an: Sorry for the delay, my laptop had issues but now they are fixed.
Anyways, HUGE thank you to FierceFern for the reviews, I really appreciate you! I also want to thank and KatCEstrada for the follow/favourite. Your support is so helpful 3
Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon speaking with Henry's mother, carefully dissecting what had happened with Henry whilst also trying to piece together any clues as to who might have wanted to harm her neighbour. Despite her best efforts, the answers remained frustratingly elusive. Her mind was a whirlwind of theories and half-formed hypotheses, each one slipping away as quickly as it had appeared, and she hoped that Draco might have uncovered something during her absence that might shed some light on the situation.
When she stepped into the office, Hermione was surprised to see Draco hunched over his desk and surrounded by a sea of scattered files. The usually immaculate space had been transformed into a chaotic landscape of parchments and evidence.
"Hey, Hermione," Draco greeted her, his voice tinged with fatigue as he glanced up from his work.
"Hi," she responded, her own exhaustion evident in her voice. Hermione unceremoniously deposited her belongings on her desk before collapsing into her chair with a weary sigh.
Before Hermione could even settle in, Margaux's head popped around the door frame. "Oh, hi," she chirped, her tone contrasting the low atmosphere of the room. "I was just wondering if there was any update on the Kirsty Birbeck case. Some of us around the office have been speculating..."
Draco ran his hands through his hair, showing signs of frustration. "No solid leads at the moment," he admitted, the disappointment clear in his voice. "We're still piecing together the puzzle, but it's like trying to complete a jigsaw with half the pieces missing."
Margaux turned her attention to him, her expression softening. "How's the young boy doing? I heard you handled him really well, Draco."
Hermione turned away, feeling as though Margaux's visit was more about flattering Draco than checking on the case. She had once thought there might be potential for friendship between her and Margaux, but every interaction seemed to reveal an underlying fakeness. It was as if Margaux only put on a show of liking Hermione, but the mask slipped now and then.
"Oh, I didn't do anything. It was all Auror Granger," Draco said, nodding toward Hermione, giving her the credit she rightfully deserved.
She moved closer to Hermione's desk, peering over her shoulder as if eager to absorb whatever knowledge she could. Hermione couldn't help but feel like her personal space was being invaded. She understood Margaux was just a trainee, but the proximity was uncomfortable.
"Right, well, you should probably get back to work. I need to go through some paperwork," Hermione said softly, hoping Margaux would take the hint to leave without her having to be too direct.
Draco, however, had no such reservations. "That's your cue to leave, Margaux," he drawled.
Margaux's face flushed slightly as she nodded. "Right, of course. Good luck with the case!" she said, retreating quickly, closing the door gently behind her.
As soon as the door closed, Draco let out a weary sigh and slumped forward, burying his face in his hands.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"No," he responded bluntly, his voice muffled by his hands.
Hermione hesitated for a moment before speaking again, carefully measuring her words. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She watched him closely, trying to get a read on his mood.
Draco sat up, dragging his hands down his face in frustration. "Make this case make sense," he muttered, his eyes clouded with irritation. He grabbed a piece of parchment from his desk, crumpling it up angrily and tossing it into the bin.
Hermione watched him quietly. "Did you find something while I was with Henry and his Mother?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, we did. But nothing is adding up," he responded, snatching a dart from his desk and hurling it at the dartboard hanging on the wall behind him. The dart sailed wide and clattered to the floor.
"What did you find?" Hermione pressed, leaning forward in her chair, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten in anticipation of the information.
Draco reached for another dart, twirling it between his fingers as he spoke. "The magical trace came back as a match to the Mildred Duncan case." He launched the second dart with slightly better aim, but it still barely clung to the outer ring of the board.
Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? How are they related?"
"They're not," Draco said, voice laced with exasperation. "I've spent the last two hours combing through every possible lead, trying to link the two cases together. There's nothing—no common threads, no shared acquaintances, no history." He threw the last dart with unnecessary force. It struck the board but knocked the previous dart to the floor. "Ugh," he groaned, turning around to face her.
"That's not even the weirdest part," he continued, running a hand through his already dishevelled hair. "We found a vial of a potion in her cupboards."
Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion. "What? But she's a Muggle?"
Draco let out a humourless laugh. "Yeah, welcome to the case where nothing makes sense." He slumped back in his chair, the fight draining out of him. "We've got a magical trace matching an unrelated case, a Muggle with magical potions, and absolutely no idea how any of it fits together."
