Chapter 5 : The meeting
Brown eyes met grey... and light blond hair on top of ivory skin. In front of Hermione appeared a face she would have reckognised even if she hadn't been told the man's name. But what was he doing here, in her office ? Of course, she had known that he had been hired by the Ministry, gossips reached everywhere, even in her rather small Department, especially those about famous names such as his. So had he simply asked for an appointment, she would not have been surprised, assuming he'd been send by his Office to convey a piece of information to her. She would have been polite to him, looking upon him as a collegue rather than as the man who spend years trying to make her life a nightmare. She usually drew a firm line between her professional and her private life. Only he hadn't been send by anyone, otherwise she would have probably been informed. And worst, he had claimed to Janeth that he was here to apply for the vacant place in her Department. Just what was he playing at ? Was it his idea of a joke ? She would have thought that after the war, he would be less prone to such idiocies. Or was it something else ?
Lost in her reflexions, she did not greet him, and only frowned at him, unconsciously rising his anxiety level.
« I've been stupid, » he thought, « to imagine that she might not still be mad at me. I guess she let me in out of damn politeness. »
He lightly cleared his throat, and tried to sound as natural as possible :
« Good day Mrs Granger. »
Right, very much natural indeed. He would have slapped himself. And in a way, she did it for him.
« What's the big idea ? » She asked in an indubitably suspicious tone.
So much for the ''damn politeness'' he supposed. As anxious as he had been a moment ago, the lack even the slightest civility angered his pride, and his old manners – that he had so wanted to keep quiet for at least the interview – resurfaced.
« Now, now, Granger, has getting more power made you forget about politeness ? I would have never thought you were that kind of woman... » He drawled sarcastically.
He would not have been surprised to see smoke coming out of her nostrils, as she looked furious.
« Oh, right ! Good day, Mr Malfoy. » She said, clearly mocking him, before adding « Now for Merlin's beard, explain : what are you doing here ? I don't have time to waste, so be quick. »
He rolled his eyes, equally exasperated at her and at himself, but managed not to add more fuel to the already burning conversation :
« As I am sure your secretary already told you, I am here to apply for the field worker job you send an ad for in the newspapers. Why else would I be there ? »
« But as far as I know, you already have a job within the Ministry. » She said, still irritated.
« Well I'm afraid your knowledge doesn't reach far enough, then. » He answered, and the look of utter offense she gave him tore him an amused smile. She was still very touchy regarding her knowledge it seemed.
Hermione closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and exhorted herself to patience, as trying as it was. She really needed a co-worker urgently, and if Malfoy was currently unemployed, and truly motivated about the job (which she couldn't imagine), she had to at leat give him an interview, she couldn't risk missing a real candidate. She exhaled, opened her eyes and gestured Draco towards the chairs facing her desk :
« Fine, have a seat. »
And she sat back into her own chair, massaging her temples. It took a few seconds for Draco to realise that he had really been invited to join her desk. As he approached it, he ordered himself to remain as professional as possible from now on, as tough as that might be he didn't want to ruin the opportunity she had granted him. Or did he... ? No, he wanted that job, even if it did scare him a bit because of her.
« So, » she said as he sat in front of her, « let's start this again. You say you want to join this Department, is that right ? »
He nodded : « Indeed. »
« But you are working in another Department already, are you not ? »
« I was working in the Law Enforcement Department. I gave my demission about a week ago. »
« The Law Enforcement », she thought, « why does that ring... » And then she came to realisation, and nearly shouted :
« It was you ! You're the one Ernest is replacing ! »
He didn't know what to say. She was right of course, but the slightly accusatory tone in her voice made him unsure about whether he should confirm or play dumb. So she went on.
« Could you not just have waited for a few more weeks ? Really now... »
She knew, of course, that he couldn't be held responsible for the departure of her collegue, that it only proved that he, to, was only waiting for a more glorious job opportunity. She knew she was being unfair, that it was her anxiety and her frustration (mixed with her exhaustion) speaking for her, and that he did not deserve her annoyance (this time). She was about to apologise for her outburst when he answered :
« No. »
His tone was cold, not exactly angry, but she could tell he didn't appreciate the question, nor did he want her to investigate further into his answer.
