Chapter 1- Unfortunate Encounters

She sipped on her cup of tea, reading the newspaper and sighing contently. It's been months since she had any time to relax, and for the first time since the divorce, Hermione Granger was feeling content. She skimmed through multiple headlines, but it seemed she already knew almost everything that was happening, being the minister of magic.

I should really go back to reading muggle newspapers, she thought, and folded up the newspaper, tucking it into her purse. She heard a waitress come back with her order, and she glanced up at her, smiling.

"Oh my lord, are you Hermione Granger? The minister of magic?" She gasped pleasantly, smiling. "I saw you once during one of your speeches about women's rights, it was quite spectacular. And, of course, all over the daily prophet."

Hermione smiled up at her, the smile she had ingrained in her during her campaign by her many fussy campaign managers, "Nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand, and the waitress eagerly took it.

"Would you like anything else, ma'am? Our vegan brownies are quite delicious today."

"No, thank you." She smiled again, and the waitress retreated from the table.

Hermione was sitting in a wizard's café, somewhere in the middle of Cambridge. She heard about this place from some of her co-workers, and decided to visit on her first day off. Her life now was drastically different from schools days at Hogwarts and the great wizard war, and was filled with entire days sitting at her office at the ministry, and occasional trips out with the kids, on days where she had custody. For the first time in a while, it seemed Hermione could finally think about her life and her own personal issues, and thoughts immediately flashed back to the court hearing a few months ago, where she begged for more time with her kids.

Although knowing the judge quite well at work, it was inevitable that Ron would get most of the custody. That bastard knew how to argue, and he knew her intense work schedule could be used against her. There was no arguing that Hermione was the minister of magic, and that came with lots of obligations, and a duty to her citizens over her kids. The judge and the jury all knew this, too. But what they didn't know, and what she didn't know how to express, was that she always made time for her children, and Rose and Hugo were everything to her. She gave every second she had to spare to them, and they frequently visited the ministry to spend time with her.

The hearing was all over the news. People wouldn't stop talking about it. Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, his two best friends, the star couple everyone loved, were finally falling apart. It just showed, as Rita Skeeter repeatedly mentioned, that life didn't work out at times, even for the famous.

I wonder if people would gossip about me as much if I were a man. Even now, their divorce was all the wizard news talked about, and Hermione wished they would talk about the real issues, problems she was constantly trying to solve on a daily basis, with so far no improvement or any results.

She sat back on her chair, feeling her usual anxiety, and the weight of the world the seemed to be entirely on her shoulders. Hermione felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

But the minister of magic never cries in public, unless she's trying to get votes. The voice of her managers echoed in her head. The divorce and campaign happened at around the same time, and Hermione was still not sure if she got elected solely because of the pity.

Suddenly, she saw a ministry owl fly into the coffee shop, she waved to it, and it landed on her lap. "Hello there Snow," she said as it affectionately pecked her hands. "What do you have for me?"

She picked up the letter, and saw the word "EMERGENCY" stamped at the back of the envelope. It was sealed in a way that only she would be able to open it, something she came up with in the month of being minister, and she quickly opened the envelope to read the contents.

"Godric's Hollow. Crickory's Lumber. 3 deaths, 2 injured. Get here ASAP."

She recognized the handwriting to be her head of public affairs, someone to be in charge of calming the newspapers and setting up her speeches. She put a few sickles on the table, and immediately apparated to the location listed in the short hurried letter. She immediately spotted Peter, the letter writer, in the distance, and hurried towards him to see the scene of the crime.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Some kind of mad wizard I presume, went crazy, started attacking everyone and everything. The aurors think he was under some kind of spell, but they can't figure out who's behind it. People in the area are freaking out, and reporters want to talk to you," Peter replied, he was always very serious, and no matter how much she tried at times, he would never laugh at her jokes. After a few weeks of working together, she had already given up. I bet Ron could make him laugh, she thought grumpily.

