Bleary-eyed from lack of sleep the night before, Hermione arrived at the Ministry of Magic much later than usual. She was starting to regret not taking a sleeping potion, but those always gave her a hangover and today her calendar was full of important meetings.
While her home life was in shambles, her work life at the Ministry was flourishing. Recently, she was appointed head of the new Statue of Secrecy Task Force and was even given an assistant. This thrilled Hermione until she realized her appointee was a bumbling idiot. Martin Dawlish, son of a retired Auror, had been passed around Ministry departments for years. The Department of Magical Transportation, realizing the opportunity, pawned him off on the unsuspecting Hermione. When Hermione complained to Kingsley Shacklebolt about it, he simply chuckled.
"Think of it as a rite of passage," he said before escaping into a closing lift.
As she reached to open her office door, Martin came barreling through it, spilling coffee both onto Hermione and himself.
"I'm so sorry Ma'am! You were late. I thought you might like some coffee to get your day started. Let me help clean this up…" He sputtered.
"No, no. Really, Martin, it's ok. Please don't…" Hermione pointed her wand at the now stained blouse. "Scourgify!"
"Your first meeting today is in ten minutes on the fourth floor," Martin said, shuffling an armful of scrolls.
"One of these, somewhere, has the meeting agenda. One second, let me see - Ah yes! Here it is. Looks like it'll be with Susan Bones representing Magical Law Enforcement, Penelope Clearwater from Magical Artefacts, Draco Malfoy a civilian, you of course...Oof!" Martin, who was trailing a little too closely behind Hermione, ran right into her when she stopped abruptly, once again spilling coffee down the front of his robes.
"Draco Malfoy?" Hermione's voice involuntarily shot up a few octaves. "Why is Draco Malfoy going to be at this meeting?"
Martin, now thoroughly drenched, tried to recover his train of thought.
"Er, yes, he reached out to, uhm, Mrs. Bones, I believe. Something about having information…oh dear, the details are on another scroll. I can't seem to find it…we might just have to play it by ear."
Hermione's eyebrow twitched. Playing it by ear was not her style.
By the time they made it to the fourth floor, the others were already seated. Dressed in a sleek black robe and expensive dragon hide shoes, Draco Malfoy exuded wealth. Blond hair fell from his face as he casually leaned back in his chair, broad shoulders relaxing beneath his immaculately tailored suit. No longer a gaunt and lanky teenager, his presence seemed to fill the entire room. If Hermione didn't hate him, she might have found him attractive. Draco noticed her gaze and smirked.
"Two minutes late, Granger," Draco tsked, "Is this how the Ministry conducts business these days? No wonder nothing ever gets done. Now, if you're done ogling me, can we get started? I don't have time to waste, like the Ministry clearly does."
Hermione fought to keep her face passive.
"Have a seat and we'll get started," Susan said kindly to Hermione and Martin. Once they settled in, Susan continued, "As you know, large bursts of magic have been disrupting the muggle world. These blasts contain magic far too large for one wizard to have created, or even fifty wizards for that matter. The cause is a mystery, making prevention impossible. Mr. Malfoy reached out to me on the matter. He believes he has some artefacts which may give us some answers. I've conferred with Ms. Clearwater, and she agrees that this falls under your jurisdiction, Hermione."
"The Department of Magical Artefacts is severely understaffed, so we can't take lead on this. But, if you are interested…" Penelope started as she gave Hermione a sympathetic look.
"Depends, what kind of artefacts are we talking about?" Hermione asked, acutely aware Draco hadn't taken his eyes off her the entire time. Draco leaned forward and began to talk.
"In 1962, the first Statue of Secrecy was put into law under similarly mysterious circumstances. My family was prominent in the Wizengamot at the time and held a lot of influence. Going through my family's archives, I found legal documents, court transcripts, and things of the like that I think could be of great help to the Ministry. Not to mention fascinating magical objects that can contain and retrieve magic."
"Where are these items. Have you brought them with you?" Hermione's speech was quick. She wanted to get this meeting over with as soon as possible.
"They are at my family's Manor. I believe you are familiar with the place, Ms. Granger," Draco drawled. Clearly, he was trying to get under her skin.
"I'll have my assistant send you an owl so we can organize the retrieval…" Hermione started. Draco's eyebrows quirked up.
"Retrieval? I was under the impression that the Ministry would be sending a representative today," Draco interrupted.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, my day is booked." Hermione said.
"Perhaps you could send one of your," Draco glanced at Martin as if he were a dirty dishrag, "distinguished colleagues in your place." They all turned toward Martin. Flustered by the sudden attention, Martin knocked over his bottle of quill ink, spilling its entire contents onto his scrolls. Hermione winced. She couldn't risk Martin damaging priceless historical documents.
"Oh!" Martin squeaked, "But your calendar is cleared Ms. Granger. I left an updated copy on your desk last week. Or at least I thought I did. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I left it on MY desk, oh dear…"
"Very well," Hermione sighed, "Today it is." The meeting adjourned after buttoning up some final details. Hermione rose from the table and Draco followed her out into the lift.
"If you need some time to get yourself together, feel free." Draco's eyes flicked down toward Hermione's shirt. Looking down, Hermione saw a coffee splatter just under her left breast. Refusing to let Draco see her embarrassment, she ignored him and continued toward the entrance.
Once out on the street, Draco lifted his elbow and nodded toward his arm.
"I'll need to take you through the wards."
"Fine." Hermione gritted through her teeth. With arms laced, they apparated.