AN: Okay, please review. Please? I get a lot of people story alerting and putting this on their favorites, but I would like to hear a review. Makes me feel loved. Thanks.

Draco was reading the headline of the Daily Prophet, when Marian came skipping into the dining hall, dressed in her new Auror robes and a little G sewn over her breast in gold thread. Quillic padded behind her, as always. Draco watched, surprised, as Marian fixed her plate and sat down next to him, giving him her routine morning kiss on the cheek.

"Shouldn't you be floored with a hang over?" he asked as she sipped her coffee cheerfully.

She shook her head. "I recover quickly," she said. "Did Hermione leave here alright?"

Draco paused, his goblet halfway to his mouth before taking a sip. "She left here just fine," he said. He could still smell her shampoo from when she'd stood so close to him.

Marian finished her breakfast and leaned back in the chair, holding the mug of coffee in her hands. She looked like she was in deep thought. "I don't remember much of last night," she said. "But, what I do remember, was that you and Hermione put me to bed. I think I said something, because you turned red for a moment." She looked at Draco. "What did I say?"

Draco didn't look up from the paper. He remembered what she'd said. Him and Hermione a couple? It was...an interesting thought. It would make his father furious at having a muggle born in-law, his mother deliriously happy to have another daughter, and Marian just extremely amused. And, honestly, Draco wasn't that appalled at the idea of having Hermione as his girlfriend. They'd had their moments in class, when they had worked together without trying to maim the other.

"Draco," Marian said, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" he said, looking up, finally.

Marian raised an eyebrow. "I was just asking you what I said last night," she said.

Draco looked back at the newspaper. "You said you hoped for a hard case today because you loved puzzles," he said. He hated lying to his sister but, technically, he wasn't lying. She had said that.

She shrugged. "Thought it was something a bit more interesting," she said, sipping her coffee. Just then, Narcissa walked into the room. She had a hand pressed to her head and she slowly sank into her chair. "Good morning, mom," Marian whispered.

Narcissa groaned. "Not so loud, sweety," she said. "Mum's got a headache."

Draco snorted. "You've got a hangover," he corrected.

Narcissa winced as his voice echoed in her head. "Be nice to your mother," she said. "Who knew Molly was such a wiz at drinking games?"

Marian chuckled and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small vial and poured the potion into an extra cup of coffee. She slid it across the table and said, "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

Narcissa lifted the mug and took a long gulp. Immediately, she sat up straight. Her eyes widened and she smiled. "It's gone," she said. "My hang- I mean, my headache is gone. Thank you, dear."

Marian laughed. "I have a couple of them in my pockets. Hangovers always follow graduation."

Narcissa chuckled and looked around. "Have you seen your father?" she asked, taking a piece of toast from a serving plate.

Draco saw Marian stiffen. She use to call him 'father' when she first came here, but after that talk two months ago, she'd stuck to calling him one name.

"Lucius?" she said tightly, "No, I have not."

"Maybe you should look up, then," said a voice Draco didn't want to hear.

They all turned to see Lucius walking into the room. He was dressed in his best wizard robes and was carrying his walking cane that housed his wand. His silver eyes landed on his daughter, but Marian found the newspaper suddenly very interesting as she leaned over Draco's shoulder to see it.

Lucius took the seat at the head of the table, which had been shortened when Marain had expressed her uneasiness at sitting at such a long table. He reached for his own copy of the newspaper and said, "I heard you passed yesterday, Maria. Congratulations. We should celebrate."

Marian stiffened. "No thank you, Lucius," she said politely. "We three joined Harry and the Weasleys for drinks at the Leaky Cauldron last night."

Lucius's head snapped up so quickly, Draco was amazed that his head hadn't fallen off his neck. "You were where? With whom? Doing what?" Lucius said, his face turning red.

Draco quickly hid his laughter, knowing it would throw off the coolness Marian was portraying. "Leaky Cauldron. Harry Potter and the Weasley family. Having drinks," she answered.

"I was not aware that you were friends with Potter and the Weasley boy," Lucius said, his eyes narrowing.

"Not only them," Marian said. "Hermione brought me home. You know her. The muggle born witch?"

Lucius's face turned red and he snapped the paper down on the table. "That mudblood was in my house?" he yelled.

Draco froze, watching what would happen next. Marian set her coffee down and said, "Never. Use that word. In front of me. Again." Her words were tight and spoken through clenched teeth.

"This is my house and as long as you live here, I will use whatever word I want," Lucius said, standing up. "And I never want that mudblood in my house again."

