The wizard stepped out of the floo and found himself in the atrium of the British Ministry, and he had to fight the onslaught of emotions and memories that came hurtling at him before they threatened to overwhelm him, tucking them away for a more private moment. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, inhaled and exhaled, and rolled his neck before turning his gaze towards the mass of bushy brown hair that he could see floating in his peripheral vision.
“Hello…†he greeted the witch carefully as he thought about his next words “Hermione…†he finished a moment later, the word feeling strange on his tongue. His tone was polite, polished, but cautious. He cleared his throat before he went on “I hear you’re to escort me to my first appointments of the day?†He had been told he would have to go through extensive meetings with HR and loads of other bureaucratic red tape and that Hermione would be ‘minding’ him from today on. Draco blinked at his old schoolmate, half wondering if she was going to say something or hit him again. Though this time, he would at least admit he probably deserved it.
Draco closed the distance between them and hoped he didn’t look as awkward as he felt as he resisted the urge to sway on the balls of his feet. Fidgeting with the edges of his sleeves, the blonde nodded at her reply, making himself look her in the eye “Right, I’ll follow you then…†He told her, just barely repressing the grin that threatened to cross his lips as he thought of what his younger self had pictured. It certainly hadn’t been this, that was for sure.
As he followed her, adjusting his stride to match hers, he spoke, unsure of what else to do, as much as he hated small-talk “How are things?†He started hating the words as they left his lips “Congratulations, by the way†he said as he made himself stop talking. Everything felt shallow, even if it didn’t sound it.
@Christine
