Chapter 2- Unpleasant Encounters

"Nothing" Hermione replied quickly.

Ron eyed her doubtfully.

She grabbed the card from her bag and pushed it at him before he had time to argue.

"Happy Birthday" she said forcing a smile across her face.

Ron took the card still watching her, then after a few moments of silence, decided not to pursue the matter any further.

He eyed the card approvingly admiring her writing, and opened it up to read her poem.

His ears turned red, " Thanks Hermione." He mumbled gruffly, leaning in and kissing her hot cheeks clumsily.

"It's not very good, I only had time to do it today." She replied, slightly embarrassed, but glad he was no longer asking her questions.

"No, it's great." He insisted.

There was another pause before they both spoke at the same time.

"How was work?" they asked simultaneously.

Ron's face lit up " Oh it was great! We have invented a new type of Fizzing Whizzbee! With ten times more fizz!"

Hermione frowned slightly, giving him a you-should-grow-up kind of look.

" Ron…I thought you were going to work with Harry as an Auror?"

Ron groaned, " Not this again Hermione! I do help Harry as much as I can! But with George…you know…running the shop all by himself, I thought he could do with my help too…" he trailed off, his eyes became distant.

Hermione felt a sharp pang of guilt and sadness.

"Oh Ron, I didn't mean…" she muttered.

"It's ok." He said clearly not wanting to discuss anything further.

"Sorry." She said in a small voice, she curled her fingers round his and put her head on his chest.

For a moment they stood together quietly until Harry appeared from the corridor.

" Alright Hermione?" he smiled clearly oblivious to the current atmosphere.

" Fine thanks." She replied in another attempt at cheeriness.

" So, who fancies a trip to The Leaky Cauldron?" Harry grinned rubbing his hands together.

Ron caught the look on his face and began to smile too, " Yeah nothing like a butterbeer to relax you after a hard day's work."

"You sound like your dad!" Harry joked.

Ron's face dropped, Harry began to laugh hard.

" You'll be smoking a pipe in your slippers and reading the Daily Prophet soon!"

Ron scowled.

"There's nothing wrong in reading up on current affairs." Hermione said haughtily.

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who was still grinning.

" All right, let's get to the pub before I dehydrate." Ron insisted.

Hermione opened her mouth, evidently to point out that alcohol could never actually quench your thirst, but Ron was wise to her arguments now .

" Right let's get in the lift." He said loudly before she could speak.

Hermione sulked.

As they made their way down the hall, Ron and Harry began chatting animatedly about quidditch, and Hermione sunk off into her thoughts again.

Why hadn't she just told them? They always used to share everything together.

A fresh wave of sleepiness swept over her as they entered the warm lift.

This was her tenth day in a row at work, she was tired and irritable, she knew Ron spent a lot of time thinking about his brother still even though he didn't show it, and Harry was working just as hard as her to train new Aurors.

She decided not to put any more pressure on either of them at the moment, and keep quiet about what she had seen; if Malfoy was inside the Ministry, there was no way he could get in without Kingsley knowing.

There must be a logical explanation for it.

The elevator reached the atrium, the boys stepped out, but Hermione hung back, her head was in her bag again.

" What's up?" Ron asked.

"I forgot my purse! It's on my desk!" she moaned.

Ron sighed " alright, fine, go get it, we'll stand around here like lemons and wait for you."

Hermione was going to argue but the doors were already closing.

" I won't be long!" She said.

Ron was shaking his carrot-topped head in disbelief, and then he was gone.

She sighed deeply, and leant against the wall, she eased her feet out of her shoes and took off her jacket, undoing a few shirt buttons, it was hot in the Department even in winter.

She fanned herself gently with a file folder, and took the metal clip out of her hair that had been pressing against her head all day.

Her brown hair tumbled over her shoulders; it was no longer frizzy, but smooth and soft, she liked to keep it looking under control at work, bushy hair that stuck out everywhere was hardly professional looking.

