~Hermione~

Hermione hated her Auror robes. They were scratchy, a completely horrendous color, and they made her look like a shapeless blob. Putting them on just dampened her mood, which resulted in her being in a bad mood almost everyday. Standing in front of her mirror, Hermione sighed, and attempted to comb through her bushy hair in an effort to make her appearance a little nicer. Finally giving up, she sighed and grabbed her briefcase as she walked downstairs. She popped a slice of toast in the toaster and made herself some hot chocolate as she waited. She had never really taken to coffee, something that Ron never understood. He would always pick pointless fights with her about it in the mornings, when he was still grumpy and half asleep. Thinking about Ron only made Hermione's initial mood worsen, and she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The ministry was sure to be extremely busy today, as it was the Third Anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. There were going to be reporters crowding in the lobby, and she knew that due to her hand in winning the war, they were going to immediately swarm around her.

The toast popping out of the toaster made Hermione jump. Placing a hand to her chest, she retrieved the jam from the refrigerator and slathered some on her toast before quickly eating it and drinking down the rest of her coffee. As she walked over to her fireplace to floo into the ministry, Hermione desperately hoped that today wouldn't be as bad as it seemed.

~Draco~
Draco really liked his suit. If anyone had thought that he would wear one of those silly leotards and tights, then they were dead wrong. No, Draco was too distinguished for that. Suits were much better, because he could wear them anywhere. He needed a mask of course, so that no one could figure out who he really was, in case a wizard decided to come along, but otherwise his outfit was perfectly normal. His mask was one of his favorite parts about the whole arrangement. It made him feel mysterious and elusive. A day that Draco got to wear his mask was always a good day. Today was one of those days. He had just heard on the news that there was currently a robbery going on down at the National Bank that is on West Street. Draco grinned as he pulled his mask out from a hidden pocket in his suit.

His charade was quite simple really. All he had to do was put a disillusionment charm over his broom, and bam! He could fly. Due to his years of playing as seeker at Hogwarts, he was quite good at multitasking whilst on his broom. The trickiest part was keeping his wand hidden, which he managed to do using a special pocket on his suit. Muggles are very gullible, and he amazed them all with his "supernatural" abilities. After his first couple of heroic acts, they had begun calling him their very own Superman, and the name had stuck. Now he was titled after the very person that had given him this wonderful idea. Superman. Draco liked it.

As he mounted his broom from the balcony of his apartment in New York City, he took a deep breath before kicking off into the sky. Shouts of joy and excitement from the people below could be heard even from the height that he was at. Draco smiled. Yes, today was definitely going to be a good day.

~Hermione~
The lobby was packed and loud, just as Hermione had predicted. She was lucky to make it through with only two promises of private interviews (promises that she didn't intend to keep). Collapsing at the small desk in her cubicle, Hermione had only seconds to get her notes together before Harry came barging in. "We have a new case, and I think that it's going to be a fun one." he said, plopping into the chair across from her and throwing a file onto her desk. "Read it. You're going to laugh"

Hermione picked up the file interestedly, hoping for something that might lighten her mood. As she read, her smile grew as a laugh began to rise in her throat. This may have been the most amusing case she had ever received.

Description: Wears a black suit with a black mask, has blonde hair, lean build, tall; around 5'9
Subject has become popular in New York City for going around and solving minor issues of crime in the muggle world. Ex. Rescuing a group of people that were being held hostage in a muggle grocery store, stopping thieves from robbing a muggle bank. Subject never kills or severely maims the criminals, only inflicts minor wounds if necessary before tuning them over to the muggle authorities. All of the criminals as of yet appear to be muggles. As far as we know, the occurrences have nothing to do with the wizarding world whatsoever. This was brought to attention by a Ministry worker who was on the scene of one of the occurrences and detected magic using a spell. they were not able to find out who the subject was.
Task: Find the subject

Hermione looked up from the file to see Harry grinning at her. "Kingsley said that he would allow me choose my partner for this case. I thought it would be fun, getting to travel to America together, just the two of us."

