A/N: There are a lot of character's in this scene, more than I'd originally planned, but they're all to be important to the story!
Draco swallowed back his nervousness as they walked into the conference room. All of this polite activity was a damn chore. The only reason it was even slightly bearable was thanks to Hermione's cheeky comebacks, endless amounts of encouraging smiles, and hilarious out-of-no-where swearing. He knew that if she hadn't been there, he wouldn't even bother being a gentleman.
That knowledge alone made his head hurt. Hermione was changing him for the better, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. He looked over and caught her eye for a split second. She smiled at him, lighting up the world for a moment. No, he definitely liked it.
Damn Gryffindor.
The conference table took up the entirety of the room and was only half full, it's occupants sitting on one side of the table. They all stood as their guests entered, most of them smiling graciously, with the exception of one familiar face closest to the door."How did you get up here?" Hermione said with as much politeness as she could muster up, frozen beside Draco, her hands on her hips.
Roman Mccoy smirked and shrugged, smoothing back his thick hair. "Didja miss me?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Hardly." Anderson laughed softly at the amusing exchange, making Hermione's cheeks flush a deep maroon. He led them to the four empty seats at the end of the table, sitting himself at the head of it between Mccoy and an empty seat that Kingsley took, while Hermione sat besides him, and Draco besides her.
"Alright, everyone." Anderson grinned as soon as everyone was sitting again. "These are our guests from across the pond. Most of you have met Mr. Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic." Most of the table nodded. Anderson motioned to Hermione, his green eyes glowing. "This is Hermione Granger. She's their brilliant Head of Investigation."
Besides Mccoy, a round-faced brunette lifted her eyes from her paperwork, her eyes flooded with curiosity. She had large eyes, a dark shade of brown that were almost black, and pale skin that looked as if it had never touched sunlight. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink the more she stared at Hermione, though she didn't look as much ashamed as ecstatic to get to work. Her short hair stuck straight up, as if that's all she'd been doing for the last forty-eight.
Anderson noticed her excitement and chuckled to himself. "And Hermione this is Kristina Harvey, OUR Head of Investigation. You two will be working together most these next few weeks." Kristina waved, smiling widely and whispering a kind hello. Hermione waved back. The girl looked quite friendly and Hermione had the impression they would get along just fine.
"And this," Anderson moved to point at Draco. "Is Draco Malfoy, one of the finest Aurors their Ministry has to offer." Anderson said proudly.
The man sitting on Kristina's other side gave Draco a once over. "Not the Head Auror?" His voice was slippery, smooth with a tone of arrogance that reminded Hermione of Draco during their Hogwarts days. Draco even noticed the similarity.
Kingsley sat forward in his seat, his features calm, but stern. "The head of the Auror department was already assigned to an important mission. Draco was our best fit and top choice for this assignment." The man sat back in his chair, squinting his already beady eyes in Draco's direction. The two men kept eye contact as the air around them became constricting.
Draco felt hot. His as pulse began to race, and he clenched his fists under the table. The old, familiar flush of rage drowned his head. He started counting his breaths, a trick he'd taught himself to do to control his anger. He couldn't let this arse get into his head already, it was just the beginning of the game! He had to calm himself. He'd been so good about this since the Battle.
A small hand found the crook of his elbow, and his eyes followed the arm up to Hermione's face. She smiled softly, though her eyes questioned him, asking if he was okay. He nodded and she squeezed his arm as if to give him reassurance before returning her hand to her lap.
The two looked to the head of the table in time to see Anderson's grin falter a bit, as he sent the man a dirty look. "And this would be Bartholomew Max, our Head Auror." Max looked at Hermione with a slimy smile. He had a thick, black handlebar mustache that matched the thick black hair that hung in front of his eyes. He wore an oversized construction orange sweatshirt that made his thin neck look twelve times longer than it was. His shoulders were large and wide, but his arms stuck out like twiggy toothpicks from his rolled-up sleeves. He was unprofessional at the least, and Hermione and Draco were both not impressed.
There was a knock at the door. Anderson stood and moved his hand to the right a bit and the door opened to reveal a tall blonde woman with wild, pale blue eyes. Her smile radiated a happy warmth and everyone in the room seemed to relax upon seeing her, the previous tension in the air melting immediately. She practically skipped toward Anderson and hugged him tightly. Draco saw Hermione's eyes squint a bit, a slight frown pulling at her lips.
