There's a letter on her desk when Hermione gets back to her office. It took her an hour to show Draco around, introducing him a few other employees, explaining the work he'd be doing, and setting him up at his desk. He was painfully polite the entire time, smiling with bright white teeth and charming his co-workers with a few lightly spoken compliments. It was infuriating.

Hermione picks up the letter, slicing open the red seal with her fingernail. She spreads out the folded parchment and quickly reads the message:

There's been an incident involving a mutated batch of Cornish pixies. We're investigating suspects while trying to capture over two thousand escaped mutants, twice the size of the average pixie and three times as vicious. Please send Cromwell and yourself immediately. Our department is underhanded, and the public is getting anxious.

Thanks, Viktor Krum, Bulgarian International Magical Department

P.S. I hope all is well Hermione. I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Hermione folds the note, tucking it into the pockets of her robe. Usually she would send Cromwell on this sort of case. He works well in stressful situations. Hermione prefers the cases that involve logistics and planning- she doesn't like walking straight into a hornet's nest- into a mess of already panicked people. There'll be a horde of wizards screaming at her and a stack of things to do as so as she sets foot in the Bulgarian ministry. But Viktor Krum requested her personally, and she is looking forward to seeing him.

After the triwizard tournament, Hermione and Viktor continued to stay in touch, sending each other letters a few times every month. But they've lost contact over the past few years, mostly because they both have very demanding jobs. Viktor is high in the ranks at the Bulgarian ministry. He moved up quickly once he decided to forgo his quidditch career. From time to time, they get to see each other at international summits, but there's not much time for catching up when there are a hundred foreign delegates breathing down your neck.

Part of Hermione is excited to finally travel after spending weeks in the office, but another part of her is dreading the big job looming in the distance. Two thousand mutated pixies? Good god. Hermione remembers dealing with just a couple dozen pixies while she was at Hogwarts- and that was nightmare itself. Sighing, she grabs a piece of parchment and quickly scrawls out a response to Viktor:

Good to hear from you Viktor, despite the circumstances. I'll be on my way soon.

She bites the tip of her quill before adding:

I'm bringing the interim vice president with me. Cromwell is in the hospital until further notice. We'll leave within the hour.

Hermione rolls up the parchment and walks over to the open window. She whistles once, and an owl swoops down, landing on the sill. It sits patiently as Hermione ties the note around its leg. "Fly safely," Hermione says as the owl bursts back into the air.

Draco isn't at his desk when she walks outside. Instead, he's bent over Sybil Wright's desk, smiling and laughing at something. Hermione narrows her eyes. Sybil is a smart girl. But she's also a beautiful, flirtatious girl. Hermione keeps her in the office instead of sending her on cases, because the last time she was in Beijing, she ended up with an engagement ring from the Chinese wizarding president. The president was heartbroken when Hermione explained that Sybil didn't know the Chinese word for "engagement," and had thought she was simply receiving a nice gift.

"What are you two doing?" She asks, trying to keep her tone light.

"Oh, sorry, Hermione," Sybil says, blushing prettily. "I was just showing Draco this new cartoon strip. Here, have a look."

Draco steps back, making room for Hermione in front of the desk. His gray eyes flicker to hers for just a moment, and she can feel him close behind her, raising the hairs on the back of her neck, as she leans over the desk. "Look," Sybil says again, and Hermione turns her distracted gaze towards the cartoon.

It's a silly little thing, of a tiny child witch defeating a large dragon with a broken wand and broomstick. Hermione smirks slightly. "Cute," she says.

"Yes, I thought so."

"But perhaps you should spend working hours working instead of distracting our new employee."

Sybil's smile falters from just a moment before she says, "Yes, of course. Sorry."

"That's all right."

Hermione turns around, and almost jumps, realizing how close Draco is standing to her. He smirks, seeing he's startled her, but before he can open his mouth, she says, "Come, Draco. There's a crisis in Bulgaria. Let's see how you handle yourself on the job."

She starts striding back towards her office, Draco following closely behind. His eyes are wide, animate. "You mean I get to go to Bulgaria?"

"We get to go to Bulgaria. But don't sound too excited. The case isn't a pretty one."

"Why? What's happened?"

Hermione must admit that his enthusiasm for the job is promising. He might be buggering around the office, flirting and distracting her employees, but at least he's interested in the job. It's always good to change up the department with some fresh, excited faces. "Some mutated pixies escaped. We have to contain all the pixies and find the bloody idiot who created them."