« Alright, alright. It's done now anyway, no going back. I won't ask why you left, it's your privacy, but why trying to join this Department ? You'll still be within the Ministry, if ever that's what annoyed you, and you definitly won't make a name working here, if that's what you're after. »
He clicked his tongue rather irritably. « You're secretary already told me that, and I knew before coming, thant you very much. I don't care about making a name, honestly, I could even go with a bit of being unknown once in a while. »
It was her turn to remain silent, not sure of what to say. Of course, she could see why he would want less attention, she supposed some people still stared at him because of his family's implications with Voldemort. She had felt that too, though for different reasons, after the war ended and she, Harry and Ron had been declared heroes of the nation. But she had never given much thoughts to his situation, apart from during the trial of his parents. After a few seconds of tensed silence, he spoke again.
« So, you're looking for some qualifications I suppose ? What are they ? »
Hermione blinked as she returned to the situation at hand. She straightened herself, suddenly very professional both in tone and general attitude.
« Do you speak any languages ? »
« A bit of French as my parents have second cousins in France, and a few Bulgarian words, as my father had a few connections there. It isn't much, so I suppose it doesn't help my application... ? »
Hermione shook her head. « It does not help nor do you wrong, I already have those two covered. How fast do you think you can learn the basics of another language ? »
Draco thought for a moment before answering. « Well, I suppose it would depend on the language, but maybe two weeks ? One for languages similar to some I already know. »
Hermione paused to make some quick calculations. If they started now, and he learned one new language every two weeks, he would have the basics of five or six languages. It wasn't as good as Ernest of course, because he did not have only the basics in his known languages, he mastered them entirely, and by the departure time, he would have probably learned the basics of a few more. But it was delusional to believe she would find someone who knew as much or more than he did. She knew that, even if she couldn't have helped hoping so.
« If I may, why bother with the languages ? There are interpreters in official meetings, so you don't have to speak the other country's language you know ? »
She shook her head again. « Of course there are interpreters, but it is politeness to know enough to at least use the basic words, such as salutations, thankings, and everyday sentences. Plus, showing interest in the other's culture helps inclining them to learning about yours too. And this trip is about promoting the creation of Departments similar to ours in other countries. So we have to make a good impression. »
« Trip ? » Draco asked.
« Oh, right, we haven't made a public announcement yet, so you wouldn't know of course. In less than three monthes now, I'll go on a journey through different countries to introduce our new Department, and to try to convince them to have their own. It will be a long journey, two days and nights in each countries or group of countries. I won't give you the detailed list right now, but it will be about a month long, depending on the last stage. Anyways, for this journey, I will need a partner, because I can't possibly learn all the languages by myself, and also as a matter of safety. That's what the field worker is supposed to do here accompagny me on journeys, and help me prepare them mainly. And that's why if you want the job, you'll have to learn as many languages as possible. And I warn you, I don't accept laziness. »
« Now that's surprising, really... » He answered tauntingly, but the severe look she gave him prevented him from saying anymore on that. « Well, I don't mind learning new languages, in fact I think it will be interesting. If you give me a list, I can start right away... »
« That's not all. » She interrupted him. « Do you know what we do here, in our Department ? »
Was she mocking him ? Did she really believe he would not have looked into the purposes of her Department before applying ?
