The Assignment

Summary: Hermione's dreams come true when the Minister of Magic offers Hermione the position of WICCA (Wizarding Intelligence Classification Center Agent), but under one condition. She must simultaneously supervise and extract information from none other than Draco Malfoy. How close will she have to get to the Slytherin Prince to get what she needs? Dramione.

A/N: Reviews/critiques welcome! I can take it. :)

Chapter 1: The Arrival

"Ms. Granger. Mr. Shacklebolt needs to see you in his office as soon as possible."

Surprised by the sudden voice, Hermione looked up from the file she was going over to see a young blonde woman in a tailored business suit, holding a clipboard tightly to her chest. Maggie had been an intern at the Ministry of Magic for a few months now. She was a sweet girl and seemed to be very eager to prove herself, but she was also painfully shy. Hermione offered her a small smile, raking her fingers through her hair to comb it. That had been a habit of hers ever since her years at Hogwarts. Since then, she had visited a magical hairdresser who managed to fix the bushy mop for good, but the bad habit still lingered.

Maggie shifted her weight awkwardly, eyeing the brunette's tired appearance. Hesitantly, she asked "Is everything alright, Miss?"

"Oh yes! I'm perfectly fine," Hermione assured the young girl, pushing herself to her feet. She winced as her muscles resisted her movements and did a quick stretch to get her blood flowing. How long have I been sitting down? She wondered. To the intern, Hermione said, "And thank you; I'll get to the Minister straight away."

The blonde nodded, still frowning. "Good luck," she said in a voice that was barely audible before shuffling away.

Hermione took a deep breath, checked that her clothing was still wrinkle-free, and then headed up to Shacklebolt's office.

When she reached the ornate door with the giant golden "M," she hesitated only a moment before raising her fist to knock. Before her knuckles met the wood, the door swung open and she was greeted by the Minister of Magic himself. He towered over her, and she had to take a step back to look up at him.

"Ms. Granger, please come in," he said with a smile, his deep voice sounding cheerful. Hermione relaxed slightly, feeling glad she wasn't in any kind of trouble.

She followed the tall man into his office and closed the door behind them. He took his seat behind his desk while she sank into one of the plush chairs arranged in front of it. "What did you need to see me about, Sir?"

"We have an assignment for you," he said simply, gesturing towards a smallish folder on his desk.

"An assignment?" Hermione asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up a bit. This could be the break she had been waiting for! Her goal was to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a WICCA (that is, Wizarding Intelligence Classification Center Agent), but the minister had insisted that she (along with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley) climb the career ladder just like everyone else. Although her two best friends had complained endlessly about the "unfairness" of it, Hermione couldn't have agreed more. It was only fair to not give them special treatment. She reached for the folder, but the Minister quickly planted his own hand down on top of it, and her eyes shot up to his face in confusion.

"Here's the deal," he said seriously. "If you go through with this assignment, I will grant you your desired position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement like I granted Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley positions as Aurors a few months ago. However, if you do not accept, I will be forced to obliviate your memory of this meeting and you will not be allowed another chance. Is that understood?"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up at his last words. She gulped visibly and nodded, "I understand, Sir."

"Good," he said and slid the folder over to her.

She opened the folder and gazed down into the expressionless face of none other than Draco Malfoy. She blanched, fingers tightening around the stack of papers in her hand. "What-?"

"Mr. Malfoy has recently taken up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts."

"What?" Hermione blurted in her surprise. "I mean – Why?"

"Headmistress McGonagall seems to think he's qualified enough for the job. This arrangement also makes it much easier to keep an eye on him. The professors obviously have enough on their plate with running their own classes. And our more seasoned Aurors are a bit busy with the recent outbreaks in Azkaban. That is where you come in, Ms. Granger. We need someone to stay at Hogwarts to keep an eye on Mr. Malfoy and make sure he's as trustworthy as he claims to be. If he is suspected to be withholding information from us, you will be required to extract this information."

Hermione frowned down at his file for a second before speaking, "So, I'm to do this undercover?"

"Yes and no," the minister said carefully. "Mr. Malfoy has already been made aware that he will have to be kept under some light surveillance temporarily in order to keep the position. It was one of the conditions of his employment. However, he must not know about any other objectives."

"I understand."

"Good. Let's begin the briefing."

Hermione walked up the steps to the main doors of Hogwarts, clutching her wand in one hand and letting her luggage follow in the air behind her. When she reached the top step, the doors opened to reveal Minerva McGonagall standing in the entryway and looking every bit as stern and proper as she did in Hermione's school days.

"Welcome back, Miss Granger," she said kindly, nodding her head in greeting.

"Thanks, Headmistress," Hermione smiled and followed the woman into the Entrance Hall quietly. The doors shut as she passed the foyer.

"I'll show you to your room," the Headmistress said and led the brunette the short distance up to the first floor and down the corridor. "If you remember, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom is here on the first floor. The professor's office is right across the corridor, and the living quarters are just next to it. A room for you has been added on to Mr. Malfoy's quarters."

Hermione glanced at the portrait leading to the rooms in discussion and raised an eyebrow. "We're going to share rooms?"

