AN: Hi, again! So glad you kept reading! If you haven't listened to the song that inspired this Fic please do! "Forgive the Children We Once Were," by Delta Rae. It is a fantasitic song by an incredibly talented group! Please don't forget to R & R!
"...Malfoy?" Hermione took a step back from the blond.
"Granger," he said with a bit of bitterness. "I suppose you work here now."
"Yes," she said slowly, "in fact...I do work here, now. And I have been working here for quite some time." She looked over the tall boy in front of her. He was definatly no longer a boy. His blond hair was grown out a bit more than she had seen it before. His icy grey eyes were as distant as they had always been. But instead of the coldness that danced in the grey, their was a touch of pain. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"
"Working," he said quietly. "I was recently offered a job as the Potions professor."
"I see," Hermione said slowly wondering how he got the position after spending a year in Azkaban. "Then," she stepped around him and walked to her desk, "I suppose I'll be seeing you, won't I?"
"Yes, you will, Granger," he said watching the bushy-haired girl take a seat at her desk. "So, how is the golden trio?" Hermione widened her eyes.
"Oh, well...they...we are fine. Harry is an Auror and Ron...Ron is working with George at his shop..." she looked down at the desk wanting the slytherin to leave. Slowly, Hermione took a breath and gathered herself. "Mr. Malfoy, I assume you know how a library works. If you need my help to find a book, then ask. But I do have work to attend to."
"Of course," Malfoy said in a tone that she was unfamiliar with. He glanced down at his gloved hands and straightened his robs, looking all too much like Lucius. "I will help myself to the books I need." With that the blond walked away and disappeared behind a shelf. Hermione sighed and leaned back on her chair. There was something very different about him. The edge that he used to have was gone, in its place was an unfamiliar sad look. She couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for him. The war and its aftermath had clearly not been kind to the Malfoy boy.
He walked behind a wall of books and gazed over the familiar spines. He needed several books for his new classes but he couldn't keep his mind off of Hermione. She had looked so...different. There was a bit of saddness, no doubt from the war. But there was something more as well. He felt safe next to her. Draco shook his head and sighed. 'Safe'? What did he know of that? Besides, the Granger girl most likely still hated him for what his family had done.
The titles of the books blended together, but eventually Draco was able to find what he had been looking for. He set them on her desk without a word. The brown-haired girl checked him out and he left quickly worried that he was beginning to make her nervous.
Ahh! So, how did you like the first meeting? I'd love some feedback.