Chapter 3
Draco strolled into the Archives at the Ministry. He saw Theo’s curls bent over a worktable and made his way over to his friend.
“Nott. A word?”
“Draco! How are you today my friend?” Theo warmly greeted him
“Not bad. Only one mumbled “Death Eater” as I passed the Department of International Magic Co-operation. That’s down from thirty a day when I first started here.” Draco replied snarkily as he sat. “But I’m here to talk about you, friend. Heard you were set a task by the Golden Girl.”
“Golden g—Oh, you mean Granger? Sure, I work with her all the time. Why? How’s it any of your business?” Theo quirked an eyebrow at Draco.
“All the time? Since when? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?” Draco knew he sounded like he was interrogating his best friend, but suddenly this information was very important to him.
“Well, since she often researches historical texts and laws, I see her frequently. Every week. She makes a great cup of tea. And I haven’t mentioned it before because it’s just a part of my job. Do you tell me every time you talk to another Auror?” Theo crossed his arms. “Who told you she asked me to help her?”
“Not important. But any texts you do find on centaurs need to be sent to me instead.” Draco demanded, standing from the table.
“No, highly important. I’m finding those texts for a new bill for her. Why do you need them? I have to go in order of request, and she asked first.” Theo frowned. “How did you know it was centaurs? What aren’t you telling me Draco?”
“It’s that new case I told you I’d be having requests for. So unless she asked you before Snake Den, I technically requested first.” Draco put his hands into his pockets to hide the fact that they were clenched.
“That isn’t how it works. She formally requested them through the Archives. You haven’t. Her bill will come before your case.” Theo stood as well. “You still didn’t tell me how you knew she requested texts about centaurs.”
“Technically she requested the texts for both her bill and my case. Potter assigned her as a centaur advocate for my case based on the fact she was already researching them for her bill. Either way, I need those texts. Send them to my office, not hers.” Draco knocked twice on the table, considered the matter handled, and turned to walk away.
“Draco Malfoy, you cannot just walk in here, grill me about working with Granger, slip in the fact that you’re working with her, and stroll out of here like it’s no big deal!” Theo stalked after him. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? Like, maybe when you first told me about the case?”
Draco turned abruptly back. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know she would ask for your help, too. The fewer people that know about this case the better. And you know better than almost anyone why I didn’t mention her.”
Theo really looked at his friend. Draco’s shoulders were tense under his perfectly tailored black Oxford and black suit. There were slight purple rings under his eyes. He was fiddling with his Malfoy signet ring on his left thumb. And he hadn’t noticed before that Draco was Occluding.
Theo raised his hands in the air. “You’re right. I do know. When you’re ready to face what you’re feeling instead of hiding it away, you know where I am.” It was Theo’s turn to walk away, back to the table.
Draco steadied his breathing and walked back through the Ministry to the Auror’s offices.
Hermione was the second person to visit Theo that day. He smiled in welcome when he saw her approach. “Hello, Granger. You look lovely.”
She glanced down at her flowy white blouse she had partially tucked into her tan wide leg trousers. The smart kitten heels matched the color perfectly. “Oh, thank you, Theo. It’s lovely to see you. Have you had any luck?”
Theo’s brows pulled together. “Were the texts I pulled not enough?”
“What texts? Did you put them in my office when I was out earlier?” Hermione asked.
“No, I gave them to Draco.”
“Malfoy? Why on earth would you do that?” Hermione frowned at him. “What does he have to do with anything?”
Theo looked as confused as she felt. “He came in here this morning and told me to send any texts you requested about centaurs to be sent to his office. He said you two were working together on a case.”
“Oh that asshole. I’m going hex his—Thank you for the information, Theo.” Hermione stormed out of the Archives and headed to the DMLE on level four.
She tapped her foot furiously the entire ride in the lift. As soon as the door opened, she was stomping past cubicles until she found the door with ‘Draco Malfoy, Senior Auror’ on a gold plate. Hermione shoved the door open with no ceremony or care of who saw her display.
“Malfoy. How dare you?” She yelled at him.
His platinum blonde head was bent over a book on his desk, with two more open next to it. His gaze snapped to hers.
“Granger. Please, do come in. I cannot express how much I enjoy being a spectacle in my workplace.”
Hermione glanced behind her and saw, to her embarrassment, that several heads were peeking over the cubicle walls and watching intently the scene playing out. She strode into Malfoy’s office and slammed the door behind her.
Malfoy muttered under his breath, and Hermione felt magic hit the door behind her. “What was that?” She demanded.
“Muffliato. I have a feeling we don’t want this conversation to be overheard.” Malfoy leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle over his opposite knee. “Would you care to sit?”
Huffing, Hermione went to sit in the chair across from Malfoy. She quickly jumped back up and began to pace the rug. “You prat! You went to Theo and had him send you my research documents. You had no right! I am the expert in this area, and I am the one continuing the research into centaurs habits. How dare you go behind my back and take this from me?”
Malfoy watched her as she paced and flailed her arms about. “Would you like some tea?”
“Would I like some t—No! I would not like some bloody tea! I would like my historical tomes now. Hand them over, Malfoy.”
