It should be noted that Hermione Granger's extraordinary sense of logic allowed her to overcome her emotions and to rationally analyze the circumstances she was placed in.

It was only one of the contributing factors as to why she was the "Brightest Witch of Her Age".

So when Narcissa Malfoy had owled her requesting for her attendance for afternoon tea for the upcoming Friday, she didn't panic.

"You can't possibly be serious!"

Ronald Weasely, on the other hand, was panicking.

"It's not an unreasonable request, Ronald. The war is long over and Narcissa is not a bad person. We fought that war to overcome prejudices, so please, stop making a big deal out of it."

Trying to rationalize with Ron was always a tedious task. Ron's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before turning to the third member of their group for support.

"Harry, tell her she's being ridiculous!"

Harry Potter regarded his two friends on opposing sides of his living room before expelling a large sigh. To be perfectly honest, he didn't quite understand the relationship between his two best friends. They had broken up shortly after he and Ron had begun Auror training but Ron still felt entitled to judge what Hermione did in her spare time while she was always continuously defending herself against him.

"She saved my life, mate. She might be Malfoy's mother but she isn't evil."

And with that said, Hermione smirked in triumph as Ron grumbled in defeat.

Narcissa Malfoy was many things: she was a mother, a wife and mistress of Malfoy Manor.

But she was also a Slytherin.

Her reason for inviting the young Muggleborn witch to tea this afternoon was a highly sensitive one. Therefore, she had to approach the issue in the right way so as to not scare her off. But according to Narcissa's sources, the girl in front of her just happened to wear her heart on her sleeve.

Hermione Granger's compassion would work most wonderfully in Narcissa's favour today.

"Miss Granger, I won't insult your intelligence. I presume you know that I asked you here today for a reason."

"Yes, I thought as much." Hermione affirmed.

"Quite simply put, I need your help."

This grabbed Hermione's attention. She tentatively put down her cup of tea in order to give her full attention to Narcissa.

"I'm willing to hear your request, Mrs. Malfoy."

Smart girl, thought Narcissa. Smarter than I thought – she didn't agree before I told her what I wanted.

"What do you know about the Malfoy family history, Miss Granger?"

Hermione contemplated Narcissa's question but for a moment.

"Mrs. Malfoy… does this, by any chance, have to do with Draco's Veela heritage and the fact that I'm his mate but he refuses to accept that fact due to his stubborn nature?"

To say that Narcissa was astounded would be an understatement. She almost spit out her tea but managed to swallow it instead. She had heard of the young witch's excellent deductive skills but this was on a whole other level. Her sources had told her that the Granger girl hadn't pursued any OWLs or NEWTs in Divination but she had a hard time believing that right now.

"What gave it away?" she barely managed to choke out.

"There were several indications, actually. The first being the predominate light shade of blond hair that all Malfoys inherit despite the number of brunettes who have married into the family over the years. The second being that all Malfoys seem to possess an ethereal beauty which could only be explained as non-human. Lastly, there's the fact that your son has been unable to look me in the eye without his pupils dilating or getting flustered since he turned 17."

Narcissa didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Hermione continued to talk.

"Of course, when I found out, I immediately ended my relationship with Ronald. From my understanding, there are no two people better suited for each other than a pair of Veela mates. Not to mention, Veelas are quite possessive of their mates and I didn't want to endanger a friend's life."

Narcissa had taken this time, as Hermione was speaking, to gather her bearings.

"Well, it makes things easier since I don't have to explain everything to you, Miss Granger. Am I correct in assuming you also know how detrimental it is when a Veela experiences prolonged separation from their mate?"

Hermione nodded.

"All I'm asking, Miss Granger, is that you give my son a chance. His twentieth birthday is approaching and this separation is beginning to physically take its toll on him. He doesn't sleep through the night anymore and his appetite has been waning…"

Hermione held up a hand to stop Narcissa from continuing.

"Mrs. Malfoy, it's not that I'm unwilling to be with your son… it just so happens that every time I try to confront him, he actually runs in the other direction."

Huh. Well, that changes things.

Before either woman could continue the conversation, the sound of the Floo activating could be heard from the next room over.

"Narcissa?" an older, masculine voice called out.

"In the sitting room, dear."

When he entered, it was evident that the most the war did was damage Lucius Malfoy's pride. He was still dressed immaculately and his outfit had been accessorized with the infamous cane. His long blond hair was drawn back and out of his face. After giving up the names of more than fifty of his fellow Death Eaters and paying a large restitution payment to the Ministry, Lucius had been allowed to continue on with his day-to-day life after a 6 month stint in Azkaban.

He had also, clearly, not been expecting Hermione to still be enjoying tea with his wife. He turned to Narcissa and only raised a questioning eyebrow, remaining standing by the doorway.

"She knows, Lucius."

And now he turned to face the Granger girl that was the key to his son's eternal health and happiness.

"And has Miss Granger agreed to help us with this… predicament?"

Hermione met Lucius's stare straight on and only raised her eyebrows at him since he seemed reluctant to address her directly.

