Draco was pacing. Hermione was late. Not that they had a set time, but the woman showed up at ten sharp every weekday, so he had come to have expectations. She was a full hour late and he was beginning to get worried.

"Damn her for messing up my routine. Who does she think she is leaving me without so much as a note? If this is because of Sunday…" he was muttering as Narcissa Malfoy strode into the library.

She stopped and looked around, confusion in her eyes behind her cold mask of indifference. "Where's the mudblood?"

"I don't know," Draco ground out, trying to ignore his mother's crude words. One would think that after almost losing her entire family to the Dark Lord and their Pureblood ideology she would at least tone down her supremacist ideals, but no. Even after a halfblood, a blood-traitor, and a mudblood defeated their 'all-powerful' Dark Lord, the woman could not accept that magical prowess was not dependent on heritage.

"Well, one cannot expect much in the way of manners from her stock," his mother said off handily.

Draco let out an exasperated sigh and silently hoped that Granger and his mother would never have any more social interactions. "What are you here for, mother?"

"Oh yes," Narcissa said as if she forgot. Sneaky witch. "Astoria told me you were discussing marriage and children with her, and I was wondering which ring would you like your father to get out of the vault. I am so glad you finally came to your senses. I almost thought you were going to leave poor Astoria at the wayside for a woman with inferior breeding."

I knew I would have to deal with this eventually, Draco thought bitterly. "Mother," he began carefully. He knew that she would not take the news well, and he dearly hoped he could come out of this with his inheritance intact. "I was discussing those things with Astoria to find out if we were compatible, and I have decided that we would not be well suited for each other."

"And when were you going to tell the poor girl that?" his mother admonished. "She wholeheartedly thinks you're about to propose. Why did you not tell her your little revelation last night?"

Draco had the decency to look ashamed even though he was far from it. "Daphne came in, and I thought it would only make it worse to break up with her in front of her sister."

His mother glared at him. She taught him how to treat women, and it seemed he had ignored a very vital lesson. "So, leading the girl to believe you were going to marry her, only to tell her the following day that you're breaking up, is making the situation better?" she bit out.

"I'm sorry, mother. I panicked and took the easy way out," he murmured. He knew his mother was right, even if he didn't feel as sorry as he looked about breaking Astoria's heart. A man should always consider the woman's feelings in his dealings with ending or beginning relationships…

"You will invite Astoria for dinner tonight, then afterwards, you will delicately explain the situation and give her the emerald necklace from your vault as a token of your stupidity. This girl has given you two years of her young life and does not deserve for it to be wasted!" Narcissa ranted. It was very unlike her to get so emotional about such dealings, so Draco filed the interaction away as something he should ask his father about.

At this point, Draco was actually feeling rather guilty about leading Astoria on. He knew that she was a good woman despite how self-centered she could be. As soon as his mother left in a huff, he began planning his break up speech. It would have to be delicate, yet firm. He didn't want to leave any hope. A feeling of dread sunk into Draco's stomach; either this was a massive mistake, or he was just terrified of Astoria's reaction.

"Merlin, I hope this goes well," he prayed as he wrote out his thoughts.

"What has you late for work?" Joseph asked upon seeing Hermione enter the office space. "You never said."

"I had a talk with Molly Weasley this morning," she explained while she frantically shuffled paperwork around her desk. "Do you know where my notes from Thursday are?" She asked, giving up her search with a huff. "I thought of something and need those notes to confirm what I'm thinking."

Joseph smiled, glad to be useful. He hadn't much to do since Hermione began her research at Malfoy Manor and it had gotten boring without the brunette giving him daily tasks. "I put them in a neat filing system in that cabinet," he explained with pride. "They're sorted by day and put in order. I then created a document that lists when and where you used the key words you highlighted."

"You're amazing!" She exclaimed and brought him into a quick hug. "This I brilliant!" She said as she examined his document. It obviously took a lot of work from the complicated magic that must have gone into it. "I'll have to speak to Kingsley about having you promoted. You're an amazing assistant, but you'd be even better as apart of the team," she said and smiled up at him.

Joesph was stunned. The document he made was a time filler because he was bored, and Hermione Granger thought it was brilliant enough to deserve to work with her. The thought intimidated him. Work with Hermione Granger? How could he live up to her standards? Could he work at her level? He could tell by organizing her notes that she was meticulous and everyone she worked with was also. Was Joseph detailed enough? Smart enough? Quick enough? He ended up stuttering out, "I think I'd rather be your assistant."

