A/N: Hello my fellow readers, this is my first attempt on Hermione/Xanxus. Thank you Just2Pretend for being the amazing beta. And for my dear beloved readers, this is for all of you. Enjoy XD

Chapter 1: The First of All

He was the boss of the Varia and she was the brightest witch of her age. He was strong and deadly, loyal to his organisation and determined to be on top of it all; she was brave, strong, intelligent, and loyal to her friends and family. So what did these two have in common? Well, nothing, except thirst, his thirst for power and her thirst for knowledge. They came from two different worlds: He was part of the mafia while she was a witch. Though Hermione was still linked to her muggle heritage, her work chained her to the wizarding world. They had never met nor knew of each other, but there's one thing that was about to drive these two together. A wizard by the name of Antonin Dolohov.

It's been five years since the war ended and Hermione Granger, a twenty-three year old witch, was determined to find the last Death Eater, Dolohov, who had been on the run and was last spotted in Italy. Hermione was willing to follow the lead, but didn't know where to start. The wizarding world or the muggle world? She hated it when she was clueless. If would be easier for her if Dolohov chose to hide in the wizarding world, but if he chose the muggle side... well, it wouldn't be nearly as easy as she wished. But for a purist like Dolohov, hiding amongst the muggles would be a disgrace. His hatred for non-magical people was too great. She sighed in frustration. All she wanted to do was find the wanted wizard, arrest him, and throw him in Azkaban. Clues as to his whereabouts came to Hermione often, but the wily man always managed to slip away. He was too fast when it came to hiding and runing away.

Being an auror really had its advantages, Hermione mused as she continued to look through the gathered information.

As war heroes, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were given recognition by the wizarding community. After the war, Hermione went back to Hogwarts to finish her final year while Harry and Ron went straight to auror training. They were accepted and Hermione joined them a year later. In less than four years, Harry had been chosen to become head of the Auror Department with Ron as his deputy. Hermione was their top auror.

Harry had shocked everyone at The Burrow (except Hermione and Ron) when he announced that he was gay, but he was easily accepted with open arms. He was now very happy with Blaise Zabini, a former Slytherin, who he had been with for more than three years now. This surprised the ferret when he first found out, nearly giving him a heart attack. And though he was slowly accepting it, the Malfoy heir still found it hard to believe his best friend was not lusting after someone of the opposite gender. Ron was happily engaged to Luna, and Ginny came out of the closet as a lesbian. Only Hermione had been aware of her sexual orientation, having found out a long time before that. The young red-head has been in a relationship with Katie Bell for the last three years. They were both chasers for the Holyhead Harpies.

As for Hermione, she had never been in a relationship. She had gone to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, but only as friends and the only kiss she received was from Fred Weasley, and that was through a game of truth or dare two years ago.

She and her two best friends had been tracking and capturing the remaining Death Eaters since the fall of Voldemort. Antonin Dolohov was, by far, the most difficult to catch, and the most dangerous. If he were still in England, Harry and Ron wouldn't mind tracking him down, but he wasn't. He was in Italy. Hermione took the risk upon herself to follow his trail. Her two best friends were like brothers, and they had people waiting for them. There was no one for Hermione back home, so she was willing to be the one to capture Dolohov. She hadn't planned for anything more. She hadn't expected to fall in love with someone in the mafia, particularly the boss of a special assassination squad.

Somewhere in Italy

It had been less than a week since Hermione arrived in Italy and met with her informants. She was determined to find him – he and Bellatrix Lestrange had caused her so much pain in the past. She was very thankful to Mrs. Weasley for having killed off that evil witch. The scars on her body were enough to encourage her to bring the wanted Death Eater to justice. News had reached her ears that Dolohov was now being hunted by a group of muggles. Not just any common group, but strong and dangerous. It had started when he entered someone's territory and was the center of the chaos that happened in the area. He thought he had the upper hand with being a wizard, but he was dead wrong.

