A/N: Welcome to Informants! This is part two of a longer story, so definitely go and read part one, Undercovers, if you have not already. Huge thanks to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter! You can find me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter one and be on the lookout for chapter two soon!
Ultimately, it turned out it was not that hard for Hermione Granger to go back to her desk job after her whirlwind experience as an undercover officer. She had been selected for the assignment based on her expertise; her keen mind for numbers and accounting. While she had initially balked at the idea of infiltrating a gang to act as their money launderer, she found that she had a knack for it.
During the course of the assignment, she had taken to Fenrir Greyback's organization like a duck to water, thanks in no small part to the personal interest that he had taken in her. It had really been a little too much fun, being taken under the wing of the tall, dangerous man. Hermione had fallen for his amorous attention he showered onto her embarrassingly quickly, but the feelings that had blossomed between them had been deep and all consuming. By the end of her assignment, she had realized that she'd fallen in love with him, though she never got a chance to tell him. He was arrested before all that. The last time she'd seen him, he was being hauled out of the warehouse where he did his business — murder in his blue eyes.
When she was back in the unforgiving fluorescent lighting of her office, Hermione could acknowledge that it was probably for the best. She was still smarting with the knowledge that she had betrayed the man that she secretly loved. She never should have let herself get so deeply involved with the primary target of an investigation in the first place. She knew that he was going to end up in jail by the end of it.
On reflection, her feelings for Fenrir had certainly changed her. She'd compromised on her principles, even coming to enjoy the illegal activity that she was participating in — revealing some of the dissatisfaction that she felt in her real job. In fact, she'd almost blown the whole investigation by subtly warning Fenrir to keep separate books. She could rest easy knowing that only Remus suspected what she'd done, and even then, she was pretty sure she'd convinced him otherwise.
When she was able to return to her regular 9 to 5, she worried that she would chafe with the knowledge of what she was capable of and the lingering feelings she had for Fenrir. But, she decided to just buckle down and focus on her work. If she kept herself busy enough, it would keep her mind from wandering to her old mark... her old boyfriend?
Her strategy had worked. One year on, she forced herself not to keep up with Fenrir's legal troubles. And, subsequently, her feelings had mostly subsided to a dull ache, though she often felt the embers still simmering under the surface. As a result, she could not put herself up to try dating someone else, not when things still felt so fresh.
No, she could keep herself satisfied with the neatly aligning patterns of numbers in her spreadsheets until she was ready to move on, as she had for the last twelve months.
Another Monday morning, she walked into her office before the sun had even come up, carrying a tea and a pain au chocolat (it seemed that baking was one hobby that she hadn't been able to give up after her time undercover) for her breakfast, only to find that she had a visitor already waiting for her in her cubicle.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking at Sirius, unimpressed. He was sitting in her chair, his feet draped across her desk, not caring that he was disturbing the carefully constructed stacks of paper that she had left there.
God, it was far too early in the morning for Sirius Black to be looking quite so smug with himself. Even more suspicious, he had no reason to be darkening the finance department at all. The last time he'd done so, it had been when he strong armed her into going undercover the first time
"Aw, don't sound so irritated, kitten," he cooed at her, leaning further back in her chair and lacing his hands behind his head. Clearly, he had no intention of leaving. "Can't I visit my favorite niece? I miss seeing your beautiful face."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that no good could come from him referencing their imagined familial connection. He only did that when he wanted something from her. She set her bag on the floor next to her desk and leaned against the partitioned wall . "Really? That was the best you could come up with?" she asked, feeling a tendril of amusement wind through her.
Questionable judgment aside, Hermione wasn't stupid. She knew that the only reason for Sirius to be in her cube was because he needed something from her. While they remained friendly outside of work — regularly meeting up for drinks, sometimes just the two of them, and sometimes with Remus, Harry and Ron joining after work — they had no reason to cross paths in the office. She'd already had to fend off his continued requests to go back undercover to work an assignment with Antonin, but she'd thought he'd given up already. Unless... he hadn't really and was just waiting long enough for her to let her guard down.
"Well, we do have a little job for you, actually," Sirius finally admitted, realizing that the jig was up.
Hermione pushed his feet off of her desk. "Are you sure that's wise?" Hermione asked, moving to sit on the edge of the desk, feeling more in control when she was looking down at her coworker. "Last time I went out in the field, Remus suggested that I never do it again. He doesn't think I have the temperament for it." She crossed her arms over her chest protectively, still somewhat annoyed with Remus. He was the only one who had sniffed out any whiff of her mistakes and dared to confront her about them. Even worse, he was mostly right.
