Author's Notes:

Thank you for all your lovely comments, it's great to read that I seem to be able to keep you on your toes with this story, and I do hope I can keep it up! :)

Many, many heartfelt thanks to Laura for beta reading this chapter! Your help is very much appreciated! :-D

And last, but not least, I bow to the Queen of Alpha and Beta Reading, MrBenzedrine, who provided comprehensive help with basically everything, from commas to plot holes, thus keeping me on track. May she never ever change...

"Nice to see you again, mate," Theo said with a broad grin when he stepped out of the fireplace in Draco's flat, brushing the soot off his clothes. "I was a bit disappointed that I missed the meeting."

"That's why you're here now," Draco replied with a simple nod and a much smaller smile; though he didn't say it, he was just as glad to see Theo again, as their main contact had always been the notes about Hermione. But now, they were working together as partners and Draco had something planned for this evening. And he had been lucky to get the evening off at all, as he originally had dinner plans to meet a business partner about some informal deal renegotiations; however, the other side had postponed the dinner to a later date for whatever reasons, saving him from having to argue with a head-strong Astoria about a reschedule, who was adamant that he attended the dinner as it was rather important for the company, regardless how informal it would have been.

"I guess they didn't take it so nicely that you joined us." Theo followed Draco through the hallway down to the spare room, where the walls were now completely plastered with all the information Draco had gathered from Hermione's files as well as the information the other Aurors had handed over rather unwillingly. "Wow. You didn't waste any time..."

"Potter wasted enough," Draco replied laconically and went over to the small table he had installed in the room to put his drink and food somewhere. "Drink?"

"Knowing your taste in firewhisky, absolutely." Theo still looked around, checking some pages on the wall more closely, nodding repeatedly.

"Here." Draco handed Theo one of the filled glasses, and joined him. He was watching Theo closely, who continued to go through the pages pinned to the walls. Potter had told him that the Minister had been against letting him work completely on his own, but that he would let them work out the nature of their partnership. And that was what he was doing now; he wanted to know how useful Theo would be as a partner.

"Thanks." Theo lifted his glass in a silent toast, and then took a sip. "Always the good stuff."

Draco nodded, and swirled the glass in his hand. "Can you read her shorthand?" he asked.

After what looked like an amused side glance, Theo shook his head. "I know I should be able to. After all, I worked the most with her." He finally turned towards Draco, nursing his glass. "She preferred to work on her own; I think that's why Potter gave her the other office..." After a small sigh, he took another sip, leaving only a few drops in his glass. "I mean she was-is a great Auror, one of the best in the department, but she never let anyone get close, except for Potter. I remember her when she was with you, and she isn't like that anymore."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, beckoning Theo to continue; as much as Hermione was still prevalent in his mind, he barely knew what she was like now.

"When she was with you, she always seemed happy, confident, and just generally nice to talk to. But now, ever since she came back from South America, she just buried herself in her cases, kept mostly to herself, though she was still polite with everyone. Whenever I was partnered with her, I always got the impression that she is lonely."

South America. She had been gone for over a year, like she disappeared from the face of the earth. Draco remembered that it had felt as if she fled from him, from what they had. No news, no written apology, nothing. And then she was back, invited to the same charity event. And ever since, it had always been the same story whenever they attended the same events, as far and few in-between as they were—he could only watch her from afar, and when she discovered him, she usually managed to leave. To keep a sigh from escaping, Draco emptied his glass, relishing in the burn the firewhisky provided. "What do you know about the cases here?" he then asked, returning to the reason of Theo's visit.

"Looks like the disappearances she worked on over the last year. First, there were only a few disappearances, but she eventually discovered more and more of them, sure that they were connected. I worked with her on most cases—visiting families, interviewing witnesses, stake-outs, that sort of thing. I guess she finally found the connection..." Theo shrugged, and finished the remains of his firewhisky, probably to avoid a sigh. "You know, you have a similar expression like she had just before she got kidnapped–"

"Similar look?"

