Hermione awoke the next morning long before her alarm clock had the chance to sound. It had been a restless enough night as it was, this was just the point where she decided to stop trying and gave into staring at the boring white walls across from her and the wandering thoughts in her mind.
One glance towards the clock told her she had another three hours before she had to report to Malfoy's office. That was enough to warrant a groan. There were too many potential problems. To make matters worse, the greater majority of these problems had decided to strike her the moment she stepped foot into Madame Mulkin's Robe shop the day before, which had caused her to make quite the scene. It wasn't that she'd wanted to… only that upon being asked what exactly she was looking for, it occurred to her that she had no actual clue.
Sure. The answer should have been simple. New robes for work. But it had struck Hermione Granger that she hadn't the slightest idea how she wanted to be viewed in this new job. Ever since the end of the war… she'd fallen completely off the radar. Except for becoming known as the sad best friend. The charity case to those who knew anything about her existence, though that was rare, as Draco Malfoy himself was proof of. Most people probably thought she had vanished to a different country. She had absolutely no image to uphold. Not the ridiculously intelligent third party of the Golden Trio… not the pretty bimbo of the group. Nothing. So when asked what she was looking for, what did she say?
It had occurred to her in retrospect that Draco himself had obviously matured a great deal since Hogwarts. Back then, he wore his family's wealth like a mask, flaunting the top of the line brooms in Quidditch, all the best of everything. Hermione's wasn't a fool though. She was also perfectly aware that he followed right behind her in marks. Thinking back to yesterday, it was apparent to her that he didn't blatantly flaunt either in his appearance or clothes… because his image was already set. When he was younger, he was still trying to make people know his family was rich. Now they knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had surpassed them in every aspect, and it showed without any attempt on his part. That bothered the living hell out of Hermione Granger.
Enter problem number one.
When did she ever imagine she'd be thinking about how she wanted to appear to people? No. That wasn't what she was thinking at all, was it? Maybe in a tiny way she was imaging how her new coworkers were going to perceive her… but more than anything… her ego had taken a complete beating the day before in front of her childhood rival. And despite backhanded compliments left and right, that he was nice enough to disguise as insult for the sake of her pride (( Still trying to decide whether that pissed her off more or less )), she was teetering on an all time low because of it. So now, standing in the middle of Madame Mulkin's Robe shop like a stone sculpture for an undisclosed but embarrassing amount of time….
She wasn't actually thinking about how her new coworkers were going to view her. She was thinking about how Draco Bloody Malfoy was going to view her. Because at some point on the way between that damn street where they'd talked, and her robe shop… she'd obviously at least gained the tiniest glimmer of at least respect for the slimy little rodent.
Not to mention some odd thought in the very back of her head about steely grey eyes that gave her goosebumps. She'd simply blame that on being a girl that hadn't been around men in forever, and the fact that Malfoy unfortunately wasn't an adolescent male going through puberty anymore. Whatever. She was allowed to think he had pretty eyes. Didn't mean she had to like him. He was an ass. Didn't change anything. Except for a few things.
There wasn't enough alcohol in the world to fix this problem.
In the end she'd decided on one moderate and conservative outfit, since she had no clue what she was aiming for, and decided that she could come back once she'd felt the place out. Then it was a quick run to the restaurant to cover shifts and prepare for hell.
As hard as he tried, Draco couldn't manage to get any work done in his extra hour the next morning. The will to focus didn't seem to be coming to him, and instead, he found himself scouting around for info on what the hell one Hermione Granger had been up to since Voldemorte's defeat. Plenty on the rest of the Golden Trio… nada on it's Heroine, save a few background photos where it appeared that she had been dragged by Potter and girl Potter, a sight which caused him to shake his head.
Oh how the mighty had fallen.
Fine by him. The rest of the world could forget about Hermione Granger. Their loss was his gain, and he planned to take complete and utter advantage of it.
The more he'd thought about it, the more he'd realized the full potential of the situation. Not only could she make his life that much easier, his business that much more lucrative… he'd be able to branch out farther, and maybe… if his assumptions about these photos were true, piss off Saint Potter in the process. He didn't like Hermione, but she was tolerable in comparison, and if it came down to getting under the other nitwits skin… he'd befriend her in a heartbeat.
