So here's the next chapter. Thanks so much for reading/reviewing/putting my story on your favourites or alerts list! Your reviews really mean a lot to me!

Please read : A friend told me that she'd read another story where there were eight people dead too. I just want to put a disclaimer saying that any similarity my story may have with other stories is purely coincidental. I have not and will never plagiarize someone's story. If something turns out to be exactly like another story, please let me know so that I can change it. As of now, I've changed the number of victims to eight including the Malfoys.

Sorry about the OOCness in this chapter. This is the first time I'm trying a non-canon pairing so I'm learning how to write them as I go along. Please review with any feedback you'd like to give me! Italics are flashbacks.

Bellaroe - I meant that Draco realised that even though he was a Death Eater, he was still treated badly by Voldemort and his status and position didn't make him much better to Voldmort...hope that clears it up!

Disclaimer : I don't own HP.

"Well, what do you want from me?" Hermione screamed.

"I want you to stay here at the Burrow!" Ron shouted back.

"Well I don't want to do that! I'm tired of fighting; I don't want to join you as an Auror. I want to go back to Hogwarts."

"There are still Death Eaters out there; they'd love to get you. You should stay here, where Harry and I can protect you."

"I need protection? You think I can't take care of myself? You're the one who can barely Apparate without splinching yourself. You're the one who depended on me when we were on the run. Now you want me to stay here and learn to be a good housewife or something?" Hermione demanded.

"I just want you to stay here where you'll be safe. It's been barely three months since Voldemort was defeated. His supporters are still at large," snapped Ron.

"What about what I want? I want to finish my education. Besides, Hogwarts is safe now," Hermione snapped back.

"I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. Why do you want to go back to school anyway? You know more than any of those seventh years. Besides, we've been properly together for only a few months now and you want us to be separated again!" Ron said.

"It's only Hogwarts, for Merlin's sake! You can visit me on weekends, it's not like I'm going to Australia!" Hermione countered.

"No. You're my girlfriend and I want you to stay here."

Hermione gave him a disappointed look. "If being your girlfriend means I can't follow my dreams while you get to follow yours, I'd rather not be your girlfriend at all. We're done." She marched out of the room.

Hermione sat up in bed and looked around wildly. She calmed down and tried to run a hand through her tangled bushy hair. For some reason, she'd been dreaming about her break up with Ron just before she'd left to finish her last year at Hogwarts. It wasn't the first time she'd been dreaming about it either. Ever since the attack on the Malfoys one week ago, she'd been having dreams of that memory and occasionally, Draco's face would float through her dreams as well.

The sounds of Ron getting ready for work filled their apartment. She glanced at her bedside clock and sighed. Trelawney could probably think of a hundred interpretations to her dream, but right now, she didn't have time to worry about it. She had to get to work.

A couple of hours later, Hermione entered the Aurors' conference room in full Auxilium gear. Investigation into the Malfoys' murder was beginning that day. Hermione took her seat between Neville and Ginny (who was R3), all of them masked. Harry, Ron and a few other Aurors sat around the table as well. Kingsley who was also helping with the case due to its high profile was at the head of the long table.

"Let's begin with a review of the case so far, shall we?" he said.

A short, dark-haired Auror called Viola Newman stood up and walked over to the marker board in the room. "So far, we've seen eight attacks on various families in the last six months. Each attack involves the victims, usually the elderly in the family, being tortured, stunned and left in the house which is then set on fire along with any incriminating evidence the perpetrators may have left behind. Robbery is clearly not the motive since all valuables are left untouched – Mrs. Malfoy's ring is the only exception so far. The victims' children are never at home at the time of the attack, so the houses are probably watched. So far, the Malfoys, Notts, Garetts, and Brocklehursts have been the wizard victims and the Blakes, Carters and Smiths were the Muggle victims. It may be possible that the victims are questioned about something under torture. The only connection that all eight families share is that they are old and wealthy families." She sat down.

"Any leads?" asked Kingsley.

Everyone shook their heads.

"There isn't any person or group that all eight victims knew. It must be someone we've never heard of," said Neville.

"Actually," started Harry, hesitantly, "we've been looking into Rabastan Lestrange, Bellatrix's brother-in-law. He's been missing since the war. We never found him."

"He must be in hiding. We can't find any family either," said Ron.

"It's the only lead we have for now, so work on it. And see what you can find out about Narcissa's missing ring, it might lead us somewhere," said Kingsley, wearily. He dismissed the meeting.

Hermione hurried to a bathroom, changed quickly and emerged in regular work robes. She headed to her office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She'd barely sat at her desk when her secretary, Jessica, rushed in. "Madam Granger, I think you should see this."

