Chapter Text
Hermione craned her neck. The massive building before her seemed to go on for miles into the sky. She shouldn’t be surprised at the size, yet she was. It’s not like she hadn’t been here before. She nailed her job interview after all, beating every other applicant by far with her knowledge and a wide range to tackle tasks no other witch seemed capable of handling even with basic magical skills.
Yet, on her first official day, it was still incredibly daunting to stare at the giant letters on the front of the building.
Draconite Inc.
Despite it not being her first choice of employment, she did not doubt that this would be a job from which she would learn a great deal. Being the Personal Assistant to none other than the owner of this building and the man behind the name, Draco Malfoy, was sure to propel her into the work field she wanted to make a name for herself.
Hermione Granger had always had dreams. She was also a realist. She knew dreams did not drop into her lap just like that. Some dreams she had to work to obtain. If she had to be a PA for a year or two, then she would be the damned best PA, before she could move up the ladder in the wizarding work field (one that still regarded witches as inferior unless they found a way to prove themselves above and beyond).
Once she stepped inside the building, the light from outside followed her through the many windows as she approached the front desk and a bored-looking witch, who absently twirled her wand in her hair. Hermione brushed her pencil skirt down nervously before cupping a hand to the bun on her neck to make sure her curls hadn’t sprung free - yet.
“Yes?” The witch answered without even looking up from - a copy of Witch Weekly. Hermione rolled her eyes at the predictability of this witch. She had no ambitions for this job.
“Yes, hello, my name is Hermione Granger. It’s my first day here.” She tried to be polite about it, but the other witch just raised a brow with a bored expression before pointing Hermione to the left.
“Security checks and identification through that door.”
“Right, thank you.”
Once she’d been cleared not to carry anything damaging to Draconite Inc. or any other means to disrupt the company, the grumpy old wizard handed her a badge that vibrated in her hand.
“It’s charmed to allow you access where you’ve been granted. If the door opens, fine, if not, that’s above your clearance. Best of luck.” He ushered her out of the room in a hurry. She studied the badge for a moment.
Her picture smiled happily back at her, a look of determination fluttering across her eyes. Next to her, the letters spelt out ‘Hermione Granger, Personal Assistant to Executive Chief in Command, Draco Malfoy.’
It still sent a small bubble of excitement through her stomach seeing this title. A handful of the other girls present for the interviews had obviously only applied for a chance to get close to Draco Malfoy.
Of course, Hermione was not stupid. Nor blind.
After all, Draco Malfoy was featured almost monthly on the covers of at least one magazine on any newsstand. Either it was about his business doing even better than last month, another announcement as the most eligible bachelor or a reminiscent article about his too-short Quidditch career.
So no, Hermione had never been blind to the presence of Draco Malfoy. They went to school together, too. Although 5 years her senior, Hermione didn’t notice or know who he was until her second year at Hogwarts when Draco was a seventh year. That was the year he entered the newly instated Triwizard Tournament and won. However, what really impressed the public was the fact that he didn’t want to accept the Galleon Prize. Instead, he donated it to Hogwarts to improve their Quidditch facilities. Hardly anyone wasn’t aware of his passion for Quidditch, and many expected him to play professionally once he graduated.
And he did.
For barely a year before the accident made it impossible for him to continue to play.
After that, it was a few years before the wizarding world heard more about Draco Malfoy, and Hermione kept on with her studies without a care about any of that. She remembered the time she read about his accident – there hardly were any boys at school who weren’t obsessed with the sport, of course, and wouldn’t stop trying to talk about it at every chance they got and she had felt sad for him. Mainly because it prevented him from doing something he loved. That was the most of it and she moved on - at the time she had exams to prepare for.
Once Draco Malfoy made his return to the public world of the wizarding community, it was to purchase his personal Quidditch team and several shops in Diagon Alley. That was just the beginning. He quickly rose in the ranks and made a name for himself as he invested and grew his business.
Hermione knew all of this for a reason. This reason only became more important once she showed up for her initial interview and was met with a room full of young witches in various stages of primped dress robes meant to mimic business attire.
Hermione’s stomach had been in knots as candidate after candidate had been sent home with polite offerings of this and that. One witch had been so offended even through her tears of rejection that she had been halfway on her way to fire a hex through the door before it slammed in her face.
Of course, it was Hermione’s luck that she was next in line for the interview. Both Draco Malfoy and his second in command, Theodore Nott, had looked knackered and about to end the day when she took her seat.
She supposed she had surprised them in some way by not being the primped witch wanting an in with the famous Mr Malfoy and a hand in his vaults or his bed or perhaps both.
They offered her the job before she left the building.
Here she was, waiting for the lift to take her up to the main floor and meet her new boss to find out where she would be working.
Her stomach was doing that horrible thing of tying itself into knots, another reason why skipping breakfast had been a good choice even with Luna’s homemade vegetarian smoothies. As each level passed by the dial above the door, Hermione focused on calming her breathing.
