Hermione woke up groggily, with no idea what time it was. They only had an analogue clock, which she couldn't see in the dark. She didn't remember her dreams. She hardly ever did. It was disappointing. Now that she had her creative side juiced up from the spell, she really wanted to know what her subconscious was capable of. What worlds did it dream up in her sleep? Did she have deep ambitions that her waking self wasn't aware of? She turned to look at Draco, still curled up inside his sleeping bag on the floor. She wanted to see inside his dreams. He had so many layers and in their time trapped in this hellish office she had only scratched the surface. Not for the first time, she wished she knew legilimency. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was sitting on the sleeping bag next to Draco, poking him on the shoulder. 'Draco, wake up.'

He did not seem inclined to wake up. But she wasn't deterred by his non-reaction. She kept poking until he rolled over, rubbing his shoulder and giving her an annoyed look.

'What?'

'I was thinking about strategy. For when the might of the Ministry falls down on us. We should present ourselves as a team, a couple.'

'Or I could just point my finger at you and claim it was all your fault.' He adjusted his pillow and closed his eyes. A few seconds later they were wide open again. 'Wait, did you say couple?'

Hermione shifted closer. 'It would help with our plans to set the magical research world alight. People would be so distracted by our unlikely romance that they would underestimate us as wizards and scholars.'

'Am I still dreaming?'

She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. For a heartbeat, it was simple and sweet, like breathing as one. Then, as he really woke up, he struggled to release his arms from the zipped-up sleeping bag to reach for her, ruining the moment. She sat back up and offered him a mischievous smile. 'See, aren't you distracted?'

'Very.' He pulled her in for another kiss and she went willingly.

If Hermione hadn't already lost track of time, the kissing would have done it. The first five minutes were fierce, a battle of wills. There was some biting and scratching. Then Draco stroked his hand down her back in a single gentle motion and all of the tension drained from her body. The kisses turned soft and languid, with their heads both sharing Draco's pillow. Draco tried to convince her to join him inside the sleeping bag, but she just refused with a smile. This morning or afternoon or night, whichever one it was, was only the beginning. She wanted to savour this feeling of discovery and awe. And she was awed by him, by them. By the way their movements could be so clumsy and so effective at the same time. By the way their feet seemed to play such a big part in the communication process while their lips were otherwise occupied. It made her want to write an essay about it, to tease out the reasons why this felt so right and then to argue with all her powers of logic that it should never stop. She thought that Draco would understand that urge. It was why they were going to make such a great team, personally and professionally. When she had dared him with that first brief kiss, she had thought they might explore some of the physical chemistry between them and that it might distract them from their conflicting personalities and the fraught question of what to do next. But her mind was an excellent multitasker and while her hands explored his body, her brain was making plans. She felt inspired. When they reluctantly parted, they lay down side-by-side, enjoying the peaceful quiet. It was Christmas morning. They were probably the only people in this gigantic building. The Ministry was theirs. If they had wanted to conquer it, now would be the time. It was a good thing that she had no use or desire for it at all. And of course, that she was too good a person to even contemplate such a thing.

'So,' Draco said, jolting her out of her thoughts, 'should we request adjoining cells in Azkaban?'

'Pfft,' Hermione said. 'We aren't going to Azkaban. In fact, I bet I can get us out of this squeaky clean.'

'And what are you willing to bet on that?' His raised eyebrows suggested a few things.

'If I can't, then I'll buy you a new supply of canned soup. It has to be better than whatever muck Azkaban is serving. Worst case scenario, I'll make Harry use his boy-who-lived star power to overrule the usual menu.'

'Deal. What's your brilliant master plan?'

'You'll see. First, we need to make an appointment with Percy.' She jumped up and scrambled around for some pen and paper.

'Smart. That way the Aurors will know where to find us.'

'Percy would never let me get dragged off by Aurors like that. His family would never forgive him. At worst he'll try to convince me to turn myself in.' She wished she felt as confident as she sounded. But at least half of her bravado was genuine, and that was plenty to see them through this. She had accomplished a lot more with less.

When she had finished her note, a formal meeting request that matched the template Percy used for his own office, she ran it by Draco.

'10am tomorrow?'

'The sooner the better, after Christmas. Percy will be at the Weasley's Christmas dinner tonight, but I'll avoid him entirely even if I have to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak.'

'Okay. But just in case, I will see if Pansy has any international portkeys handy. She does love to shop in Paris.'

She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 'You do that. I'll see you tomorrow. Merry Christmas.'

They parted ways and the office was empty for the first time in 24 hours.

