Blood Killer Part 2

Draco had trouble sleeping that night. Seeing the body of a former classmate was really getting to him. Not that he would admit it aloud, but inside his head Draco had to be honest. He rolled over on his side and stared at the walls. He could hear Hermione snoring through the thin wall dividing his and Blaise's room. 

Draco let out a quiet laugh. Never in a million years would he have thought that he'd be living with Hermione Granger. If you'd asked him three years ago, when Harry had partnered him up with her, if he'd be willing to to one day live with Hermione, Draco would have laughed his head off and called her impolite names. Draco smiled remembering the day Harry had given them their first mutual assignment. 

He'd told Draco to go into Hermione's office, claiming she had some files for Draco. Draco had complained about it, but agreed when Harry threatened his job. He walked in to find Harry sitting in Hermione's chair. Hermione was no where in sight. 

"Where's Granger?" He'd asked, annoyed  by her tardiness. 

Harry smiled joyfully. A moment later, the door opened and Hermione came in, kicking it closed behind her. She held a stack of papers. Her hair was tied into a messy bun and she wore black slacks and a wrinkled blue blouse. 

"You look a mess," Draco commented. 

Hermione looked up, only just noticing he was there. Her nose crinkled in in disgust, like she was smelling something bad. She said, "What are you doing here?"

"I asked him to come. I asked you both here," Harry interrupted, "I have something to tell you regarding your positions."

"Harry James Potter if you are going to fire me I suggest you walk out of here now," Hermione had said, her eyes narrowing. 

"No, not that. You're both too good at your jobs to fire either of you. But I goofed up," Harry said sheepishly, "I accidentally hired three new case analysts. Now I have five. I was meaning to look for Field Aurors, ones to deal with the most dangerous cases we have. So I'm promoting you both. Starting today you will work together as partners on various cases. They will all be terrifying, disgusting, and will challenge your morals. You will work twenty-four hours seven days a week. These cases don't allow for any rest. Find it when you can."

Harry set a folder on the desk. He stood up and brushed imaginary dirt from his pants before looking at the two with a smile. 

"Try to keep the noise down, and I don't mean your arguing," Harry said with a dramatic wink. He then swaggered out of the room. 

Draco stared after him in horror by his words.

"You read that file. I'm going to have a with dear Harry," Hermione growled, pulling out her wand and following Harry out. 

It was in that moment, listening to Harry's panicked screams echo down the hall as he ran, that Draco decided to never get on Hermione's bad side. 

The memory was still crystal clear in Draco's mind, despite it being from so long ago.  It seemed to calm him in some way and within moments he was asleep, mentally listening to Harry's screams while Hermione chased him, shooting spells in countless directions. 

"Morning."

Draco looked from the kitchen aisle to see Hermione yawning. It was clear that he too had just woken up.

"Morning," he replied in a deep voice. 

Hermione looked up at him a little confused. When she saw he was leaning against his hand and his eyes were halfed closed, she brushed it off and stared at him. Draco's hair was bothering her the longer she looked at him. 

"You need to cut your hair," she decided. 

"I do?" Draco asked, amused, raising an eyebrow

"Yes," Hermione said, "It's too long, how do you see?"

Draco watched amused as she walked over to him and flipped the fringe out of his eyes. Hermione mumbled to herself before walking around behind him. Draco felt a tugging on his hair, but didn't fight her. It didn't take Hermione long to do whatever it was she was doing. She was back in front of him within seconds. 

"There, much better," she said with a smile. 

Draco reached up to  feel the back of his head. His palm landed on a man bun and his smile dropped. 

"Real funny, Granger," he sighed. 

"I thought it was," Hermione agreed, "Has the come in yet?"

"Uh, maybe," Draco said, "It'll be on the table."

Hermione left the kitchen. Draco turned back and took a bite of his breakfast, a couple of pieces of toast with jam spread over them. A smile crept onto his face and he shook his head slightly. Even though he had worked with Hermione for three years, he had never discussed much other than work with her. Draco had to admit, she seemed to have a nice personality. 

Hermione came back into the room, sliding across the tile floor on her socks to stand next to him. She was muttering strings of curse words under her breath. From the simple display of entry, Draco decided that he loved her personality.  Anyone who used their socks to slide across hard floors got his approval. 

"Malfoy," she said, cursing again, "read this. It's - "

She trailed off, cursing. Draco took the from her hands and read the headline. 

Draco looked up and met Hermione's panicked eyes. She tore the paper from Draco's hands and began reading. 

"Yesterday, three hours after the muggle news went live from the scene of the latest murder, a muggle by the name of Richard Chad went to a muggle newspaper and claimed he had witnessed the murder. Since  published Chad's claim, seven other muggles have come forward and they continue to. These muggles have accounted to seeing a slim figure dressed in black use a long "chopstick" to kill the victims. They have claimed that the murderer waved the "chopstick" around and the victim's seemed to be in pain. The safety of the Wizarding World is at sake. We must turn now to the two wizards who hold the only chance at saving us from exposure: Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy." 

Hermione threw the paper down on the counter.

"This is great. They might as well say it's our fault he hasn't been caught yet," Hermione said, "And where are those reports from Kimberly? She said that she'd send them over!"

Draco stood up and grabbed Hermione's shoulders. He said, "Granger, breathe. Here's what we'll do. We need to get this press situation under control. Head to the ministry and organize a press conference. I'll stop by Kimberly's place and get those reports. She probably just was tired and forgot - we all are. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry," Hermione said. 

"Awesome, I'll see you at the ministry in twenty minutes." 

Draco grabbed his wand from the counter, thankful he had gotten dressed before eating breakfast. He winked to Hermione and turned on his heel, apparating away. Draco felt a little guilty, seeing Hermione's face return to panic when she thought he was completely gone.