Hermione's mind spun as she tried to process the bizarre details. There was no obvious link between any of it, and yet something told her that if they looked close enough, a pattern would emerge. She and Draco silently agreed to push forward, each focused on the task at hand as they started working through the case piece by piece. They compiled notes, filled in gaps in Mrs. Birbeck's file, and tried to make sense of the magical residue, but nothing clicked.
Everything was moving too quickly for Hermione to grasp fully. She found herself constantly retracing her steps, trying to link one detail to another, but it all felt disjointed. Neither of them took their lunch break, opting to work straight through as Draco's frustration mounted. She could see it in the way he violently flipped through the sheets of parchment, muttering to himself.
The ticking of the clock behind her grew louder in her mind, distracting her from the growing mountain of disjointed information. Draco's chair screeched against the floor as he abruptly stood, breaking the tense silence that had settled over the room.
"I'm going out for some coffee," Draco exclaimed, pausing by the door. He glanced back at Hermione. "Coming?"
For a moment, she considered staying behind. They'd both been cooped up in the office all day, drowning in case files and frustration. She needed a break and a chance to stretch her legs and clear her head. "Yes," she replied, pushing herself up from her chair.
Draco held the door open for her, waiting as she passed through before catching up to her as she made her way toward the department's coffee machine.
"Where are you going?" His voice stopped her mid-step.
She turned to face him, puzzled. "You said we were going to get coffee."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "I meant going across the road to get some real coffee, not the dirt that comes from here. My treat."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, surprised at the offer but not about to turn it down. "Well, in that case," she smiled, "lead the way."
Draco brought Hermione to a small French café nestled in the heart of a quaint green area in Muggle London. It was early spring, and the cool air carried a crispness that made her wish she'd brought a jacket, but it was refreshing. The setting was peaceful, with children laughing as they played in the nearby park and a light hum of conversation from other café patrons. It felt worlds away from the tension of their work.
Draco had gone up to order while she sat at a small outdoor table, taking in the relaxed surroundings. When he returned, he handed her a steaming cup of coffee.
"You know," Draco began, settling into his seat across from her, "this is the first time it's been just the two of us. Properly, I mean. Outside of work."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "What about Diagon Alley?"
He pondered her words for a moment, tilting his head as if considering. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He paused, taking a sip of his coffee. "But this... this just feels different."
She leaned back slightly, the warmth of her cup spreading through her hands. "It does," she admitted after a moment. "It's like we're stepping outside of everything else. The Ministry, the case, Cormac..."
"Exactly," Draco replied, his eyes softening as they met hers. "It's just us."
Unsure of what to say, Hermione looked away, focusing instead on the scene around them. The silence between them didn't feel uncomfortable, and she wasn't in a rush to fill it.
"Hermione," Draco's voice pulled her back, and she turned to find him wearing a strange, almost vulnerable expression. "You are—"
But before he could finish, someone appeared beside them, pulling a chair over to their table.
"Sorry, but we're full," Draco drawled, his tone instantly shifting to one of annoyance, clearly hoping to ward off the uninvited interruption.
"Yes," the man said, settling into the chair despite Draco's obvious displeasure. "But you're going to listen to me."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she recognised Marcus Belby. Once sharp and expensive, his clothes were now wrinkled and dishevelled from a night spent in a holding cell. His face was twisted with frustration, and anger radiated off him.
"Don't bother, Draco," Hermione said quickly, noticing Draco tense and clearly ready to fight. "I know him."
Draco paused but reluctantly sat back, his eyes flicking between Hermione and Marcus, waiting to see how the situation would unfold.
"Nice to see you again, Granger," Marcus said bitterly. "You've made a hell of a mess for me."
Hermione kept her tone steady. "You were released, weren't you? What are you doing here?"
"I've been talking to a few people since I got out," Marcus Belby began, leaning back in his chair with a smug grin. "You can't touch me. You don't have anything on me."
Before he could gloat any further, Hermione cut in, her voice steady and authoritative. "You're still under surveillance, Belby, because you're a suspect in an ongoing investigation." She locked eyes with him, making sure he knew his place.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco glaring at Belby, his expression cold and intimidating. But Marcus, unfazed, leaned forward, a sinister smile curling on his lips.
"Sure, but I'm here to tell you I'm innocent—and that you don't know half as much as you think you do." His eyes narrowed, locking onto hers with a piercing gaze. "You can't possibly know everything, can you, Auror Granger?" He let the words linger before adding, almost as an afterthought, "How are your parents, by the way? Still Obliviated?"
He had spoken to Cormac.
Hermione forced herself to keep her face neutral, though she could feel the familiar sting of anger rising in her throat. She knew exactly what he was doing—trying to get under her skin, to make her lose control.
