Her pale fingers tapped an erratic rhythm on the worn desk. The thought briefly crossed her mind that she should re-finish the desk. After all, it had been through a lot of late nights, deadlines, and every other daily frustrations that come with working at a busy newspaper. The Daily Prophet was not an easy place to work, but Hermione Granger had always loved a challenge. Currently, the challenge was not going mad trying to decipher what her editor meant this morning when she said that they needed to "discuss a matter of utmost importance". Hermione rarely felt unsure of her role at the paper, but as the day wore on she found herself becoming more and more anxious. There were rumours of some major changes coming to the paper. What if they don't like my column anymore? What if one of my pieces is being disputed?

Knock. Knock.

Hermione's head whipped up at the sound, effectively stopping the train of what if's. She briefly closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath.

"Come in" she said as nonchalantly as she could.

The door opened and a dark haired head poked around the corner. Not the face she was expecting to see. This was a face she knew as well as her own. Bright green eyes, wire rimmed glasses, and black hair with a mind of its own. The one and only Harry Potter. Her very best friend, and one third of the so called Golden Trio. She internally rolled her eyes every time someone called them that.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" She asked, taken by surprise at the sight of her best friend rather than her boss.

"Nice to see you too, Hermione" He commented, sarcasm dripping from his words.

She looked at him pointedly in response.

"You know what I mean," she said.

"What? A bloke can't come visit his best friend at work? What's got you so worked up anyhow?"

Hermione could never figure out how he always seemed to know when something was bothering her. It was an uncanny ability that she found both endearing and insufferable.

"How do you do that?" She asked exasperated. He just continued to look at her with a pointed stare.

She rolled her eyes, but also smiled.

"If you must know, Lila - my boss, told me that she has something "of the utmost importance" to discuss with me and I'm driving myself mad trying to figure out what it could be,"

"Oh. Is that all?" Harry asked, smiling crookedly, "We both know you have nothing to worry about. You're the best reporter they've got. If anything, it's probably a promotion."

"I didn't get the impression that it was good news," Hermione stated grimly.

"Well if it's not we could always sic Ginny on her," he said comfortingly, his green eyes bright. Hermione laughed as she pictured it.

"Speaking of Ginny, how is she feeling?"

"Oh, Ginny? She's great!" Harry said happily. A little too happily.

"She kick you out again?" Hermione asked knowingly.

"Yes…" he said dejectedly. "Who knew pregnancy was so difficult? She says I breathe too loud and the smell of my soap makes her nauseous. One minute she's perfectly fine, and the next she's crying, then she's yelling at me, and then she's back to crying. It's a vicious cycle."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed. Harry had faced a lot in his life, but if there was one thing he would always be afraid of it was Ginny Weasley. She suspected that was part of why he loved her so much.

"Are you saying that you would handle pregnancy better? The nausea, the back pain, the weight gain, not to mention the labor? I don't know about you but I don't fancy pushing a baby the size of a watermelon out of my—"

"Hermione?" a voice sounded in the doorway. She stopped mid-sentence, and peered around Harry, where to her horror she saw her boss Lila Mahan.

"Lila!" she all but squeaked, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Discussing the joys of child birth?" Lila asked laughingly, cutting the tension.

Hermione laughed, "You could say that,"

"Nice to see you're doing well Mr. Potter," Lila said, nodding at him.

"Yes, you too. Erm…I'll let you get back to work Mione," he said, backing up toward the door, closing it behind him.

"What did you want to discuss, Lila?" Hermione asked pleasantly, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

The smile fell from Lila's face to be replaced with a slight grimace.

"I'm afraid it's rather serious. I need to talk to you about your role with the paper" she said, smoothing her skirt as she sat down. Hermione's mind immediately started going haywire with all the thoughts of what she could have possibly done to get sacked, as she was certain that was what was happening right now.

"My role?" She asked quietly, trying to keep her composure.

"Yes. Now, as you know, there has been a rise in crime lately from this new wave of supposed Death Eaters. Do you know who has been covering those stories?" Lila asked.

"No, of course not," Hermione responded, "no one does."

"Unfortunately, these new death eaters figured it out. Emma Winters was investigating all death eater activity."

Suddenly, the pieces started coming together. Emma Winters, a young vivacious reporter who wasn't afraid of digging up the truth. About a week ago her body was found in her apartment with the dark mark seared into her arm. Hermione had her suspicions after Emma's death but the previous attacks by the Death Eaters had been so random she had nothing concrete to go on. Emma, only a few years younger than Hermione, was known for her gossip column.

"We don't know how they discovered her true identity, but after much discussion we have decided that the Death Eater reports must continue. We've worked so hard since the war to become a reputable paper, we simply cannot stop reporting the truth now."

"Yes, I agree," Hermione stated. Her heart pounded in her chest, as she had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.

