Annoyance in the Court

and the past knocks on your door

and throws stones at your window at four in the morning

- Shine, Anna Nalick

Part Two

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Day 10

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He glanced up and looked around after hearing a soft rustling behind him. He was sitting in the library at Hogwarts, wearing his old Slytherin robes and he felt like he was sixteen again. Hearing the rustling again, Draco got up from the table and began walking through the aisles to find the source of the noise. He stopped abruptly as he found Hermione Granger leaning against a shelf with a book in her hand. "Granger," Draco murmured feeling surprised, though he really shouldn't have been. Who else would be in the library at this time of night?

She looked up at him and a slow smile stole across her face. "Hello Malfoy," she replied.

Draco moved closer so that he was standing directly in front of her. Taking the book from her hand he replaced it on the shelf, all the while never moving his eyes from Hermione's. Leaning closer he whispered, "Call me Draco." And with that he kissed her.

Lips were moving against each other, hands were roaming over bodies and their breathing was becoming erratic. Hermione nibbled lightly on his bottom lip and with a moan Draco pushed her harder into the bookshelf and lifted her up so that her legs were now around his waist. Their lips broke apart as their need for air finally took hold. "Draco," Hermione gasped.

Draco smiled. Lifting one of his hands, he pushed a stray curl back behind Hermione's ear. As he leaned in to kiss her again he murmured, "I love you."

Draco awoke with a start. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He tried to get his heart to slow down as he remembered his dream. Groaning in annoyance, Draco rubbed a hand across his eyes trying to eliminate the images still flickering in his mind of Granger with her legs wrapped tightly around him. Sure he'd had a small crush on her for awhile when they were at Hogwarts but he had managed to get over it and get rid of those dreams by the time seventh year rolled around. The fact that Granger, Potter and Weasley hadn't come back to school that year had probably helped in convincing himself that he was over her. Out of sight, out of mind and all that.

Apparently working so closely with Granger hadn't been such a bright idea if it was going to bring the damn dreams back again, and especially after only one week. At least he wouldn't have to see her today. Draco groaned again as he thought about who he was having lunch with today.

Lucius had only very recently been released from Azkaban and Narcissa had insisted on the three of them getting together for a family lunch. His mother had described it as being pleasant. Draco thought it would be closer to being stretched out on a rack. He was anticipating a long lecture about how he was degrading the Malfoy name, especially when Lucius heard that he was working with Granger in support of house elves.

Draco sighed as he stepped out of bed, the dream pushed to the back of his mind as mental preparations for the day began. He was going to need all his wits about him for lunch.

When Draco walked into the very expensive restaurant that his mother had picked, he spotted Lucius immediately. He was at a table and already cowing the waiter into submission with his complaints about the wine. Draco rolled his eyes as he moved to the table and sat down. "Hello Mother," he said as the waiter scurried off. He tried to keep the smile on his face as he switched his gaze to Lucius. "Father."

Lucius greeted Draco with a supposedly sincere smile. And from that one action Draco knew the inquisition had begun. He had seen that expression before. The one and only time that Draco had visited his father in Azkaban, Lucius had smiled like that before immediately questioning everything in Draco's life. But he had refused to be dictated to by a man stupid enough to get himself locked up. Draco hadn't seen Lucius since that day. "Draco, my boy," Lucius began. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you sir. And how are you? Azkaban treat you well, did it?"

His father chuckled as if he had made a good joke. "Very well, once you find the right guards." Lucius smirked at him. "And how is your job going? Your mother says it's going excellently and that you are doing the family proud."

Draco sneered before noticing that the waiter was trembling beside their table waiting to pour the wine. He rubbed his temple and motioned for the waiter to go ahead. "It had better be right this time," Lucius said threateningly. He turned back to Draco and repeated his question once the waiter was gone.

"I thought you didn't approve of my job Father," Draco replied, still sneering. "That it was beneath me and far below my position as a Malfoy to be working with common criminals." Such as yourself, he added mentally.

"But that was before I really considered it fully, and I've certainly changed my mind since your mother has been keeping me updated on all your cases." Narcissa glanced over at Draco with an indulgent smile as she sipped her wine. Lucius continued speaking, "I'm glad to see you've been helping all our old friends with any legal trouble they might have."

"Draco's currently defending Parkinson against a fraud charge," Narcissa added.