Hermione looked crestfallen, but her smile came back, albeit without the same brilliance as before when she stated, "the least I can do is get you a raise for all this help. Thank you Joseph, and before you say no, it's the least I can do."

Joseph was blushing furiously. He was not used to such praise and was not sure how to take it. He had only been working with Hermione for two months, with half of it barely seeing her since she was at Malfoy Manor, and he had yet to get used to her kindness. His last boss was a harsh man and this was his first job, so he assumed that was just the way of the workplace. He was in for a massive shock when Hermione became his new boss, and he never fully got over it. Thankfully, before he could make a total fool of himself by showing his lack of ability to handle positivity, she broke the brief silence with her plans.

Hermione had been sorting through her notes in his silence and found the page she was looking for. "Here it is!" she yammered excitedly. "I knew it was there all along! Joesph, do you know what this means?" She pulled his attention back. Upon giving her a confused look, she continued, "the 'tags' were even more than I thought they were. Not only did each law have one specific family cast a spell over it that must be undone, but each group of laws passed together has a item attached to the binding that must be destroyed before it can be broken. It's a very secure way to pass laws, but terribly difficult to break."

"Does this mean you're going to be out of the office longer?" Joseph asked, slightly afraid his boss might not come back.

"Sadly," she frowned in a contemplative manner. After a few seconds of chewing on her lip thinking, she turned back to Joseph and asked, "would you like to come along? I could use someone to help find this object. We will have to do some more research first to get an idea of what it could be."

He could hardly formulate words. He always imagined what it would have been like to be a part of the Golden Trio when they were in the woods for a year, and now it seems he would have a chance, but something held him back. "Would Malfoy be joining us?"

"That's a good question," Hermione said, considering the notion. "I would have to ask. He is now a part of the team and has a right to go. This will all have to be discussed with the Minister first, then I'll talk to Malfoy. I presume you'll have your answer after that?"

"Yes," Joseph nodded. Shortly after, he looked somewhere between worried and frightened. "Since he's a part of the team, does that mean he's my boss too?"

Hermione let out a loud laugh. So, that's what he was worried about. Is he really that scared of Draco Malfoy? she thought. The very notion that someone would be scared of an over-glorified school yard bully like Draco Malfoy made Hermione want to dissolve into a puddle of giggles. When she regained her composure, she replied, "No. He is not your boss. I am his boss in a way. He is more like a contract worker. He is an expert in Pureblood ceremony and his blood is very useful, but once we can break the laws without his assistance, he will leave the team."

Joseph let out a small breath of relief. The thought of Draco Malfoy being able to order him around scared him witless. But, knowing that he would still be working this an Ex-Death Eater was no comfort.

Hermione did not seem concerned about his musings and continued on as normal. "I'm going to update the Minister on our progress. Can you please make copies of these notes, then create a report on the significance of our revelation? Kingsley will want it after our talk." Hermione walked out of the office towards Kingsley's office and left Joseph to stare after her in awe before scrambling to start the report she wanted.

"I don't know where the item is, but Malfoy and I will begin researching that today. We will need to find out which family bound the item and that will likely give us a clue as to what the item may be," Hermione explained. She had spent the last hour and a half in Kingsley's office briefing him on her new findings. They were so close. She could feel it.

"Once we have enough information on the bound item, I want you and Mr. Malfoy to go out and try to find it while rounding up as many people with Sacred 28 blood as you can. At that point, word will probably get out about the law being broken, and we will need to put Rosalinda in secure hiding and have an auror escort you both through your travels." Hermione was about to protest that she could take care of herself, but Kingsley stopped her with one finger. "I know you can handle yourself, Hermione. But, you carry a lot of confidential information, and I would like that information as secure as possible. Clear?"

"Yes," Hermione conceded reluctantly. "Oh, any word from Rosalinda's mother?" she asked as an afterthought.

Kingsley let out a sigh and rubbed his face. "No, he replied heavily. "I'm shocked she hasn't reclaimed her child. I have started to think that maybe she doesn't want Rose anymore. I know it's putting a burden on you, but hopefully this will end soon, and perhaps Mr. Malfoy will raise his daughter."

Hermione smiled genially. "I love having Rosie. She's the sweetest little girl, and I am happy I get to help take care of her. But I have the feeling when this is all wrapped up, Malfoy will jump at the chance to raise her."

