That following Monday was to be Draco's first day in the Auror office. Hermione rationalized that she hardly even saw Harry at work, so it stood to reason that she would not be seeing Draco during the day either. Ginny disagreed.
Monday morning arrived with Ginny waking her up an hour before normal time, rushing her to get into the shower, and then staring at her wet hair for twenty minutes with a comb while Hermione sipped her tea.
"Ginny, please don't go overboard. The likelihood of even seeing him today –"
"Is it more or less than him favoring the bookshop that you work at? Now sit still. I think I'm going to have to plait it."
Hermione yawned. Ginny ended up doing a rather nice job with her hair, braiding the hair at her temples and pulling it down into a side braid that lay on her right shoulder, but the minute she suggested makeup Hermione was out of the chair.
"Just mascara!" was Ginny's parting shot as Hermione slammed the door behind her on her way out.
Hermione came through the fire into the Ministry Atrium, and the first person she saw was Draco Malfoy. He was standing next to the new fountain that had been erected last year and Harry was with him. It took Hermione a few hurried steps to realize that the irritating voice ringing through the whole Atrium was Rita Skeeter, directing the two of them while her photographer ran in circles trying to capture their interaction.
Hermione kept her head down and watched them out of the corner of her eyes, veering left to the lifts. Skeeter's voice pierced the hall, asking for a handshake. Draco murmured something to Harry, and Harry smiled. This stopped her. Harry's smile broke into a small laugh. She stood there watching Harry and Draco chuckle, shaking their heads at something Harry said in response. It was such an odd yet comfortable sight. She should have known she was standing still for too long.
"Miss Granger!"
Rita had spotted her. Her eyes were bright with excitement and possibility. Harry saw her over Draco's shoulder, giving her a look that said "run!"
Draco turned around. His eyes grazed her up and down before landing on her hair. Stupid Ginny.
"Miss Granger, what perfect timing!" Rita was fluttering over to her. She grabbed her arm and began dragging her over to the boys. "We would love to get a picture of you and Harry, welcoming Draco into the Ministry."
"Wouldn't Minister Shaklebolt be a better welcoming committee?" Hermione said. She was practically digging her heels in for the last few feet.
"Oh, no, no, no! Childhood rivals, now co-workers! Possibly friends! That is where the story is."
Rita placed her at Harry's right side and asked her to smile as they shook hands again. She must not have been smiling, because Rita certainly was not.
"Miss Granger," she reached for her. "Let me get a few words from you while the boys finish."
Hermione trudged forward, and Rita grabbed her shoulder, taking her a few steps away.
"Miss Granger," Rita began, and the Quick-Quotes Quill twitched over her shoulder. "How does it feel to have Draco Malfoy, long-time rival, and short-time Death Eater, working for the Ministry?"
Hermione swallowed and chose her words carefully. "I think Draco Malfoy is more than capable for the position. He had outstanding marks at Hogwarts and has always been very ambitious."
Rita's lips tightened. She tried again.
"Was it difficult for you, a victim of his abuse and hate for so many years, to see him this morning, in the Ministry Atrium, looking so at home?"
Hermione clenched her jaw and counted to five. "Draco Malfoy will fit in well with the Ministry. The Auror Office will be lucky to have him and -"
"Do you think the Ministry is the best place for a former Dark Wizard?"
"He was never a Dark Wizard!" Hermione forgot to count to five. "That, in fact, is an insult to Dark Wizards everywhere!"
The Quick-Quotes Quill tremored with joy as it scribbled, but Rita was very still, like a hawk who'd found its prey.
"Why did you speak at his trial, Miss Granger?"
Hermione counted to five. "It was the right thing to do."
"And have you and Mr. Malfoy interacted since his trial? Have you met privately?"
"No," Hermione said. No point in going into details. "Now, do you have enough? I am supposed to be upstairs in five minutes."
"Of course!" Rita bubbled. "Bozo, that's enough!" she yelled to the photographer. Rita grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her back. "Let me have a moment with Mr. Potter, and let's get some shots of Mr. Malfoy heading to the lifts! Miss Granger, why don't you escort him?" Rita's eyes were sparkling.
"I don't work on his floor," Hermione said. "It would make the most sense –"
"Come now Miss Granger." Rita shoved her toward Draco. "It's for the paper. It doesn't have to be true."
Hermione shook her head, huffing out a breath. She glanced at Draco, who was looking at her, and then started to walk toward the lifts. She could feel him at her right side, and she could hear his shoes clicking on the floor. Dragon leather.
"Look into each other! Smile! We need the profile shot!" Rita was screeching from twenty feet away and the bulb of the camera was shooting light through the whole Atrium every two seconds. Hermione refused to give her what she wanted and kept her eyes on the lifts as they approached.
Draco reached for the golden grilles of an arriving lift and stood to the side to let her go through first. Chivalry from Draco seemed so out of place that Hermione glanced at him. He was looking down at her. He lifted a brow. She stepped through and felt the ghost of his hand on her back, guiding her, just like he had for the Bulgarian model in the papers. Draco stepped in after her and began to shut the gate.