Looked like she needed it anyway. At least she was working for whatever the hell it was she had. Unlike the fame mongers that were throwing their money all over the place. Disgusting.
Draco froze at the familiar buzzing sound of the elevator, glancing down to see 7:40 scrolled across the clock and nearly smiling as the doors opened, permitting the familiar brunette.
He'd have to remember to pat himself on the back later and tell himself how good of an idea hiring her had been. Since he could always count on someone that beat him at everything in school to show up early. Perfect.
A simple clearing of the throat was all he offered to guide her in the right direction, summoning her into the office itself and surveying as she marched in like someone sacrificing themselves to darkness. If she didn't drop the odd expression, he might start to doubt whether he'd started doing good in the world… but he simply shook the thought, glancing over the fairly modest attire she'd chosen. It was professional, and he couldn't ask for much more than that.
"Feel free to take a seat. I'm just going to give you some initial paperwork to fill out and introduce you to the company a bit." He offered, extending a hand which brought with it a chair.
"I'm sure it's nothing out of the ordinary."
"Not at all. Mostly just for pay purposes. I've set the firm up to automatically deposit funds into all employees Gringott's accounts, so vault numbers are obviously needed. Beyond that, as I already know your prior history, contact information will be the only thing I'll need out of you."
Hermione tilted her head slightly, taken aback. "Already know my prior history? We haven't seen each other in years… I'd hardly say you know my history…"
"Perhaps you should just be impressed that you have enough in your first 18 years to warrant being hired with full wages. My only point was that I don't find it necessary to seek out references and educational standards for you. Then again, I have a good bit of faith in my own decisions. You're not interviewing right now, after all."
His eyes furrowed slightly as he watched the woman react, nodding slightly and using one hand to fill out papers he had begun to slide across the desk, as if to keep her attention still half open to him. At the same time, he had no intention to tell her that he wasn't going to have her fill that portion out because he wanted no knowledge or involvement of/in her personal life and previous shit jobs. The unsettling feeling that came with knowing about one or two was enough for him, and he was set on thinking they'd go away once she got some money. Which had led to his next big decision of the morning.
"I did afterall hire you yesterday." He informed, placing an envelope on her small stack of forms. "Consider that a signing bonus for helping me out. As much as it pains me to say it, I'm extremely grateful."
Wide eyes had resurfaced ever so slightly, but Hermione was quick to respond. "Is the outfit I picked out THAT awful?"
What the-?
"Of course not. I just thought you might need-" Money… Shit. ".. More than one? You're a woman… I don't mean to stereotype, but we usually try to give a small allowance for clothing as it is, and it seems the women in this company are always the ones that find that allowance too low."
What the hell were you thinking? To say he was beating himself on the inside would be an understatement. The fact that Hermione Granger living with nothing bothered him was bothersome enough. The fact that he wanted to act on it… a little more tedious. But he had no intention of telling her that, or insulting her with it. Any care in her well being only made him dislike her more, and the entire battle he was currently having… was immediately stalled by something on her face. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew what he meant to say, But her expression wasn't disgust or insult. More like embarrassed acceptance.
So that's what he thinks of me. She thought, glancing down at the envelope in her hands. If she had half the ounce of pride she used to, she'd throw it back in his face, tell him she didn't need his worthless money or job and walk out. But she did. To make it worse, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. The Draco Malfoy she remembered would have waived it in her face, let her know he was doing everything out of malicious pity. This Draco tried to save her pride for whatever laughable reason. As if she had any now.
"Well… you know. When all of your current employees make so much, they can spend their money on pretty lavish robes. Maybe it makes some of your newer ones feel a little underdressed." She responded, trying to keep her spirit in it. If this was the charade he wanted to play, she'd work with it for now.
Apparently she didn't do a very good job, as he only nodded slowly and stood, clearing his throat again. "Come on. You can finish these later. I'll have Daphne leave them on your desk, which is this one right outside the doors to the right. For now, there's a café next door to the building where we can get some coffee, I can tell you about the company, and we can let this be even more awkward." He said, glancing upwards in painful thought. "Or we could always just throw some things out on the table and possibly make it a little less awkward. I guess that's really up to you."
She didn't see where she had much of an option, as he'd already made it halfway out the door, so instead she hurried after him, catching his side just as they neared the elevator.
