Disclaimer: I own nothing except for plot and additional characters.

The Intern

Chapter One: Late

Ginny Weasley stepped into Madame Pudifoot's one dreary morning. The coffee shop was never too busy during this hour of the morning and Ginny preferred it this way. She stepped up to the counter where Madame Pudifoot greeted her. The Madame Pudifoot from her day was deceased and the woman she spoke to now was her daughter.

"Morning, Ginny!" she said brightly.

"Morning, Carrie. Could I get thirteen hazel-nut coffees to go?"

"Surely."

Carrie Pudifoot tapped her wand and hot steaming coffee poured from the spigot filling thirteen cups. She put the lid on all thirteen and put them in trays and handed it to Ginny.

"Ten Sickles, three Knuts, dear."

Ginny handed her the money and left the shop, Disapperating once she was on the street.

Ginny worked for a magazine called Charm, it gave tips for healthcare, gardens, recipes, homes, and world news. She'd been working there for quite some time, about a year after she graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The red-head walked through the lobby, said hello to the secretary and went into the office her meeting was held in. Once she stepped through the door everyone crowded around her taking their coffee.

"You're very welcome!" Ginny said sarcastically taking the last cup of coffee and sitting down between Dennis Creevey and Luna Lovegood. She took a roll of parchment and a Self-Ink quill.

"You're a doll Ginny!" her boss called to her. Jason Welsh was American and though Ginny had never been to America she had a good picture of what it was like because Jason talked about it all the time.

"Okay, down to business," Jason said. "Today we'll be getting a new intern and he should be on his way. He'll be working in the Garden Department with Ginny and Luna."

Ginny sucked on the end of her quill trying to hide her nervousness. She never had an intern before because she and Luna applied for the job together and suggested that there be a column devoted to the care of your garden. She looked at Luna. Her dirty blonde hair was up in a bun and her radish earrings dangled from her ears. Her gray eyes didn't show any hint of nervousness. Then again Luna wasn't the type to worry over ridiculous things.

"What's his name?" Ginny asked.

Jason stuck his tongue in his cheek, "Good question, Gin. Who interviewed him?" Jason surveyed the table.

"Me, sir," Pansy Parkinson, assistant manager, said. "Draco Malfoy is the name."

Ginny's eyebrows raised in alarm and she leaned forward on her chair.

"You're kidding right?" she asked. "You mean some other Draco Malfoy. I mean that is a common name?"

"The one and only," Pansy replied.

Pansy would hire Malfoy. Ginny did admit that she had changed from the cow she used to be at school but that didn't mean she was going to forget her old friends.

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" Dennis asked looking at his watch.

"Yeah where is the creep?" Holly Woodrow, of the Home and Style Department, asked.

Some people chuckled but Luna who looked very serious said, "He could've gotten stuck in an Invisible Net."

Several eyebrows rose.

"They hide out it Apparition pathways and get people stuck all the time. Should we check with the Ministry?" Luna asked Jason.

Jason laughed, "I don't think that's necessary. But we'll wait for him nonetheless."

So Draco Malfoy wanted to work at Charm. Ginny thought for sure he would work at the Ministry or play professional Quidditch. He didn't seem like the writing type but how would she know? She hadn't really seen Malfoy except for when she saw off her niece and nephew, Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley , on the Hogwarts Express. But even then it wasn't like she talked to him. The last time she did was probably ten years ago, during the battle of Hogwarts.

Time was ticking as the morning drew on with no sign of Malfoy.

"Maybe we should owl the Ministry?" Holly suggested after about an hour and a half of waiting. But no sooner had the words slipped from her lips when the door knob turned and the door swung open. And there he was. Tall as ever with the same pale blonde hair. It was shorter than Ginny remembered.

"So sorry I'm late. I was leaving in such a haste, I splinched myself," he said. He was wearing deep green robes so she couldn't tell what he splinched.

"It happens," Jason said merrily. Malfoy went over and took a seat right across from her. He looked surprised to see the red head.

