Hermione smiled at Draco from across the cafe table. They'd placed their orders and decided to wait for them out on the heat spelled patio. The inside was too crowded and they didn't need more attention than they were getting. Yes, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were out on a date. Get over it already, would you?

"Guess we'll have to get use to being stared at," Draco said. So he'd noticed the looks, as well.

Hermione put her gloves on the table and said, "If you were worried about that, you could have said no to the date when I asked you at the party."

"And miss seeing you get flustered at the attention?" he said. Hermione looked up and saw a playful smile at the corner of his lips. He leaned forward, leaning his arms in front of him on the table. "So," Draco said. "You wanted to understand how I became such a kind person. You don't think I was a kind person?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "You were a git during school, Malfoy," she said.

"Weren't we all something we aren't proud of in school?" he asked. "If I remember correctly, you were a bit of the annoying know-it-all."

Hermione paused, then shrugged. "You have a point," she said. "But the change to nice guy and big brother is something I really didn't expect."

"I wasn't expecting to be a big brother, either," he said. "That was a shock. The nice guy part was something I sort of grew into later in my school years."

"What happened, anyway?" she asked. "You didn't come back for your last year."

Draco shifted a bit in his seat. "Things at Hogwarts were…strained after the war. Pansy and Blaise didn't bother coming back to school, deciding to go straight into the working force. I didn't want to face that alone, having the target of a former Death Eater's son on my back, so I took over my father's company after convincing the Ministry that I didn't share my father's views."

"You're the one who's made the company such a success?" Hermione asked.

Draco nodded. "I keep my name out of the papers," he said.

The waitress appeared with their orders and drinks, setting them down on the table. She shot a glance between the two, obviously curious about the two of them together, but wisely returned to the inside of the restaurant. Hermione looked down at her salad and picked up her fork. She sank it into some of the greens, but she didn't lift it out of the bowl. She looked up at Draco and watched him take a bite out his sandwich. She remembered what the school had been like when she'd returned for her last year. People had tried to go back to normal, but the taint of war was still too new for everyone. The teachers had had their hands full with smoothing fights and nerves. It helped that the Golden Trio had come back, though Harry and Ron had wanted to go straight into the Auror program. Hermione had convinced them that it would ease many minds if they returned for their last year as a show of hope to the students and school. From what Headmistress McGonagal wrote in her letters, the school was slowly returning to the way it was before the war.

"What's with the serious look?" Draco asked.

Hermione shook her head, not realizing she'd been so lost in her thoughts. "Sorry," she said. "I was thinking about school."

"Thinking of going back as a teacher?" he asked. There was a hint of teasing in his tone, but other than that, it was an honest question.

Hermione smiled. "I thought about being a teacher once," she said. "It would have been nice; teaching new witches and wizards and spending time in the library. Hogwarts was like my second home."

Draco smirked a little. "Professor Hermione Granger," he said. "Now that would have been a sight; and so you. Why become an Auror?"

Hermione shrugged. "The war changed everyone," she said, looking down at her salad. She'd apparently eaten half of her meal without realizing it. "During the last battle…so many people were lost. A lot of people lost family and friends. When I returned for my final year, I saw what the war had done. The longer I was around the students, the more I felt like I should help or protect them. Ron and Harry wanted to go into the Auror program after school and I thought I'd do a lot of good, so here I am." She looked up and noticed Draco staring at her with a curious glint in his eye. "What?" she asked.

"You've really changed," he said. "Can hardly see the know-it-all bookworm." He reached across the table and gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face, his fingertips faintly caressing her cheek. "There she is," he said. Hermione's breath hitched slightly as his gaze softened as he smiled. When had Draco become so affectionate and gentle?

Draco stared at Hermione, slightly amused at her wide eyes. He knew his mannerism and character weren't something she was use to. She probably had imagined him to be like the old Draco Malfoy, full of himself and arrogant about his status. He'd calmed that attitude after the war and it had completely vanished when Marian had come into his life. His little sister was a force that had no room for big or foolish egos. She had a gift of grounding people and Draco was no exception to her influence. He was more levelheaded than he'd ever been and, as Marian like to take credit for, he was starting to really notice Hermione and the witch she'd become over the years. Sure he'd had the slight infatuation with her during school, but his ego hadn't really permitted him to see that as anything other than hate. Thank Merlin for the clarity because he was really starting to fall for Hermione Granger.

He cupped her cheek and leaned over the table, gently pulling her closer. She didn't resist him and even freely leaned toward him. They were close enough that they could feel each other's breath on their lips. Draco pause for a moment, giving her time to move away should she care too, but Hermione was the one who closed the gap between them. Her lips are just as soft as he remembered from the Christmas Ball when they'd shared their first kiss. He pressed his lips firmly against her, smiling when her hand came up to rest on his shoulder. After a few moments, they pulled back. Draco took in her red cheeks and moist lips as she slowly opened her eyes. She looked a little dazed and he couldn't help but brush a quick kiss against her lower lip. Hermione's face lit up in a smile as she met his gaze.

"That's the second time you've kissed me," she said.

Draco grinned. "I hope it won't be the last," he said. They started to lean in again, but Hermione jumped slightly as if she'd been shocked. Draco gave her a concerned look as she pulled away.

Her hand shot into her robes and pulled out her Auror badge. The metal was shinning a little and she turned it over to stare at the leather. Draco watched as words appeared across the surface. Hermione's eyes scanned the writing. She looked up and said, "Harry and Ron have a possible lead. I'm sorry, but I have to get back to the office."

