Draco Malfoy had never been a morning person. At all. So when a petite tawny owl began pecking at his bedroom window pane bright and early on a Monday morning, Draco was less than thrilled to remove himself from his silk sheets to open the window. Though he did anyway, knowing that if the letter was urgent, he should probably accept it. Once the panes of the paneled window was open, the small avain swooped into the room, dropping a piece of parchment directly into Draco's hand. It perched softly on the sill, waiting patiently for a treat, which Draco promptly gave, before the young bird was off again.

Taking the time to close the window, Draco glanced down at the letter that sat in his hand. Flipping it over, a bold scarlet wax seal stood glaring up at him, with the cursive monogram of HJG pressed firmly into the seal.

Granger had written him back. Bloody early in the morning for a delivery, but she had written to him.

Opening the slip of parchment, Draco read her words thoroughly. Just like his letter had been, her response was short yet dignified, radiating an air of elegance that Draco didn't know Granger had been capable of having. Though, he also knew very little about the witch other than the obvious.

To Mr. D. Malfoy,

I accept your invitation for lunch. I will meet you at Hestian's Cafe in Diagon Alley at 12pm to discuss our current situation, as well as find some potential solutions. I will see you then.

Sincerely,

H.G.

The letter was almost an exact copy of his own, and Draco was actually quite amused by the fact. He had personally never heard of Hestian's Cafe, but he also had avoided Diagon Alley like the plague since the end of the war. The Malfoy name, as well as his reputation, was still not well received. He would have preferred something a bit more upscale than a cafe, but he knew Granger would not be willing to discuss. She liked control, and for this one instance, Draco was willing to give it to her.

Looking at the antique brass clock on his dresser, it read the early time of 7:30 am. Draco wasn't normally an early riser, but he was wide awake now. Knowing he was most likely unable to fall asleep again, he left his bedroom for something that would make his now early start somewhat bearable.

The stiff flavor of coffee.

-00000-

Hermione was pleased. Very pleased, in fact.

The work robes she had ordered from Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions looked absolutely wonderful. Hermione had been hesitant about the color at first, seeing as she normally stuck to very neutral tones such as brown and gray. Of course, she had also sported her fair share of scarlet and gold in her time, being a proud Gryffindor and all. Even her yule ball dress had been on the paler side of the color spectrum. This was different though. Much different. Bolder. The vibrant midnight blue color was stunning against her olive skin, and brought out her eyes better than she had previously realized. The modiste at Madame Malkin's had insisted Hermione try this color, and the young witch was certainly glad she had listened.

Underneath her robes was a more Muggle style ensemble, complete with a cream colored blouse with pearl buttons and a modest length navy blue pencil skirt. As much as she hated the things, she had even put on proper stockings to wear with her small kitten heels. It was her first day, after all. Hermione wanted it to be perfect. After she was dressed, the young witch quickly applied a slight dusting of cosmetics, careful not to overdo it. Next was the monumental task of calming her ever hazardous mop of curls. Surprisingly though, the rambunctious locks of hair were somewhat tame today, and Hermione easily swept them up into a professional yet stylish updo.

When she had finished a quick breakfast of toast and a cup of coffee, Hermione decided it was the best time to send her reply to a certain Malfoy. Summoning the small tawny owl that she often used for the post, named Elma, Hermione prompted the owl to send the short letter to it's intended receiver. The young owl hooted, before sailing off into the London sky.

It had taken a lot of mental debate, back and forth, before Hermione had actually decided to accept Draco's invitation for lunch. While she knew it was a risk for her mental stability, her thirst for answers was stronger than she could quench. She had hastily, yet carefully, written down a quick response and prepared it to be sent. Her proudest moment had been sealing the letter with wax the color of Gryffindor pride, seeing how the Malfoys had always sealed their letters with an emerald wax. It was also one of the first times she had ever used her personalized stamp, seeing as she had only recently purchased it on her worldly travels.

Hermione hadn't realized that she was still immersed in her own thoughts while gazing through the window until a very hungry Crookshanks let out a starved yowl. The young witch gave her overdramatic familiar a look of amusement, before heading to the kitchen. With a few quick movements of her wand, a fresh bowl of food and water sat waiting for the demanding feline, and Crooks happily dug in. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the feline.

