A/N: As promised, I updated this weekend. I want to thank everyone for simply reading my story. I truly appreciate it and it feels wonderful to get such great response as an writer of fanfiction. So thank you once again and enjoy!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything Harry Potter. I own nothing.

A Day at the Ministry

Despite her initial despair earlier that morning, Hermione felt a bit better. Her heart hadn't magically healed nor had her pain lessened; she was simply choosing to make the best of the situation, as of right now. Aside from that, Harry was taking her to the Ministry today and she couldn't help but feel a bit excited. She wondered what she did for a living now. She hoped that it was an improvement from her previous job. Hermione was not per say: ungrateful, she was just not thrilled by the idea of being the Minister's personal secretary for the rest of her life. Hermione needed new and exciting things. Hermione had her own interests to pursue…like house elves. Hermione smiled. She had loved the magical creatures from the moment she had been made aware of their existence. Having a personal connection with a house elf had only enforced her beliefs that house elves deserved better treatment and that they should be set free, if they so wished. Dobby had been a shining example of what freedom could give an elf but also what could be taken away. She felt herself tear up slightly at the thought of Dobby. He had been so brave and loving.

Hermione sighed as she left the guest bedroom and entered the Potter's kitchen. It reminded her of the Burrow with its home-like feel and radiating warmth. The kitchen was decorated modestly with bright yellows and it had a wide array of cooking utensils. Hermione laughed as she imagined Ginny trying to cook. Ginny had never been what one could call 'skilled' when it came to cooking. The girl could fire a mean bat boogey hex but when it came to the kitchen, Ginny was always horribly defeated. Ginny had tried to cook on numerous occasions but usually she ended up with half the food either covering the floor, herself or anyone in her general proximity. Sure, magically, Ginny was all right with cooking but she just couldn't cook the natural way like Mrs. Weasely could. Magically conjured or assisted food, never did taste quite the same. Harry was the cook of the Potter household, and rightly so. After cooking for his disgustingly vile pig-like relatives for more than ten years, he was quite adequate when it came to cooking without the use of magic. Hermione was pleasantly surprised by Harry's ability and for Ginny it had been a wonderful bonus. After Ginny's many failures in the kitchen, Harry had absolved her duties once and for all. Ginny was much better suited to cleaning spells and working with touch stains on clothes. Harry was equally talented but his abilities were usually utilized in the kitchen.

Hermione knew she was the only one up. Last night had been quite a night for the Potter household. Hermione felt a bit guilty for the stress and worry she was inflicting upon both Harry and Ginny. They had been so kind to her by allowing her into their home so suddenly and she had been anything but grateful. She had moped around, stared silently into space and sobbed until she could hardly breath. She had done nothing of value and she hadn't provided any assistance whatsoever. Unfortunately Hermione could not bring herself to do anything. She was far too emotionally drained and unstable. Aside from that, Malfoy was still her husband and Ron was still married to someone else. She groaned. Why couldn't she forget about that, at least for a while? Hermione didn't want to infringe on anyone's life any longer. For Harry, Ginny and even Malfoy, life was no different, except for Hermione's abrupt memory loss. They all remembered how they had ended up where they were now. And Hermione could not help but be envious. Hermione had no clue what she had spent the last year doing, besides marrying Malfoy. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted, and for this, Hermione was thankful.

"Good morning Hermione." Harry yawned as he entered the room and smiled earnestly at Hermione.

"Good morning Harry." Hermione weakly replied and feigned a smile.

"Are you excited to go to the Ministry today?" Harry had a hopeful glint in his eye as he cautiously looked over at Hermione.

"Actually I really am excited. I am intrigued by what my current job is. I think I will really enjoy seeing my office, that is, if I have an office and I think it will be interesting to see how the Ministry has changed since I last remember seeing it." Hermione had forgotten her ailments. Excitement and nervous energy filled her. She heard her stomach growl and flushed as she looked down at the floor.

"I'm glad to hear that Hermione! But I'm not so glad to hear your stomach, what can I get you Hermione? Ginny has been begging me to make pancakes for ages…and today I might just fulfill her request." Harry winked at Hermione as he moved around the kitchen. Hermione couldn't help but smile. It was times like this that she remembered exactly why Harry was her best friend. He could make her laugh no matter what… Ron had done that too… But Hermione and Harry had always had a better friendship while her and Ron had always been more inclined to a relationship. She fought to keep any more thoughts of Ron out of her mind. She didn't need this right now. She sighed and tried to distract herself. Luckily a question sprung into her mind, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by curiosity.