Theo nodded. "She was up to something, and she wanted to tell me the day after... after..." He sighed, and emptied the remains from his glass, avoiding Draco's gaze. "Look, I was there when she got kidnapped. We were supposed to gather information about a case of international counterfeiting, wand wood to be exact. After Weasley, Potter trusts us the most, that's why he sent us." He played with the empty glass in his hands. "That evening, we just checked out a location we were told about. I mean she is a very capable witch, not easily overpowered. I was just around the corner, distracted by some movement in the vicinity, when I heard her scream. I ran as fast as I could to where I thought she was, but I was too late. They had her and were gone moments later. Potter wasn't exactly happy that I didn't keep her safe. I've never seen him this livid... That's why I was on desk duty when you came in that day to offer your help. I technically still am, but since Potter needs everyone on board–"

"Did you see who it was?" Draco asked. It was easy to imagine how livid Potter could be, as hot-headed he used to be, though he had seemingly learned to have his temper in check.

"Only for a couple of seconds before they Disapparated. If I remember correctly, they were four people, one of them holding her tight. It happened so fast, mate, I didn't have a chance!"

Draco nodded as a sign that he wasn't holding it against his friend. Aurors had of the more dangerous jobs, and attacks like this could be considered one of the risks, as much as he hated that it had been Hermione in this case. "I don't remember any details in the various articles in the Prophet–"

"Yeah, because Potter pulled every string to keep them from publishing further details after that first article. And we are not allowed to give any interviews, or we risk desk duty for a whole year in the best case."

Draco nodded, and went for the small table to refill his glass. "More?"

"Yeah, thanks." Theo handed him his glass, and sighed once more. "So, how do you want to go about this? I mean it's my fault that they got her, I'd do whatever it takes to get her back."

Draco closed the flask deliberately slowly, trying to gain a few seconds before answering. He trusted Nott, that wasn't the problem—after all he had asked for him as a partner if he had to work with one. It was just that he preferred to work on his own in this, as he didn't know where his search would lead him. "I prefer to work alone–"

"I can see that," Theo replied, pointing at all the covered walls with an amused smirk.

"I mean it, Theo. I don't play well with partners, you can ask Blaise."

Theo chuckled at that. "Oh, I remember perfectly well. You were already like that in Hogwarts, and later as well. The only person you ever played well with was Hermione. And I think Blaise doesn't like me that much for ignoring his warning about not sending you any further messages about her." Still smirking, he took a sip from his glass. "I think it might be better anyway if I stayed at the Department and dig for any information you might need, or check out things you can't yourself. I guess Potter wants you to report to him directly anyway..."

"What else?" Draco shrugged and gulped down most of his firewhisky in one go. "So, has Potter mentioned what his next move is?"

Theo shook his head. "He was still discussing things with Weasley in his office yesterday evening when I finally left. But my guess is that we're going in for a raid or similar in the next couple of days. I'll keep you up to date on that."

"Thanks."

The next day, Draco was buried once more in his job as president of his company, currently trying to work through a rather lengthy memo from Pansy about a plagiarism suit from a smaller business in France. They were threatening to sue his company over the supposed theft of intellectual property, and Pansy had noted down something he wasn't exactly sure he understood. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to discuss things with Theo until very late last night, he already wasn't getting a lot of sleep, and he was now on the bare minimum to function properly—with the help of a fair amount of coffee as well.

So, after unsuccessfully trying to contact Pansy over her notes, Draco decided to pay her a visit. He noticed a few of her subordinates who had their desks just outside watching him intently, her secretary even slowly shook her head when he wanted to enter Pansy's office without a knock as he usually did. And then he heard why. She wasn't alone, but had a visitor. Smirking in the direction of the secretary who had just shook her head, he very carefully opened the door to peer inside.

"Ronald, you promised me!" Pansy was in a bad mood, according to the higher-pitched voice. "I told you weeks ago that it's my mother's birthday on Friday and that I want to bring you along. And you said you would come. Don't you dare backing out now!"

"Pans, love–"

"Don't love me! I mean it!"

"I can't just take an evening off when one of my best friends is missing–"

"You're not the only Auror! And me telling you about the birthday party definitely pre-dates her disappearance! It's always her..."

