Come Monday morning, Hermione was already in her office a half hour before work actually started. She wanted to clean her office and make herself seem more organized than she was, if that was even possible.
She looked over topics that she would want her new coworker or coworkers to research, so she could focus more on the topics she'd already researched. She set aside the pile and decided to go over what S.P.E.W. strives to achieve and what their current works include. She would go over what they were expected to do and their role within the sector, and that she would check in often.
Taura knocked before she entered and Hermione quickly stood up straight with her shoulders back, but instantly loosened up as soon as she noticed that Taura was alone.
"They should be sending in the new recruit soon, I heard it's only one since the sector only needed an extra pair of hands," Taura sat down in the chair in front of Hermione's desk and Hermione sank back into her own, "I'm nervous and sort of scared. Are you?" Taura held her hands in her lap.
Hermione inhaled and exhaled, slowly nodding. "Terrified, actually, even though I would be their superior. I always think I'm braver than I actually am." She smiled and looked down.
"Excuse my French, but that's completely bullshit. You are as brave as you think you are and even more so. Merlin, Hermione, you robbed a bank and rode a bloody dragon. The bravest thing I've done was get over my fear of deep water when I'd gone kayaking in Canada. I had 3 life jackets on and still bawled my eyes out." Taura giggled.
Hermione laughed at the thought of Taura crying as she paddled. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Hermione and Taura looked at each other and gave each other a nod. Taura stood and opened the door to Kingsley.
"Ms. Granger, Ms. McLeod, I brought you your recruit." Kingsley said as he stood aside.
Please don't be Blaise. Please don't be Blaise.
Draco Malfoy strolled into the doorframe, looking emotionless and already bored.
Hermione maintained her composure as she did on Friday, half wanting to hex him until he was choking on slugs and half, but more like an eighth, grateful for his actions when they got caught by the Snatchers in 7th year.
He looked around Hermione's office and then at Taura, sticking out a hand. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Draco Malfoy." They shook hands lightly. "Taura McLeod." She replied.
Merlin, she would accept Blaise over this git.
Draco stepped into the room further until he was in front of Hermione and shot out his hand. "Granger." He said rather coldly and quickly. She hesitated as if he would hex her in her own office before she reached out and shook his hand, "Malfoy."
Kingsley nodded to both Taura and her before he exited. Malfoy sat in one of the chairs before Hermione and awaited his orders. He barely looked and her, constantly darting his eyes all over her office instead of her just as he did last Friday, seeming more impatient than nervous.
Hermione and Taura sat. "Alright, Malfoy." She collected the pile that she's organized for him and set them toward him. He seemed cold and uninterested, sitting completely still in his seat.
"The S.P.E.W. is–"
"I know what your bloody S.P.E.W. is, Granger. While I am grateful to be here, I only wish they hadn't put me in your sector but of course, I don't have a choice. Please just tell me what I need to do, where I am to do it, and I'll get on with it." Draco snarled, still not looking at her.
Hermione's blood boiled. She had been biting her tongue so hard since he walked in trying to put the past behind her and remain professional, but here he was, showing her that he hadn't changed one bit just as she suspected.
She would have been fucking ecstatic to have anyone but this slimy cockroach working for her.
Hermione stood slowly, staring a hole right through his stupid platinum head with a look of disgust on her face. "You will do the research and work I assign you. You will check in with me weekly on Friday mornings, if you're late to our meetings more than three times I will report you," Hermione walked around her desk slowly with the pile in her hands still staring at the same spot on his head, "You will not speak to me in that kind of tone nor will you speak to Taura like that. I am your superior, and you will treat me as such. I expected you to be at least civil, Malfoy, given that your career is in my hands." She slightly bent down in front of him to try and make him look at her. And when he finally did, she gave the cockiest smile she thinks she's ever given.
"It won't take much for me to end it if you continue to act like a complete tosser." She shoved the pile of work into his chest and she heard him grunt slightly. She returned to sit at her desk and took a sip of her morning coffee. "Look through these topics and research them as much as you can. You're excused. Taura, kindly show Mafloy where his desk is." She smiled at Taura and Taura was holding her lips between her teeth, attempting to conceal her smile.
"This way, Mr. Malfoy." And with that, they left the room.
As soon as the door clicked closed she let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding and felt her heart pounding in her chest. She sprawled out on her office chair and leaned her head back, giving out a small giggle of triumph. She can't remember the last time she talked to someone like that, and the fact that it was Malfoy just made her feel a million times better.
