Author Note: Almost two hundred followers and almost a hundred reviews, that is exciting for me to see all the positive feedback on this story! I'm glad you like this as much as I enjoy writing it. Onto number thirteen, let me know what you think.

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Chapter 13:

December 10, Ministry of Magic

Harry waited patiently for Stewart Lyons to make his way into his office. Draco's information was a little unsettling to him. He knew that he had assigned the task of searching Janey's apartment to him and finding out that it hadn't been aggravated him. He flipped through all the documents that had been signed off by Stewart confirming that it had been searching. The longer he looked through them the more he got more suspicious of the man in question.

When the knock on the door finally came, he slid the papers to the side and looked up from his desk to meet his face. His stern features bore into Harry like a serpent's stare when ready to strike at its victim. "You wanted to see me?" He asked tucked his hands into the front pockets of his pants.

"Yes, I wanted to follow up on the search of Janey Nissel's apartment."

"I wrote the report didn't I?" Lyons asked raising an eyebrow in question.

"You did...but it came to my attention that it hadn't been searched at all."

His eyes widened a little and then remained narrow. He knew that Draco had told him that the place hadn't been searched. He supposed there were reasons why he never like the Malfoy heir. Running a hand over the top of his head, a sigh escaped his lips. "Is there a reason you didn't do as I asked?" Harry asked only this time there was a little more aggression added to his voice tone.

"Only that it was pointless. She's dead, why does it matter?"

"Tell me you're joking. It matters because she was killed. It wasn't an accident!"

Stewart shrugged his shoulders, which only made Harry more furious at the lack of compassion from one of his Aurors. Janey may have been involved with the person who wants Hermione dead; but as it turned out the woman turned against said person to befriend Hermione and died for her action. She didn't deserve that and his best friend was no doubt blaming herself for her death.

His dark features added to the piercing blue of the color of his eyes, giving Harry a chill up his spine. Somehow he reminded him of Voldemort. The emptiness in his eyes just screamed cruelty. "You are removed from the case and subject to paperwork for a month. I don't care what branch you came from. I'm still in charge here and you will do as I say." Harry stated before waving his hand to dismiss Stewart.

Turning heel, he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Harry knew that he needed someone else more reliable to take care of the case without asking Draco or Hermione for help. Of course, it was going to have to wait until the next work day. Tonight was the Christmas party and he had to do a speech and give out an award. Groaning, he slouched back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

XxXxXx

December 10th, Draco's Flat

Hermione paced across the room of the bedroom she was now occupying. The dress Draco had just bought her was hung on the back of the door, staring at her. The fine silk of the material shimmered against the lighting of the room. Stopping mid-step, she turned to sit down on the edge of the bed. She could hear his words still echoing though her head. "It is going to look amazing on you. I wanted to see you in it tonight."

It wasn't that she didn't want to go with him. Her fear of what people would think came crashing down around her. She knew there was going to be thousands of questions aimed in her direction. Not just about Draco being with her; but there were going to be some about Janey, because everyone knew that she had grown close to the woman over the months. Would people stare at her? Would they whisper things about her? It was all too much. She felt like there was a weight on her chest that wouldn't let her breathe.

A soft knocking came across the closed door. She knew that Draco would be on the other side; but couldn't seem to motivate herself to move. The muffled creaking of the door opening made her turn her head in that direction. Draco stood there along with Ginny. Her warm smile was comforting. It had been a while since she had see Harry's wife. "She came to visit. I figured you'd like her company. I'll meet you at the party. Harry asked for my attendance a little early." He explained.

"Thank you." Hermione answered with a forced smile.

He nodded and turned away leaving the two women alone. Ginny made her way into the room to sit down next to her friend. The front door was heard closing from the kitchen, indicating that they really were alone. "How are you?" Ginny asked trying to keep the questions simple, even though she wanted to ask a lot more.

"I'm getting there. If I wasn't a chaotic mess before, I really am now. Bellatrix's torture still haunts me in my dreams; but now it's mostly Janey and the fire."

"You can't keep blaming yourself for it all. It's not healthy."

"The fact it...it is my fault. Someone wants me dead and she died because she alined herself with me. The same could happen any one of you...even Draco..."

Ginny understood where Hermione was coming from. If she was in the same position, she'd probably behave the same way. Anything to protect the ones she loved. She placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You can't hide forever. You need to live your life. Tonight would be the perfect night to do that. Spend time with people who care about you. Surprisingly enough, that includes Draco."

