35. Chapter 35 (1/2)

previously on returning to his roots: chapter 34

after being stripped of every license, certificate and authorization that had been granted him, springer was convicted of conspiracy against the ministry, fraud, and several other crimes in record time.

the cw took great pleasure in reading springer's charges. he took even greater pleasure reading springer his sentence of five years in prison.

/*/

after leaving percy's office, hermione decided to visit the food services area to order a lunch for herself and gloria. she quickly picked out two salads, two bacon sandwiches and two bottles of water, but paying for them was another matter. the queues were long. looking around, hermione wondered if she should put everything back and wait to eat when she got home. the queue she was in began to move and she was finally at the register.

walking away with her sack, hermione passed donald and

ian's table. as she passed, donald gave a wave and a smile. hermione smiled back trying to put a name with the face. it wasn't until the lift was speeding to her floor that hermione remembered donald as draco's assistant with the rude friend.

stepping off the lift, hermione tried hard not to think about the witches who wanted to get on a first name basis with draco. she didn't want to be reminded. not while their relationship was floundering and draco's mindset was to leave her standing alone on a dark street.

hurrying down the hall, hermione realized that standing still hoping her and draco's relationship repaired itself wouldn't accomplish anything. she had to act. how to get through to draco was something she'd have to figure out.

quickly.

//

returning to his roots: chapter 35

the first thing hermione had done after arriving back in her office was to owl draco that the issue had been resolved. due to their current situation, hermione didn't expect an answer right away, but she did expect an acknowledgment before the end of the day.

after eating lunch with gloria, still mindful she hadn't received an answer from draco, hermione sat down with freckle boy walter to discuss a few things. he'd been doing a great job so hermione thought he deserved a well done. walter had a few interesting ideas which he shared with hermione and their conversation had gone on for forty five minutes.

hermione told walter she would share his suggestions with terry and justin to see if they found them feasible. walter thanked hermione for her time then left to relieve elroy who was covering his desk while he was speaking to hermione.

at the end of the day, hermione was disappointed in not having heard from draco. although he never mentioned responding to a message, she just assumed he would give her some kind of nod after he received it. she was actually surprised about that because even though draco was angry, his manners remained intact.

hermione wanted resolution, but she was wavering. perhaps it would be better to give draco another day to stew. tomorrow she would initiate a discussion even if she had to hold him at wand point.

/*/

kingsley was at his most expansive as he spoke to cw grimsby. the men were discussing the days results and kingsley was very happy.

"i believe we've done it mr. grimsby. the air is clear. from here, everyone will abide by the updated set of rules, or they will be shown the door. i have other important matters on the front burner, but anthony, you and i will revisit this matter in six months. i believe i owe mr. goldstein an overly large pay rise. the man has had to have his hands in about a dozen pies at the same time."

"a dozen pies sir?" questioned the cw not understanding what kingsley meant by the strange statement.

"forgive me cw. i sometimes take for granted that wizards know these muggle terms. i simply meant anthony has been very busy with a lot more than his normal duties. on that same note, the governors were very impressed with your ability, as was i, to clear up a nasty situation in record time. i see big things in your future mr. grimsby."

although the cw smiled

oadly, kingsley was known to slightly embellish the truth when he was pleased. the cw was chuffed to have the eyes of the governors on him, but he'd worked hard to get to the coveted spot of chief warlock, and wouldn't be adverse to remaining in the spot for the rest of his career. however, he thought it smart to nod and match kingsley's smile.

/*/

as of 5:30 pm, every loose end had been tied up.

marshall springer was in a holding cell ruing the day he decided to cross lines.

rebecca farmer, whose illegal bail had been revoked, was back in custody sharing a cell with her very good friend betty goyle.

gina kroeker had returned to the ministry monday morning accompanied by her father who had given her a harsh reprimand for being involved with rebecca farmer in the first place. mr. kroeker who placed all the blame on rebecca's poor character was shocked when an officer of the court took his sweet, little gina into custody. when kroeker pulled out his money bag to pay gina's fine, he was told to go home because his daughter was being detained. his galleons hadn't been able to buy his daughter out of trouble this time.

jack thomas had also been spoken to by his head, the cw and kingsley. in that order. then he too had been stripped of his position, after which, he was taken directly to holding to join the rest of the ministry employees who felt they were above the rules.

christa jenkins had been read the riot act by her department head then let go with the admonition that no references would be forthcoming, so she shouldn't use his name when seeking a new position.