To give herself something to do she asked Luna if she could borrow a scrunchie and put up her hair in the same kind of bun Luna wore and rolled up the sleeves on her black button down shirt.

"Well Mr. Malfoy, welcome to Charm Magazine. You'll be working with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. You'll intern with them for a week and then you can move into your own office but for the time being you can share with Ginny."

She glared daggers at Jason but he was completely oblivious as he was now introducing the rest of the staff. Ginny focused back to Malfoy. He gave a nod to each staff member and every time he did there seemed to be a flicker in his silver-grey eyes.

"He looks different doesn't he? He's certainly changed," Luna whispered in her ear.

"The end of the war changed everybody. I'm just surprised he wants to work at a magazine," Ginny replied.

Luna nodded.

"Well then," Jason said clapping his hands together, "back to work. Ginny, I've put an extra desk in your office. Mr. Malfoy if you would follow Ms. Weasley."

Everyone left chattering except Ginny stayed behind hoping to speak to Jason about the office arrangements but he went out the door talking to Pansy.

Luna touched Ginny's arm, "Well, I'm off to Hogwarts, Gin. Neville said he imported a very rare plant so I've been asked to investigate. Can you handle him on your own?" She jerked her head in Malfoy's direction.

Ginny cleared her throat, "Of course. I'll be fine. Say hello to Neville for me."

"Bye, Ginny," and she Apparated on the spot.

Now it was just Ginny and Malfoy. She gathered her coat and purse and headed for the door.

"Weasley," Malfoy said catching up to her.

"Malfoy."

She held the door open with her back, letting him out of the room first.

"My office is this way," she said pointing to the right.

They walked in silence down the hall filled with cubicles and office windows looking out at them. They stopped a little ways down at a door with a plaque that said Ginny Weasley in almost unreadable script.

Ginny said hello to Rick, Eileen and Dolly in the cubicles across from her.

"Is this the new intern?" Dolly asked snapping her gum. Dolly looked a lot like her sister Rita only she had dyed her hair platinum blonde and insisted on wearing leather everyday. Dolly blew a bubble and came over to shake Malfoy's hand.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, this is Dolly Skeeter. And over there is Rick Stanch and Eileen Bessmen."

The three of them greeted Malfoy and he smiled back at them, apparently not as confident as he had been in his youth.

Ginny opened her office door and let Malfoy inside first. When she stepped in she threw her purse on her desk and hung her cloak on the hook by the window.

"Well," she said looking at the empty desk on the opposite wall. She didn't really know what to say as that, "Well," lingered in the air.

Malfoy took off his cloak and laid it across his desk.

"So how are you?" he asked. "Not married to Potter I see."

Ginny raised her right brow and said, "Not married to Parkinson I see."

"We never had any chemistry," Malfoy said flatly.

"I see…Well er, I should probably tell you what you're doing here. Well we get a lot of mail asking us to examine rare plants and fungus and stuff like that. We interview lots of er, Herbology experts. And we give tips on how to keep your garden healthy and keeping out garden gnomes…Is there anything new you'd like to bring to Charm because we love trying new things."

Malfoy stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Actually Weasley, there is. I was studying plants in Panama. The rainforest is a mess because the Muggles keep messing with it."

"Well that's perfect! Before you start you're article though you might want to read the Charm handbook."

Ginny went around to her desk which at the moment was a mess. She sifted through papers and files until she found the Handbook and threw it across to Malfoy who expertly caught it. Like a seeker.

"Read it, memorize it. If you'll excuse me, I need to edit an article."

So far things were going quite well with Malfoy, he wasn't being rude for one and he did what he was told. He sat at his desk and started reading the Handbook. It was kind of weird but oddly satisfying to have him under her fist. Shaking the feeling away she cleared a space on her desk and looked through the mess for her article. She had written about Muggle plants and how to take care of them. She found her Editing Quill behind a picture of the DA from when she was in her fourth year. In that picture were a lot of people who had died fighting against the Dark Lord, like Colin, Dennis' brother, and her own brother Fred.

Not a day went by when she didn't miss Fred Weasley.

Ginny sighed and took the Editing Quill and began editing her article.