City-wide morning rush. Was an explanation necessary?
The crowd was the same sea of faceless business-people. The mob of late, frazzled workers usually juggled coffee, papers, other office stationary of some kind. The sad thing was, seven times out of ten, at least one of these objects fell from their reach, either accidently or out of frustrated rage. Then there were the early, over-achievers. Everyone despised these people, relaxing on a park bench reading the daily post with time to waste. A nonchalant glance at their watches or a casual wave at the passing pedestrians who were as equally at ease with their time management. To the average, untrained eye, they were wise employees, ones to admire during the hassle of morning chaos.
Shocked at the utter frivolity of the outcome, Hermione found herself straying from the group of overachievers. She was, for once, running low on time. What was once a cheerful morning, ready to procrastinate until the time came that she was required to present herself at work, quickly became a chaotic treasure hunt for her lost folder on the new case. She'd searched high and low for the damned folder, finally settling on requesting more copies from her assistant once she arrived at work in one piece.
Her secretary appeared to be bewildered at the sight of Hermione's tardiness. Never before had this been an occurence. Even now it was a minor offense, but Hermione lived to be a perfectionist, did she not?
Wordlessly, Hermione summoned Charlotte, the nervous wreck that she'd hired so long ago, into her office. She looked as if she was absolutely petrified at the sight of Hermione, perhaps too aware of her power as an attorney.
"Charlotte, I'm going to need a few extra copies of the new casework. I seemed to have misplaced the folder."
"W-We don't have any more copies on file, Ms. G-Granger."
Hermione ignored her secretary's incompetent verbalization. She quirked an eyebrow, her throat growing thick. "I'm sure you can contact someone and produce a few extras, can't you?"
"They didn't leave any s-source of contact. I'm not s-sure if..." The rest of Charlotte's excuse was lost. Hermione remembered exactly where her paperwork had gone, and at this realization, she groaned internally.
"Never mind. I think I have a faint notion of which dunderhead to contact. That's all, Charlotte." Charlotte darted from the room, noticeably relieved that she wouldn't have to face Hermione any longer. Three years under Hermione's management and you'd think the poor girl would've grown a backbone.
Before her quill was even submerged in black ink, Hermione had the words of her note on her tongue. She attempted to be civil about the matter, yet a few insults crept to the front of her mind. After several mistakes and a few re-writes, she settled on a short-to-the-point note for Draco.
Draco,
It seems that you have my paperwork for my current case. I've tried obtaining new copies, yet my secretary tells me that the copies you must've accidently taken with you last night are the only ones available. If you could send the folder to my office, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Hermione
Simple enough that it would get the job done. Hermione was relying on this so that she could get the casework returned to the Ministry, which was of extreme importance. Another thought occured to her and it was a common mistake that could've driven her to tear her hair from its roots. What if Draco read the paperwork, mistaking it for his own? Her entire cover would be blown once he realized that she was the one working as the Ministry's 'secret weapon' all these years. He'd realize that she was the real reason why the wizarding government hadn't been overthrown since the war. Of course, Hermione couldn't very well rely on Draco to keep a secret. She couldn't even trust to know what his reaction would be, let alone whether or not he would keep his mouth shut. All of her years of putting away thriving criminals would be demolished, especially since they'd find out that Hermione was a rat. They'd know exactly who to target and threaten, which would leave Hermione no choice but to quit her job. Any unsafe enviroment was not one that Hermione desired to work in, especially with death threats hanging over her head every single hour of the day.
She sent the note off without a second thought, the owl squawking obnoxiously as she let it fly and escape from her office window. That was that, and there was nothing more she could do. Until Draco replied to her owl or sent the folder to its rightful owner, all Hermione was allowed was the prospect of waiting.
The dark circles - nearly black now - still lay beneath Draco's tired eyes. Another sleepless night. The soaked state of his clothing from the night prior had simply added to the unappealing side of sleep. He almost felt disgusted with himself - almost being the key word. He'd forgotten how entirely exhausting it was to stand and have a row with Granger all night. It had been a breeze back in his school years, back when he was still naive and reveling in the upper hand that his last name had dealt him. Now it nearly useless and he'd spent a good hour wondering why he'd stooped so low as to bringing out the worst in Hermione. She'd been mature enough to temporarily forget their past, why couldn't Draco have put it behind them, if only for a good ten minutes?
Colin's swift knock and entry awoke Draco from his dream-like state. It seemed that Colin had been interrupting a lot lately. "What is it, Colin?"
