Hermione ignored Paul when they emerged in the main part of the Ministry. She had been the one to call out the floor and she intended to go straight to Harry this morning. She needed to report the threat she'd received. If Draco hadn't already done it. Though it was barely eight in the morning and the Ministry was hardly full this early.

Just as she briskly walked away from him, she heard him say dumbly that he would see her in her office at lunch. She rolled her eyes and kept walking, clutching the front of her robes together.

As she walked she kept out watchful eyes for any sight of Draco but she didn't see him. The entire way there the same thought kept crawling back into her mind as soon as she had managed to push it away.

What if he asked to be reassigned?

But the logical part of her refused it by remembering that he was the one assigned to the task and he wasn't an Auror. He wasn't technically on the case. He was her guard. So he couldn't very well ditch her.

At least she hoped not.

Hermione had never given up and left things open ended, not with anything. She worried until they were fixed or figured out. And if they weren't…well she didn't leave things as unknowns if she could help it. She knew this situation was a fragile one, but it was fixable. If he made it difficult, which he already was, then she would make him listen to what she had to say.

It was only a bloody dove for Merlin's sake.

But the message had been clear, and his reaction had been a sobering one. It was the appropriate reaction to have from his stand point. She wasn't one to faint from stress or be afraid for nothing. While the threat certainly wasn't nothing, she knew it wouldn't do any good to sit and be afraid. Not when she could do something about it.

Her eyes hardened as she remembered the fear she'd experienced during the war. All the hiding and running and constant threat of death at her back every day. She'd been afraid. And she overcame her fears then.

This wasn't even comparable to those times.

Draco had been on the run too. So he should be able to understand her argument. He couldn't fight logic.

The only problem was getting him to listen.

A turn and she found herself at Harry's office door. She didn't bother knocking and just walked in. There was no one there other than a focused looking Harry bent over his filing cabinet.

Harry turned and straightened up when he saw her standing in his doorway. He smiled and closed the cabinet drawer as she shut the door behind her. She stood there in front of his desk as he took a seat. She could see the question in his eyes, why wasn't she sitting? But she was there for a reason so she withdrew from her bag a miniatured version of the box.

As she set it before him, he asked her what it was and she only waved her wand and restored it to its original size. He looked confused, and she said, "I received this last night, from the killer." Another flourish of her wand and the lid was removed. She watched as his eyes widened and snapped to hers.

"Hermione! What happened? Did you see who it was?" He moved to her side as the words rushed out of him. "Did you tell Malfoy? Was he there? Oh my God, Hermione," She found herself in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, too many questions."

"No, it's alright. I didn't see who left it, but I know it's the killer. And no, he wasn't there…not when I found it anyway." She looked down and as he pulled away he caught the agitation there.

"But…?" he pressed. He met her gaze pointedly.

She frowned. "He arrived an hour after. He was angry with me for not calling him right away. I know I should have flooed him, I just didn't think of it…"

Harry's brows pulled down. "You know how he is. He's just an angry person. It's normal, Hermione" She was glad that he didn't press her about why she didn't floo Draco.

She debated with herself. She couldn't exactly tell him that she knew Draco cared for her to some extent. That she considered him a friend. She wasn't sure how Harry would take it and she didn't want to risk another fight. "No. It was…different. He assigned Paul to watch me for the next few weeks."

Harry looked confused again then mad. "That's not really up to him, seeing as how he was assigned as your guard. What happened? Did you slug him again?" He smirked but it faded when he saw her expression. "Sorry."

Taking steps towards the door, she said, "I'll leave the box with you Harry, I have to find Draco."

Something seemed to pass behind Harry's eyes as she said Draco's name, and she realized she hadn't called him by his surname. Thankfully he didn't question it and instead said, "Okay, but what could this mean? A beheaded dove?"

As she exited his office, she stopped in his doorway and said, locking eyes with his. "The killer is telling my hope is dead. At least that it should be."