When Hermione thought about Draco, the image of his lips on hers immediately came to mind. The fact that he has done so much for her in such a small amount of time was also something she thought about a lot. He was most definitely not the same person she remembered from school at Hogwarts. "Come on, let me get you ready for this thing." Ginny said standing up, her dark red gown flowed down her slender figure, hugging every curve she possessed now she had given birth to a son a little over a year ago.

XxXxXx

December 10th, Ministry of Magic Christmas Party

Draco spotted Harry the second he walked into the large, now decorated, conference room. A separate building that was only used for such occasion like parties. Hardly ever was it used for the intended purpose. There were already a large number of people piled into the room. Weaving through them, he caught Harry's attention. "I took Lyons off the case." He said without so much of a greeting.

"Good to know. I don't trust him." Draco replied crossing his arms over his chest.

"How is she doing?"

"Still withdrawn and hasn't decided if she's going to teach at Hogwarts for Hagrid yet. Or if she has, she hasn't told me the decision yet."

Music started to play while the food caterers set up the food on table across the far corner of the room. Turning his head, he caught sight of Hermione walking in with Ginny. The lavender color of her dress accented the color of her skin. Her long chestnut hair was straightened and pulled up into a fancy twist behind her head. The silky material clung to her body, framing every curve she possessed. The sight of her took his breath away and Harry noticed instantly.

She smiled at him in closing the distance between them. Ginny eyed Harry and immediately went to his side, kissing the side of his mouth. He wrapped an arm around her waist tightly, then kissed her temple.

"So were you right?" Hermione asked.

"Right about what?" Draco asked in return.

"Do I look amazing in this dress?"

A coy smile appeared on his lips followed by a soft chuckle. He liked how he had turned his own words against him. Her resourcefulness and witty nature was a turn on; but knew that he had to stay in control while in public in front of everyone they worked with. "Of course you do, as I knew you would."

He reached for her hand and let her to their seats at the front table. Ginny sat down next to Hermione, making sure to give her a wink before turning her attention back to her husband on the other side. Kingsley took his place in front of everyone seated. The music cut off so his voice could be heard amongst all the attendees.

His eyes shifted to a pair of stragglers that were late to the festivities. Draco turned to see who it was only to be stunned by who it really was. Stewart Lyons walked in the door with Pansy Parkinson hooked on his arm. The light blue of her dress rippled as she walked to take her seat next to him. Draco couldn't seem to think it was just a mere coincidence that the man he didn't trust at work was with his ex girlfriend, a woman who he didn't trust either.

"I want to thank everyone for coming. There has been a lot of chaotic things going on around us as of late and I couldn't think of anything better than having this get-together tonight. I also want to say thank you to Hermione Granger for joining us tonight. I know it couldn't have been easy." Kingsley stated looking in her direction.

She could feel hundreds of sets of eyes on her, followed by hushed whispers of things she couldn't hear. Kingsley continued talking about all the things they've accomplished as a unit. Hermione felt more stares at the back of her and could only guess they belonged to Pansy and the Auror she walked in with. She really didn't know his name; but was sure Draco didn't like him from the look of disgust on his face when they walked into the room. "Ignore them. They mean nothing." He leaned over to whisper in her ear, like he knew what she was thinking without saying a word. Then she realized that her hand had started to grip onto his.

"Please welcome Harry Potter." Kingsley announced stepping aside to allow Harry to speak on behave of his unit.

"Thank you. As you know, I'm in charge of the Auror department of the Ministry and it was asked of me to pick one of them who, I feel, stood out this year."

Pausing for a few seconds, he looked around the room only to see Lyons with Pansy at the table behind his wife. Swallowing the lump his throat he continued. "This person has changed a great deal over the years, has taken every job and excelled in each task. We've received a death threat as most of you are aware of. There was one person I trusted with the information before it was made public knowledge and that person was Draco Malfoy."

Everyone started clapping, knowing that what Harry spoke of was indeed the truth. Draco had changed drastically over the years and Hermione was seeing him completely differently than she ever thought she could. He stood up next to her to make his way over to the front of the room. Shaking hands with Harry, Kingsley handed him a small black plague with golden engraving on it. It was something she was curious to read when able to.

After the rest of the awards were handed out, everyone was free to eat. Hermione kept close to Draco while picking out the things she wanted to eat. There were a few whispers; but nothing negative aimed directly at her. Most were of concern for her well being, which she appreciated. After a few minutes of browsing through, a shoulder dug into her back.

"Well, if it isn't the damsel of the night." Pansy's voice crawled over her ears.

