Finally done! I'm so so soooo sorry for the awful delay, I'm inexcusable, I know, but please try and find it in your hearts to forgive me. I took a bit more than Easter but I know hope to be back on track. Unless Uni gets too much, I'll try to upload every Wednesday/Thursday but, again, no promises since I'm inconsistent and forgetful and easily bored.

Anyways, other than that I have to tell every single one of you (the few people that read this anyway) to go check out literally ANY story from TheMourningMadam and otterlyardent and especially their co-authored story by MadamAndOtter - Ablaze With Color because they are both incredible gifts to the Dramione fandom and a true inspiration and I siriusly have no words because they are just spectacular.

Alrighty, I'm stopping now, on to the story my lovely peacocks!

2 years ago

Hermione's life hadn't changed all that much since she had joined the Malfoy Foundation about 9 months ago. And if it had, it was only for the better. After her first few days as the new Head of their Research Department as well as the new Division of Innovation she had created - a place for everyone to present their new ideas, created with the knowledge of the Ministry's tendencies to stick to their old ways - Harry had accepted that the Malfoys truly meant no harm. The rest of the Weasley clan had only been skeptical before so the boy's acceptance assured them their doubts were unreasonable. Ron still hadn't come around completely but they were on talking terms now, which was better what they had before. Still, she had been the one to make the first move, about two months into her new position.

FLASHBACK

The young woman look up at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and took a deep breath, clenching her hands in tight fists to express some of her anxiety. She hadn't seen Ron in almost half a year and his absence had left quite the hole in her life. Getting the job and actually witnessing the change her nemesis had gone through since she had last seen him had worked to calm her down slightly and she could see that, if things were ever to go back to normal with the ill-tempered red head, she had to be the one to approach him.

It was quite early in the morning - Hermione had decided that the best time to do this would be on her way to work, so that she could avoid any uncomfortable situation that might ensue by using her schedule as an excuse to leave - so the place was empty besides Geroge, Ron and a couple employees stocking selves with today's shipments and generally preparing for opening in about an hour. She waved to some of those she had met before and gave a grin to the older Weasley, hoping her nerves were well hidden behind her smile.

"Mione! Look at you, girly, all professional and stuff!" Geroge exclaimed as he pulled her in a quick, friendly hug. They had all been relieved as he had slowly but surely started exhibiting some of his old traits, even if she thought it was just to make them stop worrying about him. He was still thinner than usual and the bags under his eyes could betray his troubled mind but the witch could admire the strength he showed in protecting his family and friends from his own demons.

"Hello, George. You don't look so bad yourself, your mother and Ginny did an excellent job with the shop uniforms. Is Ron busy at the moment?" she asked after the round of mandatory pleasantries, making the older man chuckle at her direct nature. The family knew her well enough by now so that no one was really affected by her bluntness and her inability to make small talk but the now more cynical twin had a newfound appreciation for her attitude.

"He's in the back room, cataloging the new shipment. You know, I think you're a bad influence. Apparently, he's well organized and enjoys the tedious task. Not that I mind, obviously; no one's complaining ever since he took over the boring part of the business. But something tells me none of that would be if you hadn't rubbed off on him. Guess that should make you proud, all those years of yelling at the knuckleheads finally seem to have payed off." he shrugged with a wink and turned her towards the back of the store, pointing at an opening covered with curtains in the colors of the rainbow. "When you're through with him, tell him to hurry his arse up, opening time is in 15 minutes" the young witch heard him say as she was shoved forward towards the direction of the storage room. She turned around with a scowl on her face ready to scold the prankster but he was nowhere near, having made his way towards the front of the store in order to help two new employees with setting up the window.

Hermione smoothed down the front of her mauve shirt and went to enter the storage room only to smack head first into her best friend. Any confidence she had mustered up vanished immediately and a deep blush covered her cheeks. She always was most awkward at the most important of occasions. So much for Gryffindor courage. Taking a step back, she tilted her head to look up at the familiar blue eyes of the younger Weasley man. He was never one to hide his emotions and shock was evident on his face but his expression quickly changed into a frown, as if he had suddenly remembered he was holding a grudge.

"Hello Ron", she greeted with a small smile, knowing she would have to be the one to approach first. "I, uh, was on my way to work and wanted to stop by and talk to you. George already informed me you are not too busy, although he did say to tell you to hurry up since you will open soon. To get this over with, I took the job. And it is great. They have indeed changed, not completely of course, but it is evident. The work is spectacular and it could really help my career. We are soon closing the deal on a place for the S.P.E.W. House and they do seem genuinely interested in my cause, not just for the publicity it would bring the company. I am not going to quit such an opportunity and I ask you to understand my reasons. You can still have your doubts about the Malfoys - I can't fault you for that - but please don't doubt me and my abilities."