/*/

in the midst of the one investigation, evidence had surfaced that a junior mle officer as well as an older auror were not living up to the requirements of their positions. because their transgressions had been flagrant, they were not given the opportunity to remain with the ministry.

both kingsley and the cw were disappointed with the older auror whom they had known for years, but hadn't offered any special considerations. the junior mle officer who obviously hadn't taken his responsibilities seriously was sacked in two sentences.

the head of the aurors as well as head of mle were given cautions about their personnel and their management styles. the thing that had saved them from disciplinary actions were the reports they had turned in to kingsley. the reports clearly detailed the reprimands that had been given both employees by the heads and the follow up. the consensus between grimsby and kingsley was that the heads had done what needed to be done. it was the employees who were at fault.

at 6:00 pm, the cw said goodnight to kingsley, stopped by anthony's office to thank him for his diligence, gave percy a nod from the doorway and jauntily headed to the lifts. he had one more stop to make then it was two days off for him.

as he rode down the lift, a nasty thought passed grimsby's mind. i have two days off. if anything else goes wrong, pass me by because i am not taking owls. taking a stretch as the lift doors opened, the cw repeated his thought. yes, that's exactly what i mean. i'm unavailable. do not owl me.

striding quickly to the front doors, grimsby released a loud sigh. in his position, there was no such thing as not taking a ministry owl.

/*/

being the wise wizard he was, anthony had stuck his head in kingsley's door as soon as the cw had cleared the hallway.

"a minute minister?"

"of course anthony," kingsley remarked using his hand to beckon anthony in. "i always have time for my top assistant and advisor. what can i do for you?"

anthony had a thing for hermione, and he'd helped her, but he wasn't going to have it appear as though he was trying to get something past the minister. a pretty skirt and well turned ankle would not be the reason he lost kingsley's trust. he would reveal all. full disclosure. well, almost full disclosure.

"hermione granger came to me for assistance today and i got her sorted. during a bit of research, hermione came across what can be construed as incendiary and vile information gathered by the muggleborn registration commission and it's followers. she became uncomfortable with the fact that the information could be accessed by anyone who signed into the li

ary. after a

ief look through a few of the files, i was in total agreement. i secured the area, removed all keys and access codes from li

ary wizard chester with specific instructions that no on is allowed in until the material is reviewed for worth."

"fine, fine," replied kingsley waving a hand. "i trust your judgment."

kingsley was a smart man who knew his assistant probably better than he knew himself. there was more.

"something more anthony?"

"as a matter of fact sir, there is. the aforementioned chester nearly fell apart when i showed up at his station. he kept calling me assistant minister going so far as to call me the second most powerful wizard in the ministry."

kingsley gazed at anthony thoughtfully before making his reply. "to me, you are."

anthony knew the minister did not throw compliments about lightly and felt a flush of pride course through his body.

"thank you sir. there's one more thing. if i may speak frankly, i think i scared the shite out of chester."

kingsley chuckled. "good. i imagine he is one employee who we can count on to do his job. if not, he'll find my assistant at his desk willing to straighten him out. while you're here, i want to remind you to

ing weasley up to speed on the more mundane of your jobs. as bigger and more important things are being handed to you, someone will have to take up the slack. keep me informed. if weasley can't manage, we'll find someone who can. you really are a great help to this administration. goodnight."

"goodnight minister."

anthony slipped into his suit coat, gathered his wand, a file folder of items he wanted to look through that evening then headed to the lifts.

he'd had to tweak things ever so slightly to protect hermione, but in the end, everything was as it should be. perhaps hermione will look on me more fondly after this, he thought. one can only hope.

/*/

during the lunch hour, after owling his mother, draco had owled theo to let him know he would be stopping by after work. although draco wouldn't admit it out loud, he wanted advice from the person who would most readily know what he was feeling. malfoys normally didn't solicit advice, but the times had changed. draco was willing to listen, if it helped steer him in the right direction. perhaps theo had some ideas. if not, perhaps theo would obliviate him.

giving a short bark which was supposed to pass for a laugh, draco looked up into the faces of donald and

ian.

"i won't even comment," remarked donald giving

ian a look. "

ian doesn't want any more male bantering. here's your lunch. beef plate as requested. donald and i will be in the work room." donald turned at the door obviously remembering something he had to tell draco. "we saw hermione in the food service court. she gave me a wave. i think she has forgiven me for the utterances of my rude friend. we'll see you in a bit."

donald was out the door, but

ian who was slow getting there noticed that draco hadn't made any response to donald's remarks.

