Chapter 1

Harry thought that the Auror graduation should have been a slightly bigger celebration, instead of the quiet, drab assembly of people sitting on rows of uncomfortable chairs watching the Auror's being given their badges. He briefly glanced at the Weasley's who were sitting several rows behind him, they smiled at him and Ginny winked when at him, smiling the widest of them all. He shifted on his chair, waiting for his name to be called out, his fingers drumming on the inside of his leg, desperately trying to stay calm.

Hermione was standing with the other graduates, beaming brightly, her badge pinned proudly to her new robes. She wasn't looking at Harry, instead her gaze was directed on Ron, who was looking at her intently, a small smile on his lips. Harry was glad they weren't pulling their usual gooey faces which they usually wore when in public, too busy flirting, snogging or just generally acting in a romantic fashion, as the faces and the behaviour was generally quite embarrassing to anyone around them. His mind drifted to Ginny, and the previous night, where they'd stayed in bed talking about their upcoming wedding, and what married life in general would be like.

His results letter had come a few days previously; he had opened it with shaking fingers, sliding the heavy parchment out of its envelope as carefully as possible. His results had been as good as he had hoped, he'd done well on the defence section, but his paperwork hadn't been as detailed as he'd liked, he'd been out of his depth on several of the questions, even after the months of revision Hermione had put him through. As soon as he verified his pass grade, he'd grabbed Ginny who'd been standing behind him, reading the letter over his shoulder, and pulled her into a passionate kiss, before bending down on one knee and asking her to marry him. As surprising as the sudden development was to Ginny, and to Harry, who hadn't been planning to propose and wasn't the spontaneous type, she agreed without hesitating. He'd immediately jumped to his feet, gave her another kiss before pulling her hastily into the bedroom.

'Draco Malfoy' The man standing with the list of names said in his booming voice, Harry's head shot up, looking to see the silvery-blond standing up and making his way swiftly towards the podium to receive his Auror certificate and badge. Harry was mildly surprised that he'd actually passed the exams; many people had doubted Malfoy's sudden decision to do something 'worthwhile' after he'd signed up for the Auror program; no-one had wanted to work with him, mainly due to his disagreeable temperament, as he'd continued to act in his prejudiced fashion, much like he'd acted during his time at Hogwarts. This irritated many of the Auror apprentices, especially the Muggleborns who weren't particularly pleased with his disbelief that they could actually perform complex magic. He'd been civil enough to Harry, who had spoken to him briefly after the war, when he'd decided to return his wand to its rightful owner; other than that, they'd had no specific contact except in training.

Harry watched as Malfoy walked casually to the other graduates, the smug smile on his pale face irritating Harry slightly, as he was anxious to get his badge and beginning to panic, much like he had waiting for the Sorting Hat to decide his fate, that his letter had been a hoax and that he'd failed his exams completely. Eventually, his name was called out, and he'd walked forward to receive his badge. After joining the others on the other side of the stage, Malfoy turned to him and whispered quietly

'Well done Potter, glad you didn't fail, I like a bit of competition.'

Harry glared at Malfoy, before turning back to the other graduates who were sitting waiting for their names to be called.

Eventually, after Ron's name had been called he lost interest and began staring around the room, dreading the partner announcements which they were to find out after the graduation ceremony. He knew that Head Auror Robard wouldn't partner him with Ron, as he was seemingly unimpressed by Harry's fame, and refused to grant him any favours; instead, he would probably partner him with someone like Malfoy as a way of punishing him for supposedly assuming he would be shown favouritism just because he's 'The Chosen One'. Eventually, the final person had been called out and they were told to stand in front of Auror Robard, to find out who their partner was. Harry was wishing as hard as he could that Robard hadn't been completely vindictive and put him with one of the worst students, or Malfoy.

'Ronald Weasley you'll be partnering with…' Robard lingered, looking directly at Harry and sneering in a way that rivalled Malfoy 'Hermione Granger.' Hermione blushed as Ron winked at her and they walked out of the hall together, hand in hand. Harry watched them go, knowing they were off to 'celebrate', as soon as they'd managed to escape the rest of the Weasley's, glad that he no longer shared a flat with them; something that had been rather awkward before he'd moved in with Ginny. He returned his attention to Robard who had partnered James Matthews, an ex-Hufflepuff who'd completed Hogwarts the year after Harry, Ron and Hermione, with Zachariah Smith, who had somehow become an Auror despite his complete and utter disregard for authority. Harry was relieved he hadn't been partnered with Smith, who still disliked him to some extent, but was beginning to dread that his worst nightmare was to come true. More and more of the graduates had been paired up and eventually it was between him, Malfoy, Seamus Finnegan and Anthony Goldstein. He was fully aware that the vindictive smile on Robard's face was becoming wider as he watched Harry shuffle nervously under his cold stare.

'Potter…you'll be partnering with Mr…Malfoy.' Harry sighed quietly, resigning himself to the fate which was most likely inevitable, 'Make sure you keep his ego level Malfoy, I don't want him going off on a power high.' Harry turned to look at Malfoy, who was already preparing to leave, his cold eyes turned downwards, refusing to meet Harry's gaze. Harry followed after him, expecting Malfoy to complain as soon as he was out the room. However, immediately after they had walked out the doors, Malfoy looked despairingly at Harry, before apparating from sight.

I've written up to chapter 3 so far, but I would like feedback before I update, just to see if I have any readers. I am aware this is clichéd but I'm hopefully gonna go somewhere with this.

So...R & R people if it isn't too much trouble.

RippedIntoPieces