Hermione beamed at him. "I'm flattered Harry, really, but what about Ron? You almost always choose him for field jobs. He's much better at it than I am."

Harry shook his head. "Ron's great and all, but I think for this case in particular you would be a bigger help, with your muggle heritage. Besides, Ron is currently working on a big case with Dean at the moment, and we haven't done something together in awhile. This will be a great time to catch up."

"Alright then Harry. When do we leave for New York?"

"Noon tomorrow. That will give us enough time to get our things together here before we leave. Is that okay?"

"Perfect"

~Draco~

The hooded man flew to the back of the building, knocked unconscious. The rather large bag of money that he had been holding fell to the floor, and Draco scooped it up, handing it back to the relieved clerk. Then he turned and waved to the growing crowd outside as the police rushed in to handcuff the burglar. The police chief shook my hand, thanking me countless times for my service to the community. I only nodded and smiled, careful not to reveal my voice for fear of a potential wizard recognizing it.I inconspicuously mounted my invisible broom, and flew off into the blue sky, heading back towards my apartment so I could change.

Cheers from the muggles down below followed me as I swooped through the city, filling me with a great sense of pride. If anything was going to make feel even the tiniest bit better about what happened during the war then this was it. Helping them out with their problems was a little bit redundant because I was ignoring mine, but this was the best I could do in the present circumstances.

I landed gently on my balcony and swiftly slid inside, locking the door behind me and pulling down the shades just in case any reporters decided to get creative. I shrugged off my jacket and loosened my tie, while also taking off the mask and folding it neatly, putting it back in its reserved pocket. I quickly changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, and grabbed my laptop to go sit on the couch in the living room. I work from home, mostly to keep my identity a secret and not raise suspicions at a potential workplace. When I first started out in America, I was also slightly embarrassed that I didn't know the slightest thing about muggle technology, so I deemed it better for the sake of my identity and pride that I keep my business at home. I worked a job as a website designer, which I could easily do by contacting through emails and phone, and websites obviously required no human contact.

Sometimes I wondered how healthy it really was to be holed away so often with no real friends, but it was what was necessary. I would be putting any friends I had in danger if the ministry ever caught up with me, and no one would want to be casual friends with a former Death Eater anyways. Especially not me- the one who was at fault for causing Dumbledore's death. Even Blaise- my only true friend from Hogwarts- had to be cut off from my life as well, because I knew the Ministry would know to go to him for information. My entire operation was very meticulously planned out, following a hasty escape from England anyways. I had very limited time to get away from the Aurors, so something had to happen, and quick. America just so happened to have a very quickly growing wizard population, and I decided that under the circumstances, it would be perfect.

It was when I was walking along Wall Street that I saw a comic book lying on the ground. the bright colors caught my eye, and because it was still relatively new looking, I picked it up. I was hoping it might tell me something more about muggle culture, which I was still desperately trying to understand. I began reading, and was soon entranced. The story entertained me, seeing as I could do most of the things that muggles found fantasy-like with a simple flick of my wand. Once I finished, I researched this "superman" on the internet (which took me a great deal of time because I was still struggling to understand how an internet worked). I was fascinated that the fictional character was able to be two people, Clark Kent and Superman. I woefully wished that I could somehow do that, and that is when the idea came to me. I would become a Superman-like figure, helping muggles in this big city as my repentance for the atrocities caused in the war. Yes, it would be difficult, and risky, but it was the first step to being able to protect my mother without being behind bars.

The phone ringing startled me out of my thoughts. I picked up the vibrating smartphone (yes, I did learn how to use an iPhone thank you very much) and pressed answer. "Mother?"

