Ch 7
Agyness strolled into the Ministry the following day, ready to face a torrent of more “practical questions”. As she approached the elevators, her hand traveled to the nape of her neck to run her fingers through her long ponytail. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, for the past week she had been secretly missing the gentle flirtation that occurred with her and Draco on her first day of work. Sure, after Draco’s apology, yesterday had not been filled with the tense air that had occupied the week before. But it seemed as if Draco had lost interest, just like that. “He can have anyone he fancies,” Agyness thought, still nervously playing with her ponytail, “Why I would ever think he would fancy me…”

“Level two,” The smooth voice silkily spoke as the elevator reached the proper floor. Forcing herself to stop fidgeting, Agyness stepped out of the empty elevator and ambled down the dimly lit corridor, nodding to some aurors that she had made acquaintance with in the recent days. She passed Hermione’s office, number 7 as it were, and saw that the door was locked and the parchment-colored screen still hung over the door’s window. “Still out tracking Macnair,” Agyness sighed, her brown eyes becoming downcast at the sight of the empty workspace. Even though the initial reminders of caution from Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been a hindrance, she missed the sound of their voices and the sight of their faces. She had not received any correspondence from them other than the single letter from Hermione on her first day of work.

Agyness finally reached office 13, taking a slight breath before turning the golden knob and entering. “Good morning,” Draco looked up from a stack of assorted files that were askew on his desk, flashing her a winning smile from his seat behind his desk. “Hi,” She found herself smiling back, even though in her heart she felt like frowning. “What are we doing today? More questions?” She asked, her Ravenclaw-self almost eager to take on another oral test. “Reviewing some files of some criminals, just to familiarize you with certain auror affairs,” Draco pushed a few cream-colored folders towards her, “Pick any one you’d like to start with.”

“Another uneventful day,” Agyness thought as she took a seat, though putting a cheery face on for Draco. Grabbing a folder on her left, she opened it to reveal a picture of a maniacal-looking, dark-haired woman. The picture was almost ghastly to look at; with her pale skin and look of mockery on her face, she reminded Agyness of Medusa. “Bellatrix Lestrange,” Agyness read aloud, wanting to look away from the picture of the demented woman. After reading her list of crimes, Agyness spoke, looking up at Draco, “I remember her. She was in the Prophet almost weekly during my fourth and fifth year at Hogwarts.”

“She’s my aunt,” Draco bluntly stated, casting his eyes toward the cherry wood of the desk. Agyness resisted the urge to drop her jaw. Was this what Hermione had been trying to warn her about? That Draco’s aunt was a convict? “I’m not proud of it,” Draco boldly looked up at her blank face after a silence. Agyness’s lips parted to speak, but Draco raised a hand to stop her, “Don’t take pity or give me any of that rubbish sympathy. I know where I’ve come from and, like I said, I’m not proud of it. Now, if I was a dark wizard, do you think that I would be an auror?” Agyness smiled at his honesty and at his slight attempt at humor. “Aurors can go bad,” she joked, hoping to ease his strain. Draco managed to chuckle, “Right you are. Let’s continue.” The pair leaned over the cherry wood desk towards one another, both grinning and ready to explore more folders together.
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Agyness stepped into the corridor, laughing along with Draco as he locked the office door behind them. It had been a pleasant workday; just some light chat over files and an elegant lunch of croissants and caviar that had been brought to the office by Draco’s house elf, Binka. Agyness smiled to herself as she remembered how sweet it was of him to ask Binka to prepare a second serving for her. “Does she bring you lunch often?” Agyness questioned as their laughter died down. “Not quite,” Draco slowed his usual rampant pace to keep with hers, “I just asked her today; she was so nervous to hear that she was going to be visiting the Ministry.” “How adorable,” Agyness commented. Like Hermione, she had always thought of house elves as lovable creatures. However, she was unlike Hermione in the respect that she knew that house elves were their happiness when put to work, not set free.

Before approaching the end of the corridor and the turn onto the next one, Draco stopped walking. He seemed slightly demure before he spoke, “Agyness, I was just wondering…” He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. At these words, her eyes sparkled. “Yes?” Agyness answered, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. Draco took a breath and began again, running his fingers through his blond hair, “Would-”

“Agyness!” The trio came almost sprinting down the corridor. Agyness turned in shock right before Ron scooped her up into a bear hug. “You’re back!” She squeaked as Hermione and Harry beamed at her. As Ron released her, Agyness recovered her breath and composure, straightening out her navy blue vest before speaking, “How did it go?” “Wonderfully!” Hermione answered, still smiling as she embraced Agyness herself, albeit more gently than Ron had. “We finally got that son of a-” Harry was cut off by Hermione’s offhand look.

“Why don’t we go down to Harry’s office and we’ll tell you all about it,” Hermione almost forcefully placed her arm around Agyness’s shoulders before turning her in the proper direction. “Sure, sure,” Agyness nodded as Harry and Ron led the way. As Hermione steered her towards the office, Agyness looked over her shoulder to see Draco stalking off in the opposite direction.