Disclaimer: Credit goes to the wonderful, talented, amazing, and, brilliant JK Rowling.
A/N: I've had this story in the back of my mind for about a month now and I just HAD to write it...I don't know if I'm even going to continue writing it...if enough people review and tell me to keep going I might...Anyways...enjoy..
Prologue
Five years ago, the Dark Lord Voldemort met his downfall when Harry Potter defeated him in a duel. The details about Voldemort's death were sketchy, because Harry claimed to have lost his memory during the final minutes of the duel. Many theories went on about Harry's victory, but he was still looked upon as the greatest hero of modern times. After the defeat of Voldemort Harry Potter's personality changed drastically; he was a power hungry Auror who was working on becoming the Minister of Magic...no one was sure why this change had come about him.
Most of the Death Eaters were tracked down and killed either by Aurors or Dementors after Voldemort's defeat, however, there are still a few in hiding, still convinced that they could take over the Wizarding World. One Death Eater that was able to escape the grasp of the Ministry was Lucius Malfoy, and he is only still alive because of his son, Draco. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had briefly joined sides to help defeat Voldemort, but ever since Draco's father had successfully escaped, their short-lived friendship had crumbled. Even though Draco hated his father with a passion, he could not suffer his mother, who had loved her husband with all her heart. Draco loved his mother dearly, and could not bring pain to her life; so Draco let his father slip through the Ministry's fingertips. Because of this, Draco has to endure orders by his father, such as where to work, and who to date and possibly marry.
Draco has not seen any of his fellow classmates since he graduated from Hogwarts. He sees Pansy Parkinson only because his father forces him to date the only other pureblood that is his age. Draco occasionally sees Harry in the halls at work, but they never talk. Most of Draco's colleagues are afraid of him, because he has so much power; and because of this, Draco has barely any friends.
Chapter One - Reunion
One cold and dreary mid-morning in December, Draco Malfoy made his way up to his office in the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Ministry of Magic. He sighed heavily as he sat down in front of his large oak desk and picked up the Daily Prophet and began to read the front page.
"Excuse me, sir?" Someone was at the doorway to his office and knocked on the open door.
Draco lay the paper down, folded his arms and looked at his visitor; it was his assistant.
"What? I just got to work, and I have to get ready for my meeting in an hour...I really do not have the time."
"Mr. Malfoy, the mail is here that's all."
Draco sighed again. "Any more Howlers and I'll need a new desk." He glanced down at the top of his oak desk which was permanently burned with scorch mark.
"No sir, you have an official letter from the Wizengamot." His assistant said nervously.
"I am not apart of the Wizengamot."
"Yes, but you still have a--"
"Just give it to me and be gone!" Draco spat.
Draco's assistant shuffled to his desk and laid the parchment on it, slightly bowed out of respect, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Draco lifted up the letter and studied it closely. The parchment was a purple color with an elaborate silver W in the middle. He wondered why the Wizengamot would write to him. He held it in his palm for a few minutes before he was interrupted again with a knock at the door.
"Come in!" He yelled impatiently.
The knob turned and in came a tall woman with a face like a pug. Pansy Parkinson was Draco's girlfriend, but not by choice. They started dating five years ago when the two of them graduated from Hogwarts.
"Hello Draco darling." Pansy said in her overly sweet voice as she made her way into his office.
"Can a man have any peace or must I be interrupted with ridiculous intrusions every other minute?" Draco replied angrily.
Pansy ignored him. "I'm inviting you over to my place tonight." She winked.
"I'm busy." He said bluntly.
"With what?" She demanded.
"With work! Now if you will excuse me, I have a meeting!" Draco stood up so fast he sent his chair falling backwards behind him. He waved his wand to set it back up again, and with a final glare at Pansy, he left his office.
Outside his office, Draco realized that it was another forty minutes before his meeting with the International Magical Office of Law. He knew he couldn't stand outside his office for long, because Pansy would come out any second and look for him. He decided that he would go up to the muggle world and get an early lunch.
He made his way into muggle London when it came to him that he wasn't wearing Muggle clothes. Several people stared at him as he walked on the sidewalk, his dark green robes billowing in the wind behind him.
Draco got to the restaurant that he usually ate at in the muggle world and took a seat inside. A waiter asked him what he would have to eat and he ordered his usual pasta and salad. As he finished eating his lunch and waited for the waiter to give him the check while he was absentmindedly staring out the window where it had begun to snow.
A woman walking on the sidewalk past the restaurant caught his attention. She was wearing deep blue robes, not typical muggle clothing. She had short, wavy, brown hair, and was making her way slowly towards the phone booth that led down into the Ministry of Magic.
"Here is your check sir." said the waiter from behind him. Draco turned around quickly and stared at the man, not taking in the words he said because he was distracted by the woman. The waiter shoved a little piece of paper in Draco's hand with the amount that he had to pay. Draco turned back around and looked outside and saw the woman was now inside the phone booth, and had the phone to her ear...