Hermione came across a town when she first saw him and his subordinates. She was enjoying a drink at a café when they came and sat not far from her. At first she simply ignored them, thinking they were muggles with attitude, but there was something that got her attention, though she wasn't sure what. She could not tear her eyes from him. The man was both scary and handsome, and the scar on his left cheek and forehead merely enhanced the attractive qualities. What intrigued her the most was that she could feel something flowing within him. It was an energy of some sort, but she knew he wasn't a wizard. This 'power' he held seemed so strong. If looks could kill, she was sure many would have fallen. The look he sported was fierce and constant, and scary enough to make one tremble at the knees.

Hermione was unaware she had been staring for quite a long time. She was lost in her thoughts of this man with his perfect looks; his height, his broad shoulders, his fit body, and even the scar didn't lessen his perfection... and then his scent! Though they were not sitting side by side, she was still somehow able to smell him and it was driving her senses crazy. It wasn't until he turned around and looked at her that she realised she had been gawking. Hermione was sure he had sensed her looking, but wasn't sure if it had annoyed him.

Hermione quickly turned away with a beet red face. She blamed it on her raging hormones. Well, she reasoned to herself, she was a young woman and had never been in love before, and this man was stimulating her senses. Who could blame her? Luckily, it seemed no one took notice of her odd behaviour. Well, except for him. She mentally berated herself for getting so distracted while on duty. "What the hell were you thinking, Hermione Jean Granger. You have an important mission here: Find and capture that bloody Dolohov, not ogle some mysterious, scary yet handsome man... no. No, no no... I need to stop this, I need to stop this... Oh what the hell. I need to leave this place, NOW."

Hermione quickly finished her drink and called for the waitress so she could pay. She felt the man's eyes on the back of her neck. She really needed to get out of this place. She wasn't here for vacation or for any other frivolities. She was here because she had a task, an important mission. She needed to track down and capture Dolohov immediately before he escaped again. "Harry and Ron are going to laugh if they find out about this," her traitorous mind chirped as she left the café. She had refused to look back so therefore didn't notice the look the man had given her. His subordinates ignored him, knowing how pissed he'd be if he were disturbed. None took notice of what he was looking at.

Hermione had chosen to do this mission alone, but not without protests from Harry and Ron, who both insisted she had least take a partner. She had declined, knowing that if too many people were inolved, Dolohov would have noticed and disappeared again, making it harder for them to track him. Luckily, they had informants across the world that helped them track down their most wanted enemies. Here in Italy, Hermione's informants had given her details on the wealth of information they had found and collected about Dolohov and his activities. Most Death Eaters figured the best way to hide was by pretending to be muggles. After the war the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had tighted security in the magical world. More and more aurors were being dispatched to find any remaining followers of the now deceased Dark Lord. They were no longer safe in the wizarding community, so they fled to the muggle world.

Hermione approached her hotel and quickly walked into the elevator. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, she willed the elevator to hurry so she could get to her room and take a nice, long shower. Today had been tiring but it paid off. She had finally located the bastard. She instructed her informants to keep their eyes on him, study his schedule, and report back so she could plan for their next move before calling for back-up and capturing him. The elevator finally reached her floor and Hermione sprinted to her hotel room. The shower was calling for her and she had a report to write. And a stunning man with scars on his face to dream of.

xoxoxo

Xanxus watched as the young woman departed the café in a hurry. Usually he would ignore people staring at him, they were weaklings constantly in need of protection. But this woman, for some reason, attracted his attention. He found her beautiful, especially when she blushed and her eyes gleamed as if she were focused on her heart's desire. He snorted quietly at his thoughts. There was one thing he was able to sense from this mystery woman: She was not afraid. She shied away from him, yes, but it wasn't out of fear.

