Back to work
"Are you sure?" Draco said softly, glancing over his book as we sat reading through another cold winters evening. I had just told him that I was definitely going back to work tomorrow, my week holiday was over, and I couldn't quite believe everything that had happened, but I was settled. Living with Draco felt strange, he often checked in that he wasn't hanging around too much or that I didn't need more space, he never came too close, but he had a way of comforting me that I couldn't fully explain.
"Yeh, it'll be good for me, I've always loved my work." I replied placing my book on the table next to me and taking a few seconds to sip my hot chocolate as I looked into the roaring flames of the fire. It was amazing I'd never fallen asleep in front of this fire it was so cosy.
"That's true. It's good to see you shifting back to some normal bits of life. At least this way it's Christmas in just a few short weeks and you can ease back into it." I nodded smiling, it felt like a relief knowing I was going back to work, it was the one place I had always felt comfortable. I worked in the department of magical law enforcement and I loved being behind the scenes and doing the investigations to ensure magical law was upheld. Investigating the crimes of some of the darkest wizards alive was fascinating to me and although a lot of the crimes I dealt with still had to do with war crimes, I felt as if I was being useful to the magical world by helping solve these crimes.
"Will you walk me to work and pick me up? That's not too much to ask is it?" It sounded strange and almost childlike to ask but I got the impression that Draco didn't really have many people, and I wanted him to know he was being helpful. Draco looked a mixture of hopeful and nervous all at the same time.
"If that's what you want of course I will." He replied, not quite meeting my eyes as he too put his book down, and looked into the fire.
"You don't have to…" I added slowly, it was always hard to tell exactly what it was that he was thinking but I definitely didn't want him to feel as though I was forcing him into anything.
"No no I want to, Its just people will have a lot of opinions if they see us together. You've been through enough you don't need that too." That's when it clicked that Draco was afraid of the shame that his name held these days. He hated himself and his name more than most people and he was lost without his family.
"I don't care what people think Draco. Part of being me is ignoring the daily prophet and the people who like to whisper." I replied softly, watching him carefully. I couldn't help the sting of pity I felt for him, and the slight bubble of anger I felt that he was treated this way.
"You never cease to amaze me. If you're sure, but I'm dropping you off around the corner, I'm still not the biggest fan of the ministry." I smiled and nodded; I could agree to that. Knowing Draco would get out for at least a portion of the day and I couldn't help the little bubble of excitement that involved him being a part of my day.
"Great. Well, I best go to bed, it'll be a big day tomorrow. Thank you for today Draco, thank you for all you've done lately." I said softly, part of me wanting to reach out to him but thinking better of it. Instead I simply left him watching the flickering flames of the fire and made my way to bed wondering how I'd come to depend so much on Draco so quickly.
******THAT NIGHT*****
"You're pathetic! Get up, not so strong now are you, nothing without that little wand of yours." His voice echoed through my mind as his body loomed over me, blocking out the light.
Every thrash of his hands caused pain to jolt through my body as the screaming in my head got louder and bloody trickled down from my nose. Touching at me, screaming at me, breaking me down.
I shot up in my bed screaming and shaking before I managed to realise where I was. I was in my room at Draco's manor. My heart was pounding against my chest as I tried to slow my breath. In a matter of seconds Draco appeared at the door looking concerned. His hair was all over the place, and his eyes looked wild; I could tell he'd woken up in a panic.
"You ok?" He asked. His voice was soft, and he seemed as though he wanted to say more but has thought better of it. This was probably one of the most exposed he'd allowed himself to be emotionally but it was exactly what I needed. I could feel myself physically relaxing as he spoke.
"nightmares." I mumbled flopping back against my pillow and wiping my eyes.
"Anything you want to talk about?" He said, again being cautious not to crowd around me. His senses were good. I smiled as I glanced up at his tired eyes.
"It's the same as always, just reliving the same old arguments again." I replied not wanting to rehash the whole thing over again. I couldn't help the huge sense of relief I felt knowing it wasn't real this time. This time I could wake up from it.
"It'll get better, just takes time. You're doing great though. I'll be close by tonight just in case." He replied quietly before giving me the smallest of smiles and backing out of the room. I took a few more deep breaths, knowing I had to get some sleep. My last thought before I drifted back off to sleep was of Draco, and I couldn't help but smile.
