Disclaimer: I own nothing sadly.

Author's Note: Do not worry! I will not abandon my other stories and I will not abandon this one. I hope ya'll like it!

I sat at my desk, lazily tapping my pencil against the hard wood of my desk. With each tap I would blink and my eyes got steadily blurrier. I had been through this routine so many times before that for once in my life I was actually bored of something to the point of not paying any attention.

Harry Potter sat to my right side doing about the same thing as I was. His unfair advantage was that his dark jet black hair fell just into his eyes, yielding his bored look from others from seeing. I knew him well enough to know the look, though. From sitting next to him for seven years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to five more years at Rock Rose Academy of Aurors. Harry was never good at showing his boredom, and for once Captain Wood wasn't snapping at him for not paying attention. As it were, he was rather preoccupied.

It was very weird for me to be calling someone who I grew up with in Hogwarts my Captain, especially Oliver Wood. Oliver had always been the sweet older boy that first through seventh year girls fawned over. I even admit that I had a tiny infatuation with the man. When I was still in Hogwarts, of course! Now that he was my boss, it would be really rather strange to have a crush on him. It also wouldn't be like me. I don't usually go for his type anyway. In school, he was quite and sweet. I'm sure that Oliver is still sweet at times, but wars tend to change people in dramatic ways. Oliver is now feared and respected greatly throughout the wizarding world.

I shook myself out of my stupor to glance to my left at my other best friend Ronald Weasley. His chin was resting lightly on his chest rising up and down with his slow and steady breathing. His long red eyelashes rested against his cheeks taking a long deserved nap. His now long red hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail behind the nape of his neck. I bit back a chuckle as Ron let out a grotesque snore causing his head to roll off his chest and rest limply on his shoulder.

I coughed into my hand trying to bite down laughter and to wake Ron up. Fortunately, I didn't start laughing. Unfortunately, Ron didn't wake up at the sound of my cough and continued snoozing while Captain Wood shot him death glares.

"Would one of you wake him up?" Captain Wood shouted in desperation. "I don't even want to touch the vermin he is! Doing crazy things that could cost us all our jobs!"

I looked at Harry, he smiled at me slightly and reached across me and shook Ron a little. Ron snored slightly and shifted positions. Harry tried again, this time shaking him with force. Ron snapped open his eyes muttering unkind words and cursing Harry for waking him up from his beauty sleep. I could have sworn Captain Wood was trying not to smile.

"Nice of you to join us, Weasley," Wood said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I was just explaining the irrational reasoning's of your doings. So please, add you own comments. I'm dying to hear your explanation of the night."

Ron blinked a couple of times trying to get rid of the sleep still in his eyes. "Uh, you see Captain Wood," he began lamely looking at Harry and me for support. "We didn't follow orders because we thought that it was better to get the hostages out right away."

"Yes," Harry quickly added, trying to keep Wood from adding what he thought. "We thought that waiting the uncertain amount of hours it would have taken to get the real Snake Pearl Potion for the Death Eaters would lead to chancy results. Death Eaters are cunning and suspicious. So we figured if we took the chance while we still had it they wouldn't suspect anything."

"So we," I said. Harry and Ron shot looks at me. "So I," I corrected myself. "Made a fake Snake Pearl Potion. I used the same ingredients that are in the Snake Pearl Potion. But instead of using pearls I used marble. Crabbe and Goyle were too thick headed to realize the difference between the gritty and smooth textures of pearl and marble to notice."

"So your fake potion fooled the stupidest death eaters," Wood concluded. "Then what did you think of next? Spontaneously firing spells at deatheaters?"

"That was after we couldn't negotiate trade," Ron said. Wood threw his hands in the air and growled.

"The plan was giving them the fake potion and having them turn over the hostages before they found out that we had given them a fake potion," Harry said. "But because Moon was always close to number one in potions she found right away that the marbles were not pearls."

"When she told Crabbe and Goyle all hell broke lose," Ron finished. "Flint fired the first spell toward Hermione. After that we couldn't tell who was firing at whom."

Harry and I nodded along trying desperately to keep Wood from exploding at us. Wood looked a little calmer, but not anywhere near the point of him forgiving us. I doubt that even Oliver's wife Alicia got apologized to often.

"So after you knocked out the death eaters, you grabbed the hostages and ran for it," Wood said trying to tie up the loose ends we had left him.

