A/N: This is based off of the following prompt: Draco is sent to Azkaban for a year or two after the war since he was a Death Eater. Lucius died in Azkaban. Narcissa was never officially a Death Eater though, and was never sent. When Draco is ready to be released, Narcissa asks for person specifically to be his caseworker. Hermione Granger. Prompt by: Black Rose Blue

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize

xxx

Hermione Granger sat at her desk at the Diagon Alley fRehabilitation Center staring at her calendar. Today was July 25th, 2000, the two year anniversary of the day that 37 Death Eaters were incarcerated in Azkaban for the myriad of crimes against society they had committed. Each Death Eater had been given a fair trial individually, of course, but the Ministry of Magic had organized what was now known as Incarceration Day as a showing of triumph over evil and a step towards global peace.

Hermione saw that day differently, though, since what really happened was a public spectacle caused by Minister Shacklebolt's publicity team. Kingsley didn't need any help with publicity; he was the best Minster for Magic since Millicent Bagnold. Ever since her ten year term, the Minister position had gone swiftly downhill, until now.

Still, having every Death Eater be put into jail on one day meant that those serving terms in years would be coming out at the same time. It was a logistical nightmare for the Ministry, as it was part of the Fair Housing Act of 2001 that every prisoner released from Azkaban had to have appropriate housing available upon their release. In the case of the Death Eaters, that meant the Ministry only had until the Death Eaters was released to finish searching their homes and seizing any dark artifacts found therein. The rush to get houses ready for the Death Eaters meant that Harry and Ron had been overextended at work lately. They both had become aurors after the war, having received commendations from the Ministry for their valor in wartime.

Hermione had received a commendation as well, but hadn't wished to become an auror. Instead, she had interned at St. Mungo's for a few months as a healer, before discovering her true passion was counseling. She supposed it had something to do with the way she was always mediating for harry and Ron through their spats and arguments and full blown fights. She just seemed to have a calming effect on people, and if she didn't have a calming effect, she could effectively calm them with a well placed charm.

Hermione had been working here almost a year now, after taking 6 months of training courses. She had been so happy in that year, dealing mostly with victims of dark magic during the war who still were experiencing lingering effects. She felt like she was doing a lot of good lately, but now it was Incarceration Day, which meant Death eaters would be leaving the island prison of Azkaban and rejoining society. The two year sentences today's releases had served was only half of their punishment. They would also be going through court-appointed counseling and rehabilitation.

Hermione had the distinct displeasure of being one of the counselors required to administer the counseling and rehabilitation for former Death Eaters. She had started after Incarceration Day last year, so she hadn't been stuck with any of those course loads, but this year she had no excuse.

The only silver lining was that the Death Eaters being released today had only served 2 years, meaning their crimes were less severe than others. Still, she hadn't been able to bring herself to look over the list of new case files of the people who would be arriving from Azkaban today. Some of the people weren't specifically Death Eaters, but merely sympathizers, or people who had assisted in some way with the Dark Lord's plot.

Hermione decided to gird her loins and go check the list. She went to the filing room and spotted the black box that contained the files sent over from Azkaban. She sifted through them and saw that only about a dozen people had been released. With 6 senior counselors on staff, Hermione included, that meant each would only have to take on 2 former Death Eaters or sympathizers. That was a relief to Hermione, and she happened to see some former classmates in the mix. Of course they were all Slytherins, the list included Theo Nott, Gregory Goyle, and Blaise Zabini along with Draco Malfoy.

Hermione was surprised Draco was kept in as long as he had been, considering the role his mother played in the defeat of Voldemort. From the look of the list of people released that day, it seemed like most of the students acting on their parent's wishes were all sentence for the same length. She noticed with a smile that Pansy Parkinson was still in Azkaban. She could rot there for all Hermione cared.

Hermione went down the hall to the break room, where she found Ginny Weasley, her very best friend. Ginny dealt mainly with counseling the parents of muggle born witches and wizards, and sometimes worked with the students themselves. Since things like magic are easier for children to believe, the parents often needed a lot more counseling and explanation.

"Good morning, Counselor Weasley," Hermione greeted with faux propriety.

"Make that soon-to-be Counselor Potter!" Ginny squealed, holding up her left hand to show off a beautiful gold engagement ring with a decent sized diamond.

Hermione leaned down to where Ginny was sitting and hugged her friend tightly. "I knew he'd ask soon!" Hermione said, grinning from ear to ear.

Hermione grabbed a cup of hot water and a tea bag and sat down at the table with Ginny. They discussed Harry's proposal which had been at their favorite restaurant in Muggle London. Hermione was enjoying hearing the joy in her friend's voice, when they were interrupted by their boss, Jasmine Alexander.

"Okay, that's enough chit chat ladies, we have new patients today," Jasmine reprimanded snappily. Hermione knew she didn't mean it too harshly though, because her eyes still held a smile. Jasmine and Hermione had become close over the past year, but not overly so. They maintained a professional friendship, but loved the moments when they got to do things like a baby shower for a coworker, or even better, a bachelorette party.

Ginny smiled at Jasmine, and went back to her office. Hermione rinsed out her cup, and was about to follow suit, when Jasmine grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Have you seen the new patient roster?" Jasmine asked.

"Not as of yet, has it been posted?" Hermione asked politely.

"Yes, but I should warn you, you will only be handling one released inmate," Jasmine said smoothly, monitoring her response with the calm calculating eyes of a counseling professional.

"Why not two? I thought there were 12 of them, and 6 senior counselors," Hermione was confused by all accounts.

"You have been requested by one of our benefactors to take on a particular former inmate, who our benefactor feels will best prosper from your particular quality of help," Jasmine replied. It was clear to Hermione that Jasmine was attempting to cushion some sort of blow; she was just waiting for the bomb to drop.

"And who would this benefactor be?' Hermione asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Jasmine paused a moment, then explained, "Narcissa Malfoy has requested that you be the counselor to rehabilitate her son, Draco Malfoy."