Fic Challenge #190: Turnabout
Title: Turnabout
Summary: Draco has an interesting interview with the Department Head on his first day at the Department of Mysteries.
Characters/Pairings: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger
Genre: General
Rating/Warnings: G
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 1076
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Sure
If yes, your Tumblr username: N/A
“The Head will see you now, Mr. Malfoy.” The secretary was careful not to look at me directly, her tone making it pointedly clear that my existence was a blight upon the earth.
I wondered briefly who the Head of the Department of Mysteries was these days. I was fairly in the dark when it came to the Ministry, as the Malfoy network of influence had shrunk to practically nonexistent. Even my unperturbable parents were beginning to get perturbed. When you had our pecuniary capacities, a decade was a long time for the public to officially hate you.
In truth, I was fortunate the Aurors stationed at the Ministry thresholds didn’t evict me on sight when I walked in. So many other places made it a politically correct -- and rather showy -- practice.
With that rousing thought, I walked towards the Head’s office. At least I’d finally get to see who’d offered me this position via owl. It had all been very hush-hush and I didn’t quite believe that it wasn’t some terrible joke.
I paused once I saw who was sitting behind the Head’s handsome mahogany desk.
I knew enough by now to keep my mouth shut when surprising things happened - you didn’t survive after the war by blurting out whatever crossed your mind. But this did explain how I got considered for the job in the first place. Hermione was always one for lost causes.
She looked up at me calmly and gestured to the comfortable-looking velvet chair across from her. “I think you’re going to like it here. Won’t you sit, Mr. Malfoy?”
I sat. And waited.
She steepled her fingers. “We should get this out of the way now.”
I arched an eyebrow. “This?”
“This awkwardness.”
Bitterness twisted my mouth. “I’m not sure that’s something you can just brush out of the way, Ms. Granger.”
She leaned forward, a fierceness in her eyes. “Oh yes, yes it can be. It will be. And let’s start by you calling me Hermione.”
I swallowed hard, finding my throat suddenly tight. “You should call me Draco, then.”
“Lovely.” She extended her hand. “Draco, it’s a pleasure to see you.”
I took her fingers in mine, feeling the strong pressure of her grip. “The pleasure is mine. Hermione.” The name slipped off my lips with surprising ease once I remembered I was allowed to say it out loud. I’d said it silently to myself too many times to count. “So, if I might ask, what does the Department of Mysteries need with someone as politically inconvenient as me?”
She snorted. “A clue.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
Her lips quirked into a sardonic smile. “If you had to guess, Draco, how many people would you say worked in the Department of Mysteries?”
I blinked. “My most recent information’s a decade out of date.”
“I did say 'guess'.”
I tilted my head, trying to remember and extrapolate forward a decade. “One hundred?”
Her lips quirked farther. “Not too far off. And how many do you think are competent to do their job?”
My smile mirrored hers for a moment. That was easier. “One. You.”
“Flatterer.” She closed her eyes briefly. “You are not, however, far off. Unfortunately.”
“You’ve been able to make strategic hires then? Because ten years ago, there was practically no one that I knew of.”
She snorted softly. “Let’s just say that since I became Head, I’ve been very in favor of making strategic hires. Like I’m doing now with you.”
“Bit of an uphill battle, is it?”
She snorted softly again. “Quite. The bastards hide behind their bureaucracy.”
“Then why bother with me? There are plenty of willing and eager applicants, I’m sure.”
“Willing and eager and utterly useless. I have plenty of utterly useless already in this group of idiots, thank you very much.”
Memories surfaced in a nauseating rush and I shook them off. “I know the feeling.”
Compassion and an ironic shrewdness filled her eyes. “Exactly. Which is why I need you here. Seven NEWTs and experience navigating baroque organizations are skillsets that aren’t easy to find together.”
Sudden warmth rushed through my chest. “You found someone else with seven NEWTs, though?”
