A/N: A huge thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! You're the reason I'm still writing this. Without you guys I would have given up before I even began.
Hermione was sulking. Thanks to Draco sodding Malfoy she now was unemployed, bored and lonely. She had been feeling this way for two weeks, but until now she hadn't let it get her down. She was seated on the armchair in her lounge room, legs crossed and a heavy tome open on her lap. Her eyes scanned the page wearily, attention waning as the author of the book turned to the Centaur Riots of Surrey in 1793. She rubbed her tired eyes and closed the book with a soft thud, waking Altheda who mewed at her owner.
"Sorry, baby," Hermione sighed, stretching out her legs which tingled painfully. She had read countless books in her two weeks of unemployment, and though she was Hermione Granger who adored reading, sometimes it got a little bit too much for her. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and groaned.
Since digging up the memories of her torture at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange in order to prove a point to Malfoy, her dreams had turned to nightmares as she relived the excruciating pain and terror in her sleep. She would wake at all hours of the night drenched in a cold sweat as her body tingled, reminiscent of the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. The scars left by her battles with Death Eaters had become more visible to herself and she had begun to shy away from mirrors to avoid seeing the pale lines that scarred her neck.
Seeing Malfoy had awoken her nightmares, her deepest fears, and she hated him more than ever for it. She had told Harry that she had quit her job but left out the part about Malfoy. Though he was no longer a boy, the schoolyard rivalry still remained between him and Malfoy though they had not seen each other since a charity ball one year after the war had been won. Harry had told her to visit whenever she wished and that Ginny wanted to see her again. Hermione had been putting it off, telling her she could just use books to distract her, but being in this house for two weeks straight was slowly driving her crazy.
It was midday so Ginny was bound to be awake. Hermione changed quickly, tugging on black jeans and a blue shirt and slipping her feet into a pair of flats. Her hair was already pulled back into a bun so she could read without the irritating little curls falling in her face.
"Mummy's just going to visit Harry and Ginny. Okay, baby?" she cooed to Altheda who looked at her like she was insane. "Oh Merlin, I'm talking to a cat," she groaned and straightened up, scratching her cat's ears once more.
"12 Grimmauld Place!" she cried out with her head in the fireplace. The back of the fireplace turned into the kitchen of the old Order of the Phoenix headquarters and she could hear Ginny talking childishly to someone. "Ginny!"
"Hermione?" the redhead called, unsure of where the voice was coming from.
"In the fireplace, Gin. Mind if I pop around?"
"Not at all! I'll put some tea on," Ginny smiled at Hermione who grinned back and withdrew herself from the fireplace entirely before stepping through once more. She was immediately engulfed in a hug from Ginny who frowned when she saw her face.
"Hermione, what's wrong. You look terrible," Ginny questioned, but she was distracted by a gurgle from the other side of the room. Hermione turned to the source of the noise as well and shrieked a little bit. Ginny was lifting a five-month old baby from a crib which leant up against the wall.
"James," Hermione said breathily and Ginny smiled, carrying the child over. James had a soft crop of inky black hair, chubby arms and dark brown eyes. "He's grown so big since I last saw him."
This was very true. The last time Hermione had seen the baby was just after his birth. He had been tiny and wrapped in a soft blue blanket. She had only held him briefly before he had begun to cry at which point she had deposited the infant into Harry's arms and hurried out. She wasn't cut-out for motherhood, and yet she had still felt a pang of jealousy at the overjoyed faces of Harry and Ginny.
"He certainly is getting big. Anyway, don't change the subject. What's wrong?" Ginny asked again, sitting James on her lap.
"Nothing, Gin. I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well lately," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "And I'm bored out of my mind."
"You need a new job, Miss Granger. Why don't you come back to the wizarding world? Plenty of people would jump at the chance to hire you," Ginny suggested.
"I don't know. I've been gone for a while and there are rumours still floating around about me. I wouldn't mind working at the Ministry. But the muggle world is my home now. I'm so used to doing everything the muggle way that I don't know if I could adjust to doing them magically anymore," Hermione said and Ginny nodded sympathetically.