"Will you be paying in cash or check?" said the cashier next to Draco.
"Uh...cash..." Draco forced himself to turn back around to the cashier. He took out a wad of muggle money and paid the cashier. After he paid the man, he ran outside the restaurant and looked over at the phone booth. The woman was still in there...
Something about that woman drew Draco to him. He crossed the street and went over to the phone booth. He knocked on the glass and the woman turned around.
"You look like you need help..." Draco said through the glass.
"Oh no, I'm fine, thanks." The woman blushed and looked away quickly.
For a moment Draco thought about just walking away...but he had to know if she was a muggle or not..."Are you by any chance...a...witch?" Draco blurted.
The woman immediately turned back around. "Yes...are you a--"
Draco nodded curtly. She opened the door to the booth, letting Draco inside. "Then you may be able to help me..." She said, "How do I get to the Ministry from here?"
Draco picked up the receiver, still staring at the woman next to him. He dialed six two four four two....
A cool female voice sounded, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
The woman looked back at Draco and then back to the telephone box. She enunciated loudly, "Hermione Granger, visitor for Harry Potter in the Auror Headquarters."
With a clatter, a silver badge came out of the coin return with Hermione Granger, Visitor to Auror Headquarters on it. She pinned it to her robes and looked back at Draco, waiting for him to state his name and business. Draco just stared at Hermione with an open mouth. It was the mudblood he knew form school...he couldn't believe how beautiful she had become...
Finally he came to his senses and said, "D.M., Department of International Magical Cooperation." The phone booth shuddered and sank into the ground. After a minute, they arrived in the Atrium of the Ministry. Hermione stepped out first and looked back at Draco after he walked out of the booth.
"Thank you for helping me...Mr. uh..." She broke off, not knowing his last name.
"Your welcome," replied Draco bluntly and he walked away quickly as he made his way to the elevators. When the golden gate closed and he was making his way back up to his office, he kept running over and over in his mind the last time he had seen Hermione...
"Hermione...can you meet me in the entrance hall in ten minutes?" Draco whispered so nobody else would hear.
Hermione turned around and glared at Draco at the Slytherin table. "What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked hatefully.
"Please..." He begged sincerely. Hermione rolled her eyes at him but she nodded her head.
Ten minutes later, Hermione walked out of the Great Hall and saw Draco waiting for her over by the doors.
"Ok...what do you want?" Hermione asked.
"Let's go for a walk." Draco smiled and opened the doors and led Hermione outside.
"Malfoy...what do you want?!" Hermione asked, but followed him anyways.
Malfoy led Hermione to a place where nobody would overhear them. He was acting very strangely and fidgeting around with his robes a lot.
"Hermione...I have to tell you something."
Hermione thought of some insults to throw at him, but he was acting very nervous, and decided to just keep quiet and wait for him to start talking.
After she didn't respond, Draco worked up the courage to keep talking. "I know I've been horrible to you in the past...but I just think this is my last chance to let you know how I've been feeling for a while now..."
"Get to the point, Malfoy...I have things to do..."
"I'm attracted to you...and I want to have a relationship with you." Draco blurted quickly and in one breath.
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. But the look he gave her told her he was being serious.
"Malfoy...I don't know what to say..." Hermione broke off, thinking of what to say. "I'm sorry but I just can't...have a relationship...with you."
"Can we at least talk about it? Can't we just work out everything?" Draco begged, not sounding like himself. He sounded weak and vulnerable, instead of his usual pompous self.
"I'm sorry..." Hermione said and left Draco standing there alone.
After thinking about it for a few hours, Hermione walked up to Draco right before their graduation ceremony started.
"Look, I just need a few answers." She said to him.
"Leave me alone." Draco responded without looking at her.
"What's going on? I thought you said you wanted to talk this out?" Hermione tried to get Draco to look at him.
Draco looked down into Hermione's eyes. "Granger, I have put up with you for seven years, I have waited for this moment for forever. I will finally be rid of you, and all the other mudbloods in this school. I wish you good luck in your life, Granger, just stay out of mine." And this time it was Draco's turn to walk away from Hermione.
The last Draco saw of Hermione was when she accepted her diploma from Albus Dumbledore and had for what he thought, walked out of his life forever.
When Draco got back to his office, thankfully, Pansy was gone. The first thing he saw when he walked in was the purple letter still lying on his desk. He closed the door to his office and crossed the room. He sat down and held the parchment in his hand again. He sighed and unrolled it and read the contents of the letter.
Dear Mr. D. Malfoy,
You are required to be present as a juror in a trial
taking place this Thursday at 8 a.m. in courtroom ten. Do not be
late.
Sincerely,
Wizengamot Administrative Services
Draco rolled the letter back up and sighed yet again. He was already busy enough with meetings, clients, papers, and other work, he didn't need more pressure on him now to be a juror in a trial that was probably meaningless anyways...