Ron opened his mouth to correct him. Before he could tell Wood what really happened I stomped on his foot to keep him from spilling out secret. Harry had begun to talk to Wood in the meantime distracting him from Ron and me.

"You can't tell him about what happened!" I hissed at Ron. Ron looked extremely puzzled and raised his eyebrows to the top of his head.

"What do you mean?" he whispered rather loudly back. "If we tell Wood he'll take care of the rat and there will be no more problems!"

Glancing to make sure Harry still had more time for me to explain to Ron, I shifted a little to talk to Ron more directly.

"Ron, things just don't work that way," I explained. "This isn't one of those things that's just going to go away if I play a game of tattle tale. It needs to be dealt with personally."

"You're not suggesting---"

"Well, I see its back to old times, isn't it guys?" Wood cut in stepping between Ron and me. I blushed for some unknown reason.

Wood seemed to think that ever since first year Ronald and I had been secretly in love. No matter how many times we try to tell him he still will not believe that we are strictly friends and more like siblings than lovers. I think it all goes back to the time Wood found Ron and me in the broom closet together.

It was our seventh year. Harry was the quidittch captain and it was his first game leading the Gryffindor lions to battle. Of course as luck would have it our first match was against the evil, slimy snakes of Slytherin with their just as evil captain Draco Malfoy.

We had all suspected strongly that Malfoy was a death eater. Of course we all assumed he was, but now we had hard cold evidence that he was. Being the three youngest members of The Order of the Phoenix it was part of our job to turn in evidence to McGonagal.

So this leads to where Harry, Ron, and I are jammed into a small broom closet in the Slytherin Locker Room. Harry knew that the Slytherins did not keep their prized brooms in the broom closet provided to them because they could possibly 'get stolen'. I doubt it. Anyway, since Harry was under strict rules he was not to be out after games or anywhere after sunset we had the invisibility cloak over him.

So when Oliver opened the broom closet door while he was on his reminiscing walk around the locker rooms, he found Ron and I jammed together in the closet. Wood did not believe our story and I wouldn't have either.

We explained that we were looking for Harry desperately and decided that the Slytherins might have taken him captive. While looking in the closet Filch came by and locked us in because we were his least favorite students.

The look on Oliver's face was priceless. But he still doesn't believe that we weren't doing anything. I can even remember him hearing Harry snickering in the background. He got even more confused and thought it was me. So naturally he yelled at me for thinking that was funny.

I shook my head desperately trying to get Captain Wood from thinking we were more than friends and to shake myself out of my memory.

"Oh! No Captain Wood!" I stammered trying to keep a straight face for him implying that Ron and I were an 'item'.

"I see this isn't gong to work out. Just as I suspected," Wood explained putting a fist under his chin thinking hard about something. Harry inched forward waiting for what he was about to say. I knew it. I just knew he was going to fire us for our reckless thinking.

"Granger, you're assigned to solo jobs now. Working with Weasley is too much of a challenge for you."

I'm positive my jaw was lying on the floor. Ron's eyes popped out and his face flushed rather quickly. Meanwhile Harry jumped out of his seat trying to understand what he just said.

"What?" I shouted standing up also.

"Oliver, you can't do that! Our team is nothing without Hermione!" Harry added moving toward Wood, reaching out for him to understand.

Wood however moved back toward the door. "Gather your things, Hermione. You're life in this office has come to an end. You'll be stationed in Percy Weasley's old office." With that he left.

Harry advanced toward the door reaching for the handle. Ron stopped him though by putting an arm out. "There's no use, Harry. You of all people should know that once Wood has made a decision about something he sticks with it."

I nodded numbly. I felt like my world had just come crashing down. Ron and Harry were my best friends. We were a team. It was almost like a pyramid with three people. With one gone, you don't have a pyramid; you have just two slabs stuck together.

How could this possibly work? I'm nothing without Ron and Harry.

"Harry, Ron's right. It's no use." I said pulling out a box from under my desk. Harry and Ron watched as I gathered my pictures of us and put the lightly in the box. With each item I placed in the box, my heart got steadily heavier. This was the hardest thing I had ever done.

When the essentials of my tools were packed neatly into the box I placed it on my hip and looked up at Ron and Harry. Harry stood by the door trying to act calm and collected. I knew that inside he was angrier than a raging bull, but I also knew that Harry wanted to wear a mask of emotions for everyone's well being. Even mine.

