"Stop it, Viktor!" Hermione screams as Krum attempts to strangle Draco's pale neck. Draco's gray eyes are wide with shock as he tries to unhinge Krum's fingers. "Stop this. Right now!" She screams again, but her words don't seem to penetrate Viktor's rather thick skull.

She draws her wand from the depths of her robe and barks out, "Flipendo. Immobulus." Viktor is sent flying backwards, landing hard on the stone floor. He's immobile, sprawled on the ground, but his cold eyes are still locked onto Draco.

Hermione turns to Draco, watching as he massages his red throat. "What on earth did you do to Viktor to cause a reaction like that?" She asks.

Draco scoffs. "I didn't do anything."

"If you don't tell me, I'll lift the Immobulus spell and let Viktor attack you all over again."

"I don't need your protection, Granger. I can defend myself."

"Yes. You seemed to be doing quite an excellent job of it before I stepped in. You're a wizard, Draco. Maybe next time you should try using magic instead of attempting to beat a champion quidditch player in a bloody wrestling match." Draco isn't small by any standard, but his lean muscle has nothing against the bulk of Viktor.

"I was just waiting for the right opportunity," Draco mutters.

Hermione inhales sharply. It's day one, and she's already regretting hiring Draco. He's the same stubborn brat he was so many years ago. She steps forward, forcing Draco to meet her hard stare. She's the boss, and either he can do what she says, or he can get fired. "Of course you were. Now do you want to tell me what the hell is going on between you and Viktor or do you want me to unfreeze him? He's a good friend of mine. I don't plan on leaving him a statue for the rest of the day, so let's get this matter settled now. We're all supposed to be working together."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"And why not?"

"Because it's none of your bloody business!" There's something flickering beneath Draco's harsh, angry eyes. Remorse? Guilt? Hermione can't place it, but she suddenly feels unsteady. Whatever happened between Draco and Viktor is obviously a lot more important than she imagined.

"Draco," she says, trying to gather her words. She doesn't want this situation to get out of hand, but if Draco continues to fly off the handle, she'll be tempted to spell him into submission. Let Viktor and Draco sit like stone statues while she fixes the pixies in Bulgaria. It seems like the easiest option. "You have a few options. One: you can tell me what happened, and I'll try to help. Two: I'll unfreeze Viktor and pray that you two manage to talk things out yourself. Three: You can step right back into that fireplace and never set foot in my office again."

Draco's eyes are blazing with subdued fury. His mouth is set in a tight, bitter line, and his hand is tightly clutching his wand. "This isn't my fault," he says.

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

Draco glances towards Viktor. "If you want the story, ask him. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to work on the case." His voice lowers, and Draco leans over to stare Hermione straight in the eye. "But I swear, if he so much as lays a hand on me again, I'll jinx the bloody bugger with a lot more than an Immobulus spell."

Hermione carefully considers his words. Viktor did start the fight after all; he was the one who launched himself at Draco as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace. But if Viktor hates Draco, than Hermione trusts that he has a good reason for it. It's a gamble, and Hermione hopes luck is in her favor. "Fine," she says before flicking her wand in Krum's direction.

Viktor jumps to his feet as soon as he's unfrozen, large hands clenched into tight fists. He's staring at Draco like he's Lord Voldermort himself. But he doesn't move. Instead, after a final glare, he turns his gaze to Hermione. "What about you, Viktor? Do you have an explanation for this ridiculousness?"

"I'm afraid that's a private matter between Draco and I."

Hermione stands there, stunned. What's so bloody important that they're both keeping her in the dark? "Really?" She asks, exasperated. "You really can't tell me what's going on?"

"No," Viktor responds.

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

"Accept it and shut up," Draco says.

It's the last straw. Hermione spins back around to face Draco, stalking towards him. "I am your boss Draco. You don't tell me to shut up. You don't tell me to do anything." They're standing so closely together that Hermione can see Draco's chest rising and falling, can feel the heat coming from his body. "Viktor might not be under my jurisdiction, but you sure as hell are, so either you tell me what's going on or you can get fired."

Draco opens his mouth, but then closes it. His neck is flushed, and Hermione can see the anger flowing out of him. Good, she thinks, let him say something stupid, and then I'll have a reason to fire him.

But it's Viktor that speaks, not Draco. "Don't fire him."

"And why not?" Hermione asks, finally pulling her gaze from Draco, turning around to face Viktor.