"Pancakes sound lovely Harry. Um… Harry, do you and Ginny know the gender of your child yet?" Hermione had just realized that she had no idea what Ginny and Harry were having.

"Not yet, we find out next week actually. Um Hermione… Since you can't remember me asking you this, I think I should ask again. I was wondering if you would be willing to be the godmother of Ginny and I's baby… It would mean a lot to Gin and I. Honestly, I would never trust another human with my child as much as I would trust you and I know Ginny feels the same way…" Harry smiled sheepishly at Hermione. Hermione felt herself tearing up as she ran toward Harry. She hugged him happily.

"Of course I'll be his or her godmother! I'd be honored Harry. It means a lot that you and Gin place so much trust on my shoulders. Hopefully I won't let you down." Hermione was truly happy for the first time since she had awoken without any recollections of the past year and a half. She couldn't stop grinning as Ginny walked in the room.

"YES! You finally decided to make pancakes! Just when I was seriously considering hexing you… Luckily I won't have to resort to that now Harry." Ginny's voice was bubbly and warm as she planted a kiss on Harry's cheek. She then quickly maneuvered her way over to Hermione, who was laughing at the spectacle in front of her. Hermione was overwhelmed by the amount of love she felt for her friends. They were brilliant. Both Harry and Ginny were like the siblings she never had. Harry was the overprotective and caring brother while Ginny was the bubbly, understanding and wild younger sister. Hermione laughed again. "I'm glad to see you smiling this morning Hermione!"

"Thanks Gin. You are quite entertaining to watch." Hermione laughed again as Ginny awkwardly attempted to bow. Her pregnant stomach only made it more difficult. "Harry told me that you are finding out the baby's gender next week. I'm very happy for you both. I'm also thrilled that you have chosen me as your baby's godmother." Hermione beamed at Ginny.

"I'm really excited to find out whether or not I'm having a brilliant little boy or a wonderful baby girl. Either way I'll be happy, as long as they don't turn out like Harry." Ginny laughed playfully and ran as Harry tried to swat her with the utensil in his hand. "I'm only kidding Harry, you know that though! And yes, Hermione I think you would be a great godmother, you've always done well with children, at least from what I've seen. You're an absolute angel to Teddy." Hermione's eyes widened.

"Oh my, I just realized that Teddy is almost five years old now! I remember him turning three… I can't believe I've missed a year of his life…" Hermione's voice was full of disappointment and guilt.

"Oh Hermione…In reality, you truly haven't missed a year of his life, at least in his eye's you haven't. So don't feel bad. He adores you." Ginny rubbed Hermione's shoulder reassuringly. "Teddy really…" Ginny stopped talking and bit her lip. Hermione stared at her questioningly.

"What about Teddy, Gin?"

"It's nothing Hermione. I don't want to bring it up right now. I'll tell you another time." Ginny looked at the ground and was suddenly interested in the floral rug beside the table.

"Ginny what is it? I'm a big girl I can handle it."

"I just didn't want to bring it up because it's about Draco and I doubt you want to talk about him right now."

"Oh…Malfoy? What about him…?" Hermione shifted uncomfortably. She couldn't lie to herself, she was interested to know but part of her didn't want to talk about Malfoy just yet.

"I was just going to say that Teddy really loves Draco. He follows him around whenever they are together. It is nearly impossible to separate Teddy from Draco whenever we have a get together. You didn't hear this from me, but I think Draco is secretly just as attached to Teddy. "

"Malfoy is in Teddy's life…?" Hermione perked her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah… they met when you and Draco started dating. Probably after a month of dating actually…you are the one who introduced them, actually." Ginny said awkwardly.

"Oh…that is sweet actually." Hermione didn't know what else to say. She honestly wanted to change the subject. She looked away from Ginny and sighed.

"So um, Harry told me that you are going to the Ministry today!" Ginny was obviously trying to change the topic and for that Hermione was grateful.