Her lips quirked in that smile of hers again. “Just myself. Seems Hogwarts standards have slipped some since we left.” She stretched back into her chair. “But trust me, to find the bureaucratic experience, I’d have to drop far lower on the NEWTs. And I thought why bother when there’s someone available who’s exactly what I need?”
“Except for the whole former Death Eater thing, of course.” There. I’d said it.
She waved that away. “Immaterial. Competent is far more important.”
My heart pounded in my throat with desperate hope. “Very practical of you.”
“I’m quite a practical girl.”
“And I’ll be thanking my lucky stars for that, believe you me.”
Her smile was back. “Mmm. Of course, that’s assuming that I can trust you. Competence and reliability together are what I’m after.” She leaned forward, leveling me with a gaze of shocking intensity. “Can I trust you, Draco?”
I found my tongue after a long moment. “To do what?”
“To be my ally. To be competent. To make this department into a place where intellectually staggering things occur on a regular basis for the betterment of all.”
The purity of her intent swept me up, battering against memories of other intents from my extremely ill-advised youth. This felt like a clean ocean wave washing away the slime of ages. I soaked it in, holding her gaze in mine before I answered. “You can trust me, Hermione.”
“Good. Very good, Draco.” She stood up. “Lunch? I can bring you up to speed on current projects.”
I glanced at the door, thinking of the secretary and her palpable disapproval. “Are you sure that’s...wise, right off? Perhaps a general introductory meeting first with the rest of the competent people here.”
Her lips twitched briefly. “Well, given that Pitt’s retirement party is tonight, he’s a bit busy and not all that interested in starting new things. That leaves us.”
My eyebrows shot to the top of my head.
She nodded. “Quite. So you see the importance of your immediate hiring.”
I nodded back. “Quite.”
She opened the door, giving the secretary a severe look that would have done McGonagall proud. “Shall we, Draco?”
I nodded politely to the secretary, who looked as if she’d swallowed a chizpurfle. “Do let’s, Hermione.”
(41 points)
Summary: Draco has an interesting interview with the Department Head on his first day at the Department of Mysteries.
Characters/Pairings: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger
Genre: General
Rating/Warnings: G
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 1076
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Sure
If yes, your Tumblr username: N/A
“The Head will see you now, Mr. Malfoy.” The secretary was careful not to look at me directly, her tone making it pointedly clear that my existence was a blight upon the earth.
I wondered briefly who the Head of the Department of Mysteries was these days. I was fairly in the dark when it came to the Ministry, as the Malfoy network of influence had shrunk to practically nonexistent. Even my unperturbable parents were beginning to get perturbed. When you had our pecuniary capacities, a decade was a long time for the public to officially hate you.
In truth, I was fortunate the Aurors stationed at the Ministry thresholds didn’t evict me on sight when I walked in. So many other places made it a politically correct -- and rather showy -- practice.
With that rousing thought, I walked towards the Head’s office. At least I’d finally get to see who’d offered me this position via owl. It had all been very hush-hush and I didn’t quite believe that it wasn’t some terrible joke.
I paused once I saw who was sitting behind the Head’s handsome mahogany desk.
I knew enough by now to keep my mouth shut when surprising things happened - you didn’t survive after the war by blurting out whatever crossed your mind. But this did explain how I got considered for the job in the first place. Hermione was always one for lost causes.
She looked up at me calmly and gestured to the comfortable-looking velvet chair across from her. “I think you’re going to like it here. Won’t you sit, Mr. Malfoy?”
I sat. And waited.
She steepled her fingers. “We should get this out of the way now.”
I arched an eyebrow. “This?”
“This awkwardness.”
Bitterness twisted my mouth. “I’m not sure that’s something you can just brush out of the way, Ms. Granger.”
She leaned forward, a fierceness in her eyes. “Oh yes, yes it can be. It will be. And let’s start by you calling me Hermione.”