Ron stood by our little window that looked out into everyone else's offices. His arms were folded across his chest and his eyes were a bit watery with emotions flooding deep inside them. He unfolded his arms and closed the blue blinds over the windows so no one could see in and we were surrounded by the light of only the rising sun.

Ron walked toward me and cupped my face with one of his large calloused hands. "Oh, Hermione," he whispered. "You don't know how much I hate Wood for making such a poor decision. I'll miss you! We're nothing without you there with us. He'll realize it, don't worry!"

I had originally promised myself that I wasn't going to cry. But the way Ron was looking at me and the wonderful things he said forced me to change my mind. A tear fell onto his hand and he wiped it away with his sleeve. "Don't cry. It will all turn out great in the end."

He pulled me into the sweetest hug I had ever had. My mother and father gave these kinds of hugs. The kind of hugs that say, 'we've been through so much together. I love you'. Crying into his shoulder I pulled away and kissed him on the cheek. Ron was my angel.

Turning toward Harry I cried a little harder. If Ron was my angel, then Harry was my savior. Ron is my best friend and so is Harry, but Harry understands me a little more than Ron does. Harry has always been there for me when I needed him.

"Hermione," he said hugging me so tightly. Without any words I knew what he was saying. His hug, like Ron's, was the best hug I had ever gotten. I decided then that I wanted to move to some country where all of this fighting would end and all of us could relax in a big house together without the fear of an attack. Of course, school girl fantasies were not for me and I knew we couldn't do it. But I desperately wanted to.

"You'll be back in this office by Tuesday, Hermione," he said pulling away and kissing my forehead lightly.

I smiled shakily and put my hand on the brass doorknob. Turning toward my friends, brothers, and or partners I gave a final nod and left the office behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I sat in my small cramped office the following month frantically searching for my favorite quill. I had just returned from a meeting and was planning on starting my report but for the life of me I could not find my quill.

It had been like this since I had been assigned to solo jobs. My organization skills went down the drain as I moved all of my books and papers into the small cubical that the ministry dared to call an office. It was small and barely efficient. I didn't even get a window.

Finding my quill I dipped it in ink and started writing my report. I was so involved in my work that I didn't hear the cheer rise up from across the room. No doubt Harry and Ron had returned from another Death Eater Escapade. They were at the top. I had sunk to somewhere near seventh place for bringing in death eaters.

My friends traveled slowly toward my desk. It took them awhile for them to reach me because of all the congratulations they were receiving but they did get there. Once arriving people stopped talking to them knowing that we liked to be left alone for a while. We barely got to see each other anymore because of our demanding schedules.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted joyfully. His face was shiny with sweat. A long scratch ran down his face but he didn't seem to notice. "Hermione guess what! We got Crabbe! Can you believe that?"

I laughed pretending to be surprised. I had known they would catch Crabbe eventually because I was the one who found the information on where he was located, but I didn't share this information with them. "Congratulations guys. I'm very proud of you."

Ron smiled at me. He was out of breath slightly no doubt excited from his victory and the huge battle he had just triumphed over. "Hermione you should have seen it! Harry and I bust the doors to his hideout down and enter and we're all like 'Don't move Vinnie!' He was so shocked to see us there!"

Harry and I laughed as Ron went into detail from there. He got extremely worked up over the part where he shot a curse at Crabbe and missed but it ricocheted off the hall mirror and into him anyway. I felt a twang of something in my stomach as he explained his adventure. I missed being their partner.

I had never really enjoyed the battles that we were in but I got a great feeling of accomplishment when we would bring down a death eater. It was an art to watch the battles. Minus the fact that people died. Different rays of light and color would float across the room, some shooting off stars in many directions. When they hit their target there would be a small pop or a crack and you felt almost happy. Harry and Ron enjoyed stunning the other people, but for some reason I always felt guilty for hurting someone, even though they had hurt many people.

I was suddenly angry at Captain Wood. I had not grasped the fact that I was no longer partners with Harry and Ron. Why would he do this to us? We were at the top. Well, I was. They were still at the top but I was left in the shadows.

Speak of the devil, I thought as none other than Captain Wood came striding over to my cubicle wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen him wear before. He strode over and clapped his hands on Ron and Harry's shoulders.

"Well done boys," he said sticking a cigar in his mouth. His newly found habit disgusted me, but he never seemed to care. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, sir," Ron replied respectfully.