Sooner than expected, the doors clicked and opened for her to come face to face with none other than Theodore Nott.
“Miss Granger, welcome to Draconite Inc.” He held out his hand and she shook it, observing the crispness of his navy suit and how it was tailored to his tall frame. His hair curled around his ears, yet still looked styled for the day. What struck her the most was the attention in his eyes as he in turn studied her. They were bright green and solely fixed on her as she could practically feel him size her up.
For a second, it made her doubt the black pencil skirt paired with a simple creamy-coloured dress shirt. She had dressed in what she thought was proper business attire but of course, it was business attire customed from her muggle upbringing. She realised she should be surprised that Theodore Nott wore a muggle suit. All she could think about was how good he looked.
She only knew of Theodore Nott in the same manner she knew of Draco Malfoy. The two of them had been in the same year, although not the same house. Where Malfoy was a Slytherin through the bone, Nott had been in Ravenclaw, the same as Hermione. Despite them sharing a house, they had only passed each other randomly in the common room as they each had their group of friends.
Back in school, he had been much more gangly and less confident than what he appeared to be just now.
His piercing gaze seemed to rake across her entire body.
“Mr Malfoy asked me to give you the tour as he is booked in meetings all morning.” Mr Nott gestured for her to step out of the lift and Hermione blinked to escape the hold his green eyes had on her for a moment.
“Right, of course.” She fumbled with the strap of her bag slung over her shoulder as Mr Nott fell into step beside her.
“You will be working directly from this level, although I can’t promise you won’t have to frequent the other levels. But,” at this point, he paused briefly to greet one of the other people they passed in the hallway. One side of this hallway was paned with floor-to-ceiling glass panels, giving Hermione a wonderful view into every office and the people who worked there. She had yet to recognise any faces aside from Mr Nott.
“As Mr Malfoy’s PA, this will be your station.” They had reached the end of the hallway and Hermione found herself in a large room also paned with windows on one entire side, which offered a splendid view of the rest of London. It was a very open room leading to a smaller hallway on the opposite side of where she stood next to Mr Nott. Opposite the many windows were two doors, one of which was closed. Hermione quickly read the name on the open door, Theodore Nott, Deputy Director.
This meant the other door must lead to Mr Malfoy’s office. She didn’t get to study it closer before Mr Nott ushered her over to one of two very large desks, which were the main furniture in the room.
“This will be your desk. We’ve tried to stock it with quills and whatever you might need. I have no fucking clue what Draco will need from you, but I don’t doubt he’ll be quick to tell you once he wraps up his meetings. You should have,” he glanced at a very expensive watch on his wrist. “At least an hour or two to get yourself sorted before he’ll be out barking commands at you.”
“Oh, well, thank you, I suppose.” Hermione glanced at the other desk, which stood glaringly empty, not even a potted plant in sight.
“Ah yes,” Mr Nott walked around the two desks, putting several feet between him and Hermione.
“My secretary used to work here.” A smile graced his lips for a moment as he ran his fingers across the surface of the desk.
“This person doesn’t work here anymore?”
“Ah, no,” Mr Nott offered with a cheeky grin. “Conflict of interest and all that. Not to worry, Miss Granger. We always help all of our employees find a different job before we let them out of our contracts. We take care of our own at Draconite Inc. I hope you’ll remember this.”
“Of course, sir.” Hermione carefully dipped her chin, averting her eyes as her mind raced with the implications of what he had just said.
“I hope you won’t mind me calling for your help once in a while until such a time I will have a new secretary to assist me.”
“Of course.”
“As long as you always take care of Mr Malfoy’s needs and requests first. You are his PA, after all.” He winked and grinned, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.
“Right. Of course.”
“Splendid. Down this hall, you’ll find everything you should need. There are stationary and all that mixed in with a coffee station at some point. I have things to deal with so I’ll leave you for the time. My door is always open, should you need it.”
“Thank you, Mr Nott,” Hermione said and set her bag on her chair. Mr Nott opened his mouth as if to say something but seemed to think better of it before he just smiled and returned to his office.
During the next two hours, Hermione familiarised herself with her new workspace. She set up all the things she had brought with her in her bag - including a holder for quills and pens, her ink pot, a planner and several notebooks, a picture frame with a moving picture of Crooks trying to worm his way out of Luna’s firm grip (living with Luna for some years had made Crooks tolerate the other witch. To a certain degree, of course. Hermione was still the only person he allowed to pick him up.) - before she went to scope out the mentioned stationary.
Hermione loved everything used for writing. When she first became aware she was a witch, she was initially thrilled at the prospect of writing with a quill and ink - until the first time her ink pot was knocked over and the incident made her miss pens more than expected - the smell of parchment could make her smile on the dreariest of days. Draconite Inc. had an entire room for every kind of paper and parchment necessary along with shelves upon shelves of writing equipment and whatever else she might need. Hermione had no idea what sort of work Mr Malfoy would require of her, so she made sure to take a little of everything to store in the drawers of her desk. Just to be prepared.