Hermione followed her harassed-looking secretary to a large door at the end of the corridor. "The Hall of Records?" Hermione asked, confused.

Jessica pushed open the door, and Hermione gasped.

Every shelf, cabinet and locker had been knocked over or opened. Parchment was still floating to the ground to join the jumbled heap that obscured the floor. Inkbottles had been smashed and ink was forming multicoloured puddles on the already messy floor.

"When did this happen?" Hermione demanded.

"I was in here just before the Auror meeting," said Jessica. The Auror office, Hall of Records and Hermione's offices were all on the same floor. "The floor was sealed off since the meeting was high profile. I just saw this on my way to your office."

"But the meeting just ended ten minutes ago! There were members of Auxilium who must have come this way to get to the lifts. This couldn't have happened in the last fifteen minutes at least. All the other workers would have been heading up the lifts too. Someone would have noticed something," exclaimed Hermione. A horrible thought struck her and she voiced it. "No one can enter this floor when it's been sealed off unless they're an Auror or part of Auxilium. This place could have been wrecked only in the hour the meeting was going on. Whoever did this had inside help."

Harry and Ron suddenly appeared on the scene with five Aurors and some of the Keepers of the Hall of Records.

"We just heard about this. Do you think it has something to do with our case?" Harry asked.

Everyone knew Hermione knew about the case even though she wasn't an Auror and no one knew she was the head of Auxilium. "You shouldn't rule out that possibility but there's no way to be sure until we bring some order to this room," replied Hermione.

Ron looked at the men they'd brought. "Aurors, stay here with the Keepers as they organize this room. Keepers, I want a list of any missing documents within ten days. Whoever did this was searching for something and they must have trashed the place so that we won't know what they were looking for until it's too late."

"Are you mad? There are documents in here dating back to the 1600s when the Ministry was formed. We can't organize everything in ten days," protested a Keeper.

"Take as many people as you need. Start from the most recent documents. Use any spells you need to. I don't care if you have to use Time-Turners to finish on time but this has to be cleaned up within ten days. We need to see what the thieves took. If anything looks like it's been handled recently, if there are any new marks or fingerprints that couldn't have been caused by this mess, report to me immediately," ordered Harry.

He turned to Ron. "I want you to find out who used their Auror access card to get into the floor when it was sealed."

Ron shook his head. "The card machines shut down in the morning for some reason. We had to put a security guard at the floor entrance, near the lifts."

"Let's go ask him if he saw anyone."

Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed to the lifts. There was no security guard in sight.

"That's odd," said Ron, "I specifically told Security to keep someone up here till the card machines were fixed."

Hermione strode over to the magically enhanced Muggle machines that were now used to restrict or grant access to the floor. She held up her card to it but the machine was still not working. "They've been disabled. Send one to Auxilium immediately. They were designed to be tamper-proof."

Harry was frowning at a broom closet by the lifts. "No, please, no," he muttered as he strode over and pulled open the door.

All three of them swore loudly as the dead security guard fell out.

"Avada Kedavra," whispered Harry, bitterly, looking away from the body, "leaves no trace."

X-X-X

Draco lay flat on his bed, staring at the bare ceiling of his small rented apartment in the Leaky Cauldron. One week after the destruction of his family and his home, he was a total wreck. He didn't want to go to work. He was sure he looked terrible but he couldn't bring himself to look into the mirror – he looked too much like his father. Tears rolled down his cheeks again as he remembered his parents.

The Malfoys had always been a close family, they had loved each other more than anyone else and they had always done their best to protect each other – until now. Draco hadn't even been home when his parents had been attacked. The Aurors hadn't let him collect any of his possessions, declaring everything to be 'evidence'. He snorted, he had been on this case too, and there was no evidence.

He had loved his parents so much, and now they were gone. The Malfoys' love for each other had even surpassed their fear of Voldemort. And now they were gone. They had been the only people he had cared so much about, except for her of course…Hermione Granger…

"Hello Granger."

Hermione looked up suspiciously. If Malfoy just called her 'Granger' politely, it was best she was cautious. "What do you want?"

"This is the Prefects' carriage, yes? I'm Head Boy and I see you're Head Girl. I came to join you for the Prefect's meeting."

For a moment, the only sound in the compartment was the rattling of the Hogwarts Express as it made its way through a tunnel. Hermione was completely thrown by his politeness. "That's it? You're not going to insult me or my friends?" she asked.