She nodded at him, and walked closer to the store, to where the crowd was starting to gather. It was one of the first attacks that required her presence since her month of appointment, and she was uncertain how to proceed. She walked towards the centre of the scene, and most people shifted aside when they saw her approach. She stopped near the edge, and whispered to the person beside her, "So who do I talk to first?" To her surprise, the person beside her chuckled, and he sounded very familiar.

"Aren't you supposed to know that yourself?" He asked, and she jumped back in shock. He put his hands out, and smiled. "Hello, Draco Malfoy. Head of the Department of Mysteries."

He was appointed to the department fairly recently, a few weeks before she was. The previous head of the department finally retired, fed up with the long and extended hours that comes along with working with the ministry. She couldn't believe it when she spotted it a few pages into the daily prophet. Who would appoint an ex-death eater in the ministry? Especially in a department almost no one knew about? He must be very sleek, as good as manipulating people as his father was, she thought at the time, probably paid them off or something.

She glared at him, and frowned. "I know. I had to shake hands with all the heads during the ceremony." She looked down at his extended hand, and ignored it. It didn't matter who was looking, she wasn't in the mood to fake pleasantries at the moment.

He chuckled again and withdrew his reach, "Well, you seemed very confused about what was going on, so I thought you might have forgotten."

"Sorry, I made a mistake. I don't need your help. Carry on." She glared at him once more, and moved away. Where was Harry when you needed him?

As if on cue, she heard Harry call out behind her, and she ran towards him, giving him a big hug. She always had a soft spot for Harry, and no matter how much etiquette and stiff kindness they try to ingrain into the new minister, she would never pretend to be anything other than herself with her childhood friends. And who would complain about Hermione Granger rushing to hug Harry Potter, anyways?

"Harry! I haven't seen you in weeks! How can we work in the same building and never see each other?"

"We're all so busy!" He exclaimed, laughing while returning her hug, "I kept telling you that we'll miss Hogwarts days, and everyone just wanted to grow up quicker. Granted, we had a huge chance of dying at any moment, but in my opinion it's still better than being grown up. Honestly I still could die at any moment."

She smiled, and said, "How are the kids? Are James and Albus enjoying school? Is Lily still jealous?"

"They're great! Albus was sorted into Gryffindor and Ginny is ecstatic. So are the Weasleys…" Hermione frowned at that, and Harry paused. "I'm sorry about everything, 'mione. I wish things were different. I still don't even know what happened, really. Ron won't ever talk about it. He doesn't like that we're still friends, so he pretty much ignores me at work."

"Wait, is he here today?" She asked hurriedly, looking around.

"No, no. He's still traveling about, making sure the new magical creature protection laws you set are doing well, keeping the conflict at bay. Have you been talking to Hugo and Rose?"

"Yes, they've been sending me letters from Hogwarts, Rose is in Gryffindor too, but I'm sure Albus already told you. They're the only happy things I have in my life right now, and they won't be coming back until December. I don't know how I'll live." She said to her best friend, sadly.

"Everything will be okay, 'mione." He hugged her again. "You'll get through this, you always do. Who knows? Maybe you'll find someone else, the love of your life."

"WHO HAS THE TIME?" She gasped, "Why couldn't all relationships be like you and Ginny?"

He chuckled, "We have problems too, I'm sure Ginny tells you all about them."

Hermione blushed, "Maybe…"

The conversation halted as Harry and Hermione they heard someone clear their throat behind them. "I'm sorry for interrupting this beautiful reunion here," Draco drawled, "But we're at the scene of a crime, and we need the minster of magic to get on the case."

Hermione turned around to face him, and scowled, mirroring the expression on Harry's face. "I heard there was nothing that could be done. Without uncovering more evidence, there's no way to figure out who or what was behind this. And Harry and the other aurors already have the murderer on his way to the trial. I'll just talk to the reporters and make a speech to calm the citizens down and we'll be done."