Looking at the time that was displayed on her stovetop, Hermione realized that it was approaching 7:30, which meant she needed to get going if she was going to get to the Ministry on time. After a quick sweep of her flat to gather her belongings, Hermione squeaked out a quick goodbye to Crookshanks before flooing out of her living room in a rush.

She arrived in the crowded hallways of the Ministry's floo network almost instantaneously. Hermione took a quick glance in one of the wall's mirrored panels to make sure her appearance was still in good condition. Thankfully, her carefully coiffed hairstyle was still pinned in place, and her work robes unrustled. Satisfied with her image, Hermione headed through the throngs of people, making her proper way to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was one of the biggest offices in the Ministry, so she knew that it wouldn't be too difficult to find.

As she walked through the crowds, a fair bit of people recognized her almost immediately. Many rushed past her with a quick hello, others just nodded in her general direction, and some just waved. There were some occasional outbursts of 'Hermione Granger, working here with us! How fantastical! ', and some 'Merlin's beard, it's Hermione Granger! '. Thankfully everyone, this morning at least, was professional enough not to ask for a photograph or signature. Hermione had already theorized that after a few days or weeks of her working at the Ministry, all the excitement and fuss would die down.

When she finally entered the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the receptionist managing the front desk automatically knew who she was. With a meek smile and a small wave, the petite brunette pointed Hermione towards an office. Reading the placard on the door, Hermione knocked, quietly waiting until the door opened. A kind voice beckoned her in, and Hermione offered its owner a bright smile.

"Welcome to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Miss Granger! We're honored to be bringing you onboard our staff." Henrietta Ellison extended her hand in greeting to the young witch, and Hermione graciously shook it. Henrietta motioned for Hermione to seat herself in one of the chair's that faced the elder witch's desk, for which Hermione politely obliged.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mrs. Ellison. I am truly excited to be working with everyone here." Hermione responded, her lips upturned into a bright smile.

Henrietta Ellison had been the individual who had contacted Hermione about a potential job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. At first, she had been hesitant, considering that both Harry and Ron worked in the same field as Aurors. Though, after she had talked to Tonks and Ginny about it, Hermione had decided that taking on a job in such a field would be just the right amount of challenge. Hermione had owled Henrietta back, and after going through the proper channels, Hermione had received a job offer.

"We're very excited to have you working here. Now, I've already discussed the main duties of your job. It's a basic process of reading and editing Auror reports, following up with reporting Aurors, and making sure that closed cases and open cases all have updated file papers. Is that an understandable way to put it?" Henrietta questioned, and Hermione nodded.

"That is perfectly understandable." Hermione responded, and Henrietta confirmed before moving on to the next part of her introduction. It was a brief rundown of the job's benefits, expectations, and protocols. Hermione was careful to note every detail that Henrietta explained, not wanting to miss a single thing. Once Henrietta was finished, she motioned for Hermione to follow her.

"Your office will be here in this sector, along with Matthew and Amelia. If you need anything, I'm certain they'd be happy to help. There is a stack of paperwork that you can begin with on your desk. I need to get to a meeting, but once again, welcome Hermione. We're excited you're here." Henrietta motioned to a doorway that was situated between two others, who Hermione assumed belonged to the colleagues that Henrietta had mentioned. When the elder witch finished, Hermione gave her an enthusiastic nod, before entering her office.

It was a small white room, with all the basics of a desk, desk chair, bookshelf, and two chairs that stood in front of her desk. Placing her briefcase on one of the chairs in front of her desk, Hermione reached inside her robes to retrieve her wand. Opening her purse that was swung over her shoulder, she cast a quick charm. A slew of photographs, trinkets, and personal mementos suddenly filled the air, settling themselves about the room. Hermione had known that she was going to get her own office, and had decided to bring along some of her own decor to make it more homey.

Looking around, the young witch confirmed that everything was to her liking, and finally perched herself in her desk chair. Opening the first folder that was on her desk, Hermione immediately set to work.

-00000-

Draco fussed with the emerald green necktie that was artfully tied around his slender throat for what felt like the hundredth time. He was positioned in front of his bedroom's gilded framed mirror, hoping that by any pass of fate, he could somehow make himself presentable. His scheduled lunch with Granger was quickly approaching, and he needed to be dressed.

