The Other Half is Luck
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Draco/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
6
Views:
8,293
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Draco/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
6
Views:
8,293
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I make any money or other profit from writing these stories, only personal enjoyment
Chapter 5
Hermione decided to interview the witnesses in the order they appeared on her list. Malfoy was ninth. She thought that was fair- it wasn’t like she was avoiding him, and though she wondered what it would be like to see him after so many years, she wasn’t afraid of it. She just wanted to get a full handle on the case, first. Really understand the case, and all that.
Her first interview was with the officers who had initially arrested Dominic Morus for possession of Dark objects. Next, she found and interviewed two of the muggles who had been sold the cursed items, one of whom was still in St. Mungo’s. Then it was an expert on Dark magic, and a few more people from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. If this process took just a bit longer than it should have, Hermione decided it was because she was being thorough. Still, one Tuesday morning, she found herself sitting in one of the small interview rooms with a dry mouth, waiting for the secretary to bring in Draco Malfoy.
Hermione stood, determined not to look nervous, and to appear like she was in control of the situation. You ARE in control here, she reminded herself. The door clicked open, and the secretary popped her head in.
‘Draco Malfoy, for his interview.’
‘Send him in.’ Hermione took a breath, and Draco walked into the room.
‘Granger?’ He stopped short, looking at her in surprise. ‘You’re a lawyer?’
‘Try not to sound too shocked, Malfoy,’ she responded, mentally rolling her eyes. All her nervousness evaporated; Malfoy, for all his new interest in muggles, was still Malfoy. ‘Please, have a seat.’
He sat, still looking at her like she had three heads. It was slightly unnerving, but then again, he had always been flinging insults at her in school, so the silence was an improvement. Draco, though Hermione had no way of knowing it, felt totally flabbergasted by the presence of his old school enemy, and was mentally berating himself for saying something so monumentally stupid as his opening line. He was a Malfoy, after all, and he should have had a witty riposte, if nothing else. At least Hermione had known that she would be meeting with him; he felt like he had been blindsided by a thestral.
Hermione sat as well, and opened up her folder. When she looked at Malfoy again, his expression had returned to the impassive mask she remembered from their last years of school. She began by asking him about his knowledge of the case.
‘Morus is a nasty piece of work,’ Draco began. ‘He seems to have no regard for laws, either magical or human. Definitely has a special hatred for muggles.’ And there it was, hanging in the air between them: the name that had ruled their childhoods, had caused them to be enemies, had killed so many people. Voldemort. ‘Not a Death Eater, though, Morus seems to be an independent psychopath.’
Hermione exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. It was oddly comforting to hear Draco Malfoy, of all people, refer to the Death Eaters in such a dismissive tone of voice. Guiltily, she wondered if he still had the Dark Mark. No, she firmly thought to herself, it doesn’t matter. That is the past, and the man in front of me has made such an effort to make good with his second chance. I’m not who I was when I was 16, he probably isn’t either.
The rest of the interview proceeded professionally, as if they were two strangers. In effect, Hermione mused to herself, they WERE complete strangers. Nonetheless, Hermione felt a little sigh of relief when the interview was complete. Standing from the table, she held out her hand.
‘Thank you for your time, Mr. Malfoy.’ He took her hand, and continued to look at it as he shook. ‘We’ll be in touch about another meeting.’
‘Draco.’ He said, making eye contact at last.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Draco. You can call me Draco.’ And with a strange look on his face, he turned around and left the room.
‘Draco.’ Hermione repeated to herself. Utterly bemused at his strange goodbye, she sat down again in her chair. Rather than gathering her files, as she normally did after an interview, she sat still, and reflected on the man, Draco.
One thing was for certain: he was not the boy Malfoy. Oh, there was no doubt about his ancestry; the shock of white blond hair was enough to mark his parentage from 100 metres, and he still had the aristocratic bearing he had always had, but this was no foul-mouthed bully. Draco the man was tall and confident, and anyone could tell he was well-born, by his dress sense if nothing else. He was polite but not meek, and still intimidated many of the people in his department. Hermione had never been afraid of his words or his family, but in his adult presence, she could sense why people both admired and feared him. This was a feeling she had experienced herself, although she had a feeling that for Draco Malfoy, there was still more fear and loathing than awed respect.
Though it brought a little bit of pink to her cheeks, she also had to admit to herself that he had grown into quite a handsome man. The pinched and pale look of his youth had given way to angular, patrician features, agreeably situated atop a tall and trim frame. His hair was neat, parted on the side and long enough to brush across his forehead, although Hermione could tell he took care in brushing it. All of this had been set off by a stylish three-piece grey pinstriped suit. For some reason, Hermione never found a moment to be surprised by his muggle clothing. Of course, muggle dress was encouraged (though not required) under Kingsley Shacklebolt’s leadership, but it looked surprisingly natural on Draco.
Hermione shook herself out of this line of thought, and began putting her notes into her folder, mentally scolding herself for being distracted thusly. It wouldn’t do for her to be getting all gooey about someone who was an important part of a case, and so she vowed to be nothing but the most professional during the entire trial. If Malfoy- no, Draco’s name suddenly appeared nearer the top of her ‘interview again’ list, it was only because he was an expert. Of course.