"see you in a bit then draco."

"i'll be there in a few."

/*/

draco was just finishing up his lunch when he noticed that donald had left the afternoon mail on his desk. hurriedly sorting through the envelopes, draco noticed one was from hermione. gingerly, he put it aside to focus on the business related mail. when he had finished responding to his business mail, draco headed to the workroom deciding he would reply to hermione after work.

"almost through day one boss. we may not be in a position to present the case to blaise today, but everything should be ready sometime tomorrow morning."

"thanks

ian. we all know blaise isn't looking for fast. he's looking for thorough. from the looks of things, we will be able to sit down either tonight or early tomorrow to go over our findings. one case down, two to go."

"right in one," answered donald. "it's almost 6:30. if my opinion counts, i'd rather we go over the findings in the morning."

draco agreed. "no problem there. we'll go over it in the morning. tie up whatever you are working on and we'll call it a night."

"perfect," replied donald and

ian at the same time as they hurriedly put away what they were working on.

"more of the same tomorrow boss. goodnight."

"see you in the morning draco."

"i'll see you both in the morning. goodnight."

/*/

draco remained behind to make some case notes. he wasn't in any hurry to get to theo's. lately, theo had become a night owl. he'd be awake until all hours. even so, draco cleared up then headed back to his office. grabbing the envelope from hermione and placing it in his inside pocket, he used the men's before heading to the lifts.

draco found himself in an odd mood. he was angry with hermione, but he missed her. his trust in her had diminished, but he wanted to be with her. in addition, the nasty picture of his mother being ravished was somehow fading into the back recesses of his mind. with an exaggerated sigh, he stepped off the lifts and almost knocked tracey davis on her arse.

"nicely done draco," she said grabbing hold to his arm to keep from falling. "i bet all the wizards wish they had such smooth moves."

"hello davis. what are you doing hanging around the lifts this time of night? assignation?"

tracey laughed at the suggestion. "no assignation draco. simply waiting for a chum. we're going to have a drink at the leaky. would you care to join us? nothing better than being surrounded by two beautiful witches."

draco wavered for a second. theo would wait. being surrounded by two beautiful witches…

without warning, an image of hermione popped up in his mind cautioning him to think again. draco smiled at tracey before declining her invitation. "as lovely as it sounds, i'll have to decline your invitation. there is somewhere else i need to be."

tracey davis turned around to watch draco walk away. now that's a lovely male arse, she thought. i'll bet i can make him squeal. how could i have ever let that get away? maybe. perhaps…. tracey laughed to herself. i might as well get my mind out of the gutter. what happened between him and i was a fluke. he probably wouldn't let me near that dick even if i paid him.

"hey there tracey," remarked her friend as the lift doors closed behind her. "sorry i was so long. my prat of a boss chose now to discuss the state of the universe. i'm ready."

"no problem," tracey replied, nodding at hermione granger who had stepped off the lift behind her friend. "i saw draco malfoy and was having a nice daydream about his tight malfoy arse."

her friend laughed. "i know what you mean. i wouldn't mind getting on a first name basis with that wizard for a night or two. after that, i probably wouldn't be able to stand him. too high maintenance for me."

tracey let out a shriek so loud the wizard on duty in the atrium gave her a pointed glare. tracey ignored the wizard and responded to her friend with a quick answer. "ha! one night. two nights. the line forms behind me. let's get to the leaky. i don't want to be out too late."

/*/

it was after 7:00, but hermione was still at her desk. the situation had been resolved and she had kept her word to owl draco with the information, but had received nothing but silence from draco's end. however, instead of sitting there feeling all hard done by, hermione allowed the first small tentacles to circle her

ain. she was past apologizing. that had already been done. she was past inviting draco to have a discussion. she had done that as well. it was time for her big

ain to come up with something to get her back with draco, or help her get past the end of a relationship. preferably, the former rather than the latter.

hermione sighed then leaned back to let the ideas form. a few minutes later, she was startled to look up to see blaise standing at her door. he had approached her office so quietly it was as though he had materialized in front of her.

"hello hermione. i had a bit of late business over this way so i thought i'd check to see if you were still here. how are things going?"

it was like a smack upside her head. to her big

ain, she offered a silent but joyous thank you. although he didn't know it, mr. zabini was, in some way, going to help her get back with draco. did she feel bad about using blaise? hell no! she wanted to be back with her wizard.

"hello mr. zabini," replied hermione casually. "have a seat. what can i do for you at this hour of the night?"