The youngest Malfoy had spent his morning doing his normal routine. After his early wake up call from Granger's owl, Draco had immediately treated himself to a strong cup of coffee. With his caffeinated beverage in hand, he had sat himself down in the leather wingback chair in his living room with the day's copy of The Daily Prophet. Ignoring most of the publication's articles, Draco's main interest had been the daily Quidditch statistics and reports.

After he had finished reading the reports from the Sunday matches, he decided that it was the proper time to begin his somewhat productive tasks for the day. The young Malfoy quickly got dressed in something other than the black satin pajama bottoms he had worn to bed the night before, and meandered his way to the personal potions lab that he had set up in his flat.

Draco had always been a proficient Potions student, excelling at it even more than Hermione Granger herself. He assumed that having Severus Snape as an academic mentor in the subject during his time at Hogwarts had been somewhat an advantage, even though his and Draco's relationship had been somewhat strained in the last years of his teacher's life. Draco still considered the man an honorable and intelligent individual, and respected his sacrifice at the Battle of Hogwarts.

His most recent academic endeavor had been brewing and bottling a whole collection of medicinal potions. Everything from the simplicity of a dose of Skele-Gro, the medial level that was ditany, and even to the complexity of Wolfsbane. Draco's motivation to practice such skills was nothing short of a compulsion to work out boredom. His literary companions included the likes of A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery and Healing at Home with Herbs, as well as many books on medicinal potion making that he had retrieved from the extensive Malfoy estate library.

Draco had spent hours in his own personal potions lab, toiling away with different recipes, and mainly experimenting with alternative solutions. Without any true realization of the fact, the repetitive tasks of potion making had become almost a variance of therapy for the young wizard. It provided him time to think while keeping his hands busy.

So busy, in fact, that Draco had almost been late to his lunch meeting with Granger. He had been in the dead center of preparing an ingredient for a dose of Pepper Up Potion (a favorite remedy of Theo's), and had happened to look at the antique clock that hung on the wall of his lab. That quick glance alerted him that the time was 11:30, and he still needed to properly dress himself for the occasion.

With a flick of his hawthorn wand, Draco paused the cauldron that was beginning to boil, and hastily cleaned up the scattered ingredients that cluttered his work space. Once everything was back in it's correct place, he headed towards that master bedroom for a quick change before his lunch with Granger.

That was how he found himself here now, wrestling with an expensive slip of satin fabric that refused to properly lay flat. For some strange reason, he had a somewhat compelling feeling to look nice for lunch. Beyond the normal level of Malfoy formality, that it. So instead of his usual black tailored suit, he had gravitated towards a three piece charcoal suit and a matching emerald tie. Draco's prized serpent tie pin was nestled in it's usual home, at the midpoint of his chest, resting peacefully on the surface of his necktie.

"For fucking Merlin's sakes." Draco grunted to himself, and with another swift pull, he finally managed to secure the miserable piece of fabric.

Looking into the full length mirror, the young Malfoy heir decided that his outfit was appropriately finished. Slipping on the suit's matching coat, and a black cloak with silver fastenings from his valet stand, Draco walked towards his ebony dresser to retrieve a few last things before he apparated to Diagon Alley. With a few quick motions, he replaced his signature silver rings on his respective hands, donned an enchanted silver wristwatch, and slid a bag of coins into his jacket pocket.

Wand in hand, Draco lifted the slender piece of wood and cast an apparition spell. With a sudden crack!, the youngest Malfoy disappeared from his familiar bedroom. A rushing feeling surrounded him, and soon he was hit with a cool burst of air. Opening his eyes, Draco was greeted with the familiar surroundings of Diagon Alley. Careful to keep his appearance from being recognized, he kept his head down and made his way towards Hestian's Cafe, where Granger had decided they were dining.

Draco did everything in his power to stay inconspicuous, knowing good and well that if he were spotted, the familiar circling of whispering and stares would ensue. His mop of undeniable platinum hair wasn't entirely helpful, but he would still do his best to stay under the radar of patrons strolling the popular street. With a few turns, Draco made his way to the unfamiliar cafe.

The building was tucked away on a quiet street that breached out from the main hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. It was a smaller establishment, with an exterior of brick covered in ivy. Next to it was a used bookstore, adequately named Tattered Tales.

"How fittingly Grangeresque." Draco mumbled to himself as he approached the doors of the quiescent looking cafe.

Taking a calming breath, the young Malfoy opened the cafe door, and hoped that brightest witch of their age didn't murder him before dessert.