The negotiations with the Hungarians about the possible acquisition of their company proved to be more tedious than Draco had expected it to be. The Hungarian company had long since been a supplier of components for his magical devices, many of them inspired by Muggle technology, such as those modern communication devices the Muggles called mobile phones—the speaking connection had his Development Department almost go crazy before figuring out a wizarding adaption. In order to gain entrance to the markets of Eastern Europe, he had offered to acquire their company for a more than fair price—more than it was probably worth in Draco's opinion. Some three weeks after their last meeting to hand over the acquisition offer, they were sitting in the meeting room again, to discuss the details.

"So, he is basically saying that our offer isn't good enough?" Blaise asked the translator the Hungarians had thankfully brought along; though, even with him, it was still a tedious affair, and Blaise's tone let that shine through. "Why?" Blaise shot Draco a look, who was sitting to his left, and shrugged while the translator conferred once more with the Hungarians.

"They think you haven't clearly pointed out what you plan to do with the workers on site, once you acquired the business."

"Let me," Draco said, stopping Blaise from answering, narrowing his eyes at the Hungarians while fiddling with the fountain pen in his hands, with which he had just blotted some patterns on the front page of his file. "As the Head of my Legal Department as well as the Head of my Financial Department can both verify, this is one of the most detailed acquisition offers we have ever written up." With slightly pursed lips, he watched the Hungarians listen intently to what the translator was telling them, repeatedly nodding. "We have noted our plans with your company under point 4 in the offer, and you will see that we intend to keep everything running as it already is. If at all, changes will be made on an administrative level, not at the base. We intend to keep everyone, but it may be necessary to make redundancies. Anyone who would be laid off based on this will receive a more than generous redundancy pay-out." Draco looked over his team—Blaise, Pansy, Daphne to his left, and Astoria in her role as the Chief Secretary on his right. They all nodded to his words and waited for an answer from the Hungarians, who were still listening to the translator. "In the long run, we even plan to expand your company, which would create jobs," Draco added to emphasise his point. To his untrained ear, the Hungarian language had a weird, but a melodic sound; as far as he knew it was definitely one of the more difficult languages to learn—Hermione might like the challenge, though.

"You okay?" Astoria asked quietly while the Hungarians were debating another point with the translator. "You look tired."

Draco nodded, leaning back. "Just bored. We're discussing details that are clearly pointed out in the offer."

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Not now, Astoria," he replied, shooting her a warning look. She was right, of course, ever since he had read about Hermione's disappearance a good three weeks ago, he was slowly turning into an insomniac again, going through all the possibilities of what might have happened to her each night instead of finding sleep. And he hated waiting, hated relying on Potter to finally show some sense and include him in the search for his ex-girlfriend. He shrugged dismissively when Blaise looked over with eyebrows raised questioningly.

"My client says that he is still afraid to let you buy his company," the translator finally continued. "He says it is in his family's hands for generations now, and he wants to make sure it is in good hands, since he doesn't have any heir to take over."

Draco and Blaise shortly exchanged looks, before Draco answered, barely containing a sigh. "As already mentioned, we intend to keep most things the way they currently are. Your company might be incorporated into this with the acquisition, but it will still remain a separate entity with name and everything." He leaned forward, having had enough of the game the Hungarians were apparently playing. "Look, if you don't want to sell to us, we might as well find someone else more accepting of our terms, and who might even provide us with components of a better quality."

The translator quickly told the Hungarians what he had just said, and they just stared at him in disbelief, their eyes wide, and then a storm of words came out that the translator refused to translate to English.

Satisfied to have shocked them a bit, Draco got up. "You have another month to discuss our offer, if you still don't agree with the terms, then I'll look for a more obliging supplier. I have better things to do."

"Draco!" Blaise let out, getting up as well, but Draco didn't care any longer and walked out with one last shrug. "You take care of them," Blaise then said to his wife. "Tell them that he didn't mean it..."

"You know him," Astoria replied, trying to keep a polite smile.