“I’m going to make some tea. How do you take yours, with sugar?” The ease with which he was ignoring her anger was riling Hermione up even more.
“Malfoy! This is so you, so predictably something you would do. The Great Draco Malfoy’s wants are vastly more important than anything another person has going on. I need those texts now, and you want to have a cuppa!” Hermione was still fuming. “Well guess what? You aren’t more important than everyone else simply because your name is Malfoy and you’ve got a fancy gold plate on your door. Give me those tomes.”
Malfoy turned and started walking towards her. “The Great Draco Malfoy, is it? Fancy plate on the door? What about you, Golden Girl?” He kept walking closer, his mouth sneering at her. “Does that make you more important than others? Does being a Junior Undersecretary give you the right to barge into my office and start berating me? Or is the Brightest Witch of her Age simply so far above us regular folk that we must bow to her wishes?” He stopped right in front of Hermione, both of them glaring daggers.
His eyes held hers for three quick beats. Then, she saw his expression shutter and turn completely neutral. His eyes turned from a swirling silver to a flat grey. Malfoy took a step backwards, took a deep breath, and turned back to his tea kettle.
“Apologies Granger. I don’t know what came over me.” His right hand flew up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and he stumbled a step. “Are you sure you don’t want any tea?”
Hermione had no idea how to react. One second he was calm and collected, the next he was filled with rage, and then he was back to being polite. It was the small stumble that banked her own ire.
“Sure. Tea would be fine. Are….are you okay?” She asked hesitantly.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just tripped on the edge of the rug there. Nothing to worry about. Milk or sugar?” Malfoy asked as he brought a tea tray over to his desk.
“Just sugar, thank you.” Hermione sank down into a chair, completely deflated from her earlier outburst. She picked up her teacup and took a small sip.
Suddenly, Hermione was hit by how surreal this scene was. She was having tea with Draco fucking Malfoy of all people. Directly after laying into him over a slight offense she’d taken. She couldn’t make heads or tails of what to say next.
Malfoy took it upon himself to speak first. “To address your concerns about the texts, I did indeed ask Theo to send them here. I believed if I could examine them first, I could use the knowledge and apply it to my murder investigation without having to subject you further to my company. I see now that it was a pointless endeavor, as you have come to retrieve them anyway.”
“Malfoy, I was given the position of advocate for the centaurs. Without doing the research myself, I couldn’t possibly fulfill that role. It's a system of checks and balances, to ensure the right thing is done for the species.” Hermione leaned back in her chair. “Being in your company has no bearing on my willingness to cooperate with you. Will we be able to work on this together, or will I need to have Harry be the middleman we run everything through?”
After a beat of silent thought, Malfoy looked back up at Hermione. “I think we can leave Potter out of it. You’re right, we do need to maintain the balance. I will endeavor to respect your role in this case and come to you with any questions that arise. I will also need you to respect that I am the lead on this case and may occasionally do something you disapprove of. If I give you these texts now, will we have a truce?”
“We will.” Hermione stuck out her hand for Malfoy to shake. He surprised her again by reaching over without hesitation and taking it. She quickly let go after raising and lowering their hands firmly, once. “Out of curiosity, did you find anything of use in what you’ve read so far?”
“Not a thing. There apparently used to be a Centaur Liaison Office in the DRCMC, but there was never a single staff member assigned to it.” Malfoy closed the books and stacked them in front of Hermione.
“Typical. Why should the Ministry concern itself with beasts they consider having ‘near-human intelligence?’ I actually heard Umbridge say that in front of the centaur herd in the Forbidden Forest. They weren’t pleased, to say the least.” Hermione grimaced. “That night was filled with more terror than I’d known up to that point.”
“I’m assuming that was the same night the Department of Mysteries was broken into?” Malfoy asked cooly.
Mortified, Hermione’s eyes shot to Malfoy’s. “I’m sorry, Malfoy, I didn’t think before I said that. I know you have your own history with that night.”
Malfoy’s father had been part of the group of Death Eaters that broke into the department and attempted to steal the prophecy about Harry and Voldemort.
“Yes. The night my father was arrested. Arrested the first time, I should say.” Malfoy kept his face blank and tone perfectly even. “No need for apologies. My father made his own decisions and had to suffer the consequences of them.” He took a sip of his tea.
Hermione set her cup back down on the tray. “Well, I think we’ve got this sorted out now. I’ll take these and look over them. Should I wait on a text from you, or shall I inform you of anything noteworthy?”
“Feel free to reach out with anything pertinent. Memo, owl, or text.” Malfoy drained the last of his tea. “I’ll walk you out.” He stood and picked up the books. He led Hermione to the door and opened it for her. Handing her the tomes, he spoke quietly so only she could hear. “I’ll have to set a personalized notification tone so I know when it's you texting.”
Hermione smirked up at him. When had he gotten so tall? “Make it something good, like horse hooves clopping.”
To her surprise, he chuckled. “Oh I don’t know. It might have to be a banshee shrieking. Or possibly a lion roaring.”
With a laugh, Hermione walked away from Malfoy’s office. She shook her head as she entered the lifts, and couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like working with Malfoy until the case was solved.