The next day Hermione woke early. She had already packed Rose's bag for daycare and everything was ready to go, but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel incredibly nervous.
She was grateful for Ron having left earlier than usual, with his sour mood still intact so she didn't have to face another argument. She seriously wondered how he was going to function today, as he didn't come to bed till after midnight and he was up before the sun.
She pulled out her old work clothes and held them against herself. She was glad that the weight she gained during her pregnancy was all gone and she was back to her old size. At least she had clothes to wear.
She was feeding Rose breakfast when the floo activated. She tried her hardest to soothe her child, but Rose wouldn't hear of it.
"Hermione? Dear? Are you still here?" came the voice of Molly Weasley.
"Yeah, I'm in the dining room" she called.
"Wonderful, I haven't missed you" she said.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, rocking Rose back and forth through her sobs.
"I'm here to take care of Rose, of course" she said.
"I … what do you mean? I have arranged for Rose to attend day-care at the ministry" she said.
"Oh, I won't hear of it. No Weasley child will ever be put into day-care, it's not normal" the elder witch said, in her most helpful tone.
"In all seriousness, Molly, I can do this on my own, I don't need you to take care of Rose. I'm sure you have loads of other things to do with your time anyway" she said.
"Hermione, dear, I appreciate your consideration of my time, however, my children are all grown, and they don't need me anymore. I'd love nothing more than to take care of my grandchildren" she said.
"I…" Hermione began, wanting nothing more than to shout at the woman for meddling and then find Ron and shout at him for interfering in her work life. She wanted this to be her thing. Something she was doing for herself. She didn't want to have to depend on Molly to look after Rose. After what Ron said last night, she felt now, more than ever, that relying on his family to care for Rose while she worked was the worst thing she could do. However, looking at the clock, she decided that she had no choice.
"She takes her nap at 12:30 and needs to have lunch before then. Her lunch is packed in her bag. If you have to take her somewhere, please leave a note or something. I finish at 4pm so I'll be home to make dinner" she ranted before collecting her bag from the floor beside the mantle and depositing Rose in Molly's arms.
"You go and have fun now" Molly said.
"You didn't have to do this" she said, feeling somewhat grateful but still annoyed at the same time.
"Nonsense Hermione. When will you learn that I am here to help, not to get in the way? Now off with you. Go and get that department of yours back up and running again" she said, smiling kindly. Hermione felt that she didn't deserve it. Molly Weasley was too kind.
She left via the back door and apparated to the arrival point for visitors at the ministry. She had no approval to be here yet, and knew the process would be exhausting, getting her photo taken and her name badge made up once again.
The wizard at the desk held his hand out as he requested her wand. He didn't look at her, while he weighed and measured her wand.
"Stand on the line please" he said in a monotone voice. She was absolutely certain that he must hate his job.
She got her photo taken and after some initial questions, it was printed on a card with her name and department. The wizard handed her wand back to her as he read her name on the card and looked up at her with shock.
"Granger hey? Haven't seen you around here in a while" he said as he recognised her.
"Well, its certainly been a while" she replied.
"Smartest witch of your generation… Just disappeared?" he asked.
"Seems like it" she answered, before taking her wand and her card and thanking him for his assistance.
The lift to her old department was slow and clunky. It took a while, with everyone getting on and off, stopping to chat to colleagues in the doorway and notes flying in and out. Hermione remembered this well and wondered, as she always did, how anyone ever got anything done in this type of environment.
When she arrived at her department, she heard the tell-tale booming sound of Kinglsey's voice coming from what used to be her office. He sounded happy and as a young woman left the office, Hermione entered.
She smiled at the familiarity of the place, surprised to see it exactly how she had left it.
"Kingsley, how nice to see you again" she said, extending her hand to shake his.
"Ah, Hermione, the pleasure is all mine" he said, pulling her into a familiar hug. "Tell me, how's the family?" he asked, holding her at arms length and smiling at her in an oddly fatherly manner. Kingsley had always been lovely though. Never too much, but always just a little bit extra.
"The family is good, Rose is 18 months now, learning and growing everyday. She's quite clever" she said, taking a seat on the couch against the wall.
"Just like her mum I suppose?" he asked.
"With any luck" came a voice from behind her, making her jump.
"Ah, there you are, our newest head of the department. I believe you two know each other" Kingsley said with an anxious smile, standing after only just arranging his backside to a comfortable position on the edge of the desk.
Hermione turned and looked into the face of the person who she would be training. The pointed, angular, aristocratic face, the severe grey eyes, the perfectly tailored suit, but there was something different. Something that made this particular person not quite what she remembered. The platinum blonde hair she had become so accustomed to hating during their teenage years was now a dark brown colour.
"Malfoy?" she said.
"Granger" he replied with a nod.
"You… changed your hair" she said.
He didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow at her as he ever so briefly looked at her own hair, and stepped into the office, which now felt far too small.
"It'll need a bit of sprucing up, Kingsley, but I think it'll do" he said with a smile. Since when did Draco Malfoy smile?
She wondered why he didn't take the opportunity to say something about her hair, which, she was proud to admit, she had tamed in recent years. Instead of a wild nest of frizzy brown curls that sat at all angles on her head, she now had soft curls with blonde highlights that sat exactly the way she wanted it to at all times. The spells she had learnt from Fleur over the years had been a god sent.