"What the hell was that?" Blaise cried out when he reached Draco in his office. "You know full well that they are the only ones who are able to supply us with those components at the quality you demand! Have you lost your mind?"

Draco was expecting his friend to storm after him, so he was leaning against his desk when Blaise came in. "They don't want to sell. We were discussing points that were clearly outlined in the offer, and they were just stalling for time. I was only giving them a deadline to come to a decision."

"You need to discuss those kind of things with me, you know?" Blaise huffed, coming up to him. "It's not making my job any easier if you keep behaving like that. It's like you're starting to lose your mind ever since I let you have that bloody newspaper. I sincerely hope they find her soon, because you start to become unbearable."

"If they had let me help with the search, they might already have," Draco countered, letting his frustration show momentarily.

"And what then? You think she will talk to you then?"

Draco's wish was granted the very next day, when an astonished receptionist tried to contact him in the early afternoon, but only managed to get Astoria on the internal intercom system. Minutes later, Astoria poked her head through his door, smiling softly—as she always did when she poked through. "Draco? You've got visitors," she said, sounding surprised.

Draco looked up from the file he was reading through; Daphne had sent him a report on the financial consequences of losing the deal with the Hungarians, and he didn't exactly like her conclusion. "Who is it? You know that I don't like being disturbed at this time of day."

"I've worked for you for the last at least ten years, I know your habits. I'm the one who has to tell everyone to go away. But I think you might want to receive those visitors, since they insist..." She turned back, and he could hear different voices arguing quietly.

"Let them in," he uttered, irritated about the hiding game Astoria was playing. And to his complete surprise, he saw Potter and Weasley walk in. "Now, look who's here," he remarked, sneering and with a growing smirk. "Pansy is in a meeting, Weasley, if you thought about visiting her. Important legal stuff, you know?"

"Hello, Malfoy. I hope we don't interrupt you with anything important either," Harry replied, ignoring Draco's sneer.

Draco studied the two visitors for a moment; they seemed exhausted, and Potter's shock of hair seemed even more messy than usual—and since when had grey hairs threaded themselves in between the black? Weasley was no better, though Draco wasn't sure whether it was just the search for their common friend, or whether Pansy was wearing him out as well. Draco shrugged; he didn't care enough to even taunt him with it. "I guess I know what this is about. You still haven't found her."

Both Harry and Ron sat down in the visitor chairs; Harry shook his head defeatedly, and pushed his glasses back up. "All the leads we had turned up cold. It's like she was swallowed by the ground."

"And now you come back to me because...?" As little as he liked to hear the news that Hermione was still missing, Draco couldn't help but gloat at the fact that those two had come crawling back to him for help. "Because I remember when I did offer my help you rejected it, Potter. You didn't want a civilian to act out of bounds—those were your exact words."

"Yes, I know," Harry admitted with a sigh. "And I still don't like it, but I don't see another option."

"Ah, I see. Now I'm suddenly good enough," Draco retorted. Gods, he loved the look on their faces, the slight annoyance that they had to come to him, mixed with the exhausted worry about Hermione—which he shared with them. "As far as I'm informed, you didn't do your reputation any favours. The very best wizards and witches that worked as Aurors, my arse."

"We get it, Malfoy," Ron snapped. "You think we would have found her already if we had let you play along."

"Well, I let you play with my Chief Legal Officer to your heart's content, and do I complain that it compromises her ability to do her job?" Draco shot back, unimpressed by Weasley's reddening face. After all those years, he was still so easily goaded, it started to get boring. He started to swing his chair from side to side. "Well, you can start begging now."

Harry demonstratively leaned back, crossing his arms. "I won't go down on my knees, Malfoy, if you want that."

"I'm not insisting, but it would be a nice touch–"

"Malfoy, we do need your help, so stop it," Harry interrupted him, glaring now from behind the rim of his glasses. "Stop being an arsehole just because I said no the first time."

