A/N: I should probably warn you to not expect the caring, oh I was a bad boy Draco and I'm sorry in this…at least not for a bit.
Hermione wasn't sure if fate, the gods, or some other magic power determined the way people's lives turned out. She didn't know if maybe reincarnation played into anything, like if you were evil in a passed life, you were essentially tortured in the next. She just didn't understand how things could have changed for her so drastically and why her life turned to shit while Draco fucking Malfoy lived like a king, despite what a jerk he was back in school.
Irony was a bitch, she decided as she watched him in silence under a disillusionment charm. He ran and played with his young daughter, who from what Hermione could tell, absolutely adored her father. She would run as fast as her little legs would carry her, trying her hardest to escape the long strides of her father. Her blond curls would bounce through the air, the sunlight seemed to hang onto every strand as the little girl giggled like a maniac.
When Draco would get too close, the little girl, or according to her records, named Abby, would drop to the ground in laughter, surrendering to him with total cuteness. He would collapse on the ground with her and pull her to sit across his stomach where he would tickle her until she begged for mercy.
The scene made bile rise up into her throat.
It was too perfect, he was too perfect and she was sure Draco finally learned that he needed to be human when his daughter was born.
She looked away a lot, hating seeing them as they frolicked through the grounds of Malfoy Manor. The happiness that practically radiated from them had her rolling her eyes more times then she ever remember doing to anyone and they seemed to always be happy.
The wards of Malfoy Manor were easy enough to get passed without being suspected and she took advantage of it as much as possible. Having access to the manor was vital to her mission and she even managed to sleep there a few times when she couldn't get away without being seen.
She marked down everything she witnessed, taking her findings home for a more thorough look through for any patterns that were odd or possibly damning, but so far he was clean as Merlin's knickers and she had nothing.
She did, however, have a very good idea of why Draco divorced his wife. She was an idiot. You learned a lot about people when you watched them like, take Abby for instance. The little girl had a thing for strawberry ice cream. She would rather have strawberry ice cream than anything else and the little house elf, Cuppy, would bring her a small bowl every night after she was put to sleep.
Draco's ex-wife, she learned, had custody of Abby. Why the Ministry would put a child in the arms of a woman like her was anyone's guess. The woman was a sweet woman to Abby, but a danger to her health. Hermione had watched on several occasions where Abby could have been seriously injured or killed even because of her mother's flightiness. Luckily, the elves were always around to make sure Abby was safe.
Hermione looked down at her watch and decided to call it a day. Draco and Abby had been playing for hours and she knew Abby would be going home with her mother soon enough as it wasn't Draco's night to have her.
She shrunk down her little muggle pad and pen and tucked them into her pocket before walking to the edge of the grounds and apparating home for the evening.
Ooooooooooo
"Have you found anything on him yet?"
Hermione tossed the note pad onto the coffee table towards her boss and sat down on the couch.
"So far nothing." She started, "But I still have to get into Gringgotts and figure out what he is doing with that other house."
Her boss nodded and tossed her a pack of cigarettes. It was a nasty little habit she had picked up and while it was bad for her health, it was good for her nerves so the risk of lung cancer was unimportant.
"Do you think he is dark?" her boss asked
"Not from what I can tell… pity too because it would have done my heart good to kill this one." She muttered after exhaling the smoke.
Her boss chuckled lightly, "You're a tough one."
"I have to be." She said simply. And that part was true. If she had not trained herself emotionally to be distant and slightly sadistic, the world would have eaten her alive within a very short amount of time.
Her boss rose from the chair and sighed, "Report to me next week and let me know what else you find."
Hermione nodded but didn't reply and her boss took that for his dismissal. He walked to the door with a slight shake to his head. She was a sad case in his opinion, a case that he doubted could ever be changed. He was slightly jaded himself, but he could never bring himself to kill someone unless it was in self defense and to see a young woman who once held so much promise, turn into a killer with no remorse was something he would never fully understand. He closed the door behind him and left the witch to herself, sitting on the couch in the dark with only the glow of the end of the cigarette visible.
The next morning, Hermione decided she needed a day to herself. She had been watching Malfoy for over a week without a break and she seriously needed time alone and to train a bit. She trained with a few select wizards that were of the darker nature and didn't go easy on her because she was a girl – it was sort of an underground thing that many of the normal witches and wizards had no clue existed.
The first thing on her list for the day was a run in a near by park. The park wasn't exactly a place where you would have picnics and bring your kids to play at, it was more or less abandoned due to a few woman getting attacked while running the trails. The park was, however, the perfect place for a run when you wanted to be alone and not bothered. The trails were overgrown for the most part, save for a few that people like her used, the bathroom facilities were filthy and the resting spots were in serious disarray but it fit her needs perfectly.