Hermione didn't hate him, per se. He was incredibly well-read, a responsible student, and had great time-management during his earlier days at Hogwarts. She just hated the way he carried himself, his extremely conceited attitude, and the fact that he thought he was superior all those years.
She knew she mustn't have an outburst like that again if they were to work together moving forward. But Godric, did it feel amazing.
Taura scurried back inside and closed the door behind her with a smile plastered on her face. "Hermione, my goodness, that was entertaining to watch. I didn't know how much of a knob he is. I haven't seen you do that in a while." She gawked over Hermione, sitting atop a corner of her desk. She covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled.
Hermione started to giggle as well. "I didn't know I still had it in me. He'd always been a knob," she looked at Taura smiling, trying to remember all the childish things Malfoy did in their youth, "I punched him in the face once. My outburst felt almost as good as punching him did."
Taura's jaw dropped as she and Hermione laughed even more. "That made my year." She laughed as she rose off of Hermione's desk, "I'll be back for lunch. There's a cafe just down the street, mind joining me?"
"That sounds wonderful." Hermione agreed. She sat up in her desk chair and began to attack that pile of documents once more.
Errol appeared just after lunch and Hermione stood to retrieve the letter. Sending the bird away with a smile before settling in her seat once again.
Mione,
So, who'd they send you to boss around? Don't tell me they're too awful. On second thought, please tell me if they're incredibly awful so I can be glad that it's you bossing them around.
Almost got my arm taken off by one of the new dragons, was bloody terrifying. Can barely handle spiders, I don't know why I thought I could handle dragons. But it's still interesting.
Hope you're doing well, I miss you dearly.
Ron
She smiled.
Ron and her's relationship hadn't changed much since the end of the War. They still acted like best friends, they still fought like best friends, and they still joked as best friends. She loved being around him and he made her feel safe. Of course, there were things that had bothered her about their relationship.
They both weren't very touchy people. Or at least he wasn't. And they believed PDA to be disgusting. Or at least, he thought it was. Her and Ron never were very public about their relationship nor did they do any date-like activities. She doesn't even think they've gone on an actual date yet and it's been 2 bloody years. She didn't blame him, though. She blames the fact that their different interests separated them into different careers. They'd spent more time apart than they'd spent together throughout the entire 2 years.
Whenever they're apart, Hermione begins to think about their relationship and if all this time apart truly is worth it in the end. Ron hasn't given much thought into what he would like to do when he's done his dragon-taming training. Of course he could work with Charlie, but that meant he would constantly be away and Hermione wasn't sure if she could handle it anymore. Hermione had a set plan to work and educate about house elves, their history, and hopefully set them all free one day. Even if it happens after her time, she'd rest happily knowing that the elves are free and happy once again. However, she noticed lately that none of her plans included Ron. Just herself, really. She imagined that maybe Ron felt the same way if he wasn't so sure about his future.
When they had kissed in the Chamber of Secrets, it felt more surreal than anything she'd ever experienced. Of course, she didn't have the best roster to compare it to, only having kissed a boy in muggle primary school and Victor Krum. She loved Ron dearly and he was her greatest friend. They were meant to end up together, she thought. She can't see herself ending up with anyone but, despite all her current feelings.
She replied telling him they'd sent Malfoy to work for her, and she'd already let him know his place. She told Ron that Malfoy looked disheveled and incredibly thin, almost like he'd been starved during his probation. She also wrote that she'd missed him too, and couldn't wait until the next time she sees him.
The day went on and after debating with herself, she decided to check on Malfoy. She saw him sitting at his desk just a couple over from Taura's, off to the side. He was making paper hippogriffs and dragons out of blank pieces of paper and he made them swirl around in front of him. He was watching them closely with a glint of childlike wonder in his eyes. Hermione stared at him curiously.
She'd forgotten that he was able to use magic for the first time in 2 years. The look on his face was almost pure joy. She doesn't remember if there had ever been a time when she saw Malfoy genuinely smile, except when he was bullying her and her friends. Curious sight to see, indeed.
She walked over and and as soon as she came into his view his paper creatures dropped and he panicked while scrambling to put them in the garbage.
She studied him for a moment and then looked at his desk. He'd already researched a couple topics thoroughly and made a stack of notes for her to go through. "How was the research?" She fiddled her fingers as she asked.
He cleared his throat and began talking, "It was interesting. And easy to find resources as well as articles." He looked down at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs.
