Tuesday

Hermione Granger Floo'd to the Manor the next morning promptly at 9am with her team pouring into to entrance hall behind her. She had on a pair of light blue jeans, a thin grey jumper and her hair was bouncing round her face as she walked towards him carry what looked like a very large metal case.

"Malfoy." She greeted him and stuck out her hand for him to shake whilst placing the case on the floor. He accepted it graciously.

"Granger."

"Thanks for sorting out the permissions. I know I was late sending them over. I had a bit of trouble with the breeder. He wasn't happy about me taking all his stock." She chuckled to herself and checked the watch on the slender wrist. "Am I okay to take the team outside and start setting up?"

"Sure. I have a briefing for you to give to the team about access to the grounds, restrictions, things like that. I'll bring it out once you've set it up."

"Do you want to brief them yourself? Better coming from you I suppose as you've set up the restrictions. Give us 20 minutes or so and pop down to the tent?'' She called out to her team at that moment and they started following her with their own cases towards the already opened doors at the far end of the entrance hall. He watched as many levitated their cases alongside them and wondered why Granger wasn't doing the same. Maybe she sometimes still forgot she was a witch being muggle born, or maybe she was just stubborn.

By the time Draco had walked to his office to pick up the parchment with his briefing, he could see the white tent already being erected over the grounds and Granger calling out to people and pointing to different places over the grass. The sun was streaming through the window and his vision blurred for a few moments before he found her once more walking into the white tent.

"How long will they be here?" a soft voice called from behind him and he turned round to see a pale women standing in the doorway.

"Hopefully they will be finished by the end of the week." He turned back to his desk and picked up the paperwork he needed.

"Have you set up the permissions? I don't want strangers traipsing round our home."

"Yes Mother," he said walking towards the frail woman. "Everything is set up." He leant over and kissed her on the side of head. "I'll take care of everything." Narcissa lifted her hand to lightly stroke his cheek.

"I know you will" she said smiling up at him. They walked back towards the entrance hall of the Manor together silently until she spoke once more. "The muggle girl. I remember her."

"I know." Draco responded

"How could we forget... She was good to us." She looked over at him.

"She was." He glanced her way quickly then looked dead ahead.

"We should do the same for her." She turned back as he opened the door for her and let her walk through to the entrance hall.

"I know." It was all he could bring himself to say as he looked out of the main doors to the grounds. She nodded at him and crossed the entrance hall to another door. She placed her palm flat on the surface muttered something under her breath, turned the handle and was gone before he could say another word.

Despite everything Granger had stood up for them at the trials after the War. She and Potter had provided the Ministry a statement about what happened at the Manor and at Hogwarts. He had never thanked her for it. Always too stubborn, pride getting in the way.

He willed his legs to take him outside as they finally gave in, taking him across the floor, down the marble stairs until the stones were crunching beneath his feet as he walked towards the white tent, blinding him once more as he walked closer. Grangers' prayers were definitely not answered today. There wasn't a cloud in the August morning sky and he was already warm from the short stroll to where they had set up. He didn't envy the team having to work in this all day. It would only get hotter and he would be able to retreat to the house to watch from a distance.

He reached the edge of the tent and asked a worker with a rather large grey beard where he could find their studious leader. He grunted and pointed towards the tent, Draco taking the hint, stepped inside the shaded area. A welcome release from the warmth of the sun outside, he released another button from his already open collar trying to cool down. He walked past two rooms on either side of him, one with odd looking instruments being set up and the other with large table and plan of the grounds laid out across it.

He found one last room at the end of the tent and assumed she must be in there. Two people walked out at that moment in white overalls and nodded to him as they moved past. He stepped inside the small room and found himself looking at Granger looking in the mirror. She was having trouble pushing her hair into a band at the back of her head and without knowing, her jumper had risen up above her jeans revealing the creamy skin of her back to him. He gave a small cough and she turned around, her hands still grappling with her hair and the small band she seemed to be tying it up with.

