Unexpected Links

It wasn’t until he’d lost sight of the two women that Draco was finally alone with his thoughts. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Merlin, that witch is going to drive me mad," he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair as he tried to organize his thoughts. "Well done, Malfoy. First day on the job and you’ve already clashed with the Golden Girl."

He hadn’t meant for her to take it so badly. He’d tried to give her space to avoid making her uncomfortable, but it was clear that the surprise of having to work together had deeply upset her. He'd decided to ignore her discomfort and focus solely on his task, erecting his Occlumency shields, but the persistent woman had misinterpreted his words.
Now he was at risk of her accusing him again of harboring pure-blood supremacist ideas, something he couldn’t afford to be labeled as, especially now that he was a father. He couldn’t put his son at risk of public scrutiny. He needed to make sure he did things right.

He picked up the parchment again, reading the notes Hermione had left. He recognized her meticulous work; she was still the same bookworm as ever. The runes were good, but perhaps they needed a slight modification and a new wand movement. He needed to experiment, but not in that place; he didn’t know how the woman would react if the necklace defended itself and wreaked havoc in her office.
Grasping the box containing the jewel and the parchments, he focused his mind on his manor and felt the familiar sensation of pressure as he appeared in the guest room of his home.

Draco was greeted by Whisp, his mother's elf, who informed him that Narcissa and Scorpius were in the gardens. With determined steps, he crossed the ancestral library. His eyes, accustomed to the dim light, quickly scanned the endless rows of books.
Without hesitation, he headed towards the occult section and pulled from a dusty shelf a voluminous tome titled "Magical Properties in Gemstones."
Desiring privacy, he made his way to his study. The room, once a reflection of Lucius's dark personality, had been completely renovated. I place the necklace on the desk, his book open on one side and Hermione's notes on the other, taking out his wand he got down to work.

Meanwhile, Hermione was having lunch with Hanna. The Muffliato spell enveloped both witches in a bubble of privacy. The witch, with eyes full of anger, recounted to her friend the argument with Malfoy. Hanna, with irritating calmness, replied.

"I think you're exaggerating."

Hermione felt offended. "Exaggerating?" she retorted.

"Come on, you felt threatened the moment he questioned the effectiveness of your research."
She felt her cheeks burning. Said like that, she sounded like a petulant child.

"It wasn't just that. Do you remember how he tormented us as children?"

"Yes, I remember. And he also bothered my husband, but you don't see me hexing him for that," said Hanna.

"It's different and you know it. He singled out Harry, Ron, and me more! Everyone knew he tormented me for being a Muggle-born. He was a Death Eater. He stood there and did nothing while I bled on the floor of his mansion!"

"Look, I'm not saying he didn't have unpleasant behaviors as a child, but from what you just told me, he didn't insult you. You were just defensive and misinterpreted his words. Besides, didn't he even deny recognizing them when they were captured? And let's not talk about his role in the war because you'd be contradicting yourself."

"What do you mean?" Hermione replied, crossing her arms.

"It's amazing that just last night you said the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was in the past, that we're all adults now and you defended Theo against what Seamus said. But when it comes to Malfoy, you throw aside everything you stand for."
Hermione stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "It's not the same!" she shouted. Hanna looked at her in surprise.

"Mione, dear, calm down," Hanna said, putting a hand on Hermione's.

"How can you defend him?"

"Listen," the blonde said softly, "I know it's difficult, but you have to try to leave the past behind. Do you think being angry will help you? Think about your career. You wouldn't want an argument with Malfoy to ruin all your work, right?" Hermione nodded slowly.

"You're right," she whispered.

"And who knows, maybe this is an opportunity to get to know him better. Perhaps, after everything he's been through, he's not the hateful boy we knew. Remember how defeated he looked during the trial. The war marked him too, didn't it? He lived under the same roof as Voldemort, witnessing the atrocities of the Death Eaters. Even his father went to Azkaban, although Lucius deserved it quite a bit. But he was just a child, don't you think all of that could have changed him?"

Hermione bit her cheek, analyzing her friend's words. Why did Hufflepuffs have to be so friendly?

"Alright, and what do you want me to do?"

"You can start with an apology and a smile."

"An apology and a smile, and then what? A hug? Don't make me laugh!" she said, making a face.

"Mione, don't be like that," she insisted with a reproachful look.

"Fine, fine, but I won't smile at him," Hermione yielded. "But let it be clear, I'm only doing this for you," And with irony, she added, "And because I don't want to get fired because of that idiot."

Upon returning to her large office, she was surprised to notice that Malfoy was no longer there. Where could he have gone? Who had given him permission to take her work? With the Ministry being so vast, finding him would be a daunting task; she couldn't afford to lose her work. How could she expect to maintain a civilized attitude with her colleague if he simply vanished without notice? She felt magic crackling around her. She gripped her wand and cast an Appare Vestigium, noticing that Malfoy hadn't left through the office door, which meant he had Apparated elsewhere.

Enraged, she advanced determinedly towards the Auror department, ignoring the curious looks around her, and burst into her friend's office.

Harry, who was examining documents, was startled by the the noise, but seeing the expression on the woman's face, he felt a chill run down his spine. An angry Hermione boded ill.

"That arrogant jerk took off!"

"I suppose you mean Malfoy, right?"

"What other arrogant jerk could I be referring to?"

"Well... I have a list," he tried to joke, but didn't get a favorable response from his friend. "Alright, what do you expect me to do?" he replied with a sigh, massaging his temples.

"By Merlin, Harry, you're an Auror! Investigate where he went!" she exclaimed exasperated.

"Did you come all the way here for me to abandon my work and start following Malfoy?" he saw her nod and sighed. "I won't do it, Mione. He's already a Ministry employee. I'm not going to start a hunt for dark wizards just because Malfoy decided to leave without telling you. Besides, I have my own problems."

"And what am I supposed to do? Sit in my chair waiting for him to come back whenever he pleases?"

"Yes, or you can try a tracking spell," he suggested.

"I already tried, he vanished," she said with frustration.

"Well, I can't think of where Malfoy could have gone. I don't think he's wandering the streets. He probably wants to go unnoticed," he reflected.

Hermione took a moment to think. An idea crossed her mind.

"Harry... Did Malfoy notify his current residence?"

"Yes, we knew that upon returning from his property in France, he went back to Malfoy Manor. Do you think he could have gone there?"

"It's just a guess," she replied.

"Mione, please, tell me you're not thinking of going to look for him at the manor," concern reflected on Harry's face. "If so, I'll go with you," he offered determinedly. Hermione shook her head.

"Thank you very much, but you have a lot of work. I would feel guilty if you postpone it for me. Besides, it's my responsibility," she tried to sound confident. She wouldn't admit that she felt a knot in her stomach, that the scar on her arm was starting to itch from the anxiety of returning to that place.

She walked to the fireplaces, took a handful of Floo powder, and recited "Malfoy Manor" as her destination. The flames engulfed her, but to her surprise, she was immediately ejected back. "He must have his network blocked, the cunning one," she thought with frustration. She sighed and pulled out her wand from her pocket, visualized the mansion, and felt the pressure in her body as she traveled.
Hermione landed violently on the damp ground, the wind stealing her breath as she tried to stand up. Her body ached, her head was pounding a mile a minute, and a metallic taste flooded her mouth. She had been brutally thrown by Malfoy's protections. She analyzed the situation she was in, and if she was correct, Malfoy should be inside; she could try to find a vulnerability in the magical protections, some blind spot.

As she raised her wand, a figure appeared before her, imposing, and without giving her time to react, disarmed her.

"Malfoy..."