Chapter 1:

A young lady, around the age of 21, sauntered through the long corridor of the Ministry of Magic main entrance. It had been 4 years after the war and all was well in the wizarding world, well almost all. There were of course the occasional break outs of mayhem or dreadful co-workers, but other than that, life was quite normal. Her name was Hermione Granger and she was quite the witch.

Hermione Granger was not a witch to meddle with; she was the best friend of the 'Chosen One' and the head of the Department of Law Enforcement. She was gentle as a kitten, but as tough as nails when push came to shove. One definitely did not want to get on her bad side or even attempt to express interest in her without any fears of being hacked into small pieces or hexed into oblivion. There was no slacking off with Hermione around and most everyone knew it. She was hardworking and persistent and her persistence paid off in the end.

She was very pretty in a peculiar manner: long auburn hair that framed her face and accented her sharp features; warm brown eyes and a perfect height of 5'6". She had most definitely grown from her once gawky stage at 11 and filled out quite nicely in the eyes of her colleagues. She was one-of-a-kind; witty, confident, clever, charming. There was nothing in her to dislike.

Continuing down the corridor, her black dragon hide stilettos echoed against the black marble floor, into the lift. She exited at the Department of Law Enforcement; her business robes swished with her every move. The cut of the robe wasn't helping to prevent the several male eyes that followed her as she continued to her office.

"Ms. Granger," said a small raven haired witch who appeared suddenly at her side, "You have a meeting with Kingsley Shacklebolt about a new Head Auror at 10:00 am; I believe this is an introduction to the new Head. Um… 15 new cases have arrived for your review and the minister has scheduled an appointment for today at 2:00 pm so that you can discuss new regulations. Also, at 7 tonight, you have a dinner party with the Potter's at Rosebud," she said as she skipped to keep up with Hermione's long stride. She checked her calendar again, double checking to make sure she didn't forget anything.

"Thank you Miranda," she said and smoothly opened the door to her office. It closed with a loud snap. With a noisy sigh, she sat in her swivel chair and opened the first case file on her desk; a new breakout in Northern Albania. It was an unusual case because Albania hardly ever had magical activity, but it caught Hermione's attention. After reading the summary, Hermione was submerged in her work and didn't surface for another 2 hours. She had gotten through 5 files when a voice surrounded her in her office, the familiar voice of Miranda over the new PA system.

"Ms. Granger, the Head Aurors have arrived. Shall I send them in?"

"Yes, please do – and send in some coffee," she said out loud to no one in particular as she closed the manila folder on her oak desk and placed it to the right of her oversized calendar.

The door flew open and in walked the recognizable face of Kingsley and a very handsome blond haired gentleman. He was dressed in designer robes – who knew that Burberry made robes for wizards and witches, and was quite handsome. He had silver-grey eyes that twinkled merrily with each glance and a character smirk with a very pale complexion making him look washed out. It was his eyes that recalled the familiarity of this person to Hermione. He was Hermione's worst enemy from Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy.

Hermione's high opinion of Draco was as follows: a little cowardly albino ferret to which life deserved not to occupy in his extremely attractive body. Her outlook of him consisted of hate and pure loathing and nothing could possibly change her opinion of him. When Hermione's mind was made up, there was little chance in changing it or hardly any at all.

"Good afternoon Sirs," said Hermione in a polite, but distant voice. It was nothing but business now. She made eye contact with each as she said their name, but silently cringed with Malfoy's.

"Hermione, my dear, do call me Kingsley; as I had previously asked you to do so," said the deep baritone voice of the dark skinned elderly man. Hermione nodded at his comment and responded with a sharp, "I will try, sir." Kingsley acknowledged her remark and continued on: "I would like to present to you Mr. Draco Malfoy. I believe you both went to school together, am I correct?" They nodded. A quick flashback of the Malfoy reunion after the last battle of Harry and Lord Voldemort caused Hermione to shudder at thinking of the changes that Malfoy had undergone.

"Delighted to re-make your acquaintance, Ms. Granger," said the cold harsh, yet somehow gentle voice of the 'beloved' Draco Malfoy. They grasped hands for a little longer than a second, but much shorter than that of mere acquantainces. It took everything in Hermione's power to prevent her from wiping her hands on her robes.

"Pleasure, now why don't we start this meeting, I have quite a number of cases to complete by tonight and a dinner party to attend to."

"Alright," said Kingsley as he got to the point, "Draco, here, is taking my position – you see, I'm retiring next week, hence the party that the minister insisted on throwing this Saturday night. Anyway, the minister wanted me to inform you of him. Oh, and heads up, you and Draco are merging Departments and will now have the same position of power – humph … it's great timing," he said the last bit with every ounce of sarcasm he could muster. "And you will be going out into the field, much more often." She let out a low groan of displeasure.

Fieldwork was for the newbie's and Hermione felt that she had been working for the Ministry long enough to gain the respect of a non-fieldwork opt. She really feared being out there and seeing the scenes and people. She could handle looking at pictures, but not being there because it was much harder for her to erase from her photographic mind.

"Is that all?" Hermione asked impatiently, but not rudely. She was trying hard to get rid of the blonde pollutant in her office. They nodded in agreement. "Oh, I knew all of this except who was to take your place," she said directly to Kingsley. She never once caught eye-contact with Malfoy since their 'introduction'. The boys looked up in surprise. "I have ears you know," she said quietly. She seemed human for almost a moment before standing up briskly. "If that's all, you may leave – like I said earlier, I have much to do." They took their leave and exited the department.

Being an intimidating figure was extremely difficult for Hermione because she was female. Though females were promoted to higher heights in the working field than before, she couldn't help hiding her insecurities with harshness and a cold shoulder; hence the reason few people were close to her. Some blame it on the War and never falling head over heels in love with Ronald Weasley, but Hermione knew otherwise. It was her life and she would live it the way she wanted, for now.

The clock struck 6 o'clock and she had finished ALL her work faithfully and apparated home so she could change for dinner with Harry, Ginny, and whomever could attend. It was sure to be a pleasant evening as soon as she pushed Malfoy out of her mind – a thing that wouldn't come lightly to her troubled mind.


Author's Note: Hello all! This is definitely one of the fastest posts I have ever had before, don't get used to it. I hope you like this chapter, sorry it was kinda short. I'm getting really into this story so there could be more 'quick' posts. Please leave reviews, comments are welcomed and I live for criticism, Constructive criticism that is. Thanks guys! OH, and thank you to my Beta - LadyPeaceGoldenHeart... couldn't do this without you

Love,

swimmer4ev (Rachel)