Chimera

Chapter 8

The foyer was full of Ministry employees heading to lunch. Hermione ducked through the crowds, curls bouncing as she moved. She finally spotted Harry and Ron sat on the edge of the fountain. Ron jumped up when he saw Hermione and went to give her a hug, then stopped. Hermione smiled at them both, pretending not to notice.

"Alright," Harry said, having actually not noticed. "Let's go. Ginny was expecting us five minutes ago."

"Sorry," Hermione said. She had to jog to keep up with Harry's fast stride. "I needed to finish a report."

"What's this about Malfoy working in your department?" Ron asked, walking beside her. "Bet that's a nightmare!"

"Eh, it could be worse. He gets work done, which is helpful. Was getting too much trying to juggle both people's jobs!"

"Yeah, no kidding, we never saw you!" Harry complained.

Hermione glanced at Ron, who was carefully examining the marble fireplace as they waited in line for the floo. That had been a regular complaint of his. Hermione could see a pink blush spreading up his neck, the ends of his ears glowing slightly.

"Here we go," Harry said obliviously, as he stepped into the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!"

The flames turned green and he was swept away.

"After you," Ron muttered, gesturing for Hermione to step up to the hearth.

She nodded stiffly and walked inside it, feeling the soft tickle of the heatless flames against her skin.

"Diagon Alley," she said, and was pulled away from the Ministry.

*****

"Guys, you'll never guess what," Ginny said, leaning across the scratched, oak table with a conspiratorial smirk.

"What?" Ron asked, his mouth full. He speared a lump of chicken with his fork.

"Narcissa Malfoy has officially lost the plot! It's going to be all over the 'Daily Prophet' tomorrow."

Hermione looked up from her lunch, frowning at the red-headed girl across from her.

"Where did you hear that?"

"We had a reporter out interviewing the team at practice this morning. He told us about it."

"What do you mean, 'lost the plot'?" Harry asked. His arm was slung around the back of Ginny's chair, and he gently stroked her freckled shoulder.

"Apparently she had some kind of a breakdown over the weekend. Escaped the house elves and went running through the countryside. They spent all Sunday looking for her. She got checked into St Mungo's some time Monday."

"Huh," Hermione said.

*****

When Hermione returned to the office, she found Draco slumped across his desk. A bottle of ink had been knocked over and was dripping onto the faded carpet. She quietly picked up the bottle and vanished the spill. As she leaned down, she could hear him snoring.

Giggling slightly, Hermione placed the now-empty bottle back on his desk and cleared her throat. Draco sat up quickly with a panicked expression.

"Morning sunshine," Hermione said, sitting at her desk.

"Piss off," he yawned.

"I, uh, heard about your mum," she said, hesitantly. "Is she ok?"

"None of your damn business."

Hermione nodded and picked up the file in front of her. She wrote in silence, feeling Draco glaring at her.

"How do you know about that anyway?"

"Ginny told me," she said.

"The she-weasel? How the hell does she know about it?!" Draco ran a hand through his hair, looking perplexed.

"That's rude," Hermione scolded. "Some reporter was interviewing the Harpies today and told them about it. It'll be in the papers tomorrow."

Draco picked up a stack of paperwork as he considered this, his face twisted angrily. He dipped his quill into his ink-pot, frowning when it came back dry. 

"Your bottle is empty," Hermione informed him, smirking. "You knocked it over while you were napping."

Draco looked around the desk and floor in alarm, searching for the mess.

"Oh, I cleaned it up already. You're welcome."

"How long were you watching me sleep?!"

"Just long enough to discover that you snore," Hermione giggled.

"What? No I don't."

"Oh, you definitely do. It's not like...an earth-shattering snorting or anything, but you definitely snore."

"Uh..." Harry stood in the doorway, looking perturbed. "Do I even want to know...?"

"Yes, Potter," Draco said, without looking up. "I am shagging the absolute brains out of your best friend here, hadn't you heard?"

"In your dreams, Malfoy," Hermione snorted.

"Oh, that would definitely be a nightmare," Draco said. "What do you want, Potter?"