Hermione and Draco had been gone Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and returned to England early Monday morning. The brunette honestly didn't know when the last time she'd had a vacation. If it wasn't school, it was a war. If it wasn't a war, it was dealing with the repercussions from that war. If it wasn't war cleanup, it was school all over again. The weekend had been...amazing from beginning to end and neither she nor Draco had wanted it to be over. They had made arrangements then that would always be kept. Dinner, whether somewhere secluded or at her apartment, Monday through Friday. Lunch, Saturdays and Sundays, seeing as dinner was reserved for the Weasleys (Draco cringed) and Hermione's parents, respectively. Every night was a sleepover –that went without saying. And, consequently, so did breakfast every morning.

That same Monday Hermione had decided to go with Draco's advice and accept the standing offer of Senior Magical Researcher. It was actually quite exciting, the more she thought about it, because it held so many benefits. Not only did it play to her strengths, but the Ministry's Research Department was an interdisciplinary one. Everyone who worked there floated in and out of other departments that needed their services. This, in essence, would quench Hermione's thirst of being an Auror or working in the Department of Wizard Law. It was perfect.

Lena Hornsby, the Department Head, was thrilled to hear the news and told her that she could start as soon as tomorrow. "You can help out the Auror Department," she had said. "Someone's dropping off cursed objects everywhere and your co-workers can make heads or tails of them."

And so, that's what brought Hermione here, to the Auror Department, getting debriefed on things so she could get straight to work the next day.

"-and that's about it, really." Auror Warren finished. "I'll have the Aurors working on the case send copies of their files to you. Oh, and you'll need access to the vault too-"

"No worries on the vault." Hermione told him. "I already had access to it."

He stared at her briefly, perhaps suppressing a snort, and nodded. "Right. I'm sure you did."

Hermione ignored it. As cordial as she tried to be with this man, he always seemed to have some sort of grudge. He was older than her, perhaps by five years, maybe six, but he wore his superiority as though he had greys on his head. He didn't take kindly to the fact that she (and by consequence her friends) were treated like "royalty" (to use his term). Hermione didn't approve of such favoritism either, but it was a natural thing to happen. She, Harry, and Ron, everyone in the Order and Dumbledore's Army, had been part of the front line during the war. They had played a pivotal part in reshaping the Ministry back to what it used to be –even better. No, Ron wasn't working for the Ministry, but he had an honorary card here much as she had before she officially got hired that afternoon. And Harry, although Auror Warren's position could have very well been his, despite his age, had turned it down for the very reason Hermione hadn't accepted any job offers until now. He had wanted to earn it.

Auror Warren should've been grateful that that was the case.

"Thanks again," Hermione said politely as she stood. The man nodded, instantly getting back into work mode and turned his gaze to his desk. It was as she was leaving, though, that something caught her eye at the corner of his desk. Her brows furrowed.

"What is this?" Hermione asked as she picked up a file. Draco's name was on it. She didn't want to think the worst but…

Auror Warren glanced up from his work to see what she was referring to and then went back to his writing. "An application for the Auror Training Program,"

"Is it really…?" She asked as she inspected it more closely. And yes, indeed, the file did have those very words written on the front. It was still puzzling, however –especially as she looked over to the pile where other applications seemed to be. "Why isn't this opened?"

"Who said it hasn't been looked at?"

"Don't belittle me, Quintin." Hermione scowled. "The seal isn't broken. That means this application has been sitting on your desk for weeks without so much as a once-over."

"Oh, I gave it a once-over alright." Auror Warren said as he set his quill down. He sat back in his seat and gestured his head to the file in her hand. "All I had to do was read the name on top to decide that Malfoy wasn't Auror material."

Hermione's anger flared. "Wasn't Auror material? Are you kidding me? You haven't even looked at his scores! Not his NEWTs nor the written exam! This is discrimination!"

"Discrimination? Hermione, you know very well that no supporter of You-Know-Who can hold a position as an Auror by law."

"Yes, I know. I wrote that law." Hermione sneered. "And its subsections state that a supporter can in fact hold an Auror position if at least five years has passed since the conclusion of the punishment for their crimes, and within that time he or she hasn't been arrested for any misdemeanor, no matter the infraction.

'If you're going to quote something by me, you could at least get it right." She added angrily as she slapped Draco's file down on Auror Warren's desk. He merely continued to stare at her.

"I don't think anything you said applies to Malfoy."

"Of course it doesn't! He was exonerated. As such he legally can't be looked down as a criminal."

"And yet," Auror Warren smiled, "he was still a known You-Know-Who supporter –indicted or not. It's that one little loophole that can let that file rot on my desk. Or better yet, in the trash."

Auror Warren reached forward for the file, but Hermione quickly snatched it up.

"What you're doing is wrong, and you know it."

"You only care because he's between your legs every night."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Auror Warren said sternly. "You wouldn't be fighting me on this if you weren't sleeping with him."

Hermione's jaw had dropped. She was so taken aback that she had almost lost her words.

Almost.

"Now, you listen to me Quintin Alabaster Warren." Hermione said with a finger raised. "My personal life has nothing to do with this. Wrong is wrong. Period. No exceptions. You're letting your personal feelings get in the way of this."

Auror Warren's eyes narrowed. "I have no personal feelings involved."

Hermione's brow raised. "Oh no? I suppose this has nothing to do with your cousin getting kidnapped during the war, tortured, and subsequently killed at Malfoy Manor?"

Auror Warren shot up out of his seat, effectively knocking it back. "Don't you dare bring that up, Hermione! Don't you dare!"

"Too late!" Hermione shot back at him. "You're not the only one who's had bad things happen to! You've obviously forgotten that I was tortured at Malfoy Manor –by Malfoy's aunt no less while he watched. If I can look past that and still, as you so crassly put it, have him between my legs every night, then you can look past what happened to you and your family. Now," she said as she raised Draco's file. "You will look at this and seriously consider it."

"I won't." He said defiantly, crossing his arms for good measure.

Hermione huffed. "Fine, have it your way. My law has loopholes, yes? Well, I'll have you know that Marcus Flint was a supporter, never indicted, and he currently works in the Auror Department, Muggle Protection Division. If he could get in, then so can Malfoy."

Auror Warren looked like he was ready to spit fire. It probably didn't help that Hermione's smile was taunting him.

"Don't make Kingsley regret making you Auror Head, Quintin." Hermione said as she put Draco's file on top of what he'd been working on when she'd come in. "Do your job correctly, and don't ever bring up my personal life again. I'll be sure not to do the same with yours."

Author's note: Feisty, feisty, Hermione ;). Sticking up for her Draco while simultaneously putting Auror Warren in his place! Oh, I just love her.

Thanks for reading as always!

-WP