Come Find Me | Dramione

Chapter 2: A Second Chance

Draco sat at the desk in his study, reading the letter again. And again. Just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. But the words never changed.

Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to accept your application to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

You will be working closely with Hermione Granger-Weasley as a Magical Law Consultant, ensuring that all new law proposals meet proper guidelines before they are presented to the Wizengamot.

You will find your New Hire Packet attached to this letter. This will outline your expected duties as well as your start date.

We welcome you to the Ministry of Magic, and look forward to witnessing your accomplishments.

Sincerely,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister of Magic

He couldn't believe he had been accepted. But that wasn't what baffled him. Why the fuck would Shacklebolt partner him with Granger? Or perhaps Granger-Weasley was more appropriate, according to his letter.

So, she had married the Weasel.

Draco tried to remember the last time he had talked to Granger, deducing that it had to be when she had stood as a character witness for him and his mother during their trials after the war. That was nearly six years ago.

He remembered that she wore a rather authoritarian blue suit, standing beside where he was being held in a cage before the Wizengamot, a room full of eerie looking witches and wizards in red robes that would ultimately decide his fate. When she stood up to defend him he thought he was losing his mind. Her youthful voice rang in his ears.

"We are children. Easily misled children who were expected to do unthinkable things. It is my opinion that Draco Malfoy falls into this category with the rest of us. I truly believe that if not for Draco's hesitation to identify Harry that night at Malfoy Manor, the war would have had a different outcome entirely. I am not blind to his faults, but he deserves a second chance to do better."

He frowned to himself as he thought about the person he had been in the months right after the war. Still an angry and depressed little fuck who thought the world owed him more. Did Granger still view him this way? As the arrogant bully who had spit derogatory offenses at her on more than one occasion, even going as far as humiliating her for her teeth or her hair?

Had he even thought to thank her?

He set the letter down on the mahogany desk with a sigh, rising to walk over and pour himself a single glass of Ogden's firewhisky from the bar cart to steady his nerves.

He had put a grueling amount of effort into changing the way the wizarding world perceived the Malfoy name over the years. After being exonerated from his Death Eater charges – much of which had everything to do with Granger and Potter having mercy on him, despite his horrible behavior towards them in school – Draco returned to Hogwarts to finish his Seventh Year and complete his NEWTs.

That year was difficult for him, the guilt and shame from the war constantly eating away at him. Granger was his biggest regret. Her screams from that night in Malfoy Manor echoed in every one of his nightmares. Even the sight of Granger would send him into a full fledged panic attack.

Determined to overcome his past, he kept his head down, drowning himself in his studies. This had seemed to work in his favour when he received Outstanding grades in all eight of his subject areas of choice. Upon graduation, Draco officially became the head of the Malfoy estate, due to his father's indefinite stay in Azkaban, making Lucius unfit to rule over their fortune.