Disclaimer: I own nothing. JK Rowling owns everything

A Different Kind

Chapter 1

The war was over and Voldemort had finally been defeated. The Ministry of Magic was in a state of chaos trying to get the magical world back in order. They had captured as many Death Eaters as possible after the final battle and had been escorting them to Azkaban to await their trials. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been elected as the new Minister of Magic by a landslide. He was determined to rid the Ministry of corruption and the pureblood laws enforced by the last regime.

One of his first orders he had as minister was replacing dementors with Aurors as the new guards of Azkaban. This left the ministry in desperate need to hire as many new aurors as possible. Not only to cover all the shifts that were now needed at Azkaban, but many Aurors had died during the war as well. Replacing that many members inside the ministry was a necessity; the department was still trying to track down all the death eaters who fled after the final battle, making them desperate for as many new recruits as possible.

Kingsley wanted to get the ministry functioning as quickly as possible and requested Harry Potter fit to start as an Auror immediately after the war. Harry gladly accepted, as it had been his dream job since he had first heard about the position. He also did not want to step foot in Hogwarts again after witnessing so many people die there.

Shacklebolt had asked the same of Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger as well, but both of them politely declined. Hermione had been determined to go back to Hogwarts to finish her final year and take her NEWTS. Ron on the other hand, had decided that he was needed at George's side more; after Fred's death George had been taking things hard. He had decided to skip his final year at Hogwarts and took over Fred's responsibilities at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes instead. This left Kingsley with over twenty Auror positions to fill, and it would take weeks to interview and train that many new recruits.

Arthur Weasley had been promoted to the head of the Auror Department after the ministry had been taken back. Arthur was in charge of the first round of new auror interviews, and oversaw all of the background checks. He would only send the candidates he was sure would be of use to the department on for final approval. Final approval was the task of the minister himself, as Kingsley wanted a chance to talk to and approve of every new auror that would join the force.

Minister Shackelbolt looked over the list of six names that he would be interviewing for final approval that day as he took a sip of his tea. He had to stop and spit it back out when he reached the last name on the list: Draco Malfoy.

'What could Arthur possibly be thinking putting a Malfoy on this list? Surely there must be a mistake, Arthur has always hated the Malfoy's. There must be en error.' Kingsley thought as he stormed out of his office to question Arthur.

The Malfoy's had been pardoned due to their last minute switch in allegiance. Ultimately it was Narcissa's lie to Voldemort that kept them out of Azkaban. Her lie had after all, led to Harry's survival and the downfall of Voldemort. Even though the Malfoy's were kept out of prison, they were still placed under a lifetime of probation and would be escorted straight to Azkaban if they broke the terms of parole.

Parole for Death Eaters who were not sent to Azkaban meant that the witch or wizard was technically free, but could not be in contact with another known death eater. If any harm was to come to a muggle or muggle born witch or wizard at their hand they would be sent to prison. And if they were caught with dark artifacts, books, or cursed items of any kind, they would also then be taken to Azkaban.

The Malfoy's had agreed to all terms of being pardoned, and had moved back into Malfoy Manor. No one had heard a peep from them in the past few months since their trial; except for the auror who checked in to make sure they were complying to the terms of the parole.

"Arthur, what in the bloody hell is a Malfoy doing on my final interview list?" Kingsley yelled upon finally entering the head auror's office.

Arthur laughed. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get down here to ask. Please sit Minister, I will explain everything." He gestured to the seat in front of his desk.

Kingsley sat but stayed silent, giving Arthur a nod to continue.

"As you know, Draco is the only son of Lucius Malfoy. I almost kicked him out of my office when he gave me his application, but I have to admit I was curious of his intentions. My curiosity won out; I was suspicious and I wanted to know what he was up to, so I let him explain to me why he wanted to join the department. My gut was telling me that he was trying to get a position at Azkaban so he could help some of the Death Eaters escape, but that turned out not to be the case. He is actually quite determined to join us here at the ministry. He says he wants a position here so he can help us track down those who fled after the battle at Hogwarts. He even gave me a list of addresses where he believed some of them could be hiding. Before I even gave him his first interview I had several Aurors check those locations. Turns out that he was being honest; we were able to capture Theodore Nott Sr. due to that list. As you know, we were also able to save the fourteen muggles he was hiding in his basement dungeons."