Harry looked bewildered but she knew he'd figure it out with some thought so she left him in his office to work it out with himself. She had a stubborn angry blond to find.

She took a step and was met with the figure of another. He was tall with a closely shaved head. He was carrying thick manila file folders and was wearing a standard Slytherin issue tie. She hadn't thought anyone still wore those silly things they gave out at school in your house. But she ignored it as she met his amused stare. It was Blaise Zabini, she realized. She hadn't seen him around much, even before the war and was surprised she hadn't seen him at work more often.

She quickly collected herself and reigned in her surprise as she created space between them and stumbled out, "Oh, um, I'm sorry for that. I didn't see you."

His dark eyes bore into her and she felt deeply unnerved the longer the silence dragged on. It was becoming uncomfortable but finally he smirked at her and reached out a large hand. "Granger! Haven't seen you since school."

Hermione shook it, still somewhat put off by the larger man. "Oh, yes, it's been a long time. We've never talked that much, how have you been?"

"Oh, so true. I'm very well." He released her hand and she felt a tension in her arm relax. She hadn't been aware of it. "I heard about your…dilemma recently."

No apology. She found it strange since that's all anyone had been giving her if they were an Auror and were aware of the case. Was he on the case? She nodded and it occurred to her he might know where Draco was. "I don't suppose you know where Malfoy is?"

A humorous look passed over him and he said, "Last time I saw him was yesterday around four, actually. My apologies."

Around four…

She subdued a frown and said instead, "Hm. Well if you see him tell him I'm looking for him. I need to give him some files."

Blaise nodded, a smirk firmly set on his lips and she nodded a farewell as they parted ways. He walked back the way he'd come, though it had seemed he was about to enter Harry's office before she had bumped into him. There was no reason to change plans just because they had bumped into each other.

Something about the whole encounter seemed off.

As Hermione headed to her own office she realized that he had mentioned he'd seen Draco yesterday at four. That was around the time Draco had arrived at her flat. She realized that he must have met with him, possibly about the case. It could have been likely that he was agitated already from Blaise by the time he'd arrived at her house. She decided to ask him about it when she got the chance to talk to him.

But in the mean time, she'd take to work in her own office.

Hermione had grown so used to being with Draco during her breaks, before and after work, the past weekend, that when she'd successfully had twenty minutes of uninterrupted silence at her desk it felt strange. She could work on S.P.E.W. or something else. She chose instead to pour over the list of names again, trying to see if she'd missed anything.

But as she checked away the various names of possible suspects, she was beginning to doubt from personal experience with them in the war, and as students in school, that they weren't exactly a fit. Not one of them. She had spent a good couple of hours doing research on each individual person and it just didn't add up that they'd be the killer. Some seemed likely, but farfetched.

For instance, Rodolphus Lestrange had a reason for killing her—she'd had a part in his wife's death. Though she did not directly kill Bellatrix, she could still see how he could want revenge on her. But he was in Azkaban for crimes against muggle-borns and Wizarding society for the rest of his life so there was no way he was coming after her anytime soon. Any word of a breakout would have been front page news, and Hermione would have been one of the first to hear of it, but nothing like that had been reported within the last year. She scrawled down his name on a notepad along with a few others, but they all seemed inadequate. Perhaps she should hit the files herself to see if she could dig anything up. Studying had always been among her top talents.

She set the papers down and all too soon found herself done with work. S.P.E.W. didn't even require much thought to finish today as it was so routine. Nothing new. She rested her chin on her hand and stared at the back of her door, admiring its woodwork.

A quick look at her clock told her it was almost lunch. She'd been working through those lists for hours and had found barely anything.

I heard about your dilemma recently….

The image of Zabini's cold black eyes dashed through her mind.

She wrote his name down.

Draco sat in the muggle café drinking his coffee in tense silence. He itched to use his wand to cool the drink as it was too hot. All around him the hustle and bustle of busy hands and clumsy actions of muggles filled the café. He glared into his cup and waited for Theo to arrive.