~Hermione~

I stuffed another shirt into my quickly filling suitcase. I had no idea how long me and Harry were going to be staying in New York, we couldn't tell wether the subject was very competent yet. I silently hoped that this subject would be a bit of a challenge, because I wanted to spend as much time away from England as possible. Being away from England meant being away from Ron, the Ministry, and everything else that made my life absolute misery. Plus, it would be nice to get a little friend-on-friend time with Harry. Ever since he married Ginny, he had been spending more and more time with her and less and less time with his friends. Which was understandable, as newly weds, they wanted to be together all the time, but it would be nice to be able to talk to him again.

Harry on the other hand, was already beginning to miss Ginny, even though they hadn't even left yet. Ginny had just recently become pregnant, and Harry had been showering her with time and affection. He was getting increasingly worried that something would happen while he was away, and was spending a bit too much time trying to make everything was ok for her. Ginny had called me earlier today and said that he had been putting little rubber pads on any sharp corners in the house, making me laugh. Harry would be the type to go over the top with these sorts of things.

Once I finished packing my bag, double-checking the list that I had made, and triple checking that everything else was in order at my house, I apparated over the Potter's house. Harry was a nervous whirlwind, rushing all over the house and checking to make sure that Ginny would barely have to lift a finger. Ginny was sitting in a rocking chair by the fireplace, chuckling softly to herself. "Dear, I'm going to be all right. I grew up with six older brothers- I know how to handle myself."

Harry didn't even seem to have heard her. He kept bustling around, muttering to himself. Ginny noticed me standing by the door and a smile lit up her face. "Hermione, come over here! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

Out of all the things that I was glad to get away from in England, Ginny was one of the only things I would miss. We are best friends after all, and we tell each other everything. Not a week goes by that I don't talk to Ginny. "It's only been four days, Gin."

Ginny scoffed. "Well it feels like forever. I've been smothered by my adoring husband the past few days, ever since we saw the first ultrasound. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the gesture, but I need to get a break."

Hermione smiled. "Well you'll get a chance now. I'm not sure how long we will be gone, though. It may be a long time."

"Well I guess I'll just have to visit then. I'd miss my two favorite people too much." Frowning, Ginny shook her head. "I would go with you, but since I'm on maternity leave, the minister refuses to let me tag along. He insisted that I needed to stay home and rest, even though I'm only three months along." Ginny threw her hands up in the air. "With Kingsley and Harry combined, I don't think I'll ever leave the house again!"

Laughing, Hermione hugged her best friend. "I'm going to miss you, Gin. Take care of yourself and the baby. Make sure you come out and visit us!"

Ginny smirked. "Oh I will. I intend to put this Potter fortune to good use, especially at the new boutiques that are in Diagon Alley. I hear they're having some opening sales."

Grinning mischievously, Ginny hugged Hermione warmly, wishing her well on their tip. It was then that Harry wandered back into the room, dragging a suitcase behind him. "Well I definitely forgot something, but you should be all set Gin."

Harry kissed Ginny passionately on the lips, and Hermione looked away. She felt the slightest tinge of awkwardness whenever Harry and Ginny showed affection when she was the only one around. She always felt like she was intruding on an intimate moment.

Pulling away, Harry whispered his love to Ginny, and then knelt to say good bye to the baby before standing and joining Hermione in the doorway. Mrs. Potter waved and blew a kiss. "Have fun, you two. I'll see you soon."

Harry waved back at her, and together they apparated to the airport. They had to take a plane in order to be subtle, and attracting attention in America would not help them in trying to find their subject. If the subject knew they were looking for him, he would surely go into hiding and make them much harder to find. Clutching their tickets, Harry and Hermione walked into the airport side by side.

~Draco~

"Draco, my darling, it's been too long."

Draco chuckled affectionately. "Mother it's only been four days really. Not long at all."

He could practically see Narcissa scoffing on the other end of the phone, and smiled as she retorted back at him. "Four days without seeing my only son felt like an eternity. And it's even worse now that your American accent is getting stronger."

"I can't help it mother, I live in the US now, I'm bound to pick up the dialect at some point. Besides, I'm not going to blend in very well if I'm walking around with a British accent now, am I?"