"Bloody idiot," Draco says, smiling widely. "I can't believe Hermione Granger curses. It's a revelation. Didn't anyone teach you some decorum?"

"I'm almost thirty, Malfoy. I can say bloody if I bloody well like."

"I guess it's just hard for me to separate the old Hermione from the new one."

Hermione eyes Draco suspiciously, thinking she's having exactly the same problem with him. What happened to the young, taunting, cruel boy she knew at Hogwarts? Is he still there buried beneath a charming smile? "I'm not so different now," Hermione responds. But she starts to wonder how much she's changed. Surely she's not the same little girl who first stepped foot in Hogwarts with an open mouth and wide eyes. Of course, she's changed. But how? What does Draco see when he looks at her now?

And why does she care?

"Anyways, you need to get going. Here's the address for the Bulgarian ministry. Go home, pack enough clothing for a couple of days, and use the floo network. Keep an eye on the time. They close the fire grates at the end of the workday."

"Will you meet me there?" Draco asks.

"Of course I'm meeting you there. What? Did you think I'd let you go on your first trip alone? I can't have you messing everything up."

"Silly of me to ask. I'll see you soon, boss." Hermione wishes she could slap the sly grin right off his face.

"Hermione. I'm glad you're here," Viktor says as Hermione tries to gracefully sweep the floo powder from her robes. He looks as tall and broad as ever, with dark hair pushed off his strong-featured face. "I'm working with a bunch of tiresome fools over here. It's good to see a competent person walking out of that fire place."

Hermione smiles softly, pleased by the compliment. "Thank you, Viktor. I'm happy to be here." To most people, Viktor Krum was always an unreachable idol, silent and brooding. She's not sure how it happened, but during his time at Hogwarts, he took a liking to Hermione. Sometimes she thinks he's spoken more words to her than anyone else in the world combined. There was a time when they thought of turning their friendship into something romantic. It was right after she broke up with Ron, but Hermione decided she'd rather keep Viktor as a friend than chance losing him after a few dates.

The Bulgarian ministry is a lot smaller than England's, but the halls are huge and drafty, stone arches raised fifty feet high. The walls are decorated thickly with richly painted tapestries, depicting Bulgaria's wizarding history. Hermione wonders whether this pixie incident will make it into a mural.

"So when was D-Day?" She asks, deciding to gather information on the case before Viktor and her start reminiscing about the glory days.

"D-Day?" He asks, confused.

Sometimes, Hermione forgets that most witches and wizards weren't brought up in the muggle world. They don't always pay attention to what they consider "trivial wars fought with idiots holding metal."

"Never mind," Hermione continues. "When did the pixies first get loose?"

"Oh, well we got the first owl two days ago. Someone said they saw pixies loose in Brier Park. The next day, there were five people in the hospital with some pretty violent bites and cuts."

"And have you managed to catch any of the pixies yet?"

"Only a few. They're in testing now. I have Snarpus in the lab trying to figure out what they are exactly, and if there's any easy way to catch them. But he says the work is going slowly. He can't get a live sample without one of the Pixies trying to bites his eye out."

Hermione grimaces. "This does sound fun."

"It's a nightmare." Viktor's dark eyes meet Hermione's, and he smiles lightly. "But like I said, I'm glad you're here. Knowing you, everything will be fixed and wrapped up in twenty-four hours."

"Two thousand pixies and the experimenter missing? Let's not get ahead of ourselves." But Hermione is hoping to be back in England quickly. She doesn't like leaving Cromwell alone in the hospital for long.

"Where's old Cromwell, by the way?" Viktor asks, as if reading her mind.

"Oh, he got himself into a right mess in Tanzania. It's a long story. He'll be at St. Mungo's for awhile."

"Pity. I liked him. He always gave it to me straight. Most people in government are very good at making the truth into a lie. Well, who did you get to replace him?"

Just as Viktor asks this, the fireplace shoots into green flames, and a blonde figure walks out, grimacing a bit as he holds his head. "I'll never get used to travelling by floo," Draco says.

"Viktor," Hermione says. "I'd like you to meet Draco Malfoy, our new employee. He'll be working with..." Hermione trails off as she notices that Draco and Viktor are staring each other down, bitter resentment in their eyes. She clears her throat. "I take it you two already know each other."

"Know each other?" Viktor gives out one, short laugh before launching himself right at Draco, open hands aimed for his pale throat.

A/N – Thought I'd leave a little cliffhanger. I've changed Viktor a little bit for the role- I need him a bit more talkative, but I hope you guys don't mind.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!