very serious about this, aren't you?' she asked, contemplatively.

Richard didn't answer. Instead, he pushed a file across his desk and gestured to her to open it. Hermione pulled out the first piece of parchment in it and ran her eyes over it.

'This is the report of Lucius Malfoy's death,' she said, making a note of the official stamp on the paper.

Richard nodded. 'Unknown causes. No sign of mischief, but no real reason for the man to drop dead either. Add to this the fact that he was once a well-known Death Eater and he's spend some time in Azkaban. The Ministry has a right to investigate this – there might just be something going on.'

Hermione raised an eyebrow. 'Do you really think Malfoy was killed?'

Richard shrugged. 'Who knows? Personally, I don't think so. The man was past fifty and not exactly in the pink of health, especially post-Azkaban. All I'm pointing out is that given the circumstances, the Ministry has a right to investigate this.'

'A right you're going to take full advantage of,' Hermione added.

She picked up the file again and flipped over to the next page. All the details of Lucius Malfoy's death, right down to the kind of lace that trimmed the nightgown his wife was wearing when she found his body, were mentioned in it.

'Parisienne,' she murmured.

'What?'

'Nothing. Tell me exactly how this is going to pan out?'

Richard looked pleased. Hermione knew he thought he had got his way. 'It's simple. Tomorrow, I'll speak to Marianna about that documentation and send a notice to the Malfoy Manor to let them know you'll be staying there for a month, compiling information for the inquest. It's all very above-board. Back here, I'll just integrate the documents about Lucius Malfoy's death with your pre-existing project and you needn't report to anybody but me.'

Hermione was still contemplating the project later that evening, as she walked down the street to the apartment she shared with Ron. On one hand, Richard was her boss – if he asked her to take up a project, she technically had no right to refuse. On the other, she had been working with him long enough to be able to establish what she was and wasn't comfortable with.

And this was something she definitely wasn't comfortable with.

Hermione sighed in frustration as she entered the building. She had been working on the Malfoy project for over three months now and truth be told, the guy was as slippery as an eel. She desperately needed some kind of headway and having unlimited access to the Manor for a month was definitely a good chance – especially since all the documentation regarding Lucius Malfoy's inquest would give her the perfect excuse.

On the other hand, living in the Malfoy Manor for thirty whole days could just kill her.

She found her flat door slightly ajar as she crossed the landing and heard Ron speaking to someone. A second later, the door swung open and Melissa, the striking blonde who Ron had been dating for a couple of weeks, strode out. She beamed at Hermione and snatched her up in a quick hug, bag and all, before hurrying on. As Hermione entered the flat and found Ron hauling bags of vegetables to the kitchen, she said, 'I like her.'

Ron paused. 'Melissa?'

'That's right. She's nice. Much better than the last one.'

Ron's brow cleared. 'I like her too. I wanted her to stay for dinner but she said she had some kind of family thing. She brought dessert though.'

Hermione grinned. 'I like her even more. Have you made dinner?'

He shook his head. 'Ordered in. We were plumb out of groceries, I just picked some up. But there's glass noodles and Kung Pao for dinner, if you're okay with that.'

'More than,' Hermione sighed, shrugging off her coat and scarf. It had been breezy outside but their flat was always warm – sometimes slightly stifling. It had only one and a half bedrooms, a kitchen and a parlour that doubled up as a TV room, but on their just-out-of-Hogwarts salaries, it was all they could afford. And they'd grown so attached to it ever since that neither had wanted to move out.

'And while you're heating stuff up, I need to pick your brains about something,' she called out, as she lugged her handbag into her quart-sized bedroom. She heard Ron asking what it was about from the kitchen.

'Malfoy,' she muttered, gritting her teeth, 'As always.'