Hey everyone! Sorry for the huge delay in posting - life is crazy sometimes, but I'll have more frequent posts from now on. This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I'll have the next one up soon. Thanks for staying with me :)


Hermione stared into her steaming mug of tea, watching the creamy white milk billow up and cloud the dark liquid. It was calming and distracting her from the fiery energy that was resonating off of her friend seated across from her. To her surprise Ginny had kept her mouth shut besides a polite 'Hello' when they met up at a corner table in the Leaky Cauldron. The youngest Weasley was known for her boisterous attitude and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. But thankfully, unlike her brother Ron, she was aware of her surroundings and had enough common sense not to blurt out whatever was on her brain in the middle of a crowded pub. Lifting the mug to her lips she blew gently before taking a light sip of the tea, before raising her eyes to meet Ginny's dark brown ones.

"You went out with Malfoy last night?"

Ginny whispered incredulously, looking around quickly to make sure no one heard her. Hermione snorted into her cup and set it down, of course that's what Ron took from it. Her light laugh caused Ginny to raise her eyebrows in a mild shock, Hermione decided that she better answer the girl – even though she didn't believe it needed to be spoken about.

"Yes Gin, I went out with Malfoy for a business meeting. We are working together on a case involving the French Ministry, so we had to entertain them last night."

"Was he a complete arse?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head, Ginny was such a gossip and loved a proper scandal,

"Well besides having zero faith in me to not embarrass him, he was quite cordial. Whatever his opinion is of me he was the utmost professional during the evening. It was work - and a boring lunch conversation. Any locker room stories for me?"

Hermione sipped her tea, ending the conversation. Having been friends for years the younger girl knew that was all she was going to get out of the story. Ginny rolled her eyes and immediately fell into a story about her Hollyhead Harpies teammates. One of the chasers had been caught sleeping with one of the beater's boyfriend. It ended with an 'accidental' bludger hit to the chaser's back. Hermione tried to pay attention to her friend, but her mind couldn't help but wander to last night. Malfoy had been a surprisingly great colleague to have with her, she wasn't sure that the relationship with the French minister would have grown so quickly if she hadn't had his support, no matter how frustrating it was to admit to herself.

"Are you coming to the game tonight?"

Ginny probed, drawing Hermione back from her thoughts causing her to flush brightly,

"I don't think so Gin, I'm going to give Ron his space. He and Harry can have a boy's night, it'll give him some time to realize what an idiot he's being."

Ginny looked a bit disappointed but Hermione stood her ground. The last place she wanted to be tonight was stuck in a Quidditch box with her pissed off boyfriend watching a sport that she wasn't that keen on. Plus it would give her some time alone in the house to relax and read before the busy work week ahead of her.

Ginny looked like she was about to argue with Hermione's decision, but as if on cue a cluster of young girls ran up and crowded their table begging Ginny for autographs. Hermione took this as her cue and threw some coins on the table and waved to her friend,

"I'll see you later, have a good game tonight."

Ginny could barely say goodbye as the girls pushed and shoved each other to grab the young witch's attention.


Hermione dusted ash off of her robes and stepped out of her fireplace. The house was quiet, Ron still wasn't home yet. Letting out a breath that she didn't know that she'd been holding she threw her bag on the kitchen table along with her cloak. She was pouring herself a mug of ale when she noticed a little chirping sound. Turning around she locked eyes with a tawny barn owl who was waiting patiently for her to remove the scroll attached to his leg. She groaned when she saw the seal, it was green with two entwined serpents carved into it. Hermione quickly removed the scroll while scratching the owls head, it chirped and ruffled it's feathers before taking off and flying out of her window. Sitting down at her kitchen table she broke the seal and unfurled the scroll to reveal the black scrawl inside. The pompous ass had gorgeous handwriting.

Ms. Granger,

The French minister requests our attendance at the Quidditch match this evening. He wants to experience a British match, despite my insistence that there were better teams to watch than the Harpies.

Meet me at the stadium at 6 sharp, so that we have time to show them to our box.

D. Malfoy

The twat didn't even bother asking if she was free, he just assumed that she'd be available. Hermione took a swig from the ale and ran her fingers through her now tangled locks of brown hair. She was going to have to attend tonight, no matter how frustrating it was. Considering the Minister was only here for a week it made sense to fit as many activities in as possible, but some planning would have been preferable. Hermione sighed heavily and dragged herself to the shower, she hoped dearly that she wouldn't run into Harry and Ron tonight, it would only make the whole situation worse. Turning on the cool water she stepped in, letting the frigid water wash away her stress and anxiety. The shower barely worked at calming her nerves, she hated being thrown off guard. She didn't have much time to get ready, so she quickly spelled her hair dry, letting it rest in natural curls around her face. Hermione wasn't one for bold make-up, and settled on a light coat of mascara with her favourite lip gloss. Malfoy would probably complain that she was too plain for a meeting, but she wasn't about to douse herself in make-up for a quidditch match. Hermione grabbed her mug and took another drink of her ale as she wandered to her closet, with no idea what she was going to wear. Her fingers landed on a dress that she had only worn once on a date with Ron, it was appropriate for a work event and helped bring out her femininity – hopefully this would appease Malfoy. It was a lovely deep navy colour with capped sleeves, and an a-line skirt that hugged her waist with the help of a black belt. It played upon her decollatage, hinting at her cleavage without revealing too much. Quickly Hermione slipped on the soft fabric, pairing it with a pair of black strappy heels. Downing the rest of her ale, she took a final look at herself in the mirror before snatching up her purse and spinning on the spot and disappearing with a pop.


cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=62581534 (Hermione's dress, except navy in colour)