Marain jumped to her feet, her chair falling back loudly. Quillic was growling, his hair standing up as he stared at Lucius. Draco grabbed his sister's hand as it reached for her wand. She didn't look down at him, her angry eyes stuck on her father. Her fingers released her wand and she let her arm drop to her side.

"You won't change, will you?" she said. She didn't expect an answer, but Lucius shook his head anyway. "Fine," she said. "I said I would stay here until I finished my training and could find a place on my own. I'll be gone tomorrow night."

"Marian," Narcissa said, gasping. "You don't have to go."

"I do," Marian said. She gave her mother a soft smile. "I promise to visit and come to some dinners. But I can't be around him anymore. I've had enough." She straightened her robes and said, "I'm off to work." With that, she apparated away with Quillic by her side.

Draco looked at his father, who was still standing. "You just had to piss her off, didn't you?" he said.

"I do not want that mudblood in my house," Lucius said again.

Draco shook his head. "How will you ever get her to love you if you continue to make her angry?" he said and he, too, stood up. He apparated away to his own work, wanting to get lost in the paperwork.

Marian walked to the lifts and found her team, like usual, in their usual meeting place. The boys looked like hell. Hermione was fine. Remember what her father had said about the witch, Marian pulled Hermione into a hug.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, hugging Marian back.

Marian pulled back and said, "I got into a fight with Lucius today. I'm moving out."

"That's wonderful," Hermione said. "Do you have a place to stay?"

Marian blushed a bit. "Um...no. I was in the heat of the moment and just stormed out," she said. "Stupid move, I know, but I just got so angry."

"What did Lucius say?" Hermione asked, looking concerned.

"Keep it down, will you?" Ron said, holding his head. "You don't have to scream."

Marian laughed softly and pulled out two vials, handing one to Ron and another to Harry. They drank it down and sighed as the pressure was taken off them.

Hermione turned Marian toward her and said, "What happened, Maria?"

Marian sighed and Hermione pulled her into the lift as Ron and Harry joined them. The doors closed and the lift took them to their level. Marian bit her lip and said, "Lucius called you a 'mudblood'. I just lost it and said I was moving out." She looked up and met Hermione's eyes. "Draco promised never to use the word again, and he hasn't. Not once. He changed for me. But Lucius...that bastard isn't going to change for anyone or thing."

So Draco wasn't kidding when he said Marian had changed him. Hermione smiled slightly. "Thanks for sticking up for me," she said. "How about you stay with me. Just until you find your own flat. I'll even help you look."

Marian smiled wide and hugged Hermione. "Oh, you are a life saver," she said. Hermione laughed and returned the hug as the boys rolled their eyes as the display.

The lift stopped and the doors parted. The team walked out and were greeted by Julia. "Welcome to your first day as full Aurors," she said. She clapped her hands together. "Oh, I'm so proud of all of you."

"Thanks," Harry said. "Are you going to be giving us a case soon?" He sounded hopeful. Then again, so was Hermione. She was ready to sink her teeth into a good case.

Julia smiled. "Right after I show you to your new team room." She turned and walked down the corridor. The others followed, passing some Aurors who wanted to congratulate the team. Mostly Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

Hermione noticed that few approached Marian, but the ones that did, were famous for being the toughest. They greeted her with warm hugs and pats on the back. When Marian saw her looking at her, she smiled. "They were some of my tutors," she explained.

Julia stopped in front a door with 'Team Gold Headquarters' painted in elegant gold paint. She opened the door and the team walked in. The room was huge, painted a dark red and black pattern. Four desks sat in the corners, a dog bed near one of them. A small kitchen unit was placed on a far wall, stocked with food already. The middle of the room had a couch, three chairs, and a table big enough to work on. A folder sat in the middle of the table.

Harry walked forward and picked it up. "What-?" he asked, looking up. "Where'd she go?"

Hermione looked around and noticed that Julia was gone. She shrugged and walked into the room, taking a seat in a chair. Ron and Quillic jumped onto the couch and Marian closed the door.

Harry opened the envelope and pulled out a paper. He scanned it before reading. "A string of murders in both muggle and wizard communities," he said. "Victims are found with a snake carved into their backs and in Graveyards. The killer's be lying low for a while and the case went cold. The Ministry had a suspect, but he was killed in custody while trying to escape." Harry looked up. "They want us to find the killer and bring him in. But no one has a description of him."

Marian smiled and Hermione couldn't help think how much it looked like Draco's had last night. "At least we go an interesting case," Marian said. Hermione smiled. Yeah. They did.