Disclaimer: Everything recogniseable belongs to J.K. Rowling... The rest is from my own imagination.
March 2003
Harry Potter stepped into the golden lift at the Ministry of Magic; he was on his way to the second floor to report for his first day of work in the Auror Office. His best friend, Ron Weasley, was running slightly late and had told Harry to go on without him. So there he stood, alone in the lift, feeling very much as nervous as he had on his first day of school at Hogwarts eleven years ago. But Ron had been with him then and on their first day of Auror Training. Harry leaned against the back of the lift, his head bowed, deep in thought.
Ron and their other best friend, Hermione Granger, had been there for him so often; he was rather unused to doing things without them. They had been there for him when he had faced Voldemort in their first, second, fourth and fifth years at school, and finally in their seventh year when he had lost his innocence and killed Voldemort at Godric's Hollow. His friends had also been there for him during totally Voldemort-unrelated moments such as his first kiss, first drunken episode and subsequent others. They had even been there for him when he'd come to the conclusion that he was gay after having several botched relationships with girls when it really was him. He and Ron had shared a flat since they began their Auror training four years earlier, and they'd been hired together at the Auror Headquarters at the Ministry of Magic. Even though their lives hadn't been a fairytale, at least they'd had each other's friendship through it all, and Harry would always be eternally grateful to both him and Hermione.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket Sneakoscope, the one Ron had given him for his thirteenth birthday. He carried it around in his robes for security; he always felt warmth from within when he held it because it reminded him of the first time he could remember being truly happy that it was his birthday. He turned the little ball around in his hand and hoped that Ron would arrive soon.
Draco Malfoy was running towards the lifts at the end of the hall from his potions lab on the third floor of the Ministry of Magic. Arthur Weasley had just sent him an emergency memo from the floor below; some very foolish teenage wizards in Wales had been seen floating around Cardiff due to the effects of Diet Coke. They had apparently taken the slogan to heart and had 'lit it up'. The head of the potions sector in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes had delegated the task of brewing emergency potions to Draco, and he'd been very excited when he'd gotten the job; he flourished under pressure.
Most unfortunately, however, Draco and his assistant had been working on one of his own recipes, and at the moment he received the memo, his assistant had added the wrong ingredient and showered them both with blue potion. He'd taken off for the lifts and tried to mutter a Scouring Charm as he ran, but it did very little; complicated potions often left immovable stains, and Draco had a wardrobe full of robes to prove it. He reached the lifts and pushed the button to call one down from the seventh floor; he looked down at his appearance and groaned out loud. He would be speckled blue for the day.
Impatiently, he shifted from foot to foot as the lift descended slowly. Finally, the little number '3' lit up and the golden grilles parted. He placed one foot into the lift and looked up, then did a double take and was surprised he didn't hear his jaw hit the floor. Standing in front of him, tall, broad shouldered and devastatingly handsome, was Harry Potter.
Grey eyes flashed as they met green and it took Harry's breath away. He thought he might have been dreaming; before him stood his childhood nemesis, Draco Malfoy. He was splattered from head to foot in blue and looked very ruffled and as shocked to see Harry as Harry was to see him, but there was no mistaking the aristocratic features and otherwise unflawed appearance that was Malfoy. It had been nearly six years since they'd last seen each other, and Malfoy had certainly grown up into one of the most gorgeous wizards Harry had ever laid eyes upon. He stepped into the lift and pushed the number '2'.
"Been a long time, hasn't it, Potter?" he said.
Harry managed to find his breath again to reply.
"Yes, Malfoy, it most certainly has."
"So, what are you in for?" Malfoy asked. He had also grown out of his nasty sneer and the drawl he spoke with; he sounded so normal and un-Malfoy.
"My first day of work; I'm an Auror," Harry said, feeling himself blush slightly. "You?"
"Congratulations, Potter. I'm in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes actually; I work as an emergency potion brewer. My assignment today is to brew an antidote for Diet Coke that makes the drinker fly. I'm on my way to Arthur Weasley's office to get the list of ingredients they used in the beverage."
He's going where?! Harry was floored. Malfoy was almost unrecognisable as the one he once knew six years before; it was almost disconcerting, yet strangely intriguing.
"Sounds exciting," Harry said with a smile. He looked into Malfoy's grey eyes and felt oddly faint. The lift grilles opened on the second floor and they stepped out.
"Not nearly as exciting as your job's going to be," Malfoy said to him. He held out his hand to Harry.
"I'll see you around, Potter." He gave Harry a dazzling smile as he turned and walked away. Dazed and very confused, Harry opened the door to the Auror Headquarters.