Quarrels & Loves

Miss-Taken

Summary: Working for the Ministry as Aurors, Hermione and Draco have seen a lot of shit. They've been through a lot of shit. It really shouldn't be surprising that a serial killer disrupts what is supposed to be a routine investigation, but Draco is not to blame for his angry response.

Hermione was beyond tired. It was hardly past lunch and already she felt like sleeping for the remainder of that day, which was really a shame. She knew the case she and Draco had just been handed was high-profile and rather interesting, but she didn't have the energy to care for much more than the black coffee Draco had just handed to her. Being an Auror had become incredibly tiring recently as cases seemed to increase rapidly and she'd been spending many nights at the office.

"You could take a sick day," Draco suggested, kissing her forehead as he held the hot coffee for her. "You have about three months of it piled up; might as well use it to catch up on sleep."

Hermione refused, though, and lifted the coffee to her lips. Draco stayed right beside her in case she either passed out or dropped the cup. When she handed him an entirely empty cup a minute later, he held back from telling her chugging that much coffee was probably unhealthy.

"Now, back to work," Hermione said. She dropped onto her office chair and Draco slid into his own that he'd brought across the hall from his office. "What's our next step in—" she broke off and just waved her hand over the paperwork as she yawned.

"Love, I really think you should—"

"I'm not going to leave, Draco," Hermione snapped. As soon as she'd said it, she looked away guiltily and apologised softly for snapping at him. Fortunately, Draco was plenty used to it by now after five years of marriage, so he just smiled and reached for her hand.

"We go visit the site," he reminded her. She nodded but otherwise didn't move. "I'll go find a team."

Hermione nodded again while Draco stood up to call their usual team of investigators to tag along. Once the small group was ready, they apparated to the scene where a triple homicide had occurred only four days earlier. They'd been by to visit twice already, but it was common for a criminal to return to the scene of the crime a few days later and Draco was hoping they'd find more evidence this time.

"I'll check upstairs," Hermione said, pulling away from Draco and lighting her wand. He nodded, watching her go and nodding to himself when she seemed mostly back to normal. The coffee would hopefully last until they returned to the office and he could convince her to sleep, but for now, she seemed to be doing alright.

It wasn't unusual for Hermione to explore crime scenes on her own. In fact, she rather enjoyed wandering around and being able to think in the silence. This particular building she was familiar with now, so she didn't have to catalog every little thing she saw, only the things that were out of place. Granted, nothing was out of place as she was certain the wizard they were after wouldn't have returned already, leaving her to just wander tiredly through the upstairs of the building.

She hadn't even realised she'd been staring out a window until she blinked back to reality. Frowning, she looked around the small room she was in. It was the child's room with stuffed animals on the floor and a small bed that wasn't made. The fact that someone had killed a child as well as her two parents sickened Hermione, but not as much as it would have at the beginning of her job. Some people were just deranged and clearly this wizard was no different.

With a sigh, Hermione turned to leave the room but stopped. A stuffed giraffe was sitting in the center of the doorway and it definitely hadn't been there before. Looking around quickly, Hermione extended her lit wand to see further in the room. She grumbled at the lack of sun that day, wishing that just once London weather would work in her favour.