___________________________________________________________
Ok, so a slightly longer time to upload there. I lost where this story was going for a little while, and it took me some time to find it again. The end of the road is clear, but the path is a little murky, so it will take some time to get to the big wedding of the story description! As always, however, please read and review!
Her first interview was with the officers who had initially arrested Dominic Morus for possession of Dark objects. Next, she found and interviewed two of the muggles who had been sold the cursed items, one of whom was still in St. Mungo’s. Then it was an expert on Dark magic, and a few more people from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. If this process took just a bit longer than it should have, Hermione decided it was because she was being thorough. Still, one Tuesday morning, she found herself sitting in one of the small interview rooms with a dry mouth, waiting for the secretary to bring in Draco Malfoy.
Hermione stood, determined not to look nervous, and to appear like she was in control of the situation. You ARE in control here, she reminded herself. The door clicked open, and the secretary popped her head in.
‘Draco Malfoy, for his interview.’
‘Send him in.’ Hermione took a breath, and Draco walked into the room.
‘Granger?’ He stopped short, looking at her in surprise. ‘You’re a lawyer?’
‘Try not to sound too shocked, Malfoy,’ she responded, mentally rolling her eyes. All her nervousness evaporated; Malfoy, for all his new interest in muggles, was still Malfoy. ‘Please, have a seat.’
He sat, still looking at her like she had three heads. It was slightly unnerving, but then again, he had always been flinging insults at her in school, so the silence was an improvement. Draco, though Hermione had no way of knowing it, felt totally flabbergasted by the presence of his old school enemy, and was mentally berating himself for saying something so monumentally stupid as his opening line. He was a Malfoy, after all, and he should have had a witty riposte, if nothing else. At least Hermione had known that she would be meeting with him; he felt like he had been blindsided by a thestral.
Hermione sat as well, and opened up her folder. When she looked at Malfoy again, his expression had returned to the impassive mask she remembered from their last years of school. She began by asking him about his knowledge of the case.
‘Morus is a nasty piece of work,’ Draco began. ‘He seems to have no regard for laws, either magical or human. Definitely has a special hatred for muggles.’ And there it was, hanging in the air between them: the name that had ruled their childhoods, had caused them to be enemies, had killed so many people. Voldemort. ‘Not a Death Eater, though, Morus seems to be an independent psychopath.’
Hermione exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. It was oddly comforting to hear Draco Malfoy, of all people, refer to the Death Eaters in such a dismissive tone of voice. Guiltily, she wondered if he still had the Dark Mark. No, she firmly thought to herself, it doesn’t matter. That is the past, and the man in front of me has made such an effort to make good with his second chance. I’m not who I was when I was 16, he probably isn’t either.
The rest of the interview proceeded professionally, as if they were two strangers. In effect, Hermione mused to herself, they WERE complete strangers. Nonetheless, Hermione felt a little sigh of relief when the interview was complete. Standing from the table, she held out her hand.
‘Thank you for your time, Mr. Malfoy.’ He took her hand, and continued to look at it as he shook. ‘We’ll be in touch about another meeting.’
‘Draco.’ He said, making eye contact at last.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Draco. You can call me Draco.’ And with a strange look on his face, he turned around and left the room.
‘Draco.’ Hermione repeated to herself. Utterly bemused at his strange goodbye, she sat down again in her chair. Rather than gathering her files, as she normally did after an interview, she sat still, and reflected on the man, Draco.
One thing was for certain: he was not the boy Malfoy. Oh, there was no doubt about his ancestry; the shock of white blond hair was enough to mark his parentage from 100 metres, and he still had the aristocratic bearing he had always had, but this was no foul-mouthed bully. Draco the man was tall and confident, and anyone could tell he was well-born, by his dress sense if nothing else. He was polite but not meek, and still intimidated many of the people in his department. Hermione had never been afraid of his words or his family, but in his adult presence, she could sense why people both admired and feared him. This was a feeling she had experienced herself, although she had a feeling that for Draco Malfoy, there was still more fear and loathing than awed respect.
Though it brought a little bit of pink to her cheeks, she also had to admit to herself that he had grown into quite a handsome man. The pinched and pale look of his youth had given way to angular, patrician features, agreeably situated atop a tall and trim frame. His hair was neat, parted on the side and long enough to brush across his forehead, although Hermione could tell he took care in brushing it. All of this had been set off by a stylish three-piece grey pinstriped suit. For some reason, Hermione never found a moment to be surprised by his muggle clothing. Of course, muggle dress was encouraged (though not required) under Kingsley Shacklebolt’s leadership, but it looked surprisingly natural on Draco.
Hermione shook herself out of this line of thought, and began putting her notes into her folder, mentally scolding herself for being distracted thusly. It wouldn’t do for her to be getting all gooey about someone who was an important part of a case, and so she vowed to be nothing but the most professional during the entire trial. If Malfoy- no, Draco’s name suddenly appeared nearer the top of her ‘interview again’ list, it was only because he was an expert. Of course.
___________________________________________________________
Ok, so a slightly longer time to upload there. I lost where this story was going for a little while, and it took me some time to find it again. The end of the road is clear, but the path is a little murky, so it will take some time to get to the big wedding of the story description! As always, however, please read and review!