Draco saw Weasley slump in his chair he had placed next to Pansy's for the discussion. Pansy had been nervous when she had told him her plans to introduce the redhead to her family, something she had never before considered with her previous dates and short-lived relationships. So, for Pansy, introducing her partner to her family was a very important step—the Parkinsons were also rather old-fashioned, traditional family when it came to courting, but surprisingly modern in other aspects.

"But they won't like me," Weasley continued his weak protest. "I'm sure they won't like that their daughter is dating someone like me."

"Oh come on, that was—what?—almost twenty years ago. If my family still believed in that shit, I wouldn't be dating you, would I?" Parkinson replied, growing impatient with her boyfriend's reluctance.

.xx.

The whole scene brought up memories for Draco of a similar discussion with Hermione about meeting her parents for the first time. His reluctance back then had a different reason, with their loaded history and what not; that was why he had tried to keep it off as long as possible until Hermione had had enough one day and just invited her parents over without any previous warning.

"Hermione! You tricked me!" Draco was pacing up and down in their kitchen, trying his best to keep his voice down. "You invited your parents on my only evening off this week!"

"Draco, please. You called it off so many times with flimsy excuses... They are nice people, and they want to meet you." Hermione was leaning against the small kitchen table, her hands placed on the edge; she tried not to laugh at his irritation.

He stopped and looked at her, shaking his head in disbelief. She had used Slytherin tactics on him—she, the Princess of Gryffindor. "And what am I going to tell them? I'm sorry that I bullied your daughter all through the school years because I didn't know any better? They aren't going to believe me anyway."

"They will. Just talk to them, okay?"

"You are going to pay for this later," he replied with a brief smirk and took a deep breath. "And you know what I want."

Hermione put on an innocent look, but the spark in her eyes betrayed her. "If that's the price I have to pay for you to finally meet my parents..." She straightened herself, and then placed a soft kiss on his cheek before going back into their living room where her parents were waiting with a glass of wine.

Draco followed her moments later after bracing himself with another deep breath. He had been looking forward all day to finally have an evening off he could spend with her, and now he had to face her parents instead.

"Young man," Mr Granger greeted him when he finally joined them in the living room. "I see our daughter hasn't told you about our visit."

Draco missed the short glance between Hermione and her father while he was pouring himself some wine, though his nerves were asking for something much stronger. He still didn't know what he was supposed to say, despite Hermione having told him a lot about them; his brain just entered panic mode, blanking out all the details that might have been useful.

"We have heard quite a bit about you when she grew up," Mrs Granger continued, "and not all good."

Draco nodded, his eyes fixed on Hermione. This was hell. This was payback for putting her through a meeting with his parents. "I wasn't exactly nice to her, that's true. But–"

"You were a bully."

"Yes." Draco barely managed to keep a sigh from escaping. "And I owned up to all my mistakes—paid my due so to speak. I apologised to Hermione for everything, the hardest thing I've ever done. And I'm still grateful she accepted it." To calm his nerves, now that this was all said, he gulped down the rest of his wine.

"So, Hermione told us that you've taken over your father's business?"

Draco was glad for the change of topic, and refilled his glass before offering the bottle to the others as well. "Yes. I'm in the process of implementing new structures, which is why this would have been my first real evening off in a while."

Mr Granger politely declined his offer for a refill. "What are you producing then? Hermione couldn't give us a proper answer. I hope it's not related to those ideas your family had..."

"Dad!"

Draco had to chuckle at her Hermione's false indignation; she never had been a good liar anyway. "I can assure you, if I still believed in those things, Hermione would have never considered giving me a chance."

"I would have hexed you to Mars," Hermione interjected amused, and finished her wine while the others laughed.

Oh yes, the whole Granger family had played a trick on him that evening—Hermione had later told him that she had talked to her parents about him, convincing them that he was no longer the bully he had been, up to the point of giving him a second chance; however, they couldn't just let the opportunity pass to grill him a bit. The next time he met them, he realised that he had passed their judgment and was now considered part of the family. Those days, he had felt like he had finally made it—he had got the woman of his dreams, his company was about to take off with all his changes, and his past was finally no longer looming over him.