She slipped on her jogging pants and shirt, they were both plain gray, and tied her hair up in a high ponytail. She then slipped on her trainers and took off out the door, heading towards the park for her 3 mile run.
The first mile and a half went smoothly. She hadn't encountered a single person or animal, nor had she reached any trails that were to far gone to be used. The second mile and a half she found herself less fortunate.
She had just rounded a large oak tree when the sight of a blond haired man caught her attention. She knew whom the hair belonged to instantly and groaned, even on her day off she was faced with Malfoy. She continued to run, not slowing or paying him any attention in the least, hoping he would just let her go by without mention… She wasn't that lucky.
"Hey Granger!" He yelled as he ran behind her.
She didn't stop or even act like she heard him but she did pick up her pace a bit.
"GRANGER!" He yelled a bit louder and from directly behind her.
She sighed but didn't stop running, "What do you want Malfoy?" she asked in a bored tone.
"Don't sound so excited to see me." He said cockily.
"Maybe because I'm not." She replied, "Now if you don't mind, I would like to run in peace."
Draco didn't answer but continued to run beside her despite her cold reaction towards him.
"Potters getting divorced from the Weasley girl." He said out of the blue
'Why was he telling her this? She didn't care.'
"And I care why?" She asked
"He was one of your mates, I just figured you'd like to know."
"Well, I don't need to know, nor do I care so save your petty small talk for someone who does."
"Harsh, Granger, harsh."
Hermione just rolled her eyes and kept going, maybe if she ignored him, he would go away.
"Are you married? Have kids?" he asked.
She gave him the death glare and continued on, not answering his question.
"Come on Granger, You've been watching every move I make for a week now, you could at least answer my question."
She froze in place. How the hell did he know?
Draco smirked and stopped right next to her. He noticed her temporary flash of 'oh shit' but she quickly schooled that into a face of boredom.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. Why in the hell would I follow you?"
"Tsk, tsk, Lying will get you nowhere." He said in a sing song voice.
"I'm not lying, now if you will please, please leave me the fuck alone, I can finish my run and go home for the day."
Draco paused and looked at her closely. The girl from school was completely gone, replaced by a girl who didn't seem to care if she actually took another breath.
"What the hell happened to you?" He asked.
"Nothing happened to me Malfoy. People grow up and move on." And with that she started running again.
"Hey, you never answered my question!" he yelled as he started running after her again.
Hermione broke into a full out run, jumping over some of the slightly larger rocks and a clearing the fallen trees like hurdles. She was getting winded but refused to stop running. She made it about 1500 feet when she was suddenly tackled to the ground by one angry Draco Malfoy.
"I wasn't fucking playing, Granger. I was trying to be nice but now you've gone and pissed me off. Why the fuck are you watching me?"
He gripped her by the shoulders and lifted his body a bit so he could turn her over. He wanted to look into her eyes so he could tell whether she was being truthful or not.
"I haven't been watching you Malfoy." She stated again, not changing the hitch in her voice one bit.
Draco growled and put his hands close to her neck. He would never normally hurt a female but he had been suspecting that his ex wife was trying to keep him away from Abby and maybe having Hermione follow him, looking for something she could present to the ministry. His hands slipped around her neck and he leaned his face close to hers.
"If my bitch of an ex wife is having me followed to take my daughter from me, I guarantee I will kill you right here and no one would ever find your body."
Hermione smiled at him. It was disturbing to him that she would actually smile when he was threatening to strangle the life out of her.
Her hands slipped over his, but instead of pulling his hands from her neck, she made his hands tighten. The smile never left her face as her eyes looked right into his.
"Do it." She said simply, "Finish what your bastard of a father didn't… come on or are you too much of a pussy as well."
He ignored her rant, "Are you following me because of my ex?" he growled.
She grew silent for a second before she answered.
"I have never met her, nor has she ever contacted me. I am not a fucking private investigator nor do I care to be. Now, if you are going to kill me, do it now or get the hell off of me before I do something you will regret."
The coldness in her voice, the lack of motion she held, the fearlessness she displayed when faced with death was something he had never seen in a woman, much less one her age.
He moved his hands from her neck and stood, offering her his hand to help her up. She looked at the offered hand and smacked it away before she pulled herself from the ground.
"Are we done here?" she asked, "Or are you going to tackle me again?"
"Why are you following me? And what did you mean by finish what my father didn't?" he asked, now more confused then ever.
Hermione just grinned, "I'm not following you and I'm sure if you search hard enough in your fathers study, you'll find out first hand what I'm referring to."
She then started running through the thick trees once again. She knew he would try to find out what happened, it was regarding his father so naturally his curiosity would be peaked. She didn't care if he found out. The ministry kept it all secret and the people who she thought would care, didn't, so what did it matter.
She finally made it out of the park and headed back to her house, deciding it would not be a good day for training after all.