She was just finishing up stacking several blank scrolls in a drawer when the door to Mr Malfoy’s office opened. Jumping from her seat, Hermione knocked over her picture frame. She brushed the front of her skirt and tried to look professional as she watched Mr Malfoy escort a wizard with a chocolate brown complexion from his office. Mr Malfoy raised a brow in her direction for a second while she scrambled not to look too flustered. Then his attention was back on the other wizard. They shook hands.
“I’m sure this collaboration will benefit the both of us, Mr Zabini.”
“I fucking hope so, Malfoy.”
Mr Malfoy’s lips thinned at the way this Mr Zabini spoke. Hermione thought perhaps they must know each other outside of the business meeting they had just had.
“Yes, well, thank you for stopping by today. Theo will have drawn up the contracts and have the documents ready for you.” Their hands parted and Mr Malfoy nodded in the direction of Mr Nott’s office for Mr Zabini to proceed.
Hermione felt frozen on the spot, not aware of what to do.
The next moment, Mr Malfoy had turned to her and was studying her, head to toe. In turn, she took the opportunity to do the same to him.
Just like Mr Nott, Mr Malfoy wore a muggle-styled suit. His was the darkest black she had ever seen. He was without his jacket and his sleeves were pushed up to reveal muscled forearms that flexed briefly when he shoved one hand in his pocket. The other curled around his chin for a moment. Hermione imagined his fingers would rub against the tiniest amount of stubble on his structured face. His jawline was strong but his eyes were stronger.
The steel grey at the centre narrowed on Hermione and she suddenly felt very exposed. His blond hair was combed back neatly, but not slicked like she had seen other people do at her age. This looked effortless but still stylish.
“Miss Granger, welcome. Please, step into my office.” He stepped back, gesturing for her to enter. Hermione nodded and clasped her hands on her front as she passed him. Her nostrils flared briefly when she caught a whiff of his dark cologne. It was strong but not in the overwhelming and nauseating way some of her friends liked to overdose themselves. This was heavy around his frame to invade her senses just as she passed him. Once she took the next step, her senses returned to normal and she found herself in the middle of a clean and very sleek office. Mr Malfoy gestured for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. The wood was warm when she sat, so she assumed she had taken up a seat in the same spot Mr Zabini had occupied for the past hour or so. Mr Malfoy made his way around his desk slowly. His desk was larger than Hermione’s and made of dark mahogany. It shone in the late morning sun through the tall windows.
“I trust Theo welcomed you this morning. I apologise. I would have done so myself were I not otherwise engaged.”
“It’s quite all right, sir. Mr Nott was kind enough to show me the necessities.”
“That’s good. Now,” he pulled out a planner from a desk and pushed it across for Hermione to take. She accepted it readily, planning and scheduling was something she excelled at.
“We discussed some of your areas of responsibility during your interview. As I mentioned at the time, these may shift as the company progresses. This is my schedule. I expect you to memorise every detail, should I need assistance in any matter.” Mr Malfoy went on to explain the many ways in which she would work under him at Draconite Inc. There were hardly any surprises, most had been laid forward during the interview and Hermione was well prepared for almost anything he threw her way.
“Going forward, there will be meetings I expect you to participate in as well. I shall need your skills in documentation among others.”
“Of course, sir.” Hermione hurried to make a mental note to prepare for situations like these. This meant she didn’t note the small twitch of Mr Malfoy’s eye at the mention of her calling him Sir.
“Might I ask to be told in advance when these meetings would require my presence?”
“That is fair.”
“Thank you.”
“Otherwise, I shall hand out tasks when needed. However, I expect you to handle your side of this working relationship mostly on your own. My time is limited and I have several projects lined up that will also demand my time and attention. In due course, this means more tasks for you to handle as well.”
Hermione nodded eagerly. This was what she expected and so far nothing had thrown her off her new job.
“That will be all for now, Miss Granger.” Mr Malfoy rose from his seat, brushing down the front of his abdomen, causing Hermione’s gaze to catch on the line of his body for a fraction of a second before she roused herself. “Of course, Mr Malfoy. I’ll be at my desk if you need me.” She nodded and left without another word, carefully closing the door behind her before finding her place at her desk again.
Once seated, she could breathe a little easier.
When she’d first met Mr Malfoy at her interview, he had been less intimidating. Mostly because it had been Mr Nott who did most of the talking. If Mr Malfoy had conducted the interview, Hermione felt certain she wouldn’t have this job. The timbre of his voice made her spine crackle with nervous energy and the sight of his rolled-up sleeves had an unexpected effect on her.
Shaking her head, she decided to write it off as ‘first-day-nerves’ and get down to business. Fawning over her new boss wouldn’t do. That was not why she was here. Hermione Granger was nothing if not a professional. She would not lust after her boss.
She flipped open Mr Malfoy’s planner and silently groaned at the many scribbled appointments and notes in handwriting that were only halfway readable. Determined to prove her worth, she set to work transcribing and aligning schedules.