Gah! I'm SO sorry I mixed up and put a chapter from Lupin's story here. How embarrassing! Thank you so much to everyone who sent in a message to let me know - I have so many chapters in my Doc manager that I've been labeling them in diff languages & selected Tres instead of Trois. Here's the right one :)

Hermione and Draco travelled the world for well over a year, seeing just about every kind of person and creature there was to be seen. Every day they looked forward to getting out and seeing who else they could meet and how else they could help. It wasn't easy, but they loved their work. A lot of the times they'd end up in places a lot like the first village in southern Germany – the people were grateful for the help and worked hard to do their part. Normally people took better to Hermione than to Draco, for obvious reasons, but they treated them both with the upmost respect. Their success rate and the speed of their success were double that of other teams much larger than their own. Draco suspected it was because they ended up not only providing potions and the usual means of help but they boosted moral and hope. Well, Hermione did more so than he; she seemed to be able to connect and understand every one they met.

Other times weren't so nice. There would be people that thought they were there simply to serve, and were determined to let everyone else do the hard work. Others thrived on the chaos and destitution, using the towns for numerous illegal activities, victimizing anyone that crossed their path. There were many men who were too interested in Hermione for anyone's comfort. Some of them were harmless, but others could get over the top. He always kept her within hearing range, and then within eye sight after a group of wizards involved in muggle drug dealings cornered her. Their leader managed to steal a kiss and cop a feel before Hermione broke free and fought back. Draco arrived soon after, hearing her screams, both to help and prevent her from killing someone. Just like all the others they encountered like this group, they were quickly put into a body bind, stunned and sent off with a portkey to the authorities.

Just as common were the people who simply despised them simple because of who they were. New laws in place made it possible for someone to be arrested simply for expressing extreme pure-blood racism or support for Voldemort. But that didn't stop many of the witches and wizards they'd met from harassing Hermione in every way they could, being careful to walk the line to avoid breaking the law and giving Hermione the right to attack. Her only protection was Draco's insistent presence. His bloodline was still considered pure, and his father's reputation made them all weary of him. It was even more common for Hermione's presence being the only protection afforded to Draco. Everyone knew his family ties, and many either didn't know or refused to believe his role in the war and change in beliefs. More than once he was outright attacked with curses, punches, spit, screams of accusations, and never once did he fight back. He was determined to prove he'd changed, so Hermione did all of the fighting for him. Seeing someone they knew had been personally hurt by the Malfoy family defend him so often and quickly was usually enough to slowly convince them to stop, though a few remained suspicious. It was almost laughable how many middle aged women implied they knew she was some sort of sex hostage and had plans to break her free.

What had started out as a tentative truce had quickly grown into a strong friendship as they learned to trust one another, each always there to protect the other from the less than pleasant aspects, namely people, of their work. Add that to living in seclusion the way they did and it wasn't long before they began to trust one another with much more than just their wellbeing. Despite being former enemies from two different worlds, they found it easy to confide in each other; much more than they'd ever confided in any of the others in their lives. Maybe it was, in some twisted way, because of their past it was so easy. Either way it wasn't uncommon for then to sit together a few nights a week, sipping firewhisky and talking.

They talked about work and Hogwarts – Hermione openly sharing her need to excel for fear of becoming useless to her friends and losing them, and becoming invisible like she'd been in the muggle world. Draco openly shared his frustration at always being second best and losing to someone he'd considered beneath him. He mentioned the heat he got from home for losing to her alluding to physical pain. It was not long after that they shared childhood memories. Hermione's were happy, but lonely; he learned that she'd become such an avid reader because her parents worked such long hours and she had no siblings so her main companions were books. He also learned how her love for books and the comfort they brought also added to her loneliness, no one wanted to play with the girl that always read, or the one that always knew the answers, or the one that was always so silent you forgot she was there. Hermione learned that Draco understood her loneliness better than most; even though he was always surrounded by people, they were only interested in his status and money, and knowing that was just as bad as being invincible. Where her parents had loved her dearly, but were borderline negligent in their frequent absence, his were always present but cold and in his father's case, cruel. Hermione was, sadly, not surprised to hear how brutally he would physically abuse his son or how it wasn't uncommon for Draco to hear the sounds of his own mother's rape. But neither ever said something to the other in an attempt to lean comfort, and Hermione kept her face blank as she listened to stories of his childhood, instinctively he wouldn't want her comfort or pity. They both just needed someone who would listen and maybe, just maybe, understand.

