Author Note: Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to read this. It's not going to be a really long one; but I figured I'd do something for the holidays that are approaching quickly. I also wanted to say that this story is also for fellow author LightofEvolution. Thank you for encouraging me to write, even when I think I can't write anymore. So without anymore waiting, here is the first chapter and don't hesitate to let me know what you think of it.

Chapter 1:

November 28th

Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement- Auror Office

Draco sat behind his desk, organizing the packet of papers that needed to be dropped off to Harry Potter's office by the end of the day. Of course, field work got in the way and he missed the deadline. He cursed that he had to stay later just to get it all finished so it would be on his desk when he arrived first thing in the morning.

His hand moved swiftly on the bottom of the page to sign his name. A soft knock came to across the wall and he locked up to see one of his fellow Aurors. He couldn't remember her name; but he knew that she was one of the newer ones that had just graduated the training courses. Her soft brown eyes bore into his for a simple moment before she blinked away from the gaze. She had short blonde hair that had a natural red highlight to it. A stray strand fell into her eyes, attempting to cover over a scar across her left cheek.

"Can I help you?" He asked, wondering why she was even there in the first place.

"I'm just passing out the invitations to this years Christmas party. Here is yours..." She answered stepping into the room holding out a small white envelope.

He took the item and sat it down in front of him then looked back up at her. She smiled at him and with a wink, she turned to walk out of the room. Once she was gone, he let out an annoyed sigh. It wasn't any different. It seemed a lot of the Auror women tried their hand at flirting with him. Of course, it got them nowhere. If one was lucky enough, he'd let them in on some of the pleasures he was capable of and that was it. One time and no more than that. Lately, he hadn't been doing that either.

Draco stared down at the small invitation again before tucking into the small pocket on the inside of his jacket and then returned to the task at hand. Another twenty minutes passed by and he finally got the packet finished and placed it on Harry's empty desk. Turning his back on the office, he noticed the large clock in the hall. 8:30 p.m. He never realized just how late it really had been.

Leaving the building, he found himself cold outside. The wind was absolutely frigid. He walked along the sidewalk, passing people he had never seen before or if he had—never remembered. It wasn't until after the war, that he got a new view on muggles and how necessary they were in the world. No matter what his father told him, muggles weren't all bad. When he thought about muggles, the first one the came to mind was of course Hermione Granger.

Looked out across the street at the central park, there was a group of men in the process of putting up the city's tree. The official lighting ceremony was tomorrow night and he knew that hundreds of people would crowd the place in anticipation of see the lights first hand. Crossing the street, the view of a woman's figure come clearer. Long curly sandy brown hair running down the back of her slender form that was covered by a coat that was probably two sizes too big for her.

She turned her head to the side for a moment and Draco could really see who it was first hand. It was Hermione herself standing several feet away from him. He'd seen her once in a great while at the Ministry; but for the most part they remained in their own respective departments. He kind of felt like a stalker just standing there watching her; but in that moment, he couldn't seem to drag himself away. There had always been something about her that drove him crazy, whether it be the fact that she was probably one of the smartest witches in their generation or the fact that she was just down right beautiful, he didn't really know. All he knew was that Hermione was standing there and he was just watching wordlessly.

xx—xx—xx—xx

Hermione stood in the middle of the walkway watching several people putting up a large tree in the center of the park. It was getting close to Christmas and it was time for the town to start decorating in celebration for the wonderful holiday that represented family in the utmost capacity. The thought of family was like a knife to the chest. After the war at Hogwarts years prior, she never returned her parents memories. She felt they were just simply better off not knowing. Those feelings just never went away and it got worse as time passed, because if she was honest with herself—she missed them dearly.

She could remember the feeling of obliviating them right before she left to accompany Harry in search of the horcruxs. It felt like a part of herself had vanished right along with their memories. Blinking away the burning sensation in her eyes, she returned her focus on the men on all sides of the large tree. Sometimes she missed those days of simplicity and others, she wouldn't have changed a thing.

A cold chill washed over her bare face, sending a shiver up her spine. Turning her feet in the direction of home, she lowered her head away from the wind and continued onward. Everything seemed more festive, even at work at the Ministry of Magic things were slightly more cheerful. "I suppose I shouldn't complain. We do have the peace for the time being." She thought to herself as she pushed the button at the gates to her apartment complex.