Draco sighed as he sat down. "Look, I admit it, I was a deluded, spoiled brat. The last two years have taught me that status doesn't matter when you're fighting for your life. You may not be a pureblood but even I acknowledge that you're far more skilled than any pureblood I know, so I no longer believe purebloods are superior. I'm ready to put aside our differences and start over. Are you?"

Hermione stared at him, "Who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy?"

He smiled, an action she had thought he was incapable of. "I'm Draco," he said, "Just Draco."

Over the next couple of months, they had been forced to interact very often due to their Head duties. After countless fights, shouting matches and the occasional hex, they had developed a grudging respect for each other. Draco found himself admiring Hermione's skills and her proud acceptance of her heritage. She in turn, found herself admiring Draco's calm, composed attitude when it came to handling the many enemies he now had at Hogwarts and his newfound humility. Not once did the words, 'Mudblood,' or 'my father' leave his lips.

Having to work together and share a tower as Head students made them realize that, in the absence of their old prejudices, they found each other quite engaging. Everyday, they found new qualities in each other that they had never noticed before. By the end of October, they had achieved the impossible – they had become good friends.

Draco entered the common room of the Heads' tower one evening in early November.

"Granger?" he frowned at the girl curled up in an armchair, tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked cautiously.

She was holding a letter. "Harry wrote to me," she sniffed.

"Oh. It's not bad news, is it?"

"No. He's doing fine. He's taking care of Teddy, he misses Ginny, Auror training is going great; everything's fine."

"Well, what's the problem then?"

"This is Harry's fourth letter to me. Ron hasn't written or replied to my letters at all!" she wailed.

Draco sat down beside her. "Well, you know Weasley. He's not the type to write every week. You said he's helping his brother at the joke shop? That's got to be keeping him busy," he reasoned.

The next moment, Hermione was sobbing into his shoulder about how she'd broken up with Ron but she'd written to say sorry and he didn't understand her at all sometimes and how much she missed him.

Draco patted her on the back awkwardly. "Hey come on, your big brain has far worthier things to worry about than Weasley." He hesitated and then put his arms around her. "If he can't understand what you see in Hogwarts, if he can't see that you're one of the most independent witches around and that you're going to follow your dreams, he doesn't know you well at all. You're smart, loyal, brave and talented. You don't need Weasley in your life to be happy."

She looked at him with those big brown eyes. "Really?"

For the first time, Draco realized that she was really quite pretty. "Really."

He walked into the little kitchenette in their tower and came out a few minutes later with two big mugs of hot chocolate.

She looked surprised as he handed her a mug. "You can actually use a kitchen?"

"I can just make hot chocolate." His voice shook. "Last year, I woke up sometimes in the middle of the night after a bad dream. I didn't want to wake anyone else by summoning a house elf so I learnt how to make hot chocolate myself. It always calms me down."

Hermione looked at him. "I didn't know you could be so compassionate and understanding."

"I didn't know you could be so emotional. It makes you less perfect, more human somehow. You're not the tough, strong witch of the Golden Trio all the time," he answered.

She gazed into his grey eyes. They were troubled with old memories. She didn't know what made her do it, she didn't know how she felt so comfortable around him, but she snuggled up to him. "I think it's time we both let go of the past, Draco."

"I think you're right, Hermione."

Draco dragged himself out of bed. He didn't know why he'd been dreaming about his earliest memories with Hermione but it had made him feel slightly calmer. It was four in the evening, he hadn't had lunch. He didn't want to go down to the pub and face all the staring he knew he'd experience. He looked out of his window at Diagon Alley. He found a clean shirt and ran a hand through his hair to make it appear presentable and washed his face. He could lose himself in the crowded street. Who knew, maybe fresh air was good for grief.

The minute Draco stepped into Diagon Alley, he wished he could go back to his room. Even though it was so full of people, everyone seemed to point and muter at him. Everywhere he looked, he had flashbacks of visiting the shop with his parents. The muttering seemed to fill his head. He felt suffocated. In his desperation to get away from all the staring, he spotted a tiny shop in a corner he hadn't noticed before. Without bothering to look at the shop's name, he rushed in, sighing with relief when he saw it was empty.

"Draco?" He whirled around, his heart beating fast. He knew that voice so well, he'd just been dreaming about it.

Hermione Granger stood behind the little counter by the door.

"Hello Hermione." He'd missed her so much. He'd missed seeing those brown eyes fill up with concern just for him. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

He looked around the shop and unwillingly smiled as he saw what she was selling. "You own a stationery shop?"

"It's far easier using pens and notebooks than quills and loose parchment. Business is booming," she replied.

"You always wanted to bring the Muggle and Wizarding worlds closer," said Draco. He cast around for a topic that wouldn't remind him of their old romance. "But you work at the Ministry, don't you?"

