Mondays were idiotic. Nobody liked them, everyone dreaded them. They were the sucking black hole that pulled you into the abyss of the week. So then why was Draco looking forward to walking into work Monday morning? He had a small smile on his face as he apparated into the atrium. He gazed up at the new statue of all the creatures working together for a brighter future and for the first time in a long time, he believed it.
Draco heard a small cough behind him and turned, maybe hoping to see a certain witch. His eyes landed on another woman-this one was middle aged with salt-and-pepper hair. She had wrinkles around her very blue eyes. The blond noticed that while she had a smile on her face, those blue eyes didn't match it.
Holding out her hand she introduced herself, "Hello, Mr. Malfoy. I'm Reilly Dogood. How do you do?"
Draco shook her hand. He had heard a lot about this witch, writing bills and speaking for creature equality. He was positive that he'd heard Granger speak fondly of her.
"Well, thank you." He responded politely.
"How are you getting along in the Auror office?" her voice was friendly enough but very official. Why she wanted to speak to Draco was beyond him.
"The department is doing great work. I am excited to be a part of the team." The wizard turned back to the statue, following the water feature with his eyes.
Dogood also turned toward the statue. "I hear you are working with Ms. Hermione Granger."
"Yes"
"And how is that going?"
Draco felt the words pressing him. She seemed concern and he could guess she thought he would get Hermione hurt. He doubted the two witches were close but he also knew Hermione endorsed many of her bills.
"Very well. She is a great mentor." He said it smoothly, staying confident. His grey eyes watched her from his peripheral.
The older witch turned her blue eyes to him again, "She is a very special woman, that Ms. Granger. Brightest witch of her age."
Draco just nodded.
"I can only assume what people think of you. Former Death Eater, trying to prove that you have changed." Her face became stern, "I am all for change Mr. Malfoy, do not misunderstand me. There is a lot that will change, the future is arriving and it is not stopping for anyone. Change also demands the power of the community and this community will follow Ms. Granger. "
Malfoy lifted an eyebrow, "You believe I will tarnish her name?"
Dogood gave that professional smile again, Draco realized how cold it actually was. "I just want to make sure nobody is going to hold her back. "
He pushed down his emotions so they wouldn't show on his face. Rage, disappointment, frustration, would all have to wait. Draco was about to respond when he felt a warm body join their group.
"Good morning Ms. Dogood, Malfoy." Hermione said in turn to both of them with a smile. She was a bit breathless as if she just ran.
Ms. Dogood's smile turned from professional to actually kind. "Good morning Ms. Granger. I was just checking in with Mr. Malfoy here, to see how he was adjusting to the Ministry."
Hermione blushed, blushed. She was clearly excited to be in Ms. Dogood's presence, but said in a clear voice, "Quite well. He seems like a natural."
Draco had to look away to hide his smile. He wasn't used to such praise, especially in the last few years. Between his father, the Dark Lord, and just anybody he came in contact with, viewed him as a failure. Any negative feelings had suddenly vanish with those few words.
"Well I am sure, with your guidance of course." Draco's fist holding his brief case clenched. He didn't know how, but, Hermione must have felt him tense up. She gave him a puzzled look before smiling sweetly at the older witch.
"I am so sorry Ms. Dogood, but we must be going. We have the child disappearance case and are in the midst of a lead."
Ms. Dogood leaned in slightly, a flash of some emotion passed her eyes. Hermione read it as concern, Draco wasn't so sure.
"Ah yes, well. I shan't keep you." She waved them away, "Be safe out there!"
Hermione and Draco made their way into the offices. The brunette immediately slumped in her chair and place her head on her desk. Malfoy stood awkwardly by her desk.
"So, what is our 'lead' in which we are in the 'midst' of?"
She turned her head to look at him, then closed her eyes, "We don't have one. I just wanted to sound impressive."
"The great Granger lying to an Ministry official?" gasped Malfoy with a hand over his chest. He finally sat at his own desk but had his body facing her.
"Well I couldn't bloody well tell her we're at a dead end." Hermione countered.
"Did you think it was odd how her demeanor changed when you mentioned the case?"
"How so?" Hermione picked her head off the desk to look at him better. "She look concerned to me."
Malfoy shook his head, "Why would she? Does she know many children have been taken? Or any details?"
Granger thought about this. Something he appreciated about her was that she calculated every possibility. She didn't write off any suggestions as much as she wanted to disagree.
