A/N: Hey friends! This is my first chapter story... I hope you like it! I'll be posting the next chapter in the next couple days, so be sure to choose "follow" on the bottom. As always, comments/reviews are much appreciated!

Chapter 1

Draco's fingers tightened slightly around the back of the chair he was leaning on before standing fully to study her. It seemed she had spent every bit of energy she had on this particular tirade and now she simply looked….defeated.

"Granger, I…" he shook his head in confusion.

"Don't." She cut him off. Raising her chin defiantly, she turned away from him. "I'm fine. I just need to finish this." And with an air of finality, she sat at her desk and began poring over paperwork as if he were no longer standing there.

Draco stood in shock for a moment, just blinking at her before taking a breath. "All right, then." He spoke softly and closed the door behind him as he left. What the hell? What did I say? For the life of him, Draco could not figure out where their conversation had gone awry, but sighed in resignation and headed back to his office, still shaking his head.

He spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up cases in his office before the weekend. He had planned on watching some muggle movie with Granger at her flat tonight, but seeing as she was not speaking to him currently, he accepted Blaise's invite out to the pub after work.

A night out would be good, he thought as he headed for the lifts. Stopping briefly at Granger's door to drop off some files on his way by, he stopped just short of knocking when a voice called from behind him.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Potter. Of course, he would be sitting here. The bespeckled savior of the wizarding world worked in the same department, and they actually got on quite well now, but Draco was in no mood for him.

"So, Potter, you're Granger's gatekeeper now?" Draco managed a smirk and turned to find Harry Potter sitting with his feet propped on the desk in the cubicle directly across from Granger's office. Apparently he was so absorbed with his errand, he hadn't seen him sitting there. "Why am I not surprised?"

"She's mad at you, obviously." was Potter's amused reply. "She called me down to escort her to my place. She and Ginny are going out for drinks tonight, I guess."

Draco scowled at this, but didn't offer a retort. She was mad at him, that much was obvious, but he still didn't know why.

Feigning indifference, Draco handed the other man the three files he held. "Well, since you are now acting as Miss Granger's personal secretary, will you see that she gets these? She'll need them for her presentation on Monday." Harry took the files and nodded offering a tight-lipped smile in return. "And see that she eats something decent before going out for drinks, would you?" Draco continued with concern, "I don't think she ate lunch today." This brought a ridiculous grin to Harry's face which only infuriated Draco further.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," Potter replied with a more sheepish smile.

Draco turned down the hall toward the lifts yet again, straightening his tie and attempting to gather some dignity after being chuckled at by the mop-headed menace. He knew that Harry had been friends with Granger for years, but it still irked a bit to feel that he was somehow in on something that Draco was not.

"She'll come around, Malfoy." Harry called after him. Draco stopped and spun on his heel, facing him once more. Forgetting all pretense, Draco tilted his head as he bit the words out in desperation, "But what did I do?"

Harry smiled and shook his head, standing to meet Draco in the middle of the hall. "I don't know. But I know you care about her, mate. I can see it. You might just try dropping the act and be honest with her." Bugger. How does he do that?

Draco looked down, pushing his hands into his trouser pockets and nodded. He muttered his thanks before turning to go.

Did you like it? More to come soon! xoxoxoxo