Chapter Five

;;;"Finnegan gave her a job with Potter," Draco said to Lee moodily.

;;;"How wonderful for Hermione."

;;;"How convenient for our sainted Potter," Draco replied nastily.

;;;"Draco. Honestly. Harry and Hermione were best friends, give him some credit. Even though

it often seems like it, Harry does not shag every female he meets." Lee replied briskly.

;;;"He wants this one," Draco fumed.

;;;With a sigh, Lee replied, "That is a complete load of bloody-"

;;;" I don't want to talk about it!" Draco shouted, startling both himself and his partner. Coloring

slightly, he sat at his desk, and said, "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

;;;Draco watched as his cheerful partner shook his head, turn, and wlak out of the office. As he

watched Lee's retreating form, Draco thought, Why can't I be kind like Lee? Even if it were

fake, would people like me better then? It's just that...the war...everything happened, and

while I'm glad we won, I have to live with the fact that my childhood friend died because

of me, that my parents died hating me, tha tI don't have a friend in the world. I'm tired of

not having friends, people to talk to. I think I need to smile more.

Chapter Six

;;;Hermione got ready nervously. She had been working with the Ministry for a week now, and

Harry and Ginny were finally taking her out on a mission. A very small mission, true, but for the

first time she would be able to test herself in a real world Auror situation.

;;;She had smoothed her think hair back into a bun after washing her face carefully. She

muttered a spell to rid her robes of wrinkles, and slipped them on. Her feet were covered in

cheap black joggers, as she figured on walking quite a bit today. Waving her wand at the

kitchenette, she started boiling water for oatmeal.

;;;After eating, Hermione began the long walk to the ministry, making a mental note to go and

have her Apparating test soon.

;;;;;;------;;;;;;

;;;"Okay Hermione, this is a simple mission. The wizard inside this house may be practicing Dark

Magic. We need to get inside his house and find evidence that he is," Harry said quietly. He,

Hermione, and Ginny sat on a bench across the street from a large Victorian. Ginny sat filing her

nails nonchalantly, and Harry had his face buried in the Daily Prophet. Hermione sat, crossing

and uncrossing her legs nervously as she flipped through the latest Witch Weekly.

;;;Finally, Harry looked at Ginner and nodded, "He's left the building."

;;;Hermione watched a portly wizard in black robes bustling down the walk, muttering something

to himself.

;;;;;;------;;;;;;

;;;Hermione looked curiously at the strangle objects all around her. The man's house resembled

Dumbledore's office, only larger and more cluttered. She shifted from one foot to the other. It

had been almost an hour, and she had done almost nothing but watch Harry and Ginny mutter

spells and poke through the wizard's possessions. Grinding her teeth, Hermione cursed the Dark

Lord, who had kept her from being able to train for a job with her friends. For not the first time

in the past few years, Hermione Granger felt utterly incompetent. Of course, thanks to

Dumbledore, she had graduated Hogwarts and kept up her studies, butit was impossible for her

to train to be an Auror "Or anything else for that matter" she thought dryly.

;;;A small, floating ball, hovering over a misty pool of liquid caught her attention. As she stepped

towards it, it began to spin faster and emit a tiny buzz. Entranced, she stepped closer and the

spinning increased, as did the buzz. Feeling compelled to touch the glimmering orb, she reached

her hand out, not noticing the room beginning to vibrate, or the sharp crack of a wizard

apparating into the room until a beefy hand clamped down on her shoulder and spun her around.

Hermione's eyes widened, and she screamed at the sight of the portly wizard glowering

menacingly at her. Harry looked over at her scream, and grabbed Ginny.

;;;"Gin, get her out of here, now!" he whispered urgently.

;;;Ginny quickly turned her shoe into a portkey, grabbing Hermione's hair as she felt the familiar

tug just below her navel.