Author's Notes: Hey guys! I hoped you guys liked the first chapter of this story. Thanks for the follows, it means a lot and I am excited to share this story with you all. Big shout out to neby1224 for being my sounding board for this story! Your words of encouragement mean the world to me. Hope you guys like chapter two! If you haven't hit the follow button yet please do, leave a review I always love hearing feed back from the readers! Just a friendly reminder in case any of us forgot, I don't own these characters JK Rowling does! Enjoy!
I was always a thing that was going to happen to you, the lightning that would strike on a day that came with no thunder, and all the shelter in all the world couldn't have saved you. All my life I've been making my way to you.
-Tyler Knott Gregson
When Emily had told him, a new liaison had been appointed from the British Ministry of Magic the last person he had expected was Hermione. Which now seemed a little absurd to him if he truly thought about it. Why wouldn't it be her, there would be no one better for the job. Though he wouldn't admit it, he had been tracking her through the Daily Prophet he still had delivered, she had been a real rising star in her department, and many thought she was on track to be Minister in the next ten years. Draco though was not prepared to come face to face with the woman he so often thought of.
When he had moved to the states, he had made a promise to himself to leave her and their many lives they had shared together firmly in the past believing their paths would never cross again. Why would they? They lived on different continents and their work was vastly different. It was what she had wanted from him after all. Now though she was standing in front of him, with a scared look upon her face and at a loss for words. Hermione Granger was never at a loss for words.
"You two know each other?" Finn asked looking between the two onetime lovers. Truly unaware of just how well they knew one another.
"We attended Hogwarts together." Hermione said finding her voice, but not able to tear her eyes from Draco.
"Isn't that something." Finn mused aloud shaking his head. "We won't keep you Drake; I was just about to show Hermione to her new office."
"Right." Draco said with a shake of his head trying to clear his thoughts "It was good to see you Hermione. We still on for poker Friday night Finn?" He asked trying to get his brain to start working again.
"Yes! You best bring your Wallet Malfoy; you still owe me from last month's game."
Draco laughed patting Finn on the back "don't you worry Finn." The other man nodded before taking his leave, Hermione gave him one last searching look before following Finn.
He watched them go before turning back to the open door and slipping inside. Emily like usual was absorbed in whatever was in front of her, he shook his head and moved to sit on the chair Finn had just occupied. He cleared his throat to get her attention, she looked up and smiled.
"I didn't think I would see you till this evening. Don't forget we have dinner with my parents."
"I haven't forgotten, I was here to pull a permit to import some herbs from Africa. I thought I would come say hello."
"That was thoughtful of you." She smiled
"So, I just ran into the new British liaison. You didn't tell me it was Hermione Granger."
"I didn't think it was important. Knowing what I do about your past I suspected the two of you weren't friends." She shrugged her shoulders and looked back down to the report that was in front of her. "She seems nice enough though."
"I guess I wouldn't know."
"She came highly recommend by the Minister of Magic."
"I would hope so, back home she is known as the brightest witch of our age. Not unlike yourself."
"I have done my research on her; she has made a name for herself. I am surprised though she hasn't moved further up the ranks of British Ministry given the things she has done in such a short time period. There is speculation of course."
"After the childhood she led I am sure a bit of peace and quiet would be desirable or at least for now. It wasn't easy being Harry Potter's best friend."
"Ah yes, Harry Potter your childhood enemy." She laughed recalling the many stories he had told her about his time at Hogwarts, and how annoying Potter and his scar was.
"You thought less of her, Hermione I mean because of her parents?" He didn't like to talk about his past Emily knew all too well. She had learned early on not to ask to many questions. She knew of course of his past and his involvement in the war and his subsequent guilt. She didn't know the finer details however, after meeting him she had read through the file on him. The British had deemed him harmless and so had MACUSA. The Ministry hadn't given them details just that he had been cleared of all charges.
"I did."
"That's changed though hasn't it?"
"One day I woke up and I realized everything I had ever been taught was wrong, now I can appreciate her for what she is." He still had so many secrets he kept from this beautiful woman sitting in front of him. Some days he felt she suspected as much, but she never pried to deeply. He supposed she was hoping one day he would reveal them to her. How could he ever tell her though the darkest secret of them all.
"And what is that?"
"A talented witch, who had the courage to stand up to the evilest dark wizard to ever walk this earth. Knowing she might very well be killed doing it. She is brave, braver than I ever was."
"You aren't mad that I didn't tell you it was her, are you?"
"No of course not." He knew he shouldn't be, but he was happy to see her. Something he had long since locked away in his heart was starting to stir once again.
"Maybe while she is here, you could get to know her better. You don't talk about your home very often. I don't think you have been in contact with anyone since you arrived here."