"Just take your time to decide, Hermione. You'll choose the right path, I'm sure," Ginny smiled.
Draco rubbed his temples, willing his pounding headache to disappear.
The blonde secretary who had replaced Granger had now been promoted to his assistant, and she was absolutely infuriating. When she wasn't clogging up the line with personal calls, she was misplacing the files he needed, and when she wasn't misplacing the files he needed, she was forgetting to send important emails and pencil in appointments.
He had already reprimanded her numerous times for her constant use of the office line for personal calls, but she insisted that she simply had to take this or that call from this or that friend. He drew the line when he overheard her talking to her friend about different shades of pink nail polish. He had stormed from his office where he was working on a design for a male clothing store and snatched the phone from the blonde bimbo, losing his cool with the woman on the other end of the line before slamming the phone down.
His secretary, Abbey, had burst into tears at his outburst and had not done any work for the remainder of the day. Since then she made a point of having loud conversations with prospective clients, just so Draco knew that she was working. She was currently near yelling point with a client and had been for the last five minutes, only fuelling his headache. He just wished he could have a competent secretary who didn't absolutely loathe him.
This new job was turning out to be more of a curse than a blessing.
Hermione arrived home to a hungry cat and her phone ringing loudly. She cursed as she tripped out of the fireplace, soot falling across the pale floorboards. She snatched the phone off the hook, answering it a little breathlessly.
"Hello?"
"Miss Granger? It's Harold, Harold Beedle," said a familiar voice and she smiled.
"Mister Beedle, it's nice to talk to you again," she said, flicking her wand to clear up the ash on the ground as Altheda wound her way between her legs. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Please, call me Harold. I'm in no position of authority over you anymore, so shall we place the formalities aside, Hermione?"
"Of course, Harold. Now, what was it you were calling me about?" she curled herself into a ball on the couch, awaiting his response.
"Now, I know it is late notice, but I was wondering, would you like to join me for dinner this evening? I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?" she frowned. It was indeed late notice, the time being half past five. She had been planning a quiet night alone with her cat, but she supposed she could go out. "Yes, that sounds lovely. When and where?"
They exchanged the rest of the details and hung up with hasty farewells, for they would be meeting in just over an hour. Hermione sighed and drifted towards the bedroom to prepare for the evening.
"Abbey, can you please come in here?" Draco called in a strained voice. It was past six o'clock and he was meant to be at Malfoy Manor in half an hour for dinner with his parents.
"Of course, Draco!" she purred out his name and he shuddered. This girl was far too similar to Astoria. She sat across from him and smiled broadly. He repressed a shiver.
"I asked for a file two hours ago and you still haven't given it to me. I have to leave in fifteen minutes and if I don't have that file by the time I go then I'm screwed for this advertisement. Honestly, I thought that when I took you on as my assistant you'd improve with time, but I just haven't seen any improvement. If you cannot get me that file in the next fifteen minutes, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go," he frowned, leaning his elbows against the desk.
"Draco, I'm sure we can figure something out," she cried, crocodile tears shining in her eyes, but Draco could feel a hand inching up his thigh. Honestly, what was wrong with this girl?
"Abbey, stop. Go and find me the file. If you can't find it, nothing is going to help you salvage this job. Go. Now!" he barked and she jumped up, running from the room in her stiletto heels. He sighed and buried his face in his hands. He sat like that for ten minutes before Abbey returned, breathless and, by the looks of it, fileless.
"I'm sorry, sir! There are just so many files down there, I couldn't find it anywhere," she simpered.
"Get out," he growled quietly, but the woman didn't move. "Get the fuck out of my office. NOW!"
Abbey shrieked at his outburst and ran from the room, her office door slamming behind her. He swore loudly, smacking his hand against the desk with a loud slap. In all honesty he could just go to the filing room and summon the file, and that's exactly what he did, but he didn't have time for these frivolities! Once he had secured the file he apparated back to his house and changed quickly into some dark black robes with emerald green trim, sliding his class ring onto his finger.