Draco was already waiting when she waltzed into the office at 9am. She wondered how early he had arrived. They didn't really need the hour to prepare for their meeting with Percy, but she had to make sure they were there first. She had asked George to do whatever he had to do to keep Percy at the Burrow until at least 9:15am. She now owed George a favour, which was a dangerous thing, but it was very necessary that she walked into this meeting looking like she had the upper hand. Even though she really didn't.

'Good morning,' she said cheerily, ignoring Draco's gloomy disposition. The kiss he greeted her with was a little too fierce for someone who had the confidence they would leave the room of their own free will.

'Don't worry,' she said. 'I promise, we will walk out of here victorious today.'

'Right. And how will we do that?'

'Wait and see.'

She positioned him in front of his desk and stood next to him, which left them both facing the door. She told him to lean back casually and relax his posture, as though they were just hanging out before class at Hogwarts. This close, she could feel the way he vibrated with anxiety, but from Percy's perspective it would work.

Percy walked into the office at exactly 9:58am. He wore a slightly rumpled suit, which had an orange stain on the elbow that he apparently hadn't noticed. Hermione mentally sent a thank you to George.

'Ms. Granger. Mr. Malfoy.'

'Percy,' Hermione greeted with a smile. 'Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. We have much to discuss.'

Percy frowned at her. 'Hermione, I'm not sure you grasp the gravity of this meeting. It pains me that it's come to this, but after your actions on Christmas Eve, there will be no avoiding disciplinary action. After we talk today I'll have to send a recommendation to the Minister himself. It was only as a personal favour to me that he allowed me to handle this case instead of the Aurors. You know that I've always been fond of you, but my hands are tied by Ministry regulation. There's only so much leniency I can show.'

Hermione just smiled brighter. 'Oh, don't worry Percy. A little creativity can do wonders.'

Percy gave her a pitying look and then took a seat at Hermione's desk. He started taking out papers from the binder he was carrying, arranging them across the desk.

'Well,' Hermione said. 'Let's get started.'

Percy looked at her askance, as though she had stolen his line, which is exactly what she had done, piping in just as he had opened his mouth to speak. 'Yes. Now, if I could read out Regulation 23…'

'That won't be necessary. That doesn't apply in this situation, as this office doesn't fall under the branch of Administration.'

'Of course it does, it's in my flow chart.'

Hermione shook her head at him. 'You can't believe everything that's written down Percy. The Office of Extraneous Papers is actually categorised in the official documents as an automated system. Because that's what it was before Draco showed up. Seems you missed a few steps during his orientation. Or the Minister failed to record them properly. I can imagine why. Plausible deniability in case the ex-criminal hire was unpalatable to the public.'

'But that can't be right. The Minister isn't like that. He's one of the good guys. He would never…'

'That's neither here nor there. However it happened, as of this moment there is no official Ministry record of Draco's presence or my presence in this office.'

Percy looked a little horrified at the implications of that. Draco looked proud and amused, unable to resist laughing. It seemed he finally believed she could pull this off. She wasn't particularly proud. It had been ridiculously easy to tamper with the Ministry records, especially on a Christmas afternoon. They really needed to step up their security. She might even recommend that anonymously. Give herself more of a challenge for next time.

'Hermione, that's an even worse offence. Do you know what the minimum sentence is for records tampering? The Ministry takes it very seriously.'

'There's no need to get worked up Percy. I was merely stating a fact, not confessing to any crimes. I'm a little offended that you would jump to conclusions like that. I was a Hogwarts Prefect. That stands for a certain level of moral fortitude, don't you agree?'

Percy was speechless, which was exactly what she wanted. He could really drone on if given half the chance. She supposed people would say that was something they had in common.

'The gaps in the Ministry's record-keeping are unfortunate, but let's not dwell on that.' Hermione linked arms with Draco. 'We have some excellent news. Draco and I have decided to pursue a career in magical research together. We will be resigning from the Ministry effective immediately. I know you'll support our ambitions. You've always been an admirer of the scholarly arts. You told me that in my first year at Hogwarts. Remember? We discussed it at length. I suppose I could even say I owe some of my inspiration to you.'

'But…'

Draco decided to join in on the fun. The look he gave Percy was pure evil. 'You know I really think this department should be discontinued in our absence. Those old spells malfunctioned pretty badly the other day. Must have gone stale. I'm sure that was quite embarrassing for the Ministry. The Daily Prophet certainly thought so. They wrote in so many quotes from Ministry employees concerned they were being spied on. Where is company loyalty these days?'

Percy sighed. 'The Minister already demanded the office be wiped off the face of the planet. I suppose if you were to leave quietly we could let this go. But I really don't like it. It goes against the new ethics I've been trying to instil here. We want a fairer and more transparent Ministry. Not more corruption.'