I swallowed hard, finding my throat suddenly tight. “You should call me Draco, then.”
“Lovely.” She extended her hand. “Draco, it’s a pleasure to see you.”
I took her fingers in mine, feeling the strong pressure of her grip. “The pleasure is mine. Hermione.” The name slipped off my lips with surprising ease once I remembered I was allowed to say it out loud. I’d said it silently to myself too many times to count. “So, if I might ask, what does the Department of Mysteries need with someone as politically inconvenient as me?”
She snorted. “A clue.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
Her lips quirked into a sardonic smile. “If you had to guess, Draco, how many people would you say worked in the Department of Mysteries?”
I blinked. “My most recent information’s a decade out of date.”
“I did say 'guess'.”
I tilted my head, trying to remember and extrapolate forward a decade. “One hundred?”
Her lips quirked farther. “Not too far off. And how many do you think are competent to do their job?”
My smile mirrored hers for a moment. That was easier. “One. You.”
“Flatterer.” She closed her eyes briefly. “You are not, however, far off. Unfortunately.”
“You’ve been able to make strategic hires then? Because ten years ago, there was practically no one that I knew of.”
She snorted softly. “Let’s just say that since I became Head, I’ve been very in favor of making strategic hires. Like I’m doing now with you.”
“Bit of an uphill battle, is it?”
She snorted softly again. “Quite. The bastards hide behind their bureaucracy.”
“Then why bother with me? There are plenty of willing and eager applicants, I’m sure.”
“Willing and eager and utterly useless. I have plenty of utterly useless already in this group of idiots, thank you very much.”
Memories surfaced in a nauseating rush and I shook them off. “I know the feeling.”
Compassion and an ironic shrewdness filled her eyes. “Exactly. Which is why I need you here. Seven NEWTs and experience navigating baroque organizations are skillsets that aren’t easy to find together.”
Sudden warmth rushed through my chest. “You found someone else with seven NEWTs, though?”
Her lips quirked in that smile of hers again. “Just myself. Seems Hogwarts standards have slipped some since we left.” She stretched back into her chair. “But trust me, to find the bureaucratic experience, I’d have to drop far lower on the NEWTs. And I thought why bother when there’s someone available who’s exactly what I need?”
“Except for the whole former Death Eater thing, of course.” There. I’d said it.
She waved that away. “Immaterial. Competent is far more important.”
My heart pounded in my throat with desperate hope. “Very practical of you.”
“I’m quite a practical girl.”
“And I’ll be thanking my lucky stars for that, believe you me.”
Her smile was back. “Mmm. Of course, that’s assuming that I can trust you. Competence and reliability together are what I’m after.” She leaned forward, leveling me with a gaze of shocking intensity. “Can I trust you, Draco?”
I found my tongue after a long moment. “To do what?”
“To be my ally. To be competent. To make this department into a place where intellectually staggering things occur on a regular basis for the betterment of all.”
The purity of her intent swept me up, battering against memories of other intents from my extremely ill-advised youth. This felt like a clean ocean wave washing away the slime of ages. I soaked it in, holding her gaze in mine before I answered. “You can trust me, Hermione.”
“Good. Very good, Draco.” She stood up. “Lunch? I can bring you up to speed on current projects.”
I glanced at the door, thinking of the secretary and her palpable disapproval. “Are you sure that’s...wise, right off? Perhaps a general introductory meeting first with the rest of the competent people here.”
Her lips twitched briefly. “Well, given that Pitt’s retirement party is tonight, he’s a bit busy and not all that interested in starting new things. That leaves us.”
My eyebrows shot to the top of my head.
She nodded. “Quite. So you see the importance of your immediate hiring.”
I nodded back. “Quite.”
She opened the door, giving the secretary a severe look that would have done McGonagall proud. “Shall we, Draco?”
I nodded politely to the secretary, who looked as if she’d swallowed a chizpurfle. “Do let’s, Hermione.”
(41 points)