One night, Hermione found herself telling him about her break up with Ron. Everything from Harry's confrontation, to moving out, to physically confronting the Weasleys, to screaming at the Minister, to coming here to work with him. In her mind, she kept telling herself to stop and be quiet as she listened to herself tell him every last detail. She ordered herself to pull it together when she realized she was crying. But she had no control. It was like someone else had taken over her body, and she was trapped watching it. Draco remained silent the whole time, not wanting to give her a chance to rein herself back in. He'd realized something must have happened for her to be here, and that it must have been about the Weasel by the way she never spoke about him. But even he was shocked by the whole thing. He surprised them both with his anger at Ron and how adamantly he praised her for her actions, even going so far as to say he wished he'd been there to help her.

Confronted by Hermione's gaze, he knew he had to explain why he'd so suddenly broken their silent pact to simply be there and listen to each other. He'd been wrestling with wanting to share his story and fearing her reaction, but knew now was the time to do it. He told her about his arranged marriage to Astoria Greengrass, who was obviously less than pleased with the whole affair. But as a pure-blood supremacist of the truest kind, she'd gone through with it and become perhaps the coldest wife in history. He had done the right thing, trying to make the marriage work, if only of the sake of their young children, but she simply pushed him away.

A few months before coming to work with Hermione, he'd come home to find Astoria with another man in their bed. It was obvious she'd wanted to be caught. Then, while in the act, she proudly told him how she'd been fucking anything with a dick just for the chance to further sully the Malfoy name. She knew he'd ungratefully betrayed his father, and was stupid enough to think that such scum like mudbloods was actually worthwhile. The blows kept coming when he found out that not only were none of his children his own but that despite their age they, and just about everyone else in their social circle, knew it too and had been taught to regard their biological fathers as their 'true daddies'. It certainly explained why the toddlers never seemed to want anything to do with him. By the end of that week, Draco had kicked them all out of the manner and filed for divorce. By the end of the month, the papers were signed and Draco was once again left alone in the world with only his mother for companionship.

That night Draco and Hermione shed more than a few tears for themselves and each other. They hugged each other, sharing and taking whatever comfort they could gleam from the tight embrace that lasted well after they fell asleep. Since that night, they only grew closer in every way possible and while Draco never had a single light bulb moment, like the other men, there was no denying he regarded Hermione as a little sister, only closer, and loved her more than he'd ever loved his wife.

Their close relationship was already raising eyebrows in their occasional correspondence home and baffled every one they met along the way. They knew they'd both face much more adversity when the time came to return home, but neither was too concerned. Having been so firmly protected and supported by 'her three musketeers' was finally teaching Hermione to value herself more. It was amazing what a huge difference such a short time under their influence made one her and Draco easily picked up on the significance of her friendship with the men, even though she had yet to figure it out herself.

The most important thing was that Hermione wanted to remain close to Draco, public opinion be damned, and Draco was determined to never lose his new found bond with Hermione. She'd shown him kindness, forgiveness and loyalty like he'd new seen before. She'd been the only one to extend the companionship he so desperately sought for.

Draco may not have ever experienced a true 'light-bulb' moment, but he knew that Hermione had earned a level of trust and loyalty that rivaled that of his mother. He was determined to show the affection that had blossomed, and proudly play the protective big brother role for the remainder of their time working together, and continue to uphold it when the time came to return home.

Thanks so much for following the series! I'll now be returning my focus to Accountant's Assistant, please follow along. :)

Reviews make the pen flow faster...