"She probably doesn't know, nobody has been taking it seriously and we haven't shared our information. It could be she just heard of it from me and doesn't want such a horrible thing happening at such a delicate time. I mean, could you imagine the panic? We're still recovering from Voldemort." Hermione reasoned. She noticed the shudder that went through Malfoy as she said the name of his family's former master.
Draco was about to respond as another voice cut him off. "Hey Hermione, can I talk to you for second?" The Auror Aidan had made his way over to their desks.
"Yeah, sure." Hermione smiled at him as they walked across the room.
Draco must have eaten something bad for breakfast because there was no way in hell the feeling in his stomach was jealously. He did, however, acknowledge the feeling of betrayal. Why would she be friendly with someone who was such an arsehole? He watched them together getting along easily. Even Potter walked in and joined their conversation without a problem. Aidan's face was serious for most of it before it broke into a smile.
Potter looked over to him and nodded, Draco knew he should nod back but instead he turned toward his typewriter and picked up his quill. Once again being left out, the sting of disappointment hit strongly.
A new assignment fluttered to Potter's desk and one onto Hermione's. Aidan ended up hugging Hermione and shaking Potter's hand. All the emotions from this morning slammed back into him. Was he going to hold her back? What do people think when they see her working with him? As the witch walked back to her desk Draco had to repair the quill he broke in this hand with a quick spell.
Hermione looked at the paper and frowned. "I was hoping to get more time in with..." she stopped herself. Some Aurors had to deal with four cases at once, she cleared her throat looking at Malfoy's steel grey eyes. They were lighter than usual.
"You up for catching some illegal magical herb growers?"
The day had been a disaster. Malfoy was grumper, snarkier, and more sarcastic than usual. Which in turn made Hermione more argumentative, bossy, and sarcastic. They caught the growers and even their dealers but it came at the cost of a skinned elbow on Hermione's end and an almost broken nose on Malfoy's.
They came back into the office tired and sore. Hermione pulled some parchment into her typewriter. Malfoy rubbed his nose, "I knew we should have come from the right. They probably saw your hair from a mile away."
Hermione glared at him, "Maybe it was your hair, it's so white it practically glows. Splitting up to the back and front is standard protocol to cover your angles."
"Brightest witch of her age, following standard protocol." he huffed.
She threw her quill at him.
He glared at her, "Don't fucking throw things at me." He sneered. Hermione leaned back from him. It was a tone she hadn't heard from him a long time.
Hermione could have backed down, could have given him space. She had spent all her years at school, muggle and magical, ignoring bullies. She brushed off their insults and derogatory names. His tone had been something she was used to at Hogwarts.
This wasn't Hogwarts and she refused to let this man in front of her flip a switch back to his old self.
She got him and walked toward his desk, "What in Merlin's balls is wrong with you today?"
He didn't look at her, "What ever do you mean?" His tone was cold. It was how he talked to her all day and it drove her mad.
"You're acting like an arsehole." she kept her voice calm but he could smell the anger. Her hair almost crackled with magic.
Draco ignored her and instead started typing on his parchment. Hermione ripped it out and threw it on her desk. He looked at her with darkened eyes. They looked like the stormy sea and Hermione almost lost her train of thought. She cut him off before he could answer her.
"Fuck the paperwork, come on." The young witch turned away abruptly.
Steaming, Draco didn't see anything he could do except follow. They went down into the training rooms. Part of him wanted to tell her everything but the other part wanted to yell at her out of frustration. Today had been a success, they did what they were supposed to do and then some. They worked well together even if they were at each other's throats.
"Do you have workout clothes?" her voice was clipped.
"Yes" he replied in the same tone. He had remembered he was going to start physical training today.
She went to change without a word and so did he. When he came out he saw her on the mat already stretching. Seeing her body move in such tight pants and loose tank top made him hesitate. Then remembering how Aidan had hugged her reignited his anger.
When she looked up at him, in his straight-legged joggers and dark long-sleeve shirt her eyes softened. Hermione moved to sit cris-cross and motioned him to sit in front of her. He did so leaving a big gap and crossed his arms as well. Granger gave a big scoot until her knees touched his.
Grey eyes looked up in into her golden ones. "Is this really necessary?" he drawled.
Hermione sighed, "This type of training, it isn't just dueling. It is built on trust. What I am going to teach you, we use to defend against injury and death. Therefore it can cause injury and death, infact it is supposed to." Not breaking eye contact, she took a deep breath. "Do you trust me?"