"I'm no damsel, Pansy." Hermione reminded, narrowing her eyes.

"Like you aren't enjoying all the attention everyone is giving you, because of this death threat."

"No, I'm not you. I don't crave the attention."

"It should be on me. I should be on Draco's arm, not some mud-blood like yourself."

Draco took hold of Hermione's arm within seconds, pulling her back. He knew that she was upset and angry all at the same time. He could see Stewart Lyons snake his arm around Pansy's waist, snickering at the comment she had just made at Hermione's expense. "The heir of the Malfoy estate is bedding a muggle-born, so unbecoming of a pure-blood." Stewart said pulling Pansy back against his chest.

"Those beliefs are rubbish. Your narrow minded thinking is why will both of you are no one of great importance to anyone."

"We shall see, Draco. We shall see."

Lyons pulled Pansy away towards the exit. Hermione had lost her appetite and turned away to return to where Ginny was seated. Draco could only watch and see her walls start to build back up around her. There wasn't too much time left before she was closed off to everyone. Music started back up right when dinner was over. Dozens of people made their way to the floor to loose themselves in the energy.

Draco weaved through the throb and held his hand out to Hermione. She looked up at him from her seat with a raised eyebrow. "Dance with me." He stated in a low voice that just slid over body and tugged a smile onto her lips.

Ginny elbowed her from behind until she extended her hand out for Draco to take. He led her out onto the floor, then pulled her close. She moved with every step he made, following everything he did. "I must say...you are a good dancer." She complimented feeling his hand tighten around her back.

"I am sorry about what Pansy said to you tonight. It's not right."

"Some people will never accept my kind...just as some will never accept that blood status means nothing. I appreciate you sticking up for me though."

Hermione's feet fell in sync with his after being spun around a second. He pulled her even closer than she was before. His warm breath caressed her bare shoulders. "There was no reason not to. I know your trying to figure things out and your mind is all chaotic; but I want you to know..."

"I know. You've done so much for me...that I could never pay back. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"I didn't ask you to. There is only one thing I want."

"And what's that?"

"You..."

His answer took her breath away entirely. He didn't care that there was so many of his co-workers surrounding him. He didn't care that Kingsley was looking down at them. He didn't care that Harry was next to him with Ginny in his arms. He leaned in to capture Hermione's lips with his own. Both stopped dancing to hold onto each other desperately. The feeling of her tongue brush across his was intoxicating. Cupping the sides of her face with both of his hands, he moved one of them to the back of her neck. "It's about time..." He heard Harry say to Ginny in passing.

Breaking away, Draco looked down at Hermione in his arms. There was tint of pink to her cheeks that he found to be stunning. The words escaped both of their mouths just as the music faded away only to hear glass shattering and a strong wind gust through the entire building. All the tables scattered across the floor, hitting several of the people inside. Hermione knelt to the ground to turn her head to see a pair of glowing eyes from the dark shadow of the outside.

She recognized the glow as those from Chimera. Screaming for people to run, she knew that it was falling on deaf ears. It was too late. Flames burst through the walls of building, setting everything in sight ablaze.

"Run!" She screamed once again, pulling Draco along with her.

People filtered towards the exit, forgetting about their belongings. Digging her wand out from the side of her dress, she held it out. Chanting a few words, a small barrier surrounded her and Draco. It bought some time for more people to make their exit. The flames were quickly consuming everything in sight. The image of her apartment building burning returned to her mind. Whoever wanted her dead knew that she was there and decided Janey's life wasn't enough. They wanted to take more lives.

Turning her head slightly, she could see that almost everyone had gotten out already. The red eyes bore into hers once again. Her frozen body couldn't react when a second burst of flames entered the building. "Hermione! We need to go!" Draco shouted out of desperation.

The flames consumed two innocent people running towards the door. Hermione's eyes widened in horror, realizing that there was nothing she could do to stop the hell that had been unleashed upon them. Draco pulled at her arm, snapping her concentration on the barrier around them. The heat from the fire was overwhelming, burning the edges of the bottom part of her dress.

He could see the Chimera for the first time and knew it was ready to unleash a third wave of flames, that's when he could see a hooded figure sitting on the creatures back. Quickly grabbing her arm, he pushed her out the door. He was pushed forward by the intensity of the fire and the burst of wind.

"Draco!" Hermione screamed running to his side.

Harry knelt down, lifting his unconscious body up with the help of Kingsley. Ginny held Hermione close as they quickly scattered towards a place where they could treat Draco fully without any interruptions.