"Excuse me but, I seem to have uncovered some sort of, 'clue'," Draco said quietly, "But I'll need to discuss this with you in private." He nodded to Harry, showing what he meant by private.

"What can the minister know that the head of aurors can't?" Harry asked aggressively.

"Department of mysteries business, we don't expose our secrets to just anyone." He smirkedtsked.

"I don't even know how you got the position in the first place, Malfoy, with your father in prison and your mother on house arrest. You will never be known for anything other than a death eater. So put your pride elsewhere," Harry retorted. "See you later, Hermione," He glanced towards Draco, "And be safe."

"I will," She said, quite serious. She knew Harry was overreacting, and the days of fear and running were over, but she couldn't help agree with him that looking out for Malfoy is always required. She couldn't help but feel that he always seems to be up to something. Harry had always blamed Malfoy for all of it, whether it was granted or not. He was the only one left, the only daily reminder of the horrors he still dreamt about, and she was sure in Harry's mind, Malfoy could never be forgiven.

She followed Draco towards the side of the building, and Hermione scrunched her nose, smelling the deep scent of old lumber.

"Why do wizards need to buy wood anyways?" Draco complained, as they were surrounded by stacks of chopped lumber. "You'd think by now they would figure out a way to materialize it out of thin air."

"This store isn't really for wizards I think. We can make our own fires. But I think it makes a nice touch, more homely." Wait, why am I even talking to him about this?

"That's my point, 'mione." Draco imitated, "Why would a mad wizard attack a place that wizards never frequent? Most wizards aren't even concerned with muggle business, it's above them."

"And how does that give us any sort of clue?" Hermione complained, a little irritated.

"It means there's something else behind it. Something the department of mysteries has been tracking for months now, and I think it's finally time to let the new minister of magic know."

He waited expectantly, gauging her response. Finally, she asked, "And? What is it?"

"First, why haven't you visited my department? I heard you made a big show of visiting all the departments, and mysteries was never mentioned. Were you trying to avoid me or something?"

Why does he even care? Hermione thought, a little flattered. "I had a lot on my plate, it wasn't anything personal." Liar.

"Weren't you a little curious what goes on behind closed doors? I couldn't wait to find out when I first shadowed the last head of the department. I figured the 'brightest witch of the decade' would at least be a little curious."

Hermione blushed, am I that transparent? "Well, I was, but…" She shook her head, "That's not the point. Just let me know what's going on, and I'll give you my insight."

"It's a long story, it'll be a lot easier to tell if we head back to the ministry. I have some people who could help out as well."

She nodded, "Okay, let me talk to the reporters and make my speech, and then we'll apparate." They started to head back, but froze in their steps when they heard a large BANGand the screams that followed. Hermione and Draco pulled out their wands in unison, and ran back to the crime scene. This time, they were greeted by a large gaping hole in the front of the shop, the beautiful windows and vibrant decorations completely destroyed. Hermione gasped as she realized the crowd had gone, with some stragglers still running and screaming. Five aurors, including Harry, were surrounding the mad wizard, who was chained and bound by magic just a few seconds ago.

"HARRY!" Hermione shouted.

"Stay back." He said, his voice scarily calm.

The wizard, whom Hermione was unfamiliar with, cackled loudly, and waved his hands in a strange fashion. One of the auror's wands shot towards him, and the auror stepped back in confusion. The wizard raised the wand high in the air, shouted a phrase Hermione had never heard, and vanished, taking all the aurors with him. Hermione screamed loudly, and ran towards where the six men were standing just moments ago.

"Where have they gone? What spell was that?" She asked, to no one in particular, "That was no magic." She flicked her wand over and over, whispering incantations that could tell her who the man was or where they had gone, but received no results.

"Hey, Granger. Hey." Draco said, seeming to appear out of thin air behind her. She cried out in frustration, and he held her arms from behind with both of his arms, stopping her from moving her wand further. "You need to stop this, nothing is happening. You need to calm down."

