One-Shot

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Written for the Owl Post Forum Drabbles, following the prompt "Hermione Granger: Pet Detective".

A big hug of thanks goes out to Meiri for beta-ing this drabble.

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With a heavy sigh, she dropped into her chair.

The day had been a trying one, and Hermione Granger had never regretted going into the Private Investigation business more. That afternoon she had closed one of her toughest cases yet. A man had broken into the house of one of the former Death Eaters and had been missing ever since. She had found him disoriented and hexed into madness, sitting in a back street off Knockturn Alley. Apparently the house was loyal to its former owner, and the man in question had been Muggleborn.

Hauling herself out of her chair, Hermione decided to close her office early that day. She was just pulling together the last of her things when the door opened with a slight squeak. She frowned on seeing Draco Malfoy standing in her doorway.

‘Mr. Malfoy,’ she greeted coolly.

‘I have a case for you, Granger,’ Malfoy said simply, without offering her a greeting.

‘This had better be worth it,’ she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘It is. My familiar has gone missing, and I need you to find it for me.’

Hermione barely managed to bite back a bark of laughter. ‘You want me to find your pet for you?’ she asked, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Malfoy frowned and crossed his arms also. ‘It is no laughing matter, Granger. I need your assistance and will pay whatever fee you wish to charge. Just find my familiar.’

She didn’t like Malfoy, but her conscience would not allow her to turn him down. It was, after all, her job to find things – human or animal alike. ‘Fine, what kind of animal is your familiar, and a name please?’

‘Selene is a raven,’ he answered. ‘She has been my familiar since childhood, so I would appreciate your haste in this matter.’

‘Fine with me,’ Hermione said, gathering her things and placing them in her briefcase. ‘Let’s begin with when she went missing. Where was the last place you saw her?’

‘I can show you better than I can tell you,’ he said, offering her his arm.

She nodded, and they left her office, which she locked before allowing Malfoy to Apparate them. They arrived in the grand entrance hall of what she could only assume was Malfoy Manor. He led her up two flights of stairs to a study and pointed over to a stand near the window that was obviously a bird’s perch.

Probably solid gold too, she thought as she walked over to examine the item. She was running her wand over it, looking for any sign that it would be of help, when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. Leaning down, she plucked a shiny, black feather up from the ground. She smiled. Running her wand over the feather, she cast a charm that would lead them to the source of the feather. Grasping Malfoy’s arm suddenly, she Apparated them.

They reappeared just behind a thatch of trees in a brick courtyard. Looking around, Hermione saw the beautiful raven perched near the top of the water fountain in the centre. She stepped out from behind the tree and looked at her surroundings before turning to frown at Malfoy.

‘This is your courtyard,’ she said quietly. ‘Why did you ask for me to find your familiar?’

‘Couldn’t think of another way to get you to see me,’ he answered with a shrug.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Next time just ask me out instead,’ she told him before turning on her heel and Apparating away.

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