Draco didn't say anything to this. He did know her. He knew her as Helena, as Margaret, as Allison and even as Catherine. He knew that witch better than anybody even the two idiots she called friends. "I think that just might bring back a lot of memories I don't want to dredge up." She gave him a pitying look but said no more on the matter. "Well I must be off, I just wanted to pop in and say hello."
"Seven o'clock don't be late. You know how much my father hates that."
"Yes dear." He got to his feet and headed for the door. Once again it seemed life was tossing him a curve ball, he knew what it meant. This was a test.
...
Things were never easy, Hermione knew this. This was supposed to be her fresh start though, she had left it all behind in the hopes she could start over. Who was she kidding though, she had been foolish to think she could make a clean break from their past. The whole point of this stupid cruse was to bring them together to then only tear them apart. This had been the way it had been in every stupid life they had been reborn into. She laughed bitterly, if Ginny knew she would say it was fate. Hermione didn't believe in fate, Helena had though, and Hermione supposed that was why she was where she was.
Trying to rid her mind of anymore thoughts of the past she shook her head. Finn had showed her to the small office she was to use while here. It was on the twenty fifth floor and just down the hall from his own. It was spacious enough; these American's liked their square footage she mused to herself. There was a large fireplace with an international floo connection that would allow her to keep in contact with the Ministry. It would be useful, she had been worried she might have to rely on owl communication, though she had a cellphone and so did her friends the Ministry hadn't caught on to the convenience of the phone or any other form of muggle technology.
She had plenty of bookshelves and filing cabinets. Making a mental note to have Ginny send the rest of the boxes from her office she set down behind her desk and started to thumb through the files Finn had left her. It seemed that the last person who had held her job had made several proposals on ways to keep the two country's better connected. A student exchange program between Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, even a magical tournament for the two schools. Even more exchange programs, the one that caught her attention the most was for the Auror department. She wondered idly what Ron and Harry would think of that. She would have to schedule a floo call with Kingsley's very soon to discuss some of these at length.
It was nearing lunch time when Finn poked his head through her door. "I was wondering if you might want to grab some lunch. There is an amazing deli just down the street."
Now that she thought about it, she was getting rather hungry, the two pieces of toast she had that morning weren't cutting it. She smiled at him and nodded before standing and grabbing her bag. "Lead the way."
While they walked Hermione had learned that Finn was twenty-seven, he was originally from Virginia but had relocated to the city when he started working for Congress and had been educated at Ilvermorny. He had three sister Sarah, Elizabeth, and Harmony who were all younger than him and all a pain in his ass. His words, but he said it with the affection of an older brother.
"So, you know Malfoy." She could tell when they had left Chamberlin's office, he had wanted to ask more questions but had reframed from doing so then. It seemed his curiosity was getting the better of him.
"Yes, we were in the same year actually."
"So, you know about his past?" The question was causal enough, but she had the suspicion he was fishing for information. Hermione figured it was unlikely that Draco would have divulged much information on the topic.
"People change Finn, it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't really know what we all went through. Every single one of us were children, who were put into an impossible situation. Harry Potter was the chosen one, but Draco Malfoy was boy who didn't have a choice." She wondered if she were to blame for that. If she had ran away with him, he wouldn't have been faced with the horrors he had to endure. Neither of them would have, life would have been different but still the same.
"I've been friends with him ever since he started dating Emily, he doesn't talk about England or the war." This didn't surprise her; she and her friends didn't talk about what they had been through.
Her own curiosity was getting the better of her. "How long have they been together?" She felt a slight pang of jealousy but had tried to push it away all morning. She had been the one to send him away after all.
"Nearly three years now. They've been engaged for two, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to make it to the alter though. Makes one wonder why he even asked her to marry him in the first place."
"We all do things in our own time." She wondered if he had found it easy to move on. She herself had several boyfriends over the last five years, but never able to commit. Oliver Wood had asked her to marry him, a big part of her had wanted to say yes. She couldn't though, something was holding her back or more like someone. Could that be true for Draco, was she the one holding him back from marrying Emily?
The deli Finn had taken her to was surprisingly good Hermione thought, glad the food was indeed as good as Finn had hyped it to be. They continued to chat over lunch, having found a little table by the window.
Her knowledge on American wizards was far less than she had originally thought. For instance, Americans thought it was better to live among the No-Majs, hiding in plain sight. Too often in the past when witches and wizards gathered in one place to live, the No-Majs would think they were some sort of cult gathering, which only garnered them more attention. The last thing they wanted.
What surprised her even more was the way the American's handled magical children born to No-Maj's. In Britain when a child reached the Appropriate age for Hogwarts, a professor and or Ministry official would visit the child's home and explain to the family what it was to be a witch or wizard. In America however a member from congress would seek the child out, and inform them of who they really are, the catch was their parents could never know. The parents could only know that their child was gifted and had been selected to attend a prestigious boarding school in Massachusetts. The No-maj born or muggle born had no choice but keep their most discerning quality a secret from his or her family. It truly blew her mind just how extreme the American's took the secrecy of their world. Hermione couldn't even begin to imagine how she could have kept her true self from her mother and father.