"Yes, I'm really excited to go. Oh! That reminds me, Gin when did you end your career with the Holyhead Harpies? Last I remember, your career was flourishing and you weren't considering quitting anytime soon…" Hermione looked at Ginny who was smiling.

"I didn't exactly end my career with the Harpies. I chose to take maternity leave… but as of now I'm not sure that I will be going back. I love Quiddich and I love the Harpies but I love my daughter or son more. I think that it may be time to put the Quiddich robes aside. I can always play with my kids when they are older and I'm always willing to play a game with Harry and my brothers." Ginny said happily. Hermione couldn't help but smile. At least Ginny knew where her life was headed. She would soon have a family of her own and she would be much busier. Hermione couldn't help but envy Ginny. Ginny was with the man she had always wanted, she had, had the perfect career and now she had a wonderful child on the way. Hermione knew she shouldn't be jealous but she couldn't help it. She had none of those things, except for a better job, possibly. Hopefully going to the Ministry would help quell some of her envy toward her best friend.

"Either way, I'm glad to hear that you're happy Gin. You'll make a great mother and you will be able to train your kids to be future Quiddich players! If they have you and Harry as parent's then they are bound to be good." Hermione smiled yet again.

"I sure hope so! If-" Ginny stopped and bit her lip and suddenly turned to Harry before abruptly leaving the room. Hermione was confused to say the least.

"Um Harry, where did Ginny go? And why did she leave so abruptly?" Hermione watched Harry's facial features like a hawk. He was obviously debated over what he should say in response. Hermione sighed. "Harry just tell me the real reason, not the reason Ginny told you to."

"Alright…fine. Ginny won't be pleased with me but I think she's making it a bit more dramatic than it really is. It's not her fault though she's trying to be respectful of your feelings."

"Harry…stop avoiding the answer."

"Okay. Ginny just keeps forgetting that you've lost your memory and because of that she keeps almost saying things that she shouldn't. She doesn't want to make you uncomfortable so she left for a few minutes to try and regain her composure. You have to understand that to us, you are still the same Hermione. You still speak and act like yourself, except for being upset of course. But we catch glimpses of the Hermione we know and it's easy to forget about your situation." Harry sighed resignedly. He looked a lot more stressed than Hermione remembered. It was good to know that her friends cared so much and that Ginny was trying not to offend her. She hadn't realized just how difficult it was for them too…

"Ginny shouldn't feel bad. It's not her fault. What was she going to say?" Hermione's curiosity was creeping up her spine.

"She was going to say something about you and Malfoy again…" Harry awkwardly began pouring pancake mix onto the pan. Hermione felt herself pale slightly at the mention of herself and Malfoy again.

"Oh…what about us?"

"You have to understand, Hermione, that we are used to your relationship with Malfoy now. We accepted it a long time ago. Now you are the one doing who has to accept the truth… I'm not saying that you have to stay with him but I think you should at least try to give the guy a chance. Aside from that… Ginny was going to say that if you and Malfoy had children, she wasn't sure if they would end up as bookworms, spoilt brats or Quiddich players; or a combination of all three. You can see why she didn't say that. I'm only telling you because you're my best friend." Harry looked extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation. Hermione felt somewhat nauseous.

"Oh…" Was the only response Hermione could muster. She felt herself flush slightly from embarrassment. In reality, it was only natural for Ginny to want to talk about such things with Hermione. They were best friends. But…children with Malfoy? Hermione shuddered. "I'm not hungry anymore Harry…Just call to me when you're ready to go to the Ministry." Hermione quickly left the room before Harry could say anything else.

Hermione and Harry quickly walked towards the telephone booth that would grant them entrance to the Ministry. Hermione was a ball of nervous energy as she hurried down the streets of London. She couldn't help but feel apprehensive. After Harry and Ginny had, had breakfast, she and Harry had apparated to London. Hermione had wanted to walk to work in order to calm herself down. Flooing into the Ministry wouldn't have given her enough time to take everything in. She stopped as she realized that they had reached their destination. Harry opened the booth and they quickly slipped in before they could be spotted by muggles.