His mother sighed on the other end of the line. "I suppose so. Anyways, I just saw on the telly that you caught another muggle committing some crime! How wonderful! I always knew that you would be out doing great things in the world!"

Draco smiled and shook his head, his mother did tend to be a bit over enthusiastic sometimes. "Mother, it's really just simple tasks. It's not like I'm stopping global warming."

"Oh Draco everyone knows that global warming isn't actually real. If it was, us wizards would have stopped it by now. Don't be so daft."

"Anyways, Mother, how is it at the Manor? Is the garden going well?"

"Your father is doing lovely Draco. He is progressing quite nicely, even complemented me the other day."

"I didn't want to know about Father. I asked about the garden."

"Well you should start caring more about Lucius, Draco. He is your father after all. And I think he misses you."

Draco actually laughed at that. Lucius? Missing him? His 'failure' of a son? Not likely. "Mother don't be ridiculous. We both know that Father resents my entire existence. And I refuse to care more about him than he cares about me."

Narcissa sighed. "I suppose I cannot get either of you to start forgiving each other, but at least talk to him, Draco? I really think it would help with his condition, hearing his only child's voice again."

"Mother, you know how I feel about this topic. I didn't even what to talk about him in the first place. Now I have to go, I need to work. I love you."

"I love you too Draco. And at least think about-"

Draco hung up before she finished the sentence, cutting his Mother off. He simply couldn't stand to hear about his father any longer. Jus thinking about Lucius put Draco in a bad mood. He decided to put on a cup of tea and watch some American football to calm himself down. He found that he quite liked to watch the sport and decided that he might have enjoyed playing it, if they had it in England.

After watching TV for a little while longer, Draco decided to go out to dinner. There were some nice little cafes around his apartment that he particularly enjoyed going to. They were quiet, and secluded, which allowed for less people and more peacefulness. Draco put on his coat and scarf and strolled down his apartment stairs. Nodding to his doorman, he stepped out into the brisk autumn evening, watching as the sun began to set over to rooftops of tall office building along the New York skyline. Yes, it was a wonderful city to live in, though Draco would much prefer the peace and quiet of a countryside house rather than the hustle and bustle of city life. At the present circumstances, though, the location he was currently at was just fine.

He reached his favorite cafe, Adele's Coffee Shop. It was quiet, and he had made good friends with the owners, who must have been muggles, since they had no idea who he was. A bell tinkled above the door as he walked in, and he breathed in the heavenly aroma of coffee and chocolate chip cookies. An older woman was standing at the counter, scribbling something on a piece of paper. She had auburn hair with streaks of gray running through it, and when she looked up she had wrinkles around her eyes from someone who had smiled too much in their lifetime. She beamed when she saw that it was Draco, and immediately came around the counter to greet him. "Draco, ma petite chou! I have missed you!" She spoke with a heavy french accent that had taken Draco a good couple of months to finally understand.

Draco returned her greeting with just as much enthusiasm. "Adele, it has been too long. I've been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to come visit the shop."

Adele shook her head vigorously, already behind the counter preparing something. "Do not worry, my child. I will fix you up a nice hot meal right away. You just sit down and relax." She moved into a door that led to the kitchen, muttering quietly to herself.

Draco sat down in his favorite seat, in the corner next to the window. there he could see outside and watch the city of New York hurry past him, but he was still secluded enough to feel a sense of privacy. Draco pulled a book out of the bag that he had brought with him. It was a muggle book, one that he had found in a used bookshop a couple miles from his apartment. It was his favorite muggle story, How to Kill a Mockingbird. It had helped him open his eyes to prejudice against people that could not control their differences, and had started Draco along the path that would lead him to completely give up his prejudices.