"It would appear, dear, that Miss Granger is more than willing to give Draco a chance. The real problem lies with our son who is resisting natural instincts to be with his mate."

"Huh… well, that changes things." Lucius commented.

"Tell me, Mr. Malfoy, don't you mind that your son will be mated to a Mudblood?" While Hermione had been nothing but polite to Narcissa for the duration of the afternoon, she could not help the slight contempt she held for the senior Malfoy.

"Miss Granger," he was directly addressing her this time. "My son's health and happiness means more to me than blood prejudices. But that doesn't mean I like you… you're still an annoying little chit."

And Hermione couldn't stop her lips from quirking up into a smile. Narcissa was also quite happy about the turn of events.

"I think I'll live, Mr. Malfoy. Since we all seem to be on the same page, here's what I'm proposing we do…"

After Hermione had finished outlining her plan of action, both Narcissa and Lucius were secretly impressed. It would seem that their son had finally met his match.

Immediately after completing his NEWTs, Draco Malfoy had taken up a position in his family's potion company. His main responsibility was management but, under the tutelage of his late godfather's portrait, he had been studying to become a Potions Master on the side.

It was a regular work morning when everything went to shit.

He was greeted by his personal assistant with a fresh cup of coffee in the main foyer of the Malfoy Inc. office building. His assistant, a fresh Hogwarts graduate, was an eager young lad who proceeded to run through his schedule for the day.

"And one last thing," said Toby. "Your father owled and said you should be expecting his new assistant to be dropping off some papers first thing this morning."

"A new assistant?" Draco paused just outside the door of his own corner office. "But Marta has been working for my father for years!"

"Marta is still employed by your father, Mr. Malfoy. It would seem he hired a second personal assistant to help Marta manage the increasing workload."

"Well, that's good to know. Marta has always been a loyal employee. Thank you, Toby. Please prepare any necessary files for our meeting after lunch."

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy!" and then he took off for a small cubicle nearby as Draco entered his office.

Draco had just closed the door when he turned around only to be met with one of the greatest shocks of his life. He dropped his cup of coffee as he could only stare in astonishment. He regained his ability to speak a moment later.

"Granger? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Hello, Draco."

He couldn't help it, his breath hitched.

She practically purred his name and now she was advancing towards him. The pencil skirt she was wearing was an appropriate length but it hugged her curves tightly. And although she was wearing a camisole underneath, her tucked-in shirt was bloody sheer.

"Your father has hired me as his new assistant and I was just dropping off some papers for you to look over."

She was right in front of him now and had to tilt her head back to look at him.

"Oh, no… you've got coffee everywhere." With a few flicks of her wand, she had vanished the spoiled coffee, banished the paper cup to the garbage bin and freed his shirt of any stains. Putting her wand away, she ran her hands over his shoulders and down the front of his shirt, pretending to smooth away the imaginary wrinkles.

He gulped.

"I thought you were working at the ministry."

She pretended to contemplate his comment for a moment, all the while stepping even closer. Peering up at him through her eyelashes, she answered his question.

"I was… but the work there wasn't exactly gratifying." Her hands had stilled now and were resting on his chest.

Draco knew his pupils had dilated by now and took a step back out of Hermione's reach.

"What are you playing at, Granger?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Draco." She was trying to play innocent but her smirk gave her away.

"Bullshit." She tried to step closer again so he walked around to put his desk between them.

"You know, don't you? You know that I'm part-Veela and that you're my mate."

Hermione shrugged casually but he knew he was right when she looked him right in the eyes. She walked up, leaned over his desk and yanked his tie to bring them face to face.

"Why do you resist me, Draco?" She pouted and he nearly had an aneurysm.

"Because I don't want a bloody mate!" He pulled away quickly and his usually pale face was flushed crimson.

She continued to stare at him. Her chocolate eyes were so inviting that he couldn't break eye contact even if he wanted to. She cocked her head to one side as if contemplating something.

"Okay."

"W-w-what?!" Draco spluttered.

"I said okay. I'm not going to force you to claim me as your mate."

And she walked out of his office without any further acknowledgement to his presence, leaving him hypnotized by the swaying of her hips.

She had just agreed with him to forget the whole bloody thing… so why wasn't he happy?

Just a few moments later, Hermione entered Lucius's office without knocking. Not even sparing her a glance, his focus remained on the paperwork in front of him.

"How did it go, Miss Granger?"

"Exactly as planned," she couldn't help the glee in her voice. "We can enter Stage 2 of the plan almost immediately. No wonder you Slytherins enjoy plotting so much, it's absolutely thrilling!"

"Very good, Miss Granger. You may take the rest of the day off if you wish."

Hermione gasped as if insulted which caused Lucius to actually look up.

"Take the day off?! Absolutely not! There's so much work to do and I've agreed to review three potion alterations by the end of the day. How could you suggest taking the day off?"

Lucius merely raised both eyebrows at the young witch and she left his office in a flurry, determined to take her fake job seriously.