"I only work there in the mornings. You would know that if you actually turned up to do some paperwork in the office once in a while," Hermione said, smiling.

He looked at her, a shadow of his old smirk on his face. "Have I ever been one for paperwork?" He didn't mention that he preferred to be out on the field so that he could avoid seeing her and remembering their old relationship again. "So…you're engaged to Weasley?" So much for talking about something that didn't remind him of their old relationship.

She looked uncomfortable too. "Yes, I am."

"Don't know what you see in the weasel though."

"I always had a thing for animals in the Genus Mustela thought didn't I, ferret?" she smirked. Her voice became gentle as she looked at him kindly. "Enough about me, how are you, Draco?"

He slumped onto a stool, rested his elbows and his head in his hands. "My life is crap. Everyone kept staring and pointing when I walked down the street." He laughed humourlessly. "I finally understand how Potter feels. You lose your parents and suddenly, you're the centre of attention when all you want to do is crawl in to a hole and die." His stomach rumbled loudly. "And I'm starving too."

Hermione sighed, "I wasn't particularly fond of your father, but I liked Narcissa. She was always so good with Teddy too whenever she visited Andromeda. They didn't deserve to die like this."

"They didn't deserve to die at all."

Hermione pulled a comb out of her purse and smoothed Draco's unruly hair. He looked up at her. "Come on," she said, "My assistant can look after the shop for a while. Let's get you something to eat. How does butterscotch cake, a big bag of crisps and a nice, steaming mug of hot chocolate sound?"

"You remember my favourite late lunch," he said, smiling slightly. Then he remembered the crowd. "But what about all the staring people?"

She took his hand and met his grey eyes, both of them surprised at the tingles that ran through their bodies at the contact. "You'll be fine, just do what Harry does and ignore them."

Half an hour later, they sat outside a small café, sipping hot chocolate. People were still staring but Draco felt strangely impervious to them. Being with Hermione always made him feel protected from the world. She had avoided talking about the case, but now, he brought it up himself.

"Do the Aurors have any leads?" he asked.

She sighed, "Except for your mother's ring and the fact that Rabastan Lestrange is missing, no. Oh and the Hall of Records was trashed."

"What?"

Hermione told him about what had happened that morning.

"An inside job?" he demanded.

"That's what it looks like. But why haven't you received any updates from the Auror office? You're on this case too."

Draco's hands shook as he set down his mug. "I received a letter the day after my parents…you know. The Aurors said I was too close to the case now to do an unbiased job. They kicked me off the case."

"What? But that's not right! I'll talk to Harry and see what he can do to get you back on," said Hermione.

"Thanks," he replied. He drained the last of his hot chocolate and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Hermione grinned, "You still have a bit…right…there." She leaned over as she spoke and rubbed away some chocolate from his face. A pleasant shiver ran up her hand when her fingers touched his cheek. "You'll be fine, Draco. You're strong," she whispered, resting her had against his cheek.

He shuddered slightly at the familiar feeling of butterflies in his stomach at her touch. Her hand was soft and cool against his cheek but there was a cold, metal feeling too at one point – right about where her ring finger rested on his cheek. He drew back, away from the coldness of her engagement ring. "You should get back to your shop," he said, almost curtly.

Hermione looked surprised at his tone but nodded. "I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron too. If you need any help…"

"Yeah."

She left, but she felt..odd. She felt happy. Her heart sank as she recognized the feeling. She felt exactly as she used to when she and Draco went on a date seven years ago.

The next morning, she rushed into her office at the Ministry, slightly late. She had once again dreamed about Draco which left her a little confused.

Her secretary came in hesitantly. "Madam Granger, I think you should see this. I don't know if Mr. Weasley's seen it yet."

Hermione frowned as she took the newspaper Jennifer was holding, it was one of those tabloids she never glanced at. Today, it bore a large headline - 'Dramione Again?' and a picture of her and Draco outside the café. She was rubbing chocolate off his face and they were both smiling.

"Oh hell, not again," she groaned as Ron's telltale heavy footsteps sounded through the corridor.

I'm really sorry about Ron and Hermione being OOC right at the beginning of the chapter! I was just trying to show that Ron is concerned for Hermione's safety and being Ron, he puts it across in the wrong way and offends Hermione...sorry if they both appeared like jerks...

I am really sorry if any of the characters (especially Draco) seem really OOC. I'm trying to improve and any help is welcome. I'm also looking for a good beta to help me with this story so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!

Please review! I really need to know what you think to make this story better! I hope I'm putting across the plot clearly and not confusing anyone...

Five reviews again?