Chapter 2

Hermione went over Draco's latest records in her minimalistic decorated, some would say Spartanly furnished, office. She'd gotten curious about his career. Reluctantly, she had to admit that he had done some amazing things for the Ministry these last ten years. He defused violent situations and had negotiated deals with less savory Ministries of Magic abroad. Good, sound deals which, perhaps, had needed someone like Malfoy. Hermione gritted her teeth. What had she done these past ten years of her life?

She still felt so strongly that she was right yet her cause had cost her dearly… First there had been Ron… Harry had been rewarded heaps of Galleons for killing Voldemort. Naturally, he had divided it between the three of them. Ron had used his share of the money to get himself a house-elf… Hermione had furiously railed against it, to no avail. Harry had Kreacher, hadn't he? How could she deny him a live-in servant? She had been severely disappointed and it had marked the beginning of the end as far as her and Ron's love affair went. Hermione simply couldn't stand the way he treated it: a female house-elf called Bonnie. It had brought out a side in Ron she wished she'd never see again…

Perhaps she was too serious about these things. As the years passed, Hermione had also become a vegetarian. Her struggle for centaur-, goblin- and house-elf-rights had increased her awareness of animal rights as well. Ron hadn't liked that either. How could she not eat meat?

Ron hadn't changed much. He managed a joke shop with his brother. Quidditch was his most important cause: that he was devoted to. Maybe she had been the one who had changed. Who had become even more serious over the years…. It seemed to Hermione that she cared even more about her job now than she had at the beginning. Unfortunately, she had hardly anything to show for it. Her fans attended her lectures and meetings faithfully and held her in high esteem but no-one of remote importance paid the slightest attention. She hadn't even been able to convince Ron of her cause, for Merlin's sake….

There had been a few men after her relationship with Ron had ended. None of them had stayed. She was too serious. Too ambitious. Too uptight… No fun at all… It hadn't hurt her much at first, back when she still had hope.

Hermione sighed deeply and after one last glance at Draco's nearly perfect résumé, she set the bloody thing alight… It disappeared from her desk in a cloud of grey smoke.


Two weeks later Draco was having a pretty horrible day. He had seen his parents off the day before. That had been a good day. The look on their faces as the protective spells keeping them imprisoned were finally lifted of their centuries-old Malfoy Manor. His father had nearly cheered and his mother had even done a little dance, giggling like a girl.

Now they'd arrived in Madagascar and were already having a great time. They deserved it. To be away from Britain for a while. Away from all of those who stilled wished them harm.

Draco, on the other hand, had just heard about his next assignment. He was to negotiate a truce with nine Latin American countries: about the centaurs living in the Amazon rain forest. Their centaurs were, well, they were running wild and so they had begun hunting them. Draco couldn't really blame them. On top of that, they still needed to hide the centaurs' presence from the local Muggles.

On top of that, he needed to negotiate a truce he didn't really believe in together with a person he loathed….

With a heavy sigh, he took his briefcase and walked slowly to her office. Best get this first meeting over with. He took a deep breath and knocked on Hermione's door.


Hermione was shocked at whom they'd chosen for her to cooperate with. She rather do it herself, even though she had no experience with these kind of negotiations, and her Spanish was rusty. Not to mention her Portuguese…

Draco sat down on one of the simple chairs facing her desk. Hermione blushed as she remembered her silly, childish act of burning his résumé.

"I'm supposed to be your liaison…" he said. Hermione frowned. "I don't like it much myself…" he continued, "but there you have it. I'm the best at international contacts and contracts whereas you're in charge of the centaurs around here…"

Hermione shot him an angry glance. "No-one is in charge of them, as you should well know…"

Draco held his hands up, in a sign of surrender. "Guess I have a lot to learn then…" he said with a smirk. Hermione longed to wipe it of his face. This was not going to work at all!

"The centaurs," she began, resembling a preacher, "are very, very strongly attached to their liberties. They are isolationists, and prefer to stay out of human, or magic affairs, as much as they can…"

"I have followed my lessons, thank you…" Draco responded, "just because your pals never paid any attention in class, doesn't mean I didn't… I don't give a damn if they're isolationists as long as they behave themselves…"

"That's rich… coming from you.." she replied. "Besides, they're the ones being killed, aren't they? They should get our protection, deserve our attention…"

"Are you sure you don't mean pity?" Draco said, mockingly. "Poor house-elves… poor centaurs…"

"They are not poor, simply… misunderstood…" The echo of Hagrid in her voice.

Draco laughed with derision. "They speak in riddles. Of course, they are misunderstood. Moreover, they are arrogant, wild, unreliable, and violent. They are quite the threat…."

"Sounds familiar, though, doesn't it?" Hermione's voice contained venom now. "Are you sure you don't dislike them because they remind you far too much of yourself and your own bad characteristics..?"

She saw Draco's mouth fall open at the fierceness of her insult, but Hermione continued nevertheless. "Arrogant, unreliable, violent…" she repeated his own words.

"You may still live in the past, Granger," he sneered as his voice came back to him, "but I am one of the most reliable negotiators the Ministry has, which is why they chose me for the job. You, on the other hand, seem quite unstable and are likely a liability." He rose from the uncomfortable chair. "I'll be informing my superiors that you're not the right man, woman, for the job. I'll request another partner.."

"You certainly have my blessing," Hermione hissed. She remained seated as Draco left without a handshake. Stubbornness they did have in common.