The Ministry was just like Hermione remembered. It was still as large and busy as even. Noise filled the room as witches and wizards of all sizes flooed into the room and headed towards their destinations. Hermione smiled. She felt like she hadn't been here in ages. Harry quickly began to move through the crowds as Hermione followed him. They were headed towards the elevators and the floor Hermione now worked on. She was suddenly compelled to ask Harry something.

"Um Harry… If Ron doesn't work for the Ministry, where does he work?"

"He works at Weasley Wizard Wheezes with George. It's been very successful and George really needed the extra help after…well you know…"Harry said quietly.

"That's sweet of Ron to help George." Hermione said dreamily but her thoughts were immediately interrupted and she was brought back to reality.

"Good morning Mrs. Malfoy!" Hermione turned her head in shock as a black haired wizard passed her. He smiled at her with big friendly brown eyes. He had a slightly hooked nose and perfectly straight teeth. Hermione just stared at him dumbly and before she could reply he was on his way.

"Morning Hermione."

"Good morning Mrs. Malfoy, I left your mail and files beside your office."

"Good morning Harry, Hermione."

"Mrs. Malfoy how are you today?"

Harry quickly pulled a surprised and dumbfounded Hermione into the elevator. Hermione's mind was reeling. She had not recognized any of the people that had spoken to her, yet they all seemed to be quite familiar with her. It was odd to hear people calling her Mrs. Malfoy. She was surprised that she didn't detest it as much as she thought she would… But Ms. Granger still sounded better in her eyes…Or…Mrs. Weasley… Hermione felt sick again and tried to ignore the thought. She couldn't keep doing this to herself it wasn't healthy. She sighed in relief as the doors of the elevator closed and Harry quickly chose their destination.

"Level 4, The Department of the Regulation of Magical Creatures" The elevator voice chimed as the doors opened. Hermione's mouth opened in astonishment and she stood there and gaped at Harry. Harry looked at her with a huge smile. Harry quickly walked ahead of Hermione as she followed him. Various witches and wizards waved to her and everyone in the department appeared to recognize her. Hermione was a bit perplexed until she saw something that caught her eye as she looked around the halls and the offices. Pictures of magical creatures lined the walls and she stopped dead in front of a huge poster that read:

S.P.E.W. also known as The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.

Enacted on September 25th 2004 by Hermione Granger, now known as Hermione Malfoy. As of December 18th 2004, Hermione is now the Head of the Department of the Regulation of Magical Creatures.

-All homes with house elves must be evaluated every year to make sure that the proper treatment of house elves has been maintained.

- House elves that remain with their previous masters, or that are sent to new masters, must be treated with respect. They are by no means, permitted to harm themselves when they make mistakes nor shall their masters be allowed to punish them for mistakes.

- House elves that live with their masters must be provided with sufficient living conditions, which include: proper food and shelter

- House elves that wish to be free must be granted their freedom

- House elves whom are free must be paid for their labor

Hermione stood in front of the poster dumbstruck. Her mouth was hanging open as she looked at a picture of herself waving with the legal documents. She was shaking hands with the Minister and a large red banner that read: S.P.E.W. was behind them. She felt her hand immediately fly up to her mouth. She couldn't believe it.

"Harry…I feel..." She suddenly felt herself falling and was thankful when Harry grabbed her arm and held her up.

"I know it's a lot to take in but you're the brightest witch of our age, it only makes sense that you would make your dreams a reality." Harry smiled at her. Hermione felt tears rush down her face as she hugged her best friend. She whispered in his ear.

"I'm so happy Harry. I can't believe I did it. The last thing I remember was planning the legislation for S.P.E.W. and now it's a reality…"Hermione pulled back from the hug and wiped her eyes. A large smile spread across her face. She spoke a bit louder this time, "I can't believe I'm in charge of the department though! How did that happen?"

"Well Lia Garnette stepped down as the Head. It was time for her to retire and you had been working under her for a few months, and despite the short amount of time you had spent working in the department, she was impressed by your passion. Aside from that, a large group of your colleagues nominated you for the position." Harry's voice was full of admiration. Hermione felt her eyebrows rise in surprise.

"Wow, I'm extremely honored. I can't believe that so many people respect me. I feel bad because I don't remember any of this Harry. How will I properly do my job if I don't even remember how I obtained it? Aside from that, I don't even know what I'm currently working on!" Hermione felt suddenly overwhelmed with stress. How was she going to continue working? She had no idea what she had done for the department in the past year.

