Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it.

Chapter 1

Summer was coming to a close. Here and there you could see the leaves turning from their pungent greens to yellows and reds; and now as the sun slowly crept its way back amongst the clouds, Hermione stirred in her bed. Her eyes fluttered open to a beautiful morning. Warm rays of sunlight filtered through her window and onto her face, making her smile. It had been one of the best summers she has had to date. It was spent in France with two of her best friends, Harry and Ron, one of which had come to be her new boyfriend. She and Ron had always had some sort of deeper connection but it was finally realized after they had finished school. She thought back to school and how their last year had been one of the toughest and scariest they had ever lived through. After Dumbledore's death, Voldemort had sprung into action and dispatched his Death Eaters all over the world. It had taken a large amount of Aurors, magical creatures and regular witches and wizards to defeat him. She had never seen so much death and hatred between people and was still slightly traumatized from having witnessed so much. But she had put all that behind her. Her life was great and she was finally, truly in love. She put her thoughts of the war away and got up. Her mom was already preparing breakfast and the aromatic smell of coffee filled her nostrils.

"Mmm, something smells good down there! What's for breakfast mum?" She shouted down the stairs.

"Your favourite hun, pancakes and of course freshly brewed coffee." Her mom yelled back.

"Excellent!" She giggled and ran down the stairs. She seated herself at the kitchen table where her breakfast was already waiting for her. "This smells delicious, thanks mum." She dove into her breakfast and it was gone in seconds.

"Oh dear, I see you were quite hungry then. Want seconds?" Her mom laughed and held up a plate with more pancakes on it.

"Oh no, I'm quite full. Shouldn't have eaten it that fast but oh well, I need get to my new job! Can't be late on my very first day." Hermione got up and went back upstairs. She was going through her closet trying to find something nice to wear for work when an owl flew in through her open window, crash landing on her bed.

"Well hello there? What've you got for me?" She approached it with a treat and untied the letter that was on its foot. "Oh it's from Ron!" Her face lit up as his read his letter.

Dear Hermione,

Just wanted to know if you wanted to go for lunch today? I know it's your first day on the job so I'll understand if you can't make it. Please try though because I really want to see you.

Yours truly,

Ron

She replied in a hurry, telling him to meet her at a little bistro right around the corner from her work which happened to be the Ministry of Magic.

She arrived at the ministry, eager to meet everyone. The last she heard there was going to be a new minister but the candidates haven't been introduced to the public just yet. As she walked down the hallway, memories flooded her mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, recalling that awful night and how Sirius was taken away from them. But Bellatrix suffered now...she was back in Azkaban with other Death Eaters that had survived. Hermione shook this from her mind and focused on better, happier things, like her job. She walked up to the front desk, handed over her wand to be checked and then proceeded to go towards the Magical Creatures Department. She was going to be working very closely with magical creatures, trying to earn them the rights they deserve. Her S.P.E.W. efforts weren't futile after all.

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger, I'm starting today. Where am I supposed to be?" She smiled at the kind witch that sat behind a desk, a pile of papers swaying dangerously with a bottle of ink sitting on top of it.

"Nice to meet you dear, just go through those doors and Mr. Malfoy will direct your office." She smiled at Hermione and continued doing her work. However, Hermione's entire body had frozen at the mention of her sworn enemy's name. How could he possibly be working at the ministry after what his father had done?

"So…so…Mr. Malfoy is my boss?" She barely chocked the words out.

"Well yes, at the moment. But word has it he's going to be running for Minister! How exciting! He'd be the youngest one running in the history of the ministry!" The witch responded, beaming, obviously proud to be working with someone so powerful.

"Oh, really?" Hermione smiled weakly and walked through the door. She walked down a narrow hallway with doors on both sides and one door at the very end. It bore the name "Draco Malfoy, Head of the Magical Creatures Department". She took a deep breath and poised her hand before the door. She knocked three times and waited to be summoned.

"Come in." Said a deep, masculine voice. She felt her stomach flip and her heart drop. It was him, no questions about it. She decided to just face him and opened the door. There he was, sitting in an intimidating high backed leather chair behind a large mahogany desk, smirk firmly in place.

"Granger, how nice of you to finally join me. I've been expecting you." He got up and walked around his desk, stretching out his hand to her. She looked taken aback and just stood there. "Well, are you going to shake my hand or not? I am your boss now and we're expected to act in a civil manner." She nodded mutely and took his hand, quickly withdrawing. He just looked at her and then went back to his desk.

"Alright then, you're office is right next to mine on the right hand side when you walk out. Everything is in there waiting for you so just get started on a few of the reports and have them on my desk by Friday morning. If there's something you don't understand, talk to Mary, she's been here longer than anyone and will be more than glad to help you. Now I have to get back to work, do you mind?" She just nodded and walked out, realizing how stupid she must've looked.

"Oh god…I can't believe this." She muttered as she left his office and stepped into hers. It was quite nice, not as spacious as Malfoy's but nice none the less. There were a few reports sitting on her desk and she moved towards them; nothing but tedious work.

"Well, might as well get started on these." She sat down and thought back to Malfoy. He was going to run for minister…this could be very bad.

A/N: well there's the first chapter, there will be more to come so please read and review tell me what you think and if there's anything that I can improve. Thanks!

P.S. This is my first fanfic so be kind hehe, I'm a fan of this site but just recently decided to start writing on my own .