"Well, you wasted three weeks by trying it your way." Draco leaned forward, shooting Harry the most threatening glare he could muster. "I will take it personally if she turns up dead because of your hesitation." He saw Harry and Ron exchange an uneasy look and realised there was more at stake for both of them than they let on. "Your jobs depend on it," he stated dryly.

"I always hated your ability to draw conclusions from nothing," Harry retorted, and pulled his glasses off for an unnecessary round of cleaning.

"You're like an open book." Leaning back again, Draco twined his fingers in front of him; he still watched his two visitors closely. Yes, they were both open books when it came to guess what occupied their minds—their worry about Hermione was palpable, and it was clear that they were desperate. "I do have a few conditions now that you figure I'm good enough," he then continued. "And I will insist on them."

Ron turned to face Harry. "I can imagine what kind of conditions he has," he whispered in a more disapproving tone, frowning even. "He will ruin it."

"Ron, don't you think I know? We really have tried everything within our grasp," Harry replied wearily, rubbing his neck. "And maybe he can really help us find her."

"Oh thank you for your trust in my abilities, Potter," Draco remarked with a smirk; he had watched them confer for a few moments, still gloating inwardly that they saw no other way than come back to him.

"I don't trust your abilities per se, Malfoy, just that you would literally do anything to find her," Harry countered; his twitching lips betrayed the irritation he was trying to hide. "I remember you saying that she still owes you an explanation, and you smell the chance now to get it."

"Touché," Draco conceded, smirking about the rise he was getting out of his visitor. "However, you could just tell me yourself, because you know the reasons–"

"You know I won't. You will have to ask her yourself," Harry stopped him, flexing his fingers. "Can we finally get to business? What are your conditions?"

Draco noticed the strained expressions on both their faces - it was clear that they were expecting the worst from him. For a short moment, he felt irritated about it, as he remembered their rather friendly interactions while he was with Hermione. But eight years were probably long enough for any distance to regrow. However, he had thought about this a few times over the past three weeks, especially when it had started to become obvious that they were failing and he was just waiting for them to come to him eventually—against Blaise's and Astoria's advice. "Well, if you really want me working with you, then I want the following: full access to the complete file archive of your Department–"

"Are you out of your mind, Malfoy?" Ron cried out in disbelief. His wide eyes and furrowed brows as well as his gaping mouth showed that he didn't like it at all.

"Ron, shut it!" Harry snapped to a still gaping Ron.

Draco only smirked in response. "In addition, I will work alone—nothing raises more suspicion than having one of your boys tagging along. However, if you insist on team play, I either want Nott as partner, or you, Potter. No one else. Not even Weasley."

"I don't like the idea of you working alone, but as this will hopefully only be a temporary arrangement, I guess it can be arranged." Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Draco nodded; he mostly didn't want any of the Aurors tagging along because he might need to do things they shouldn't be part of for both his and their protection—the fewer people knew about this arrangement, the more he could achieve. And he intended to find her alive. "I want to take part in any witness interview you might do in relation to her disappearance–"

Harry sighed again. "I can't exactly promise that, as there are protocols regulating this aspect."

"Protocols you surely put in place, Potter," Draco replied, shifting his position in his chair. "Your reforms of the Auror Department were discussed everywhere..."

"Yes. What else?"

"You're going to like that one..." Draco saw them both roll their eyes; they were clearly expecting the absolute worst now. "In the case we find her alive, I will provide for her safety, and this would include a safe house in the case we ruffle some very dangerous feathers–"

"No," Harry straight out replied. "You can't really believe that I would allow that?"

"Or that she would allow it?" Ron added, with a low growl. "You can't force her–"

"I never said anything about forcing her to talk to me," Draco replied dryly.

Harry got up; he was no longer able to sit still, clenching his hands. "The Ministry has its own safe houses, we can very well protect her ourselves," he argued, leaning over Draco's desk.

"Really?" Draco got up as well, knowing that he was almost a head taller than Potter, which made for a rather imposing impression to most. "Wasn't it your faulty—or should I rather say non-existent—protection that let her disappear in the first place? I repeat: I will provide for her safety, Potter. Either you accept, or this arrangement won't happen." Draco emphasised every single word of the last sentence to make his point, even tapping his finger on his desk.