At the age of thirty, Xanxus had never paid special attention to anyone. There were many women who had tried to win his affection, but none of them interested him, so he ignored them. Being the boss of the Varia had its perks – people looked up to him, saluted him, girls and women wanted to get near him. Some were even willing to offer their services in bed, but they didn't appeal to him. In fact, all they received was a kick in the rear and derisively told to whore themselves elsewhere if they were in such a need.

He preferred to be in control and only ever went after what he really wanted. And right now, there were only two things he really wanted: Find and beat the hell out of the man who had been recently causing havoc in his terrority and to find the young woman who left only minutes ago, the one who caught his attention. His instincts told him they'd meet again.

"Boss, are you alright?" came the voice that annoyed him the most.

"Levi, please don't disturb our boss. Nee... boss, do you want more wine?" Lussuria offered. Levi looked very annoyed at having been told off.

Xanxus made a noise of agreement as Lussuria poured more wine into his glass. The Varia Sun Guardian knew his boss too well. Squalo rolled his eyes.

The Varia Rain Guardian had also noticed the pretty young brunette who recently vacated the café, he also noticed the way Xanxus looked at her. It would be unprecedented, but Squalo wondered if their boss was finally showing an interest in women. Or a particular woman, he mused.

The very next day

Hermione stood in front of the mirror in her hotel room, studying herself. She realised her hair was getting longer, but it was still manageable. She was glad to be rid of the bushy mane from her childhood, and now it was slightly wavy and fell to her shoulders. Her informants sent her a note earlier so she planned to meet with them later that far they have come close to catching Dolohov, but he still managed to slip through their grasp. He was still around though, and according to the information she received, the crazed wizard had landed himself with massive injuries. He was weak at the moment, and in no condition to use magic. If he were to try to apparate, it would likely kill him.

Wearing a simple cream coloured camisole, tight jeans, a black hooded cardigan, and black boots to match, she was satisfied with her reflection. She checked her sleeve to make sure her wand was there, then grabbed her small beaded bag before leaving the hotel room for her meeting with the informants, a muggleborn witch and wizard, at a nearby café. She had just reached the lobby when her phone rang. It was another advantage with the war being over; the wizarding community was slowly accepting muggle devices and so far, mobile phones were the most requested items. Though owls were faster than muggle post, mobiles were faster and easier than both. She answered her phone to one of her informants' panicked voice.

"Stella, what's going on?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Something's happened. Dolohov is fighting against a group of muggles, the same muggles that have been hunting him," came the frantic response. Stella was on tracking duty when she saw the group of muggles, who she recognised as the Varia, approach the wanted Death Eater in a nearby forest. She and her fellow informant had heard about them from the locals, and of their connection with the mafia organisation. She had seen their abilities firsthand and knew how dangerous these men could be. With that in mind, and knowing she'd be easily detected should she stay, she quickly left the location and contacted Hermione from a nearby building.

"What? Where are they? Where are you right now? Just... stay there and wait for me. And don't forget to contact Alejandro as well. Keep your guard up, all right?" Hermion cautioned and quickly headed towards the location Stella was waiting for her at. This just got a lot worse. She feared for the muggles, not Dolohov. She knew what he was capable of and his viciousness towards non-magicals. She had never met or seen this group and only knew what Stella and Alejandro had imparted with her. Hermione had always wanted to see what they looked like, as they often described them as very strong, especially the one they called boss.

She ran as quickly as possible, fearing for Stella and the muggles. Strong or not, they didn't know what Dolohov could do, and killing muggles was said to be his specialty. Hermione prayed, hoping there would be no bloodshed. Not today, not on her mission.

xoxoxo

Xanxus growled. The trash he had been tracking seemed very strong this time around. He had enough of this man wreaking havoc in his terroritory. The wound he sustained from their previous fight appeared to be healed already, though the dark haired man was still limping from the kick he received from Lussuria before suddenly disappearing. He looked strange using a stick to fight against them just like last time and, like before, he was taking them for fools.