Draco evaluated his appearance once more before disapparating and arriving at the beginning of the driveway to Malfoy Manor. The gates opened for him when he approached, and the drive seemed to go on forever. He came across three white peacocks as he walked, finally reaching the front doors of the building which also opened for him. Upon stepping into the cold entrance hall, he was immediately engulfed in a hug.
"Mother, I can't breathe," he wheezed out, and Narcissa Malfoy released her son, stepping back gracefully as though she had not just smothered him a moment prior. Narcissa had grown even more elegant with age, and time had treated her well. She was still relatively young, her skin only marred slightly by one or two wrinkles. Her hair still shone, the blonde locks hanging midway down her back. She was dressed in splendid dark blue robes and was smiling widely at her son.
Within seconds she was joined by Lucius who wrapped an arm around his wife and extended a hand for Draco to shake. The younger wizard did so, smiling slightly at his father who gave a curt nod. Time had not treated Lucius as well as it had done his wife. The elder Malfoy's hairline had receded and his face was even more lined. He looked old, there was no other way to describe it.
"Shall we move to the dining room?" Narcissa offered, taking charge and leading her husband and son towards the large room that was occupied by a long table. The witch flicked her wand and the table shrunk itself considerably. Lucius seated himself at the head of the table, Draco to his left, Narcissa to his right, and the first course appeared on the golden plates that had been set out before them.
They ate in a comfortable silence until the third course appeared before them.
"Draco, has anything of interest occurred at that muggle firm you work for?" Narcissa asked, slicing daintily into a small piece of chicken.
"I didn't realize that you were interested in my work," Draco frowned and sipped at his elf-made wine before continuing. "No, nothing of particular interest. I had to let go of my secretary today. She was utterly awful, I don't even know how she got the job in the first place."
"She was a muggle?" Lucius spoke up for the first time since Draco's arrival.
"Of course, Father. I work in a muggle advertising firm. I'm the only one with magical blood employed there," Draco explained, adding 'now' in his head. He pushed away his plate of hardly touched chicken and waited for his glass to magically refill itself.
The family lapsed into silence once more, finishing up their meal with a sumptuous chocolate mousse.
"Let's move to the parlour. Draco, your father has something to tell you," Narcissa said as the plates disappeared for the final time. She rose with elegance and gestured for the men to follow her through the archway and into the parlour.
This room was Narcissa's favourite. It had French crafted doors which opened out onto the garden which she so lovingly tended to, and in the evening the garden was lit up by fairies who resided in the rose bushes outside. The room itself was decorated lavishly, like the rest of the house, though Narcissa was allowed free reign over redecorating whenever she pleased. At this time it was decorated in shades of deep red and warm browns with a few golden accents here and there, far too Gryffindor for Lucius' taste, but he had no say in the matter.
"Shall we sit? An elf will bring tea in a moment," Narcissa smiled, sweeping over to a delicately crafted lounge chair. She sat like a queen on her throne, nodding at the men to follow her lead. "Now Lucius, what did you have to say to our son?"
"Draco, there will be a Ministry ball held in two weeks, and you have been invited by the Minister himself," Lucius said curtly, sipping from a cup of tea that had appeared on the low coffee table.
"But Father," Draco whined, sounding much like his eleven year old self, "you know I hate those functions! They're so dreadfully tedious."
"There is no room for discussion, Draco," Lucius snapped, returning his tea to the table. "You will attend, and you will find a suitable date to accompany you. We have only just rebuilt our prestige which was lost with the war, and I will not have you lose it all again!"
Draco crossed his arms and stuck his nose into the air, knowing the battle was lost.
"Darling, please. It won't be too awful, I'm sure. If you would like, I can find you a date," Narcissa offered but Draco shook his head vehemently.
"Mother! Last time you were involved in my personal affairs I ended up married to Astoria!" Draco cried, and Narcissa withdrew her offer immediately.
"Fine, but you will be expected to bring a partner. And Merlin help me if it's a muggle," Lucius snarled, returning to his tea.
A/N: This was up sooner than I had planned, but I hope you don't mind. I'm aware that Draco seems very childish in this chapter, but I felt that he somewhat relapsed into a more childlike person when he was around his mother. Anywho, please review!