"You're a bastard."

"I'm the bastard who still cares for her after those eight years, and who—as you said yourself—will do literally anything to find her. So, I get to decide. Take it or leave it."

Harry growled; it was clear that he didn't like the last point at all. "I will come after you if you fail to keep her safe. You may have loved her once–"

"Once?"

"–but she is part of my family. So if you fail to keep her safe after we found her, I will haunt you, I will be your personal nightmare, is that clear?"

Draco sneered at Harry's protective attitude. "I never forgot how close you are; she always talked about you like a little brother. But as she is still the person I care the most about, I will make absolutely sure that nothing happens to her. I have my means to keep her safe."

Harry narrowed his eyes, his lips still twitching. "I will take your word on this," he finally conceded, letting out another huff.

Neither of them heard the door being opened rather roughly, close to being slammed into the wall. "Potter! What's going on here?" Blaise barked, storming into the room. "I couldn't believe it when my wife told me that you dared to come here–"

"Shut it, Blaise," Draco retorted, straightening up to his full height.

"No, I won't." Blaise came up to the desk, forcing Harry to move to the side. "Draco, now you've clearly gone mental! You can't do this."

"I can, and I will."

"Mental. Absolutely mental." Blaise turned towards Harry and Ron. "You have no idea what you've done," he muttered, leaning threateningly towards Harry.

"I know!"

"Blaise, leave it!"

"No, Draco, I won't! I've watched you for the last eight years, and you're bloody obsessed with her. You don't care about this company, but I do. Even as a good friend, I can't let you do this. You need to move on, to let go. Eight years is enough."

Harry cleared his throat to get Blaise's attention. "I know the risks of asking him for help. I wouldn't have come here if we had any other way to find Hermione. He is our last chance."

Blaise shot a short glance at Draco, who shrugged, his arms crossed in front of his chest, clearly not accepting Blaise's interference. "I hope your schedule isn't too busy today, because I'm definitely not finished with you, Potter. Wait outside, then we'll continue in my office, and I have a few choice words for you."

With another shrug, Draco watched Harry and Ron leave his office to wait outside. "You can't make me change my decision," he said, sitting down in his chair and demonstratively picking up Daphne's report again that he was reading before Harry had graced him with the visit.

"Sadly no. But I have a warning for you," Blaise replied, leaning over Draco's desk, a low growl in his tone. "You risk your life's work just to have another chance to talk to her... I will not watch from the sidelines if your actions start to have consequences for this company, have I made myself clear? I will use the power to temporarily dismiss you from your position, and take over until you've come to your senses again. Eight years really is enough!"

Draco knew that Blaise meant every word he said, and that he did have the power to temporarily dismiss him from the position of the company's president—Blaise had insisted on it in his contract, as a sort of safety measure. "You've made yourself very clear," he finally replied, turning a page in Daphne's report, and then looked up to meet Blaise's irritated gaze. "I know the risks."

"Good." Blaise straightened up again, and sighed. "I really wish you could just move on. It's not good for you." And with one last rather bitter smile, he left Draco's office as well. "Potter, we're not finished," he said, closing the door behind him, leaving Draco to his thoughts once more.

Alone again, Draco stared at the door for a moment, completely ignoring Daphne's report in front of him. Yes, he knew the risks for his company should his cooperation with Potter and his Aurors go wrong, anything from being permanently dismissed as president and owner to massive financial or legal problems. Yet, a part of him couldn't care less because all he wanted was Hermione back. Now he had to figure out a way how to achieve that.

TBC

Author's Note:

Again, thanks to my lovely beta Laura for proofreading the chapter, as well as to MrBenzedrine for helping me with the plot (and have a last look over the chapter)! You're both a great help! :-)

Thanks to everyone for leaving a comment on my story! :)

I do hope you enjoy the new chapter just as much...