Dilectio | Draco Malfoy x Reader

Curiosity

Draco walks through the second level of the Ministry. Not many workers spare him a passing glance, accustomed to seeing him on this level after his trial. It was a condition of his acquisition of Malfoy Manor and 13 month probation period to assist the Investigation Department. It's how he could get his current job—they offered him one in said department, but he turned it down. He always wanted to play professional Quidditch but frankly, what team wants an ex-Death Eater? It's simply bad public relations. So, he did the next closest thing in the Department of International Magical Cooperation by working with Games and Sports.

He walks right past the Investigation Department this time. He heads for the hallway that leads to the Administrative Registration Office. A perky and over-zealous middle-aged strawberry blonde witch sits at the desk. Her oversized rectangular frames sit on a small button-nose.

"Good morning Mr. Malfoy."

He smiles at her. He leans forward on the desk, trying to turn on the old Malfoy charm on the witch. "Morning, Miss Amanda."

She smiles demurely at him. This will be easy, he thinks to himself.

"How can I help you today?"

He plasters on his signature smirk. "I can't stop by and say hello to my favorite girl?"

A slight blush breaks out on the middle-aged witch's face. "Oh, you flatter me, young man." She bats her hand at him. "Don't tell me you haven't found your soulmate yet?"

He looks down, thankful for only having to play a short game with the witch. He smiles, forced but present when he looks back up to her. He makes sure to widen his eyes slightly, the way he did as a child when he asked for extra sweets from his grandmother.

"Oh, I have, actually."

The witch, ever the hopeless romantic, beams at him. Already summoning the paperwork. "Then I suppose you're here to register your newfound love?"

Love. A word he hasn't given much thought to. He places a lock on the bedroom door in his head, guards in place. He sighs, dramatically, of course. "I would love to register, but my soulmate is a little... skittish out in public."

Amanda dramatically gasps while clutching her hand to her chest. "Oh, dear! That poor girl."

Draco thinks to himself, poor girl, my arse.

"She sent me by to pick up the paperwork, if that's okay? I also have a small favor to ask of you as well. You see, she's adopted and has been looking for her family. I was hoping I could surprise her and hire a private investigator to look for her biological parents for her. Some kind of romantic gesture for her, you know?"

He has no intentions of filling out the paperwork. He just wants that file. The witch quirks her mouth sideways, a tell-tale sign that she's deep in thought.

"Oh Drakey, you know I can't give out personal files without consent from the party those files refer to."

He internally cringes at the name. Amanda had adopted it after he filed so many reports during his 13 month probation period. He has to admit, though, the witch makes a mean lemon cake, and she became fast friends with his mother during her own probation.

He sighs, shaking his head. "I had this whole romantic thing planned for her. You know how you used to say that seeing your soulmate happy was like discovering another part of your own soul was unlocked. She's a little cautious about the whole soulmate thing, so I was hoping to win some favor with her."

Draco gets slightly nervous under the quizzical look in her eyes. Ever the hopeless romantic, she sighs and shakes her head. "I could get in trouble for this, you know."