"Why did ask me to work here?" She heaved softly, not used to keeping up with such a long stride since before Ron left. "We've never been able to stand each other. Do you really think that's ignorable?"
He stepped inside, pressing ground to begin the delayed descent before turning over his shoulder to look at her. "So we've chosen this way. Alright. I run a business Hermione. I'm not thick enough to overlook the possibility of having one of my intellectual equals working for that company. When it comes to the job that I specifically hired you for, it involves a lot of research, organization, and book smarts. The convenience of you is knowing you have all of those qualities without needing to interview you. I have no intention of ignoring our past. No, we have never liked each other… but out of the three of you, I've at least been able to respect you, for all the same reasons as I would hire you. And while I may not want to date you, or be a part of your life outside of work, you are my coworker… and I'm not as dense as you think I am."
By the time he finished speaking, the bell chimed, and he stepped through the doors as if on cue, walking forward into the atrium. He didn't have to be so logical… She thought, stepping out after him. Hermione waited a moment before coming back to his side, allowing the slight color to fade from her cheeks. Something about her and romance. Didn't need to be mentioned, even by Draco bloody Malfoy apparently.
"So what, you want me to believe that you've actually become some great almighty person? The kind and generous boss? I'm not supposed to take what you're doing as sarcastic pity that's helping you out?" She asked.
"I'd never say great and almighty. I can be strict, as in the case of your predecessor… But otherwise, if you're questioning my managing style, yes. Generous is probably proper. I'd never in a hundred years have you thinking it's out of kindess. Happy people work well. You're no different. You're one of my employees now, and I'm treating you the same as all the others. My employees want for nothing, so there's nothing else on their minds to distract them from their jobs."
"Well that certainly sounds more like the Malfoy I remember. Scheming."
"Scheming? A successful company is scheming?"
"Isn't it?"
"Strategy."
"Perhaps." She shrugged, looking up at the café sign. "If you were trying to make me feel better about accepting things from you, I guess it worked."
"I hadn't really seen you trying to turn anything down yet, but if I got you to accept I'm treating you like all of my employees, then good."
Hermione nodded, biting her lip as they snaked through the café to a table in a fairly secluded corner in the back of the restaurant. "Right…" She responded softly as they sat. "And you take all of your employees out on company hours for breakfast?"
To her surprise, he chuckled, shaking his head. "No. Only old rivals who will now be answering my calls. There's no reason why we can't attempt to be friends."
"Didn't you just finish telling me you didn't want anything to do with me outside of work?"
"Technically, It's still work." He smirked, leaning back and crossing his arms after giving some unknown gesture to a man behind a long counter on the opposite wall.
"You're my boss… you sign my paychecks. But I still hate you."
He shrugged, pulling a portfolio from his jacket and placing it on the table. "That's fine, I guess. You can't say I didn't try. This is an introduction to the company. Has all the numbers you could possibly need, fire exits, magical wards, maps, codes to different offices that I assume you'll keep confidential. It also tells you where the different file rooms are, and how files are listed should you ever need to find anything manually, but a simple Accio usually works easiest. The building we work in is the actual firm, but we also head the Aurors, so their offices are listed. You can get into any of them, but you need to wear your passes which are enclosed." He explained with a nod to the portfolio as she opened it and began cycling.
"We're currently in the process of working on some touchy cases at the moment. Daphne and yourself do a lot of collection from witness testimony, which you'll find there's a good ton. Unfortunately, half of it is complete rubbish and has to be thrown out before I waste time on it, so that I can build a case out of the useful pieces. That's where we're at now. We haven't been handed anything conclusive yet from the aurors, so we haven't been able to form a hard case and receive any warrants."
Hermione gave a nod of understanding, eyeing her watch to see that it was already 9:40, but making no sign of recognition.
"You have your other job to get to right? You showed up early this morning, I appreciate it. Why don't you go ahead and go, and I'll see you at 2 so you can start shuffling through witness reports. Tom has some rolls and coffee waiting for us, so just grab some on your way out."
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly, receiving a nod in reply.
"You'll come to find that I only strongly dislike you. I'm not out to get you."
Hermione didn't question him, keeping herself composed until she was a good way down the street before confusion spread over her face. This is not going to be good.