"Hermione, I think you know what I'm getting to, and before you give me your answer I want to tell you why I didn't choose you in the first place," Lila paused, "You're the obvious choice. I felt that it would put you in too much danger. I know you've worked hard to have a normal life and I couldn't ask you to give that up. But now…now we need you. I truly believe that you are the only one here who could do this and not get killed. However, I also believe that this will be more dangerous for you than for anyone else."

"I'll do it," Hermione said quietly but determined. Her amber eyes shone with a fierceness that hadn't been there for a while.

"I knew you would," Lila said with a tinge of sadness to her voice. Her sapphire eyes were laced with worry, but she knew what must be done. She cleared her throat, and with it, the worry.

"Well, would you like to meet your bodyguard?"

"My bodyguard?" Hermione asked bemused.

"Yes. That is the one condition of this position. You must have round the clock security. We are working closely with the Auror department and they have chosen one of their best for your protection."

"Oh, Lila, I really don't think that's necess—"

"It's non-negotiable," Lila stated firmly. Hermione promptly shut her mouth.

Hermione knew that Lila only wanted to keep her safe, but she also felt that she could take care of herself. After all, this wasn't the first time she had thrown herself on the dangerous path. She just didn't like the idea of having someone with her 24/7. She was very private, and she liked it that way.

"Would you like to meet him?" Lila asked, going to the door. She motioned for someone to come in.

Hermione knew who it was before he was even fully in the door frame. She would recognize that shocking blonde hair anywhere.

"Miss me Granger?" he smirked.

Draco Malfoy had clearly changed a lot over the years, but one thing was clearly the same.

"I see you're still as arrogant as ever," Hermione observed, glaring at him.

"I take it you two already know each other?" Lila asked cautiously.

"Unfortunately," Hermione responded.

"Same old stick in the arse Granger I see," Draco stated, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Same old ferret boy Malfoy" Hermione smirked.

"Oh give it up with the ferret stuff," Draco rolled his eyes, "I thought by now you would have come up with some better material"

"I would give it up if you didn't still look like a ferret. I guess imposter Moody did too good of a job," Hermione said loftily, shrugging slightly.

Draco opened his mouth to respond.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" She asked, "Will your father hear about this?" she mock whispered.

"No, but your mum will," he said, smirking.

"Alright, that's enough," Lila cut in before Hermione could reply.

They both turned to her, having momentarily forgotten she was in the room.

"Might I remind you both that this is a serious matter," she continued, "and I expect you to treat it as such. It's clear that you two have some sort of…history, but I expect you to put that aside for the time being. Understood?" she asked in a no nonsense tone.

"Yes," Hermione said reluctantly, "but is Malfoy the only bodyguard available? Putting our differences aside, won't it make it more obvious to the death eaters that I'm writing the articles if I suddenly have a bodyguard after the articles start up again? Couldn't it be Harry? I'm already with him a lot, and frankly speaking, trust him more."

Draco snorted at the last bit and crossed his arms. Hermione glared at him.

"Mr. Potter is not an option right now. As I said, you need 24 hour protection, and Mr. Potter would not be able to provide that at the moment, what with starting a family and all, not to mention his own workload. Mr. Malfoy is one of the top Aurors the department has and despite your feelings toward him, he will keep you safe," she said authoritatively, looking pointedly at Draco as if daring him to disagree.

"As to your other point, yes, it may make you more transparent to the death eaters, but it's a calculated risk. Personally, I think the best plan would be for you two to fake a relationship, but Auror Shacklebolt advised that you would likely be against that. I see now what he meant. Our second plan was to run a series of false stories about you two working together after you were attacked and robbed."

Hermione stared at Lila, desperately trying to think of a way out of this, but she wasn't seeing any options. The only thing she could do was refuse to do the Death Eater reports, but she knew she had to do it. She couldn't let someone else put themselves in danger just because she didn't like Malfoy.

"There's no way out Granger. I already tried with Kingsley," Draco said, shaking his head.

Hermione sighed, "Looks like I have no other choices,"

"That's what I like to hear," Lila said sarcastically, "Now, I think it's time you two get reacquainted, so I am demanding that you take the rest of the day off. Also, I believe Mr. Malfoy was to check the wards on your home."

She nodded to each of them and swiftly left the room, closing the door behind her.

Hermione sat down and put her head in her hands. This was not what she had been expecting when Lila had asked to speak with her this morning.

"You'd think your dog had just died," Draco drawled, "I'm not happy about this either. I don't like you and you don't like me. But I do like my job, and I would like to keep it. So stop moping and show me your flat so we can be done with this bonding time for today."

Hermione slowly looked up at him. He thought she was going to shout at him, but instead she simply stood up and reached out her hand with forced calm.

"We'll apparate," she said, reaching out further. He lightly touched her outstretched hand, making as little contact at possible. With a pop they were gone.

