Hey guys! So obviously I don't own any of the characters or anything in this or anything from Harry Potter.

This is my first fanfiction in a while so i really hope I do a good job!

Just some background...

It is five years after the defeat of Voldemort, and the wizarding world is finally at peace. Many of the students of Hogwarts who were supposed to graduate the year of the war were offered the chance to retake the year. Few did, seeing as most of them felt they had learned quite enough to survive already. Among those who did were Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood and of course, Hermione Granger. However, Harry and Ron had gone on to working in the ministry as aurors instead of returning to school.

Now however, a new round of students were attending Hogwarts and those who moved on chose a lifestyle to live by. Neville Longbottom became a herbology teacher at Hogwarts, taking the place of professor Sprout. Blaise Zabini, along with Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, became ministry workers. And finally, Luna Lovegood became a journalist.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz

"Ugh! Stupid alarm!" Hermione mumbled angrily as she hit the off button and promptly sat up in her bed. While rubbing her eyes, she thought 'another day of work, at least its Friday". She then stumbled into her bathroom wearily.

Hermione lived in a small flat just outside of the town from the ministry. It was a good size, or at least she thought so, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, two bathrooms, and a terrace. She quite admired her choice, because of both location and look. The other upside to her flat was that she had direct floo network to both work and her friends and family's houses.

Hermione turned on the shower and stepped in. "Its only 6:00 I have time to relax a bit' she said to herself as she was washing her hair. Twenty minutes later, which is quite a bit longer than she normally takes, she rapped a towel around herself and stepped out, turning the shower off in the process. She brushed her now tamed hair, thanks to a handy spell, and walked out of the bathroom only to find a man in her room.

"Bloody hell!" She screamed as she saw Harry walking around her room, only to see him turn around, blush at the sight of her in a towel and walk steadily out of the room. "Harry what in merlins beard are you doing here so early?"

"Sorry 'Mione! Ginny just sent me here to invite you to dinner tonight." He yelled through the door. Harry and Ginny were engaged, and planning to be engaged for a ling period of time. They had officially moved in together and Ginny pretty much called all the shots.

"She's actually home?" Hermione asked. Ginny was a professional Quidditch player and was hardly ever home for dinner.

"Yea they have a week off." Harry replied gratefully, yet there was an odd strain in his voice.

"What's going on? She asked as she opened the door and motioned him towards the kitchen. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"Well..." He paused, backing up a few steps and putting his hands in the air. "Ron is coming." Hermione and Ron were still friends but after they dated for a while, things started to go south. Ron was way to controlling for her and jealous. Eventually, Hermione felt the need to end it, which resulted in Ron not talking to her long enough to find a new girl, Lavender Brown. Even so, Hermione and Ron were fine, so she was confused by Harry's worry. "And he is bringing Lavender" oh, there it was, it all made sense now. Although Hermione was no longer jealous of Lavender, she still, for a lack of a better term, hated her guts.

"Well as long as she keeps her nose out of my business, I don't think it will be a problem." Harry sighed with relief, and Hermione knew it was because he wasn't a huge fan of Lavender either. "What time?"

"Thanks 'Mione, you are the best. " he kissed her cheek then added "around 7"

"Okay see you there. I'd love to talk but i have to go to work." She said, packing her bag and grabbing a coffee.

"How is it going over there by the way? In the law enforcement department? Are you still working that case with Zabini?" He asked while escorting her to the fireplace.

"No we just finished that one. Its a shame really, he was wonderful to work with. I should be getting a new case today, but i really have to go we can talk about this later, stay as long as you want, bye!" And with that, she stepped in the fireplace, grabbed the floo powder and said "ministry of magic, Hermione Granger's office"

Although she played if off like this dinner was no big deal, she was actually really worried. She couldn't stand Lavender and she really wasn't sure if she could be in her presence without hexing her. She also didn't particularly like the idea of being the only single party. She was still going to go of course, she had already promised Harry. Plus the fact that she was not going to let such childish things influence her decisions.

When she walked up to her desk she found a file, which she assumed to be her new case, with a note scribbled on top.

Ms. Granger,

Sorry for the unprofessional note, but i had to rush over to a client. Your next case is in the file underneath. I would like to warn you it is very serious and extremely confidential. You are going to have to work closely with the Minister and your new partner. Your partner as well as the case information is all in the file.

Hope you enjoy,

Ben.

She automatically got excited. Her job was a mixture of many things, but working alongside the Minister was a new thing for her. She was anxious to see her new partner, but she was also secretly dreading the amount of sleep she was about to lose.

"Hey Hermione" called Blaise from her doorway.

"Blaise, hey how are you?"

"Good and you?"

"Good. Ben just assigned me a new case" she was secretly hoping that Blaise would say he also received one so that they were working together again.

"That's great. Are you working this one alone?" And with that question, her hopes dropped.

"No I'm working with..." Her voice trailed off as she opened and read the file. She sighed in disappointment. "Malfoy" she stated bitterly. She was doing so well to mot end up working with him.

"He's not that bad" Blaise chuckled. "I'm pretty close with him actually." He winked at her. Hermione had told Blaise she was looking for someone and her told her that he could find her something. He was joking, but now it was their inside joke.

"Talking about me are you?" Came a steely, arrogant voice that could only belong to Draco Malfoy.

"Actually yes" Blaise chuckled as he saw Hermione's nose wrinkle at Draco's arrogance. "You and Hermione are working on a case together."

"Are we?" He voice suddenly lost all malice and his eyebrows shot up. "Well this should be interesting."

Please give me as much feedback as possible thanks!