At that, the young man sighed and pushed his hands deep in his pants' pockets, awkwardly suffling his feet with his eyes locked on the ground to avoid her fierce stare. "I can't doubt you, 'Mione, you are known after all as the brightest witch of our age. Merlin knows Harry and I wouldn't have made it past second year without your help. You know it's not you I'm concerned about. Malfoy is a snake, everyone knows that; and a snake might shed his skin but he never changes." She huffed at that, making her disagreement with his absolute opinions clear, but other than that kept completely silent, her arms crossed across her chest in a guarded but confident stance. She knew they would fight again if she interrupted him - he was too quick-tempered for his own good - and she really wasn't in the mood for any more fighting so she just patiently waited him out. "Everyone's been taking your side in this though. Mom is still pissed that I told you off like that. So, um, I guess I'll back off for now. You do you, Hermione."

END OF FLASHBACK

It wasn't only her reconciliation with her childhood friend however that elated her but also a newfound friendship that had come as a result of her new work environment. At first it was only polite nods and waves in greetings as they passed each other in the hallways but soon it became small talk about their days and not long after agreeable conversations about the latest books and scientific developments. Draco Malfoy proved to be a man of many interests, the greatest surprise of them all being his admiration of Muggle cinematography. She had been shocked when, one day when they were checking over a new shipment of herbs, he asked her in the most casual tone possible "what she thought about the MCU and the development of the main story while exploiting the various sub-plots". Her former arch nemesis was definitely one strange wizard.

Once they had gotten more friendly, she also started taking the time to observe the young man whenever he wasn't looking. His face was darker, more tortured than their school days and sometimes his eyes gave up on the pain and fatigue of his tortured soul. His shoulders had slumped from their aristocratic straight position and he had grown a lot more absent minded. He could mask it all well though, she had to give him that; especially on business occasions. The company was constantly bombarded by the press and its rivals, people who didn't think the Malfoys deserved to clear up their name and build up their lives again. He knew he couldn't show weakness or the vultures would rain down and devour him, ruining everything he had fought to create. In these occasions, his face was hard, cold, his eyes unforgiving, lit up by a flame he normally kept hidden, the whole look aiming to exude confidence and strike fear in the hearts of his enemies.

But there were also the moments of peace, whenever he was alone doing actually mundane tasks. She could observe him from above her cauldron whenever she tested out some new experimental potion since he could often be found hanging around the Potions Chamber - his love for the delicate and challenging process of potion making one of the few things still evident from his youth. When he thought no one was looking, he let his guard down, his features softened and though his exhaustion showed through there was also something calm in his demeanor. She especially liked the moments when he would run his fingers lightly over the variety of herbs and plants growing in small flowerpots levitating around them, his lips turned up into the smallest of smiles as if the soft feel of the leaves on his fingertips brought him true, undeniable joy not even the hardest of masks could hide.

He had the same expression when he was lost deep in thought inside the Foundation's library, a spectacular, two-story building adjacent to the main facility by an enchanted bridge of pure glass, made durable and stable with a variety of spells. Hermione had noted in her first couple of months that, whenever her boss couldn't be located, he was probably immersed in some centuries-old tome or another. It always peaked her curiosity; he hadn't seemed as studious in their Hogwarts years but then again there were a lot of things she apparently didn't know about the distant 20 year old. Like the fact that, when someone brought in exceptional results, he took the time to congratulate them personally. Or that the building was maintained by free, volunteering and most importantly paid elves. Or that, despite being respected and sometimes even admired by his employees, he never joined them during lunch time at the dining hall.

That was something she was slower to notice, taking her four months into the job to first peak her interest. And that was only because it had taken her a long time to join her co-workers at the dining hall too, large spaces full of people making her feel trapped and panic ever since the Last Battle. She had been slowly coaxed out of her shell by none other than Neville Longbottom, who was apparently the Malfoys' supplier and local herbology expert. He had been called in to help with a new species of wolfsbane that apparently had longer-term effects but emitted poisonous gas to protect itself and had gotten their own Head of Herbology sent into St. Mungo's. The young witch had been elated to see a familiar face and he, having turned into somewhat of a social butterfly in the year she hadn't seen him, helped her get on friendlier terms with a young couple from the Herbology department and find her own place amongst the crowd. At first she thought that was the case with the ex-Death Eater too. And it made sense, especially with his past, to avoid the public as much as possible. When she asked Maurice and Penelope, the couple who apparently also were Neville's cousins (Maurice on his mother's side and Penelope by marriage), they just shrugged it off as if nothing was out of the ordinary so she figured it was just the way things worked.

On her sixth month working there she started to realize something was off about the mysterious wizard. She had been delayed in a meeting with a few architects about the plans for the elf shelter and was rushing back to her office with a bag of her favorite Chinese takeout from Muggle London in her hand, already too late for lunch with the others, when she spotted the familiar head of white blond hair hunched over some documents. Being a Head of one of the departments, her office was on the same floor as his to make communicating easier but she had never paid attention since the view from her desk was on the luscious grounds surrounding the building. Since his office was facing the main door though she could now easily take in the giant mess he worked in: books scattered everywhere, dust on the shelves of the small library taking over the back wall, scrunched up papers littering his desk and the curtains drawn to bathe the room in darkness.