Kingsley raised a brow, but commented no further. He merely dismissed her to finish the dwindling work day and bid her a good week.

Hermione looked at her watch for the first time in hours. Oh Merlin! I'm so late to Malfoy's! she thought and rushed back into her office.

"Joseph!" she called as soon as she reached the threshold.

His messy head of brown locks popped up from behind his desk. "Yes?"

"I'm super late to go to the Manor. If you can't submit that report by the end of the day, tomorrow will be fine. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow!" she said. With a quick wave, she rushed to the floor, hoping someone would let her into the Manor. Usually a house elf would be there to let her in, but since she was late, she wasn't so sure.

"There is a visitor for Master," Dinky squeaked.

"I'll be there in a moment," Draco replied distractedly. He was so busy planning out his break up he almost forget to ask who was coming. "Oh," he added just as the elf was about to pop away. "Who was it?"

"Mistress Granger," the elf said with a lopsided smile.

"She is not your mistress, Dinky. She is merely a guest," Draco corrected.

"Yes, Master," Dinky said with a conspiring smirk. The elf knew something Draco didn't, and that greatly disturbed him. Before he could question the little elf, Dinky disappeared with a crack. When did the house elves start colluding about my love life? he thought.

Draco put down his notes and strode out of the library to meet Granger. Three hours late! Does she expect me to have nothing else to do with my day other than wait for her arse to waltz into the library? What does she even have to do that would cause her to be late? It's not like she has the most exciting life, Draco grumbled internally as he descended the stairs. He was still peeved when he swung open the front doors to see Granger looking rather pale nodding to an excited Astoria.

What on earth is Astoria doing here early? More importantly, why is she even talking to Her-Granger? "Hello ladies," he welcomed stiffly. He was in a situation he did not know how to handle, so he fell back on looking indifferent while he mentally freaked.

"Hello," Astoria grinned at Draco, then turned to Hermione, "We'll talk later." She winked and strode into the Manor, presumably to find his mother and chat about girly things.

Still looking rather pale, Hermione merely nodded at Draco and walked passed him toward the library. The behavior was very unlike Granger and that did not sit well with Draco. He knew that their 'date' did not end terribly well, but he didn't expect her to be so withdrawn. Or with Astoria for that matter. After his pause for thought, Draco shut the doors rather noisily and followed after Hermione, intent on getting answers.

Hermione was walking up to the front steps of Malfoy Manor when she heard 'Hermione!' from behind her. She automatically whipped her wand out and searched the area. When her eyes landed on a very frighted Astoria Greengrass, she let out a relieved breath and put her wand away. "You frighted me," she said, greeting the younger woman.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I was just so happy to see you. I wanted to thank you," Astoria gushed.

"For what?" Hermione asked. What has she ever done for the youngest Greengrass?

"For getting Draco to propose, silly!" the woman squealed. "He came over last night to talk about marriage and kids, and I just know he's going to ask. He looked like he was about to before my sister walked in!"

Hermione was stunned. She thought Draco would break up with the girl. He didn't seem to like her that much. He did floo in and tell Harry he screwed up. Did that mean he regretted the date? Not that is was a real date or anything-.

"He went into how many kids I wanted, how I would raise them, and even what I would do if he already had a kid. Not that that's possible—" Astoria chattered on, but Hermione's thoughts stopped.

He asked her how she would handle Rose. How could he put her in danger like that? Maybe he is serious about this. It's not as if marrying me could get him—. Her train of thought was cut off by the door opening. She saw Malfoy look at her questionably before putting on his 'I don't know how to deal with this' mask. She didn't even say hello to him or apologize for being late as she normally would; all Hermione could think about was Malfoy was getting married, and she wasn't. She was alone, taking care of Malfoy's child, and once he married Astoria, the little girl would be ripped away from her. The thought broke Hermione's heart with every step she took up the stairs toward the library. I'm going to lose her.

/Thank you all for reading. I am sorry this was super late (and awkwardly in two parts). I have been moving and life is a complete mess right now. I promise things will go back to normal mid-July. I'll try to update every week, but if it doesn't happen, it's because I'm attempting to not go crazy and bury myself in boxes. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review with comments or concerns; I love hearing from all of you.

P.S. What do you all think about Ilvermorny? I'm a Slytherin-Thunderbird and I'm not sure how I feel about this new house stuff./