"He took Harry, Malfoy." She turned towards him, her voice quivering in rage, "He took him. And I don't have a clue where to start looking." He watched her, letting her continue, "I don't know if you even have an ounce of heart in you to care when your friends are taken, or if you even have friends anymore, but taking Harry… or worse, murdering him, is like cutting a chunk out of me. Don't tell me to calm down, Malfoy. Don't." Hermione tried very hard to compose herself, but she couldn't keep grasp of the situation, let alone herself. With everything going on with Ron, she kept telling herself in the back of her mind that at least she still had Harry, that as long as he still loved and trusted her, she was not as bad of a person as Ron now sees her. She couldn't lose one of the last ties she had to her childhood, seven years that no one would ever be able to comprehend.

"I'm going to stand here until you get it through your head that freaking out like this does not help him in anyway," He said calmly.

Hermione collapsed onto the soft gravel, and after a few moments, composed herself enough to look at who she was talking to. He sighed in relief, glad she was calm, and walked towards the front of the shop, now a gaping dark crater.

"Malfoy," He looked up from the damage, and stared right at her, "I'm sorry. I didn't really mean that. I know it's been 20 years since the war now, and you're not the same person anymore. We were just kids. I was just… Harry means the world to me."

"I know, it's okay. We'll figure it out. And then we can go back to avoiding each other and pretending the other doesn't exist."

Hermione almost smiled, and said, "And Harry didn't mean it either. He's been through a lot. The dreams haven't stopped, he still thinks Voldemort will return one day. Please don't take it personally."

"Granger, I never take anything personally," He smirked. "But just so you know, I never really meant everything I said to you lot at school." He shook his head, "That's not true, I meant it at the time. I had it through my misguided teenage brain that if I wasn't cruel or mean to people, I wouldn't be respected. I wanted power, fame, and fear. I wanted to be just like my father, even though I myself never loved him. It was sick, and messed up. I'll never make it up, the people I killed, the things I did."

Hermione sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. She didn't know what brought this on, or why he would suddenly reveal such thoughts. She could only guess that he didn't have anyone else left that could listen, and it was probably something he's been wanting to say to her for many years.

At King's Cross station every year, she would see Malfoy and Harry nod at each other, a mutual understanding that there would be no more conflict and war for their kids' generation onwards, and that everything would be different. She felt reassured during those moments, and liked knowing that all of it wasn't a dream, that all of the pain, suffering, and deaths in her generation weren't all for nothing. There could be peace between Griffyndors and Slytherins, and by extension to that, pure-bloods and muggle-borns.

Now, after all these years, Draco Malfoy had finally revealed to her a little bit of what goes on inside his head, something she guessed he didn't reveal to people very often, and she felt a little thankful, even if it had to happen in a situation like this.

"I always wondered, you know. What went on inside that head of yours, behind all that sneering." She could have sworn she saw his expression drop for a moment, and for a second, just one, she saw a genuine expression behind the mask he always wore. Shyness. Or was it embarrassment? She wanted to see more. Now is not the time, Hermione, She scolded herself.

"Okay, I'm ready." She sat up, and pat down her robes. "Let's go back to the ministeryministry. Tell me what's going on, and we'll find Harry."

Draco nodded, and reached to grab the loose robes on her arm, to make sure they apparated into the same room in the department of ministries.

"Wait, hold on." Hermione bent down, and took out a vial to scoop up a piece of burnt flesh, presumably dropped by the mad wizard during his attack and escape.

"Well, that's disgusting." Draco said, wrinkling his nose, "What are you doing that for?"

"Wizard DNA cannot be detected or sequenced by normal muggle software, but… I get the feeling I can do something with this, maybe a tracking spell of some kind."

"Software? DNA? What are you going on about, Granger? Is this what life is like for Potter and Weasley all the time?" He scowled.

"Oh, shut up Malfoy." She grabbed his hand, and before he could react to the sudden feel of her skin against his, they apparated into the front entrance of the department of mysteries.