And there it was. The exact reason why Draco had wanted to help Granger with the house-elf case. During his short career Draco had already garnered a reputation of defending the rich, the Pureblood, the evil. While they paid him a fortune to do so and kept his law practice open, if he was ever going to expand his client base then he had to be appealing to all (because the Malfoy name certainly wasn't) and working with a muggle-born in support of a cause would do a lot to help with that.

Draco shrugged. "He pays well," he commented nonchalantly. He scowled at the expression on Lucius's face. Lucius was still smiling, as if he really was proud of Draco for upholding the tradition of the Malfoys and Purebloods in general. Draco decided it was high time to wipe the smugness right out of him. "Actually," he smirked, "I'm working on another pretty big case at the moment."

"Really?" asked Narcissa. "When did this start?"

"Last week. But we're keeping it under wraps so I didn't want to mention it until now."

"Well, come on Draco," Lucius commanded. "Tell us about it."

Draco leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, anticipating the reaction he was going to get. "I'm preparing a case for trial for the ERMC."

Narcissa frowned in thought. "ERMC? I don't think I've heard of them."

"It stands for Equal Rights for Magical Creatures." Draco was starting to enjoy himself with his little story now. "It's a small non-profit organization run by Hermione Granger." He could see Lucius starting to swell with indignation the longer he spoke. "A house-elf named Dipsy is suing her masters for freedom."

"What?" Lucius spluttered. "What sort of ridiculous nonsense is that? And you're working with Potter's little witch? Are you out of your senses boy? You're going to bring the whole family into ruin." Lucius glared at him. "You are going to call this off immediately, you hear me?"

"No sir. I don't think I will. I think I'll just keep working on it."

Lucius's eyes narrowed further at his son. Draco merely raised an eyebrow. The rest of lunch was spent with Lucius lecturing and yelling by intervals and Draco ignoring it all.

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Day 11

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They were standing in the middle of a deserted Hogwarts hallway. She was barely two inches away, glaring heatedly up into his eyes. She scoffed and shook her bushy head. "You're not worth it Malfoy," she spat out.

Granger turned and tried to walk away but Draco quickly reached and grabbed her wrist, instantly pulling her back into his body. Without losing a moment he brought his lips down on hers. All the longing and anger and passion reared up and poured itself into the kiss. Granger, never one to back down from a fight, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with everything she had.

Moving his lips to her neck Draco muttered, "Tell me what you want Granger."

"You."

"So Granger let me get this straight. Dipsy was meant to be coming here this afternoon?" Draco was sitting behind Luna's desk, staring across the room at Hermione. It was almost five o'clock and Luna had already gone home. Draco had been sitting in this office for four hours waiting for the house-elf to arrive. "At two o'clock."

"Yes." Hermione glanced up quickly at him before looking back at the quill she was tapping against the table.

"I don't know if you've noticed but it's almost five. So where is she?"

Hermione glared at the tabletop and almost snapped her quill in half. He had been complaining and annoying her for the last two hours. And every time she had given him the same answer. "She probably hasn't been able to slip away yet Malfoy. And stop asking me because I'm just going to keep telling you the same thing. So shut up and just sit there."

At that moment a cracking sound split the air and Dipsy appeared in the space between the two desks. The house-elf glanced between the two before bowing to Hermione. "I'm sorry I'm late Miss Granger," Dipsy said in her squeaky little voice. "The master assigned me cleaning immediately after lunch and I wasn't able to leave until now."

Hermione smiled. "It's okay Dipsy, we understand completely." She gestured towards Draco. "Dipsy, I'd like you to meet Mr Draco Malfoy. He's the lawyer for the case."

Draco moved out from behind Luna's desk and extended his hand. He rolled his eyes slightly when Dipsy bowed low over it rather than shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you Dipsy," he stated as pleasantly as he could after being kept waiting for four hours. Draco conjured a chair for Dipsy before heading back to his own chair. "I just had a couple of questions for you and then you can get back to your family."

Dipsy sent a nervous glance towards Hermione, who nodded reassuringly back. Once Dipsy had turned back to Draco he asked, "You want to sue for complete freedom from your masters, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"And can I ask where you got the idea from?" Draco already knew from reading the case file, but he knew that Dipsy would need to get used to answering these sorts of questions before the trial.

"From a house-elf named Dobby, sir. He used to work at Hogwarts, but he has recently started travelling and spreading his ideas about freedom for all house-elves." Dipsy took a moment to glance down at her long, spindly fingers before continuing. "I know a lot of house-elves disagree with him and think he's crazy. But when I met him, I suddenly realised he was right. And that's when I tracked down Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood."

