Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognise.
A couple of weeks had passed since Ron and Hermione had talked. Or rather since Hermione had told Ron how she felt. There wasn't much of a talk when you think about it. Things were going reasonably well, Ron was leaving her alone to do her own thing but still being attentive. Hermione was still becoming annoyed too easily, but it was difficult to tell why that was due to it being her time of the month... PMT or was she really annoyed at Ron?
Hermione was sitting in her office filling out some forms for the days stack of appeals. She often came in five minutes early so she could fill in some of the information, like names and dates, just to make things quicker during the day. Her first case today was a man who had lost his wife during the war. He had seven children to support, 3 of whom were under the age of two, an no family to help him. He had been living off the savings he and his wife had put away for their daughters wedding when she was older. Hermione genuinely felt sorry for him. She thought she recognised his name, but wasn't sure.
Hermione called her first client in, and saw a man in his late forties, early fifties walk into her office. He sat in the chair in front of her desk as she indicated and smiled. Hermione noticed he had a front tooth missing.
"Well, Mister Warrington, you feel you've been hard done by by my staff?"
"Ar, I do. Your man told me I can't have any money. Now, I think that's unfair when you see the type of people who do get money?"
"And what type of people would they be, Mister Warrington?"
"Er... Well, you know people trying to con you into giving them money they don't need!"
"Well clearly my staff don't think you need any more money than you have. You understand that the tea we give you has veritaserum in?"
"Yes, I didn't have any. Wasn't thirsty you see."
"Well in that case, I can't do anything for you. I'm not going to give you money if I can't be sure that you're not lying."
"Isn't that rather cynical?"
"I'm afraid it is Mr Warrington, unfortunately it's people who con us into giving them money who forced our hand to do it"
"Right, I see..."
"I can give you some tea now if you like. Surely if you're telling the truth then you have nothing to worry about?"
"I refuse to ingest veritaserum. How do I know what you're going to ask me?"
"I am under contract Mr Warrington, and even if I did ask you unofficial questions you don't have to answer them!"
"Of course I bloody do! Are you daft girl?"
"No Mr Warrington, I am not daft. Veritaserum makes you tell the truth, it doesn't make you answer questions. You could take it now, and I could ask you when the last time you had sex was and if you answered you would tell the truth, but alternatively you could keep your mouth shut and I'd never know. But, no matter you refuse to take it."
"I will not take such impertinence from the likes of you!"
"Oh really, Mr Warrington? Well, I don't take kindly to people of wealth coming into my office and trying to pull the wool over my eyes."
"People of wealth?"
"Yes Mr Warrington, I've remember who you are. Your son was in my year at school. I spent seven years having to put up with 'Oh, look what Daddy sent me. Another firebolt and I'm not even on the Quidditch team!'"
"Are you criticising the way I raised my son?"
"No, I'm not doing that. I'm merely giving you an example of why I know you're wealthy."
"Miss Granger, I was frivolous with my money. There's none left."
"I'm afraid I don't believe that Mr Warrington, when you sign the appeal deal you agree to let me apply to Gringotts for any information about your account, either savings or transactions."
Warrington's face went pale and drawn, the self pitying look on his face disappeared and he sat up a little straighter. Hermione had received an owl that morning, the report was sitting on her desk as one of her staff had taken it from the owl. Hermione had felt anger rush through her as she looked at the papers from the report.
"I would suggest that if you're so poor that you don't put a bid in for Malfoy's holiday home in Geneva. And did you know that it's illegal to keep using the bank account of a dead woman? Transferring your money into her account didn't work, it's back in your account"
Warrington's lip curled into a snarl and he stood slowly, he turned to leave and just before he reached the door he spun round and an unforgivable at Hermione. Fortunately Hermione always maintained a shield between her and her clients, just in case. The spell bounced off and as it did the door to Hermione's office burst open. Two aurors stepped in and put Warrington in a full body bind.
Hermione straightened the papers from the report out and stood up. She leant on her desk and looked into the eyes of Warrington and smirked.
"Next time Warrington, try harder to move the millions of gallions from your account."
A few hours later Hermione went for her lunch. She locked her office and walked through the communal office outside, telling her staff that she was taking a long lunch after Warrington. They nodded sympathetically as she put on her cloak and went out into the cool, crisp sunlight. She wandered around Diagon Alley looking for somewhere to eat when she noticed a familiar looking white blonde head.
"Afternoon Draco."
Draco spun around from the window he was looking in and smiled when he saw who was talking to him. He noticed her slightly pink cheeks and the fact that you could see her breath and surmised that she had not long come outside. She was wearing a light blue cloak which provided little warmth if her slight shivers were anything to go by.
"Afternoon Granger. Quite cold today isn't it?" He asked, nodding to her quaking shoulders.
She laughed a little and nodded, looking around him into the window that had captured his attention. She smiled as she saw an impressive looking broom suspended in the window. He smiled almost apologetically.
"What can I say? I'm still a boy at heart! But what do you say we get out of the cold and go for lunch?"
Hermione acquiesced and they wandered down the street a little longer before they came across a new cafe that neither had been in before. They entered and took a booth near the fire before looking at the menus. Both were pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the food on offer, after assuming it would be normal cafe food. They both ordered their food, and got drinks while they waited.
"Liquid lunch, eh Granger?"
"Hardly a liquid lunch when I'm eating too is it, Malfoy?" She asked, stressing her use of his surname.
"Sorry, Hermione."