Yesterday had not been enough. It left him with more questions than answers, and it made him anxious to think of Blaise as any sort of suspect in the case. Theo knew something, and Draco would find out what it was.

It was his only choice if he wanted to do his job right.

He had research to do, reconnaissance on Blaise, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to watch Hermione and Blaise simultaneously, not unless he had no intention of sleeping at night. He thought back to their conversation, remembered the look on her face before he'd left.

Perhaps Gryffindors are immune to complete understanding of a dangerous situation. That must be what gives them their renowned courage. They're just too ignorant to know fear when it's in front of them. He sighed. Waitresses kept stopping at his table and offering him a menu and he was beginning to think they were ignoring his refusal of food just to annoy him.

Theo suddenly appeared around the corner outside and, not noticing Draco in the window seat, walked right past him. The blond waited as Theo walked inside and was pointed to the appropriate table. The waitress from before was surprised to see a face and focused all attempts of service on Theo. Draco expected him to squirm under the intense attention, but he simply held up a hand, shook his head and politely declined. The waitress left with a bitter look in her eyes.

"Short notice. I assumed you would have just told me yesterday if you wanted to meet again," Theo told him as he sat across the small table.

"I wasn't aware Blaise was up to something when we first spoke."

"What makes you suspect him of being up to something?" His lips curved.

Draco fought hard against his initial instinct to yell at the wizard. His patience was thin, "You told me to watch mine and Granger's backs. That's plenty of reason."

"But has he given you any reason to suspect him prior to yesterday's outburst?"

"Outburst?" Draco questioned.

"When he called her a mudblood. You visibly tensed as if you wanted to hit him." Draco bit the inside of his mouth. Theo was observant to the extreme.

"It was uncalled for, but I'd hardly call it an outburst."

Theo laughed quietly. "You were both losing your tempers. But it hardly matters today because we are here for a different reason. You owled me rather early in the morning. Most are still asleep then you know."

Draco hadn't been able to sleep last night because he couldn't stop thinking about how Blaise could be involved. He sipped his coffee again, much cooler now. "You're here aren't you?"

"Yes. I suppose I am," Theo said, his humor leaving him.

Silence. Draco and Theo waited as the waitress once again asked each of them if they wanted anything. Theo ordered a plate of small sandwiches and a glass of iced tea. Draco ignored the woman.

"It wasn't the first time Blaise has approached me about her." Draco narrowed his eyes at Theo's words. But he had no time to reply as Theo was talking again. "Months ago, he asked me about her history."

"History? That's pretty obvious to anyone who reads the newspaper."

"Exactly, I said as much, and he dropped it. Until about three weeks ago, when he asked me what office she worked in."

Draco's felt his stomach clench and his heart raced, "What did he want to know that for?"

"I don't know. I had no answer for him. He'd let it go I assumed. But he asked again about a week ago. He wanted to know where she'd been living. I was annoyed by his determination with her—it was strange. But he justified it by telling me he was romantically interested in her. Though I think we both know that is a lie."

Draco scoffed across the table and sat back in his seat. It had been just a little over a week and a half ago that Potter had found the first body. And he had never seen Blaise interact with Hermione before. Or even mention her in all the years it had been since school. He'd never even heard him refer to her in any way other than neutral, and the sudden single insult yesterday had made it very clear what he thought of her. Draco wondered what had happened between the war and now that had made Blaise so vocal.

But he wondered why he would talk to Theo at all. Theo wasn't an Auror, he was in files. He'd seen Blaise on more than one occasion, and talked to him quite a lot. Then something occurred to him. Hermione's job was half filing work, so she was in and out of Theo's department on a regular basis. Enough for Blaise to notice. That made sense, because Blaise was an Auror, and Aurors constantly accessed information for case files.

Theo was simply the middleman.

"Is that all he's ever asked about her?" Draco asked, palms sweating.