She thought of something to say, and then realized she hadn't even had a chance to tell him why he's doing all this research in the first place. "Great. Um, we're working towards a building a proposal for a new–"
"Law? To give house elves the right to refuse their masters if they deem the order as unethical or inhumane, correct?"
Her mouth gaped slightly at his knowledge of her work and she stuttered a quick yes. He looked at her for a second before he looked down and quirked the side of his mouth. "Don't look so surprised, you could write an article on why you think Fizzing Whizzbees are a better sweet than Chocolate Frogs and you'd still end up on the front page of the Prophet." He said sarcastically.
She blushed. "I just wanted to check in on your first day."
He shifted in his seat and once again, looked anywhere but at her, "Better than expected, thanks." His quirked smile faded, and he seemed be back to his emotionless state.
"It's almost time to leave, so I'll see you tomorrow, Malfoy." She nodded and left to clean up her office once again.
•••
The week went on as the first day did. They would work separately, and she would go over to him nearing the end of the day to ask him how his day went. The same interaction occurred.
"How was the research?"
"Fine."
"Okay then, see you tomorrow."
She would try to ask him about other things, like how he found working here, if he knew how to get around the ministry, if he's okay with the workload. All questions were replied with one word, "fine." "Yes." "Yes." And all without any sort of eye contact.
She'd grown frustrated. Despite their differences and past, Hermione tried with all her might to act as a professional and tried to form a sort of acquaintance, also despite her previous statement saying she would never do so.
Hermione ultimately came to the conclusion that since he's researching alongside her, they should at least be acquaintances if they were to interact on a daily basis. It was a highly logical step to carry-out, and it would be extremely beneficial in terms of building this proposal within a reasonable amount of time. It was, after all, the reason why she decided to take on former Death Eaters within her sector. To get the research for this proposal done quicker.
Come Friday morning, she'd decided that her and Draco should work more closely together. She waited in her office at precisely 7:59 am and right as it turned to 8 o'clock, Draco rushed through the door with a pile of documents and notes.
His sleeves were rolled up to below his elbows, his trousers having creases in them as if he'd slept in them, hair more a mess than his usual parted and tamed do. Eye bags darker than usual and lips dry, as if he was sleep deprived and beyond thirsty.
He slumped into his seat and cleared his throat before he began going through his research. "There wasn't much I could find regarding the History of Elvish La—"
His voice faded far into the back of Hermione's mind as she continued to stare at him. Looking at him made her feel ill. He looked so unhealthily thin, his skin was an almost ghostly, gray shade. His veins were bulging out of his forehead, neck, forearms and hands and they were a dark purple. His cheeks were right sunken in, she swore he was a skeleton with skin. No muscles, no colour whatsoever. He looked so frail that Hermione thought any form of physical contact would have his entire body broken.
She suddenly felt guilty. He was the one who saved her and her friends at Malfoy Manor all those years ago, yet he was the one who was suffering.
Of course he wasn't looking at her or trying to make eye contact at all once again, how annoying. It did, however, fortunately grant her the opportunity to truly take in what had become of him since she'd last seen him two years ago.
He was tall, taller than before if she remembered correctly. She thought he was supposed to be more filled out at the mere age of 19 or 20. She'd forgotten when his birthday was. However, she would've assumed that he would've built more of a muscle mass, considering how athletic he once was and how much he'd cared about how people viewed him.
If he'd gotten to a more healthy weight and actually made eye contact with her and perhaps smiled more often, Hermione believed he could pass as mildly attracti—
"Granger! I asked what your thoughts were." He was making eye contact with her now after not doing so for the whole week. Although she appreciated it, she only hoped it wasn't when she was almost thinking that he could pass as mildly attractive. Not attractive, just tolerable to look at, she corrected herself.
Piercing. Chilling. Purely yet completely not serene. His eyes were as icy blue as she remembered last Friday. His face was annoyed but his eyes were just as stuck on hers as hers were his. He'd just said something. What in Merlin's name did he just say?
She looked away from him and shifted in her chair, attempted to recall what just happened within the last 5 seconds. "Very good, Malfoy." She looked back at him as he nodded. He stood after he placed his notes and research in a neat pile on her desk, about to make his way back to his own.
Hermione remembered what she'd decided earlier and quickly stood from her chair. "M-Malfoy," he turned to face her, "I thought we should work more closely together. Since Taura is busy handling other work, you are basically the only other person besides myself whose job is to research for this law." She looked down at the pile of notes and documents he'd left her.