"We captured Nott due to a tip from a Malfoy?" Kingsley asked looking perplexed.

"I was honestly just as surprised as you were." Arthur assured him. "After capturing Nott, I asked Draco to come see me again. I figured he had at least earned a first interview. During that interview, he told me his father is willing to tell him more locations after he has secured a spot with us. He also knows how a Death Eaters mind works better than we do as his home was Death Eater headquarters for over a year. He wants to help us build our cases against them, knowing more of the darker details of what was happening in secret than any of us do. Draco is also willing to testify against everyone who supported Voldemort. He was only sixteen when Voldemort recruited him, he couldn't refuse or he would have been tortured or killed. He feels his teenage years were ruined because his father got his family involved with a madman. It was clear to me that he is determined to make up for everything that he did in the past."

"That all sounds good in theory, but I still don't trust him enough to let him join the department. I honestly don't trust him anywhere inside the ministry."

"Would it help if you knew that he has not believed that muggleborns are any less than purebloods for several years now? His whole family believed in Pureblood supremacy for centuries so he pretended he did too. He was young, and was worried about losing his inheritance or exiled from his mother. He may have believed it as a child, but what child doesn't believe what their parents tell them? All that really matters is that he did stop believing in it as he grew older, and that was even before Voldemort returned three years ago."

"How did he convince you of that?" Kingsley asked, still not completely buying the story.

"Because he shared some of his memories with me. Memories which revealed that he is secretly in love with a muggleborn witch, and has been since his fourth year."

"If he was in love with a muggle born while at Hogwarts, then why did he take the mark and accept the task of killing Dumbledore? Wouldn't he have thought killing Dumbledore would pretty much guarantee her death?"

"I asked him the same question. He said that Voldemort had requested Draco join him and accept the task and his father would be released from prison. If he refused than his father would rot away in there and his mother and he would be killed. Draco was sixteen and scared for the safety of himself and his family. I assure you he regrets what happened, and wants nothing more than to atone for his and his family's past."

"How can you be so sure he isn't saying all of this so he can infiltrate the ministry? Or so he can get the remaining death eaters inside information on the ministry and auror investigations?" Kingsley obviously was not being swayed.

"I saw his memories; I saw things that made me trust him. Plus, He didn't kill Dumbledore even though he knew he and his family would be punished if he didn't." Arthur continued to try and convince his boss to give the boy a chance. "I also have a plan to ensure that if he is playing us, that we will be notified immediately and he won't be able to get away with anything."

"Fine, I will play along for now. What is the plan?" Kingsley asked skeptically.

"We partner him with Harry. Harry and Draco have been enemies for years, and Harry will not let him out of his sight. They will share an office, and he will not be allowed inside the ministry without an escort. If he is even attempting to do something shady Harry will have him escorted to Azkaban faster than Viktor Krum on a Firebolt."

Now it was Kingsley's turn to laugh. "How in the hell do you think we are going to get Harry to agree to this? He is going to be even less convinced than I am."

"These memories I have seen of Draco's, he has agreed to let Harry view them as well. His only request is that we keep what's in them a secret. I was allowed to tell you about them to convince you to let him join the department, but no one else. I have a vial of his memories from Hogwarts and the war that Harry will be able to view. These memories show his regrets on what was happening during his plan to kill Dumbledore. They show him falling in love with the muggleborn witch, and there is even a memory of him secretly saving her during the final battle."

"I understand your reasoning and I will give him a final interview." Kingsley finally agreed as he took a sip of his tea again. "What I don't get though, is why Harry Potter would care about his secret love of this witch enough to trust him?"

"Because it's Hermione Granger."

Kingsley spit out his tea for the second time that day.

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This is my first fanfic and it will be a slow build, so please be patient. I hope you enjoy it. Please R and R