*****The next morning****
"Work attire suits you well." Draco said sounding slightly shy and cheeky all at once. I couldn't help but blush as I flattened my pencil skirt and straightened my shirt.
"You look pretty good yourself." I replied softly before blushing at my own words. Draco laughed as I blushed and smiled a genuine smile. We strolled through the streets of London heading towards the entry to the ministry. It was a beautiful morning so it was nice strolling through the streets just as the sun was attempting to rise.
"You look excited to be back." Draco commented as I sipped on my coffee.
"I am. It's only been a short holiday but a lot has changed. It'll be nice to have some of the same old again." I replied quickly as we rounded the last corner.
"Well have a good day. I'll meet you here afterwards?" Draco replied slowing to a stop. I thought for a second that it was strange he didn't want to come in but I could understand it in some ways. The Malfoy name was worth no more than mud since the war and that was a burden for Draco to hold. He was a kid through all of this too but no one seemed to be able to see him like that. After all he had done for me I could see that he had changed.
"Thank you Draco, for everything. I'll see you after work, have a good day too." I smiled before turning and heading into work. The Ministry was busy as ever. People rushing around as If they had to be two places at once. The hussle and bussle gave me a slight buzz and I couldn't help but smile as I made my way to the office.
The morning went fairly smoothly as I signed off on a few old cases that had been concluded. There were a few smaller cases that would be dealt with by the trainees so I just had to flick through their files and hand out the various assignments of investigations. It felt good to be back. It was a perfect morning, it was almost as If I hadn't even been away and thankfully none of my colleagues asked me about my boyfriend, or lack thereof.
It was just before lunch time when the head of Magical law enforcement came into my office holding a file that said classified. He placed it onto my desk and stood over me looking concerned.
"What's this one about Theo?" I asked him as I picked up the file, staring at the front of it. It was always slightly exciting to get a confidential file, it meant the start of a big investigation.
"A strange one this time Mione, its not officially ours yet but I thought I'd give you a heads up. Missing muggle girl, suspected magical interference. The muggles are insisting on doing their investigations first to attempt tracking her but if it is magical it'll be all ours next week. Read the file and familiarise yourself." Theo said quickly as he straightened his jacket. He was about ten years older than me but he looked good for his age. We'd always had a good working relationship and it made working together on investigations a lot easier.
"Sure, I'll read it right after lunch." I said quickly before standing and placing my bag onto my shoulder.
"It's good to have you back Mione. This past week the assistants have just been lacking." I smiled as he spoke. Our department was a large part of the ministry but all of our work was strictly confidential which meant we got a lot of new assistants each month when the others couldn't handle the confidentiality anymore.
"It's good to be back. See you in an hour Theo." I replied softly, making my way to my favourite little café. It had been the perfect day so far, and Theo had just made it a little brighter.
It was a beautiful day with a brisk winter air. This was one of my favourite times of year, when you could feel that Christmas was coming and everyone felt that little piece of magic in their lives. I couldn't help wondering what Draco was up to. I shouldn't think of him as often as I was lately but he'd been my rock recently, and some how my curiosity about him gave me a small breather from thinking about Tom. Tom still plagued my nightmares but thankfully Draco had my days.
The café was heaving with people as I went in, all chattering about their days or plans for the afternoon. Old friends meeting for a catch up, or sisters discussing their families. It was such a cute little café, I always liked to think of it as a breather from the real world. I stared up at the board above the counter as I stood in the queue. I scanned the Christmas specials and the Christmas fudge hot chocolate special caught my eye. It was the perfect day of a warm hot chocolate and fudge was my favourite so that was the one for me.
"Hermione?" I turned around and saw shauna, a friend of Tom's who I'd become close with over the past year.
"Oh hey shauna how are you?" I asked brightly, hoping she didn't ask about Tom. I wasn't really ready for questions yet. Shauna had already collected her drink so I was hoping that wherever she had to be on her lunch wouldn't keep her too long. I had hoped I wouldn't see any of our friends for a while but then it wasn't far from this little café that Tom and I had met so maybe it was a mistake coming here.