The lift stopped, she glanced at the buttons; floor number nine was glowing again!

She realized she hadn't even pressed any buttons when she got in!

" Going down?" Came the unmistakable drawl of Lucius Malfoy.

Hermione jumped, she hadn't even noticed him standing there!

" Uh…yes." She replied; feeling slightly bewildered.

He stepped in, Hermione felt a lump in her throat stick; he was looking a lot stronger than the year before when he was released from Azkaban.

She noticed instantly that he was back to his usual, self- satisfied smugness.

He stood beside her and look directly at her, she felt her heart leap into her throat, she swallowed.

" Well, are you going to start the lift, or is it a comprehension entirely above your intellectual capacity Miss Granger?" he sneered.

She reached for the buttons response and pressed one, not really focusing on what she was doing, her hand was trembling, he remembered her!

She was panicking now, her heart was racing, she thought about the battles she had fought against him, he must be livid after spending so much time in prison thanks to her and her friends…

Now she was alone with him and no one could see them, he could kill her right now! She gripped her wand tightly in her pocket hoping he wasn't feeling murderous.

" My, my, is your job really so difficult?" he drawled, still looking at her.

" What do you mean?" she asked, feeling her face burn under his scrutiny.

" You're ever so tense, could it be that wasting your days on setting those filthy little creatures out into the wild is taking its toll on you?"

A pang of hatred stabbed her in the stomach; she knew he was talking about the house elves.

She turned to face him, " those beings have just as much right to a civilized life as you or I Malfoy!" she said, surprising herself with how angry she was.

"Just because you have no respect for life doesn't mean the rest of us don't. You'll never change, and personally I think it's pathetic" her body was shaking now, but only out of hatred.

" My, my, such passion from someone so young." He replied casually.

Suddenly the lift ground to a halt.

Hermione felt alarm swelling in her chest, she was trapped in here with him, and she had just insulted him! She cursed herself for being so headstrong.

He moved in on her suddenly, she froze, terrified.

" You should reserve those judgments for when you get a little older, girl, you are far to naive to understand how the world works."

He stood a few inches from her face, looking down on her from behind a sneer, his steely gray eyes betrayed no emotion.

Hermione felt something in her quail, she backed against the wall, and gripped the hand rail.

She bit a retort and felt her whole body stiffen in apprehension, she pressed her fingers to her wand till it hurt.

He reached out his hand, she flinched, he pinched her chin gently and brought her face up to his.

" Are you afraid?" he asked, clearly amused by her discomfort.

"Never." She replied, but her voice was hoarse.

" I had a lot of thinking to do whilst inside that hellish pit." He spoke in a dangerously soft tone; she knew he meant Azkaban.

"Oh?' she said, feeling her heart thump and her body tremble.

Suddenly she felt his hand stroking across her jaw line, she was surprised and disturbed by the softness he was touching her with.

"Did you truly believe that place would reform me? Or indeed, even the death of my Lord?" he was less than an inch form her body now; his fingers were tracing themselves along her exposed collarbone.

She was repulsed by his cruel nature, but a strange sensation was waking in her at the feel of his touch, she squirmed, feeling uncomfortable.

"There will always be others to take up the Dark Lord's mantle." He hissed.

His hand slid up the back of her neck and he grasped a handful of her hair.

She gasped, now terrified.

Hermione watched his eyes lazily survey her body, resting for a moment on her breasts that were almost visible through her unbuttoned shirt, she felt humiliated.

Suddenly the lift jolted into movement again.

He smiled like a satisfied cat and moved away from her, just as the lift door opened on the eighth floor.

" Good day." He said silkily, before stepping out the lift and walking away.

Hermione was trembling, brushing back tears from her eyes, she gathered up her suitcase and jacket from the floor, and went to find Harry and Ron in the Atrium, her purse lay on her desk on the fourth floor; completely forgotten.


So what do you think so far? would really like you to let me know...

Will do more if you like it :p