Only, Remus didn't seem to care about what she'd done so much as why she'd done it. She wasn't sure if he knew the depths of her feelings for Greyback, but she knew that Fenrir had been right — Remus was jealous. It made her uncomfortable, seeing as she certainly did not feel the same.
Sirius smirked at her, obviously aware of the odd tension building between her and Remus. And, he must have known how much it rankled when someone told her she couldn't do something. "In this case, Remus doesn't really get an opinion," he said, his voice lowered so he wouldn't be overheard. "We need you, kitten."
Intrigued by his approach, Hermione felt a twinge of excitement for the first time in months. Yes, spreadsheets were fine, but they were boring. "Alright, what's the job?" she asked, curious to know what could be so important that even Sirius didn't care what Remus thought.
Sirius looked relieved that she was even willing to hear him out. "We've got someone who's agreed to be a confidential informant for us," he explained, his previously playful persona evaporating once it was time to get serious. "But, the catch is... he's only agreed to do it on the condition that he be able to pick his handler."
Hermione was confused about his line of reasoning. Obviously, he was asking her to be the handler, but just who would know to request her by name? Understanding began to rapidly sink in. There could really only be one person who would do that. "No, absolutely not! Sirius!" Hermione said, standing up and pacing back and forth nervously in her cubicle.
She couldn't even stand the thought of coming face to face with Fenrir again after the way that they had left things. It had been months, but there was no way that he wasn't furious with her for how she'd betrayed him.
"Hermione," Sirius begged, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
"It's out of the question!" she hissed, still wondering how he had the audacity to ask her something.
"Come on," he countered, trying to reassure her. "Greyback will only talk to you specifically. He won't work with anyone else. And we really need him to flip on Voldemort. We are so close to taking him down for good this time."
"Have you stopped to consider why he might be asking for me?" she asked him, trying not to sound too hysterical. "I helped him launder money and then set him up to get taken down. I am sure that the only reason he wants to get to me is to kill me!" She started to get a little bit light headed, thinking of some possible reunion with the large man.
Sirius grabbed her shaking hands with his own. "Hey, listen, it's going to be okay," he promised her, gently. He seemed surprised with how shaken she was. Maybe she had done a better job of pretending than she'd thought. "I will be there with you for the first meeting at the very least. He has to remain on good behavior if he wants any sort of deal with us to get out from all the charges we could hit him with."
Hermione nibbled at her lower lip, wondering what he was even doing out on the streets to begin with. Hadn't they managed to create an airtight case against him that should see him behind bars? It was curious.
"He'll be on his best behavior," Sirius added.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Is that what he told you?" she asked, imagining Fenrir saying something like that. Though, she was positive that what she and Sirius considered good behavior and what Fenrir did were worlds apart.
"If he's not I'll pull you out in a heartbeat," he said, holding his hand up.
Again, she was not entirely sure that Sirius knew what he was talking about, but she could tell that he believed what he was saying or he wouldn't be offering her up to the wolves. "Why are you talking like I've already agreed to this?" she asked, feeling sure of herself, off-kilter. She had never in her wildest dreams imagined a scenario where she would cross paths with Fenrir Greyback again. She'd even intimated to Remus that she would be a difficult witness if she was called to testify!
"Please, kitten," Sirius nearly begged, still not letting go of her hand.
Biting her lower lip, Hermione considered it. Even though she was petrified of seeing him again, she couldn't deny that there was a flicker of excitement at the prospect. And, if it helped take down the odious Tom Riddle, well...
"Oh, alright," she said, finally making up her mind. If she didn't agree now, she would waffle between options until she was more confused than she already was. "But I am only going to promise to one meeting," she added. She wasn't going to subject herself to Fenrir if he was going to treat her poorly. "If he is not on his best behavior, I am out of there."
Sirius beamed at her. Finally, he vacated her chair and pressed a quick peck on her cheek in a purely platonic move. (They were family after all). "Thanks, Hermione," he said, genuinely looking relieved. "Come over to meet us at... let's say nine o'clock tonight? I'll message you the address."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him once again, realizing that he'd just assumed that she would agree even before asking her. He'd clearly already had a meeting arranged. "I'll be there," she answered. "But Sirius... you owe me — big time."
He did not seem even vaguely cowed by her threat, instead smirking at her while he walked out of her cube. "I'll see you tonight," he called over his shoulder.
With Sirius gone, Hermione collapsed to her chair, staring at her blank monitor in shock. She chewed on her lower lip — a nervous habit — while she wondered what the hell she had just agreed to do. She was sure she wasn't going to be able to get even one single thing accomplished that day for work. Her stomach was a mess of knots, thinking about her impending meeting with a man she'd promised herself she would forget about.
But now, there was no denying that another part of her that lingered — a secret little part — was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Fenrir Greyback again.