.xx.

"And what am I supposed to wear, Pansy? You know I don't exactly own anything that could pass as decent for such a–"

"Ron, please! My family isn't half as bad as you think they are..." Pansy leaned forward, and a small exasperated sigh escaped her. "We can shop for decent robes tomorrow evening, but I'll decide what colours," she then added and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

That was the moment Draco used to finally enter the office. "I'd rather do what she says, Weasley."

"Listening again, Draco?" Pansy leaned back into her chair, glaring at him for interrupting the private moment.

Draco just shrugged; he didn't care too much about her private matters, but would have preferred if it was kept out of the office. "I need a clarification on your notes about that plagiarism case–"

"And you couldn't send a office note for that?"

"No." Draco lifted the file he had brought along. "I tried to contact you, but you didn't respond..."

"I think I'll go back to work," Ron said, still slightly flustered from the interruption, and got up from his chair.

"Weasley, was nice to see you again. Just do her the favour of meeting the parents, you might just be positively surprised," Draco said when Ron passed him at the door.

"Oh, shut up," Ron replied, glaring at him for a brief moment and then stepping outside with a smirk. "See you tonight, Pans."

"I'm inclined to let you go earlier, so that he has enough time to make it up to you." Draco came closer and sat down on the other visitor's chair that was still in its original position, placing the file on the desk.

"You're an arse."

"I'm your boss."

"Doesn't change a thing. But I'll take you up on your offer and take the rest of this afternoon off." Pansy huffed and straightened herself. "Now, about the notes... What do you want to know?"

"Would it change a thing if I let you put the robes for your boyfriend on the company expenses?" He opened the file with her notes, distributing them over the desk, a smirk playing on his lips when he heard her huff once more.

"Maybe."

Even knowing her more refined taste in fashion, he knew that her clothes shopping spree with Weasley would barely make a dent in in the expenses account; though he would have to discuss it with Daphne later on that it wasn't meant for private use. "Now, you wrote that their suit was based on insubstantial claims, but–"

"They are. It's only a small local business that we haven't even heard about before, and I had them checked out, their patents included. I have to admit that they have a few rather ingenious ideas, but we definitely haven't stolen any of them," Pansy explained, visibly calmed and back in work mode.

"So, you suggest...?"

"Make them an offer for a business cooperation. That way we look like the good guys, and if they don't accept, they make themselves look bad. They can't possibly win, anyway."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'll discuss the possibilities with Daphne, as always." Pansy briefly smiled. "How's the search going? Ron told me that you've been partnered with Theo."

Draco glanced at her for a moment, then nodded. "We found what she has discovered. Theo thinks there's going to be a raid in the next couple of days," he said, leaning back. "I just hope we find her soon."

"We all do, Draco. Even if just for your sake. And mine."

He really hoped that the raid would bring them further information about Hermione's whereabouts, he was done waiting and going through files—he felt the need to go after those who had dared to kidnap her, to unleash his revenge on them for making her suffer. With a simple move of his hand, he let the notes slide back into the file, ready to be picked up. "You know what? Take tomorrow off as well," he said, getting up. "Just let me know how the meeting went, every embarrassing detail."

Pansy groaned, but couldn't stop one of her famous smirks from escaping. "You two," she said, shaking her head. "But now, go and brood a bit more in your office."

With that, Draco stepped outside, nodding briefly at the secretary before making his way back up to his office. However, he didn't plan to brood there, but wanted to visit Burke's who had informed him about the arrival of new rare magical items, a good opportunity to question the shop owner about his knowledge of the disappearances. Officially, Burke's was a simple shop with a licence to deal with magical items, but it was also one of those place to go for information about the murkier things in wizarding society. One of those places that wouldn't tell Aurors anything, but who might be more willing to provide him with information—for once, the Malfoy name had its advantages and he was going to use it. And maybe Burke's even did have some rare magical item that would interest him.

TBC