Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the brains behind Harry Potter. I am the brains behind this story.
A/N: Wow, it has been a very long time! I'm back though. I've got my inspiration back, and hopefully time has made me a better writer. We shall find out.
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The Great War had ended. Harry had won with his life spared, unlike so many others. Voldemort was now truly gone but his followers were not. Hopes of a new safer world were quickly erased after the war as the extent of the damage was considered. The death eaters had been one up on even the dark lord. Only half had engaged in the final battle. The other half had realised Voldemort would not make it out alive so had opted to save their own lives and carry on his work once he was dead. The wizarding world was in shambles with lies and secrecies rife among the survivors. Harry, Ron and Hermione had all made it out alive from the war and were now heading the massive hunt for death eaters. Cunning as ever, many had eluded capture including Draco Malfoy. His father's devotion to the dark lord had cost his life, and his wife followed soon after, out of grief it was speculated. Ironically it had been Hermione who was responsible for the downfall of Malfoy senior. Shortly after Draco appealed to be allowed into the light side, claiming he had been forced into the death eater ranks by his father. With the absence of a dark mark many had taken pity on him. He was given a two year probationary period during which he was watched very closely. He passed this and was now mostly welcomed with open arms.
Hermione apparated to a street a few houses from her apartment. It had been a long day. She and a few other aurors had followed yet another false lead on the death eaters. She sighed pulling out last nights leftovers and flicking on the TV. She lived with Crookshanks in a small modern apartment. Harry and Ginny had married earlier that year and were living at Grimmauld place, awaiting their first child. Ron was living at the now spacious Burrow with his muggle fiancé. Fred and George had moved closer to their company headquarters and Bill and Fleur had moved into their own place with their two small children. Hermione felt quite at ease living by herself. After all, there was no one else to look after or clean up after. She had space, or so she told herself.
There was a knock at her door. She grabbed her wand and walked cautiously to the door. Through the peephole she could make out Draco Malfoy. She kept her wand raised; something about him never sat right with her, and opened the door. He glared at her before thrusting an armful of papers into her arms and leaving without a word. Hermione sighed and watched him walk away.
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It was four years ago now that the Great War had occurred. Hermione had just been granted an internship at St Mungo's and Harry and Ron were training as Aurors. Word reached them that Diagon Alley and Hogsmede had been invaded by death eaters. All available wizards were to go and fight. Hermione was one of the first on the scene. She stunned a few death eaters and ducked a few curses as she ran through Hogsmede to find Harry and Ron. Suddenly a flash of blue grazed her shoulder. She screamed in pain at the burning flesh and whipped around to face her competitor. Lucius stood before her with the traditional Malfoy smirk plastered on his face.
"What, I, that's, I thought you were in prison!" Hermione sputtered out.
"If I was, how could I be standing in front of you ready to deliver your fate?" Lucius asked calmly. He quickly ducked a misaimed curse from another duel. Hermione chose this moment to stun him but he was too fast and deflected it.
"And you're supposed to be the brightest witch of your age" he scoffed. "This world would be a much better place if there wasn't filth like you walking around. Mudblood's do not belong here, and I plan to the rid the world of vermin, starting with you." His eyes flashed as he advanced toward her.
"Yes, I always did think your family was very keen on each other. That's called incest and it's severely outdated, so I suggest you grow up and stop fucking your sister!" she yelled back. Hermione's eyes widened when he chuckled.
"A dirty tongue for a dirty whore" he spat. "Crucio!" he yelled. Hermione was too late and fell to the ground writhing in pain. She couldn't even scream it was so excruciating. She started to feel dizzy from a lack of oxygen when he subsided.
"I know spells you've never even heard of. I can make you suffer until you're begging death to take you". He threw another curse at her. Hermione doubled over as a large gash erupted across her stomach. Hermione felt liquid spilling through her fingers. Shakily she muttered a spell to close the wound and then slowly got to her feet.
"I'm surprised Granger. I would have loved to take you back for my son to finish you, I know how much pleasure he would gain out of that, but you're stronger or perhaps more foolish than I thought. Pity, you're parents weren't that strong. They just cried and begged for their lives; I got sick of it after a while and killed them". He smiled coldly and walked towards her raising his wand. Hermione still had her head down and was shaking. In a split second she raised it and screamed.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" a small shot of green light flew from her wand and hit a stunned Lucius. He fell to the ground and looked her in the eye, a surprised look on his face. Her spell had not been strong enough to kill him instantly. She staggered up to him and spat in his face.