"Good evening, Hermione." The guard greeted warmly.

"Good evening, Aiden." She greeted in return with a smile in her voice.

The gate clicked open as she pulled her large oversized coat closer to her face to shield herself from the bitter coldness of the wind. Stepping passed the now open gate, she made her way up the stairs and directly to her front door. Fumbling with the inside of the coat pocket, she managed to locate her keys and slip the small object into the hole. Turning it counterclockwise, the lock snapped and the door slide open.

The comforting scent of apple cinnamon waved under her nose as she stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind her. Sitting her bags down on the counter, she shifted over to the phone that flashed a couple times. Indicating that she had a voice mail that needed to be listened to. "I wonder who called me..." She said aloud picking up the device, pushing the buttons needed to get to the message.

"Oh...hey...'Mione, I know it's been a while since we last spoke. I just...was uh...wondering if you'd like to spend Christmas with Lavender and I this year. I know you spent last year alone and Harry was pretty pissed about it. Let me know...bye..."

Ron's voice wasn't any different than before. It was still hard for her to hear it even after all the years that had passed since the end of their relationship, or there lack of. The kiss thay had shared was a heat of the moment type thing and it never progressed further than that. It took a long time to understand why it happened that way and why the idea of love was teased in front of her face like that. It just wasn't meant for her. She accepted it and moved on with her life or at least tried to.

Sitting the phone back down on the base, she shrugged her coat off her shoulders and hung it up on the hook by the door. Her body ached with amount of work she had put in that day. She wondered if being the head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would get her anywhere. Would her dream of being the Minister ever be realized?

Padding across the floor and down the hall to the bathroom, she immediately turned the knobs for the right temperature in the water. She intended to take a long bath to relax her aches and to calm all the emotions that were floating all about her chest. Shedding her clothing, she slipped into the tub and poured in a little scent enhancement to help with the relaxation.

It didn't take long for Hermione to lay back and rest her head against the wall. Her eyes were heavy and closed almost instantly. The warmth of the water encased her like a blanket or someones embrace. It was beyond comforting to her.

xx—xx—xx—xx

Draco found himself standing outside of the gates that was protecting outsiders from the apartment complex Hermione lived in. He questioned his mental state mind and blamed it on his exhausted brain for being this out of character. He supposed that was the answer to his current behavior.

Turning away from the gates, he finally moved on towards his own flat on the other side of town. However, he couldn't seem to shake the woman from his head. Especially when he saw her discreetly wipe tears from her eyes and continue on like nothing happened at all. Curiosity perked at the worse time for him.

Opening the door to his own flat, he stepped inside relieved by the warmth it gave off. He placed his coat across the counter, not really caring that it should go on the hook by the door. Discarding his shoes as he walked, he stepped into the kitchen opened the freezer door and pulled out a bottle of liquor that didn't have a label on it. Stepping across the floor to the other side of the sink, he grabbed a shot glass from the cabinet.

Retreating to the living room, he collapsed onto the sofa with both the bottle of liquor and the shot glass in hand. The room was silent, not a single sound could be heard except the wind blowing against the window making it rattle in its place. He never bothered to turn the lamp in next to him, just remained in the darkness with the only light shining through was from the street light coming in the window.

Draco opened the bottle and poured the amber colored liquid into the glass. Throwing his head back, he swallowed it in one gulp. The instant burn of the alcohol warmed his body immediately. The dreaded holidays were coming and he knew that his mother was going to want him to be there. To him, the manor hadn't felt like home in a really long time. The war ruined that for him and the fact that Hermione was tortured on the floor of the foyer didn't help matters in the least. To this day, he could still hear her screams of pain as his aunt carved 'that word' into the women's flesh.

Cringing at the thought, he poured more liquid into the glass and swallowed it in one gulp once more. Leaning forward to pour another, he looked out the window to see an owl peaking at the glass. Groaning, he stood up to open the window just enough to retrieve the letter at his foot. The owl instantly flew away after Draco took the item from it. He knew exactly who the letter was from without having to open it.