Theo scratched a hand through his hair. "All of it. If he's ever confronted her himself I am unaware of it."

Draco couldn't very well take a risk and tell Theo about the case or he'd be out of a job, or worse, they could be a threat to Hermione. What he was doing right now was against the rules technically speaking, but he couldn't very well approach Harry with the idea that there was a corrupt Auror underneath him. It was matter he had to handle himself. He had to take a risk. Until he knew everything he needed to.

"Theo. Have you ever noticed something off about him Blaise especially in the last few weeks? Or if he's been missing from work?"

Theo thought for a moment, and continued when the waitress arrived with his order. She left, giving up on Draco altogether. Theo ate a small sandwich before he answered, "I mostly only see him when he needs files, but the last few Mondays he's not come around and those are our busiest days. I imagine for Aurors it'd be hectic. And I didn't see him last Sunday either, and that's when we meet at The Hog's Head usually."

"Sunday before last?" Draco pressed, gripping his coffee tightly. That was the day of the first murder.

Theo nodded and that was all Draco needed before he impatiently asked his next question, "Where is he today? In the Ministry, where would he be working?"

Theo started on another sandwich and said, "Since my lunch is before his, he'd be in his office, getting ready to leave for his lunch. Auror level."

Draco threw some muggle coins on the table and nearly ran out of the café, leaving a confused and flustered few waitresses in his path.

Theo continued to eat his meal as if nothing happened.

As soon as Draco was within the Ministry's walls, he ran to the lifts. He was nearly vibrating, ready to spring for the office he knew would be empty when they sounded for the Auror level. By now, Blaise would be at lunch Merlin knows where. He kept his eyes locked on the entrance, ignoring the witches and wizards crammed around him.

The level chimed and as soon as the space was wide enough, he squeezed through and bolted to where he knew Blaise's office was. He barged in, knowing it was free and clear of any sign of the man. He wasn't sure if Blaise always kept his office unlocked, but it wasn't a chance he would miss.

Draco went straight to the desk and quickly realized the only papers on it were ones for minor cases. Mainly ones he'd already signed off. He quickly went through the drawers and found nothing of importance. No dates that jumped out at him. The cabinets were full of past assignments that had nothing to do with Hermione. He looked at the clock, every second ticked by was a step closer for Blaise and Draco needed to search faster.

He went through a small shelf and found only books, no papers tucked in between. The nooks on his desk and cabinets had either office supplies or dust.

Draco turned and glanced behind the door, and found empty space. He leaned there with frustrated hands on his head. There was a headache coming on and he ground his teeth, cursing Blaise.

He heard voices near the door and recognized the deep vibrato of Blaise and his heart hammered against his chest. He would have to come back another time. Immediately, he withdrew his wand and cast a Disillusionment charm on himself. He urged it to work faster as Blaise stepped into his office and luckily went straight to his desk without closing the door. Draco knew that if he moved and Blaise was looking right at him, he'd notice the ripple of difference. But he needed something, this couldn't be for nothing. He stepped behind Blaise as he withdrew a file from under his arm and wrote off a list of names. Draco saw him scribble down Rachelle. His mind registered that was the dead muggle Potter had found last week, but the rest weren't familiar to him.

He moved as quickly as he could to the door and bolted around the corner before the charm wore off. His heart beat hard in relief.

His spirits fell when he realized what he'd just witnessed.

Blaise was involved.

Draco was surprised to see Potter sitting in the guest seat of his own office when he returned. And he could sense that he was pissed by the hard set of his eyes and the clench of his jaw. That look had been directed at him for seven years. He took a seat and asked, "What is it Potter?"

"Hermione told me you ditched her?"

"I do not ditch, Potter. I put her in the care of Paul for awhile, while I…take care of some research." He realized he'd slipped and inwardly cringed at his mistake.

"Research?" Potter said, unconvinced. "Your job is to protect Hermione, at all times. Paul was assigned for when you couldn't make one or two lunches or afternoons. You are her primary guard, not Paul."