"Do the Albertens abuse you Dipsy?"

"Abuse me sir?"

Draco tried to explain what he meant. "Do they hit or kick you? Do they make you punish yourself if you do something wrong?"

Dipsy nodded. "They often hit me sir and the other house-elves too. If any of us do something wrong then they tell us to beat our heads against the wall. We're not allowed to stop until the master says so. And Master Michael practices his spells on us when he's home from school, sir."

Draco nodded. He didn't really need to know anything else but he was curious. "What has Dobby been preaching? What was it that he told you?" Draco could still remember the annoying house-elf that used to work for his family. He could remember that as a bratty eleven year old he too had practiced his spells on Dobby. He really was just curious as to what Dobby was up to now.

Hermione raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. Dipsy brightened up a little bit. "Dobby told me about how by being free he got to wear clothes, and also how Hogwarts paid him, and with his pay he saved money and bought a present for Mr Harry Potter, and how that made him feel equal. Dobby said that being free made us equal to the masters and that we didn't have to take orders from them."

Draco's eyebrows shot up so high that they almost reached his hairline. His eyes moved slightly to meet Hermione's and he noticed that she looked both amused at his reaction and proud. Of Dobby, for his crusade to save the house-elves? Draco supposed so considering that it so mirrored Hermione's own attempts during their years at Hogwarts to do the same thing. He shook his head slightly. "Thanks Dipsy, that's all I need for now," he claimed. "You should probably get back to your family now before they discover you're gone."

Dipsy bowed again to both Draco and Hermione. After thanking them she disappeared with a crack, leaving Hermione and Draco alone again in the office. Hermione tilted her head as she observed the man sitting across from her. She was wondering just what he had gotten from that interview that he hadn't already known. Aside from the information about what Dobby was currently doing. "So?" she inquired.

Draco smirked. "So what?"

Hermione made a face that seemed to tell him to grow up. "Did you find something important in Dipsy's answers that you couldn't have gotten from reading her file? Or was this whole afternoon just a waste of both our time and a reason for you to complain like a spoiled child?"

"Oh ye of little faith Granger," Draco almost chuckled. She was always so amusing when she was frustrated or angry. "It was actually quite helpful. Dipsy answered my questions both intelligently and respectfully. This will help in trying to convince the Wizengamot that she deserves freedom when she's obviously as smart as a witch or wizard and can express herself eloquently. If she speaks in court the way she was just speaking to me, it will be an extra plus on our side."

Hermione grinned. She could feel it happening. Finally, everything was starting to come together.

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Day 16

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Draco was confused when he walked into the office. It was late and Granger had sent him a letter asking him to join her at her office. The room was dark as he stepped inside, except for the single lamp glowing on Granger's desk.

As Draco moved closer, Granger's chair spun around and there she was. Hermione Granger in all her glory. He gulped as his eyes took in what she was wearing: a black corset, matching knickers and nothing else. "Hello Draco," she purred. Granger slowly uncrossed her legs and pushed herself up. And that was when he noticed the thigh-high black stockings and black high heels.

Draco could feel himself going weak at the knees and had to lean back against Luna's desk for support as Granger moved to stand directly in front of him. "Granger, what are you doing?" he asked as she ran a hand up his chest, wrapped it around his neck and pulled herself completely flush against his body.

"Seducing you," she whispered hotly in his ear.

That was Draco's breaking point. He grabbed Granger around the waist and pulled her up so that her lips met his. In one quick movement he swept everything off Luna's desk and hauled the temptress in his arms up on to it, still managing to kiss her wildly at the same time.

When Draco walked into the ERMC office on Tuesday morning he tried to suppress a shudder of excitement as a sense of déjà vu passed through him. The room was still dark, just as it had been in his dream, even though it was just after nine. Luna must be late again. Well, as long as she was there before ten o'clock so that they had time to get to the Ministry he wouldn't care. A glance to Draco's left explained where Hermione was. She was sleeping peacefully on her desk with the lamp still on. She must have stayed back late the night before and fallen asleep while working. Typical Granger, he thought.

Draco turned the lamp out with a wave of his wand and then moved to stand next to her. His hand hovered hesitantly by her shoulder. How was he meant to wake her up? Poke her? Draco knelt down so that his face was level with Hermione's. There was a lock of hair covering one of her eyes. Draco reached his hand forward, intending to shift the stray curl but quickly snatched his hand back. He really was in trouble if he was starting to act like he did in his dreams. He shook his head trying to get his mind back on track.