She smiled at him and took a sip of her wine, drawing it over her tongue and savouring the taste. She took in Draco's appearance, noticing that he had put some weight on since school and looked healthier. His hair was shorter than it was when he was a child, when it was slicked back with tonnes of hair gel. It was brushed over to one side and made him look grown up, a man rather than a boy wanting to be a man. He was wearing smart black pants and a white tailored shirt, secured with silver cuff links. He had taken off his cloak and draped it over the back of his chair.
"How have you been?"
Draco thought about her question and decided to answer her honestly.
"As well as can be. I'm struggling still to prove myself to the wider wizarding world, I miss my mother, you've no idea how hard it is to maintain an estate the size of mine - as soon as you fix the leaking roof, the bridge over the lake falls apart, this job I'm working on now is huge. It's going to take me weeks, if not months to finish it, which means sitting in that dank horrible warehouse steadily becoming more hunched everyday..."
He stopped when he saw Hermione trying not to laugh.
"I'm sorry Draco, but I really can't feel sorry for you over maintaining your estate!"
Draco smiled and felt his cheeks redden slightly.
"Sorry, I know it seems a bad thing to complain about. But we're from different worlds, to you your husband breaking his leg is a problem. To me the bridge over the leg rotting is a problem"
Hermione consented that that was a fair point to make and took another sip of her wine. Their food arrived and they stopped talking for a while as they ate. Hermione hadn't realised how hungry she was before the smell of her food hit her.
As Hermione had taken a long lunch they had plenty of time to talk, and soon got onto work. She told him about Warrington and he told her about the sheer amount of artefacts that he had to go through in the warehouse.
"I love my job, sometimes I don't think Ron realises that. I think he thinks I work because it's a job and I need the money. That's part of it obviously, but I love it. Ron doesn't understand the concept of working hard for a job, competing against other people to be offered a job and then working so hard so that you're not replaced... He walked into that job without so much as an interview."
"So, you don't think the weasel deserves his job?"
"Oh don't call him that Draco, I know he's nothing but nasty to you but you're the one who's trying to alter the wizarding worlds image of you! But... I suppose that's true. He was given a job on the back of what Harry did. I... I shouldn't have told you that."
Draco smiled at her and checked his watch, noticing it was half two he cursed.
"Shit, sorry Hermione I have to go. My boss is coming down today to check on my progress, and if I don't go now I'm going to be late!"
Draco poured a pile of coins on the table and ran out of the cafe, turning on the spot as soon as he was outside. Hermione looked down at what he'd put on the table and her eyes widened. Not only had he thrown around 13 galleons down he'd also left around 80 pound in muggle money. She picked up the money and paid the bill. She put the rest in her robe pocket and went back to work.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, as her main appointment in the afternoon had cancelled. Hermione was often left with no work as people realised they weren't going to get anywhere by appealing, and so cancelled. She didn't mind, it gave her time to do all her filing and meant her staff could go home early.
At home Hermione hung her cloak up and stowed her briefcase. She slipped off her shoes before opening the vestibule door and walking into the living room. She smiled at Ron and kissed him on the cheek as she collapsed onto the couch. He didn't return the scowl however and watched her with his arms crossed across his chest. Hermione looked at him questioningly, raising her eyebrow at him.
"I saw you today."
"Did you? Where?"
"In Diagon Alley. With Malfoy."
"Oh, why didn't you come over?"
"You two looked cosy in that new cafe..."
"It was lovely, you should have come in!" Said Hermione, genuinely confused as to why he didn't say hello.
"Chyeah! Okay! Come in while you're on a date with Malfoy!"
"I was not on a date Ronald, I was having lunch with him. I had a good time with him, some good conversations."
"I don't want you seeing him."
"What?" Hermione spluttered, sitting up as she looked at him.
"You're not seeing him anymore Hermione, I don't want you to."
"Since when did you have the right to tell me who I see?"
"Since I became your husband. Just because I've never told you before doesn't mean I can't"
"Yes, Ronald, it does. You have no right to tell me who I can see! Draco is my friend!"
"Oh, friend is he?" Ron sneered
"What would you rather him be? An enemy? Well I'm sorry Ron, but I've grown up. We're no longer in school, we're no longer Gryffindor or Slytherin. We're just people trying to get on in life. You seem to be the only one living in the past. Harry and Ginny are fine with him, even Neville is fine with him and he tortured him in school!"
Ron looked shocked and hurt. Hermione was shocked that she felt like that.
"I'm sorry Ron but I'm 23 years old. I'm not going to dwell on the mistakes of a pressurised little boy."
"He knew what he was doing 'Mione... I can't believe you're supporting him."
Hermione sighed and shrugged.
"Fine, believe what you like. It's not going to stop me talking to him. I'll be seeing him tomorrow anyway, he left money at the cafe."
Ron recognised that Hermione wasn't going to argue anymore so he stood. He walked to the kitchen and picked up a plate before walking back to the living room and banging it down on the coffee table. He had made her dinner despite being angry with her. He grabbed his muggle jacket from the back of the chair as Hermione noticed that he was in muggle clothes.
"I'm going out. Don't know when I'll be back"
"Don't wake me."
Ron grumbled and slammed the door on the way out. When he returned later he saw the plate full of food still on the table with a note.
"If you ever behave like that to me again then you'll be on the couch infinitely. You can clean it up."
A/N - This is a bit longer than 2000 words, I was a bit overzealous but oh well!