He opened the worn book to begin reading it for the eighth time, when someone else walked into the cafe. Draco didn't look up from his book, not caring about who it was. The cafe often got random people just looking for a cup of coffee, and Draco choose not to acknowledge may of the other people who came into the cafe. He was planning on continuing to not care until he heard the man speak.

"What can I get for you, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"ma chére/em?" Adele's voice came first.

"Ah, yes I would like a medium cup of coffee, black. No sugar or milk. Make sure of that."

The man's voice was deep, and dignified. Draco could practically see the superiority dripping from his voice, but he remained polite. The man's voice was also british, and it held a certain iciness to it, that made him sound unintentionally hostile. Draco recognized the voice immediately, and his head immediately snapped up so fast he was afraid that he would get whiplash.

"Oui, of course. Is that for here, or to go?"

"Here, please. May I have a grilled cheese sandwich with that as well, please?"

"Coming right up. You may sit anywhere you'd like, dear."

Draco's head snapped back down as the man turned. Maybe, if he kept his head down, then he would go unnoticed...

A sharp gasp came from across the room, and Draco heard quick strides coming towards him. The chair across from him scraped across the floor. Draco could feel the man's presence across from him, and he reluctantly lifted his head to face the invader of his peacefulness. "Draco Malfoy. My, it has been a long time since I've seen you."

Draco internally winced and braced himself for the conversation that was about to follow. "Hello Zabini. It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"

Blaise smirked, sensing Draco's uncomfortableness. "Too long, old friend. Now tell me, why did you disappear off the face of the Earth? I've missed you desperately, you know."

"I needed to escape the Aurors of course. Isn't that what you were thinking when you hopped off to Greece right after the war?"

"Well, I suppose so, yes. But at least I attempted to stay in contact with my best friend."

Draco could feel the resentment burning beneath Blaise's plastered on smile. He felt a twinge of guilt, but only for a moment as he remembered what was at stake. "I didn't find it necessary to keep in touch. After all, I was only friends with you because my father thought that your parents would be a good asset to the Dark Lord."

Blaise's smile completely dropped then. He pursed his lips, and glared at Draco. "You and I both know that's not true. We both were terrified of the Dark Lord, we were a team, we had each others backs. Don't make me try to believe this fake friend bullshit. So tell me the truth, Draco. Why did you shut everyone else out?"

Draco knew his time was up. There was no lying to his former best friend. It was just then that Adele came out with their food, singing to herself. Draco was never so glad to see her. "Adele! You know, I'm not as hungry as I though, I think I might have to get this to go. I need to do some work at home." Adele smiled cheerfully, and bustled back behind the counter. "Of course, dear! Just a moment."

As Adele busied herself with wrapping up Draco's food, Blaise shot to his feet. "Don't think that you can get out of this, Draco."

Draco ignored him, picking up his book and strolling briskly to the counter. Tossing a twenty next to the cash register, He grabbed his food from Adele, and after blowing a kiss to her, proceeded to walk out of the cafe. Blaise scurried after him, neglecting Adele's protests when he didn't pay. "Draco! You stop right now!"

Draco walked faster, desperately trying to get a lead on Blaise so that he could apparate out of this mess. Blaise hurried after him, easily beginning to catch up because of his long stride.

"Draco! No! If you walk away now, you will regret it!"

Draco ignored him. Nothing could stop him from keeping this secret and shutting out his former life.

"I've been cleared by the Ministry! If you don't stop right now, I'm going to go to them and turn you in! You'll be in Azkaban quicker that you can say Blaise Zabini!"

Except for perhaps that. Draco stopped in his tracks, reeling from this new piece of information. Shit. Now Blaise had leverage. Draco huffed furiously, and jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, gripping him tightly. Turning around slowly, Draco looked at Blaise Zabine, who didn't even look a little bit winded. Trying to escape now would be a suicide mission. Draco sighed. "Come back to my apartment. I'll tell you everything."