"We're glad to be of any help," Harry added.

"Well, actually I have another assignment. I just got it this morning."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. Usually they would have loved to go on another Death Eater Raid but they wanted to rest. Crabbe had been hard to take down. As Captain Wood went into detail about their new assignment I busied myself into writing my report. I was zoned out until I overheard my name.

"Well, Granger, while their away on their assignment, you can be doing their report for the Crabbe case," Wood was saying. Instantly a memo flew into my office. I opened it and read it quickly. Incoming information! Clear space!

I sighed and quickly shoved aside some papers. Not a second later did a big file of papers and clipping from the Daily Prophet land on my desk. I had learned early on that if you simply ignored these memos you would be hit or they would knock something over. It was very annoying but somehow efficient.

I gaped at the fallen information and groaned inwardly. This would take me weeks! I was already up to my chin in paperwork. I hadn't been out of this office for weeks! I wasn't sure how much more of this office life I could take.

Harry and Ron seemed to notice the look on my face because they started right away on their excuses. "But, sir, don't you think Hermione should go out on a job?" "Sir, can Hermione come with us? She'd help us a great lot!" "Please, sir, I'll do the paperwork and Hermione can go on the assignment."

I looked at them and trying thanking them mentally. They really were the best of friends. "Well, I do suppose you're right. You boys need your rest," Captain Wood said thoughtfully. "Yes, alright, I've changed my mind. Granger you will be going on the assignment. Weasley and Potter will do their own report."

Before I could question him about the assignment or why he was letting me do this he walked away mumbling to himself. I looked at the door he had just walked out of for a long time wondering if I actually heard what I thought I heard. Ron waved a hand in front of my face.

"Hello? Is anyone home, Hermione?" he teased lightly. I bit my tongue so that I wouldn't stick it out childishly at him.

"You guys didn't need to do that," I said softly looking at the stack of papers they were now going to do for me.

"Come on, Hermione! You've been stuck in this little cubicle for over a week doing non-stop paperwork. You need to get out and feel the adrenaline of a fight once again. It'll be good for you!"

"Besides that," Ron added, "Then you can share with us your battle story and we can compare battle wounds!"

We all laughed. Ron was a character, that's for sure. No matter how mad I got at him sometimes he was always there at the end of the day to cheer me up. I was eternally grateful to him.

"Hey, Hermione, why don't you come with us to the Three Broomsticks to celebrate?" Harry asked. "We could celebrate our victory and you can celebrate your first field mission in a long time."

"Actually, that sounds really good right now," I replied. I was sick of being stuck in this damn cubicle. I really needed to get out for a while anyway. A little fresh air never hurt anyone right?

So two hours later as I sat in the bar I started growing angry with myself. I had thought this would be fun. I would have a nice dinner with my best friends and have a few butter beers to relax. But before I could even order a butter beer Harry and Ron had already ordered fire whiskey. I'm appalled at the thought of fire whiskey! I'm sure they both remembered this but didn't even care. I never drink. It makes me feel all nauseous and unintelligible. Nonetheless I sipped at the evil drink politely trying not to make them feel bad about their decision.

Harry and Ron were getting wild. Of course they were wound up all ready when we got to the bar. Once they sat with friends and had some food and drink they started to get wild and crazy. I rolled my eyes as Ron knocked over the salt shaker while telling a story of busting a death eater.

The bar was busy tonight. Parties of people filed in one after another. Poor Madam Rosemerta was so busy. Her hair was in disarray and her apron was on crooked. I envied her for still looking very beautiful.

Loud laughter interrupted my silent loathing of my unattractive self. I turned to see Harry helping Ron back into his seat. Ron still slurred on about his final spell throwing his hands in the air dramatically. I sighed. I should have stayed in the office and finished some work.

"Harry," I said once he was back in the booth. "I'm going to get to bed. I need some rest for my big assignment tomorrow."

Harry nodded and kissed my on the cheek. "Good night, Hermione."

I sneaked out of the bar not wanting anyone to notice that I was no longer there. Once out on the deserted path I could breathe deeply and not choke on the whiskey smell floating in the air. Tomorrow's a big day. I wonder what my assignment is. Wood never sent out the information on it until it nearly too late to start investigating. Hopefully something easy.

How wrong I was.

Author's Note: Well, I think this story is going to alternate between Hermione and Draco's perspective. I hope ya'll enjoy the next installment!