"A lot better than Tom. How could you do that to him?" Shauna snapped, my heart dropped to the floor. I had no idea what Tom had been telling people but I had been afraid of this.
"What are you on about?" I replied trying to sound strong but hearing the waver in my own voice. Shauna's eyes flared with anger, she always had a short temper.
"Oh don't pretend! Tom told us about you leaving him for another bloke, and how you attacked him when he found about you cheating! He gave you everything and you broke his heart you whore." The café was quiet now as everyone stood watching, Shauna's words hit my like a brick. Is this what he's been telling people? How little did they think of me if they believed this.
"That's not true." I stammered. SpLASH My face was burning as Shauna's drink came flying my way. I stood in a moment of shock, frozen in time.
"I saw you with him this morning you slut! And I've seen what you did to Tom!" She roared slapping me as a couple of people attempted to step in but most people stood back watching. Without a second thought I turned on the spot and ran out of the café, tears streaming down my face. I couldn't believe all of this had just happened. It had been such a great day and I finally felt confident enough to go out alone and, the first time I do this happens. I wasn't ready for this, I wasn't strong enough.
Heading to the bathrooms in the ministry, I looked myself in the mirror. My hair was growing bushier by the second and my face was blotchy and red from the boiling coffee that had just been thrown over me. What if Shauna had been right in some way? I couldn't deny I found myself attracted to Draco but it was too soon, I hadn't acted on my attraction. I didn't know how to, there was too much history and too much going on right now. How could Tom make everyone think so badly of me? Maybe he was right all along, maybe I would be nothing without him. I'd have nothing without him. He certainly was making sure of that. I had no friends left from school because I'd pushed them all away for him and if today was anything to go by any of his friends that had become my friends certainly wouldn't believe a word I said.
I spent the rest of my lunch crying and trying to break out of my own thoughts before I cleaned myself up and went back to the office. For the rest of the day I couldn't quite focus on the work in front of me. I scanned through that file but I didn't take any notes, I didn't speak to anyone, I just got my work done and finished up the day, lost in a trance of my own thinking. I couldn't help replaying the scene over in my mind and I couldn't help but think of how I could have handled it all better. When the day finished I locked away the confidential file and slipped out of the office without saying a word. I just wanted to get home.
As promised Draco was waiting on the corner for me. He looked carefree and relaxed and he leaned against the wall but his smile slipped slightly when he saw me.
"How was your day?" Draco said quickly, I barely paused to greet him and just started walking back home. I tried to fake a smile and say it was great but the words I mumbled out didn't make it remotely believable. Draco seemed to pick up on the fact that I wasn't in the mood so he didn't ask anymore questions and we walked in a slightly less that comfortable silence. I could feel his eyes on me as we walked but I was too lost in my own head to care.
After about 25 minutes we arrived back at the manor. It was only once we were both safely inside and the door was locked behind us that Draco spoke again.
"What happened?" He asked simply before I had the chance to slip off upstairs.
"Nothing." I replied shortly, knowing that wouldn't be enough for him.
"Come on Hermione. Talk to me." He said sighing. I knew his heart was in the right place and it was only because he cared. Slowly I explained everything that had happened. I couldn't strop the tears the flooded down my cheeks as I explained everything, and Draco stood silently letting me finish.
After I finished I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I turned away from Draco not wanting him to see me breaking down like this. Draco didn't say anything at first and there was a silence between us.
"Can I hug you?" He said softly after a few minutes. I nodded slowly needing just something to feel supported. For the first time since Draco had helped me get away from Tom he stepped closer to me and turned me around before wrapping his arms around me and hugging me tightly. The warmth of the hug and the safety I felt in his arms made me relax instantly. We stayed like this for a few moments before slowly pulling apart from each other. Looking into his silver orbs I didn't feel like pulling away any further. Slowly he leant down and kissed me softly sending an electric shock through my whole body as my heart came back to life…
****END OF CHAPTER****
OH MY GOODNESS! I'M SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I never expected this chapter to take so long but with the certain events in this story being so real to my own story I've found certain bits hard to write but here it is for you all! Thank you so much for sticking with me and I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying letting it all out! Sending big love and please read and review ! xoxo