~Hermione~

The planes wheels left the ground and folded up into the body of the plane. Hermione felt the familiar fluttery butterfly feeling in the pit of her stomach as her, Harry, and the rest of the passengers rose into the air. Harry was gripping her hand extremely tightly, because even after all these years of playing quidditch, he still had flying phobia. Hermione smiled at him reassuringly, but she wasn't sure whether it helped much. Harry was a mess when it came to flying in planes.

Turning back to the window, Hermione watched the skyline of London as they flew over it. It really was a beautiful city, but at the moment, it represented everything Hermione wanted to get away from. She felt extremely content as she leaned back in her seat, already immensely enjoying their flight. Once Harry had recovered from his initial flying jitters, he turned to Hermione to talk.

"Hermione, I was just wondering... I mean I noticed... and Ron too... we just... I-"

Hermione turned towards him, eyes narrowing. "Harry, just spit it out. What's wrong?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you see, Ron and I were talking, and we just noticed that you've been a little distant lately. We're worried about you."

Hermione scoffed. Ron wouldn't give a rat's ass about her. "I'm fine, Harry. Just been busy with work, that's all."

"Hermione, I know that isn't it. Everytime I ask you how you're doing, or why you're looking tired, its always the same excuse. I'm one of your best friends, 'Mione. You can tell me anything."

Hermione sighed. She really didn't want to have this conversation with Harry, maybe it was sefishness, because she didn't want Harry to take Ron's side. But whatever the matter, she decided to avoid this at all costs. "Harry, I'm perfectly okay. I think that Ginny's pregnancy is just making you worry too much. You're overreacting over nothing." Hermione looked back down at her book, proud of herself with coming up such a clever dodge.

Harry slammed his fist on the armrest between them, making Hermione jump and look back up at him. "Hermione, I know something is wrong, damnit! Is it me? Is it Ginny? I'm honestly hurt that you won't tell me this!"

Hermione closed her book, sighing. She hadn't thought about Harry's feelings in all of this. Feeling a bit more guilty, she made the executive decision to tell him. After all, Harry was her best friend. What could be the harm?

"Harry, you know that me and Ron ended on good terms, right?"

"Right."

"Wrong. We ended in a fight Harry. A bad one. We both said some pretty nasty things to each other. And although we behave civilly to each other in the workplace, I'm not sure that I've completely forgiven him, or forgiven him at all. I hate being around him, it makes me feel terrible inside. And I really don't like being an Auror, Harry. I don't like working for the Ministry, and I would much prefer a desk job doing something that I love rather that going out and Stunning Death Eaters. Yes, I know you thought that it would be like old times, but it doesn't feel like that. I'm stuck, Harry. I don't like what my life looks like right now. And I'm simply miserable with that hanging over my head."

Harry only stared at her, mouth hanging slightly agape. Shaking his head, he adjusted his glasses, and began to speak again. "Blimey, Hermione, I didn't know you and Ron weren't on good terms! I thought you were still friends and everything!"

Hermione shook her head. Was that really all he had gotten out of her little speech? "Harry, Ron and I never did anything together anymore. And when all three of us were all together, did you ever notice that hardly ever exchanged words?"

"I just thought you still a little awkward with each other after the break-up. I had no idea that you had a huge fight. What did you say?"

Hermione choked back tears, remembering the things that Ron had said to her. "I really don't want to talk about that right now, Harry. Besides, that's not the point. I'm not happy where I am, Harry. That's what's making me sad. Ron's just a piece in the messed up puzzle that is my life."

Harry didn't seem to have a very good response, replying with a simple, "Oh." and leaving it at that.

Hermione sighed, opened her book, and the two of them spent the rest of the flight in silence.

A/N: So that's the first chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! I know that everything is a little skippy right now, what with all the jumping around in point of views, but I'm just trying to cover a lot of back round info. Once the story starts progressing a little more, and Draco and Hermione are actually in contact a little more, it will even out. Thank you all for reading!

I am also writing this on my wattpad account (potterreader333). You can check it out there too if you'd like!

-Molly 3