"Well, Hermione, I'm sure you remember how things ran around here. Take the day to become reacquainted and set up the office and I expect reports on my desk by the end of the week. Missy is down the hall if you need anything" the minister said.
Hermione stood and looked on with shock as the minister left the office, leaving her alone with Malfoy, of all people. If she had known that he would be the one she would be training, she may not have considered taking the job.
"Look, Malfoy…" she began, ready to draw a line in the middle of the room where each of them mustn't cross in order to avoid them hexing each other.
"Nice place, really" he said, walking around to the other side of the desk and sitting down in the chair that used to be hers. She was thrown by his casual demeanour and completely unsure of where to stand or how to behave in what used to be her office. She used to be so confident.
"This is going to difficult enough, us working together, so lets just get on with it, shall we?" she said.
"Well, the minister did say for us to take the day to get reacquainted, so what's the rush to get into work?" he asked.
"Hmm, let me see, he wants reports on his desk by the end of the week and unless I'm sorely mistaken, nothing has been done in this department in two years. There's a lot to get through" she said.
Malfoy just looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite work out, before redirecting his gaze to the mountain of files between them on the desk.
They spent the morning sorting through the paperwork, memories of the years of hard work Hermione had put in, in this very office hitting her like a freight train. Cases she never thought she would win, rights that no one thought would ever become a reality. All realised in these four walls.
Except for the occasional um, uh, or comment on how thorough she had been in her work, Malfoy didn't speak to her once, which she was grateful for. He was everything that she had always hated in the world.
Purist, aristocratic stuck up rich boy who, really, shouldn't even be here working in a job that could be done by a person who actually needs the money. She grew more and more irritated as the day wore on and was grateful for the break at lunch.
"We'll pick up again at 1pm?" she asked, collecting her handbag and heading for the door.
"Sure" he said, not getting up or looking away from the file he was reviewing. She watched him for a moment, wondering if he was truly serious about this. If someone like him could do the job that took someone like her to lead.
She got into the lift and headed for the Auror department where she used to frequent in the past. She hadn't arranged to meet with Harry for lunch, but hoped he'd be free to discuss their little incident.
She arrived to find that Harry was out on a secret mission. As it turned out, Ginny's complaints about Harry's ability to be continuously out on missions were quite well founded.
She arrived back at her old office, having had a salad from a café in the atrium and, in good faith, brought with her two hot chocolates.
"Here" she said, handing him the Styrofoam cup.
"What's in it?" he asked, removing the lid and cautiously glancing into it.
"Merlin, Malfoy, its just hot chocolate. If I wanted to poison you, I'd be more subtle" she said, taking her pile of papers to the small coffee table beside the couch.
The afternoon was quick and before she knew it, it was time for her to leave.
"Well, Granger, I must say, you have been quite the conversationalist" he said, getting up from the desk and stretching.
"Oh, please, Malfoy, its not like you're happy about this arrangement either. You really want to be trained by swotty, muggle-born know-it-all, me?" she asked.
"Granger, honestly, I don't even know you and being a muggle born is not something that I even care about… anymore" he said. "Look… I…" he continued, rubbing his hand through his hair, seemingly lost for words. "I'll see you tomorrow" he finished, as he picked up his satchel and left the office in a hurry.
Hermione stood in stunned silence as his footsteps echoed down the hall and it wasn't till she heard the lift rattle towards the atrium level that she picked up her own bag and left the office.
Malfoy's attitude had certainly been anything but cold and cruel. The more she thought about it, the more she realised, in fact, he hadn't been nasty at all. The bully that he was at school, appeared to be replaced by an imposter with brown hair.
As she rode the lift to the apparition point, she wondered how much more of Malfoy he had changed, apart from his hair.
AN- Thanks to those who reviewed. I love the types of reviews that make me excited to write more.
Liliana765 - Thank you so much, the plot is only going to get better. Frustratingly better.
JohnMonty-The brightest witch of her age is definitely still in there, but just so clouded with all the things Ron has told her and made her believe about herself. She's still incredibly intelligent, just emotionally messed up at the moment. She doesn't even realise how bad it is. Plus, they have good days, which makes her think that… There's a chance that if they can have one good day, they can have more. And Yes to the lemons. YES YES YES to the lemons. This will be largely all about lemons down the track. Lots of lemons.
SereniteRose – You're very accurate, this Ron is very angry. The war left him so broken, but that's no excuse for the way he treats her.
Taylor9901 – Hermione will soon realise that she definitely needs her identity back and its coming. This chapter is a teaser for her.
The brightest witch of her age is definitely still in there, but just so clouded with all the things Ron has told her and made her believe about herself. She's still incredibly intelligent, just emotionally messed up at the moment. She doesn't even realise how bad it is. Plus, they have good days, which makes her think that… There's a chance that if they can have one good day, they can have more. And Yes to the lemons. YES YES YES to the lemons. This will be largely all about lemons down the track. Lots of lemons.
SereniteRose – You're very accurate, this Ron is very angry. The war left him so broken, but that's no excuse for the way he treats her.
Taylor9901 – Hermione will soon realise that she definitely needs her identity back and its coming. This chapter is a teaser for her.