"You are despicable, the lowest any human being can go. The world would be perfect without scum like you!" Hermione cursed a wound in his arm and he hissed. She then cut herself and thrust the arm in his face.
"Do you see anything different between my blood and yours? It looks red; it's about the same consistency. If I had half a brain I'd say it was exactly the same!" she shouted at him. He smirked at her and opened his mouth to retort but fell forward instead onto her feet. He was dead. Hermione staggered away from the body to the wall of a shop nearby. She tried to quell her violent shaking but it wasn't working. The scene in front of her was blurred and she blinked desperately to stay conscious.
A figure stood about 10 metres in front of her, eyes wide in shock. He was frozen, staring at the body in front of Hermione. He then raised them to look at her in disbelief which melted into hatred. He drew his wand and advanced toward her. She felt tears come to her eyes and croaked out an apology to Draco. She was waiting for the welcome release of death when someone shoved something into her hand. She felt the strangely familiar feeling of being hooked behind her navel before she fainted.
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The next day she arrived at the Ministry juggling the paperwork she had finished late last night and a large coffee. The lift doors were just about to close. She yelled and ran in just before they closed. One other person occupied the lift and he was looking at her in disgust.
"Hi Malfoy. Did you, um, have a good night?" Hermione asked carefully. He turned and looked the other way and then pressed the emergency stop button. The lift shrieked to a stop and Hermione dropped a few of the papers. She winced and felt hot coffee seep into her shoes as Draco slammed her into the wall.
"Don't ever talk to me mudblood. I have not forgiven you for what you did and I never will. The next time you so much as look at me I will make you hurt until you're begging for death!" he spat and released her. Hermione slumped slightly and massaged her sore arms with a slight sense of déjà vu. Draco casually pressed the button for his floor as Hermione picked up her papers and half empty coffee.
He left without another look at her. She quickly exited behind him before the doors closed on her. Once she made it to her office she dried off her papers and her shoes. A note was lying on her desk.
'New lead. Meet at my office pronto. Harry.'
Hermione sighed and made her way toward Harry's office. She arrived and scanned the room. A couple of aurors were already there, along with Ron of course and Draco. Hermione looked at him and he glared back for a second before turning away.
"Ah, Hermione, just the person I wanted" Harry said. He had matured immensely since the war ended. Old rivalries had been put to bed in his mind, which was why he was one of the few who accepted Draco after the probationary period.
"Now we have had a tip-off from one of our insiders that there is a hideout of a very small, but some of the most powerful death eaters in the Lothiway Forest. Now because of the precarious positioning and utmost stealth required of this mission, we are sending only two of you. Hermione and Malfoy." Hermione stared at Harry incredulously while Draco and Ron were more vocal.
"With her? You know what she did to me Potter. Are you out of your mind?" Draco started.
"Yeah, are you out of your mind? It's too dangerous. Let me go instead" Ron spoke over Draco.
"First, Malfoy you need to put the past behind you and learn to work as a team and second, Ron, Malfoy is the only one who knows the Forest better than anyone else and Hermione is very knowledgeable about the Forest. You know how dangerous it is. Also, I doubt she would have a hard time keeping Malfoy in line, not that that would be necessary", Harry said with an air of finality.
"Then at least let me go with them" Ron whined.
"No, I would have rather one person go, but that is far too dangerous. Stealth is the key to this mission. The rest of you are to stay in the township close to the Forest. Hermione and Malfoy will have little contact with you, but enough to keep us informed. You will leave this evening. The brief is sitting on your desks. Good luck." Harry looked at them grimly as they filed out, but reached over and grabbed Hermione before she left.
"Hermione, I want you to have this." Harry handed her a small silver whistle. "This is a very dangerous mission. This whistle is not magic at the moment, but the minute you blow on it, it will be. You must use it only if in dire trouble. You know you can only use limited magic in the Forest, anything too powerful will be traced." He gave her a tight hug and peck on the cheek. Hermione smiled at him.
"Don't worry Harry. I will be fine. I wasn't the smartest witch in our year for nothing! And I was the only one out of all of us to punch Malfoy," she giggled. Harry smiled at her and hugged her once more.
"I'll see you when you get back." With that Hermione smiled reassuringly and retreated to her office to read the 98 page 'brief'.
A/N: Does anyone know how to make double spacings happen? Because they aren't working in the story so I have to use dashes. It's quite annoying.