"Merlin, Potter, she's a grown woman, she can handle herself with Paul for a few days."

"Days?" Draco nodded as if he was stupid, and Potter, his anger somewhat dissipating said, "Paul had told her weeks, not days." He adjusted his glasses. Draco shook his head, knowing Paul wasn't only dull but also daft. "I'll straighten it out, but she's worried."

"What do you mean?"

"She said you two had a fight?"

Draco scoffed. "Potter, adults argue, surely you know that."

Potter rolled his eyes at that. "Yes, but you two have a different history of arguing. I need to know you will be able to continue to work together peaceably until we figure out whoever sent her that box and committed those murders."

Draco nodded seriously. "She told you about the dove?"

Potter curled his lip as he thought back on it. "She showed it to me this morning."

"And I suspect she didn't tell you why it was that we argued?"

Harry was quiet when he said, "Not exactly no. She told me you arrived there an hour after she found it."

"I'm her guard, and she didn't contact me when she found the box, so I could do my job. She thinks she can do everything herself."

Harry smiled and for a moment it threw him. "Then you're getting to know Hermione."

Draco only stared at him. "I suppose I am."

"What research are you doing?"

"I think you know, Potter."

Harry chuckled. "Strangely, I think I do." Draco let out an amused huff. He watched as Harry rose and said, "Just talk to Hermione. She worries about everything and she usually needs someone to disagree with her to get her mind off things. Otherwise she keeps worrying and analyzing. If anything, you'll be able to disagree with her better than I or Ron ever could."

Draco narrowed his eyes at the mention of Ron's name and Harry acquiesced a knowing nod. He argued with himself for a moment about what he'd learned and figured it couldn't hurt now that was all out in the open. "Blaise Zabini. Remember him?"

Harry didn't take long to answer. "He's an Auror in my level of offices."

"He's been doing some research of his own around the Ministry."

"About?" he asked, eyes dark.

Draco's eyes softened as he said slowly, "I think you know who."

Harry's posture deflated a little, a mirror for the way Draco had felt coming out of his office.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Potter muttered, closing the door behind him.

This way he wouldn't have to sacrifice guarding Hermione for watching Blaise.

But not yet. He needed to think for the next few days. He'd talk to Hermione, and knew that she'd be as stubborn in a few days as she would be right now. So she could wait. Blaise and Theo demanded his full attention right now.

It had been four days since she'd last seen any sign of Draco Malfoy. It was like he'd dropped off the face of the earth. Hermione didn't even know if he was avoiding her anymore, for all she knew the killer had gotten him first and no one thought to tell her.

Oh well.

She rolled her eyes at herself, snorting at the thought. She knew that wasn't the reason.

She had gone about her regular duties in S.P.E.W. and managed to pass four simultaneous mornings, lunches, and afternoons with Paul who seemed absolutely determined to lead an annoyingly average life. She wondered if the man had ever screamed or gotten in a fight. Had he even had good sex before? Oh good Merlin, she didn't want to picture that.

She washed her mind of her frivolous thoughts as she tried to refocus on her work. A group of centaurs were going to be homeless soon due to a large section of their forest being torn down by a muggle corporation. She was looking to relocate them in a magical forest in Eastern Europe but was having a hard time finding non-conflicting zones with other centaur territories. But no matter how hard she tried, she found herself plagued with curiosity on Draco's whereabouts.

Slowly, the inevitable feeling of that all too familiar rejection hit her, that she'd been left by yet another friend. It was a stupid feeling that lasted barely a minute, before she kicked herself for wallowing in self pity. She knew he had to come back eventually, it was his job. And she knew he liked her, a little bit, somewhere. Enough to care. She thought she was his friend too.

It made her stomach flip to think about.

And that was what made her anxious to find him. She needed to know what the day of their argument had been about. She knew it was more than he'd let on. His parting words had been telling and it had moved something between them. She knew something had changed again between them. She only hoped he was just busy with casework in his own department.