After lunch and her history lesson the two made their way back to Congress, Finn showed her around their floor and filled her in on the do's and don'ts of the office. He accompanied her to register her wand and made sure she got her official badge. She was official, she thought looking down at it. At just past five he poked his head into her office once more and announced he was leaving for the day and wished her a good evening.
"I have scheduled a floo call tomorrow morning at ten am with the French Minister to talk about our plans for the task force. You should have a file that outlines the treaty we are hoping to have the other nations sign."
"Already started to look over it."
"Excellent, well I will see you in the morning then." He gave her a sweet smile before leaving her alone in her office once more. She was surprised by how much she liked him. He was down to earth and some what a free spirit. She thought it might even be possible that he was ladies' man from some of the stories he had shared over lunch. She thought over all he seemed like a good guy.
Once he was gone Hermione started to gather her things and the few files, she wanted to take home with her. This would surely be a day she wouldn't soon forget, adjusting to life in New York might be a little more challenging than she had originally thought it would be. Since there was Draco Malfoy, what was she to do about that.
By six she was back to her apartment and was unpacking the Indian take out she had gotten on the way. Looking at the clock she realized it was already ten in London and she had promised to call Ginny to tell her about her first day.
Pulling her cellphone from her bag she dialed the number two speed dial and waited for it ring. Ginny picked after just two. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to call or not."
"Sorry Gin just got back from work. Four-hour times difference remember?"
"Right, that is going to take some getting use too." She laughed "So how was your first day?"
Where should she even start? "It was good, I was able to meet with the Vice President today briefly."
"What she like? Harry is always talking about how much Kingsley's adores her."
"She ambitious that's for sure, I don't know, the Americans they are so different. It's still so hard to believe how backwards their thinking of muggles is. Don't get me wrong they aren't prejudice by any means. Just still so fearful of them."
"Come on Hermione you learned about the Salem witch trials like the rest of us in muggle studies. Is it so hard to believe there is still a certain amount of fear?"
"I guess, I don't know. It will be an adjustment to be sure."
"Did you meet any cute guys today?" of course she would ask that Hermione thought, rolling her eyes. "I can hear your eye roll, by the way." She added with a laugh. Of course, she could.
"Ginny." Hermione said rather exasperatedly.
"What?" Her innocent tone didn't fool Hermione though.
"I met one person today outside of Emily Chamberlin and that was a wizard by the name of Finn Bishop." She couldn't bring herself to tell Ginny about running into Malfoy. Not when there was so much, she hadn't told her. Where would she even start, and how was she supposed to explain that Draco Malfoy arrogant extraordinaire, death eater, and git was engaged to the Vice President of Magical Congress. Or the fact that this bit of news wasn't sitting well with Hermione no matter how cute she thought Finn might be.
"He sounds sexy." Again, Hermione rolled her eyes. Only Ginny could judge someone's sex appeal by just their name.
"Ginny!"
"What? He is sexy, though isn't he?"
"I'll admit that he is rather good looking, but he is just someone I will be working with. Rather closely might I add, he is head of Magic Relations."
"You could use a bit of office romance in your life Hermione. You have been out of the game since you and Oliver broke up, get your feet wet again with a sexy American."
"I don't need the not so settle reminders Gin. Look you know I just haven't found the right person." That was a lie, and Hermione was thankful that at that moment there was an entire ocean between them. Ginny always had a way of knowing when Hermione was lying or telling half-truths. Hermione usually wouldn't budge but it didn't keep Ginny from trying to wedel it out of her.
A knock suddenly sounded from the door. Must be the maintenance man from the building Hermione thought. She had called last night about the leaky sink the bathroom. "Hold on Ginny there is someone at the door."
"Oh, I hope it is this Finn fella." She could hear her say.
"He doesn't even know where I live." Hermione laughed as she walked to the door and pulled it open without looking through the peep whole.
It wasn't maintenance, it wasn't Finn either. "Ginny I am going to have to call you tomorrow." Hermione said as she stared into the silver eyes of Draco Malfoy. She didn't allow Ginny to respond before she disconnected the call.
"What are you doing here? How do you even know where I live?"
"Can I come in?" He didn't bother to answer her questions.
"No."
"Then how about a walk? Washington Square Park is just a few blocks away."
"Why are you here?" She asked again.
"To see you obviously." The amused look on his face annoyed her.
Her brain was telling her no, that this was a very bad idea. She had closed the door on him a long time ago, and just because the two of them now lived presumably in the same city or at the very least same Continent did not mean that door needed to reopen. They could easily go about their lives as if nothing had changed, because nothing had changed.
He smelled off spearmint, freshly mowed grass, and apples though and she found herself reaching for the coat she had hung beside the door. Her Indian food would have to wait, besides that was what heating charms were for.