"Is that a problem?" the woman asked in a tone which said it wouldn't have mattered if it was. "This arrangement assures that someone will be in close proximity to Mr. Malfoy at all times. I hope the two of you can put your past quarrels behind you and behave professionally during your stay. After all, you've been out of Hogwarts for nearly seven years now."

Hermione nodded, looking around at the tapestries. "It's been a while."

McGonagall cracked a small smile at her former student. "And you've grown into quite the young woman," she commented, almost sounding proud. A small glimmer shone in her eyes, and she quickly made to dab at them with a handkerchief which had appeared out of thin air.

Hermione grinned and walked forward, wrapping her arms around the shoulders of the older woman. "Thank you, Professor. For everything."

The Headmistress returned the hug gently, sniffling.

"Ahem."

The two women broke apart gently and turned to see Draco Malfoy standing awkwardly to the side.

McGonagall was instantly composed. "Mr. Malfoy! As you know, Ms. Granger will be your overseer for the time being. Give her the password to your quarters." She then turned to Hermione again, "If you remember, breakfast is at 8 AM. You're welcome to join the staff table while you're with us." The woman smiled once again and nodded her head towards the both of them before walking away.

The tension in the air rose a little bit, and Hermione suddenly felt awkward.

"We meet again," Hermione said, trying to appear cool and collected. She held out her hand.

He merely glanced at it before walking up to a portrait of a snake coiled around an apple. "Save it, Granger. We aren't going to be friends."

Her mouth formed a thin line, and she curled her fingers back into her palm before lowering her arm. "Alright, then."

"Adamo," Draco said to the snake, and the portrait swung open to reveal an entrance.

Hermione followed him inside at a safe distance. The instant they crossed the threshold, the embers in the fireplace burst into flames and bathed the room in a warm hue that complemented the beige and white theme nicely. "Hm," Hermione hummed to herself appreciatively. In front of the fire stood two plump-looking couches with a long table between them. Off to the right of the room was a small kitchenette, holding nothing more than a fridge, a stove-topped oven, and some cabinets. On the right wall, there were three wooden doors – all identical.

"The one in the middle is the lavatory, and the room closest to the door is mine."

Hermione snapped her attention back to the former Slytherin, who was currently removing his shoes by the door - a rather domestic action that Hermione found incredibly odd to witness. She hadn't really gotten a good look at him out in the corridor, but here in the quiet, fire-lit room, she took a moment to examine the subject of her assignment. He had definitely grown taller – maybe a few inches or more, she couldn't be sure. His hair was the same eerie shade of white-gold, but now it fell around his face in a messy yet sophisticated way that you'd only really see in fashion magazines. Go figure, she thought, realizing all she ever did with her own hair was brush it.

"If you're to be my nanny, you'll need to be up when I am. I'm not about to come knocking on your door every morning."

"No need," Hermione said tiredly, too tired from the train ride to respond to Malfoy's sass. "I can wake up on my own." With that, she turned on her heel and walked towards her bedroom.

It was nicer than she expected. Aiming her wand, she gently set her trunk down at the foot of the beautiful queen-sized bed. Her color scheme was a very Gryffindor-esque burgundy and gold. She even had a full sized wardrobe and a vanity. She heard water running in the bathroom, and decided not to shower tonight. The less she had to interact with the moody blonde, the better. Raising her wand, she cast a few protective wards around the living room and bedroom doors, including an alarm which would wake her up if Malfoy tried to slip away without her knowledge. After slipping her wand underneath her pillow, she changed into a silky red nightgown and slipped into the magically-warmed bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Draco Malfoy splashed cool water onto his face from the sink, soothing his rampant thoughts a little bit. He glanced up and saw his image in the mirror looking back with a blank expression, like always.

Why did it have to be Granger? he wondered for the 11th time. Hell, even Weasley would have been a better option.

He just didn't think he could handle this much embarrassment. She was everything he was raised to think of as inferior. And yet, she had always insisted on making him look like a complete idiot. She, the least pure being he knew, was able to surpass even the purebloods in school. And now, it seemed, she had surpassed him yet again. She was going to be his babysitter for an undetermined amount of time. If he didn't need acceptance back into the magical world . . . if he didn't need to prove he could be trusted . . . he would never have agreed to this.

Draco sighed and turned towards the shower.

I suppose they're right by choosing her, though, he thought reluctantly. If anything would make them trust me, it'd be putting up with her for Merlin-knows-how-long without incident.

As he removed his clothing and stepped into the steaming shower of water, his mind wandered to their meeting out in the corridor. Granger had certainly filled out, and was no longer the same twiggy girl he knew at school. She was a woman, with curves which were apparent even underneath her official ministry dress robes. Her hair had looked so strangely long and smooth, a stark contrast to the former rat's nest she had sported years ago. He had been taken off guard, both by her appearance and by her attempt at a friendly greeting. He had to shoot her down, though. He didn't need her to patronize him. He was a Malfoy and a pureblood. He didn't even want her presence, let alone her friendship. The less interaction he had with her, the better of they both would be.

A/N: Good? Bad? Should I continue? Let me know!