Draco nodded, understanding that Hermione had to go back on the clock for her case. He stood up and put some money on the table for their lunch. He shrugged into his coat and helped Hermione with hers. He caught a whiff of her shampoo and smiled. As strange a thought as it was, Hermione smelled good. He extended his arm to her. With a slight blush tinting her cheeks, she took it, allowing him to walk her back to the office. They had a fair amount of looks sent their way as they walked down the street and through the Ministry. Draco knew that he should get use to it, but he suspected that he never would.

The two of them reached the office and Hermione opened the door. Ron and Harry were looking over a file but turned their attention to them when they entered. "Sorry to pull you away," Harry said, all business. "But we think we have our killer."

"Really?" Hermione asked, stepping closer. "Who? How?"

"A wizard named Michal Loris," Ron said, handing over a wizard snapshot to Hermione. She cringed at the deranged way he stared at the camera. "We talked with Aoris Knightly about wand accessories that could do the damage on our victims. He said there was and he carried a few accessories like the one we're looking for, but mostly for jewelers and the like. We looked over the records, looking for anything shady, but didn't really find anything until we asked about the Imperious curse."

"The Imperious curse?" Hermione asked. "Why?"

"It was for Marian's benefit than anything else," Ron said. "She seemed really angry with Lucius and I remembered Harry mentioning that if Lucius didn't have an alibi, we'd have to arrest him. The evidence pointed too cleanly to Lucius being our killer, but that man wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his deal with the Ministry. He's too much a wizard out for his own good. No offense." He shot the last to Draco.

"None taken," he said. "But are you saying that my father could have been forced to kill these women?"

"And his mind could have been wiped so he couldn't testify he was under the Imperious curse if given truth potion," Harry said. "So we looked at any accessories that might extend a wand's influence on someone by that spell and Knightly helped point us in the right direction. Michal Loris had purchased a Distance accessory for his wand a few weeks before the murders started. He also purchased a Cutting accessory, posing as a representative from a jewelry company. He signed the records with his real name both times, probably thinking no one would make the connection." Harry handed a copy of the wand records to Hermione and she stared at the signature.

"Do we have an address for Loris or a location?" she asked.

"We have an address of where he lives from his Apparating license. We'll have his arrest warrant any minute. We had to really sell this story. People thought it was too fantastic to be real," Ron said.

Hermione looked at the boys. "But we have a strong case?" she asked.

Ron waved the other folder in his hand. "Right here," he said.

"Good," she said. "Make sure it gets to the right channels." She turned to Draco, remembering he was still there. "I've got to get back to work," she said, slightly bummed that they had to part ways.

He smiled and squeezed her hand. "I know," he said. "Duty calls. I'll see you soon, though?" He left the ending open for her and she smiled.

"Lunch tomorrow?" she asked.

Draco tilted his head in agreement. "It's a date," he said, raising her hand and kissing the back of it. He slowly turned and left the office.

"Real charmer," Ron said.

Hermione turned to him and said, "He's not like he was in school. He's better."

"I'd hate to admit it to his face, but he's definitely less of a git," Harry said.

Ron shook his head. "It's hard to believe he's related to Marian."

Hermione looked around the office and said, "Where is Marian? Didn't she get the message?"

"We sent it to both of you," Ron said. "She's probably still blowing off some steam."

"She wouldn't ignore a message," Hermione said. A feeling of concern settled in her stomach and she pulled out her badge. She tapped her wand to it and thought of the message she wanted to send. She asked Maria where she was. If she was in trouble, Hermione didn't want to give away too much.

Marian's entire body ached. She'd lost track of time, but what was time when every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire and her skin was being pulled from her bones? She would scream in agony, but she'd gone mute long ago. Her deranged kidnapper had grown tired of torturing her a little after she'd lost her voice. He'd left a while ago, but Marian hadn't really cared. She hurt too much to move, let alone think. The urge to close her eyes and sink into oblivion was starting to overtake her. Her eyes started to droop and her vision grew blurry around the edges.

She'd seen enough cop shows to know that things like this happened. Cops got caught by the bad guy and were tortured or killed. That had been something she'd known but never thought would happen to her; especially not on her first case. She didn't even have a chance to be an Auror. Her badge was…vibrating?

Marian slowly opened her eyes. She thought she was hallucinating or had gone mad from the torture, but her badge started to vibrate again against her hip. It jarred her body, sending pain shooting through her. She was definitely awake and not imagining the vibrations. She gritted her teeth as she slipped her hand into her pocket. A slight smile curved her lips as her fingers curled around her badge. She'd forgotten that their badges could be used as communication to other Aurors. That had been one of their first lessons during training. Marian slid the badge out of her pocket and slowly raised it to her face, biting back a whimper at the movement. The simple actions had to be done slowly or Marian thought she might pass out from the pain.

Where are you? HG was written on the leather in gold. Marian had no idea where her wand had gone, but she hoped she could still send a message without it.

She pressed the badge to her lips, even the slight pressure making her slips hurt. Wandless magic used a lot of energy, depending on what you were doing, and she hoped she had enough to send her S.O.S. Marian closed her eyes and concentrated on gathering her magic. Once she had enough focused in a ball inside her, she pressed it through her lips and into the badge. Find me, she chanted in her head. Track badge. As she felt the magic leave her body, she also felt her energy vanish. Her arm dropped to her side and she used the last of her consciousness to put the badge back in her pocket. She fell into nothing but black, hoping her message had gotten through.

AN: It's been a while since I updated any of my stories so I'm really glad I was able to sit down and write this chapter. I hope to update more frequently in the future. Thanks for staying with me through all of this.