"Hermione, calm down. I'm going to fill Amelia in; she's your secretary, on what's happening. She will hopefully be able to help. And Hermione you're smart, if anyone could figure it all out again in a few weeks time, it would be you. " Harry placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now let's go see that office of yours. I know you'll love it." Hermione smiled back at Harry. He was such a great friend. They continued to walk through the halls and more and more people greeted Hermione. She smiled and greeted every single on of them back. She recognized no one.

They abruptly stopped in front of a small desk and in less than a minute a short young witch stood in front of them. She had a very small body and was at least five inches shorter than Hermione. She had deep brown eyes with dark black hair. She smiled warmly at Hermione. Hermione assumed that this must be Amelia.

"Hermione, Artemis left your mail outside your door. The owls were getting a bit overwhelming so he collected your mail from them so that they could leave. I hope you don't mind. I also have a case file that may concern you-"Amelia was immediately interrupted by Harry.

"Amelia, I'm sorry to interrupt you but I have a very urgent matter to speak with you about, in concern with Hermione actually." Harry looked from Amelia to Hermione warily. "Hermione you can go into your office now. I'll come in, in a moment. While I speak with Amelia, look around and explore." Amelia's eyebrows were raised and they rose further when Harry told Hermione to explore her office.

"Um…Okay Harry, whatever you say." Amelia's voice sounded a bit meek and Hermione couldn't help but feel bad for the little woman. Hermione smiled earnestly at the woman and took the key from Harry.

She was overwhelmed by excitement as she unlocked her door. When she stepped inside she was shocked. It was absolutely perfect. The walls were a warm shade of beige with one red wall and several pictures of house elves and other magical creatures lined the walls. Her desk was made of dark cherry wood and she had a large comfortable looking black chair. Two huge bookshelves stood on each side of her desk and Hermione ran over to look at her massive collection. There were records of cases dating back to the 1200's. She couldn't wait to read over them. Her favorite books were nestled in the other bookshelf, including Hogwarts: A History. She felt herself smiling from ear to ear. She then slowly moved over to her desk. Files were neatly stacked on the left side of her desk, while in the middle one laid open. She had a muggle planner that had markings and dates scribbled in. Hermione couldn't help but smile. As she scanned the desk, her heart stopped when she saw two pictures. The first was a picture of herself, Ron, Ginny and Harry. The other picture, however, was a picture of her and Malfoy. She stared at it in surprise.

The picture of herself with Ron, Ginny and Harry was at the Leaky Caldron. It appeared that they were celebrating something, what it was, Hermione wasn't sure, but either way they looked incredibly happy. They were all laughing and Hermione whenever Harry said something she punched his arm. Hermione smiled. These were the type of gatherings she remembered. She looked at Ron fondly and couldn't help but smile. He was looking at her and Harry with a bright smile on his face and Ginny was laughing so hard that she was holding her side.

Hermione cautiously turned her attention back to the photo of herself and Malfoy. Hermione was wearing muggle clothing, which included a long modest black sweater with a white tank top underneath. The sweater was buttoned except for the top and the tank top was tucked into her jeans. Malfoy was wearing a long sleeve red shirt with jeans…Jeans? Malfoy was wearing muggle jeans? Hermione felt her eyebrows lift in surprise. Aside from their odd appearance, Malfoy had is arm around her waist and she had her arm draped on his shoulder. They looked at ease with one another and they would smile at the camera and then turn and look at one another. Hermione watched as she saw herself sneak glances at him from the corner of her eye. Each time after they smiled at one another they would laugh. Hermione felt herself weakly smile at the photo before quickly turning it from sight. It was weird to see herself with Malfoy, especially how affectionate she was toward him.

She was thankful when Harry and Amelia, who looked concerned, entered the room.

"How do you like your office Hermione?" Harry asked cautiously.

"I love it. It is absolutely perfect for me, which makes sense." Hermione laughed lightheartedly.