He quickly shook Hermione's shoulder but she simply tried to shrug his hand off and continued sleeping. "Come on Granger," muttered Draco as he shook her again. "Wake up."

Opening her eyes slowly Hermione looked at him with bleary eyes. Draco suddenly realised just how close together their faces were. If he moved just a few centimetres forward he would be kissing her. That idea disappeared though as Hermione opened her mouth to speak. "Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

"It's morning. And we've got a meeting to go to." Draco quickly stepped away from her and continued, "So hurry up and get ready. We'll need to leave as soon as Lovegood arrives."

"Right," Hermione murmured. Once she was certain Draco was occupied with something else she checked her breath. He might not be her favourite person in the world but it would still be embarrassing if he had caught her with bad breath.

An hour later Draco, Hermione and Luna were sitting in hard, uncomfortable chairs kindly supplied by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They were outside Robert Rogerson's office wondering when exactly he was going to appear. The Department Head had already kept them waiting for half an hour and Draco was getting impatient. He knew that Rogerson was doing this on purpose, hoping they would simply leave and thereby have no reason to launch an appeal in the Wizengamot.

Draco began tapping his foot incessantly; trying to relieve some of the tension he could feel rising in him. But it only took a few minutes for Hermione to glare at him and say something about it. "Malfoy stop tapping your feet," she said with a scowl. "It's getting on my nerves."

"Well, gee Granger, I'm sorry," he snapped back. He was in no mood by this point for Hermione's bitching. "Maybe if you tamed that hair of yours, which just so happens to be annoying me, then maybe I'd stop tapping my feet."

Hermione scoffed and turned away.

Another hour after that Robert Rogerson finally appeared with a peeved expression on his face. "Oh, still here are you?" he asked, not really looking for an answer.

"Yes actually, we are, as you can see," Draco sneered. "And Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood and I would like to speak to you for a few moments if that would be possible."

"I don't think it will, I'm sorry. I am a very busy man you know Mr Malfoy."

Draco wasn't put off though. "We had an appointment scheduled at ten o'clock Mr Rogerson. We'd be pleased if you would now honour that commitment and allow us just a few minutes of your precious time. After all, you wouldn't want to make anyone cry now, would you?" He directed a swift glance towards Luna, who immediately adopted a morose expression, looking for all the world as if she were about to burst into tears.

Rogerson frowned but relented and opened his door for them to pass through. "Miss Granger," he greeted with a sneer as she entered, "a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is all mine Mr Rogerson," Hermione replied acidly.

They all sat down and Rogerson leaned back with his fingers touching, watching the others with narrowed eyes. It was a position Hermione had seen him in before. It was the stance he had adopted every time she had come to suggest a new innovation while working for the Department. She had come to associate that look with Rogerson's continual ignorance, belligerence and refusal of progression. "What can I do for you Mr Malfoy?" Rogerson was straight to the point. He wanted this over with as soon as possible.

Draco cocked his head to the side and smirked. "We've come to speak to you about a house-elf named Dipsy. She currently works for the Alberten family."

Rogerson glanced at his watch. "Is this going somewhere Mr Malfoy? I have another meeting to get to."

"Yes it is," Draco said through gritted teeth. He was liking this man less and less, and was trying to keep in control of his temper. The last thing they needed was for Draco to start yelling at and insulting the stupid, overweight excuse for a Department Head. "We would like you to force the Albertens to free Dipsy, as that is precisely what she wants. We have evidence that they have been mistreating her and all their house-elves."

Rogerson let out a bark of laughter. "Surely you're not serious? What utter nonsense." Rogerson shook his head and stood up. "I most certainly will not do as you asked. The most preposterous thing I've ever heard. Now I think we are done here Mr Malfoy."

Draco, Hermione and Luna all rose as well. "If that is your final answer then I believe we are. We'll see you soon in court Mr Rogerson. I'm sure the Wizengamot will like to hear your testimony in this case." Draco nodded to the girls and they all turned to leave. "Good day Mr Rogerson."

Hermione, Luna and Draco didn't say anything until they had Apparated back to the ERMC office. Once they had arrived Draco turned to the two women and stated, "You've got your day in court now." Hermione and Luna glanced at each other and grinned. Draco continued, "I'll set up a date for the trial and let you know."

Draco was about to leave but paused when Hermione called out his name. She smiled and said simply, "Thank you."

He smiled back.