The ministry had created the positions after Voldemort had been defeated. Their goal was to make sure it didn't happen again and anyone who fit the profile of being a wizard or witch like Voldemort was watched and taken out if necessary.
Her office was at the ministry on the 4th floor and to everyone around, she was one of the Ministers secretaries. They didn't know the truth, only a few did and they weren't talking. She wasn't wanted there, that was clear from the beginning but she was there to do a job, not win popularity contest.
Ron and Harry about had a fit when they found her working there and of course that started a chain reaction. The ones that would have probably stayed neutral in the entire mess were easily swayed by the looks of absolute loathing and disgust that were showered upon her.
She was glared at, at least 12 times a day, doors were slammed in her face, a few of the braver ones would try to trip her as she walked and if she needed a favor… it was just out of the question. She, however, ignored the taunts and insults and went about her life.
She had expected it before she stepped foot in the building on the first day and she couldn't help but smirk when she thought about how easily they could be eliminated. The old Hermione would have never thought such things but the changed Hermione found the thoughts humorous.
She walked through the Ministry as quickly as she could to avoid any trouble. She didn't have time to glare back or silently cast a tripping curse on anyone because she was due to receive the information on her next assignment and the 'delivery man' waited for no one.
She reached her office in record time, avoiding anyone whom normally caused issues and plopped down in her chair to wait. The mans ETA was in five minutes and she needed time to prepare the office.
Exactly five minutes later, a tall man with black hair and blue eyes came into her office. A simple nod was exchanged and Hermione quickly went to work on setting up wards, silencing charms, detection charms and everything else to ensure complete privacy.
"Hello George." She said calmly, "Do you have the information?"
George didn't smile, he never did, but he nodded once again and smirked, "I think you may like this one." He stated calmly, "His father was a man worthy of your… attentions and the Ministry is sure the son is walking in daddy's footsteps."
Hermione smirked, George always seemed to get a bit excited when he felt the assignment was truly worthy.
"Really, George, You seem almost too happy about this"
She reached her hand out for the file, she was curious who it was as only a handful of people fit that description. The file itself was thick and contained more then a year of information.
"The assignment is one Draco Malfoy. The orders are to observe him and find out what he is up to. If you suspect anything that will cause need for his elimination, you have permission to do so without consent."
Hermione opened the file and flipped through the pages. She remained completely stone-faced and didn't even flinch when the Malfoy name greeted her. It contained recent pictures, bank information, business information, personal information and everything else that had anything to do with him. She would know more about him than he would when this thing was over.
"Let them know that I will start on this right away." She said as she tucked the file into a drawer.
George stood and said his good-byes, leaving Hermione grinning like a Cheshire cat. Draco fucking Malfoy was her new assignment and she very much hoped he would be one that needed to be eliminated. Yes, he didn't do anything to her per say but that didn't mean she would go easy on him. As far as she was concerned, eliminating the only Malfoy heir would be the perfect revenge for her inability to have children herself. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.
She knew she could go home for the day, she needed to so she could lock herself up in her home office and sort out all the details of Dracos life. There, she would separate anything that could be of use from the stuff that was better used a kindling. Revenge was sweet.
00000
It only took her 10 hours to sort through the mess. Draco had taken over all of the family businesses, was recently divorced from a woman named Sylvia and had a child, a daughter as a matter of fact. The old Hermione would have immediately freaked out at the idea of having to kill a father of a young child, but life was life and if he was causing problems, then his life meant nothing to her.
She noticed that he had two separate accounts from all of the other normal ones such as businesses and personal. These accounts were secured to the max making him the only one who could access them. She didn't know what they contained but she intended to find out.
The other information was on properties he owned. She noticed that most of them remained unoccupied but one in particular had recently been going under renovations. She wondered why he would be fixing one house up when he had the manor to live in. His ex wife was already staying in another property so she was pretty sure it wasn't for her. A mistress perhaps?
It seemed that Draco had a lot of things that she needed to weed through and she knew he wouldn't tell her willingly. She would have to use every ounce of her training on this one to make sure she didn't get caught for if she did, she was as good as dead either way.
Draco Malfoy had become a man that from what she could tell would stop at nothing to keep his secrets from coming to light. He was not a do gooder like Ron or Harry, he was not out there for the sake of the world, no, Draco Malfoy was like her in a way by being self serving and trying to survive, she could respect that.
When nighttime finally fell, Hermione found she needed some kind of release. She had been working constantly for the last few months and she really just needed a place where she could find a dark corner, drink just enough to get her buzzed, come home, and pass out to a decent nights sleep. Her plan was to start working on Malfoy first thing and she needed her unwind time.
She slipped on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, pulled her hair back into a pony tail and apparated away to a bar called The Night Stalkers. It wasn't the nicest place in the world, as a matter of fact, no self respecting witch or wizard dared to be seen there but she was Hermione Granger, she didn't have a reputation that needed protecting, they were her kind of people.
The inside looked a lot bigger then it did on the outside. The smell of mold, stale smoke and alcohol assaulted your senses as soon as you walked in and you could hardly see anyone else that was there due to the dim lighting and poorly laid out floor plan.
She didn't need to see where she was going, she already knew where her table was and if it were taken she had a back up. She made her way to the very back and grinned to herself when she found her favorite table empty and calling for her. She ordered four glasses of Whiskey, lined them up and started her night.
Three glasses down, one to go and she was well on her way to being good and buzzed. Her eyes were growing heavy, her equilibrium was off and slowly the pain of living slipped away. It was easier to drink and numb yourself from the world, it was easier to drink away the faces of the men that you had killed and it was easier to drink away the momentary twinges of remorse and longing for normalcy.
She picked up the final glass and brought it to her lips, one more and she would be ready to go home, one more and she would be right with the world if only for the night.
"You're a pretty one." A voice said from above her.
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'm not for you to look at so fuck off.
The man laughed, "Feisty too… I like that in a woman."
She didn't look up, she didn't need to. She could tell the man was plastered, older and judging by the ring on his finger, very much married.
"Look buddy, just go back to your bar stool and leave me be. I'm not in the mood to deal with you."
That was when the man made a mistake. He didn't listen to her words of warning and go back to where ever the hell he came from, instead, he gripped the top of her hair and pulled her head up.
"No wonder you wouldn't look at me." The man laughed, "You're that Granger girl."
He touched her, he fucking pulled her hair and touched her and that was unacceptable. It a flash of speed that no half-drunk person should possess, the man was slammed against the wall, wand pointed to his throat and face to face with and absolutely angry woman.
"Listen to me and listen to me good. I could care less what you think of me. I could care less who you are but I am going to warn you only once that you will never touch me again. Is that clear?"
The man wanted to laugh, the girl was tiny compared to him but even he had to admit she had balls for what she was doing.
"Or you'll what?" he asked snidely, "Will you run and rat me out like you did Potter? Get me killed like all those people years ago?"
Hermione tightened her grip on the man. There was no way she was going to explain herself to some slug of a man who wouldn't listen or matter anyway.
"I will do no such thing." She replied, "I wouldn't need to do anything of the sort because I could kill you myself and wouldn't feel the slightest bit of remorse for it."
The man openly laughed at her. Laughed so hard that he didn't see her ball up her fist. He didn't see her pull back as far as she could and he sure as hell didn't see her swing like a full-grown man… At least not until it was too late and he was on the floor, out cold.