"Amelia has agreed going to fill you in briefly with what has been happening over the past year. I'm going down to my office for a bit. I have a few things that I need to catch up on before we head back home." Harry smiled at Hermione encouragingly and then said, "Oh and one more thing, if I don't come back her first, the Auror department is on the 2nd floor of the Ministry. So if you need me, go to the second floor and to the end of the hallway. There's a large desk in the front of the elevator when you get out, you can always ask for directions to my office if you feel overwhelmed." Harry smiled as Hermione nodded to him. Harry then left the room.

"Well Hermione, I hope I can give you enough background and details for you to feel comfortable working again. I'm incredibly sorry to hear about your situation." Amelia stood awkwardly beside Hermione's desk. Hermione smiled at her.

"I'm sorry about this Amelia. I wish I remembered you, but I don't. You seem like a lovely girl though and I appreciate any help you can give me. I'm sure that whatever information you give me will be sufficient." Hermione sat in her chair and Amelia sat in the chair across from her desk and began to relay the events of the past year to Hermione.

An hour later, Hermione felt much more confident about starting work again. Amelia had informed her with a great deal of information and Hermione was honestly eager to begin work. She couldn't believe all that she and her colleague had accomplished in such a short amount of time. Hermione was searching through several files to familiarize herself with her current work. She filled a briefcase, which she had coincidentally left in the room, and decided that she would find Harry. Hermione left her office and locked it, before bidding Amelia a cheerful farewell. Hermione couldn't help but feel happy. Things were going much better than they had in the past two days. This had been quite the turn of events. Hermione had only felt negativity about the past year of her life until she had discovered that she had the perfect job and that S.P.E.W. had worked out. Hermione nearly skipped through the halls as she reached the elevator.

"Level 2, The Auror Department and Offices" A monotonous female voice entered the elevator as it arrived at Hermione's destination. She took a step out of the elevator and looked around. The Auror level was quite different from the Department of Magical Creatures. The walls were a bit darker and the layout was a lot different. Hermione looked in awe at the large gold statue in front of her. It was of three wizards, two were Aurors and the other was presumably a dark wizard. They were in battle. On the front side of the statue was a sign that said, in Latin; "Obscurum est infractus per lux lucis."Hermione smiled at the statue again and continued towards the left hallway. Owls swarmed the front desk and people were constantly being directed towards different Auror offices. Hermione was surprised by the business of the floor and slipped quietly toward the office she believed to be Harry's.

"Mrs. Malfoy! Excuse me, Mrs. Malfoy!" The quiet and childlike sounding voice filled Hermione's ears. She was confused for a moment and then realized that the person was speaking to her. She turned so abruptly that the person smacked into her. "I am so sorry Mrs. Malfoy!" The man looked nervous and Hermione assumed that he was no older than eighteen. She smiled warmly at him.

"It's fine, but please call me Hermione." Hermione said reassuringly. She didn't know if she could take being called Mrs. Malfoy yet again.

"Um…Okay…Her-Hermione. I was wondering if you knew where your husband was. He was in his office thirty minutes ago but when I came back, just ten minutes ago, he was gone." The boy was speaking rapidly and nervously and Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder. He was incredibly jumpy but he relaxed slightly at her touch.

"Calm down. I don't know where he is. I'm here to see Harry Potter. But I'm sure that you'll be able to find him soon. Maybe he went to the loo or to get something to eat. " Hermione spoke as kindly as possible to the boy. It was rather awkward speaking to him as though she was Malfoy's wife, which she was… She shuddered slightly.

"I have important files to give to him though! They are urgent and I don't know what to do. I don't want him to be angry with me… I don't want to lose my job." The boy nervously looked around.

"Does he get angry with you often?" Hermione felt her blood boiling slightly. Had Malfoy made this boy so shaky?

"No never but that's why I'm worried. I don't want to disappoint him because he always tells me that I'm a hard worker. If I fail to get him the information he needs, it can negatively impact him, which wouldn't be good for either of us."

"Oh… Well check his office again then and if you can't find him, owl him. And dear, remain calm. Everything will be fine. Now if you'll excuse me I need to find Harry." Hermione rubbed her arms subconsciously. She had expected a much different answer from the boy.

"Okay…if you see him, Hermione, could you please tell him that I'm looking for him?"

"I promise I will." Hermione hoped that she wouldn't see Malfoy and she knew she wouldn't go out of her way to find him. She knew it was selfish but she didn't want to be reminded of that part of her life just yet.