« Of course I know. You make laws to protect all the magical beings existing, even if the population is against it. You want them all to have equal rights, and … »
« You're wrong. » She interrupted him again, though a bit more harshly. « We're not some daydreaming charity foundation, we have to take reality into account. When deciding the laws regarding a magical being, we have to look into it's history, the influence wizards had on it and vice versa, whether it is dangerous for its current environment and why it is dangerous if it is, how the situation can be improved for the being, whithout endangering any other. But you're right on something, we don't take the population's privileged comfort into account, we won't give the green light to a being's enslavement just so that wizards can have easy going lives. And to do that, we have to be in contact with magical beings, even those that are not partially human, and even those that tend to be aggressive. Do you think you are up to the task ? »
He didn't know what to answer. He wanted to say that of course, he would be able to do so, that it was easy and he was confident that she would be satisfied (as he would have told any potential employer). But the truth was he wasn't sure he was up to the task. He couldn't say he had ever shown a spectacular ability to interact with magical creatures. He remembered all too well his third year with the hippogriff although he had tried to use his mistake to his own advantage, even convincing himself at the time that it had been all that stupid beast's fault, he was now conscious that he had been the stupid one. And he doubted not that she, too, remembered...
She remembered, of course, Hagrid's first class with the hippogriffs. She remembered being impressed by Harry's ease at approaching Buckbeak, being both scared and fascinated when it was her turn to try, but more than all of this, she remembered being astonished when she saw Draco. Not because of the attack, but because before he messed up, he had done quite well. He had even seemed respectful towards Buck, in fact. For a brief moment, he was no longer the spoiled, conceited brat that seemed to care about no one but himself, but a normal boy, even reminding her of Harry as he approached the creature. And Buckbeak seemed to have liked him, she had thought, for he didn't lash out at him immediatly after he had started showing off. She knew hippogriffs were very loyal creatures, as well as proud, and that they attacked anyone insulting or disregarding them or a human they had taken a liking into. And Buck had definitly taken a liking into Harry. And yet, he didn't move when Draco had said that it had to be easy if Harry had done it. Buck only attacked when he insulted him directly. Of course, Draco had been an utter half-wit to insult the creature, but then again, when had he been anything else during their school years ?
Just as she opened her mouth to express her thoughts, there was another shy knock on the door.
« Come in. » She said.
Janeth opened the door and said : « Sorry to interrupt, Hermione, but your appointment with the Minister is in less than ten minutes, and he said it would have to be brief as he has other meetings today so... »
Hermione almost sprang as she stood up. « Oh no, I have to hurry then, thank you Janeth. » She started to pick her bag, but she posed, remembering Draco's presence. « Er... I shouldn't be too long, but maybe you... »
He shook his head : « I have no other obligations today, I am unemployed, remember ? I would just like to have lunch at some point, but I can wait a moment. »
She was in such a hurry that she didn't have time to be surprised by his lenient answer : « Perfect, then you can just go and wait in the reception hall, with Janeth. See you later. »
And she was gone, almost running out of the room. Mrs Plunkett simply smiled, unfazed, and gestured the blond wizard towards the door. He followed her half absent-mindedly, taken aback by the sudden turn of events.
« Do not worry, Mrs Granger should be back in half an hour. » Mrs Plunkett said, « In the meantime, if you need anything to drink or to eat, just ask. »
Draco simply nodded, still lost in thoughts. He had to admit it, things hadn't gone as planned. At all. Why did he have to go taunting her ? Why did he get mad at her ? Well, she hadn't been exactly correct towards him. Only she wasn't the one asking the other one for a job. He should have known better than to lose temper in front of her. But once in front of her, it seemed to be so hard to control himself. Old habits die hard, especially for a proud wizard like him. And even without his bad temper, he had been so sure he had what he needed to impress her and get the job, yet she had shown him twice that he had nothing of use he hadn't thought he would need to speak several languages, but he should have known that he was useless when it came to magical creatures...
Suddenly, a glass of what seemed like butterbeer appeared before him. He looked at the secretary who smiled at him :
« No need to look so grim, Mr Malfoy. I don't know how things went inside of the room, but you lasted way longer than the previous ones. I'd say it's a good point already. »
And after having said so, she returned to her work, only to be interrupted five minutes later by a flying note that landed on her desk. She unfolded it and read it, then smiled again, and left the room through a door on the left of Hermione's office. Then she reappeared once again, her hands filled with books, on top of which sat a contract and a small golden key.
« Congratulations Mr Malfoy, and welcome in the Department of International Cooperation and Justice for Magical Beings. »