"VROOOIIII….DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE," Squalo screeched loudly, launching himself at the stranger with a sword attached to his artificial left hand, ready to strike the enemy down.

The man was able to move faster, though not as fast as when he had first fought them. He appeared to be looking for trouble by the way he stared his opponents down. Xanxus felt that this was no ordinary man. He was confident they would be able to defeat him, and though he felt like this was a stupid joke – one man against many - his instincts told him to be wary of this stranger, to be extra careful. He eyed the stranger carefully, looking for weaknesses while his subordinates took turns fighting him. It was odd that he would be able to take on several people, despite his injuries. What scared and intrigued the boss of the Varia the most were the peculiar abilities the man possessed.

He remembered the moment the man had appeared in this town weeks ago. Since his arrival, a few people had been injured, or worse, killed. They had no idea what was causing it at first, believing that it might be a disease of some sort – but there were no reports about any diseases that had struck the area. In fact, the deaths were weird. Among those who were killed or injured, only one suffered from heart disease and the person was still in a coma, while the rest were very healthy. After going over these facts, they suspected the victims were jeopardised or killed by someone else; an enemy of some sort. Things became murkier when, according to their families, they had no enemies whatsoever. This frustrated Xanxus. It was happening on his terrority and he was helpless, having no idea what was going on or who did this. That was, until he saw him, this man, injure a civilian in an unusual way as if he were using some sort of black magic. From that day on he and his subordinates had been hunting him, but the stranger was both cunning and dangerous. Xanxus and his men always had the upper hand when they engaged him battle, but this man was strong.

xoxoxo

Dolohov really wanted to use his magic – wand or wandless – but using too much, especially in his current condition, would enable the aurors to detect him easily. He knew that one of their top aurors was pursuing him here in Italy. He was able to disapparate, but his magic has been weakened since the last fight with Granger and Potter. The last spell from the Mudblood Granger damaged his wand so he was only able to apparate as far as Italy. He used to have an ally here, a fellow Death Eater, but his ally was dead now; he had killed himself when he was captured by aurors less than a month ago. What disgusted Dolohov the most was that, because he was easily recognised in the wizarding world, he had to live amongst muggles to survive. And now he was fighting these filthy creatures again, the same group he had been fighting since his arrival.

And these muggles, they were damn strong. He had never thought they could be this formidable, and they were doing the unimaginable. One man could summon electrical lightning from his weird looking umbrellas, one could kick extremely hard while another could control knives, one had his sword attached to his weird looking hand, another man or young boy could create illusions and finally, the one they called boss, had this weird flame in his hand and whenever it appeared his subordinates looked afraid.

Dolohov had not been idle since his arrival. He had injured and killed several people since his appearance here weeks ago. Two of the people whose lives he ended were the ones who had witnessed his arrival and saw him using magic. He could still hurt or kill without using much of his magic as he still had a few potions that could kill quietly and effectively, and he used them when he needed to steal food and other necessary items for survival. But now he was running out and he couldn't use his magic too long without being noticed by magical law enforcement.

He pursed his lips. He really needed to get rid of the people he was currently fighting thanks to what they caused him to do, the filthy abominations. He was a strong, pureblood wizard and he should not be afraid to wield his magic, but being the last Death Eater still on the run didn't make him any more powerful. He could use the Unforgivables, but that would only give away his location that much quicker; something he didn't want to happen. Dolohov snarled at his circumstances, having no choice but to use his wand and magic.

xoxoxo

Hermione moved as fast as she could with Stella close by while Alejandro followed from behind. She needed to get to the battle quickly. Dolohov must not escape and she did not want any of the muggles killed. Not under her watch. As she and Stella approached, Hermione sensed magic being used; Dolohov was using his magic against the muggles.

"Oh no."

So, here you go, the first chapter. I hope that all of you will enjoy this XD

Your reviews, comments and the sort of it are very much welcome XD