Hermione patted him on the shoulder. 'You'll get there someday. Just not today. Oh, and I didn't get a chance to say Merry Christmas yesterday. We were both so busy.'

Draco's cough indicated that he had picked up on the fact that she still hadn't actually said it. Well, she really did not wish Percy any merriness at all.

Percy picked up his binder. 'I'll put together another set of forms, for our resignations.'

'Mail them to me. Draco and I are quite close these days. Another blessing we can thank you for. I never imagined you as the type to play cupid, but you did a good job.'

Percy looked aghast at the thought of being blamed for their new romance. 'Well, I'm sure I wish you both well. I'll take my leave. I have a few appointments on the book.'

Hermione waited until he was over the threshold before calling out. 'Oh, and Percy?'

'Yes?'

'Don't mistake this little chat for forgiveness. We may be erasing this office from existence, but you can't erase the past. You betrayed me. I'll play nice at the Burrow because I love your family, but we are not okay.'

Percy sighed. 'I was only trying to do what was best for you. You were becoming too ambitious, the way I did when I was younger. Trying to move too fast up the ladder, no matter the cost. You needed a break.'

'You saw what you wanted to see. I was good at my job. I earned every promotion and I did it without sacrificing any principles. I'm not you Percy. I know how to treat my friends. But you aren't my friend anymore. You had better hope our paths don't cross like this again, or I will take you down.'

Percy turned to Draco. 'I did my best for you too. I gave you a job when no one else would.'

'That's true. But then you left me here to rot. The requests I sent for help were hard to write. I had to lower my dignity pretty far. You never answered a single one.'

Percy made a discreet gesture towards Hermione and Draco nodded in return. Hermione ignored their silent exchange. She may have thanked Percy facetiously earlier for bringing them together, but she couldn't do it in earnest. She may have opened her heart to Draco now, but that was only after Percy had crushed it by destroying the career she had poured her soul into. Whatever fairy floss Percy might hope to spin now, she was certain his motives weren't pure. Percy didn't get to take credit for throwing them together in a hole in the ground.

'Goodbye. I'll send the paperwork by owl.' Percy left with a sluggish step, as though waiting for them to call him back, but they did not.

As his footsteps faded down the corridor, Hermione felt herself go weak at the knees. She would have fallen over if Draco hadn't put an arm around her waist to hold her steady. 'Thank god. I can't believe that worked.'

Draco shook his head in awe. 'That was incredible. I can't believe you weren't sorted into Slytherin.'

Hermione laughed shakily. 'I guess we're free now.'

'And what do you want to do with this freedom?'

'I want to get out of this hellhole. I'd set it on fire, but I' not going to push my luck with the Ministry's mercy.'

'That wasn't mercy Hermione. That was them falling at your feet.'

She tried to suppress a smile at the thought and failed. How had she ever thought she could be happy working in a bland Ministry office like a good little drone? Rebellion was just so much more fun.

Draco pulled her in closer. 'Are you really leaving? What about the Department of Magical Creatures?'

Hermione leaned back into his arms. 'That part of my life is over. Once the excitement of revamping the department had faded, I probably would have become bored. If the past few weeks have taught me anything, it's that the hallowed Ministry of Magic is mostly just a bunch of meaningless paperwork. Luna's almost through here as well. We spoke yesterday. We'll come up with a team of people we can trust to run the department the way we want it run, and then we'll idiot-proof it to stop any future bureaucratic interference.'

'Were you serious, when you said you wanted to team up?' There was a note of vulnerability in his voice.

'Absolutely. We'll need to search for some office space. Brainstorm project ideas. Get passes to all the good Wizarding libraries. Find investors. I'll make a to-do list.'

'And outside of work?'

'We'll be a team there too. The two of us are a volatile mix, so who knows what lies ahead. But my instincts say it will be fun.' She kissed him to demonstrate just how much fun it would be.

Draco squeezed her shoulder. 'So where to now?'

'I need some fresh air. Let's just go for a walk, see where the journey takes us.'

Draco stepped back and gave her a sceptical look. 'See where the journey takes us? Who are you and what have you done to Hermione Granger?'

She held up her hands. 'Okay, so there's actually this office space I wanted to look at a few blocks from here. But we can get plenty of fresh air on the way. We can hold hands and whisper cute nonsense to each other.'

'You've never spoken a word of nonsense in your entire life. But hand holding I can do. It's surprisingly nice. Just don't tell anyone I said that.'

'They would never believe me. We'll just tell people I threatened you at wand point until you agreed to hold my hand. That's a far more believable story.'

They shut the door behind them as they left and Office 623 was empty once more.