Closer Than I Ever Imagined by 3secondfish
The experience of waking was not something that Hermione enjoyed that morning. She felt as if someone had been using her temple for brick-throwing practice. Her mouth had inexplicably come to feel like the inside of a sock. She had received all of this information but had yet to open her eyes. Feeling she might as well get on with it, she did so.
* * *
“AIEEEEE!”
The deafening shriek brought Draco to full consciousness. His flat was Unplottable, but he feared that one of his many enemies might have found a way in. Since he himself had first-hand experience in circumventing such measures, he sometimes worried that another might do the same. Draco fearlessly ran into the living room, wand raised, ready to confront the attacker.
He found Hermione confronted with a huge snake, at least six feet long. Its powerful black and orange coils were piled up on her chest where its three heads wavered and hissed ominously near her terrified face. Her mouth moved silently, too frightened to make another sound.
Taking in the tense scene, Draco barked, “Trippy, stop it!”
The snake seemed to roll its many eyes at Draco for spoiling its fun. However, it obediently slithered to the floor. Moodily, it crept under a chair, where it curled up and sulked.
Hermione found her voice, and quavered, “What was that thing?” Then, suddenly, she was on her feet. The sheer number of things she had to be angry about swept over her; the spell damage, the living arrangements, and the new unexplained headache from which Draco seemed to have been exempted. The unorthodox wake-up call was the final straw. She decided to use the incident as an opportunity to express her feelings on the subject. “Malfoy, what the sodding hell is that thing doing here?!” she shouted.
He was taken aback by her fury, but held on to a calm demeanor. “I thought I asked you to call me ‘Draco’,” he replied carelessly. “That,” said Draco, inclining his head toward the snake, “is Triplicity. He’s a runespoor. And I would calm down, if I were you. This sort of excitement makes the left head irritable. That’s the poisonous one, by the way,” he added.
“A what?!” yelped Hermione. “Is that thing your pet?!” She was positively shaking with anger.
“Of course he’s not a pet,” replied Draco indignantly. “I found him during a raid on a Death Eater’s house.” Draco frowned. “The idiot didn’t speak Parseltongue, didn’t know anything about even ordinary snakes, much less runespoors, so I took him home.”
Filtering through her wrath, it dawned on her that taking in a maltreated creature with the capacity to do serious harm was an act that she usually associated with Hagrid. She cooled down a bit, but was still annoyed to have a runespoor sprung on her without warning.
“He wasn’t very happy at first, but with a bit of help, we got it settled eventually,” Draco continued. “So now Trippy is more like a permanent guest; I just allow him houseroom and he takes care of himself. He does,” smirked Draco, “have a sense of humor, though.”
“Not funny,” glowered Hermione. “He nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“It’s just his way,” Draco shrugged. “He won’t do it again, but he can’t resist showing off how big and bad he is.” Hearing this remark, Triplicity blew an unmistakable triple raspberry.
* * *
They set off for work a short time later, Apparating together to the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. Hermione was perfectly cheerful again, but Draco was concerned about how they were to cope with being on different floors of the Ministry, and that assuming that he wasn’t sent off to a distant location to deal with some sort of attack.
While they stood in the Atrium, Draco asked, “Granger, how’s this supposed to work? Aren’t our offices pretty far apart?”
“Oh, I’ve already spoken to my supervisor about that,” said Hermione confidently, as she stepped on to the elevator.
Draco was surprised to see her push the button for the second level. The golden grilles closed, and the elevator chugged and bumped to the offices of Magical Law Enforcement. Puzzling about what she had meant, he followed her as she marched purposefully down the hallway.
Passing a room full of cubicles, Draco heard a familiar voice call out behind him.
“Wotcher, Drakie!” He was faintly annoyed to hear the nickname that Hermione had stumbled upon the previous night.
Hermione continued down the hallway, but Draco stopped to reply, “And good morning to you, too, Nymphadora.” He used Tonks’ first name because he knew that it irritated her.
He had, in the past couple of years, become more friendly with the relatives that had been disowned by his family. Not all were willing to forgive him being a Malfoy, but Tonks was an exception, for which he was grateful. The good-natured teasing they traded was evidence of the eased relations between the cousins.
“Heard you had a bit of trouble in training class,” said Tonks, leaving her desk to lean on the doorframe.
Draco made a non-committal noise. If he was about to be ribbed, he wasn’t going to make it easy.
“Spent a little time in St. Mungo’s, as well,” she continued, raising an eyebrow. “Weren’t going to mention it, were you?” said Tonks, folding her arms in mock reprimand. “Heard that you were there twice, actually,” a twinkle in her eye. “MacManus said that you were puking your guts up when he found you and brought you back.” She started to grin.
“Well, I didn’t see any get-well cards from you,” he retorted coolly. He might have known that news like that would travel fast. He sighed inwardly.
“Well, my favorite ickle cousin should take better care of himself,” said Tonks, chuckling. “Feeling better now?”
“Obviously, or I wouldn’t be here. I came in with Granger this morning, actually.” Draco paused and looked around, realizing that she’d disappeared while he was speaking with Tonks. “Where’s she gotten to?” he wondered aloud. Wherever she went, it can’t be far, thought Draco. Surreptitiously, he rubbed his stomach.
Noticing the movement, Tonks asked with concern, “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”
Draco was spared from having to answer by Hermione’s return. Hermione had worn her regular work robes today (non-descript color, frumpy, and slightly singed), but now she was wearing a completely different outfit. Strutting forward in her new clothes, she greeted Tonks enthusiastically.
“Hi, Tonks! What do you think?” Hermione turned and her long black cloak swirled away from her body, revealing knee-high boots, and a fitted black jumpsuit with patches of a sparkling green.
“Looking good, Hermione!” enthused Tonks. “The colors really suit you!”
Rather than feeling better upon Hermione’s return, Draco’s stomach had dropped unpleasantly. “Nice one, Hermione,” he laughed, fearing the worst, “but Halloween is months away.”
“Oh, this isn’t a costume; it’s my new uniform. I’m your new partner!” she said cheerfully.
A/N: I'm about to start Chapter 12, but unfortunately I can only post at the speed of moderation . . . *sigh* Stay tuned! Read and Review!