"No one else has put in this much effort, either. I think it'd be most efficient if we met for an hour or two everyday. To go over where we're at and where we should be heading, in regards to research." She said as Draco stood still and eventually looked at her.
"It would be more efficient." He nodded and looked down, emotionless once again.
Hermione stared at his deathly-thin features and began to speak without even being aware of what was coming out of her mouth. "I was also wondering if you'd like to join Taura and I for lunch, it could be my treat. We like to try new places and I'm sure Kingsley would let you out for lunch if you were accompanied by us." She muttered absolutely stupidly.
Draco stood surprised. She thought he maybe hadn't had the best meals during probation and house arrest, it was the least she could do, really. He looked as though he was weighing the pros and cons of her simple lunch invitation. He scratched the back of his neck, "I don't really fancy eating during lunch, and I've made plans with Blaise. Zabini. I often just sit in the cafeteria and catch up with him. Thank you, for the offer though." He nodded without eye contact and closed Hermione's office door as he headed out.
Blaise Zabini, she froze as she repeated the name in her head. Her Hogwarts secret admirer, she had assumed but truly believed. Was the reason why Malfoy couldn't look at her or stand to be around her was because he knew about Zabini's crush on her? Oh, Godric, of course they'd talked about it. They were close friends by the end of 6th year and the during the War. She grew embarrassed and somewhat regretted proposing to work more closely with Malfoy. Does he know about the letters?
•••
Hermione didn't do much during the weekends, since she'd only had 4 close friends.
Her preferred pastime during the weekends was trying to cook new Muggle recipes, drink a couple cups of fire whiskey with Crookshanks by her feet, listening to the new Muggle hit songs on her radio she'd kept from her old room.
She'd keep up with Muggle culture more than she would the Magical World, mainly due to living in Muggle London. She'd also just found it much more entertaining and it would get her mind off things. Her favourite films at the time were, of course, the American teen romances, She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You. There was something about Paul Walker and Heath Ledger that just made Hermione swoon. Maybe it was the bad boy act, or the confidence they had as they would swagger about their school. She'd found that oddly attractive.
She refused to look at the pile of letters that weekend, until Sunday evening rolled around and she'd just gotten home from grocery shopping.
She'd began cooking a dish she never made by hand, a bacon cheeseburger. She'd seen it on her American films and TV programs and thought she'd try to make it at home.
As her burger patty was cooking, she eyed the box of letters. She let out a sigh and checked if the side of her patty was browned enough yet, and once she determined it wasn't she walked over to the box and set the organized piles in order on her bar. What letter came after the February 1997 ones? Should she even read the other February 1997 ones?
She decided against it and set them aside for another time. The next one was from March 1997.
March 1997
To Her
Looking at you made my internal sanctuary burn so much brighter. Despite waking up everyday with darkness lining my lungs and soul, and it trying to break into the sanctuary within the bank that was my mind, seeing you burns it all off, freeing me from the evil that creeps around me. Even if it is only just for a second, I cannot get enough of it. Seeing you gives me the strength to keep the walls on the bank steady, and all the safes inside it locked.
If you only fucking knew. How different my life would be if I didn't idolize the wrong people and completely give myself to them in order to please them. How different my life would be if I was born into a different family, a different world. Anything to distract myself from this life I am forced to live.
I often imagine this, my preferred life. I would've liked a dog, I think. They seem blindly loyal and protective, they don't care who their master is. I suppose it's almost selfish of me to want a creature to be loyal and protective of me, given who I am. I imagine a nice cottage-like house, surrounded by tall evergreens and the smell of pines. I enjoy the winter season. I enjoy watching the snowflakes fall gently, the smell of the cold.
Imagining is the only thing that keeps me sane now, I suppose. Imagining there's a normal future for me is what gets me through everything I do. A future with you. Of course, I'm aware it's far from the reality that awaits us. Nonetheless, I still can't help but wonder. It's all I have left to do now.
Sincerely,
A ringing suddenly began to fade into her conscious mind and she snapped back to reality. Her smoke detector was going off and she'd burned her beloved American bacon cheeseburger.
——
Endnote: Please leave me feedback!! I'm unsure if I'm writing the characters correctly, as I'm only going off the movies and putting myself in these characters' shoes. And please recommend this fanfic to others if you like it!! I'm unsure of when I'll be updating, I'm in the middle of my 4th year of university and online school is killing me but I write when I can (and when I'm procrastinating lmao) pls vote and thanks!!