"Sorry, I won't be a minute." She said flushed and annoyed. He now had a small view of her stomach and bellybutton and found his own stomach lurched as he tore his eyes away from her naked flesh to look at her face.

She finally managed to wrap her hair in ponytail, a few curls falling framing her face.

"I'm surprised that you haven't gotten good at that yet." He said as a sweet scent made its way over to him of Vanilla and Mint and he breathed it in deeply.

"I know. I'm terrible when it comes to actually sorting myself out. Ginny usually helps me if we go out …" She was standing inches away looking up at him and he was looking down at her. He could see the freckles across her nose and cheeks and the length of her eyelashes as she blinked up at him. Her brow creased and her head bobbed to the side.

"Err… I really need to get changed before we start." She stepped back and around him grabbing the remaining white overall from the peg on the tent wall and clutched it to her chest.

He shook his head, "Of course. I'll wait outside." He turned and left the room without looking at her and headed towards the exit and back onto the ground where the team had now gathered to await further instruction. His head felt fuzzy and he kept smelling Vanilla as if it were on his own skin, despite the distance he had put between them. Her eyes kept flashing into his mind and each time they did his stomach gave that tiny lurch like it did when he saw her smooth skin. He was not having feelings for Hermione Granger. She was just the first woman he'd been around for a few weeks and he was missing female company.

He hadn't been on a date in over a month - that was it. He just needed some female company. He would call up one of his 'friends' this evening. That would do it. Just as he was mentally sifting through the potentials in his head, Granger stepped outside of the tent and called for everyone's attention

.x.

"I'm going to handover to Mr. Malfoy here just to give you a brief run down of security over the next few days, then we can get started." She nodded towards him and watched as he made his way over to her, his blonde hair shining in the bright morning sun until he was at her side and talking to the small crowd.

"First of all only access to and from the entrance hall will be made available to you. Entry to any other part of the Manor has been restricted. Toilet access is off the main entrance and has been marked so feel free to use these..."

Her mind wandered as she watched him address her team. He was the type of man that commanded a crowd so well. He spoke a lot with his hands and was very expressive. His eyes lit up when he was talking and she thought how she would love to be a fly on the wall at his business meetings. No wonder the Malfoy fortune was prospering if they had Draco at the helm.

"We are providing refreshments at lunch so we will bring them for..."

She looked to his hands moving in front of him, his shirt arms rolled up to mid-forearm and that's when she saw the faint black blemish on his skin. She had never seen it before. Every time she saw him at the Ministry he was in traditional robes. She never seen his skin apart from his face and hands, but there it was right in front of her. She could even make out the body of the snake, a stark contrast against his pale skin and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Her eyes were drawn to his face. Regal features, an air of confidence surrounding him, so sure of who he was now. He was much larger than he was at school. He had always been tall but he had filled out over the years. Not sickly and thin anymore but broad and handsome. The ex Death Eater.

Back then she never imagined that he would work alongside the Ministry let alone Harry and the Aurors but he did. And he was good at what he did. As a criminal profiler he understands how peoples minds work, helping to catch the wizards that have committed terrible crimes. A contrast on itself to his old life, being part of those criminals, being their ally and friend. He could still be that person for all she knew. He was bought up on different views to her, different ideas. Had he really changed that much? She sighed thinking how different it could have been if he was in another family. Would they be friends?

"Granger." Her eyes snapped to his as he stared over at her. She had no idea what he had said and she desperately wished she had been paying more attention. "Yes..."

"They're all yours." He said smirking at her. He knew she hasn't been listening and her face began to flush as he walked away from the group.

"Right team as we discussed yesterday- let's get going!" she clapped her hands together and everyone moved to grab their equipment and head off into the grounds. She looked around for Malfoy but he was already walking up the steps and into the Manor no doubt laughing at her. She exhaled loudly, there was nothing she could do. He probably already thought she was an idiot so what was the point. She walked off to meet the team and make a start on the work. This was going to be a long week.