Up until this morning he would like to believe he would have said yes. She was about the only person he could trust. Even in Hogwarts he could trust her to be the same self-righteous person she always was. Now with all his turmoil, all his snarks, she still didn't turn away from him. She didn't run to Kingsley. They were here, sitting knee to knee on some mats.
"Yes." the blond said after a short pause.
"Then I need you to show it. Because I also need to trust you. I thought we were on a good path and then you went all Mr. Hyde on me." she sounded exasperated. He supposed she had a good reason.
Taking a deep breath he rushed his next words, "This isn't easy for me. I'm not used to sharing, anything."
She smiled, "I'm not expecting you to share your deepest darkest secrets." That made him smile. "What was wrong today?"
They weren't wearing shoes on the mats and he chose to stare at the red polish on her toenails. "You and Aidan seemed pretty close today. I thought you said you didn't like bullys."
Hermione nodded, "I don't like bullying behavior. I've been pretty upset with Aidan and how he's been treating you but he's a good person at heart. He wanted to thank me and Harry for visiting his mother over the weekend."
"His mother?"
"She's in St. Mungo's." she said in a quiet voice. In an even quieter voice she added, "She helped fight and got really injured protecting some muggle-borns in London. I usually send her flowers."
"Oh." It was official, he felt like a fucking prat. He was a fucking prat.
"Was that all?" she asked. She started pulling her hair into a pony tail.
He considered telling her about Dogood's comments. Draco wasn't used to confiding in anyone and didn't feel ready. It was too raw. Instead he smirked, "I thought we weren't getting into my deep dark secrets?"
Hermione smiled with relief, smirking Draco was fine with her. "Well then, get off your arse." She stood up and he immediately felt the warmth go with her. She ran over to the radio and tapped her wand against it. Again music that Draco didn't recognize came on, some kind of bluesy rock.
"Muggle music." She smiled sheepishly, her eyes sparkled.
"Not bad, different." He said standing. "Okay what do I do?"
They started with dueling, Hermione wanted to see his spell knowledge and casting speed. His hexes and charms were good, not as powerful but he casted with surprising speed. She had to dodge quite a few.
Next came the physical, they were already warmed up. Draco was sweating in his long sleeve. She didn't have him change or take it off, she knew exactly why he wore it. He would start to push up his sleeves then quickly pull it back down.
"The first thing is knowing the most vulnerable parts of the human body: eyes, nose, ears, jaw, throat, groin, knees, and Achilles tendons." Hermione explained. "We're going to go slowly, until we get the movements. Let me see a fist."
Draco held out his fist, he's been in a couple of fights. Remembering punching Weasley in first year he smirked. She nodded.
"Now let me see how you kick."
"Do I kick you?"
"I'm sorry do you see another target?"
Draco took a breath before kicking. She caught it and threw it aside almost throwing him off balance. Hermione showed him how to stand and he mimicked her, she modeled the kick and he did it again.
They moved painfully slow going through different moves and reviewing earlier ones. The music seemed to read the activity and changed to a sultry tune. Hermione would gently move Draco's arm or leg correcting his position. He had blushed the first few times her hand touched his thigh and stomach. It was warm when she pressed the small of his back and shoulders as she shifted his stance. There was a pleasant burn left when she moved to the next spot. He was even surprised when she grabbed his forearms; she hadn't flinched even knowing she was so close to his dark mark. Every once in a while she would sway with the music or bounce a bit when he did something right.
Malfoy was an impressively quick learner. Hermione no longer questioned the fact that he was constantly second to her in school, he only needed to be corrected once and didn't make the same mistake twice. At first she felt a bit awkward guiding his muscles and tried her best to ignore how fit he was. She especially ignored his toned stomach and the feeling in her gut when she corrected his shoulders. The warm sensation in her fingers? She completely didn't notice thank you very much.
They weren't moving fast but the amount of control they had to put in their bodies left them in a fine sheen of sweat.
"Like I said this morning, a natural." Hermione commented as they packed their belongings.
Draco flushed with pride. At least that part hadn't been a lie. "Well, when you have the right mentor."
Hermione lightly pushed his shoulder. She tapped the radio off and they left the room walking side by side when Malfoy suddenly froze, "Who the fuck is Mr. Hyde?"
The witch hit her forehead with her palm before explaining.