Draco, who had been glaring at Marcus with barely concealed fury, shifted his attention to Hermione. His sharp grey eyes softened ever so slightly, a calculating look on his face as he pieced together what Belby's words meant.
Marcus Belby leaned in closer to her, his voice dripping with mockery. "You really thought you could investigate me without me doing the same to you, love?" Hermione kept her face impassive, determined not to give him any reaction.
Belby, clearly relishing every moment, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling slowly as if savouring the power he thought he had. "I know everything about you," he said, the smirk on his face widening. "You dumped Cormac, broke his heart, and abandoned your parents in Sydney. All for what? To get five minutes of fame as an Auror and hang around with Slytherin scum."
Hermione's muscles tightened at the insult but held her ground, refusing to let her emotions surface.
"You know exactly who I've been talking to," Belby continued, lazily exhaling a puff of smoke. "So here's the deal—drop the case, or I'll make sure every dirty detail of your past hits the Prophet. I'll ruin you."
He leaned back in his chair, finally turning his gaze to Draco, who looked shocked. Belby's grin widened as if he'd just uncovered the best secret. "Oh," he exclaimed with mock surprise, eyes gleaming. "Malfoy didn't know, did he?"
Draco's jaw tightened, and Hermione saw his expression harden, but he said nothing.
"I won't drop the case," she challenged, locking eyes with Marcus Belby. Her gaze was steady, asserting dominance. "Whether or not you're involved in the murder, you still obstructed an Auror investigation, whichisa crime."
Marcus, unbothered, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, then flashed a slick smile in Draco's direction.
"With people like you, Malfoy," Belby began, holding up his hand and making a gesture that mimicked the exchange of money, "I'm sure we could... come to an agreement."
Draco's demeanour instantly shifted. His eyes darkened with a look of pure rage, and he leaned in, resting his arms on the table. "People like me?" His voice was low, dangerous. "You mean a Malfoy?"
Belby shrugged, clearly unfazed. "Up to you," he replied, keeping his tone casual.
Draco's lips curled into a chilling smile. "That wouldn't be attempted corruption of an Auror now, would it, Belby?" Marcus's face wavered for the first time as Draco continued, laughing softly. "You really wouldn't want to add another crime to the list, would you?"
Marcus' confidence faltered, the cocky grin fading as Draco's words settled in. The balance of power had shifted, and Draco made sure he knew it.
Without another word, Draco stood up from his chair, smoothing out his robes. A slow, dangerous smile crept across his face as he looked down at Marcus. "Have a nice day, Mr. Belby," he said, his tone dripping with mock politeness. Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and began walking away from the table, the tension still crackling in the air.
Hermione hesitated for a split second, watching Belby's expression shift from smug confidence to barely concealed irritation. She stood up, silently gathering her things, and followed Draco, her mind still spinning from the encounter.
As they left the café, Draco's stride quickened. The chill in the early spring air was now biting, and Hermione wished even more that she had brought a jacket. They didn't speak as they moved through the narrow streets of London, the hum of the city fading into the background. Both of them were clearly processing the encounter in their own way—Draco seething, Hermione's mind working furiously to figure out how Belby knew so much.
By the time they reached the Ministry's Apparition point, Draco broke the silence with a tired sigh. "I knew he was slimy, but that was something else."
Hermione gave a dry laugh. "Yeah, him and Cormac are cut from the same cloth."
As they walked through the bustling Ministry atrium towards the elevator, Draco continued, "I'll talk to Pansy about making sure the story doesn't get published." His gaze remained forward.
"You don't have to," Hermione said, her tone softening.
"But I want to," Draco replied, his voice trailing off. He paused for a moment, the weight of his words hanging between them. "I'll handle it. It's the least I can do."
As they stood waiting for the elevator, the silence between them was comfortable, if a bit charged with unspoken thoughts. When the doors finally slid open, they entered the lift together, their presence filling the small space.
"By the way," Hermione said, glancing at Draco, "what were you going to say before we were interrupted?"
Draco's posture shifted slightly, and he turned to face her with a soft smile. "I was going to ask if you'd like to go out for drinks sometime," he said, his voice steady but with a hint of hesitation.
Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the suggestion. She met Draco's gaze, trying to gauge his intent, but his expression remained unreadable. "Drinks?" she echoed, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Yeah, I thought it might be nice to take a break from all this stress," Draco said casually, though his eyes betrayed a hint of nervousness. "We could use a change of pace."
She smiled slightly. "Sure, that sounds good. I could use a break."