Central Park

Disclaimer: I don't own it, it's all J.K.'s

A/N: Thank u for reviewing mi first chapter. Oh, yeah, I had no idea that there was a Howard Sterns in existence!

Chapter Two- St. Mungo's

To put it lightly, Draco Malfoy did not like his job. To put a more realistic look on it, he hated it. He had told the Ministry that it was stupid to make a hotline for unusual injuries. He had been proved right since then, getting false alarms everyday from the time he entered his tiny cubicle to the time he finally apparated home. Trying to clear the Malfoy name, he had joined the Ministry but when he found out what his job was, he had almost backed out and become a Death Eater. Keyword: Almost.

That day had started out normal and boring, getting five calls all about snake bites. Muggles these days thought a snake bite that killed was unusual. When Howard Sterns had called him, he was not aware that it had been an unusual case. In fact, he had been in no mood to go to the hospital. However, when he found out who it was, all of his views changed. Hermione Granger wasn't the kind of woman who would be going around looking for trouble, at least if she was the same person as she had been at Hogwarts. And obviously, she was. She was the first person since Hogwarts to recognize him without him having to say a word.

At the moment, Draco was sitting at a chair in St. Mungo's, waiting for the Healer to come in with information. Healer Donald Gorrinsky was the best in the burn business and Draco Malfoy made a point of always picking the best, for him or his charges. But when Healer Gorrinsky finally burst through the waiting room door, his news was one of the most unusual things Draco had heard in years. He spoke with a gruff voice, accenting certain words and leaving others so quiet Draco had to guess what they were, "She was burned by muggle means, so I was able to help her much more than if it had been inflicted upon her by a wizard."

"Is she better?"

"Well, most of the second degree burns, I managed to disintegrate, but the third degree burns are a different story. She also has some odd bruising on her inner thighs."

"Rape," he muttered.

"What?" Donald looked confused, "I thought this was a burn victim, not one of sexual harassment."

"Well, looks like the tables have turned. But I think the only people able to have subdued Ms. Granger would have been wizards, so that rules out muggles, obviously."

The Healer nodded, totally loosing Draco with this forensics talk. "Would you like to see her?"

"Oh, sure," Draco said noncommittally; he really didn't relish seeing his long-time enemy's best friend, no matter what condition she happened to be in.

Healer Gorrinsky turned out to have helped Hermione more than just about anyone could have. Her face had been covered with burns earlier, but they weren't severe so Draco now had a good look at her. At 25, she was much prettier. Even...sexy? Maybe? Healer Donald walked over to her. "I've Healed everything but this," he lifted her shirt a little where a huge burn had taken residence. "I'll leave now, you might want to talk to her. It's probably an interesting story." And with that Donald left Draco to deal with a healed Hermione. He decided to be annoying and asked her point blank, "So...what happened?"

"Like you would care."Hermione said softly.

"You never know."

"Actually I do. You do care. I just don't feel like telling you." Hermione gave Draco a smirk that might have outdone him. Draco tapped his foot on the polished floor. "Why not?"

"Someone's going to kill me."

"Well, I expect it will hurt much less than that," he said, pointing to her stomach.

"I'm not saying I care how much it hurts. I'm saying that I would care to live." Hermione glared at him, making it look like he should have known.

"So, how goes it. I mean, I haven't seen even a hair of you since Hogwarts."

"Is this a civil conversation?"

"Could be."

"Fine. I work for the Ministry. I was all lined up to be the first women Minister too, when THIS happened."

"Oh. Do you ever suppose that the present Minister was your attacker?"

"Harry? Never."

"Okay, I'm just reviewing the facts."

"This IS a civil conversation," Hermione said accusingly.

"And what, you don't want it to be? Because I can change that really fast, mudblood."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I'm just not used to it."

A/N: KEEP REVIEWING MY BUDDY-O's