Miraculously, Hermione made it through the first day alive. Draco was an efficient worker, surprisingly, completing all the mundane tasks she set him without much complaint. She did agree, secretly, that this was a waste of his talent, but the sooner he gives up, the sooner she will be rid of him. Hermione stared out the window for the millionth time today, the sun had set hours ago. She across the desk at Draco whose head was down, working on her paperwork. In a day, he had become more of a vice-head than a secretary. She looked out the window again.

"You made him a secretary and he agreed?" Kingsley asked over the lunch table, "What is he getting at?"

"What do you mean Kingsley? You were the one who dumped him on me."

"I could hardly refuse to hire a capable, gifted, intelligent wizard, given the circumstances. He was the one who owled me, looking for a job in the Ministry. Anywhere, he wrote." This shocked Hermione more than anything. She thought Kingsley had an ulterior motive in assigning Malfoy here.

"So why me, Kings?"

"Who else, Hermione?"

Hermione snapped out of her daydream, looking back at Malfoy who was, incidentally staring at her. He gave her a small smile and continued to work. Curious, he works harder than I do. It was nine o'clock and Hermione, remembering Kingsley's "order" decided to head home.

"Malfoy, I think that's enough for today. We're both exhausted. Let's go home"

"Allow me to walk you home," Malfoy drawled, "As a token of my appreciation for letting me work here and actually giving me something meaningful to do."

Hermione was more than shocked to hear this. Firstly, why would he want to spend more time with her? His prejudices could not have disappeared completely. Secondly, appreciation? She had no idea he was capable of such sentiments. And finally, meaningful? Surely he wouldn't consider the mountain of paperwork legalizing enchantments placed on muggle objects to be meaningful, would he? Nevertheless, she took his offer. "Su-sure," she stuttured, "I don't see why not"

"That's the spirit," he laughed.

On the way, they even stopped for some butterbeer in Three Broomsticks. Hermione had to admit that his company was not as repulsive as she once thought. Maybe people can change. As they sat down, Hermione noticed that the pub had hushed. She looked around to see wizards and witches, of all ages, staring at them, mouth agape.

"Can I help you?" She asked no one in particular. They all returned to their conversations in hushed tones. She overheard whispers "Thought he was dead" "No, who'd be running the Malfoy business" "What are they doing together?" "Why would she hang out with the likes of him?" "Thought he was in Azkaban" Hermione was livid. Who were these nobodies, who didn't know Draco, to judge him? They had not gone through the hardships he had. Granted, he was a rude bigoted git who mistreated her at every opportunity, but that was years ago at school. They had no right to judge him.

"Granger, it's fine, honestly. I get this every day, which is why staying at the Manor with my mother and some friends occasionally is best for me. All of us are in the same predicaments, all of us are filth in this new society."

"Malfoy, stop being all self-deprecative. You're not filth. You may have made some questionable decisions in the past but that was five years ago. Voldemort, the psychopathic lunatic is gone, forever." She could swear he almost sneered at him. He's struggling to hold himself back, but could not ruin a day of hard work. She was already warming up to him. To be fair, she was nothing he expected either. He did not expect her to trust him with anything important or to stand up for him to strangers. Her face was flushed with anger. She truly detested injustices of all kinds, he realized. Should be working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures instead, he mused. Granger had admirable qualities, physical attributions aside. He stopped, reminding himself that this was all a game. Only a game.

"You're right, of course. Let's get out of here. I should take you home earlier so you're not too tired tomorrow."

"Thanks," she uttered.

As Hermione closed the door after herself, she wondered why they didn't just disapparate or floo from the Ministry. Hermione stepped into the shower, thinking of how gentlemanly Malfoy had been today. Wiping herself dry, she realized she had forgotten to condition her hair, not that it makes much of a difference. Today, she would try the conditioner Fleur had given her for Christmas. Two minutes later, Hermione walked out with much tamer curls that framed her face. They did not stick out at all angles like it used to and the frizz was gone.