The visual only made her frown, she may not have known much about her arch nemesis but he was a known control freak and generally well-organised person. She would never have imagined him working in such conditions, no matter the importance of the assignment. As she inched closer she could notice the fatigue on his face, more so than usual. His fingers were gripping his quill as if he was holding on for dear life and he was furiously scratching words on parchment, only to pause, crumble it, throw it on the wall and pull out a fresh one. He seemed manic, slightly deranged and frustrated and it troubled her even more than the sight of his office. He took notice of her as she pushed his door open and his burning stare made her pause and falter.

"You should knock before entering someone else's private space, Granger - I thought your manners were better than this" he snapped at her with the familiar snark of superiority his voice always carried in their school years. The ferocity in his voice made her take a step back but she quickly recomposed herself, her childhood defiance making her just her chin up and furrow her brows in challenge. She had never let him take her down and, even though his outburst had caught her by surprise, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of backing down without a fight.

"And you should watch your tone with me, Malfoy. We all know this company needs me more than I need it - I've built a name for myself and I know many rival foundations who would welcome me with open arms so don't push me. I came in to check in on you because you frankly look pathetic and that's not an appropriate image for this company's leader so take whatever stick you have out of your arse and pull yourself together before any other of your employees come around - you know how gossip travels faster than light in the wizarding community." she snapped right back at him, arms crossed across her chest and shoulders pulled back in the utmost confident pose she could muster. Countless encounters with the press had taught her how to look ruthless and intimidating when the situation called for it - he wasn't the only one with that trick up his sleeve.

Their eyes were locked in a stare down contest for a brief moment before he sighed and turned his gaze back on his desk, running a hand through his hair in defeat. His shoulders slumped and he took a moment to compose himself and muster the strength to stand up and face her, his chair pushing back with a dull thud. He gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk and she strode over to one of them, crossing her legs and raising an eyebrow in question as he practically threw himself on the couch with another tired sigh.

"Don't expect me to apologize Granger, you know it will never happen" he tried to keep his authority but his voice was flat and had lost all of its previous power. "Look, it's just a bad day, okay? No need to fret, just give me this one day." he again attempted to shrug it off but her gaze never wavered and and he glared at her before throwing his head back in defeat. "Fine. The Prophet is trying to sabotage our new memory potion. They claim that we are brainwashing innocent wizards to recreate the Dark Army. Step up from calling our foundation a cult, I suppose" The absolute despair in his voice made her soften up a bit, relaxing her posture and regarding him with a worried frown. She finally took note of his appearance up close; his sickly pale skin, his flat, dull hair, his shirt hanging a bit too large on his form.

"When was the last time you ate?" her soft tone making his eyes widen as his head snapped up to look back at her, shame highlighting his features. "Come on, Malfoy, it's obvious. You look about ready to collapse and it also explains your paranoia. You should just come down and eat at lunch, even a little bit. You can't carry this whole company on your shoulders when you can't even carry your own weight."

"I... I can't come down to lunch. Don't you get it, Granger? The hall is always open to everyone, something especially exploited by the press. They'll see me talking to the other Heads and they'll make it seem as if I'm arranging the next Death Eaters meeting. They'll see me barely touching my food and say it's because I'm poisoning every single one of you to keep you under my influence. I can't do this to the foundation... Or the others. Yes, they all acknowledge the bad reputation the Malfoys carry and still chose to work for us but that doesn't mean they won't be bothered by Skeeter naming them as "parts of a criminal cult". I'd rather stay here and starve, thanks."

His words upset her but what bothered her more was the truth in them. After the Order's success, the press had taken every single chance to use the survivors' reputations (whether they be good or bad) and exaggerate or create complete fake news to gain back popularity and reinstate their influence on the public. The scandal of her joining the Foundation itself had taken months to die down and she still kept getting ambushed about providing any dirt on her former rival. No matter her anger though there was nothing that could be done about the situation.

"Alright then. No dining hall. Truth be told it's way too stuffy anyway. But you're not escaping this, Malfoy" she gave him a mischievous smirk as she reached for the bag of takeout she had left on his desk, casting a quit heating wandless spell and handing him a fork. "Eat up. I'm not letting you off the hook until we finish it." she answered to his questioning and guarded frown as she duplicated her noodles cup and handed him the second one. The wizard took a moment to regard the food suspiciously before taking it with a small, grateful smile.

"You're a pain in my arse, Granger."

"Get used to it, Malfoy."

Alrighty then, I really really hope you liked this one and if so please maybe take the time to leave a review? That would be deeply appreciated - I mean, it's alright if you don't either, whatever you please, it was just an idea and I'll shut my awkward self up now, thanks for everything guys, you are awesome!