They appeared in a small but comfortable flat. Draco looked around, getting his bearings.

Hermione suddenly felt embarrassed. And then she felt embarrassed for being embarrassed. Who cares if he grew up in a manor. Her small flat was hers and hers alone. She had painted the wild flowers on the yellow walls in the kitchen. She had built the large bookshelves lining the walls in the living room. She, along with Ron and Harry, had lugged the large wraparound couch up five flights of stairs when she insisted on moving the "muggle way" because it felt more real. She should be proud of what she had, and she was.

"We can't all grow up in a mansion," she said breezily as Draco took in her flat. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but knowing him, she doubted it was good.

"This whole place is probably the size of my bedroom suite," he said, chuckling slightly. Hermione glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Just do what you're supposed to do and get out," she said sternly. Now it was Draco's turn to glare.

He took out his wand and mumbled a few spells to check the wards.

"As expected, you already have all of the wards you need. Over achieving know it all," he muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to leave my flat open for anyone to get in to? I didn't realize that I was meant to be a damsel in distress," Hermione said with mock shock, putting her hand to her chest. "Would you like me to disable them all so that you can put them back up and feel important?"

"No wonder people are trying to kill you," Draco stated flatly.

Hermione didn't even react. She knew she was being a bit ridiculous, but seeing him just brought back all of those childhood insecurities that he exploited. How could she trust someone who made her childhood hell to keep her safe? She didn't blame him for his actions in the war, he was a kid who made an impossible choice, but she did blame him for the way he treated her, and she didn't think she would ever forgive him for that.

"Are we done now?" she asked.

"For now," he said, apparating away.

Hermione sighed and immediately apparated to Harry's.

Harry and Ginny looked up in surprise as she appeared in their kitchen. She only said one word.

"Alcohol,"

Without saying a word Harry got out the firewhiskey. Before he could even pour a shot she grabbed the bottle from his hand and took a swig. Harry and Ginny glanced at each other in disbelief. They had only seen her drink like this one other time, on the night she and Ron broke up.

"Er…Hermione? Are you alright?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"Just peachy," she said sarcastically, taking another swig.

"Did something happen at work?" Harry implored.

"You could say that," she chuckled, finally sitting down at the table.

"You didn't get sacked, did you?"

"Worse," she moaned, laying her head in the crook of her arms.

Harry and Ginny heard a mumble but couldn't decipher any words.

"Say that again?" Ginny asked gently.

"I have to work with Malfoy," she all but shrieked.

"Oh, is that all?" Harry asked, "I thought you got fired or demoted. I work with him quite frequently and he's nowhere near as bad as he used to be."

Hermione glared at him.

"You don't understand. I practically have to live with him!" she exclaimed, and then proceeded to tell them the whole story, taking large gulps of firewhiskey throughout.

"How can they expect you two to work together? You'll kill each other before the death eaters even have a chance!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I know!" Hermione shouted. Then she started laughing, imagining all of the ways she could kill him. Maybe she would just turn him into a ferret and keep him as a pet. She laughed so hard at that thought, that she fell off the chair. And then she laughed at that.

"Screw it, I need a drink too," Harry said, grabbing the bottle.

"So now I have to deal with a drunk Hermione and drunk Harry?" Ginny asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You look just like your mum when you do that," Hermione laughed, pointing at her from the floor.

"I do not!" Ginny cried.

"Of course you don't," Harry agreed, but behind Ginny's back he nodded and mouthed "she does!"

Ginny just sighed and rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Hermione, love, why don't you get off the floor?" she asked gently.

"Nah, I like it down here. There's no Malfoy." She said happily, and then immediately frowned, "Ugh Malfoy, why did you have to bring that git up Gin? I just stopped thinking about him."

Ginny could only laugh at this. Drunk Hermione was a rare occurrence, but Ginny lived for these moments. It was always fun to see the reserved bookworm let loose.

"C'mon Mione, let's go sit on the comfy couch," Harry said, hauling her up, "there are no Malfoy's over there either."

"Good, I hate that bloke," she said, as she plopped on the couch, Harry and Ginny dropping down on either side of her.

"But you know who I love?" She asked. "You" she said bopping Harry's nose with her finger, "and you" she said doing the same to Ginny, "and you" she said putting her hands on Ginny's extremely pregnant belly "especially you," She cooed.

"You know who I love?" Ginny asked

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Drunk Hermione," she answered, grinning.

"Me too!" Hermione agreed, throwing her head on the back of the couch. "What would I do without such great friends like you?"

"Oh don't worry Mione, you would still have great friends, they would just be in the form of books," Harry snickered. She hit him with a pillow and they laughed.

The three friends laughed well into the night, and when Hermione went home she had all but forgotten about her new bodyguard. Though she did dream about a white ferret glaring at her from within a hamster ball.