Hermione quickly walked toward Harry's office and tried to avoid contact with anyone. She didn't want to be stopped again and she wasn't sure who she knew and who she didn't know. Any of these people could be potential acquaintances. Hermione sighed in relief when she saw the Head Auror sign above the familiar black door. She had been to Harry's office before and she realized that her surroundings were actually quite familiar. She smiled earnestly as she knocked on the door and quickly walked in. She wished she hadn't the moment that she entered though. That's what she got for having selfish thoughts, she assumed. Her smile instantly dropped from her face as she saw Malfoy and Harry standing beside Harry's desk speaking heatedly. Harry was pointing at a map vehemently and Malfoy was nodding in response. Both men looked up to see Hermione slowly inching out of the room. She froze as Malfoy and herself locked eyes. Fortunately she broke the contact and quickly regained her composure.

"Harry… I am finished in my office and I was coming to see if we could leave…but if you're busy right now I can wait. I'll just go back to my office…" Hermione was about to turn and leave.

"No, Hermione don't go. It's fine. Harry and I can discuss this later." Malfoy's voice was quiet and Hermione stared at him in surprise.

"We can leave if you'd like Hermione." Harry nodded in response to what Malfoy said.

"Oh..um… Well okay then. I feel bad for interrupting your discussion though. I could always floo home alone Harry. I don't need to be escorted. Although I do appreciate, your kindness, for offering to leave with me." Hermione could feel Malfoy's eyes on her but she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye again. It was still too weird.

"Hermione it's fine. As I said we are done here." Harry said quickly.

"I have other things to do. I'll owl you later Harry." Malfoy started moving toward the door and Hermione. Hermione stepped aside as he approached.

"Oh, Malfoy, there's a shaky young boy looking for you. He was talking about important documents and losing his job. I'm almost certain that if he doesn't find you within the next ten minutes that he will suffer from a heart-attack." Hermione felt somewhat triumphant. She had helped the boy without even meaning to and in a way she had helped Malfoy too. She saw Malfoy smirk slightly.

"Oh you must mean Griffin. He's sort of like my assistant. He's a bright kid but he's always worried that I'm going to fire him in some blind rage. I think that he think's I have been bottling up anger from all his "failures" and that one day he'll go to far and it will all be over… I try to reassure him but… he's just convinced that it will happen." Malfoy looked at her with stoic eyes. She was surprised to see his face so emotionless yet his voice had been so civil towards her. She had never, in all her years of knowing him, spoken to Malfoy so…well civilly. It was actually kind of nice. She smiled at Malfoy's explanation of the kid. It sounded as though he actually like Griffin.

"Sounds just like the kid I spoke to." Hermione said quietly.

"Good bye Hermione…" Malfoy's voice and eyes didn't match. His voice had remained calm but his eyes were swimming with sadness. Hermione felt her throat dry slightly. As soon as Malfoy was out of earshot, Hermione let out a deep breath.

"Well that went rather well." Harry smiled at her. "I wasn't expecting you to speak to him at all."

"I wouldn't have, if I hadn't promised Griffin that if I saw Malfoy, I would tell him that Griffin was looking for him." Hermione said defiantly.

"Hermione I know you probably don't want to hear this… but Malfoy, he really loves you. You changed him and made him into a better person… Now he is actually a bearable git." Harry said quietly.

"You're right, I don't want to hear it Harry. Can we please stop talking about Malfoy! I don't want to think about him or talk about him. So let's just go home." Hermione bit her lip. She hadn't meant to sound so snappish and angry but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to hear about Malfoy's love for her. It made her feel bad and slightly disgusted.

"I'm sorry Hermione." Harry sounded a bit irritated but he grabbed his bag nonetheless and left his office with Hermione. They were quite the whole way back to the Potter household. Hermione didn't know what to say to Harry and she was sure that he didn't want to offend her again. When entered the house, Hermione quickly greeted Ginny and retreated to guest bedroom for the rest of the night.

A/N: For those of you who may be interested; "Obscurum est infractus per lux lucis" is Latin for "Darkness is broken by light." I felt like it was a good motto or saying for the Auror department. Seeing as light wizards fight off dark wizards. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I will be able to post again soon. Until then- jesokaa :)