Chapter 4

Dismissal


After a suspiciously but blissfully quiet weekend, Hermione should've known the office would be chaotic when she arrived on Monday. Then again, she didn't think any length of prior notice would have prepared her to see a swirl of parchments and quills levitating around Malfoy's head, Scorpius squealing in delight as he levitated them.

"He looks happier today," she noted, dodging a rogue parchment and taking a seat at her desk. Malfoy's eyes flitted up to hers briefly, then back to the folder in front of him. She frowned a little, watching a quill float past his head. "He started showing his magic, has he?" she asked, trying to start some sort of conversation.

She usually entered the office to a snarky greeting and a smirk, which she'd thought to be irritating until now. His complete lack of words was far worse.

Was he angry at her? She didn't think he'd ever actually been angry at her before. They'd had their tiffs and debates before, full-blown arguments even, but that would be just to rile each other up. Was he pissed at her at all, though?

She almost thought of trying to read his gaze before she remembered she couldn't. She didn't think she ever would.

Thoughts were running rampant in her mind now. Why was he still so guarded in front of her? They had gotten into a comfortable rhythm with each other over the years. At least, she thought they had. With the amount of time they spent together in the office exchanging quips and scoffs, she would even say that they were close to friends. So why would he—

"I wanted to express my gratitude for your assistance the night before the last," she heard Malfoy say, and her head snapped to meet his hard stare.

Hermione opened her mouth to tell him it was no trouble; that she was honestly more than happy to help any time. He looked like he needed it, judging by the bags under his eyes that seemed to have grown even darker over the weekend, standing stark against the paleness of his skin.

Before she could say anything, though, he continued on. "I also apologize for summoning you in such a manner. It was unprofessional of me and it won't happen again."

Her mouth snapped shut. Of course, it wouldn't happen again. How could it? They weren't friends, they were reluctant colleagues. They hardly tolerated each other in the office, let alone outside of it. "Yes, that would be completely... completely unprofessional, " she said, forcing down a swallow.

Malfoy cleared his throat once more and looked back down at his folder, adjusting his glasses on his nose. Hermione didn't even give a second thought to the gold wiring this time. "Unprofessional," he echoed. "Exactly."

Following his example, she turned her attention back to her work to find that she didn't have any. Unlike Malfoy, she'd finished reviewing her week's proposal folders already. She couldn't blame him for it, of course. She could only imagine how much Scorpius would need to be attended to at his age, first with his teething and now, his magic. Malfoy couldn't possibly find enough time to complete his work. Especially since he didn't have someone to share the responsibi—

Her thoughts were interrupted by another squeal and she looked back up to Scorpius sitting on the desk adjacent to hers. Her pursed lips lifted in a smile when she saw his overjoyed expression. It was a nice change after seeing him only cry the past week.

She recalled James' first bit of accidental magic a year ago and had to suppress a shudder at the image of poor Harry stuck with shocking pink hair for a week. He'd been all the Auror Division could talk about. At least Scorpius wasn't that much of a troublemaker as her godson was. But he seemed to be growing bolder, as he directed his pudgy hand at an inkwell next.

The jar hovered higher and higher, but Malfoy seemed absorbed in his work, his stare fixed on the folder in his hands. Before she could warn him, the jar came crashing down to the desk in a spray of black liquid and broken glass.

Hermione shot out of her seat and rushed to the other side of the office where he was already standing, ink staining the front of his robes. "Salazar, Scorp," he muttered, scanning the boy's arms, presumably for glass shards. Scorpius was giggling, though, so she decided it was safe to assume he wasn't hurt.

Malfoy searched the tiny palms one last time and then straightened. He looked at the puddle of ink around the boy for a moment before opening the drawer beneath his desk and shuffling through it. Shaking her head, she moved forward to clean up the mess. Her fingers barely brushed the parchment she was about to pick up when it was snatched from her hand. "I'll take care of this." His tone was just as tight and formal as before.

"No, it's alright. Let me—"

"I can handle this, Granger. I just need my wand…" he trailed off, closing the drawer with more force than strictly necessary. Scorpius imitated the sound by slapping his hand on the desk; something she would have smiled at had she been paying attention.

"The longer you let the ink dry, the harder the stain will be to remove," she insisted, pulling out her wand from her pocket. "It's no trouble, really. I can—"

"Just give me a second to find my wand and I'll do it myself," he said, his voice strained as his gaze swept across the office.

Folding her arms across her chest, she huffed. It was true what she said — cleaning charms didn't work well on wood stains if they were already dry. If she had already had her wand in hand, why wouldn't he let her cast the spell? "Why won't you just let me help you?"

The words escaped her before she could stop herself.

"Because I don't need your fucking help, alright?" he snapped, all traces of formality gone, and she actually took a step back from the harshness of his tone, her eyes going wide. She had grown so used to a cordial, even friendly Malfoy that the bitterness laced in his voice surprised her.

She watched as he pulled his wand from under Scorpius' thigh, casting a non-verbal scourgify. "I've finished the apothecary files. Tell Perkins I'll be leaving early," he muttered. Then he picked up a no longer giggling Scorpius from the table and stalked out of the door, leaving Hermione alone in the office, staring at the dried ink on the floorboards she had to clean just last week.


I'm so so sorry for missing yesterday's update, and I normally WOULD make it up to you by posting an extra chapter today, but my evil tendencies decided to show and are leaving you to stew in this angst for just a little longer. I promise things will get better for these two soon, but until then, I'd love to hear what you all think!