His mother's handwriting was neatly placed at the center of the envelope. "Mother, can't you get with the times and get a damn phone and call like everyone else." He complained sitting back down on the sofa behind him.

He slid his finger to break the seal and then pulled the contents out to read what she had to say, though he kind of already knew what it would entail.

"Dearest Draco,

The holidays are approaching and your father and I would love your company. I know you still don't feel comfortable in the manor; but it would mean a lot to me if you would come.

See you soon,

Mom"

Tossing the piece of paper on the coffee table, he rested his head on the back of the sofa. Like always, his mother knew just what to say to get him to cave. He loved his mother and would do anything for her, even sacrifice his comfort to make her happy.

November 29th

Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement- Auror Office

Draco's head throbbed as he worked silently at his desk. He supposed drinking that much probably wasn't the best idea in the world. Flipping through the pages, one caught his attention quickly. He thought it accidentally got placed in with the Auror paperwork; but it didn't matter, it was intriguing nonetheless. A muggle woman claimed to have seen the extinct Dodo bird, which to the magical world the bird is known as a Diricawl and was far from extinct.

"Hey Draco, can you do me a favor?" Harry's voice interrupted his reading.

Harry walked into the office with a handful of papers, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. He still wasn't used to being called by his first name when it came to Harry. It was always Malfoy in school and even a few years after their days at Hogwarts. "What do you need?" He asked simply, trying not to use his last name considering he was his boss and not exactly appropriate.

"Can you take these papers down to Hermione in the Magical Creatures Department? Somehow they got mixed up with my stuff." Harry answered looking at Draco more thoroughly now that his glasses were back up where they should be.

"Sure, there was one in my papers as well."

"I wonder what happened? Oh well, thanks I appreciate it."

Draco grabbed the paper off his desk and walked around to the front where his boss stood. Harry handed him the stack in his own hand. With a slight nod of his head, he moved out the door. "Oh Draco!" Harry called out.

"Yes..."

"Great work on that packet."

Another nod of the head was done to acknowledge the compliment without actually have to say any words. He continued on down the hall and headed for the crossroads. There were so many people shuffling about, trying to get to their stations or handing out mail or running errands from one department to another. It was just simply crowded and it annoyed the hell out of him.

Looking down at the bundle of papers in his hand, his mind wandered to his destination. Hermione Granger's office in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He had only been down there one time in the entire time he had been employed by the Ministry. Finding that he was tensing up, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He didn't know why his body was behaving in such a manor. It wasn't like he was afraid of her. It was more like he no idea what to say to her.

November 29th

Ministry of Magic, Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures- Hermione's Office

Draco came to stand outside the closed door of her office. There was a sudden nervousness that washed over for a brief moment before he pushed it aside and regained his composure. He knocked gently against the door. "Come in." Her soft voice answered.

He turned the knob and pushed the door open. Hermione looked up from her cluttered desk and caught his eyes almost instantly. She was surprised to see him that much he understood by the look on her face. "Uh...Draco...what can I do for you?" She asked softly, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"Some of your papers got mixed up with the Auror's stuff. Harry had me bring them to you." He answered.

"Oh...thank you."

She stood up from her chair with a creek and stepped out to the front of her desk to face him fully. He handed her the papers and in those few seconds, her fingers brushed across the back of his hand sending a shock straight up her arm. It jolted her and left her confused as to what happened. Draco remained unphased and it made her wonder if it was her imagination. "Can I ask you something?" He asked suddenly.

"Sure..."

"How the hell can you work in here? It's a mess."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at his insult. She hadn't seen him in a long time and the first thing he says is that her office was a mess. Mentally cursing him, she clenched her free hand into a tight balled fist. "I work just fine like this, Malfoy. Thanks for the papers, you can go now." She stated keeping her voice low but stern.

He let out a soft chuckle before turning away from her. Closing the door behind him, she dropped back into her chair with a sigh. No matter how much time passed by, Draco Malfoy was still infuriating to her on top of the fact that he was beyond the most attractive man she'd ever met. Cursing herself for thinking such things, she forced herself to focus on her own work and block that little meeting from her mind. It wasn't like anything would ever come of her thinking those kind of things, especially when it came to the Malfoy heir.