"Alright, now come back and we'll do that again!" Rita's voice rang from the fountain. Other Ministry employees, those who hadn't already noticed Draco Malfoy and scuttled away, began to avoid their lift as the photographer closed in on them. "Not quite what we were going for!"
Draco continued to close the gate.
"Come back! Reset!"
Hermione watched him as he made a show of looking around the lift box for the way to get out, and then turned toward the photographer and yelled out, "Sorry! It's my first day!" He grabbed a hanging rope just as the box started to pull them backward and out of sight. Hermione sighed in relief.
It was quiet as the lift ascended to Level 7. The voice announced the Department of Magical Games and Sports and several interoffice memos flew in. She needed to break the silence.
"If you find that Skeeter is being too much of a 'pest,' I find that a jar with an Unbreakable Charm usually does the trick." Hermione watched several memos fly out as they reached Level 6.
"How Slytherin of you."
She looked at him. He was leaning against the wall of the lift, having claimed his balance again. He was smirking at her. She felt like this was a compliment, coming from him. She looked away as the lift moved to the side, heading upwards to Level 5. There was almost a need to justify herself.
"I just…" She reached for the explanation, "…hate her." She shook her head and let out a nervous laugh. She looked at her shoes, which were quite sensible by Ginny's standards.
"Come now," he said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "I thought Hermione Granger left all her hate behind at Hogwarts."
"No, there's a special reserve," she said. "Only for Rita Skeeter and those who do not appreciate Lance Gainsworth."
She looked up at him, smiling. That was the closest he would ever get to an apology for her behavior at Cornerstone a few days earlier. She watched as his satisfied smirk morphed into a real grin.
The lift slowed to arrive at Level 5. He opened his mouth to say something.
"Granger!"
Hermione snapped her head to see Aiden O'Connor entering the lift with a huge dopey smile on his face.
"Perfect timing," he said. "I need you."
Hermione hid her grimace. He always had a way of being so blunt.
"Aiden. Good morning. You remember Draco Malfoy," Hermione said by way of introduction.
Aiden turned to see Draco leaning against the wall of the lift. Hermione noticed Draco's grin was gone. He stepped off of the wall and stood tall, reaching his hand out.
"Malfoy, of course," Aiden said. He took Draco's hand and smiled. Draco did not return the sentiment. "Aiden O'Connor. I was a year behind you lot at Hogwarts. It's good to have you here at the Ministry."
Hermione wished Skeeter was here for that. Aiden just gave her exactly what she was looking for all morning.
"Thank you," Malfoy said. They released hands. "And what do you do here, Aiden?"
"I'm on Level 4 with Granger here, working in the Beast division." Aiden nudged her arm with his elbow, a friendly move she'd never seen him perform.
Hermione felt the lift slow for Level 4 and she could hardly wait to jump out.
"You change your hair?"
Hermione looked up and Aiden was looking at her. His eyes were dancing around her face and her hair.
"Oh, um, yes." She pushed a loose curl back over her ear. "I mean, no. It's just braided." She wished he would stop talking.
"It looks nice," he said. No luck. "Out of your face, and everything."
Hermione nodded at the ground. "Thank you."
The lift stopped at Level 4, announcing the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Aiden stepped to the side and gestured for Hermione to lead the way.
"Good to meet you again, Malfoy. Best of luck," Aiden said.
"Have a great first day, Malfoy," Hermione said.
She raised her eyes off the ground to see Draco giving them a neutral expression as they stepped off. Hermione felt Aiden's hand guide her through the lift, much like Draco's had when they stepped in. She tensed. She didn't dare look back at Draco.
What was with these men thinking she couldn't walk on her own?
Hermione woke the next morning to a Daily Prophet clipping on her table. Rita's article didn't make front page – which made Hermione smile – but it was heavily featured across two pages in the middle of the paper.
A picture of Harry and Draco shaking hands accompanied the first page, with Rita's hypothesizing of what exactly Draco would be doing at the Ministry. Hermione was so glad the picture of her awkwardly standing behind Harry didn't make it.
But then on the second half of the article, a pull-quote screamed at her in large lettering:
"He was never a Dark Wizard"
-Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of Our Age
Hermione closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. When she opened them she then saw the picture.
Bozo had captured them walking to the lifts together. She was almost unrecognizable with her hair in a braid, but of course as she watched the photo move, she saw Draco pull the grate open for her, and then she saw herself look up at him. It was clearly her in that profile.
She watched as she stepped through and Draco's hand came up to guide her. She sprung out of bed and opened her chest to find that clipping of the Bulgarian girl. She pulled the "Draco Malfoy Finds Love" article out of a shoe box, and placed the pictures side by side. She watched as he stepped to the side for the model, opened the door to the restaurant and placed his hand on her low back. Maybe lower on the model's back than on her own, but she was still looking at the same move. She breathed a sigh of relief that maybe Draco wasn't actually courting the Bulgarian, maybe he was just a Pureblood gentleman.
Her smile left her face as she read the second page of the article where Rita Skeeter had taken extreme liberties with their interview. Apparently, Hermione had been gushing about Draco's good qualities with the gleam of infatuation in her eyes.
Perfect.