"Because," Viktor says, the words out coming slowly. "The matter between Draco and I is personal. Don't fire him over it. I'm sure we'll manage to work together, putting personal matters aside for now. You don't need to involve yourself in it." His eyes darken. "One day, he and his family will pay for what they've done."

"All right. I'll look over these reports and see you in the morning," Hermione says, shoving an enormous amount of parchment into her bag.

"There's a muggle hotel just down the block," Viktor responds. "You and Draco should be more than comfortable there, but if you prefer, there's a little wizarding inn about twenty miles out."

"I'm sure the hotel will be fine. Thank you." There's a thick tension hanging in the air. "Draco," Hermione says. "Wait for me outside. I'd like a private word with Viktor."

Something flickers in Draco's gray eyes, but he says, "Okay," and leaves the room.

The day went by surprisingly smoothly after Draco and Viktor tucked their wands away. It was obvious that they were uncomfortable around each other, but they put their feud aside and were coolly civil towards each other while working on the case. It quickly became apparent that finding a way to confine the pixies was more than enough stress for one day, and Hermione was almost grateful for that. But still, she was hoping to reconnect with Viktor on this business trip, and somehow Draco has managed to burn that plan to the ground without even trying.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Viktor says, speaking first. "About earlier."

"It's all right. I just...won't you tell me what happened between you two?"

Viktor sighs. He looks at Hermione with bare, honest eyes. "I can't. It's complicated, and to be honest, I'd rather not dig up old ghosts."

"You said it involved your families. Is-"

"Hermione. I don't want to talk about it. Please accept that."

Sometimes Hermione has trouble knowing when to keep her mouth shut, and more often than not, it's because her curiosity overpowers her good sense. Whatever happened with Viktor and Draco was obviously serious, and if it involved their families- well, knowing how sweet and loving Draco's family is, it must have been something awful. "Okay. I'll stop pushing. I was just hoping we'd be able to relax and have some fun while I'm over here. But everything just feels so tense now."

And then, Viktor smiles, warmth flooding into those dark eyes. "You thought we'd relax and have fun with two thousand mutated pixies?"

Hermione blushes. "I meant spending time together after work. Catching up. Maybe grabbing some food."

"And I would love to do that, Hermione," Viktor says. "What about now? Are you hungry?"

"I shouldn't. To be honest, I'm completely knackered. I just want to get to the hotel and go to sleep. But maybe tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have something to celebrate. I'm planning on getting those pixies, one way or the other."

Viktor looks slightly disappointed, but he smiles anyways. "Okay. Tomorrow then."

The hotel is over twenty stories tall, huge by wizarding standards. There aren't many magical inns or hotels because most witches and wizards can just apparate home or bring along a magical, pocket-sized cabin that inflates with the flick of a wand. But Hermione finds it's easiest to stay on site while working on a case. It's much easier than travelling back and forth, messing with time zones and such.

"Looks expensive," Draco says as they walk inside. He looks hesitant, fingers lightly grazing his wand from within his robes. "Maybe I'll just apparate home."

Is he worried about money, Hermione thinks. He already mentioned that he had to sell a lot of things before he could get back on his feet, but she didn't realize money was such a concern for him. Perhaps after living his young life of luxury, he still hasn't adjusted to just scraping by. She almost feels bad for him. After all, it's not his fault that his parents spoiled him as a child.

She speaks without thinking. "Oh, don't worry about the expense. The ministry pays for it."

"Really?" Draco looks skeptical. "When I was working for Magical Games and Sports, they said we could either apparate home at the end of the day or pay for a hotel ourselves."

The ministry was always rather stingy. "Yes, well in our department, they pay for our accommodations. I'll just send them the bill when we get back, and they'll give me a full refund. I guess it's just different for our deparment. You need to be well rested when handling important matters."

"Quidditch isn't important?"

"Grindylow speed fishing isn't important."

"That is a bit of a silly sport, isn't it?"

"Utterly pointless."

And then- Draco smiles. And Hermione smiles back, for some reason pleased that she's made Draco feel better. "So it's settled then. I'll just go get us some rooms, and I'll get a refund from the ministry later on."

As Hermione walks towards the reception desk, a knot tightens in her stomach, because the truth is, the ministry doesn't pay for hotels. They consider accommodations an unnecessary expense and expect their employees to apparate home after a day of work. So as Hermione takes out her one, muggle credit card, she wonders why on earth she just lied to Draco. And why on earth she's about to pay for his hotel room.

Because both of those decisions were extremely illogical.

A/N – Thanks for reading! Please review- it makes me write faster : )