And above everything else, she wanted to tell him about her awkward encounter with Zabini.

She just couldn't find him! She'd been looking everywhere for a flash of white blond hair, the loping gait she'd gotten used to, but somehow he'd eluded her. She'd gone by his office enough times in the last four days to probably be able to walk the distance with her eyes closed and not run into anything. And she'd seen it enough to know he wasn't just hiding away in there twenty-four-seven either. Either he was specifically keeping out of her way, or it was a series of incredibly annoying coincidences.

So, as she set down her map of Eastern European magical centaur territories, she set herself to stay outside his door all day if she had to so that he'd be forced to at least acknowledge her.

Hermione quickly walked her way to his office and a single onceover told her he was out once again, wherever he went off to. So she rested her hands behind her bum and leaned against the wall.

And she waited.

A lot of passersby gave her strange looks, fully aware of who she was and whose door she was standing beside, but continued on their way with gossiping voices about why she could possibly be there. She ignored them all, and kept a keen eye out for Draco. It had been about a half an hour since she began staking out and she intended to stand there all day if she had too, but she realized she'd have to sit soon if she didn't want to kill herself in heels.

An hour and a half later found the office at three in the afternoon. Many were getting ready to leave for meetings or for the day. But still she stood there, waiting for him. A few even said their goodbyes to her as they left for their respective homes. She offered quick smiles and few words.

Draco, dressed as his usual impeccable self, rounded the corner with his head down. He was rolling up his sleeves as he saw Hermione standing there before his door and the corner of his mouth twitched awkwardly. His eyes darted to her mouth and back to her eyes once. She swallowed. Cautiously, he opened his door for her, perfect politeness, however her anger was palpable as she whirled on him once he shut the door.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Letting you into my office," he deadpanned. He didn't sit, instead placing his hands in his pockets. She could see the tendons in his arms.

"I mean since the dove in the box. You charged off without a word."

He released a held breath. "You weren't listening to me."

"I was. You just left before I could answer you." She crossed her arms.

Draco seemed to not know what she meant and she continued, "I know what you meant by what you said. It was just…different coming from you. I didn't expect it."

Silence from him as he stared down at her. She kept talking, "I know I should have flooed you when I found the box. I just shut down when I saw it and didn't think of anything. I just kept imagining how it was during the war. I'm used to threats, Draco. So of course, my first thought wouldn't be running to my bloody body guard."

He continued to regard her silently and then nodded after what seemed a long time. Quietly he said, "Next time, it has to be."

Hermione uncrossed her arms and, after a moment's hesitation placed a gentle hand on his arm. "It will be." His grey eyes shot to where she touched him and before he could say anything to make it awkward, she removed her hand.

Her fingers tingled from the warmth of his skin as he spoke, his voice decidedly light. "Good."

She continued, refolding her arms, "I know you've been avoiding me the last few days, and I know you assigned Paul to me the next few weeks. That's why I was waiting outside your office."

"I haven't been avoiding you, Hermione. And I told that fat idiot days, not weeks."

Hermione felt a rush of relief hit her, a feeling she didn't know she'd been hoping to have, or feel so grateful for.

"I told him just this morning that I'd be taking over again. I needed to take care of some work." Draco huffed, shifting his weight.

"Well good, because I was about a day away from stupefying that man," she laughed out.

Draco's lips twitched upwards. "I'm sure I would have done much worse, much sooner."

"So, you've been busy with work? I feel stupid assuming you'd avoid me because of a fight. You'd probably love a fight."

"I live for them," he drawled. "And yes, I found out some interesting info on the case, but I'd rather talk away from the Ministry about it."

"Why?" she asked.

Draco shook his head, gesturing for the door. They were silent as they headed for the Ministry's endless rows of floos, but the hand at her back had her feeling more normal than she had in days.

She stepped in beside him as he called out an address she hadn't been to before.

His home.