"An owl just arrived addressed to you. From the looks of it, it's from Hermione Granger." He handed a neatly folded scrap of parchment to Draco, looking embarassed.
"Tell me, Colin, do you fancy reading all of my mail? Or are you such a prat that you can't physically help but nosing your way into my business? Honestly, remind me why I hired you, Creevey. I'd hate to set up another round of interviews in search of another secretary."
Blushing the deepest of crimson, Colin left without so much as an apolegetic glance in his employer's direction. Draco unfolded the note, reading the scrawled writing and quirking an eyebrow. Hadn't he given back the folder? He was positive that he had. It was possible that he hadn't, and also possible that it hadn't been the correct folder. His arm extended to his briefcase under the desk, blindly searching for the manila folder. Draco hardly used folders, just labeled tab dividers that sufficed nicely. His fingers stumbled upon a thick, unknown folder and he withdrew it. Sure enough, it was Hermione's, distinguishable by the handwritten note stacked on top of the casework inside. His eyes shouldn't have invaded over the written lines, but they betrayed him and did as they pleased. Draco scolded himself for not practicing what he preached when it came to invading someone else's privacy.
Hermione!
Another case and I'm expecting successful results! I know how well you've done the past three years and I'm hoping we can keep up the charade and fool the wizarding public again. As usual, I'm sure they won't suspect little old Hermione Granger. When you read the casework, you'll see that you'll be assisting Draco Malfoy in defending the accused. All I have to say on the matter is that you keep Draco in the shadows about our deal. I doubt it'll be an important detail, anyway. Just tell him that you've been called upon by the Ministry for some requested legal counsel and you decided that a little contact with the Ministry couldn't do any harm. He won't think a thing of it, especially that you've been secretly restoring the government for the last three years! I'm awaiting your approval.
Minister of Magic
Draco was shell-shocked, to say the very least. Played a fool by Hermione Granger, the star student of Hogwarts. He couldn't believe his eyes. In any case, he could play this game as well as Granger could. He took out a piece of parchment, a quill, and a corked jar of ink with one fluid motion. His reply was quick, no proofreading involved.
Granger,
Meet me in the park by your apartment building. I do, indeed, have your folder and I'll bring it along tonight, 7 o'clock sharp.
Draco
He sent it along with one of the office owls and sat motionless in his chair, unbelieving of the events that just occured. Draco certainly didn't expect Hermione to spill her guts to him of all people, but damn, the girl had the entire Wizarding World fooled! How had she managed three years of secrecy? That was virtually impossible in the world of law and crime. Even with magic involved, you could only shelter the truth for so long before you had the Daily Prophet banging at your door. Before you knew it, your mugshot was on the front page and the truth was out, whether or not you were ready or prepared.
Within an hour, it was already nearing 7 o'clock. Granger hadn't replied, so Draco took it to meaning that she would be attending. Colin had been dismissed early, he claimed to be suffering from a rash somewhere around his bum. Draco had given him permission without a second thought, grimacing when Colin went into specific detail about his ailment. The office was empty except for Draco who rode the elevator down to the lobby. He then apparated to the park where they would be meeting, unsurprised to find that Hermione was already waiting.
Draco's strides toward her held a sort of superiority. He had the upper hand now.
"Good, I'm glad you arrived on time, Granger."
"The paperwork is important. I don't procrastinate when it comes to legal documents, Draco."
Brandishing the folder from behind his back, Draco extended it toward her politely with no comment. As her hand gripped it, he released it, no complaint.
"No insult, Malfoy? Are you running a fever as well?"
Draco merely smirked, a playful glint in his grey eyes. "Maybe we can continue this day-old banter after you explain yourself. Were you at all planning on telling me that you were working for the Ministry all these years?" He paused, gauging her reaction, which in turn, was a look of horror. He resumed his flowing stride. "By the look of things, you obviously weren't. I'm not daft, Granger. Lying was my faithful friend back at school. I recognize him when I see him. It's quite plain you two have become the best of mates."
A/N; Here's your update! I'm pretty pleased with myself for taking the time to write this instead of putting it off. I thank all of you for favoriting me and this story and adding it to your alert list. I also greatly appreciate the reviews! I tried to act on your advice and criticism and make this chapter to be the best yet. I also forgot to add a disclaimer to the last two chapters. I, GorgeouslyXHomicidal, do not own the rights of Harry Potter and am in no way affiliated with JK Rowling and/or any of the characters of the Harry Potter Saga. These characters are purely fictional and should be treated as so. Review! Cheers and beers, xx.