"Just in time, Al." Anderson said, holding her tightly as well.
She laughed and pulled back. "Awe, you know I wouldn't miss this, Austin." She turned away from the Minister and looked to the room's guests. "Oh my god! I'm so rude!" She ran over, extending her hand to each of the them. "I'm Alice!"
"These are our guests from the European Ministry, Alice," Anderson introduced. "The Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Head of Investigation Hermione Granger, and Auror Draco Malfoy."
At Draco's introduction, Alice's eyes lit up. "Awesome! I'm an auror too!" She gripped his hand tightly and stood too close for Draco's liking.
"That's wonderful," He mumbled with forced politeness that he soon regretted in seeing Hermione's giggles over the girl's shoulder. He frowned at her as soon as Alice turned away.
"Is there anyone else with knowledge of the assignment?" Kingsley asked as everyone sat down once more, Alice in the seat at the other head of the table between Draco and Bartholomew.
Austin nodded, his face becoming serious. "I have a few Aurors on standby if we need assistance. But for the most part, this is about it." He motioned across the table. "I know we wanted to keep this on the D.L."
Draco scoffed. "What the hell is a D.L.?"
Alice giggled and touched his arm lightly. "It means on the 'Down low'. We wanted to keep it secret."
Draco glared at her hand and pulled his arm under the table. "Thanks."
Hermione sat up in her seat and looked at Kristina. "So what information do you have so far on the Black Kings?"
"Well," Kristina stood up shyly, keeping eye contact flitting between Hermione and Anderson. "First off, they don't call themselves the Black Kings. I've been able to intercept a few emails sent back and forth between a couple of perceived members, to find they actually call themselves the Knights of Walpurgis."
Draco frowned. "I've heard of them. My father used to speak of them with my uncle Rodolphus."
"You seem to be well connected to those Death Eater shits." Bartholomew spat.
Anderson stood. "You seem to have an ego too big for this room, Max." The two glared at each other. Draco began counting his breaths again. "Don't make me question your positioning again, you understand me?"
Bartholomew nodded slightly, shifting his glare back to Draco. "What did your dear daddy say about these Knights?"
Draco took a deep breath and looked at Kristina, mentally deciding to remain ignorant to the dick across the table. "That was the original name that Voldemort chose for the Death Eaters."
Kristina nodded happily. "That's right! We've narrowed down a few members, including two out of three of the leaders."
"How do we know there's three of them?" said Alice.
Kristina looked like a kid on Christmas. "The emails. The two leaders we know for sure of are Edmund Travers and Manon Mulciber, both sons of Death Eaters." She glanced over to Draco. "You recognize either of those names?"
He looked at Hermione nervously and she nodded, urging him to speak. "I knew of their fathers," Draco said. "Eddie Travers was maniac I'd always avoided, and Manon wasn't the brightest of them all."
Hermione smiled to herself. It was so strange to see Draco so vulnerable and cautious, when he'd always been so confident. He still looked and acted the supreme ass he'd always been, but she could see through the mask. He was terrified.
She looked to Katrina again. "Any other names that we know of?"
"We know all of them, actually. All except that third leader." She lifted a briefcase from under her chair and pulled out a stack of papers, to which she passed one to each person at the table. There were six pictures each with a name and description beside it. "We have Travers and Mulciber, both sons of Death Eaters. Mulciber's sister, Zona, is also a member," She pointed to the third picture, then moved it down to the fourth. "As well as his wife, Simone."
"Quite the family affair." Draco mumbled.
The room became suddenly still, the air tight once more. Hermione followed everyone's gaze to the end of the table. Alice's eyes were glossy and her lip trembled slightly. "Are you alright, Alice?" She whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder, the girl would crumble.
Alice found her eyes and smiled, though it was the most pitiful smile Hermione had ever seen. "Simone, Manon's wife?" She sighed, and laughed slightly as she toyed with the corner of her paper, never losing eye contact with Hermione.
"Simone's my baby sister."
A/N: Dun, Dun, DUUUN. More to come. R&R. :)THANKS!